Accel World - Episode 18 Discussion / Poll

[novalysis]

I haven't read the original LN SS behind this and likely next episode, but I think Kawahara's improvement in writing skills really shows here - if this is Volume 10, and the earlier materials were Volume 1, I think the depth and substance of this episode reflects that Kawahara's writing skills by the time he wrote this story was far better than in the first volumes, which is the bulk of what Accel World animated so far.

Anyway, I think the adapters made a smart choice. They knew Five straight Episodes of Noumi Rage would probably see audiences dropping this show, and BD sales decline, so they decided to insert in a more restful, less rage inducing, and more "competent" interlude in between.

This episode is as good for the same reason why Episode 16 is good. Seriously, if AW had been told from KYH perspective, I think it would have been received way better. The only big risk is that some people will charge that KYH is a Sue. That, by the way, I disagree.

[Dr. Casey]

Originally Posted by Mentar

Oh, naturally I'm not swayed by her exterior. No, sir, not at all... *whistles innocently*

I thought she was especially pretty towards the end, when she was in that darkened room with Ruka and Mana; her eyes were more lively and emotional somehow. Of course, KYH won't even be born until I'm 45, and by April 2047 you'll probably be too old to get it up anymore. Sad, sad times for the both of us.

Originally Posted by novalysis

I haven't read the original LN SS behind this and likely next episode, but I think Kawahara's improvement in writing skills really shows here - if this is Volume 10, and the earlier materials were Volume 1, I think the depth and substance of this episode reflects that Kawahara's writing skills by the time he wrote this story was far better than in the first volumes, which is the bulk of what Accel World animated so far.

Hmm... now that I think about it, the early stories are indeed more simplistic in their writing, though I think some of the current 'older' material (Such as the interaction with Sky Raker) is on par with what's presented here. Good eye.

Originally Posted by novalysis

Anyway, I think the adapters made a smart choice. They knew Five straight Episodes of Noumi Rage would probably see audiences dropping this show, and BD sales decline, so they decided to insert in a more restful, less rage inducing, and more "competent" interlude in between.

I can certainly understand disliking and resenting Noumi, but I think it would be silly for Blu-Ray sales to decline simply because there's an effective villain who causes unpleasant things to happen. :/ Japan should pass a new law mandating than anime DVDs come with a free container of valium, because obviously anime fans need to chill out.

Originally Posted by novalysis

The only big risk is that some people will charge that KYH is a Sue. That, by the way, I disagree.

Yep, same here. KYH is a very cool and competent person, but hey, there is such a thing as people that have a pretty face and an attractive personality. The 'Mary Sue' label seems to be given to anyone that's talented or competent in any way, at least in some online circles (I don't think it's at all a problem on AnimeSuki).

[steven3242]

just saw the episode, big change of pace here, for a while i forgot about the whole dusk taker drama. feels good to have some relaxing episode for a while.

i wonder who is cricin (the red BL dude) dont tell me he is the guy who kyh chop his head off? if it true then i wonder how he manage to go back as BL

next episode look like a "mahou soujou" fight looking at the all "feminim" avatar BL (that and cricin goes super robot lol)

[Dr. Casey]

Oh, and has it ever been mentioned before that KYH became a Burst Linker so long ago? I hope we get her backstory sometime to see how she developed into the person she became... in 2040 she would have only been seven or eight years old, obviously she wouldn't be her supremely mature, confident self back then.

[orpheus2]

Good episode.

We learned one thing about KYH. She has problems balancing her Real Life and her AW Life. So, Hime was somewhat emotionally distant from her real life until Megumi came into the picture. Although, there is something more to Megumi than meets the eye. I guess we will find out next episode judging from the preview.

Side Note: Why did the developer include alcohol into the game? Then again, there was food and the fact that many burst linkers are a lot older mentally. This game really tries to simulate the real world to a point it may actually qualify as an alternate reality.

[novalysis]

Originally Posted by Dr. Casey

Hmm... now that I think about it, the early stories are indeed more simplistic in their writing, though I think some of the current 'older' material (Such as the interaction with Sky Raker) is on par with what's presented here. Good eye.

