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View Poll Results: Critique of Episode 03 | |||
10 out of 10: Near Perfect... | 49 | 22.17% | |
9 out of 10: Excellent... | 39 | 17.65% | |
8 out of 10: Very Good... | 52 | 23.53% | |
7 out of 10: Good... | 46 | 20.81% | |
6 out of 10: Average... | 18 | 8.14% | |
5 out of 10: Below Average... | 6 | 2.71% | |
4 out of 10: Poor... | 6 | 2.71% | |
3 out of 10: Bad... | 0 | 0% | |
2 out of 10: Very Bad... | 0 | 0% | |
1 out of 10: Torturous... | 5 | 2.26% | |
Voters: 221. You may not vote on this poll |
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2012-07-24, 16:29 | Link #323 | |
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2012-07-24, 17:13 | Link #325 |
Six Shooter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: USA
Age: 43
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Let me first say that I'm an anime-only viewer. This series has potential, but I think it's been a mistake to lead off with these three episodes. First, they didn't do a great job at world-building. If I wasn't familiar with the mechanics of an MMORPG, I think a lot of what was going on would be confusing to me.
Second, their repetitive structure and disconnectedness from one another really didn't a good job of developing Kirito as a character. Really, all you get from these three episodes is that Kirito is a good guy, but a loner. Some might argue that you also see Kirito bear the pain of losing friends, but that applies to every character in SAO who remains alive, so its not really Kirito-specific. In fact, since he is a loner, he's probably lost fewer friends than most other SAO players. As to the repetitive structure, the first three episodes have basically gone like this for Kirito: In episode 1, Kirito befriends Klein, declines to join his guild, and walks off into the distance alone. In episode 2, Kirito befriends Asuna, belatedly tries to warn Diabel of the boss' threat, watches Diabel die, separates himself from the group by calling himself a beater, and walks off into the distance alone. In episode 3, Kirito befriends the Black Cats, belatedly warns them of the dungeon trap, watches them all die, fails in his attempt to resurrect Sachi, and he walks off into the distance alone. In fact, episodes 2 and 3 essentially share the same plot structure! The second problem is that these episodes have given us a bad sense of the passage of time and thus a poor sense of how Kirito has developed. By the end of episode 3, Kirito has been in-game for almost 14 months. It sure doesn't feel like that. Episode 1 took place over a day. Episode 2 starts almost a month later, and I think takes place over 2 days. Then Episode 3 starts 4 months later, Kirito is with the Black Cats for 2 months(?), then it skips ahead 6 months to his battle with Nicholas. This constant "speeding up" and "slowing down" of the passage of time makes it hard for the viewer to appreciate Kirito's development (and the strength of his bonds with those around him). As presented in the anime, Kirito spent more on-screen time talking to Diabel than he did to any of the Black Cats, save Sachi, so their deaths don't really have the impact on the viewer that they should, and the viewer doesn't really have a feel for how much Kirito's time and experiences in-game have affected him. I really think this series would have been better off, like the LN, beginning in media res and sprinkling in these side stories throughout the narrative arc to better flesh out the reasons why Kirito is the way he is. At the very least, Episode 3 should have been moved later in the series, since it's basically a repeat of Episode 2. On the upside, if we are actually getting into the "main" story, these episodes might be soon forgotten. |
2012-07-24, 20:47 | Link #327 |
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: the Netherlands
Age: 38
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I can understand the points a lot of people make. I still manage to enjoy the series so far however, because it seems to have the right vibe that reminds me of my World of Warcraft days (damn them). The event based world boss was a nice touch in that regard.
Sachi & co probably could have used a bit more screentime, but I think they still served their purpose decently (make Kirito suffer and emphasize the real danger of the game).
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2012-07-24, 22:09 | Link #328 | |
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You're also right about Kirito having a poor sense of development, but I think this is inevitable. The actual characterization of Kirito in the novel's main storyline was set when he was already at floor 74th, and the past few chapters were adapted from later side-stories where the novel readers had already had a sense of what kind of character Kirito was. However, as the anime's episodes are arranged chronologically, he comes out as a sort of hollow character, for now. I would have liked the anime to follow other side stories that were written by the author, covering from the first floor up to floor 9th, but since those materials were not officially published by Dengeki Bunko, it seemed that the anime studio doesn't want to make them, or maybe they can't since they didn't have the rights. |
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2012-07-24, 22:31 | Link #329 | |
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Age: 41
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2012-07-24, 23:30 | Link #330 | |
Six Shooter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: USA
Age: 43
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Maybe the LN short story gives a different impression. |
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2012-07-25, 00:26 | Link #332 | |
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
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2012-07-25, 04:09 | Link #334 | |
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Join Date: May 2007
Age: 38
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2012-07-25, 04:46 | Link #335 | ||
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But whatever, don't reply to me. We're going off topic |
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2012-07-25, 04:59 | Link #336 | |
Staring into your soul.
Join Date: Oct 2010
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2012-07-25, 10:42 | Link #338 | |
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Age: 41
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2012-07-25, 13:31 | Link #339 | |
Anime Watcher
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Elsewhere
Age: 35
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What happened here was kind of a mix between overconfidence & fear of being outed as a Beater. Kirito probably knew that trap existed in that dungeon (as he'd probably already been through there solo) and exactly what would happen if it were tripped, yet he said nothing. Granted he started to warn them once he saw what was about to happen but by then it was too late. (I'd also like to mention how very unGenre Savvy that guy was for opening a lone chest in an empty room.) Kirito probably thought he'd be able to handle any situation that occured. That was his overconfidence showing. Had he decided to warn them beforehand about the traps in the dungeon it would haved raised a few red flags among the guild as to how he had knowledge about some place he'd never been to, thus outing him as the hated "Beater." Though being the loner that he is, he probably didnt think of a good excuse to cover-up that, such as he heard rumors and what not about the dungeon. |
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2012-07-25, 14:51 | Link #340 |
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Age: 41
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I don't think he knew about that trap. When they ran into it, he acted surprised, like "there's a hidden door here?" But he had probably run into similar traps and guessed at what could result (as you say, it's a matter of being genre-savvy; this is the oldest trick in the book as far as that goes). By the time he realized it, it was too late. The way you phrased it makes it seem like he led them right into a trap, but I think that's a bit too much. Later on in the episode, though, he does say that he thinks he and his own arrogance (shown by him concealing his level) is what caused their deaths. So I agree with your overall point, even if I don't think Kirito actually knew about that particular trap (or at least didn't remember it until it was too late).
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