(L) Sword Art Online - Light Novel Discussion

[Awrya]

Originally Posted by Shadow1999

Hey, guys
im right in the middle of reading the 9th Volume and i'm a little bit confused about some elements. Dont mind spoiling some of the story which i am about to read since im too curious ^^

Spoiler for questions:

1. I take it that the diving into Underworld where he was 11 years old was before he met Shino and Asuna at the cafe?
2. How did Kirito end up in Underworld again with his memories until the point Johnny Black appeared?
3. Eugeo and anything in this world is AI right?
4. Why doesnt Eugeo have any "memories" of Kirito when he arrives at this place?

Thanks and greetings

This is just what I know, understood and could remember on the spot

Spoiler for reply:

1. I think it was a week or two when he took up the part time job, so yes the 11 year old Kirito in UW was before he met up with Shino&Asuna
2. He suffered some brain damage (due to a lack of oxygen) and was put into UW in an attempt to recover the damage he suffered by letting his fluctlight 'recover' (i.e. his soul)
3. Yes, they are AIs
4. This is just speculations, maybe the administrator 'reset' the AIs memories when Kirito's work time ended, as UW continues running even without Kirito in it. With Kirito in near death, they connected him to UW and didn't have time to add the memories for the AIs.
Another possibility is that they want to recover Kirito's fluctlight and if the AIs have memories of the 11 year old him, it might cause Kirito to doubt his own existence, which would be counter-productive.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Dann of Thursday

Thank you. Curious as to what else he might expand, though I haven't gotten to Alicization yet myself. If it's set to go for around volume 15 or so I've heard, wouldn't that make this the longest arc in the series?

Yeah, it's page number completely dwarfs those of the other arcs.

[tomtkp]

Originally Posted by Dann of Thursday

Thank you. Curious as to what else he might expand, though I haven't gotten to Alicization yet myself. If it's set to go for around volume 15 or so I've heard, wouldn't that make this the longest arc in the series?

Alicization was already confirmed to be the longest arc of the series even before the web novel got published into light novels. Its page number even exceeded the combined page numbers of the first three arcs.

Now with Volume 10 has more than 50% of new contents, I predict that Alicization can go as far to Volume 16.

[Shadow1999]

Thanks Awrya.
Just finished reading the 9th Volume and i must say the author is a genius and SOA is a masterpiece

[kyp275]

Originally Posted by Awrya

Spoiler for reply:

4. This is just speculations, maybe the administrator 'reset' the AIs memories when Kirito's work time ended, as UW continues running even without Kirito in it. With Kirito in near death, they connected him to UW and didn't have time to add the memories for the AIs.
Another possibility is that they want to recover Kirito's fluctlight and if the AIs have memories of the 11 year old him, it might cause Kirito to doubt his own existence, which would be counter-productive.

on this point...

It was noted that even though people's memories during the time they're connected to the soul translator can be blocked off, any changes to their fluctlight (soul) from their experiences during that time cannot be undone. This is why Kirito still had some vague notions about Alice during his talk with Asuna and Shino.

As for Eugeo, it's important to note that the AIs in Underworld is not really the type of digital software construct commonly seen in most other scifi stories. They're copies of human fluctlight, which makes them more akin to digitized human consciousness like those seen in Ghost in the Shell. This means that while the admins may be able to prevent Eugeo from accessing his memory of Kirito from their childhood days, they cannot erase or alter those experiences from Eugeo's own fluctlight.

[novalysis]

Well, I wonder whether Progressive will wind up rivaling Alicization in length.

It'll be ironic yet fitting if the first and last arcs of SAO are the longest.

Still, I'd suspect that it'd take several more years to get the full SAO story out, the entirety of Progressive to the whole of Alicization.

[Ghanw]

Hello guys, new to the fourm and pretty astonished i never discovered this sooner. I already read 1-5, and going through the illistrations to give me an idea what was going to happen, the cover of Vol. 10 is it Asuna and Kirito? (Asuna somehow looks different) Also is the this LN series already over or continuing cause it was originally on web? Another question ( i know it is a pretty stupid one and i dont want to search 80pages for what i am looking for even though i looked on Wiki) can someone give a Genral idea of what happens after Fairy dance? Thank you. I know i am a pain in the a&&. Sorry

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by kyp275

Eh? MR may have been shorter than the other arcs, but it's still very much an integral part of SAO. The SAO series has always been episodic in nature with a story that is tied together by a common theme - exploring the dynamics between its characters and virtual realities.