Oh, yes I agree that Sky Raker's story is very strong - in-fact, Sky Raker's episode, IMO is Accel World's most substantial, and well written episode.

I have read the SAO LNs though, and I think it is safe to say that Kawahara isn't the kind of writer that pumps up one good work, and subsequently writes rubbish, but rather the kind of writer you actually see improve with every volume he releases.

If the AW English translations continue, or AW get's a second season, I think we'd see the continued trend of improved writing.

After all, arguably, before Sky Raker, I'd have regarded Nico's arc as the most competent part of Accel World.

I can certainly understand disliking and resenting Noumi, but I think it would be silly for Blu-Ray sales to decline simply because there's an effective villain who causes unpleasant things to happen. :/ Japan should pass a new law mandating than anime DVDs come with a free container of valium, because obviously anime fans need to chill out.

On second thoughts, at this stage, I don't think the Noumi arc would have been enough to get those who stuck with Accel World so far to drop the show. Still, I think it's a smart story-telling move to break up the Noumi Arc, since I get the impression (and in-fact felt, over the past three episodes of Noumi-fag) that it's a very hard arc to take.

Yep, same here. KYH is a very cool and competent person, but hey, there is such a thing as people that have a pretty face and an attractive personality. The 'Mary Sue' label seems to be given to anyone that's talented or competent in any way, at least in some online circles (I don't think it's at all a problem on AnimeSuki).

When hater see a wimp (ie: Haruyuki), they call him a disgrace.

If Haruyuki was of normal weight and stature, they'd call him a generic bland male protagonist.

When there's someone approaching competency (KYH), the haters break out their charges of Sue.

It's actually, IMO a problem in certain Animesuki threads - it depends on the show, but I'd argue that among much of the anime English speaking fandom, any whiff of harem immediately damns the show in their eyes.

[Triple_R]

Taken on its own, this was an excellent setup episode. And I have to admit that I loved the yuri vibes between KYH and Megumi.

The two new girls are a lot of fun too, and I like how this arc is fleshing out KYH while highlighting some of her personal backstory and connections.

But the timing for this all is a bit weird, imo. To stick in a KYH-focused 2-Parter (or longer) right after the huge cliffhanger of Episode 17... anime companies make some odd adaptation choices sometimes.

8/10 For Episode 18.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Dr. Casey

I can certainly understand disliking and resenting Noumi, but I think it would be silly for Blu-Ray sales to decline simply because there's an effective villain who causes unpleasant things to happen. :/ Japan should pass a new law mandating than anime DVDs come with a free container of valium, because obviously anime fans need to chill out.

I think it's all but an established fact by now that many anime fans do in fact have trouble with handling adversity and unpleasant situations. At least on a prolonged scale.

Also I'm pretty sure that the reason this side story is here is because it takes place concurrently with about this time in the arc. SAO is doing similar things with how it's handling it's episode layout although in all honesty it feels a little more clunky there.

[PonSquared]

Ah, side story... Well, after some creative fast forwarding, we got to the action. It was nice to see Kuro laughably destroy some newbies. That was a fun fight. I am also looking forward to some more giant robot action with Cricin in the picture as well as the "yellow" boss going up against the Black Queen in a fight that will show us why she is level 9+.

Also worthy of note, we are getting close to Megumi turning into Magical Girl Pretty Sammy. I, for one, can't wait. (I so want a model of her BL form....!)

I still give the episode a (5/10) for making me wait to see the next chapter of the story I really care about.

QUESTION: Is this series slated for a 2nd (3rd...) season? If this is going to end at 26 I am going to man cry till all my awesome leeks out.

[PonSquared]

Originally Posted by Awrya

How did those two manage become lv 4? In Okinawa there are currently only 3, how did they manage to get the points?

They got points from beating their master until they could Unlimited Burst then with their masters help they fought monsters for XP.

[Wandering_Youth]

I guess this is a new change in pace from all the rage inducing stuff from the previous episodes.

Boy, Kurohime is kinda on the flat side. I thought she would atleast some decent volume.

