Accel World - Anime General Discussion

[relentlessflame]

They're talking about あくちぇる・ワールド (Actual World?) omake series (based on the manga of the same name) that appears on the Blu-Rays as a bonus feature.

The actual second OVA is coming in end-January with the second PS3/PSP game.

[Julio C]

I just finished watching this anime within 5 days. Man, I never thought it would be that awesome, better than SAO in some aspects. I really enjoyed this a lot to the point where I couldn't stop watching the show after a few episodes. The characters were deep, the action was superb, and the plot was well done. I'm glad I waited for it to be over so I can watch them a lot quicker. At first when I first heard about this show back when it first premiere, I only watched the first episode and I liked it, but I didn't like how the main character looked like and I thought it was going to be another generic action show with fanservice. I just dropped it right there and there, but I never forgot about it. This past week I decided to watch the a few episodes to see what's all the fuzz about, and I was completely blown away. The entire show was awesome and the first few episodes were just mind blowing.

[Mura]

Originally Posted by Julio C

I just finished watching this anime within 5 days. Man, I never thought it would be that awesome, better than SAO in some aspects. I really enjoyed this a lot to the point where I couldn't stop watching the show after a few episodes. The characters were deep, the action was superb, and the plot was well done. I'm glad I waited for it to be over so I can watch them a lot quicker. At first when I first heard about this show back when it first premiere, I only watched the first episode and I liked it, but I didn't like how the main character looked like and I thought it was going to be another generic action show with fanservice. I just dropped it right there and there, but I never forgot about it. This past week I decided to watch the a few episodes to see what's all the fuzz about, and I was completely blown away. The entire show was awesome and the first few episodes were just mind blowing.

Well at least you never forgot about it and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I decided to rewatch the first episode again and all the vibes the show had when it was airing just hit me so hard. The Accelerated World and how awesome Kuroyukihime is(especially Sachika Misawa job in voicing her, just splendid). Really makes me hope a season two annoucement comes sooner than later.

[Sunder the Gold]

Even with the reveal that Noumi was affiliated with an organization*, does anyone else feel unsatisfied that absolutely no explanation was given for how Noumi knew Silver Crow's real identity?

Heck, while it's possible Black Vise was lying when he said he didn't know the real identies of the Black Legion, it's also possible that he was telling the truth... And if he didn't know, then it becomes less likely that Noumi was informed by the organization.

It took the Red King at least 200 Burst Points to find Haruyuki, which is apparently an amount that only Level 9 players can afford to part with. She also had to tour all of the high schools in the Suginami area, which she could do only because of her physical age.

Noumi didn't have either advantage, and yet he also knew the real idenities of Black Lotus and Cyan Pile. At which rate, I wouldn't be surprised if he knew about Lime Bell either, despite her having been a Burst Linker for less than a week and having never debuted.


So far, Accel World has been a very well-thought-out and constructed setting, but I'm gunshy because of other shows I've liked which have been rather slap-dash and ridiculous. So, is it possible that there ISN'T a good explanation for how or why Noumi knew about their identities?


* That is, the Acceleration Research Society, which has resources enough to create untraceably-self-destroying brain chips and pay people to perform illegal brain surgery to implant them.

[relentlessflame]

Actually, the explanation for that was provided in Episode 3 where Haru explained the initial plan to find Cyan Pile. When you pull up the matching list in burst mode, if the person is sitting in the same room as you, you can see their avatar in the room (ref: around 11:00-12:00 in Episode 3). In Episode 13, Noumi went into Burst Mode to cheat in the match, and if he pulled up his matching list then he would have found Silver Crow, Cyan Pile, and Lime Bell all in the same room as him and discerned their true identity. (While on school grounds, you must be on the local Net.) But, because of his "hack" that made him invisible, they would not have discovered him, which gave him a unique advantage over them.

[Sunder the Gold]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Actually, the explanation for that was provided in Episode 3 where Haru explained the initial plan to find Cyan Pile. When you pull up the matching list in burst mode, if the person is sitting in the same room as you, you can see their avatar in the room (ref: around 11:00-12:00 in Episode 3). In Episode 13, Noumi went into Burst Mode to cheat in the match, and if he pulled up his matching list then he would have found Silver Crow, Cyan Pile, and Lime Bell all in the same room as him and discerned their true identity. (While on school grounds, you must be on the local Net.) But, because of his "hack" that made him invisible, they would not have discovered him, which gave him a unique advantage over them.