MR explored VR technology and its potential medical applications (which leads into Alicization very well I might add), not to mention it contained by far the largest chunk of character development for Asuna, as she is the main character this time around. I just can't see MR as something cooked up by the marketing department, especially when you consider the whole thing was already written before SAO was ever picked up to be published

I didn't mean that literally. I just meant that it's ultimately unrelated to the themes of Aincrad, and rather is more related to the themes of VR in general. The author is obviously interested in those themes in general (see: Accel World, Alicization). In that sense, I think it's pretty easy to imagine him starting a new series about it or something.

Basically, unlike both Fairy Dance and Phantom Bullet, MR isn't about the aftermath of Aincrad. At all. It's about a girl who likes to play VR video games and is under lots of pressure from her mother who doesn't understand how important it is to her, and that the friends she has in there are real friends, and that she's not just wasting her time, etc etc. And that girl happens to be Asuna. Throw in some drama about the medical uses of VR to emphasize the point that this can be more than just a game.

This is a good story that's worth reading, and I don't mean to dismiss that, but it's also completely unconnected from everything that came before it except for the use of VR. And Asuna's character. Except the parts of Asuna's character that are developed are the ones that have nothing to do with Aincrad. She is nominally a "heroine" in the story, but having her be the main character doesn't mean it's the same story. Perhaps a spin-off.

[kyp275]

Originally Posted by Ghanw

The cover of Vol. 10 is it Asuna and Kirito? (Asuna somehow looks different) Also is the this LN series already over or continuing cause it was originally on web?

No, it's Kirito and Soltirina, and the novel series is still continuing.

Originally Posted by Clarste

This is a good story that's worth reading, and I don't mean to dismiss that, but it's also completely unconnected from everything that came before it except for the use of VR. And Asuna's character. Except the parts of Asuna's character that are developed are the ones that have nothing to do with Aincrad. She is nominally a "heroine" in the story, but having her be the main character doesn't mean it's the same story. Perhaps a spin-off.

The focus of SAO shifted away from Aincrad since.. well, the end of vol.2, so I'd hardly use that as a qualifier. Fairy Dance, being the direct sequel and conclusion of Kirito and Asuna's story, has the strongest link to Aincrad, but GGO's link to Aincrad is rather tenuous at best.

You're equating the essence of the SAO series to Aincrad, when Aincrad is merely a small part of it. It's really apparent when you look at the series as a whole.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by kyp275

The focus of SAO shifted away from Aincrad since.. well, the end of vol.2, so I'd hardly use that as a qualifier. Fairy Dance, being the direct sequel and conclusion of Kirito and Asuna's story, has the strongest link to Aincrad, but GGO's link to Aincrad is rather tenuous at best.

You're equating the essence of the SAO series to Aincrad, when Aincrad is merely a small part of it. It's really apparent when you look at the series as a whole.

It hasn't taken place in Aincrad since volume 2, but the repercussions of it can be felt strongly up until the end of volume 6. FD obviously dealt with the theme of "Kirito is still mentally trapped in Aincrad" and Asuna was literally still trapped. GGO dealt with a serial killer stuck in the Aincrad mindset where they had real power over life and death, as well as Kirito's PTSD from the same events. Each of those stories was a direct result of the previous stories, and the fact that the characters had experienced being stuck in Aincrad was central to the story. They were sequels, in the normal sense of the term. Not necessary to understand the full story, but additional stories building off of the previous characters and circumstances.

By the time MR comes around though, Asuna is just an avid gamer. The fact that she was trapped in a death game is no longer central to her character or the plot. Alicization is the same.

[Dann of Thursday]

Originally Posted by Aphrah

Yeah, it's page number completely dwarfs those of the other arcs.

Originally Posted by tomtkp

Alicization was already confirmed to be the longest arc of the series even before the web novel got published into light novels. Its page number even exceeded the combined page numbers of the first three arcs.

Now with Volume 10 has more than 50% of new contents, I predict that Alicization can go as far to Volume 16.

Ha, that's quite a difference. I guess this was the grand finale then in a sense? I wonder if Progressive might come anywhere close to it, though probably not.

The additional material is filling in information during what was a time skip in the original web novel, correct?

And a question regarding the arc:

Spoiler for Alicization:

Kirito does make it out alright and get back to Asuna and the others, correct? Or do they leave it vague as to what the future may hold for them?

It doesn't bother me much to know in advance.

