Sword Art Online |OT| Batman, now with more wings

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Oh, didn't realize there was a OT for this. Not that I pay much attention to the anime threads on GAF...

Anyway, the end of Aincrad arc is honestly probably the weakest part of the entire SAO saga, and the transition to anime didn't do it any favors. So I'm not surprised that a lot of people didn't care for ep. 14. I didn't think all that highly of it, and I'm someone who read all the released volumes of the LN and greatly enjoyed it. Fairy Dance should definitely be better, as the story is nowhere near as disjointed as Aincrad (the events are actually intended to be told in chronological and cohesive order).

And no, there's nothing between Kirito and his sister (after she figures out who he is, anyway). Thank god.
 
gokieks said:
Oh, didn't realize there was a OT for this. Not that I pay much attention to the anime threads on GAF...

Anyway, the end of Aincrad arc is honestly probably the weakest part of the entire SAO saga, and the transition to anime didn't do it any favors. So I'm not surprised that a lot of people didn't care for ep. 14. I didn't think all that highly of it, and I'm someone who read all the released volumes of the LN and greatly enjoyed it. Fairy Dance should definitely be better, as the story is nowhere near as disjointed as Aincrad (the events are actually intended to be told in chronological and cohesive order).

And no, there's nothing between Kirito and his sister (after she figures out who he is, anyway). Thank god.
Click to expand...

i totally agree with you.
as for your spoiler this is nothing but a possibility there , that's why there was waifu shipping wars for the first act ... let those who doesn't know hope ( at least for a couple of weeks )
 
Sword Art Online 15

And now we return. Quite literally. This first episode into the new arc, Fairy Dance, was fairly boring for the most part, however, it was something that was inevitably needed. After spending 2 years in the game world and waking up in the real world - either that or he really did die and this is heaven, lol jk - Kazuto finds himself at odds. What is real? How do I adjust my life having lived in a completely different world for 2 years? What happens to my filial ties that were simply on stand-by for 2 years? As the audience gets a glimpse of Kazuto's life outside of his gaming world, there's an air of strangeness around Kirito. He's conflicted as the virtual and real world collide and even he can't sometimes tell the world apart. Sadly, the execution of this comes off in the most mundane manner - perhaps as a testament to how boring the real world is in comparison to the virtual.

The highlight of the episode is the introduction of two new characters Sugou and Suguha. In order to prevent confusion I will call Sugou Noumi 2.0 because it just makes sense. Suguha, Kazuto's sister, is headstrong and apparently can own Kazuto in a match of kendo. She's an interesting character because the relationship that she holds with her brother. Despite being somewhat cliche and falling to the obvious tropes existing in anime, she holds her own as not a stereotypical character archetype but an alternate rendition of one.

Noumi 2.0, obviously suggested by his name, is a scumbag that even the devil would spit out from hell itself. If everyone had a dirtbag in this life with indescribable douchebagism then it'd be this guy. Good thing is, he's portrayed very well in this aspect and it's obvious that he becomes Kazuto's main antagonist in the real world. It'll be interesting to see how he develops as a character as Fairy Dance continues.

The action still somewhat sucks resorting to... surprise, suprise.... still-shots. Even so it's still somewhat "cool" to watch. The music is the same as ever with a few new inserts setting the real world from Aincrad. It's a nice touch. Suguha's voice is pretty well done and Noumi 2.0 is... well... you can just imagine.

The new OP and the new ED are really well done imo. The OP animation is pretty slick and despite the focus on only a few characters it manages to keep itself very interesting. Colors every, CG not overdone, and action abound. The ED song is infinitely better than the OP song but for some reason they opt to use still-images, something that even plagues the credits apparently... Still the images themselves are nice considering it focuses on the 2nd primary protagonist in Fairy Dance.

Overall the episode was boring but it sets the precedence for an "interesting" next episode.
 
I caught the last two episodes on TV last week and today, but didn't watch anything before. It somewhat caught my attention so I better go back to episode 1!

But yes, Sugou is a great Koyasu bastard™.
 
kayos90 said:
I really like the animation for the OP2. Much better than OP1. Other than the Gleam Eyes fight.
Click to expand...