And, come to think of it, that WAS how Niko was able to tell that Haru was Silver Crow: By looking at him in acceleration.

Except we've never seen anyone's avatar revealed in this way. (Seeing Niko watch Silver Crow taking a frozen step out of the school gates, while surrounded by normal students, would have been a striking mental image.)


And it WAS only after that first kendo match that he gave them that "I've got you now" smirk and started planning blackmail.

But Noumi was only invisible to the Matching List when he had his Neuro Linker turned off... and thus, he shouldn't have been able to see the Matching List for himself, either.

Perhaps he did have it on before Haru cottoned on, saw he was in a room with other Burst Linkers, and turned off his own Linker to disappear from the Matching List before Haru thought to check it?


But geez, if a random or well-timed acceleration is all it takes to reveal someone's identity as a Burst Linker, without them even realizing that someone is looking at them in accelerated time... that seems almost too easy.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Sunder the Gold

But Noumi was only invisible to the Matching List when he had his Neuro Linker turned off... and thus, he shouldn't have been able to see the Matching List for himself, either.

Perhaps he did have it on before Haru cottoned on, saw he was in a room with other Burst Linkers, and turned off his own Linker to disappear from the Matching List before Haru thought to check it?

I'll need to watch again, but I assume it has something to do with his Brain Implant Chip being on the network, and that chip not being detectable (but still allowing him to burst and see the other linkers).

Originally Posted by Sunder the Gold

But geez, if a random or well-timed acceleration is all it takes to reveal someone's identity as a Burst Linker, without them even realizing that someone is looking at them in accelerated time... that seems almost too easy.

Well, of course, you have to be close to them, and every time you accelerate uses burst points. So in general terms, the risk isn't all that high, and the people you'd run into at school aren't necessarily trying to hide their identities from each other. But yes, it isn't so hard to find other burst linkers in a closed setting if they happen to be there.

[Julio C]

I'm always afraid of a second season because they could ruin the series or enhance it. I don't want to repeat the same mistakes from other shows there were ruined for me because of a second season. I just hope they don't change the formula or go at a different direction.

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by Julio C

I'm always afraid of a second season because they could ruin the series or enhance it. I don't want to repeat the same mistakes from other shows there were ruined for me because of a second season. I just hope they don't change the formula or go at a different direction.

I know this is a late response but you really don't have to worry about that because of the amount source material in the form of 12 novel volumes. This series should be good for 2 more seasons.

[Sunder the Gold]

You know, there's a shop in the UNF where you can buy Armaments and other items (such as a memory recorder) with Burst Points. I have to wonder if there's a limit to how many Armaments a player can equip or store?


Do you suppose you can purchase a Respec(ialization) at a Shop? Maybe it just costs a hellish number of BP, or maybe it outright reduces your Level, but you get a second chance to upgrade your avatar if you feel you made a mistake?

For a crazy example, if Niko had a sufficient change of heart and decided to break the Immobile Fortress done for less firepower/armor and more manueverability and mobility. For something less radical, perhaps some form of high-speed tank.

[Sunder the Gold]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Well, of course, you have to be close to them, and every time you accelerate uses burst points. So in general terms, the risk isn't all that high, and the people you'd run into at school aren't necessarily trying to hide their identities from each other. But yes, it isn't so hard to find other burst linkers in a closed setting if they happen to be there.

Wait, this is wrong. Merely Accelerating with the Burst Link command doesn't reveal someone's avatar.

If it did, then when Haru used Acceleration during Noumi's first kendo match with Taku, he wouldn't have needed to check the matching list -- he would have seen Noumi's avatar.

But he also would have seen Taku's and Chiyu's avatar. Which he didn't. He saw Takumu, not Cyan Pile, and his real body was sitting next to Chiyuri, not Lime Bell.


