Forum - View topicREVIEW: Sword Art Online eps. 8-14
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RyanSaotome
 Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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Is that really surprising though? Asuna is the most popular female character of 2012 in anime, so she absolutely dominated C82, similar to Sena in C81. Theres always that one character that has far more doujins than anyone else at Comiket. She has the similar kinds of traits that make Saber an insanely popular waifu as well: A strong woman turned into an obedient waifu, something the otaku love. |
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Chagen46
 Posts: 4377 |
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Dammit, not even one Kirito-Klein one? Damn, looks like not that many fujoshi watched this show yet. I'd do it myself but I am way too lazy to write right now. Plus I'm truing to get a book published right now.
Not only is that disturbingly misogynistic, but I also have just lost my love for Saber. |
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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I'm not even sure what my opinion of the show is so far. The writing and pacing are completely uneven, the world still feels vastly undeveloped and under-explored (and Aincrad is done now, so it's all lost), and the characters haven't developed enough for me to really care. The show's interesting enough to keep going on, but I cannot grasp why it's so ridiculously popular.
Oh well, elves!
There's probably a ton of SOA yaoi material, it just doesn't get scanned and even less likely to be translated. Hentai scanlation is mostly straight males, and the closest you get to homosexual materials are futanari and traps. Two dudes who look like two dudes is right out. |
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getchman
 Space CowboyPosts: 9120 Location: Bedford, NH |
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while it wouldn't explain all of her behavior, i've been thinking that Asuna might be from a well to do family, or at the very least a very strict/controlling father. maybe the sight of an angry adult male is something she has learned to fear and it would sort of explain her behavior around the bodyguard. having almost no knowledge of being in a party and boss battle mechanics and using her real first name sort of suggests buying SAO was an act of rebellion or at least a temporary escape from her real world life. it's just a thought and i could be completely wrong and it is just terrible writing.
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Thatguy3331
 Posts: 1790 |
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Y'know in the begining the series got me so hyped I went somewhere to try an read the novel. In the end I enjoyed the first novel despite the fact I felt thw world was under developed but I was satisfyed with the ending.
The anime not only made me like this series alot less, but also gave me a huge let down in terms of how they played that ending out spoiler[I always thought that Kirito's win over kayaba was his last action before 'death' and since both of their HP's were so low anyway they were both 'dead', but in the anime it makes it look like a complete ass pull. I mean hell I was willing to meet halfway at asuna somehow getting out of paralysis but...araughh...] Overall Sowrd art online didn't really live up to its popularity and it dosn't even have the index excuse in which I simply like the characters and the plot can move on. nope, I could really care less for most of the characters at this point and I'm not that confident I like where the series is heading now. on the whole issue of the lisibeth, asuna thing, I admit the build up to their relationship was entirly weak but I did like seeing their tender momments, though if Asuna had any of the development lisibeth had (who IMO, while kind of likable, is almost pointless now) I would appriciate the pairing alot more. spoiler[in the end I like binbougami ga alot more. now excuse me as I dance merriliy to triumph of a slapstick comedy show over a show trying to go the serious route.] |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18179 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Based on some mild spoilers I've heared, you may be at least partly right. But I'm guessing that we'll find out something about that in tomorrow's episode.
