Sword Art Online II - Episode 24 (END) Discussion / Poll

[eiyuuou]

Originally Posted by Nvis

So Asuna gets the 11-hit combo, Kirito be afraid....

Well, he already gets KO'd by her single strike.

[nooneagain]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

True, but not important. It is actually explicitly stated that her advantage is not due to hardware. Yuuki is just plain better than Kirito.

yeah from what I have learned recently, yuuki has been diving for 24 hours in 3 years already...

[Phoenix6000]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

True, but not important. It is actually explicitly stated that her advantage is not due to hardware. Yuuki is just plain better than Kirito.

That she is, plus we have his own admission of inferiority from the Q&A. But of course the anime changed things up to make him lose by timeout, as a means to cushion the fact she's the better swordsman. Some non-LN readers and Kiri diehards will likely run with that for a while.

[nooneagain]

hmm well, even yuuki said that her sister is stronger than her.
but well for kirito fans, despite whatever's in kirito's Q & A, having yuuki dead and kirito alive, that means he still have the chance to improve and surpass anyone in ALO, so he got that going for him, which is nice.

[kache]

And here we go, this happens in real life, right now:
http://np.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comment...nd_who/cn0yzl9

Dem coincidences...

Originally Posted by Definitegj

It should be noted though that Yuuki is using medicuboid which has better specs than nervegear while Kirito is using amusphere which is weaker than nervegear.

Spoiler for Alicization:

Well, that won't be a problem in Alicization. I wonder how strong he'll be in there, since the world has the speed-up debuff on humans.

Originally Posted by DOmus

That season can even go for 48 ep since its longer than all the arcs that have appeared. A season is done with 4 books or 3 and a half, Underworld has 7 books until now and it just reached half of the original source

1 year of Kirito, every week!

[nooneagain]

Originally Posted by monster

I think it's weird, though, doing it from a character Q&A perspective. So while he may be right, he could also still be wrong.

hmm have you checked that Q&A yet? anyways, it's sad we won't see yuuki fight from now on. She would be a great help for the battles to come.

[monster]

Originally Posted by nooneagain

hmm have you checked that Q&A yet?

I've read what DragonKing0117 posted.

[nooneagain]

Originally Posted by monster

I've read what DragonKing0117 posted.

well yeah I guess about Q&A, what you said can be true.

[Triple_R]

It's rare that I give an anime episode a 10/10 rating, and rarer still that I do so for a final episode, but this one deserved it.

It hit all the right notes, handling everything with great deftness. It also managed to pull off exactly what I like to see in an anime finale - Characters showcasing hope for a wide-open future, but with all the major plots and subplots neatly tied up, and with a strong sense of satisfying conclusion to it, including a certain sense of the narrative going full circle to completion. SAO II's final episode managed all of this, and it did so very poignantly and effectively, while ensuring it never neglected any of its most important supporting cast characters. The Kayaba reveal was also a splendid way to have the full broader narrative go full circle.

In my opinion, SAO II's final episode should be held up as a gold standard for other anime show finales to emulate and try to measure up to.


And one thing I find very rewarding about SAO is the considerable growth shown by SAO's author through his work. SAO II's writing quality represents a considerable improvement over that seen in the weakest moments of Season 1, in my opinion. It certainly seems to me that the SAO author recognized his own writing weaknesses (such as making Kirito a bit too over-the-top) and put considerable effort into correcting them and improving as a writer. And so we end up with a picture perfect polished product throughout most of SAO II, and also definitely in this finale. I tip my hat, and clap my hands in applause, of a writer that clearly takes his chosen craft seriously, and has gone to considerable lengths at perfecting it to the best of his ability.

While I respect that LN readers would like to see more beloved SAO LNs adapted into anime, I must say that I as an anime-only viewer am now thoroughly satisfied with SAO the anime. This episode represents a pretty much perfect series conclusion, in my mind, and it would be nice to see SAO avoid falling into the sort of pitfalls that can easily come with endless continuations (such as overly convoluted plot-lines, for example).

But whether or not there is more SAO anime beyond this episode, I will remember this particular SAO episode very fondly. An exquisitely excellent end to one of the best anime shows of 2014. Kirito, Asuna, Yuuki, Sinon, Klein, and Death Gun - They all deserve to take a bow to an applauding audience, in my opinion.

[MgMaster]

It was such a significant improvement over the 1st season and let's not kid ourselves here, one of the main reasons because of that is none other than the fact that Kirito's OPness has been toned down and he even takes a backseat at times so other characters can shine. Obviously, that's mostly true in the final & probably the commonly agreed best arc, Mother's Rosario which could well label the series as Feels Art Online. It truly did great things for Asuna's character and makes me think that Kirito might just be more interesting as a supporting character that help's out every now & then than a main one.