The idea of using the student assembly to catch Cyan Pile's real identity was not that Kuroyuki would see Cyan Pile sitting amonst the normal students. It was that, in challenging him to a fight, she would see all but one student disappear as the battlefield was constructed.

By memorizing the location where Cyan Pile appeared, she could see Pile's real face and then check the seat against the attendance list/chart to find his name.


There's something we're missing, regarding how Niko and Noumi could identify Silver Crow.

I mean, the matching list could tell Noumi that four Burst Linkers were logged into the school's network, but it would not tell him when any of them were in the same room as himself, or who they were.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Sunder the Gold

The idea of using the student assembly to catch Cyan Pile's real identity was not that Kuroyuki would see Cyan Pile sitting amonst the normal students. It was that, in challenging him to a fight, she would see all but one student disappear as the battlefield was constructed.

By memorizing the location where Cyan Pile appeared, she could see Pile's real face and then check the seat against the attendance list/chart to find his name.

That makes sense as a possible explanation. The mechanic wasn't explained very clearly in the episode, and the way it was illustrated in Episode 3 was as if you could see the person in place. Perhaps that was just a metaphor for how the mechanism worked in a broad sense, and not a literal representation.

Originally Posted by Sunder the Gold

If it did, then when Haru used Acceleration during Noumi's first kendo match with Taku, he wouldn't have needed to check the matching list -- he would have seen Noumi's avatar.

But he also would have seen Taku's and Chiyu's avatar. Which he didn't. He saw Takumu, not Cyan Pile, and his real body was sitting next to Chiyuri, not Lime Bell.

Well, again, the way it was shown in Episode 3, it was while looking at the matching list. But again, if that was only a metaphor, then it isn't clear how it worked. Your explanation seems reasonable to me, though.

Originally Posted by Sunder the Gold

There's something we're missing, regarding how Niko and Noumi could identify Silver Crow.

I mean, the matching list could tell Noumi that four Burst Linkers were logged into the school's network, but it would not tell him when any of them were in the same room as himself, or who they were.

Ah, for Niko's part, I checked again and she actually did explain it in Episode 9 (7:50~9:00): she waited right outside the school gates and kept linking and checking the matching list as each person exited the school. So the moment Haruyuki left the school and connected to the global network, she knew it was him.

It's quite possible that Noumi used a similar elimination technique to determine who was who. It takes a lot of Burst Points, and requires a lot of patience but it isn't so bad. He said that he heard rumours about Takumu's exceptional performance before arriving at the school, so I'm thinking he already guessed that he was a Burst Linker. Finding the rest was mostly a matter of tracing the friendships, I'm guessing and a bit of elimination per the method above. (He could do the elimination in reverse as people leave the school grounds. For example, he would know at his match with Takumu, all three of the linkers were there, whereas normally it's just the one -- Takumu.)

[Kyuu]

Finally finished this -- all the crying, whining, shouting, yadda-yadda -- it was pissing me off. If that was the intent in the first place, then the series did its job. And if things weren't resolved in the end -- I would have outright hated this series.

But, that's not the case. Seeing two girls at the end hug each other -- OK... everything feels all better now.

[Sunder the Gold]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Well, again, the way it was shown in Episode 3, it was while looking at the matching list.

Kuroyuki thought that the Burst Linker was a student at the school. Students can't be logged into the global net while on campus, and are required to be logged into the campus network. It generally should not have been possible for someone to attack her from beyond the school's network.

At the assembly, she wasn't checking the list to see if Pile was there, because she was sure he was there. Rather, she needed to use the list to challenge Cyan Pile, since you always need the list to challenge someone. And she needed to challenge him and send them both to a battlefield, because looking at a bunch of students in Acceleration would not by itself reveal Pile, even if Pile were sitting there.

But Pile wasn't on the list, so she couldn't challenge him, and without constructing the battlefield, she couldn't find him as per her plan.

The mechanic wasn't explained very clearly in the episode, and the way it was illustrated in Episode 3 was as if you could see the person in place. Perhaps that was just a metaphor for how the mechanism worked in a broad sense, and not a literal representation.

Yes, it was definitely an inexact explanation of how it would work.

