I think part of what made the first arc of Sword Art Online work so well was because it had this very real psychological element to it. You had a bunch of MMO players who suddenly found themselves trapped in the game, stripped of their idealized avatars, and faced with the fact that death in the game meant death in real life. Suddenly that initial learning curve, the one where you usually die a few times as you figure things out? Became a lot more treacherous. It was fascinating to watch how people dealt with this situation. Beta testers were first flocked to as the only source of information, then became scapegoats when their knowledge was lacking, or the beta differed from the final game, and people died anyway. People couldn't deal and committed suicide, people took advantage and became predatory to improve their situation, people banded together, and some decided to try and make the best of it and settled down to make what lives they could in their weird new world. Others developed sociopathic tendencies, discovering they could murder and get away with it. All of it undershot by the knowledge that their real bodies were lying comatose in the real world, and there was a time limit on how long they could survive like this. The ALO arc kinda lacked these elements. It was back to being just a game for everyone BUT Kirito, who still took things deathly seriously. And in the end, it was really just blind stupid luck that trying to find Asuna in a game on the strength of a fuzzy low-res screenshot actually WORKED, given how tightly Sugou Nobuyuki had to cling to the idiot ball to make it work(You put your secret mind control research facility inside a publicly-accessible MMO, made the location the largest city in the game AND the focus of an impossible 'Grand Quest' that would eventually draw questions and scrutiny from people.) Even then, some deux ex machina was needed for the win.
New trailer! Appears to air on July 5th, including streaming on CrunchyRoll and such. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK4i62i2aV0&feature=youtu.be
1st episode is live, and it really sets the stage for whats coming in the Phantom Bullet Arc. So fricking pumped since I read the light novels and I can't wait to see how the rest of Phantom Bullet Arc will be animated/
Very promising start. Then again, I might be biased, since the first episode had two of my favorite things in SAO... lots of Kirito and Asuna interaction, and not Leafa.
Yeah so I take it this is a good one already? I won't be able to check it out till tomorrow (err... today I guess) or the 7th, But it's worth it right?
T'was a good episode, but it was really just setting things up Kinda pissed right now, someone gave me a really big spoiler from the manga :| Hate people that do that...
Oh yeah, it's lots of set up, but still better than the awkwardness of the second half of season 1. But that's how the first light novel of this arc started out too, so wasn't unexpected. There'll be plenty of action soon to come, don't worry. And I'll try not to post things from the light novel here without spoiler tags, but you never know what others know or don't..
It's best to assume that people haven't read it at all, like me. I wanted to read it but was holding out for the inevitable anime adaption, glad I did. Maybe I'll pick up the first half of season one on Blu Ray sometime...eh, I want it but I don't feel that £20 for 7 episodes is entirely worth it. Bloody rip-off if you ask me...payed that much for half of Fate/Zero.
Finally got to see episode 1. Wow I liked this one just as good as the last one. Though a little disappointed that Shinon (that's how it's spelled right?) Doesn't show up till like the last minute. While I'm thinking about it, how are you supposed to pronounce Shinon, I didn't catch it? "Go get shot." Ok that line made me smirk.
