Sword Art Online - Episode 4 Discussion / Poll

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

One thing I didn't catch is the explanation on how he trained Battle Healing anyway. One can speculate that he was deliberately taking hits from weak hits from monsters somewhere to grind the skill level.

I believe it's gotten by taking large amounts of damage.

Yes, that's possible. However, while that'd much safer, it'd also take much longer, and that doesn't seem like something Kirito would happy with, seeing as he fights on the front lines.

[Anh_Minh]

[mod edit: removed reference to now-deleted post]

Still, for a character voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi, Rosalia went down like a chump. Wonder what happened to her afterwards...[/QUOTE]

Spoiler for The Black Swordsman sidestory:

Kirito threw her into a teleport corridor leading to a prison managed by a large guild. (The other guys just walked in when he threatened to stab them with a poisoned dagger and throw their paralyzed bodies if they didn't.)

[Friday]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

I what found particular intriguing was how Kirito's defense works, I guess with "Battle Healing" he has no need to change his armor to one with a higher stats. Though, had there been a player with a similar level or higher it probably wouldn't be as a effective. It also raises questions about what sort meta-game SAO has among the top players.

my version.....

he probaly wearing a "High level Armour" but looks normal....
As for his "Battle Healing Skill - Auto Regenerate" most games will not activate until a certain level (eg lvl 70)

that's how I see it......

[Qilin]

The way this show has gone for the past few episodes illustrates the thing I hate most about anime adaptations.

Specifically, I'm talking about an adaptation's subservience to it source material. Sure, it can change a few things here and there, but it will ultimately be strangled by the need for "accuracy", and this goes double for highly anticipated adaptations like SAO. I mean, lt looks like the anime went ahead and retained the original's mainplot-sidestory dichotomy despite the whole thing appearing worse that way (of course, the chronological order of events is also to be blamed). At the very least, the transitions between the scenes felt very jarring. I sincerely hope that this adaptation will turn out into more than just the novel translated into pretty pictures.

All that said, I'd say that this episode was pretty well adapted thanks to this particular side story being much shorter than the last one. This episode is especially notable for introducing the concept of PK'ing in the SAO universe, though I guess it had to happen eventually.

It really is amazing how some people adopt certain thought patterns just to rationalize the death game that is SAO.

[Kafriel]

With this episode, Kirito proves that you can be a badass by doing nothing at all This week's introduced character was good, I hope we'll see more of her in the future.

Kirito sure has a lot of skill points...high detection, night vision, improved hearing, battle healing and his sword skills :O It kinda makes me wonder what the level limit is in SAO...LV78 is pretty damn high!

[Clarste]

I'm not sure you get skill points for leveling. It's one of those games where you have to do the action over and over again. Which is why it's possible to "retrain" a spear user into a tank like they tried for Sachi. If you just got points for leveling she'd be stuck (or maybe they'd have a way to respec more quickly).

Of course, this also makes "leveling up your listening skill" even more absurd. How many doors has that guy had to stand next to for how long before he could hear through them? That guy has my respect.

[Haak]

That was a very nice episode. I was kinda worried that Silica wouldn't get a happy ending so I'm glad I was able to breath a sigh of relief at us finally getting an episode that ends on a high note.

They really are blasting through Kirito's levelling though. It seems like he's pretty much a beast already. I hope he doesn't stick around with small fry for too long.

[Kafriel]

I hope he doesn't stick around with small fry for too long.

SInce he told Silica he has to go back to the front lines soon, I doubt he will...

It's one of those games where you have to do the action over and over again.

I see, so it's like FF2...god, how I hated skill grinding in that game! Using a skill 736 times to max it out

[Triple_R]

That was a very nice, cute, and heartwarming story. A lot smoother pacing than last week's episode, and for that reason alone it's a definitive improvement over last week's episode, imo.