But at least we know now, that randomly Accelerating cannot simply reveal any other Burst Linker who happens to be in your general location. Not unless you happen to challenge someone in your line-of-sight and notice that they're the one person around you who DOESN'T disappear.

Those are significantly longer odds.

Ah, for Niko's part, I checked again and she actually did explain it in Episode 9 (7:50~9:00): she waited right outside the school gates and kept linking and checking the matching list as each person exited the school. So the moment Haruyuki left the school and connected to the global network, she knew it was him.

Now THAT makes perfect sense. It also highlights how crazy a "spying technique" that method is. By her own admission, she spend at least 200 trying to find one (or four) students out of 300, and THAT requires her to find the right school.

Ash Roller is near enough to be in the same area as Silver Crow, but attends a completely different school. Someone looking for Crow might have been searching in the wrong place to begin with, and Niko explicitly looked at multiple schools.

Only Kings have that kind of BP to spare, because everyone else is trying to hold on to as many points as possible, for Leveling Up, for Acceleration, for Physical Burst, for buying items at the Shop, and ESPECIALLY for a safety buffer against a bad string of defeats.

It's quite possible that Noumi used a similar elimination technique to determine who was who. It takes a lot of Burst Points, and requires a lot of patience but it isn't so bad. He said that he heard rumours about Takumu's exceptional performance before arriving at the school, so I'm thinking he already guessed that he was a Burst Linker. Finding the rest was mostly a matter of tracing the friendships, I'm guessing and a bit of elimination per the method above. (He could do the elimination in reverse as people leave the school grounds. For example, he would know at his match with Takumu, all three of the linkers were there, whereas normally it's just the one -- Takumu.)

Sounds plausible, though I'll get back on this later.

I'm rewatching the series now (it's worth doing so all by itself), and I'll think about this when I get to that episode.

[Sunder the Gold]

YELLOW avatars! How the hell do they work?

If all "indirect attacks" are just special moves like Silly-Go-Round, then all basic attacks would necessarily fall under "close direct" or "long direct".

In which case, there wouldn't be a Yellow King/Legion, and Orange would be more prominent.


Aside from his killer moves, Yellow Radio fought hand-to-hand with Black Lotus with a scepter. Either his scepter or his skills allowed him to parry Lotus's Terminate Sword without it being cut to pieces.

Yet, he's not a Green avatar, so he's not (Close Combat + Indirect). His basic attacks should involve misdirection or circumspect attacks.


Sulphur Pot at least had Charcoal Smoke for a basic "attack". It doesn't really do any damage on its own, but doesn't require special points and it reduces visibility. So as soon as a fight begins, he can change the rules of the battlefield to favor himself more.

Presumably, he has a way to detect enemies within the smoke, which allows him to capitalize on his ability without it being a double-edged sword.

Also, I assume that his special move involves igniting the gundpowder smoke -- he just preferred to use Nidhogg's fire attack to do it, since that would have been much more powerful.


Orchid Oracle's "Paradigm Revolution" is an even more powerful Yellow ability than Charcoal Smoke, since it outright transforms the environment into one of Oracle's choosing.

You don't get much more "indirect combat" than that. But it's still more than likely a special move (or even an Incarnate Technique) than a basic move.


How does Yellow Radio affect the battlefield in smaller ways than Silly-Go-Round? Some kind of jamming ability which makes it harder to aim at him?

[Julio C]

Originally Posted by Dark Wing

I know this is a late response but you really don't have to worry about that because of the amount source material in the form of 12 novel volumes. This series should be good for 2 more seasons.

Well as long as the source material is actually good, then I won't mind a season 2.

SAO just ended, where is that season 2 announcement date?

[Randrak42]

Originally Posted by Julio C

Well as long as the source material is actually good, then I won't mind a season 2.

From what I hear it actually gets better after this.

[draxdeveloper]

Originally Posted by Julio C

Well as long as the source material is actually good, then I won't mind a season 2.

SAO just ended, where is that season 2 announcement date?

And speaking of that... Will be a season two in AW?

If yes what is the date?

[judasmartel]

Originally Posted by Sunder the Gold

YELLOW avatars! How the hell do they work?

If all "indirect attacks" are just special moves like Silly-Go-Round, then all basic attacks would necessarily fall under "close direct" or "long direct".

