Sword Art Online - Episode 7 Discussion / Poll

[Rakshasa]

Originally Posted by jcdietz03

I don't know Japanese question:
Is it true that 温度 / ondo can be "warmth" in Japanese in addition to "temperature?"

If so, someone really should submit a request for amendment to JMdict.

To be honest the translation has been bugging the hell out of me ever since I spotted it on these forums.

Never heard, or seen, it used in a context that would suggest it is an idiom. And after watching the episode it seems pretty clear (to me a least) that it's not so much warmth as how warm (or cold).

Especially when the subtext seems to be that while the digital world is cold and sterile (fighting ice dragon in ice world), the people are warm and alive.

[Clarste]

Probably just a matter of context. The heart clearly isn't supposed to be cold.

[KleenexGhost]

It's probably is a matter of context.

Unless they mean being cold-hearted but that's probably not the case.

[willx]

So chiming in here with my fiance's perspective on this episode. She never read the light novels and only got interested in SAO because I showed her the first episode..

In her words: "..Hm, this is the worst episode so far."

Her thoughts were basically that the dialogue didn't make much sense and the scenes felt disjointed. She kept wondering how the guys in the photograph were and didn't quite understand the feelings that the episode were trying to convey.

As a light novel fan, I think I agree. The flow and pacing just wasn't there this episode, and one of the parts that was cut, was one of the more tender moments that helped bring the whole story together.. I feel sad. I'm a big fan of Liz too!

[Maxtro]

OK, I think it's time to stop expecting a real story from this show.

There was so much promise but it just did not deliver. As it stands right now, you can watch just about any episode in random order and it wouldn't make a difference.

The passage of time is also annoying

11/06/2022 Launch

06/24/2024 Ep 07

What have we gained in a year in a half in that world?

Wasted potential, sad.

[Iron Maw]

Hmmm.... looking at the stats, the two swords look more or less the same despite Dark Repulser being untempered/refined. I guess would suggest that DR being far more powerful once Kirito starts to modify it. Anyone want to guess what "Armor" and "Running" mean?

Spoiler for size:

Originally Posted by Trajan

I didn't mean to suggest that it was a plot hole, but rather that in episode 1 the series went out of its way to highlight a world full of "regular people" but then has focused almost exclusively on cute girls.

I think there's a lot of wasted potential in having a setting that brings together a wide variety of people, both in age and gender, and then focusing almost exclusively on the cute girls. A side story where Kirito meets an 80 year old man who, because of SAO is as spry as a teenager, would be nice. Or perhaps a woman in her 40s who has fallen in love with an NPC (b/c perhaps the AI is advanced enough for them to seem real) and doesn't want the game to end because she knows the NPC will "die." Instead we get episode after episode of cute girls doing cute things, which, while great for DVD sales, really doesn't lend itself to compelling storytelling.

One could argue that Grimlock and Griselda are an example of what I'm describing, but Grimlock had one scene and Griselda was already dead, so it doesn't really counteract the double dose of cute that Asuna and Yoruko provided.

I said something similar in the episode 6 thread, though with stand alone stories focusing more on fleshing out the main cast (like Klein and Egil) rather than people who will probably never show up again.

Spoiler for response:

From a storytelling perspective, having Kirito put forth effort into searching for Liz makes a lot of sense. He shows he cares by investing time and effort in searching for her. If he could easily track her or simply ask Asuna, then it "means less" when he finds her. But much like the transporters in Star Trek, it seems that one's methods for locating another person either work or don't work based on the demands of the plot more than anything else.

Spoiler for re response:

Doesn't this suggest that he didn't care or put much effort into finding Saichi then? But yes, I see the issue too. Personally I would have preferred it to just be left out entirely to avoid inconsistencies like this. Besides I think Kirito not using his "tracking skill" would mean the opposite because he's not using every available resource he has to find Liz.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

Hmmm.... looking at the stats, the two swords look more or less the same despite Dark Repulser being untempered/refined. I guess would suggest that DR being far more powerful once Kirito starts to modify it. Anyone want to guess what "Armor" and "Running" mean?

"Armor" made no sense to me, but "Running" sounds like a skill. Probably more commonly known as "Sprint". Thinking about it in those terms, "Armor" would be the skill to wear armor ("heavy armor" as opposed to cloth or leather armor). So maybe the weapons either grant or require these skills? They don't have a number associated with them though.

