Forum - View topicREVIEW: Sword Art Online eps. 8-14
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Fencedude5609
 Posts: 5088 |
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Asuna would probably have been a much more interesting main character to watch.
She changes a lot, from when we first met her in episode 2, to when we meet her again as Vice-Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, but...it all happens off screen, so we have no idea why. |
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getchman
 He started itPosts: 9122 Location: Bedford, NH |
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we got a partial explanation out of her in ep 13.
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Fencedude5609
Posts: 5088 |
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Yeah, and it was half-assed, you know, like everything about the main couple. |
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getchman
He started it Posts: 9122 Location: Bedford, NH |
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never said it wasn't. i'll take wanting to be stronger and wanting to be with the one you love instead of crying yourself to sleep every night over no explanation at all
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relentlessflame
Posts: 188 |
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I would just suggest to also consider the role these characters/stories had in helping to explain and flesh out the various game mechanics and story elements that would become important later on in the story. I think it's easy to forget this, because a lot of things are quickly referenced in passing later on in the story that we only understand because of these "side stories". So in that sense, their "real meaning and impact" (at least in the short term) may have been less for what we saw on the surface, but more for the information conveyed *through* their story. I'm not trying to say there aren't other ways this could have been accomplished if you were rewriting the story from scratch. But I do think these episodes had a bigger purpose than just to give a "quick fix" of moe or fanservice. I think it was still important that these episodes were shown, or else people would have been that much more confused about what was going on in the rest of the story. The other thing I suppose I would say is that, given that this is an on-going story, introducing these characters may have an impact going forward. That again doesn't mean that there weren't other ways of introducing them or integrating them into the story, but I think the end of an arc is a bit different from the end of a story. |
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tcdelaney
Posts: 169 Location: Mittagong, NSW, Australia |
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That's pretty much my take on it too. She was doing an amazing job fighting and developing her abilities, but the whole time she was looking for a way to avoid thinking about what she was doing and relieve the pressure on herself. Part of Kirito's appeal for her was that they protected each other, rather than other people relying on her to protect her and dumping the responsibility on her. Think if it this way - how long and boring is it in most MMOs to max out a crafting discipline? Even if she had an inherent interest in cooking and flavours, to have done what she had in the discipline strongly suggests that she was looking for an outlet in downtime to avoid thinking about the fighting and death. |
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midnighteve
Posts: 114 Location: Chula Vista |
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I'm so happy to be reading something positive about SAO for once! It feels like everytime I find myself at a discussion board about it, it's people hating and nitpicking the crap out of it. I never really thought Asuna's character was comprised when she hooked up with Kirito. She just seemed like a woman in love to me, and when you're in love, your priorities change a bit. Plus, they're teenagers, and if I remember High School "I'll kill myself if you die!" is not that far fetched a claim when it comes to teen love. Either way, end result still had my crying in eps 13 and 14. As for your points on under-explained elements, I sometimes felt that I was watching a different show than everyone else. Even my husband (who watched with half-attention since it wasn't his thing) picked up on the two hour battery life in the first episode and we just assumed till episode 13 (was it?) that *that* was how people were able to be transported. In any case, I'm anxiously anticipating the next episode! |
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AiddonValentine
Posts: 2229 |
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You can definitely tell that SAO was Kawahara's first works; a first effort from a writer is rarely their best since good writing takes not only talent but a lot of work to get mechanics down. SAO is entertaining but it ultimately has a bunch of BIG flaws that really show that this was Kawahara before his prime. Kirito in particular I find to be the least interesting character which is rather bothersome since he's supposed to be the HERO.
Anyway, I'm rambling. Good series, but has big flaws that need to be ironed out and might fix themselves in later episodes. |
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Fencedude5609
Posts: 5088 |
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So yeah, I guess no one here sees why its highly problematic that Asuna is the one who "changed" because of love? That she was just looking for someone to "depend" on? Someone stronger, more powerful, willing to stick their dick in her?