Yeah, I was not happy with how F/SN sabotaged Saber, although it made a bit more sense - and was a bit more tolerable - with F/Z's full backstory figured in. Asuna's not really the same kind of case, though; whereas Saber had other issues, Asuna struck me more as a girl who was looking for an emotional support and found it in Kirito, perhaps the only person in the game around whom she could afford to be vulnerable because he was above her own power level. Granted, the writing was clumsy and heavy-handed in trying to portray this, but I think that's the angle the creators were going for. (Or it could just be my wishful thinking that her behavior wasn't intended to be just otaku-pandering, I suppose.) |
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getchman
Space Cowboy Posts: 9120 Location: Bedford, NH |
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Well, Aniplex USA now has the license to the show
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jl07045
 Posts: 1527 Location: Riga, Latvia |
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That's what happens when some crucial characterization has been left out in an adaptation. Saber was a very static character in F/Z. Saber even in the anime was definitely no worse than Asuna. Her change in behaviour was a bit abrupt but she never lost the dignity that she had. What she gained was a sense of vulnerability which just made her more human. Speaking about Asuna. I did not see her change as something bad either. I disagree with people who criticize how she has been treated after the hook-up. It's still the same character in a different, more intimate environment. |
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bleachj0j
 Posts: 923 |
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Episode 14 is where I had to drop the show. The writing was horrible. It was so poorly done I didn't know whether to take it seriously. Asuna somehow breaks the paralyze effects and sacrifices herself. Kirito breaks down and loses the will to live. It would help if we knew anything about him to understand him throwing his life away. What about his sister? Guess he forgot. Asuna and Kirito's relationship would work better if we knew anything about them. Entire build up all for Kayaba's weak reason for doing this " Oh, I forgot". Oh and apparently Kirito didn't learn from all those that he saw die, to not over estimate the situation. But his magic Gary-Stu skill came in handy. At least Kirito acknowledged Egil and Klein even though we barely saw them
I swear this anime tries so hard to be emotional and deep but fails. Not sure if this is just a bad adaptation or just a horrible story. It just a shame given how strong it started. |
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relentlessflame
Posts: 188 |
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I would agree with this as well. One of the things I've observed is that, perhaps partly as a result of the way the story is written and paced, some viewers have had a bit of a hard time focusing on the development that *does* take place (perhaps because they're distracted by their unanswered questions). Asuna's transition in the story is one of the most developed elements (unfolding gradually over many episodes), but a lot of the foundation is laid while other things are going on as well, and occurs in the dialogue and in various emotional cues. So if you just look at the "action summary" of each episode, you'll risk missing it all the way until the end of Episode 10, and then it feels like it happened all of a sudden. As much as people complain about some aspects of the writing, I think there's a bit of a "throw the baby out with the bathwater" thing going on too, like just because some elements were perhaps underexplained, it means that every element suffers from the same problem. But I realize that if you're not really enjoying the show, you're not necessarily going to give it your full undivided attention when watching either, and that may be what is required in some cases. It may be easier to rush to conclusions based on the perceived result and just assume the opinion will hold up to scrutiny (because, after all, "the writing sucks"). Edit:
He didn't lose his will to live exactly, he lost his will to fight after his first love disappeared in front of his eyes. I'm not exactly sure what you expected here... ^^; (This was foreshadowed in the conversation they had in the previous episode where Kirito explained how afraid he was to lose her.) But then, before he disappeared, looking at her sword, he finds the strength to make one final move putting an end to the game, meaning that he didn't "throw his life away" at all. I don't see why his sister has anything to do with this ("I just lost my wife, but I can't die yet because I still have other family!"? *Right* after she disappeared? ^^; ). |
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EmperorBrandon
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 2209 Location: Springfield, MO |
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Well, SFW and not a doujin, but I am reminded of this amusing image. |
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ChibiKangaroo
 Posts: 2941 |
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As much as I disagreed with Theron on some of the individual episodes, I more or less agree with his review. SAO is a success despite it's writing issues. At the end of the day, I was entertained by watching these 14 episodes and I did tune in regularly every week. For the overall grade, I might have given it a B- instead of a B, although I think the series did have enough high points that a B grade is fair.
