Accel World - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

[Archon_Wing]

It was the episode where Haru loses to NOMMMIIIII and all his confidence vanished. In context, it makes sense, because Haru's ego is fragile and isn't going to really be able to take a bump and without Kuroyukihime to guide him, it got worse. This is one of the first cases where he has had to handle the situation completely on his own, and if he tried to get Kuroyukihime on it then he'd just seem like he's always dependent. While him trying to bring it all itself is understandable, at the time while watching it does seem like he's making it a lot worse for his friends through inaction, and as later we'd have it, it did cause a lot of trouble because the plot demanded.

It did not help because the Nomi part became quite a tumor, and as per what I've seen of Kawahara (SAO too though I think Accel World is way better.), subtlety isn't his strong suit, and especially not with antagonists. So we'd get a shallow antagonist with little payoff, and we ended up... with precisely that. Nomi gets about 5 minutes of elaboration.

Regardless, I think while the show does overemphasize Haru's pathetic nature, it does get overblown as there is a very slow and gradual development filled with pitfalls. I guess if people aren't willing to go through the peaks and valleys of person's experience, then it can be rough because Accel World can be quite a roller coaster at times.

In any other case, while not exactly award winning material, I found this to be a very well made series and it made good use of its time. Well, there's a few fillerish fanservice moments like with Kuroyukihime's friend, but it made sure to note something of value happened every episode with the really only complaints being Nomi being too dominant in the picture, and the overall lack of subtlety. Accel World overcomes this by being loud and colorful, with characaters such as Sky Raker having enormous presence despite the lack of screen time and one of the main interests of the show is the huge variety of cast members-- it kinda reminds me of a more intelligible Shakugan no Shana. The music is of course top notch as per Sunrise, we don't have that kind of loud techno/orchestral/wailing noise that passes off as an OST these days, but actual sound. It's a pretty clear 8/10 for yours truly.

[Ophis]

I'm not too fond of VRMMO anime to begin with, but I did watch the entire show. So here I go:

The MC is utterly useless and annoying. The guy was crying from the start to the end of the anime. I just can't stand this guy. I hate useless and spineless people, whom the only thing they can do is lament and cry over their uselessness.

I have a few FAT friends and most of them are respectable people who have at least one good point about them, and they do have girlfriends and wives. So I don't have a problem with the MC being fat, but I really can't come to understand how could a girl be even remotely attracted to Haru, much less 2. He's LAME to the core of his soul. He's so pathetic that it's actually hard to even feel for him.

Music: 9/10
VA: 9/10
Plot: 7/10 => was actually fairly interesting despite the VRMMO setting.
Characters: -10/10 => only likable character was Kuroyuki, only.
Now for my overall impression of this anime: 3.75/10.

The anime itself was fairly good, but the MC just killed the show for me. I lost all drive to even think about reading the LN or watching a possible 2nd season.

Originally Posted by Miraluka

Some people tend to hate what they're deep inside.

I think it's rather the opposite. Some people tend to hate what they will never be able to become.

Because if we go by your logic, then we would have a lot of Gary Stu in our society, and the World would be a better place.

You see, we can't even have a smart MC that you can already see people bashing and screaming Gary Stu Gary Stu, all over the place.
Heck, there's people who call Kirito a Gary Stu. YES KIRITO, that emotional wreck that functions purely on Deus Ex Machina. Let's change his name to Gary Kirito Stu, since that always there's a Gary Stu discussion, Kirito's name always pops up.

PS: I don't like Kirito either. But, at the very least, he's much better than Haru. The only other MCs that managed to annoy me as much as Haru were: Makoto(School Days) and Shinji(Evangellion).

[Archon_Wing]

Kuroyukihime liking Haru I feel is pretty obvious. Her whole perspective in life is centered around the game itself, and the way she views reality is through that lens of the game because life outside the world is superficial, and well, boring. What she sees in that fat balloon isn't the fat balloon we see, but Silver Crow, and the potential for growth. If one would remember the last miniarc with Megumi, we can see how she tries to separate the physical world from the game world. And ultimately, love doesn't run on a checklist.

And I would disagree that Haru was useless anyways. While he was pretty damned annoying in parts, truth is that he was the one who worked on his own to get his wings back and beat Noumi-dude. Sure he needed help, but that's the point of growth and development. In the end, the point was to prove that he could beat him on his own, and everyone else was serving as a guiding hand to at least prove that he was capable of standing on his own.

I mean, does the story overemphasize his negative points? Yep. I have no idea why they drew him like that; yes, I get he's no bishie, but South Park'ing it isn't really helpful. Was the delivery hamfisted, and was there no nuance to the situation? Sure, the conflict in the 2nd half often relied on human stupidity and inconvenience a lot, plus SAO/AW's tendency to just make up new rules whenever doesn't help. Still, the story of the anime has a pretty clear narrative, and while I think it could have done it better in places, I think it's a bit more credible than some would claim. Overall, I gotta say the Kawahara duo has some really questionable ways of touching its characters, but it does sometimes work better than anticipated.