[Adigard]

Originally Posted by Clarste

"Armor" made no sense to me, but "Running" sounds like a skill. Probably more commonly known as "Sprint". Thinking about it in those terms, "Armor" would be the skill to wear armor ("heavy armor" as opposed to cloth or leather armor). So maybe the weapons either grant or require these skills? They don't have a number associated with them though.

Always possible the weapons just grant a flat bonus to your armor stat on one sword, and your running speed on the other. Hard to say, we haven't seen many weapon screens to-date.

[Iron Maw]

Originally Posted by Clarste

"Armor" made no sense to me, but "Running" sounds like a skill. Probably more commonly known as "Sprint". Thinking about it in those terms, "Armor" would be the skill to wear armor ("heavy armor" as opposed to cloth or leather armor). So maybe the weapons either grant or require these skills? They don't have a number associated with them though.

I was thinking both these skills were passive effects that only applied to the weapon. "Armor" may mean that it has piercing effect against anything wearing heavy equipment (or armor type monsters) that would normal halve damage. I don't see how running/sprint fits into anything though.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Adigard

Always possible the weapons just grant a flat bonus to your armor stat on one sword, and your running speed on the other. Hard to say, we haven't seen many weapon screens to-date.

Pretty sure Guilty Thorn had something written in that spot too.

[MrPopo]

I too have to echo the complaints about the disproportional focus on girls over guys.

A lot of people are criticizing this aspect as "wish-fulfillment" and "pandering". As a whole, I'm of the opinion that such criticisms on their own are flawed in the sense that such things can be done well and even add to the show's charm. We watch anime to be entertained, who cares if there's pandering or wish-fulfillment?

HOWEVER, this pattern of girls crushing over Kirito is bad pandering because it's just bad, lazy storytelling.

For me, the biggest draw of this show is the setting. I think Aincrad is awesome, I've felt this way since pretty much the first episode. But the writer(s) is seriously hurting the credibility of his setting by hurling all these cute girls at the audience. This is an MMO setting and these characters are supposed to represent 10,000 of the most hardcore gamers around. Yet 6 (arguably 5) out of 7 episodes had girls share the main spotlight along side Kirito. The icing on the cake is that each of these girls fall for him; I don't care about the whole "Kirito and Sachi never had a thing" debate, the scenes with her were intimate enough to make the viewers think there was something going on.

I remember watching that "sky full of sunlight" scene and thinking "Wow, this is gorgeous" only to have my thoughts change to "Really? Are they really pulling this nonsense again?". When pandering starts to conflict with the shows main attractions, then we have a problem. And this problem was certainly gnawing at me in this episode, more so than any of the previous ones. Although I'm not sure if it's because it was worse in this episode or if my patience with this pandering is wearing thin.

The fact that I do like this show makes this flaw all the more painful.

[Clarste]

The author actually apologized for it in the afterword. Not that this makes it better, but he realizes it's a flaw in his storytelling style. He's not good at writing group dynamics so he always focuses on two characters at a time. To make the dynamic change in different stories he changes the person interacting with Kirito. And then he makes them all girls for some reason.

[Anh_Minh]

You have to look at it from Kirito's POV. If it's about saving a boy, he'll just run away like he did to Klein.

[Dengar]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

I'm not sure what you're getting at here. The whole reason those crushes exist to begin with is because those girls have feelings for him, Asuna included. As you said, Asuna has the highest chance of ending up with Kirito, but it's merely due to her being in similar situation and position (Clearers) to strength that growth. This does not mean the affections of the other females are suddenly trivial, otherwise why bring it up? Like I said earlier, I would have preferred Liz and Kirito building a relationship based entirely on camaraderie or something else rather than a rushed romantic interest that would ultimately go nowhere (there's no ambiguity on who is Kirito's future ). I also feel the same regarding the other females (Saichi excluded I guess).

... My problem -isn't- with the crushes. It's with people assuming they are more than just crushes.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Dengar

... My problem -isn't- with the crushes. It's with people assuming they are more than just crushes.

It's anime. There isn't necessarily a lot of difference between a "crush" and "I'll take a bullet for you or dedicate the rest of my life to cooking and cleaning for you, whichever comes first".

[Dengar]

Not all anime is shallow like that though.

[dmaxzero]

It wasnt a smart move to show the short stories chronologicaly, yet its unavoidable since otherwise it would have required too much filler to make it work as flashback. Though who knows how that would have work in the end. Since I read the LN i dont feel lost and I know what it coming but have to agree that is not friendly to the non-iniciated. I dont feel displeased with the series, i am having a nice time with it. Though some inconsistencies are odd, like the picture that Liz was watching. Seems like it should have meant something but it didnt.