Here are some of the high points for me: Boss Battles - I agree with Theron. The boss battles were some of the most exciting parts of the show. Each of these bosses, from the first one in episode 2 to the last one in episode 13/14, was depicted as some epic encounter which evoked an appropriate feeling of dread and fear in the players. The bosses were imaginative, diverse and well drawn, and the animation for the battles created an exciting sense of movement and power for both the bosses and the players (especially Kirito of course). Despite my criticism of the somewhat ridiculous scope of spoiler[Yui's weapon in her 'boss fight,'] I even thought that that whole encounter was more or less a feast for the eyes. Landscape Visuals/Music - The world of SAO was beautifully represented. The vistas were gorgeous. The towns and countryside backgrounds were lushly detailed. I particularly liked a lot of the garden and forest backgrounds in episode 4. Overall, I was very pleased with this show from a visual perspective. Additionally, although I was not blown away by the soundtrack, I was generally pleased with the music's ability to supplement the fantasy visuals. Also, I was fairly impressed with the OP. It is one of the better OPs I have seen in recent shows. Kirito/Asuna Relationship - For probably the first 8 or 9 episodes, I found Kirito and Asuna's relationship to be inconsistent, a bit annoying and at times very evident of male chauvinism on the part of the author. However, starting with spoiler[Asuna's rescue of Kirito in episode 10], I felt a distinct shift in how their relationship was depicted. Suddenly, Asuna was being shown as more of a partner with Kirito rather than someone merely submissive to his whims. This shift saved their relationship for me, especially given the low point in episode 8. It all started to become believable in episode 10. That is not to say that I think the Kirito/Asuna relationship was perfect, as it still felt somewhat rushed due to the way the story skipped so much time in the first arc. However, as cheesy as the "playing house" scenes with Yui were and as abrupt as the ending was, I was still moved ever so slightly by the more tender scenes between Kirito and Asuna in the last 5 episodes. OK, now on to some of the low points: Character Development - Among the many reviews I have read on ANN during the time I've been here, I have seen several where the reviewer starts of by taking notice of the fact that the male hero or protagonist is depicted in a way where their distinguishing features (usually their face or eyes) are hidden from view. It is said that this is a technique used by the producers of the series which allows the intended male audience to immediately project themselves into the role of the male protagonist in order to live out some wish-fulfillment fantasy. I recall that many of the reviews where I saw such technique discussed involved some kind of ecchi romance angle. Thus, the combination of this technique being used at the very beginning of episode 1 and the following side stories with a bunch of cute girls being helped by Kirito caused me to wonder if SAO was really a fantasy adventure/drama like was indicated by the premise, or some ecchi show masquerading as a serious fantasy adventure/drama. This also generally speaks to what I think was SAO's greatest weakness - Kirito. I don't recall ever seeing an anime series before where the main protagonist is this much of a blank slate. Motivations? Dreams? History? Faults? Mistakes? Successes? ....... Personality? As far as we can tell, Kirito has virtually none of these features. Throughout the series, the only information we learn about Kirito is that he is a loner who is skilled at playing SAO, he has a "little sister" whom he has some feelings for, and he is good at helping people (especially girls.) That's more or less it. At some point, he does grow to like or even love Asuna, spoiler[enough to marry her], but that is not so much a special feature of our protagonist as much as it is the expected culmination of Kirito's wish-fulfillment role. To this day, I still don't really know who Kirito is or what drives him as a person. I'm sure in the forthcoming episodes, he will be driven by his desire to reunite with Asuna, but that is just not good enough. It makes Kirito, at best, a one dimensional character. However, I still argue that he is a no dimensional character who merely serves as a vehicle for the male audience (and perhaps some female audience members) to insert themselves in without any kinds of back-story distractions, so that they too can experience the wish-fulfillment role that I believe Kirito played for Reki Kawahara, the author. I have already made a few comparisons of Kirito to Haruyuki from Accel World (who I think is a much more well-rounded protagonist... no pun intended  ) so I won't go on and on about that again. To sum things up, I think SAO could have been an amazing series if Kirito was more compelling, like Gon from Hunter X Hunter, or Goku from Dragon Ball, or Naruto from Naruto! These are all amazing characters with deep or intriguing personal stories and complex personalities which suck the audience right in and force us to want to learn more about them. Even loners can have such fantastic characterization, such as Balsa from Moribito (to use an example given in the series thread) Clare/Teresa from Claymore, or Light Yagami from Death Note. It may just be that the author's level of experience when writing SAO was low enough that he wasn't ready to create such a deep character. However, even if it might have pissed off some of the LN purists, I think the anime production team should have taken creative license and made Kirito into a real character for the show. Because they didn't, they simply allowed the amateurish development from the LNs to carry into the anime, which I think was a mistake.