[relentlessflame]

I agree with Archon_Wing's take on Haruyuki, what Kuroyukihime saw in him, and the show in general. The thing about Kuroyukihime is that she's this beautiful perfect-seeming girl who actually cares not one iota about the real world in the slightest. All the other boys around her would simply bore her to tears because they have no real potential. They could only hold her back. It'd actually be completely out of character for her to judge someone by their physical appearance. She sees in Haru what he couldn't see in himself. It's no surprise that the people who are close to Haru are those who know his "inner self" the most. And really, the whole show is fundamentally about Haruyuki's struggle with his self-image; how his ability to believe in himself is supported by the people around him who believe in him.

For all the show's lack of subtlety in its portrayal, I thought the message itself is pretty clearly delivered over the course of the story. And for all the struggles, I thought the pay-off of seeing them overcome felt worth it. I felt like all the main characters had their own clear identities and goals and were evolving over the course of the story, which kept things interesting. (And, in seeing the new season of SAO, I feel like I can see the development of the author that led him to this improved storytelling, even if he still has his signature quirks.)

[Redoxide]

I somewhat disagree with your takes on Haru and Kuro. A large part of Kuroyukihime's life is the game there is no denying that, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't care for the real world, she is the student council president, she has commitments outside of the game world that she doesn't push aside because of the game. She even says in one of the earlier episodes to Haru that is was important to separate the game world from the real world, or something along those lines I would have to rewatch to remember.

I believe her interest in Haru is all about the fact he is a true gamer. No one else at that school has the same passion for video games like she does, Haru is the only one there to ever share her passion and she sees this when she notices him in the first episode and goes to see his score on whatever game he was playing.

What I think she sees in him is a kindred spirit and a good person. Nothing to do with Brain Burst.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Redoxide

I somewhat disagree with your takes on Haru and Kuro. A large part of Kuroyukihime's life is the game there is no denying that, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't care for the real world, she is the student council president, she has commitments outside of the game world that she doesn't push aside because of the game. She even says in one of the earlier episodes to Haru that is was important to separate the game world from the real world, or something along those lines I would have to rewatch to remember.

How much of this is just keeping up appearances though? The show is pretty careful to de-emphasize this part of her life, even though it's something she also does. The show also implies that we're getting to see her on a much deeper and more personal level than the rest of her peers around her, and we never really hear her worry much about school, student council, or anything like that, except as it relates to the game. I don't think it's that she's hiding that part of herself from Haruyuki at all, as she seems far too close to him to shut him out of anything in her life. So I think it's pretty fair to argue that her true passion lies in Brain Burst and the virtual world. She seems calculated enough to do those real world things only because it has some perceived advantage (i.e. gives her access to information that others won't have, etc.); this actually does come up during the show.

Originally Posted by Redoxide

I believe her interest in Haru is all about the fact he is a true gamer. No one else at that school has the same passion for video games like she does, Haru is the only one there to ever share her passion and she sees this when she notices him in the first episode and goes to see his score on whatever game he was playing.

What I think she sees in him is a kindred spirit and a good person. Nothing to do with Brain Burst.

I don't think she's interested in him because of what he can do in Brain Burst exactly, but she sees Brain Burst as something that can bring out his true potential. I think it's recognizing that inner potential that attracted her to him. And, to be honest, I do also think there was some self-interest in it as well -- recognizing that great potential, I think she wanted such an ally on her team for what she was about to do.

This sort of goes back to what I said above in that I think the show pitches Kuroyukihime as someone who does live in reality, sure, but whose true existence is really defined by Brain Burst. Considering the way time accelerates in that world, it has really been the defining focus of her life for a very long time, much more so than any real-life obligations (which probably seem fleeting in comparison). So I'm not sure it's possible to take Brain Burst out of the equation entirely.

[bsprime13]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

I don't think she's interested in him because of what he can do in Brain Burst exactly, but she sees Brain Burst as something that can bring out his true potential. I think it's recognizing that inner potential that attracted her to him. And, to be honest, I do also think there was some self-interest in it as well -- recognizing that great potential, I think she wanted such an ally on her team for what she was about to do......

.....So I'm not sure it's possible to take Brain Burst out of the equation entirely.

If i remember correctly, once in the anime, Kuroyukihime told Haru that even if one or both of them will lose BrainBurst, nothing will change their relationship.
If that is true then BB has nothing to do with her attraction for him.
In the anime, KYH also says that "she was watching Haru for a long time" and that "many boys confessed to her but she never accepted them because they would bore her...", she said that "Haru is her first love". I think that she's interested in him because he's a gamer in general, a true gamer like her.

[Archon_Wing]

Relentlessflame, I think you have made some very good posts on this series, and I agree with the majority.

Originally Posted by bsprime13

If i remember correctly, once in the anime, Kuroyukihime told Haru that even if one or both of them will lose BrainBurst, nothing will change their relationship.
If that is true then BB has nothing to do with her attraction for him.
In the anime, KYH also says that "she was watching Haru for a long time" and that "many boys confessed to her but she never accepted them because they would bore her...", she said that "Haru is her first love". I think that she's interested in him because he's a gamer in general, a true gamer like her.

I wouldn't say that necessarily because the connection was established by that point. It's kinda like through it she recognized his potential.

Could they have done it with some other game, sure, but it's really hard to say. The possibilities are endless, but life only plays out one way (unless we're in one of those multiple reality stories) But attraction has to initiate from somewhere, and it has evolved; hence character development. And Haru needed something to express his potential, I mean clearly, not his handsomeness.