In which case, there wouldn't be a Yellow King/Legion, and Orange would be more prominent.


Aside from his killer moves, Yellow Radio fought hand-to-hand with Black Lotus with a scepter. Either his scepter or his skills allowed him to parry Lotus's Terminate Sword without it being cut to pieces.

Yet, he's not a Green avatar, so he's not (Close Combat + Indirect). His basic attacks should involve misdirection or circumspect attacks.


Sulphur Pot at least had Charcoal Smoke for a basic "attack". It doesn't really do any damage on its own, but doesn't require special points and it reduces visibility. So as soon as a fight begins, he can change the rules of the battlefield to favor himself more.

Presumably, he has a way to detect enemies within the smoke, which allows him to capitalize on his ability without it being a double-edged sword.

Also, I assume that his special move involves igniting the gundpowder smoke -- he just preferred to use Nidhogg's fire attack to do it, since that would have been much more powerful.


Orchid Oracle's "Paradigm Revolution" is an even more powerful Yellow ability than Charcoal Smoke, since it outright transforms the environment into one of Oracle's choosing.

You don't get much more "indirect combat" than that. But it's still more than likely a special move (or even an Incarnate Technique) than a basic move.


How does Yellow Radio affect the battlefield in smaller ways than Silly-Go-Round? Some kind of jamming ability which makes it harder to aim at him?

As you have mentioned, Yellow specializes in "indirect combat". So instead of beating your opponents straight up, you screw with them through status effects such as Confusion (Yellow Radio) and Blindness (Sulfur Pot), or through effectively making your allies invincible as long as you're in the game (Lime Bell).

[Sunder the Gold]

Originally Posted by judasmartel

As you have mentioned, Yellow specializes in "indirect combat". So instead of beating your opponents straight up, you screw with them through status effects such as Confusion (Yellow Radio) and Blindness (Sulfur Pot), or through effectively making your allies invincible as long as you're in the game (Lime Bell).

My consternation comes from the fact that Yellow Radio wasn't screwing with Black Lotus with confusion. He was battling her hand-to-hand, scepter to blade, in close-range combat. His basic attacks and defenses were "close-range direct".

An indirect defense would be a non-special ability that confuses, distorts or denies the opponent's senses, like Charcoal Smoke. Or perhaps the power to summon and control strong gusts of wind which assist one's dodging and throw off the opponent's balance and aim. Anything except "being basically really fast" or "parrying skillfully with a weapon."

Yellow is directly across from multi-range Purple. Just like Purple, Yellow is suspended between Red and Blue, favoring neither range. The Yellow King should be just as capable as the Purple King at fighting from a distance.

Indeed, his Silly-Go-Round has quite a range, and can affect multiple targets. But it's a special move, a desperation attack. Just that alone does not allow him to fight at range; even once his opponent is confused, if all Radio has is his scepter and body, he must engage at close range to deplete their HP even a little bit.

Sulphur Pot can fight at long or close range. He can wade into his Charcoal Smoke and attack his blinded opponents with his bare hands, or he can stay outside of the smoke, away from his target, and light a single small spark.

Someone else like Pot might release an opaque poisonous or corrosive gas to which they themselves are immune. They can then hide and retreat from the enemy until their HP is depleted, or sneak in and strike while they are blinded.

But even if Yellow Radio had a basic move to confuse others, how could that be used offensively without a direct attack? Confusion doesn't deplete HP, and even Silly-Go-Round was no so powerfully disorienting as to make his victims hit themselves.

It's possible that Yellow Radio has some form of basic ranged attack that he didn't feel would work against Black Lotus. Perhaps some form of throwing weapon, like grenades designed as something clownish.

It would be pathetic next to Red Rider's or Scarlet Rain's basic direct attacks, but then I doubt his scepter-work is a match for Blue Knight's swordplay.


But anyway, formulating this answer has given me more ideas.

In particular, the thought of a Yellowish avatar that controls wind. As a direct attack, very weak. As a way of indirectly controlling the battle through manipulation of the self, enemy and environment, an excellent Yellow skill.

Likewise, perhaps the power to control magnetism or gravity.