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Sword Art Online II
Episode 13

by Nick Creamer,

Sword Art Online has had a number of problems over its long run. Problems of poorly written dialogue, apparent all throughout its various arcs. Problems of dramatic affectation, of going too far and tipping into melodrama and self-parody. Problems of pacing, which we've seen even in these last few weeks.

And then there was this episode. The actual plot of the episode was “Kirito and Sinon defeat Death Gun, ending the Bullet of Bullets, and then Sinon confronts the killer.” But how it actually articulated that… well...

This week actually started off quite nicely. The show's clearly been saving its resources for this finale sequence, as the episode opened with a bunch of stellar fight animation. Unlike Kirito's silly jump-flips earlier on, the battle between Death Gun and Kirito actually had a real sense of weight to it - there was parrying, back-and-forth, and a feeling of bodies with legitimate mass knocking into each other. That's not an easy effect to achieve - anime fights often end up feeling very “floaty,” and not dynamic in the way physical bodies in space actually are, but that wasn't a problem here.

The conclusion to the fight was also fairly satisfying. I've consistently wondered if the show was ever going to make “sniper plus swordsman” a meaningful combat duo, and this episode found a way - using Sinon's targeting to force Death Gun into a poor defense was a nice trick. I also really liked the sketchy visual style the show adapted for articulating Kirito's last charge, which reminded me somewhat of the style used at the end of SAO's first arc, as Kirito and Asuna embraced. And then after that, Sinon hugging Kirito and blowing both of them up was a perfect gag - it's been satisfying watching Sinon become more and more confident in being herself while also challenging this arc's fears, and that moment was a great articulation of that.

And then the second half happened.

I can accept Sword Art Online's bad writing. I can accept its poor pacing. I can even accept its awkward harem leanings. But when Sword Art Online returns to the “use the threat of rape to create artificial drama” well for, what, the fifth time? Sword Art Online's Alfheim arc was essentially a lengthy articulation of everything not to do when attempting to create dramatic tension - the way it constantly framed Asuna with the threat of rape would have been funny if it weren't so tasteless and thoughtlessly abused. And in this episode's second half, we went right back there, with the “big reveal” of Sinon's friend being the bad guy being articulated through a half-episode scene of attempted sexual assault. More of the first season's crazy eyes, more cartoonish ranting from the villain, and more using the threat of rape to generate cheap dramatic tension. Sword Art Online has never been a show that possesses the subtlety or intelligence to actually deal with an idea like sexual assault in a meaningful way, but when it's used so blatantly and cynically like this, watching it becomes physically unpleasant. SAO wants to use these cheap tricks to make me feel angry at the villain, but manipulation like this only makes me feel angry at the show.

I'm not sure if I can say this makes it “worse,” but it was particularly frustrating that the show was even still leaning on the ideas it's been presenting so far all throughout this scene. Sinon's friend wanted to “prove he was the strongest” in the most simplistic way possible, his discarding of belief in the “real world” stood as a counter to Kirito's philosophy - SAO didn't forget what this arc was actually about while all this was going on. But by tying these resolutions to such a cheap articulation of a tasteless dramatic tool Sword Art Online has already abused far too freely, it blotted out any catharsis the resolution of these ideas could bring. The ham-handed tonal abrasiveness overwhelmed the narrative substance. Once again, Sword Art Online's worst tendencies have made it its own worst enemy.

Rating: D

Sword Art Online II is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.


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