I prefer the scene arrangement in OP2 over OP1. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the matrix-y scrolling text they used in OP1, and to me, OP2 gives a much better sense of pacing. In my opinion, OP2 does a better job by moving from long-ish, lingering scenes in the beginning, escalating it with the character montage, and finishing with the fights and the new setting, as opposed to OP1 which felt jumpy in regards to the pacing.

Edit: Oh, and obligatory imouto mention. The new OP had a lot of her too.
 
I liked the new episode. Of course I was expecting it to be a slow one, but it was still enjoyable.

Ep.15:
Sugou was pretty fucking creepy, yeah? Wasn't expecting that. Also, what the hell kind of father lets his daughter get married while she's in a coma?
 
Sielys said:
I liked the new episode. Of course I was expecting it to be a slow one, but it was still enjoyable.

Ep.15:
Sugou was pretty fucking creepy, yeah? Wasn't expecting that. Also, what the hell kind of father lets his daughter get married while she's in a coma?
Click to expand...

Arranged marriage?
 
Sielys said:
I liked the new episode. Of course I was expecting it to be a slow one, but it was still enjoyable.

Ep.15:
Sugou was pretty fucking creepy, yeah? Wasn't expecting that. Also, what the hell kind of father lets his daughter get married while she's in a coma?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be supprised if that was all Ms. Yuki
or, alternatively, business.
 
Sword Art Online 15

FzfQ6.jpg
WZBsE.jpg
Click to expand...

Following the rather enjoyable climax to the last arc, we're now introduced to the elements that compose the Fairy Dance arc with a slow, thoroughly uninteresting opening episode. It was obviously necessary in order to establish a bridge between SAO and ALO, while also introducing new, recurring characters, but the execution was severely lacking in nearly every area, as it never brought these elements together in an engaging, focused manner.

Both of the introduced characters are wholly uninteresting. Sugou's characterization is laughably absurd, and, unfortunately, he'll only become considerably more ridiculous as the story continues. He's definitely an awful "antagonist" compared to Heathcliff. Suguha isn't much better, though much less offensive in her stupidity. She's yet another standard imouto, fulfilling her role as the worst girl by far and an all-around terrible character, who's sole purpose is to be largely inept and conveniently "non-related".

As for the positives, I liked the realistic touch of focusing on the struggles Kirito found himself in due to his emergence into the real world after a two-year absence. The production values remain inconsistent, but occasionally impressive. The "action" was somewhat decent, but largely poor due to the plethora of still shots that continue to riddle these brief interludes. The music contained several new themes that are pretty good, though still disappointing compared to Kajiura's usual standard. The OP was average, but unspectacular, and a bit underwhelming following the previous one. The ED's musical selection is excellent, but it was visually bland, since, once again, there was a lack of animation.

I've always found the Fairy Dance arc to be a weak, thoroughly flawed follow-up to SAO, as the material is comparatively dull and monotonous, filled with annoying "characters" and a contrived, repetitive narrative. Still, I remained a bit hopeful that these flaws would be somewhat diminished, but the first episode does absolutely nothing to ease my concerns over how awful this is going to be. The
"damsel-in-distress"
scenario is a tired, contrived plot device that serves to only cheapen the characters, particularly
Asuna
, and, most grievously, it stalls any sort of meaningful development from occurring. I'd like to say it will get better following this introductory episode, but it really, really won't, unfortunately. The nice setting is a slightly redeeming factor, but it doesn't come close to compensating for the atrocious writing. At least I can look forward to
"Suguha's tears"
and the fantastic ending. Everything else, for the most part, is garbage.
 
Ep 15

In the OP the one dude with the green avy based character looks like the guy from Working!! I hope he is a main character and interacts with Kirito. Anyway good start to the this new arc and I like all the out of world stuff. SAO would have been enhanced by taking such a route as Accel World did with out of and in of world stuff as it keeps the drama at a much higher and deeper level and makes things more enjoyable. Too game focused loses the intimacy and meaning behind actions or letting us understand characters, at least, based on both shows.

Imouto has successfully risen, in just one episode, to the best female character of Sword Art Online, and of all the possible heteroships that there are, would be the only one that I would have some slight inkling to become canon
all those scenes everywhere, the fighting, the bedroom scene, and then just comforting him and doing all this stuff for Kirito, and she even proved she has actually good skills, defeating him and giving him the run for the money. She's not bad at all, and all those scenes in the ED. Kirito should just let Sugoe have Asuna
.

