Y'all just jealous of that KiriGod swag.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Sword Art Online II |OT| Two Years Worth of Anticipation
- Thread starter BGBW
- Start date
- Status
Gucci Messiah
Banned
Kirigod strikes again
Hexa
Member
I don't entirely get what you're getting at with that, but intense wise I mostly meant the level of danger in response to the "YOLO rules".
Not really. Very minor.
Novel Mike
Member
Once again I will state, this arc does not focus on Kirito and he only shows up to play a minor part.
I never said he wouldn't be typical Kirito when he does show up tho >:X
I really wanted him to at least pull out Excalibur at the end there but *sigh* guess thats next episode.
I really liked how they continued Asuna's problems with her mother and how shes starting to realize she has to fight against her for her to come to understand her.
I really feel like rereading the rest of the book now too.
I never said he wouldn't be typical Kirito when he does show up tho >:X
I really wanted him to at least pull out Excalibur at the end there but *sigh* guess thats next episode.
I really liked how they continued Asuna's problems with her mother and how shes starting to realize she has to fight against her for her to come to understand her.
I really feel like rereading the rest of the book now too.
Edited for possible spoilers.
Hexa
Member
Don't spoil the minor stuff either please.
thanks for those two spoiler sentences mate.
no chance I'm returning to this thread to read peoples views on episodes anymore
Novel Mike
Member
thanks for those two spoiler sentences mate.
no chance I'm returning to this thread to read peoples views on episodes anymore
Not exactly sure how either of those were spoilers but I marked them either way.
I was mainly referring toHexa said:
throwing away most of the lead's "character development" to date, while introducing a new cast that isn't particularly interesting or relatable (endlessly reminding the reader that they aren't "real" isn't helping either)
Even though it starts with a more interesting premise, it has all the problems ALO story-line had, only arguably worse (
the recycling of themes and over-indulging in techno-babble exposition isn't helping either
To be perfectly fair - it's not that it lacks any entertainment value(the series as a whole is looking very reminiscent of Karl May books by now, which were certainly fun at the age I read them) - but it's just highlighting that Aincrad timeline was a lucky fluke.
You don't get how pointing out that the main character of the entire show i
sn't in the next 10 - 15 episodes much
Novel Mike
Member
Except I didn't say that, I just said the story doesn't focus on him which is obvious by the last 3 episodes having Asuna as the center focus and the Opening not having Kirito at all.
Throwing away character development? New cast introduced in only one episode is not interesting? I'm not sure where you're going with this, please clarify because I'm confused.
Hexa
Member
Novel Spoilers (I'm just going to use this preface from now on to avoid confusion):
I agree with you somewhat in that throwing pretty much everything away was incredibly stupid and just felt wrong. More so than ALO or any of the other arcs so far. However I disagree with you about the rest. I feel overtime the author was able to develop the new characters and world a lot better than ALO or GGO so ultimately I did care for them more than any of the arcs other than Aincrad or Rosario so ultimately it was much more intense for me. The themes were kind of recycled I guess but conveyed (not entirely sure what word to use here, conveyed sounds right) differently enough that it wasn't an issue. I also just overall don't have a problem with techno babble. Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about the arc. On one hand, it pisses me off more than any arc before it. On the other I like it just as much as Aincrad or Rosario. I don't know. We'll see how it ends.
I actually legit enjoyed this eps. Been ages for this show lol.
Was wondering when kirito was going to show up. Girls can't get anything done without the power of men.
I just hope the mom business is sorted out soon. Would be nice if that scene wasn't foreshadowing for when she pulls the plug at the end of the raid. But this show hasn't really been one to subvert expectations.
Was wondering when kirito was going to show up. Girls can't get anything done without the power of men.
I just hope the mom business is sorted out soon. Would be nice if that scene wasn't foreshadowing for when she pulls the plug at the end of the raid. But this show hasn't really been one to subvert expectations.
