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Originally Posted by papermario13689
But half-assed joking aside, I'd honestly like to hear what you thought was interesting in that scene. Perhaps I can walk away from it with...anything.
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Uh, well, that was exactly what the rest of my post did, so...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oroboro
Some people look at her situation and think that while unfortunate, it's something pretty much anyone would be unable to escape from, that Asuna is putting on an incredibly brave face for someone in her situation, and while that Sugou's a tad over the top, scumbags like him are all too common in real life as well.
Others look at it and only see Kuwahara pulling all the strings, because the author wrote those characters, put them in those situations, and controls whether or not Asuna escapes or gets molested or whatever.
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I think there's a middle ground between these two extremes (that I strive, perhaps fail, to get at), which is: what is the underlying point the author is trying to get at by depicting this element? This element doesn't exist randomly nor in isolation; it's fundamentally connected to all the rest of the messages in this story about Asuna's identity, those who seek to abuse/manipulate her, and why humans are more than just dolls to be toyed with and experimented upon. These are elements that the author of the story has placed there deliberately as he tries to convey the overall message. (The parallel between scientists who find nothing wrong with manipulating human brains in secret, and who would be willing to sexually assault a girl in the game world are obviously there on purpose, and connect to previous scenes.) So we have to ask ourselves: what does this scene tell us about the scientists? What does it tell us about Asuna? What does it tell us about Sugou? What is the theme being developed here? To answer these we have to listen to the dialogue carefully, place it in context, and understand what's happening beyond just "tentacles!" I reject the argument that this is supposed to be just "lol fanservice", and there's more to the scene than being just a simple plot device to bring her back to the cage. I'm not trying to say that it's totally "deep" either... but it's at some point in the middle.
In other words, what matters most (to me anyway) isn't "what happened", it's "why" (or "what does it mean"/"how is it connected"). Too often the answer you get is just "Because the author." (period). Well okay...
Edit: To be clear, I have no problem with people who dislike the scene, or who find it to be not necessary to communicate the author's intent (as long as they've given at least a bit of real thought as to what the author's intent might have been). The author is certainly not infallible or beyond making decisions we might find questionable. But I personally do try to place everything in context of the big picture. Again, that's just my own personal philosophy.