The Calibur arc was undoubtedly the weakest but luckily it didn't last long.

As for GGO, I enjoyed it almost as much as Mother's Rosario tbh and might've enjoyed it even more if that cyberpunk virtual world was better explored. Death Gun is easily the best villain of the SAO series so far to me. The guy actually felt menacing and we often felt this through Kirito which,might I add, was also a good way to humanize him more and also made his cooperation with Sinon that much more enjoyable & interesting to watch. Sinon's PTSD was handled quite a bit better and Kirito, at the end of the way, was still Kirito but hey, it was a step in the right direction and comparing it to S1, I'm more than content.

I went into this season prepared for an entertaining trainwreck, now I'm going into the highly possible 3rd season expecting a genuinely good anime.

[zero7090]

Originally Posted by kache

1 year of Kirito, every week!

would be possible if the BD sale is like 3x the first season.

The 2nd season came short in BoB arc but redeemed itself with the mother rosaria. Let hope the sale do well and season will be air next year.

p/s: expected a cliff hanger but well it is nice on it own.

[DOmus]

TBH, if they have made the intro for UW just after the ending of Mother Rosario, many hard fans would have committed suicide, so its good and bad at the same time

[relentlessflame]

Can I just remind people that we have a Season Impression Thread? Please post your overall impressions of the season there, and just keep this thread for impressions of the episode itself.

And that aside, no novel spoilers allowed either place. If you want to speculate about future anime content from a novel perspective, go here.


That aside, if you'll allow me to get in my rant again...

Originally Posted by MgMaster

Obviously, that's mostly true in the final & probably the commonly agreed best arc, Mother's Rosario which could well label the series as Feels Art Online.

The thing that makes most sad is that this stupid "feels" meme has caught on... ;_;

Emotive writing did not begin with this story arc, and we didn't need to invent a non-word to describe it! *rant rant rant* /storms off into the distance, shaking his fist

[Metaneo]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

That aside, if you'll allow me to get in my rant again...



The thing that makes most sad is that this stupid "feels" meme has caught on... ;_;

Emotive writing did not begin with this story arc, and we didn't need to invent a non-word to describe it! *rant rant rant* /storms off into the distance, shaking his fist

Kinda agree that turning emotional matters into a meme kinda cheapens everything, and it makes you look more sarcastic than genuine.

[Psyco Diver]

Dem feels, I didn't get bothered last episode, but I felt them this episode, but I did feel that they went a little over the top for my taste. This arc lived up to its hype and I will say as a whole the 2nd season was pretty good

I wonder about Kayaba often while watching SAO, at the end of the ALO arc he comes back to give Kirito GM access to ALO and words of encouragement, is he dead?

[Sinestra]

Just finished it and man the feels seriously the feels I'm super depressed

[Spectacular_Insanity]

To be honest, having read the light novels, I didn't expect to cry during this episode since I already knew the outcome. But man, THOSE FEELS. I can't help it. I did cry like a giant man-baby.

[Haak]

I have to say, I'm actually impressed with this episode for achieving what I never expected: It actually good. The way it treated Yuuki's departure was genuinely touching and dignified. It was particularly well done in the way it emphasised how Yuuki's death was not just relevant to the resident protagonist, but also to the other characters and even to those who only knew of her fame.

Ofcourse, a Sword Art Online episode is not without its flaws. Yuuki physically weaking in the virtual reality without her connection weakening felt a little unconvincing but the scene still managed to succeed in spite of it. And the show simply can't go without glorifying their Gary Stu one last time so they give him the moral victory in a rematch against Yuuki. But that was just a small moment so it obviously wasn't that big of a deal.

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

The thing that makes most sad is that this stupid "feels" meme has caught on... ;_;

Dem feelz doe.

*runs away*

[nooneagain]

Wait about her send off, did asuna inform other players that yuuki's about to die? I missed something probably

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Metaneo

Kinda agree that turning emotional matters into a meme kinda cheapens everything, and it makes you look more sarcastic than genuine.

Yeah, that's how I feel. I have a really hard time believing the sincerity of the comment when people use a meme to describe their feelings. It makes me think they're just joking around and that they didn't really take the content or their emotions seriously. I seriously was shedding tears during this episode, and seeing people like "lolz them feelz, man!" is just... *sigh*

At least when it's actually used as a joke, it's easy enough to spot.

Originally Posted by Haak

Dem feelz doe.

*runs away*

*shakes fist*