Novel Spoilers:Hexa said:
Yea IMO it the big problem was using Kirito as protagonist there - I would have less resistance to put a less established character in the situation and let them develop, this way we just get these large abrupt-personality changes for the sake of story. Which was the same thing first ALO arc suffered from with Asuna. Moreover because early on Eugeo and Alice are the two characters that do get established well, but just as they get interesting, spotlight is back on Kirito and their development is mostly sidelined.
Well admittedly I still have some volumes to go(at 12 now), but I did feel the material so-far did a disservice to new characters at expense of "new" Kirito (eg. see previous comments above). Regarding the techno-babble, I think it was just unnecessary - it feels like trying very hard to "up-the-stakes" without any real need - we already touched on questions of self-awareness/AI/identity before that could just be expanded on - there was no need to completely rewrite the rules for that, not to mention all the interesting questions are promptly dropped after hints and we are treated to more super-hero stuff instead. And implying that human-souls are a god-like super-computer (bilions of qbits?) is fun and all, but makes me worry about resulting in deux-ex-machina stuff towards the end of this arc. I'll stick with it to see where it goes I guess, but Aincrad, and to some extent Rosario, just had real-depth beyond the fun-romp adventure stuff.
So Asuna can actually succeed without having Kirigod around to protect her... not?
I think I've finally gotten over the "show's so bad it's good" phase and moved on to thinking SAO's so bad it's bad again. Removing Kiri-stu from the equation only shows how paper-thin everything around him was, and it felt like a joke that moving him out of the way to ramp the tension up a bit was undone with him showing up again in the end.
Even if the show tries to flesh out Asuna's character and relationship with her mom, it feels like trying to reanimate a corpse after all the character un-development she got throughout the series. That's a real shame to me, since she was the lone character I thought was actually decent during the first third of season one (I think it all went downhill for her once she began to fall for Kirito).
I think I've finally gotten over the "show's so bad it's good" phase and moved on to thinking SAO's so bad it's bad again. Removing Kiri-stu from the equation only shows how paper-thin everything around him was, and it felt like a joke that moving him out of the way to ramp the tension up a bit was undone with him showing up again in the end.
Even if the show tries to flesh out Asuna's character and relationship with her mom, it feels like trying to reanimate a corpse after all the character un-development she got throughout the series. That's a real shame to me, since she was the lone character I thought was actually decent during the first third of season one (I think it all went downhill for her once she began to fall for Kirito).
nah, he can just scare them by waving the sword, while letting Asuna and co. go into the boss room
yeah, still a bit iffy why asuna is still playing these games. It's like they completely forgotten about the ALO arc where she was a sex slave or something.
But then her real life seems pretty shitty.
curious if kirito ever gets a similar character arc. he's been pretty much a blank slate all this time. Does he even have parents?
But then her real life seems pretty shitty.
curious if kirito ever gets a similar character arc. he's been pretty much a blank slate all this time. Does he even have parents?
He has a mother.
lucina with pantsu on head?
I'm living the dream.
now that i think about it, everyone coming back to play in VR games is a bit odd.
It's like those stories you hear about human trafficking victims that are saved, yet end up going back to prostitution anyhow.
If I was a SAO survivor, i'd quit VR and play... board games or something physical.
It's like those stories you hear about human trafficking victims that are saved, yet end up going back to prostitution anyhow.
If I was a SAO survivor, i'd quit VR and play... board games or something physical.
Hexa
Member
I think you're missing the point. What the YOLO rules (I'm going to be using that term now lol) did was force the players to make Aincrad their main reality. People can react to that differently.
There are probably some people that despise VR now and likely won't go back in, but those are probably the ones that just stuck around on the first floor town in fear of Aincrad itself scrounging around for what money they could gather. They view the entirety of those two years as a waste, and the fear of the virtual world will likely remain.
But for those that ventured out into the world, especially front liners, most will not view that as a waste. People made friends, relationships, and grew as people. People hate the nerve gear the killed so many of their fellow gamers. Not Aincrad itself.
