Category: Sword Art Online

So, the main storyline has begun. But does that also mean that this show has gotten better? Well, slightly.

I had my problems with this episode, but what I liked about it was that it further developed the relationship between Kirito and Asuna. It’s actually good that they spend a bit of quality time together, and this was done better than with the other girls Kirito met so far, on top of just being good build-up.

However, the one who is responsible for translating the novel storyline into the anime storyline needs to pay more attention to detail. I feel like this episode left out some key parts in understanding the characters and a few things in this episode didn’t make any sense because some key parts have never been shown. They’re small bits of details, but take for example the point at which Kirito enters Asuna’s house and is impressed with how expensive this is.

Now, I’m actually very interested in the story behind this, because it doesn’t really make sense from the perspective of an MMORPG: Kirito solos bosses and is constantly improving himself. Any loot or money he takes is something he gets to keep for himself. And knowing MMORPGs and boss drops, he can probably get quite a bit of money by just selling all of the rare high-level stuff he finds that is inaccessible to the people of lower level. Asuna and her guild meanwhile may kill more monsters together, but I do doubt whether they kill more monsters per person than what Kirito does. So how do they make money? Escorts? Taking on paid jobs from lower level members?

I also have a few complaints about how Kirito’s relationship with Asuna was handled. The scene with that one night was just cheap. It already started off clichéd with that random boob-grab, but even then: he just randomly starts acting possessive, without giving us the chance to see why he does this, especially considering how this guy is probably amongst the oldest people in the game, they just blow it off as stress, but to me this just feels like another one of those “punk”-scenes. You know, the scene where the cute girl is attacked by punks and has to be saved by the lead character for a bit of drama? I feel that the creators are actually doing a pretty good job on the acting for Kirito and Asuna, but this guy was really badly portrayed.

On a side-note: I just realized something: next season, A-1 Pictures will be likely working on six different shows at the same time: Fairy Tail, SAO, Uchuu Kyoudai, Gyrozetter, Magi and From the new World. That’ll be interesting to see if they can handle it.
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)

Look, I don’t mind that we’re in the middle of side stories right now. That’s fine, especially conisdering that this will be 2 cours long, and in fact, I like that this show is taking its time to show its world. But please: change things up a bit. This was yet another episode about a girl who falls in love with Kirito.

On hindsight, the previous arc was good in how it avoided this (the purple haired girl turned out to be acting). And what bothers me the most is that I don’t really buy how all these girls fall for him. This episode was probably the worst here: Kirito arrives and breaks her most prized sword, and then starts flirting with her. On one hand, this episode showed nicely how blacksmithing works, but Kirito really: couldn’t you really find a better sword? And if her swords are so weak, why did you stick with her? How does blacksmithing work anyway? Do you just need a title of “master smith”, which will allow you to create any weapon possible, or are there levels in creating weapons? This episode hinted at both: on one hand Lisbeth being able to make an item way above anything she ever made before, and on the other hand there was the amount of heart and skill put into it that Kirito commented on. Which is a bit odd, considering how easy blacksmithing is in a game.

I also wonder: how come no girl has a boyfriend until they meet Kirito? Have all of the other guys already died at this point? That’s the only explanation I can think of right now: in this setting it’s of course understandable that people fall more quickly for each other. If this indeed takes place more than half a year after everyone got trapped, it can only mean that all the guys immediately rushed off into their deahts, leaving a population with more girls than guys. There was this one picture of Lisbeth surrounded by three guys, hinting that those guys are now dead, so that seems plausible.
Rating: 3.5/8 (Enjoyable)

This episode actually addressed some of my complaints of the previous episode. I did not expect that. However, in its turn it suffered from a bunch of storytelling flaws that often tend to bother me. There were a few of those points throughout this episode.

The first was the scene with th PK guild in it. The whole point behind this scene was clear, it’s just the delivery that was superficial. Here you have a guild that specializes in killing off players, and instead of actually doing their job they just yap randomly while waiting for backup to arrive. That backup also happened to arrive at exactly the right moment (remember that Kirito had been just sitting there for 30 minutes before he figured it out, after which he went to casually have some dinner before he realized they were in danger. Also why were they having dinner if they just ate some sandwiches half an hour before? Why did Asuna on one hand prepare lunch, yet not dinner or something? What does food even do in this setting?