Yeah, nothing sexist here at all. Nothing at all wrong with a woman who crawled her way up to the very highest levels in a life-or-death situation suddenly just going all to pieces now that there is a man around to support her. |
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midnighteve
Posts: 114 Location: Chula Vista |
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As a woman, myself? no, not really. She was still with him at the 75 floor, fighting alongside him. She probably would've fought with him against the final boss if she were able. (And if Kirito wasn't living out his hero-complex to his fullest there...) Heck, Kirito wanted her to stay behind, but she refused and stood by him as his equal. Sure, they had a bit of the "romeo and juliet" sacrificial love talk going on, but in the end, I don't think she "went to pieces". In fact, I found her somewhat relateable. But this is of course, just my opinion...possibly an unpopular one as I mentioned in my earlier post how I find more hate on this show in forums rather than love... |
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relentlessflame
Posts: 188 |
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You really have a funny way of short-cutting things the show actually went to great lengths to explain, in favour of an oversimplified view that simply compares selected aspects of the end-result. Asuna's romance with Kirito is not because she needed a man in her life to protect her because she's a woman. She wasn't drawn to Kirito because of his "manliness". She needed someone in her life to remind her of what it was like to actually live. She was stressing herself out with her single-minded devotion to clearing the game as quickly as possible, and that overall attitude was also having ill-effects on the guild. Although Kirito is a strong character in the game, there's nothing particularly about their relationship that emphasizes her depending on him for that. If anything, his "loner hero" style troubles her, and the story constantly emphasizes that she protects him too -- that they're partners -- and that Asuna's will is actually the stronger of the two of them (she's the first one to rush in to save the army goons, she's the one whose resolve convinces him to return to the front lines, and so on). Kirito's fear of losing Asuna is not because she's a damsel who needs protecting (she rightfully points out that she can hold her own), but because he doesn't think that *he* could stand to lose her. The story's insistence throughout the arc is that, of the two of them, Kirito's actually the one who's more emotionally fragile, even if Asuna is more able to show her weaknesses than he is. If anything Kirito is more strongly stereotyped in some ways; particularly how Heathcliff challenges him, and he always chooses to act out of some bizarre sense of heroic bravado rather than think and strategize. Anyway, I realize even saying all this isn't going to convince you; you've made up your mind, and that's that. But flaws in the writing or not (again, not saying that things couldn't have been conveyed more effectively in some cases), I don't think your summary of the developments in the story is particularly accurate. |
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bleachj0j
 Posts: 925 |
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Like I said it would help if the relationship wasn't one-dimensional and bland. And we knew anything about Kirito other than his relationship with Asuna. Because that's all Kirito has been. |
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ShinnFlowen
 Posts: 141 |
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Everything about Kirito's relationship with Asuna makes Aher seem weaker or dependent on male companionship. If Asuna was not portrayed to be weaker than Kirito after his dual sword ability was shown I would be more inclined to say that they see each other as equals, yet the show takes away traits or provide Kirito ways to make himself the ultimate adventurer in SAO making the female the damsel in distress. Other issues come from he relationship as it seemed forced. The biggest weakness lies in the constant time skips that kill the viewer's understanding of how the relationships have grown in 2 years and what has taken place during all that time. It is much harder to know if there was enough interactions to make each other slowly grow fond of one another. I only hope the next arc shows Kirito grow up instead of staying as the loner. |
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AiddonValentine
Posts: 2229 |
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all this talk is reminding me of .hack//Sign. Tsukasa and Subaru had a GREAT dynamic that was believable and interesting, mostly because both characters had serious personal issues and their support for each other helped them grow threw it.
Kirito's problem is that he's a blank slate with not enough personal problems or issues to make a flawed, three-dimensional character. Even Sachi's death felt a bit tacked on, almost as if the author needed SOMETHING to give him personal angst. |
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Fencedude5609
Posts: 5088 |
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Interesting commentary on gender roles and the like as well. |
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