[KeithKurogane]

Originally Posted by Dr. Casey

I can certainly understand disliking and resenting Noumi, but I think it would be silly for Blu-Ray sales to decline simply because there's an effective villain who causes unpleasant things to happen. :/ Japan should pass a new law mandating than anime DVDs come with a free container of valium, because obviously anime fans need to chill out.

So... the villain killed the profit of their own show?
lol
*flees*

[orpheus2]

Originally Posted by Sagecat

QUESTION: Is this series slated for a 2nd (3rd...) season? If this is going to end at 26 I am going to man cry till all my awesome leeks out.

Maybe. The sales so far looks good almost comparable to other upper bracket popular series. It is really up to Sunrise if they want to make S2. S3, on the other hand, unlikely.

[Mentar]

Originally Posted by Wandering_Youth

Boy, Kurohime is kinda on the flat side. I thought she would atleast some decent volume.

She punched the lights out of Niko over it, remember?

Other than that, anime has completely ruined the scales for bust size comparisons. In real life, 15 years old KYH would be called "graceful, slim and balanced" with her figure. In balloon-inflated anime, people call it "flat". Absurd, if you ask me.

[Paradoxine]

Originally Posted by Mentar

She punched the lights out of Niko over it, remember?

Other than that, anime has completely ruined the scales for bust size comparisons. In real life, 15 years old KYH would be called "graceful, slim and balanced" with her figure. In balloon-inflated anime, people call it "flat". Absurd, if you ask me.

Yeah seriously am I the only one who thought that she was actually realistic? I'd honestly take her bust size over ridiculous bust's that make head's look comparatively small. Bigger is not necessarily better. It actually really pisses me off how many anime have been ruined by producers failing to understand this. It's ok for a couple characters, but when the entire female cast bar one or two (I'm looking at you, Horizon) have sentient cleavage, it detract's from the enjoyment, at least for me. I considered dropping it because of it in fact. I don't know if it should bother me so much but it does.

[ranchan13]

Originally Posted by Paradoxine

Yeah seriously am I the only one who thought that she was actually realistic? I'd honestly take her bust size over ridiculous bust's that make head's look comparatively small. Bigger is not necessarily better. It actually really pisses me off how many anime have been ruined by producers failing to understand this. It's ok for a couple characters, but when the entire female cast bar one or two (I'm looking at you, Horizon) have sentient cleavage, it detract's from the enjoyment, at least for me. I considered dropping it because of it in fact. I don't know if it should bother me so much but it does.

You might not want to watch Eiken then.

Anyways, I like that we've flipped away from the cliffhanger resolution for now. It let's me stew over it for a bit longer, and makes the hate bubble and boil into a seething mass that I can direct onto Noumi in the end.

[Wandering_Youth]

Originally Posted by Paradoxine

Yeah seriously am I the only one who thought that she was actually realistic? I'd honestly take her bust size over ridiculous bust's that make head's look comparatively small. Bigger is not necessarily better. It actually really pisses me off how many anime have been ruined by producers failing to understand this. It's ok for a couple characters, but when the entire female cast bar one or two (I'm looking at you, Horizon) have sentient cleavage, it detract's from the enjoyment, at least for me. I considered dropping it because of it in fact. I don't know if it should bother me so much but it does.

Well, I'm not saying they need to be F size and beyond because I find that unattractive too. B and C looks more natural while everything else just seems odd.

Originally Posted by Mentar

She punched the lights out of Niko over it, remember?

*facepalm* So that's what it was about, I thought it was something...dirtier.

[PonSquared]

I'd rather talk about robots ripping each other apart, high drama in high school, and the power of friendship - over the size of a characters...

[Shaggeh]

I enjoyed the side story but the timing of it right after a cliff hanger is going to drive many insane until it is over. But over all was interesting and well done 9/10.

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by orpheus2

Although, there is something more to Megumi than meets the eye. I guess we will find out next episode judging from the preview.

If you pay close attention to the opening sequence it's becomes obvious what that something is. Also look closely at the figures that show up behind Dusk Taker you've seen one of them in this very episode.