Sword Art Online - Episode 14 Discussion / Poll

[Xacual]

Originally Posted by Wild Goose

Well, for all those with questions, I just advise y'all to continue watching.

Having said that, yes, by all accounts, Kirito isn't supposed to be able to walk, but we chalk that up to drama + willpower.

Why shouldn't he be able to walk? Yeah his body would be weak from two years, but it's not like a normal case where he would have forgotten how since SAO was using the brain signals normally for movement in RL to move his character in game instead.

[Metaneo]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Uh.... Well, maybe that ties into that same twisted sense of fairness. He was playing the game like one of them, despite having an advantage. To the extent possible, it seems like he didn't really use that advantage except in a passive way to help push the story forward. But yeah, if he were a different type of villain, then who knows what he could have done. I guess -- in a very odd sort of way -- there's something to be slightly thankful for in there.

Anyway, interesting to speculate about this.

It doesnt seem to me like he was "playing the game." He said in episode 1 he wanted to observe and admire the world he has just created, however, since he was the designated "Last Boss" his defeat would have ment the end of the game. What better way to watch the people of your world grow then to stand among them. I would imagine if he didnt have the Immortal Object ability and his admin privileges, he could have met an early and untimely death, thus ending his "world" long before he planned on it. Imagine if he had gotten paralyzed by lets say, a bunch of Laughing Coffin members, he'd be screwed without his immortal object.

[zaz122]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Then all the Japanese government has to do in order to free everyone from SAO is to hack one guy - Just one guy - Into the game, and have him tell all the players to commit in-game suicide in order to wake up in the real world.

But, if that were to happen, how many would actually believe him?

What wasn't mentioned in the anime but in the LN was that the first death in SAO was from a guy claiming "This kind of situation is impossible, if you die here, you'll just wake up in the real world." and proceeded to jump off the edge of the castle in front of everyone.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Metaneo

It doesnt seem to me like he was "playing the game." He said in episode 1 he wanted to observe and admire the world he has just created, however, since he was the designated "Last Boss" his defeat would have ment the end of the game. What better way to watch the people of your world grow then to stand among them. I would imagine if he didnt have the Immortal Object ability and his admin privileges, he could have met an early and untimely death, thus ending his "world" long before he planned on it. Imagine if he had gotten paralyzed by lets say, a bunch of Laughing Coffin members, he'd be screwed without his immortal object.

Well, he was "playing the game" in the sense that he was running the guild, leveling up with people, doing duals, etc. He was "living in the world", anyway, even he wasn't playing with all the same rules as everyone else.

But, yes, I generally agree that him being seen as dying in the game would have messed things up, even if his NeverGear would never have fried him (and if he didn't disable his own "Logoff" button).

Originally Posted by zaz122

But, if that were to happen, how many would actually believe him?

What wasn't mentioned in the anime but in the LN was that the first death in SAO was from a guy claiming "This kind of situation is impossible, if you die here, you'll just wake up in the real world." and proceeded to jump off the edge of the castle in front of everyone.

Well, let's say everyone saw that first guy die, and then that same first guy came back and said "guess what guys; I didn't die in real life! It's a lie!"

But yeah, that's basically why, at the very *least* they'd have to make it so that all the people stayed trapped in some sort of purgatory or something until the game was cleared, and then release everyone all at once.

[Rising Dragon]

Originally Posted by Xacual

Why shouldn't he be able to walk? Yeah his body would be weak from two years, but it's not like a normal case where he would have forgotten how since SAO was using the brain signals normally for movement in RL to move his character in game instead.

To further this, nurses are trained to move the bodies of such victims, of people who are unconscious or incapable of movement on their own to prevent bedsores and muscle atrophy from reaching the point where it permanently disables movement. Naturally, the hospitalized SAO players would also undergo this treatment while in the hospitals, so Kirito would retain some mobility upon awakening from the game.

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by Aphrah

I thought people forget how to walk (as opposed to, say, growing weak)? Meaning, if he was using his brain to move in SAO, he still remembers how to do so in real life. As for his body being weak, well, he seemed like he may collapse at any given moment to me..


The game ended. No more killer helmets. It's the same for everybody as the game was cleared.

As someone who has spent 12 days in the hospital in a bed, getting 4 operations during that time to save my right leg, I can tell you without a doubt, he isn't getting up that fast. The first time I leaned up when they handed me my crutches, I almost passed out. I was extremely weak, and just keeping my head up was a chore.

2 years in a coma? He's going to need several days before he can think about getting out of that bed...

[Rising Dragon]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

As someone who has spent 12 days in the hospital in a bed, getting 4 operations during that time to save my right leg, I can tell you without a doubt, he isn't getting up that fast. The first time I leaned up when they handed me my crutches, I almost passed out. I was extremely weak, and just keeping my head up was a chore.

2 years in a coma? He's going to need several days before he can think about getting out of that bed...

True, but wouldn't having operations and injuries contribute to that kind of weakness? Unlike in your situation, Kirito and the others weren't undergoing surgeries or suffering from injuries that they need to recover from. I agree that there's no way he should be up that fast, but a lot of people do crazy and stupid actions when they're upset--and Kirito likely thinks that he survived because he beat the game, and figures Asuna didn't get that same kind of reward, having been killed before the game was cleared. That kind of grief is probably fueling his actions.

[Entr0py]

despite having read the novel a few years back, i still shed tears at the end during Kirito and Asuna's final moments and when he wakes up confused initially then is shocked back into reality once he realized he needs to go see Asuna no matter what. You guys have to realize that after 2 years in a comatose state how ridiculously hard it is to suddenly adjust to limbs ur havent used for so long and somehow move more than straining himself by simply turning his head. You have to respect the amount of sheer WILLPOWER it took to get himself out of bed and go find Asuna. Said willpower let him hold on barely to strike the final blow.
As heathcliff mentioned before about how surprised he was that Asuna overcame the paralysis, he was awesome shocked at how Kirito managed to hold on to give him the finishing blow which he took willingly as a conveyance of the respect he has for Kirito

[Sefveron]

i only watched the first 60 seconds of this episode and im giving it a 1... what the hell happened to the epic battle? it was like they just started and skull reaper was almost dead... for shame!

[Rising Dragon]

Try watching the whole thing before running your mouth off about the episode being lousy, please.

[miroku2192]

Well, I'm pretty happy with the way this episode turned out.

Pretty proud of myself for figuring out or almost figuring out a lot of the puzzles in this anime:

1) Pretty much figured out the mystery killer one a while ago.
2) Had a hunch that Heath(hax)lulz could've been the creator for a fun twist (them hax man).
3) Had said back in episode 10(?) or so that they would all be pretty bed-ridden and weak as hell when they cleared the game, and probably all moved to a hospital (was confirmed, though Kirito appears to be much healthier for a boy who just lied in a bed for 2 years).
[sorry guys, just want to give myself a pat on the back ;P]

Interested to see what's going to happen in the following 10 episodes. It'd be great if the story touches upon how these guys decide to cope with their "new", reborn lives. They will feel pretty fagile, both physically and mentally, and the question that I would ask is, which is the real world? And is the real world as great as the virtual world of SAO? In other words, will there be a group of people who actually prefer the virtual world of SAO better? Will there be people yearning to go back to that world now that they have grown accustomed to the living styles and freedoms that SAO brought to them.

What is real? And what is not? As Kirito and Asuna put a few episodes back, it's the experiences they've had, the bonds they've formed. Maybe it's not so much where you live, and what kind of skills you have in each world, but the relationships you've developed and how you spend that time together that really matters. Earth (reality) vs SAO (virtual), both very real in that respect.

Please author, show me what you've got!

[creb]

Don't get me wrong. I'm pretty sure the author, at least, intended for "Heathcliff" to be a fair character, even if the moral basis of that fairness may be a deviation from the social norm.

I think it's also probably best to ignore the what-ifs when it comes to the premise of them being locked into the game world. I mean, realistically, I have a difficult time believing someone wouldn't be able to figure out a way to deactivate the kill switch. Humanity, as a whole, can be pretty damn ingenious, given enough time.

As it's basically been stated by posters that what we just watched over 14 episodes is really just the start of the SAO story, I'm already steeling myself for disappointment, as that means the anime is going to either have an anime original ending, which almost always (but not always), sucks, or when it ends, I'm going to cry like a little girl over the knowledge that the anime ultimately served as a commercial for selling the Light Novel, and that I need to learn how to read Japanese already (edit: hrm, english fan translations exist...hrm, must resist at least until series is over).

It also makes me wonder. The SAO world basically being destroyed at what I presume are LN readers saying is really just the beginning of the story and trying to correlate that with the series being called "Sword Art Online" makes me wonder if virtual world hijinks are really over. And, if they aren't, I'm curious how the events in SAO serve as a basis for whatever future virtual world hijinks occur. I guess I'm trying to take a step back and stop viewing the SAO virtual adventures as the story, but instead as a chapter in the real story, and if/how that changes my perspective on what just went on over the last two "years".

Heathcliff walking off and spouting all that stuff about other worlds certainly could be bald-faced foretelling?

[Kirroha]

Oh, that was an impressive episode. I do hope the second half of the anime doesn't suddenly degrade into boring shit, though. That would suck.

Lol @ Kirito not dying even though he was killed.

[Rising Dragon]

Originally Posted by creb

Heathcliff walking off and spouting all that stuff about other worlds certainly could be bald-faced foretelling?

Maybe he just subscribes to the Dark Tower theory of existence? :k

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by creb

It also makes me wonder. The SAO world basically being destroyed at what I presume are LN readers saying is really just the beginning of the story and trying to correlate that with the series being called "Sword Art Online" makes me wonder if virtual world hijinks are really over. And, if they aren't, I'm curious how the events in SAO serve as a basis for whatever future virtual world hijinks occur. I guess I'm trying to take a step back and stop viewing the SAO virtual adventures as the story, but instead as a chapter in the real story, and if/how that changes my perspective on what just went on over the last two "years".

Well, probably best to go to the Speculation & Theories section for detailed guessing and speculation, but in general terms I'd say that there are a few things that have definitely been set in motion so far:

• Kirito's relationship with Asuna. Duh. (This is basically the main focus of the first 14 episodes when you take it on the whole.)
• The revival of Yui (which was foreshadowed in Episode 12)
• Meeting people from SAO in real life (foreshadowed by Klein's comment in Episode 14 about owing him a meal on the other side)
• Various fall-out from what happened in SAO (not to mention the fact that Kirito and Asuna were the ones to beat the game, so if people figure out who they are, they'll be kind of famous).

The fact that Kirito was the player with the fastest reflexes and exceeded the rules of the game may also be a relevant point (because right now some would argue that it's a plot hole). So it could come up again later.

But how that all fits together... who knows. Something for Speculations & Theories.

[Swordstriker21]

Spoiler for Comparison to the novels:

Heh I was wondering how they would actually portray the end of the first book in the anime. I was already expecting a somewhat abrupt feel because it also felt that way in the novels but all in all it was okay. I do admit it was a tad bit too cheesy for some though. Enjoy the next arc everyone

[creb]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Well, probably best to go to the Speculation & Theories section for detailed guessing and speculation, but in general terms I'd say that there are a few things that have definitely been set in motion so far:

• Kirito's relationship with Asuna. Duh. (This is basically the main focus of the first 14 episodes when you take it on the whole.)
• The revival of Yui (which was foreshadowed in Episode 12)
• Meeting people from SAO in real life (foreshadowed by Klein's comment in Episode 14 about owing him a meal on the other side)
• Various fall-out from what happened in SAO (not to mention the fact that Kirito and Asuna were the ones to beat the game, so if people figure out who they are, they'll be kind of famous).

The fact that Kirito was the player with the fastest reflexes and exceeded the rules of the game may also be a relevant point (because right now some would argue that it's a plot hole). So it could come up again later.

But how that all fits together... who knows. Something for Speculations & Theories.

I'm also presuming that the creator, who's name I keep forgetting, is still alive and will have further impact on the story. It'll be interesting to see what contingencies, if any, he had for what happens now, unless he's going to be content with, presumably, sitting in jail for the rest of his life.

As for Spec & Theories, I've actually been afraid to do much in the way of speculation. The one time I did any real speculation prior to this in an episode thread, a LN reader PMed me and ruined part of the story. I have this strange assumption that the Spec & Theories thread is just crawling with LN readers feverishly trying to pretend they don't know what's already going to happen.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by creb

As for Spec & Theories, I've actually been afraid to do much in the way of speculation. The one time I did any real speculation prior to this in an episode thread, a LN reader PMed me and ruined part of the story. I have this strange assumption that the Spec & Theories thread is just crawling with LN readers feverishly trying to pretend they don't know what's already going to happen.

*sigh*... I'm sorry that happened to you. If that happens again, please report it and the person will be banned. I'm not sure why it's so damn hard for novel readers to understand that people asking questions and *speculating* doesn't mean they want to be told the answer! If people really wanted to know what happened in the novels, they could damn well read them! It's not like it's a secret club. /facepalm

[Sixth]

The way for final boss got defeated was pretty lame. I am disappointed... Even the Kobold Boss in Episode 2 got better defeat scene.

Also, the castle collapsed scene is pretty bad. It should like how Vagrant Story game ending did..like showing all monsters in that city slowly got "deleted"...

*Vagrant Story Ending Spoilers*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_CXM...utu.be&t=1m35s

[ninetail1989]

....i thought it would last till episode 25 before they change arc..didnt know first arc end so fast.....

hmmm.....they could have drag the story n i think most ppl will still enjoy it..sadly they end it way too fast....what would i prefer is seeing=extended boss fight..more traveling around SOA....more grinding n leveling...this n that....

i don read the novel or anything but i was hoping that they would actually fight Kabaya at the 100th floor n not right after skull reaper...its just too fast.....