I agree that the series is about living in this world, how you move and work your day by day life. Liz was lacking all these by being lonely and inside a shop all the time, so it was very shocking and emotionally kicking seeing Kirito, who is not normal doing all that stuff, and saving her, even if it wasnt for the sake of saving her, she just got a crush. Character arent 2 dimensional, which is appreciated later on, and very later on, and no, Kirito wont put a harem, though being so awesome has its negative perks like making too much attraction, even though he does not want to, he makes himself to noticeable. But that awesomeness is only applicable in the VR world, as he said in episode 4, all that strengh is not real after all.

All in all, the series is not friendly with the casual viewer, no matter how cool the first episode was, that episode was part of a whole work that is not splitted into 2 with many happenings in the gap. When you read them as the author presents you orginaly its not awkward.

[Adigard]

Originally Posted by MrPopo

HOWEVER, this pattern of girls crushing over Kirito is bad pandering because it's just bad, lazy storytelling.

To be fair, a few points need to be brought up. A) at least they have a reason to fall for Kirito. It's not useless Harem MC and his group of lovers who fell for him because he was kind or some-such. Conversely, as far as Harem's go it's a pretty shoddy one, considering we haven't actually had many romantic developments (aside from Asuna).

Sachi wasn't romantic, at all. You could try to spin it as a romance angle, but you'd have to try really really hard. Girl scared to death of dying and seeking assurances she won't die isn't a very romantic subplot. Two characters sharing a virtual bed in a virtual world where one needs semi-constant comfort that she won't die doesn't strike me as romantic. Did they have intimate moments? Heck, Kirito is wearing a long-sleeved turtleneck shirt in bed, that doesn't strike me as terribly romantic or intimate. The fact that he's lying to her about most everything, and she is seemingly only there to be assured that she won't die...

Silica certainly falls for Kirito, but Kirito doesn't really seem to think of her as anything other than a sister stand-in. He doesn't even seem to notice her feelings.

Liz doesn't have time to fall for Kirito, and anime-wise it's more likely the suspension bridge effect than anything serious. She's friend-zoned as well, and both Liz and Kirito realize that Liz is crushing on Kirito, but that's all it is.

Originally Posted by MrPopo

This is an MMO setting and these characters are supposed to represent 10,000 of the most hardcore gamers around.

Are we watching the same show?

Kirito and Klein are hardcore MMO addicts. Who else have we been introduced to that is?

Asuna / Sachi are the only other character's we have any pre-SAO backstory on, and neither were real MMO players. Asuna obviously has zero experience, and Sachi is playing SAO because her school club joined.

I always figured this was the story of 10k random people stuck in a game. Not 10k hardcore MMO addicts. There most certainly have to be MMO addicts, but we haven't met any.

Originally Posted by Clarste

The author actually apologized for it in the afterword. Not that this makes it better, but he realizes it's a flaw in his storytelling style. He's not good at writing group dynamics so he always focuses on two characters at a time. To make the dynamic change in different stories he changes the person interacting with Kirito. And then he makes them all girls for some reason.

To be fair he's writing a LN... I'm fairly certain he's aware of his audience ^^

[Clarste]

Most hardcore gamers likely wouldn't play VR games. Use a mouse noob. Motion controls are for casuals.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by dmaxzero

All in all, the series is not friendly with the casual viewer, no matter how cool the first episode was, that episode was part of a whole work that is not splitted into 2 with many happenings in the gap. When you read them as the author presents you orginaly its not awkward.

I don't think it has anything to do with being a "casual viewer" or not. I've never so much as glanced at the light novels, and I don't think I'm having any problem following the show or appreciating it the way it's presented, nor do I think it's "awkward" this way. I actually like the "short story" presentation for the most part. Anecdotal evidence in the thread suggests that some feel this way as well, but others do not. Like every show, there will be people who don't like the way it's presented, keep being weighed down by the things they consider flaws, or want the show to be something different than it is. But I'm sure there are some people who had similar complaints even when reading the novels, but they probably aren't here to talk about the anime (because they weren't anticipating it).

In the end, I wouldn't take the fact that some people have issues with the presentation to mean that it isn't friendly to the casual viewer. I don't think the issue is that it's hard to follow, understand, or appreciate for what it is, it's simply that some people were hoping that it would be something else. That's a normal part of the discovery process.