Personally, I liked Silica a lot. I find her character concept interesting. Basically, a girl that would fit right in K-On or IdolMaster showing up in the dystopian MMO of SAO. It certainly makes for a compelling contrast, and gives Kirito a great opportunity to showcase many of his main strengths as a main protagonist. This episode, more than any other so far, sold me on Kirito being an excellent main protagonist. His interactions with Silica were simply adorable and "D'Awwww" worthy, and him just standing there, casually tanking all those attacks was truly badass.

On its own, I have no real complaint at all about Episode 4. It was a very emotionally satisfying episode with a nice little story to it. That being said...


I really dislike this adaptation approach that's being taken. Four episodes in, and the female lead has been absent from all but one of them. There's very little sense of continuity from episode to episode. I feel like I've watched 4 randomly chosen episodes (1, 3, 7, and 14, say) from a completed series, rather than the first 4 episodes of a new one.

While this was a very nice episode, I really hope that we finally get back to Asuna next week, and start getting into the actual overarching plot of the story.

I'm not watching SAO for slice of life goodness. I have Hyouka and Tari Tari for that. Two of the main reasons why I'm watching SAO is for its excellent premise, and for a plot that I hope can at least come close to measuring up to that premise.

But Kirito/Silica was great enough to warrant another week of patience from me.


8/10 for Episode 4.

[novalysis]

Silica for Saimoe next year? Do you think she'd make it in?

[Pocari_Sweat]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I really dislike this adaptation approach that's being taken. Four episodes in, and the female lead has been absent from all but one of them. There's very little sense of continuity from episode to episode. I feel like I've watched 4 randomly chosen episodes (1,3, 7, and 14, say) from a completed series, rather than the first 4 episodes of a new one.

While this was a very nice episode, I really hope that we finally get back to Asuna next week, and start getting into the actual overarching plot of the story.

Agreed. As a non-LN reader, I do question why the approach appears to be "get these side character arcs out of the way asap". I mean Kirito is lvl 78 already and it's only been 4 episodes. Episodic format are fine for some series, but SAO is not one of them and imo would benefit much more from continuity.

I'm not watching SAO for slice of life goodness. I have Hyouka and Tari Tari for that. Two of the main reasons why I'm watching SAO is for its excellent premise, and for a plot that I hope can at least come close to measuring up to that premise.

And Kokoro Connect, although this one has potential for substantial more drama than the other two though KC's execution is quite as sharp. I'm also watching SAO for its premise, and to actually give a damn about the characters when they are killed off unlike in episode 3 where they are introduced and then almost instantly killed off after drastic time skips . And maybe for the Asuna x Kirito romance that every LN fan has been raving about .

[TJP1600]

Good episode, didn't read the side story in the LN but it seemed ok in the Anime. Only downside so far is that these four episode as a whole seem to lack fluidity. Although you can't put all the blame on them because there is just too much content in the LNs, especially for one like SAO.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Clarste

Of course, this also makes "leveling up your listening skill" even more absurd. How many doors has that guy had to stand next to for how long before he could hear through them? That guy has my respect.

You think that's bad? Think about how one trains "Battle Healing".

[Belgaesh]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

You think that's bad? Think about how one trains "Battle Healing".

Probably for receiving quite an amount of damage in the front lines.

[larethian]

Originally Posted by novalysis

Silica for Saimoe next year? Do you think she'd make it in?

I say yes, since she has twin tails after all. Twin tails FTW!

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by novalysis

Silica for Saimoe next year? Do you think she'd make it in?

If she shows up again before the anime is over, yes.

Otherwise, tough call.

I know that I'd support her either way.

[ditn]

when he did the teleport something spinned on his boots
i guess it was an item or so on his boots?

[Clarste]

I think it was just the spurs on his boots reacting to his movement.

[Utsuro no Hako]

Originally Posted by novalysis

Silica for Saimoe next year? Do you think she'd make it in?

Reserve judgment until we've encountered all the girls from the OP.

[Marina2]

The speed of this ep. is good. While watching, I felt this ep. is very long compared to last ep.

Maybe because it didn't do many time skip.

Oh and I love Silica ^^ This is the first ep. out of 4 that I can call it "happy"