Sword Art Online - Episode 17 Discussion / Poll

[germanturkey]

so, in this episode of NTR Online... the rage is undoubtedly building. Kirito has a point; they should be working together instead of in factions to try to achieve the goal. obviously that's probably what will need to be done in order to get to the top.

also, Sugu. <3

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

Kirito has a point; they should be working together instead of in factions to try to achieve the goal. obviously that's probably what will need to be done in order to get to the top.

But Lyfa was also right that this is contradictory, because whatever race gets up there is the one to be promoted. So if the races help each other, who is going to be the winner? Well, perhaps the general scenario was setup to be unwinnable, but still give everyone something to keep trying for. Obviously he has to find way to get up there in this case, and he'll apparently be working with Lyfa to do it, so perhaps it's still the key -- like the only way to win is to stop caring about the prize.

[germanturkey]

that's probably the end game. you reach the top with a diverse party, and everyone passed a certain point gets the new buff. then they make a new expansion with cooler features to draw in players...

[GundamZZ]

I still don't think the collaboration is the purpose. Kirito may merely suggest that the rule is not fair. We already know who writes the rule. It's very likely that elf king is hiding those abducted players, so he can conduct experiment without interference.
Kirito's role suggests he's trying to break the rule. If you know anime Spriggan, it's about a group of super commando who try to guard the ancient relics. Those relics are weapons of mass destruction. The bury of relics ensures the safety of the world. In contrast, Kirito is to break the rule. He cannot convince other players, since he has same goal. He wants to get on top of the tree by himself. It makes other players as his stepping stones.

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[miroku2192]

I'm still waiting for Kayaba to come back and save the day, help Kirito put Sugou in his place.

Hell, Sugou said he doesn't want to make Asuna into a doll, but he's probably going to threaten her by doing something/potentially doing something to Asuna.

Where are you Kayaba? Sugou doesn't seem like the type of person to take a "loss" against Kirito fair and square

[orpheus2]

Originally Posted by Clarste

Am I the only one who thought it was interesting that Sugou seemed to know Kayaba personally? He called him senpai. I mean, I guess they work in the same business so it's not exactly unlikely, but in a show like this that would never be a coincidence.

I doubt they were on good terms. Kayaba's goals were too visionary when compared to Susuo's profit minded goals. I really can not see them cooperating at a time.

Originally Posted by GundamZZ

I still don't think the collaboration is the purpose. Kirito may merely suggest that the rule is not fair. We already know who writes the rule. It's very likely that elf king is hiding those abducted players, so he can conduct experiment without interference.
Kirito's role suggests he's trying to break the rule. If you know anime Spriggan, it's about a group of super commando who try to guard the ancient relics. Those relics are weapons of mass destruction. The bury of relics ensures the safety of the world. In contrast, Kirito is to break the rule. He cannot convince other players, since he has same goal. He wants to get on top of the tree by himself. It makes other players as his stepping stones.

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Which I doubt anyone would agree except for Lyfa a.k.a. Suguha. He may as well ask his SAO compatriots for help. But before that, he needs some heavy duty equipment.

Spoiler for Image:

Regarding the image, are one of those who believe KYH is Kirito's and Asuna's child?

[Tsundere Louise]

I really hate that Sugou guy now even more than ever! I've didn't read the novel, but really hope that he gets his ass kicked and be sentenced to death for experimenting on humans when ALO will finish.

[FlareKnight]

Yeah, I have to say I'm not sure how this will all work out. At least Kayaba was willing to play within his game's rules and lower himself to a beatable level for the fight against Kirito. This guy I could see hiding behind admin privileges and doing whatever he wants.

Of course really it's just going from bad to worse for those 300. First thrown into a death game with 10,000 people and now are human guinea pigs.

The game certainly does seem set up to not be cleared. Really it's just a testing grounds disguised as a game. If players actually started to make their way up it'd be a problem. It probably does require a group of different races, but the rules were twisted to make that unlikely. Being able to attack anyone not of your race if they come into your city makes visiting limited to neutral towns or the field. I agree maybe there are multiple trials and each time one race gets a certain power needed to make it to the top. But really it's not like groups couldn't work together if there was actual trust. One race gets the wings and carries the others up. Of course since everyone would want the special wings it's a problem.