Sure they may be hesitant to play another MMO for a while after they got out of Aincrad. The circumstances with other people in their lives probably makes it a lot harder. And a feeling of not wanting to play another VR game as well. I think this is more similar to the feeling you get when after playing a game that you are really into, you suddenly beat, and then for a while you can't get into any other game. Not a hatred or fear of VR.
VR is more than gaming. It's like the internet. Its a world changer. Its a completely new medium of connecting with people and experiencing the world. Some people like Laughing Coffin may take that and be horrible people, but that's because they're horrible people. Not because of VR. Same with trolls on the internet. On the flip side Kirito for example, is taking that love of alternate worlds and putting that energy into becoming a creator. Some people may be scared off, but even if horrible things happen in it, most people will end up back. The older generation may not get it, just like with the internet, but its not something that'll go away. Its a culture shifter that's going to evolve (to AR according to some theories :3).
Personally, I think if I was in SAO and somehow managed to survive (the way I play MMOs I'd probably be on the first people to die), I think I'd be back trying out different VR worlds within a week.
Sorry for the mess of a rant. I'm not very good at these. xD
Just stay in a town and reek the benefits of being not able to die + making money from a business. A pub would be a sure winner because everyone would love a place where you could get virtually pissed every night with no chance of hangovers or repercussions to your real health. Let the silly billies clear the floors.
I had similar thoughts, actually.
Hexa
Member
That would work on later floors. That's what Lizbeth did and Agni to some extent (obviously he was still keeping himself strong so he could raid). But you can't do that on the first floor (as is the case with most MMOs). A lot of people were scared and didn't even venture out of the first town so they couldn't really make any money at all. There was a part cut in the anime from the first novel when they go back to the first floor looking for where Yui came form IIRC where they end up meeting a guy who was sitting under a tree and yelling at everybody that got close because the tree would occasionally drop fruit, and if you picked up the fruit and got to a vendor fast enough, you could sell the fruit before it despawned for like one gold or whatever. Kirito and Asuna were shocked that people were putting so much effort into things such as this, because even fighting the super safe mobs outside the city would easily result in far more money than that, but people were too scared to do even that. So they'd never be able to make enough money to afford a business.
Loads of people started out strong but eventually settled somewhere because the game was getting too hard. And that's perfectly fine. They were able to live reasonably rewarding lives in Aincrad.
Novel Mike
Member
Well that was interesting. <3 Yuuki
Really liked the episode but... Spoilers for ep 21
I can't wait to see how everything plays out.
Really liked the episode but... Spoilers for ep 21
They did overdue Kirito a bit (kinda expected them to honestly XD), in the novels its better explained that Kirito can only hold off them for about 3 minutes before he'll get overrun and die but in this episode it makes it seem like he could actually win which just isn't the case. Rest of the episode was largely combat which was good for the most part, I remember in the novel not liking that they just randomly find a weak point instead of making a really great strategy and beating the boss because of that, sadly they didn't change much of that but everything else was pretty great.
I can't wait to see how everything plays out.
Novel Mike
Member
You will find out eventually, I asked on the last page that people who have read the novels not spoil it.
Don't feel like they mentioned if asuna had a sibling but they conjured up leafa so who knows.
Really interesting that log horizon also had a boss battle on the same day. 2 completely different approaches while wildly different animation budget too.
Liked log horizon way more of course. Really just wish there wasn't the whole super obvious zelda boss weak spot. Even looked like a rupee.
I love how everything was on fire for some reason when she looked at kirito. Is excalibur flame type or something?
Really interesting that log horizon also had a boss battle on the same day. 2 completely different approaches while wildly different animation budget too.
Liked log horizon way more of course. Really just wish there wasn't the whole super obvious zelda boss weak spot. Even looked like a rupee.
I love how everything was on fire for some reason when she looked at kirito. Is excalibur flame type or something?
This show has gone to complete shit.
Why
Its the best since new season tho lol, but yeah its still very average.
LMAO why that not cross my thought, they absolutely gonna pull that.
Excited
This show has gone to complete shit.
Why
I've really been enjoying it since Caliber, much much better than GGO.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked