Sword Art Online - Episode 8 Discussion / Poll

[Znail]

Originally Posted by Clarste

The problem was that the duel was still ongoing after another player attacked him. Either that shouldn't be allowed to happen in the first place (the reasonable answer) or it should count as a forfeit of some sort. How does the duel system mean anything at all if any old bystander can freely intervene without changing the result in any way? That's just... not a duel.

Asuna couldn't hurt Kuradeel, but she is still there and can block attacks if she wants. I would guess that it isn't considered fair play and thus people wont do that normaly. But there is no bolt of lightning from the sky for doing it either.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Clarste

Kirito beating Kuradeel was necessary to prove to the guildmaster that she'll be fine.

She would prove that better if she beat him herself. Plus, she wouldn't be involving an outsider.

No matter how you look at it just doesn't make sense.

[Adigard]

Originally Posted by Clarste

The problem was that the duel was still ongoing after another player attacked him. Either that shouldn't be allowed to happen in the first place (the reasonable answer) or it should count as a forfeit of some sort. How does the duel system mean anything at all if any old bystander can freely intervene without changing the result in any way? That's just... not a duel.

He's immune to damage from her because they're in a safe zone. How is that interfering with a duel? For that matter you could stand in 'between' two duel'ers and interfere without breaking the rules.

I don't see a problem.

If she tried to hurt him we'd expect a different result, but since player collision occurs... there will be issues with duels.

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

She would prove that better if she beat him herself. Plus, she wouldn't be involving an outsider.

No matter how you look at it just doesn't make sense.

Imagine telling your boss that the guy he / she assigned to protect you... you attacked in a public duel. I'd imagine some pretty hefty drama from that. Anyone viewing the fight from the sidelines (and there were a lot of people since it's the front lines) heard the conflict because the KOB guy started yelling. The KOB guy initiated the duel, and lost. Kirito beat him rather soundly. In fact, Kirito put his weapon away and the guy attacked him. Anyone viewing the fight from the sidelines would say the KOB guy was out of line.

That's rather important in a real CYA sorta way.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

She would prove that better if she beat him herself. Plus, she wouldn't be involving an outsider.

No matter how you look at it just doesn't make sense.

Two is better than one. He knows how strong Asuna is, presumably, but he also assigns her a bodyguard. You can replace the bodyguard with a better bodyguard, but having no bodyguard at all defeats the point. It doesn't matter how strong Asuna is. She could be the strongest person in the game, but that doesn't mean she's safe alone. They had that whole talk about how risky soloing is in the same episode. If Kirito can't keep up with her then she'd need someone else to partner with, someone like Kuradeel.

[AC-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Adigard

He's immune to damage from her because they're in a safe zone. How is that interfering with a duel? For that matter you could stand in 'between' two duel'ers and interfere without breaking the rules.

I don't see a problem.

If she tried to hurt him we'd expect a different result, but since player collision occurs I don't see the problem.

Because if Kirito was a PKer he could have easily killed the guy now while Asuna was blocking for him. So technically another exploit.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Adigard

He's immune to damage from her because they're in a safe zone. How is that interfering with a duel? For that matter you could stand in 'between' two duel'ers and interfere without breaking the rules.

I don't see a problem.

If she tried to hurt him we'd expect a different result, but since player collision occurs I don't see the problem.

She disarmed him. That's an attack. If she was just standing in the way blocking him with a purple "Immortal Object" message then that would have made way more sense.

Obviously the anime wanted to make it look like she could fight him too, but in terms of worldbuilding it defies a lot of what we've seen before. Remember in episode 6 when Kirito threw his knives at the cloaked person (turned out to be Kains)? They bounced off a purple wall well before they hit him. Logically the same thing would happen to her sword when she tried to attack the weapon of a player she's not dueling with.

[blewin]

I reckon this is the Best episode ever. Not only does it have quiet moments but also intense ones that we don't see a lot. And of course, it's finally picked up the main plot. Can't wait to see next week's. Some scenes are already revealed in the OP. Looks like they'll end up finishing the boss by themselves.

but about the world, I'd like to see more details. This can get really epic if more depth and time are spent on other characters. for example, those that Asuna said have gotten used to the SAO world and don't care about clearing the game?

[Adigard]

Originally Posted by AC-Phoenix

Because if Kirito was a PKer he could have easily killed the guy now while Asuna was blocking for him. So technically another exploit.

Kill someone in a duel to the first blow? Technically yes, but them's the risks of dueling in a death game?

Originally Posted by Clarste

She disarmed him. That's an attack. If she was just standing in the way blocking him with a purple "Immortal Object" message then that would have made way more sense.

Obviously the anime wanted to make it look like she could fight him too, but in terms of worldbuilding it defies a lot of what we've seen before. Remember in episode 6 when Kirito threw his knives at the cloaked person (turned out to be Kains)? They bounced off a purple wall well before they hit him. Logically the same thing would happen to her sword when she tried to attack the weapon of a player she's not dueling with.

Excellent point, hadn't considered it that way.

[Vladrave]

A good episode since episode 3 finally.
Oh and at last, it got to move on to the main plot.

The fight between kuradeel is short but what would you expect if your opponent is level 10 higher?
There's also a suspicious guy with the hood.Yeah,probably another villain from an another PK guild or something.
And finally, that boss in the end looks sick.

[Adigard]

Originally Posted by Vladrave

There's also a suspicious guy with the hood.Yeah,probably another villain from an another PK guild or something.

He's a guild member of the Laughing Coffin PK guild we last saw in the mystery arc.

[Clarste]

He's actually the exact same guy that Kirito talked to in episode 6. You can see a scar on his face.

[Wigwams]

probably gonna target asuna now that he overheard her dismissing the body guard.

[orpheus2]

Great episode.

Looks Kirito finally started to struggle against normal monster. I guess he is rethinking about the solo act. Luckily for him, he has an equal: Asuna. Even if he was threatened.

I wonder why did Asuna maxed out her cooking stat? Wouldn't it be better to have smithing or upgrading equipment instead? I am more on selling materials and upgrading equipment whenever I play MMO's. This is more efficient for me.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by orpheus2

I wonder why did Asuna maxed out her cooking stat? Wouldn't it be better to have smithing or upgrading equipment instead? I am more on selling materials and upgrading equipment whenever I play MMO's. This is more efficient for me.

the anime never explain it too well but the food in the game is suppose to be very bland. The only to get better food is to cook it yourself or have someone else cook it.

Regarding smithing and equipment upgrade she has lisbeth,

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by orpheus2

Great episode.

Looks Kirito finally started to struggle against normal monster. I guess he is rethinking about the solo act. Luckily for him, he has an equal: Asuna. Even if he was threatened.

Presumably this is related to "the monsters are getting smarter after floor 70" that they talked about later.

I wonder why did Asuna maxed out her cooking stat? Wouldn't it be better to have smithing or upgrading equipment instead? I am more on selling materials and upgrading equipment whenever I play MMO's. This is more efficient for me.

Because Kirito showed her that bread could taste good in the game back in episode 2. Well, we already knew in episode 6 that she was raising her cooking skill. Presumably that's also how Kirito knew.

[orpheus2]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

the anime never explain it too well but the food in the game is suppose to be very bland. The only to get better food is to cook it yourself or have someone else cook it.

Regarding smithing and equipment upgrade she has lisbeth,

I find cooking not necessary whenever I play. I would rather increase skills related to battle unless that cooking also have some significant benefit. Most of the time any skill not directly related to increasing battle performance and efficiency, I would not increase.

Originally Posted by Clarste

Presumably this is related to "the monster are getting smarter after floor 70 that they talked about later.

I see. It's now a good time to take up Asuna's offer.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by orpheus2

I find cooking not necessary whenever I play. I would rather increase skills related to battle unless that cooking also have some significant benefit. Most of the time any skill not directly related to increasing battle performance and efficiency, I would not increase.

Well obviously that's because you can stop playing whenever you want and eat real food in the real world. She's been trapped in there for two years and can only eat what she makes.

[Krono]

Originally Posted by Clarste

Presumably this is related to "the monster are getting smarter after floor 70 that they talked about later.

Well, that and this is the first time we're seeing Kirito fighting on the front lines. The monsters we've seen him fight previously were either beginner monsters he'd fought in the beta, or monsters well below his current level.

[Divini]

To those that are bothered by the <<groping>> scene, a little explanation that I realized: The source material for this episode came from vol.1, which was written back in 2002. Being an anime watcher even from that time, I can attest that <<accidental groping>> was a lot more common in non-ecchi works 10 years ago. Today, you pretty much only see this in ecchi/romantic comedy stories, and is seen as 'stereotypically overused' by the culture now.

Of course, the producers could have decided to adapt it or not, and they did. So if you don't like it, the blame should be directed at the production staff, rather than the LN author.

[Clarste]

He still wrote it. Whether it was a cliche at the time or not (and I'm pretty sure it was already a cliche), he still thought it was a good idea to include it in his story.