Also, I think that the creators could have done way in which he figured it out better, and in a more natural way. Right now he saw a sandwich vanish and somehow linked that to broken armor and teleportation. It may sound smart, but what he could have done much earlier was just look at his list of contacts. At that point he would have noticed that that girl was still amongst them. It would have been a lot more intriguing IMO, rather than outright saying “hey, everything was an illusion”.

Second of all: there was the conclusion of this episode. I’m afraid to say it but there, the creators tried to stuff way too much in way too little time and they did it in a really unimaginative way. The culprit just appears, he breaks down and tells his story, in a few sentences, gets carried off while laughing maniacally and that’s the end of the story. I mean, relationships can have a lot of pointless drama in them, but that confession of his was just shallow. It felt way too much like an exposition for exposition’s sake. At the very least though: this episode did break the “girl of the week”-formula.

What also didn’t really help that revelation was the very overly dramatic string music. I guess that they wanted to make it sound dramatic and all, but that scene was so over the top, rushed and out of place that it only worked against it. And yeah, I”m afraid to say it but Yuki Kajiura’s soundtracks are starting to sound more and more like each other. I don’t mind if some tracks sound the same and all, but what has made her soundtracks stand apart in her early days were her songs full of power and originality: her songs were varied and yet fitted together perfectly. From out of nowhere she could pull up sounds that you couldn’t see coming. Right now though, I have yet to encounter any song that really caught my attention or that stood out in this series. I’ve been noticing this for a while in her series, but here it really stands out. Yuki Kajiura’s strength doesn’t work when she just fades into the background. And it’s not just because of Bee-Train ‘s influence on this. Just compare this with her most recent work.
Rating: 3.5/8 (Enjoyable)

This episode’s girl of the week is based around a murder mystery: she once was a member of a guild. One member of that guild is currently killing off its other members. Again, the interesting part of this is the setting: it’s established that SAO is a well designed game, and allowing powers that would enable people to kill each other in save places would be unfair, yet an item like that exists. Why would the designers have put that in the game? This game seems to be balanced on the idea that it’s an MMORPG: such a power in an MMORPG would be complete suicide that would utterly destroy the balance or any kind of social interaction people can have. This arc will probably shed some more insight into the minds of the creators.

Meanwhile this episode introduced a few more flaws for the two main leads (yes, the female lead has appeared again). The guy really once again established that he is this hardcore gamer who has started to see the NPCs as actual characters: he’s actually starting to sympathize with them, even though they can technically be used in a plan to take out bosses. With the girl, I’m having trouble why she became a squad leader of the top guild around. Mostly because in the first minute we see her handing out orders, only to leave and never do anything leadership-ish again and instead going on a date with the male lead while everyone was fighting. Also, does she have to be a tsundere?

The acting also was a bit wonky at the end of the episode. I mean, I understand being paranoid and all, but these guys completely lost it and started sprouting nonsense. Another thing that really is starting to irk me is that this series is trying to populate its setting, yet completely failing. With that, I mean that it shows crowds, but these crowds completely lack any sort of life. Everyone just stands there, nobody responds, and you can spot the important character amongst them by looking at who has cute character designs.

Apparently people are able to change their hair colors in this game. Why do only the characters who are important to the story use this feature?
Rating: 3.5/8 (Enjoyable)

Before I got into anime blogging, I was a member of an RPG community, focused on RPG creation. Back then I spent a lot of time fiddling with stories, level designs and gameplay (in fact, this blog started out as an experiment during that time), and during that time I also played my share of MMORPGs, so I know what it’s like to play one. And I also know that SOA brings in one major difference that makes the mindset of its players completely different: the fact that you die once your HP reaches zero.

Generally when I played, I’d run around in areas that would give me the fastest experience with the least amount of hassle. I would then turn on the auto pilot until my SP (or skill points or however it was called) run out, after which I’d probably die from a lack of healing items or efficient ways to kill monsters. Now, would I have done the same if my life depended on it? Hell no. I’d stock up on healing items and focus on running away from monsters.

In fact, it surprises me that Kirito still is alive: his playing style is incredibly risky. Apparently he was this awesome player during the beta test, but back then dying still was a momentary annoyance. I’m surprised that he managed to turn off his automatic pilot that is so prevalent in MMORPGs due to all the repetition. Someone said that in the first month, more beta testers lost their lives than new players, and I can very well believe that: these were already used to the rules of the beta, while the new players were probably extra careful.

