[Triple_R]

Spoiler for SAO Discussion, O.T.:

What I meant by that is that SAO explores the VR MMO world as a world that people truly live in. As in, 24/7.

Dot Hack did kind of explore that, but only with one specific character, IIRC (and it gave that character a sort of amnesia to do it).

With SAO, I feel that the show is seriously posing the question of whether or not a VR MMO world could truly be a substitute for the real world, and it explores that in a bunch of little ways (buying houses, getting married in-game, eating food in the game that actually tastes like real food, etc...).

Anyway, I think that Reckoner's point is that over time fans of any particular entertainment medium will get used to its distinctive strengths, weaknesses, tropes, and most common-style of stories. For a lot of people, this makes them more tolerant of certain weaknesses, but it also means it takes more to truly impress them.

But personally, I found Tari Tari different enough for reasons that I've already elaborated on in this thread, so I don't really feel a need to repeat myself there.

I will say, though, that "Slice of High School Life" anime has really been explored as much as it possibly can be. For this "genre" of anime to stand out going forward, it's going to have to get incredibly creative, imo.