Side Characters - In the discussion thread for the show, I commented several times about how I thought the side story episodes were sub-par because they felt like distractions involving a cute girl of the week formula. I noted that it felt like the author was unable to focus on one story line and seemed to be trying to pack in as many different "Moe-ish" tropes as possible. That being said, I also stated that I actually liked some of those girls. In contrast to Theron, I actually felt episode 4 was better than the other side story episodes and would have liked to see a longer story line developed with Silica's character. There was something endearing about her... maybe it was the idea of comparisons to Kirito's sister. I also liked Lizbeth and thought she could have been further developed as well. I mainly consider the side characters to be a low point because they were not given enough substance to have any real meaning or impact for the overall story. I referred to them as "flavor shots." They were thrust into an episode here and there to give us a quick fix of some Moe or fanservice or some other targeted audience trope, then they were whisked away so we could get back to Kirito and Asuna. This had the dual effect of making their mini plot lines seem unnaturally abrupt, as well as sucking up time which could have been used to better develop Kirito. Some viewers claimed that Kirito's interaction with the side characters was development. I would agree with them if that interaction actually exposed something about Kirito's past which helped to make him a deeper character. However, for the most part the interactions only touched upon his experiences within SAO and his desire to protect or help the girls he was interacting with. Again, to me that is just more wish-fulfillment stuff. (All the young guys watching get to project themselves as this super strong bad-ass guy who is dark and cool and goes around with a trench coat and dual swords, protecting helpless girls. Some female viewers get to pine for Kirito to be wanting to protect them - for them its the same appeal as the Twilight series.) So basically, the side characters ended up being a negative instead of a positive because they were underutilized and so archetypal that their inclusion felt superficial rather than a true effort at good story telling. Writing - Although I thought the overall story idea in SAO (innocent MMO players trapped in a death-trap game by some hidden evil mastermind for an extended period of time) was intriguing and morbidly entertaining in a way reminiscent of the SAW franchise of live action films, there were plenty of plot holes as others have pointed out, even from the very beginning. There were so many questions being tossed about as far as how this crazy evil dude was able to produce such a mass market game and VR helmet which was coded and manufactured to melt the brains of the users if they failed his conditions. It seemed implausible and was not explained very well, and as we have discussed the whole part where the spoiler[player's bodies are moved to hospitals] went unexplained until we were closing in on the end, and even then everything seemed so neat and convenient (did anyone die during the transfer process? Did the authorities try something to trick the helmets into thinking they were still connected to the game when they really weren't?) The various deus ex machina moments also made the writing seem a bit weak at times. Such moments usually involved Kirito quickly taking some action which seemed beyond his stated abilities or having powers which seemed implausible at the time (spoiler[one of my biggest examples is when he managed to quickly manipulate the game master terminal to save Yui as some memento necklace token for Asuna - it seemed almost comical at the time without some explanation of how Kirito had the skill/knowledge to do this]). Many joked about him being written as a Gary Stu, and those criticisms have merit. Also, I think the writer's laser focus on the relationship between Kirito and Asuna as the story progressed started to detract from the rest of the intrigue of this fantasy world he created. Everything began to revolve around the two of them and their relationship. On the one hand, that made their relationship seem more substantial and real, but on the other hand everything (and everyone) else in SAO began to become irrelevant. Even the spoiler[final battle between Kirito and the evil genius ended up being a vehicle for us to experience the depth of Kirito and Asuna's love for one another.] That excessive focus on the love story + some examples of gratingly over sentimental scenes (spoiler[such as Asuna's farewell to the fisherman in the fishing episode or most of the scenes involving Yui]) made it hard for me to enjoy the writing. SAO would have done much better to balance the love story with the action/adventure, similar to the balance we saw in Avatar, the Last Airbender. Anyway, as I said I think Theron's review is good and I generally agree with his assessment. I enjoyed SAO overall, but to the same extent I've enjoyed many anime which I will probably not re-watch or suggest to friends/family. With some of the new stuff coming out this season that I'm excited about, I can't say i'll watch the next arc, especially since i'm still watching some stuff from a year ago like Hunter X Hunter, which is AMAZING I might add. Last edited by ChibiKangaroo on Fri Oct 12, 2012 3:19 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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I'm sure Pixiv is crawling with Kirito/Klein stuff.
As for me, I can't turn my brain off. I refuse to subject myself to accepting garbage writing and horrible characterization for the sake of 'entertainment'. Also, I'm an observer with stories. I don't project myself into any characters, rather I watch what all the characters do. SAO reminds me of awful Mary Sue/Gary Stu fanfiction and is pretty much my kryptonite. |
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Kohii
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Not really a "strong" character. She had better skills than most of the guys and tried to put up a tough front until a baby-faced boy came around, who had some serious issues socializing (maybe the "he needs to be saved and I'm up to the task" mentality?), made her soft as putty. |
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Pfhor
Posts: 10 |
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I don't know what boss battles the reviewer was watching, the only passable one I thought was episode 2 cause at least it had some semblance of strategy/tactical planning. The next 2 were just slash mindlessly until you win with lots of still frame shots, and in the case of the bones snake monster they didn't even show you the actual battle. Episode 13 his health bar was almost full, cliffhanger, episode 14 he dies instantly.
It would probably be more entertaining to actually watch a WOW raid boss than any of the boss battles in SAO. There was a whole lot of potential to bring the thrill of some of those MMO boss battles into an anime but they decided to just go generic unimaginative shounen route.
Perfect summary of all the bullshit "romance" in this show. SAO treats romance the same way that Twilight and Attack of the Clones treats it.spoiler[ 2 perfect beautiful people exchange hallow words of love until the girl threatens to kill herself because of him.] There was no development here. Last edited by Pfhor on Fri Oct 12, 2012 3:46 pm; edited 5 times in total |
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