All I can say is that things are going to be rough for Suguha. Are they really going to have her fall in love with the same guy twice who she can't actually get together with? Seems like they are going to unnecessarily make her go through rough times.

[GundamZZ]

Originally Posted by orpheus2

I doubt they were on good terms. Kayaba's goals were too visionary when compared to Susuo's profit minded goals. I really can not see them cooperating at a time.



Which I doubt anyone would agree except for Lyfa a.k.a. Suguha. He may as well ask his SAO compatriots for help. But before that, he needs some heavy duty equipment.

Spoiler for Image:

Regarding the image, are one of those who believe KYH is Kirito's and Asuna's child?

It's what's going on right now.
I doubt current Kirito can win agianst Sughuha, no matter what. As someone said, the only feasible way for Kirito is becoming a cheater.
It's possible, since several characters have siblings in SAO.

[Crontica]

Originally Posted by Crontica

The fact that the Nervegear is able to sync to the new game sets off more than numerous alarm bells, which makes any difference between the Nervegear and this new Amusphere moot, only slightly tweaking / fixing the helmets when you don't know what the hell the madman put in it is a very bad idea imho. And then to add into the mix that Yui outright confirmed that Alferm is a dodgy dongraded mirror of SAO's engine is just asking for someone to takeover from where Kayaba left off.

See what did i tell you? WHAT DID I TELL YOU!? This is the kind of shit that easily wipes out half of the human population, human laziness on my death card game? Fuking bullshit man, it's like i'm watching a chapter out of yureka now.

[Krono]

Originally Posted by Crontica

See what did i tell you? WHAT DID I TELL YOU!? This is the kind of shit that easily wipes out half of the human population, human laziness on my death card game? Fuking bullshit man, it's like i'm watching a chapter out of yureka now.

1) He's talking about the original 10,000 SAO players. You know, the ones that are still wearing NerveGear?
2) The drastic design differences between Amusphere and NerveGear, as we see when Suguha removes her Amusphere, demonstrates the foolhardiness of the claim that Amusphere is merely a slightly tweaked NerveGear. Significant re-engineering would be required to go from an enveloping helmet to a ring around the head.

[eiyuu99]

A game designed for developers, not for players.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by SilverSyko

As subtle as a brick to the face maybe. That's why I think he's a shitty villain for SAO. The part of his motivation with just him being a greedy bastard doesn't help either.



As a person with a fondness for antagonists, it saddens me to see a technological show like SAO implement a megalomaniacal slimeball after someone like Kayaba, who I felt was much more appropriate.

Sugou would probably be my reason to stay interested in this half of the show if he was written in an fitting way, but this schlock we're given is an tool that exists for the single purpose of giving viewers who actually care about the main characters someone to blindly hate.

For good or ill, I find Sugou more human than Kayaba. Kayaba was so much larger than life, we hesitate to use merely human standards to judge him. Which is why we can say he wasn't that evil, despite what he's done.

Sugou's got human weaknesses that lead him to commit human evils. He wants to be rich and powerful. And loved and respected, or at least feared - he's not the kind of person who knows the difference. It's so easy to despise him.

Originally Posted by Vmem

See, if wanting to use VR technology for mind control was Sugou's main goal as a villain, I would accept him as a fitting antagonist for this arc. Unfortunately, all he wants to use it for is to make Asuna like him, then he plans on selling it for a pretty penny (ok, maybe a swimming pool full of pretty pennies).