[novalysis]

Originally Posted by Clarste

It hasn't taken place in Aincrad since volume 2, but the repercussions of it can be felt strongly up until the end of volume 6. FD obviously dealt with the theme of "Kirito is still mentally trapped in Aincrad" and Asuna was literally still trapped. GGO dealt with a serial killer stuck in the Aincrad mindset where they had real power over life and death, as well as Kirito's PTSD from the same events. Each of those stories was a direct result of the previous stories, and the fact that the characters had experienced being stuck in Aincrad was central to the story. They were sequels, in the normal sense of the term. Not necessary to understand the full story, but additional stories building off of the previous characters and circumstances.

By the time MR comes around though, Asuna is just an avid gamer. The fact that she was trapped in a death game is no longer central to her character or the plot. Alicization is the same.

Disagreed. MR touches on Asuna's identity, something only hinted on in SAO, especially in the Side Stories. MR brings you back to Aincard, brings back the concept of the "Seeds", brings back that sense of mortality. MR is a sequel of a sequel - what happens after you leave one stage of life , and realize you enter another with new challenges and issues?

MR is every bit Kayaba's legacy, as the Aincrad was. Yes, Asuna moves beyond Aincrad. There's nothing wrong with what happens after you move on. MR is a post-story, or perhaps a bridge between the shadow of Aincrad, and Alicization.

From what I'm gathering you are arguing that MR misses the "trapped in Aincrad mentality." There's nothing wrong with that at all, and I still see MR as part of SAO- a what happens after, or perhaps a bridging incident between Aincrad and Alicization.

[Xellos-_^]

i was thinking, besides gaming what else could VR tech be use for. Mother rosario already touch on the medical field. With VR tech that advance you can:

1. Hold Online Orgies
2. Weight loss program - eat all you want online and only bread and water offline
3. drug use online. same mental affect but without the physical side effect. Cheaper and better then the real thing.
4. Hunting.

[Dann of Thursday]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

i was thinking, besides gaming what else could VR tech be use for. Mother rosario already touch on the medical field. With VR tech that advance you can:

1. Hold Online Orgies
2. Weight loss program - eat all you want online and only bread and water offline
3. drug use online. same mental affect but without the physical side effect. Cheaper and better then the real thing.
4. Hunting.

There's also the possibility of training real life skills and such, though that would benefit more from the time effects later on as you could do all the training with little time going by in real life. Though there are so many dangers to it as Alicization can attest.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Dann of Thursday

There's also the possibility of training real life skills and such, though that would benefit more from the time effects later on as you could do all the training with little time going by in real life. Though there are so many dangers to it as Alicization can attest.

but i will bet 90% of new vr server form the seed are related to sex and porn

[Dann of Thursday]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

but i will bet 90% of new vr server form the seed are related to sex and porn

Chapter 16.5 proves that to a degree.

[Netto Azure]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

but i will bet 90% of new vr server form the seed are related to sex and porn

Well I do wonder what effects that could have to society...

[Rennir]

Originally Posted by Netto Azure

Well I do wonder what effects that could have to society...

Lessen the amount of adultery?

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by novalysis

Disagreed. MR touches on Asuna's identity, something only hinted on in SAO, especially in the Side Stories. MR brings you back to Aincard, brings back the concept of the "Seeds", brings back that sense of mortality. MR is a sequel of a sequel - what happens after you leave one stage of life , and realize you enter another with new challenges and issues?

MR is every bit Kayaba's legacy, as the Aincrad was. Yes, Asuna moves beyond Aincrad. There's nothing wrong with what happens after you move on. MR is a post-story, or perhaps a bridge between the shadow of Aincrad, and Alicization.

From what I'm gathering you are arguing that MR misses the "trapped in Aincrad mentality." There's nothing wrong with that at all, and I still see MR as part of SAO- a what happens after, or perhaps a bridging incident between Aincrad and Alicization.

I agree, it's moving on. The author moving on, the story moving on. It's no longer the same story, but a new story with new themes.

[novalysis]

Originally Posted by Clarste

I agree, it's moving on. The author moving on, the story moving on. It's no longer the same story, but a new story with new themes.

Granted at that, but at this point, it all boils down to what defines the end of a story, and that's quite hard to pin down. If you consider SAO as Kirito and Asuna's life-story, then definitely, Mother's Rosario is a part of their live story, though a separate chapter in their story. If you consider SAO a collection of stories on the other hand...

Of course, one could argue that SAO actually is comprised of four stories focusing on the same two characters:

Aincrad - which Fairy Dance is the ultimate Resolution of - Survival, Romance (Aincrad), Family (Fairy Dance, some of the Aincrad Side stories)

Phantom Bullet - Criminal Sci-fi Thriller

Mother's Rosario - Personal Sci-Fi Drama, "Chicken Soup for the soul" style story.

Alicization - Full blown Sci-fi meets Heroic Fantasy.