So yeah, I’m digging this concept, I’d just wish that the plot of these past two episodes made better use of this. The concept of this episode for example was good, as it showed how the jail system evolved and how this game’s moral system is. But the characters were just boring. This yet again was Kirito interacting with the cutest girl around. Have some variety. What I find particularly annoying is how this series looks down upon the rest of the people in this MMORPG. The girl actually had friends, but she decided to ditch them and go with Kirito. The evil players? We never knew what goes on inside their heads: I see no difference between them and NPCs.

Also, why were all the monsters suddenly equipped with tentacles?
Rating: (Good)

Okay, a comparison between Total Eclipse and Sword-Art Online. I waited until I had watched the third episode of SOA because Total Eclipse did only show its uglier side there. And yes, with Sword Art Online, its third installment also was the weakest so far. So, how do they compare:

Length: Sword Art Online is confirmed for 2 cours. Total Eclipse hasn’t had its length confirmed yet, but I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt. Winner: tie.

Setting: Sword Art Online’s setting is a bit of a cross between .Hack and the Tower of Druaga, but less creative than both. It really feels like a MMORPG where the main goal is to fight monsters, but it does portray that very well. Total Eclipse meanwhile is in a setting that is somewhat like the prequel to Blue Gender, in which giant bugs come and invade the earth and entire continents have already been annihilated. SOA wins in terms of potential and detail.

Production-values: Sword Art Online is produced by A-1 and looks gorgeous during its action scenes. Yuki Kajiura made the soundtrack, and even though it’s not among her best work, it still delivers. Total Eclipse on the other hand looks ugly, sounds ugly, and the director broke down due to work overload. Winner: SOA.

Pacing: Total Eclipse took its precious first two episode to go into anime original territory in order to flesh out the lead female more. Sword Art Online… I can’t put my finger on this because I’m unfamiliar with the source material, but it feels like a lot of scenes are skipped here. This third episode was particularly bad with that, but I also disliked how they decided to skip through the first month of content of total chaos, in which everyone has to figure out for themselves how to survive in this game. Winner: Total Eclipse.

Characters: this is a big one, so I’m splitting it up in some side-categories.

Side Characters: This is where both series dropped a lot of points. It’s not like all side characters leave things to be desired: Total Eclipse had the lead female’s former classmates. They were pretty well portrayed. Sword Art Online meanwhile had that one guy of the first episode, along with the mysterious blue-haired guy. The bad stuff in Total Eclipse is its main side-cast: they are annoying, one-sided and stereotypical. In Sword Art Online, the side-cast also lacks life: it’s hard to tell who is an NPC and who is a real character. The minor ones indeed lack any personality (like the blind sheep of the second episode). Still, it does have more and diverse good ones. Winner SOA.

How on earth did these idiots manage to survive? Both series take place in a world in which it’s very, very easy to die. And yet both series have a side-cast of idiots. For Total Eclipse, the most plausible explanation would be that they all grew up in locations without war, and that they haven’t been to the front-lines like the main female character. For SOA though, I’m not sure whether I can answer that question. The party of this episode: how come they’re still alive after they blindly dive into a room they don’t know anything about? I mean, considering the setting, wouldn’t it be the most logical that the only ones to survive up to this point would be the people who are either smart or cowards? Which also makes me beg the question: why are some of these guys fighting as fast as possible? Can’t you just take your time and just raise your level on the lower floors? I mean, the first episode said that these resources are limited, but this episode’s party didn’t seem to have any trouble to find monsters to fight. Winner: Total Eclipse.

Main Character: Both main characters (for Total Eclipse I’m using the main female character, because she is the only one to have been featured in all three episodes) are angsty and gloomy, but only SOA’s main character is that to the point of being unlikable. This also can be blamed very much on the pacing: he’s there, then he joins a party, then he and a girl fall in love from out of nowhere, then she dies and he gets even more angsty. But what surprises me the most is how he had his entire party die in front of him, and yet when the chance to revive someone appears, he ONLY thinks about that one girl, and doesn’t bother to give a second thought to the other party members who died, effectively treating them as NPCs. In fact, this highlighted my biggest problem with Sword Art Online: it acts as if human life is precious, but that only goes for certain characters with important character-designs. Apart from that, it doesn’t seem to care. Total Eclipse does. Winner: Total Eclipse.

So, a mark of 3-3. Great. In the end, I’m going to blog Sword Art Online, because its flaws are less bad than with Total Eclipse, and they can be fixed with the right build-up. With Total Eclipse though, we’re going to wait for the director to have his breakdown around episode 9 or 10…
Rating: (Enjoyable)