That aside, he's selling a potentially world-domination-super-weapon-ish thing, rather than chosing to use it himself in a nefarious play such as: Use the resources avialable to him at RECT to push the popularity of VR games and other uses for VR technology, use his closeness to mind control Asuna's family, eventually gaining total control of her father (he'll be the master puppeteer behind the curtains). After sufficient acceptance for VR technology has been achieved, he can slowly start rewriting the minds of users, pushing them to urge non-users to try out Amusphere etc, and have some code in the system to rewrite the minds of first time users at that point to like VR technology. this will allow Amusphere to spread until virtually the whole world is under his fingertips, thus achieving total world domination. Then, he can have Asuna along with whoever else he likes marry him

I don't know why you think that plan is remotely workable. Sugou isn't decades ahead, technologically speaking. He's at the cutting edge in one particular domain, that's all. And he isn't the only one. If he tries to start some shit in earnest, he'll be found and defeated by burly men with big guns, it's as simple as that. Trying to conquer the world like that's nothing but a child's power fantasy.

If he doesn't want to retire after getting his money, part of the price will be a position within the organisation he sells out to. It's not an uncommon practice. Then he can start climbing again, subverting the system for his own ambitions. Why change something that works?

[Hiroi Sekai]

There's just one thing I'm wondering. Suguha is Lyfa, isn't she? Lyfa said she'd been playing for at least a year (unless she was exaggerating). Doesn't that mean Suguha stuck a Nervegear on her head while Kirito was in a Nervegear coma?

I was half paying attention to my new game so you'll have to forgive me if I missed something obvious.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by papermario13689

Doesn't that mean Suguha stuck a Nervegear on her head while Kirito was in a Nervegear coma?

Well, an Amusphere, not a Nervegear, but essentially yes. Which implies that people had a lot of confidence that the issues with the Nervegear were not possible with Amusphere.

(Perhaps it's worth pointing out that the 300 people that are part of the experiment are all using NerveGears.)

[GundamZZ]

Yes, the game company faced so many lawsuits. They were out of business, and Kabaya was killed by his own game.. Asuna's father see the profit and underestimate the risk. He acquire the company's asset. So, Asuna's "finance" was assigned to the new team. Someone's younger sister tries out the game. Perhaps she tries to understand someone whose in coma.

[Hiroi Sekai]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Well, an Amusphere, not a Nervegear, but essentially yes. Which implies that people had a lot of confidence that the issues with the Nervegear were not possible with Amusphere.

(Perhaps it's worth pointing out that the 300 people that are part of the experiment are all using NerveGears.)

Fair enough, thanks. I was just curious as she'd seen Kirito in the coma and still went ahead with it. That's a heck of a lot of confidence.

[NoemiChan]

Woahahahaha... just got home from duty and open my netbook and looked at the crowd.... Don't mind being spoiled....

I haven't watched the episode ( currently downloading).

It seems the episode is very interesting....

Originally Posted by Crontica

Guess another lunatic has just shown itself...

[Dengar]

Originally Posted by papermario13689

Fair enough, thanks. I was just curious as she'd seen Kirito in the coma and still went ahead with it. That's a heck of a lot of confidence.

Or, you know, she could just have heard about this fun game where you could fly and started to play it?



Anyway, although some people have glanced the subject, I'm just going to blatantly point it out:


Kayaba hid himself amongst the players and set it up so that he would be the final boss who would face the heroes.


This new guy put himself in the place of the most important NPC who rules everything and whom the 'lesser players' have to look up to.


I find that it's an interesting contrast.

[Witheirate]

After watching episode 16 and 17 again:

• For one moment I though that (1) one ALO day is faster than a day or (2) ALO has different time zone with the place where Kirito lives.

• Kirito log in to ALO at 14:30, but it was night already in the game.
• He spent about 1 or 2 game hours, from meeting Lyfa until they came to the cafe in that Sylph territory.
• It's already morning in the game when Lyfa is about to log out.
• But it seems that it's still afternoon when Suguha in her room.

• I though that was a white bear in Suguha bed in the ED, but from the scene in the episode it seems that the doll is brown (is it a bear? OK, I wish I could be that doll )

• This episode somehow reminds me of Lizbeth.
• If I were Kirito, I will try to find Kayaba, dead or alive, steal his NerveGear, and create new character in ALO using Heathcliff as username. If I were lucky, maybe I could get an GM access in the game.