Favorite moment was
Kendo when Kirito put the stick back like it was his sword and then he was all I forgot, lol, and then talking about his techniques in relation to needed assist from the game, though I didnt think hed be so physically fit after two years of laying down

Anyway this arc is way more compelling the one before and already has stuff I like so I have high hopes that it exceeds the previous.

I miss Crossing Field, though the ED is nice. And I like the (spoiler) edit of the precredit ending moment.
 
Dedication Through Light said:
Ep 15

In the OP the one dude with the green avy based character looks like the guy from Working!! I hope he is a main character and interacts with Kirito. Anyway good start to the this new arc and I like all the out of world stuff. SAO would have been enhanced by taking such a route as Accel World did with out of and in of world stuff as it keeps the drama at a much higher and deeper level and makes things more enjoyable. Too game focused loses the intimacy and meaning behind actions or letting us understand characters, at least, based on both shows.

Imouto has successfully risen, in just one episode, to the best female character of Sword Art Online, and of all the possible heteroships that there are, would be the only one that I would have some slight inkling to become canon
all those scenes everywhere, the fighting, the bedroom scene, and then just comforting him and doing all this stuff for Kirito, and she even proved she has actually good skills, defeating him and giving him the run for the money. She's not bad at all, and all those scenes in the ED. Kirito should just let Sugoe have Asuna
.

Favorite moment was
Kendo when Kirito put the stick back like it was his sword and then he was all I forgot, lol, and then talking about his techniques in relation to needed assist from the game, though I didnt think hed be so physically fit after two years of laying down

Anyway this arc is way more compelling the one before and already has stuff I like so I have high hopes that it exceeds the previous.

I miss Crossing Field, though the ED is nice. And I like the (spoiler) edit of the precredit ending moment.
Click to expand...


During the episode Kirito mentions he's been in physical rehab, also that it's been two months since he got out of the game. Seems reasonable enough to me, although I could be wrong.

I thought the part where he tries to sheath his sword on his back was pretty funny as well.
 
WE'RE NOT BLOOD RELATED SO IT'S OKAY!!!

Ugh!

Edit:
I paused it when it came up out of frustration but a sentence or two later they do specify that they are cousins. Still lame that they're using this as a way to make it "Acceptable" for her to lust after him.
 
you know for a second i thought this was a game about swords and batman was a character or just a thread on batman and the use of swords. an anime bout swords just sound pretty good though.
 
Episode 15

You know, this wouldn't be a particularly bad episode at all if not for the stupid incest-pandering angle. It's really annoying and shameless, and affects my ability to enjoy most of the episode. Other than that, I actually kinda enjoyed this, because it seems like a pretty good setup (read: excuse!) for the next story arc. The new "villain" here seems totally over the top and truly befitting a trashy but popular YA novel series. I can't wait to see how Kirito the Dark Knight owns him in the end.

It's amazing how even in the real world, there is scene after scene of other characters talking about how fucking awesome Kirito is. Even when he was a boy! When he was 6! When he was 10! Young Bruce Wayne was showing signs of his Batman potential all along! Loooool. :D
 
duckroll said:
Episode 15

You know, this wouldn't be a particularly bad episode at all if not for the stupid incest-pandering angle. It's really annoying and shameless, and affects my ability to enjoy most of the episode. Other than that, I actually kinda enjoyed this, because it seems like a pretty good setup (read: excuse!) for the next story arc. The new "villain" here seems totally over the top and truly befitting a trashy but popular YA novel series. I can't wait to see how Kirito the Dark Knight owns him in the end.

It's amazing how even in the real world, there is scene after scene of other characters talking about how fucking awesome Kirito is. Even when he was a boy! When he was 6! When he was 10! Young Bruce Wayne was showing signs of his Batman potential all along! Loooool. :D
Click to expand...

See! I told you!
 
Episode 15

Great episode to open the new story arc; it really does feel like a breath of fresh air to have new characters and scenarios. They did a good job with most of the key scenes from the first chapter and picked a good spot to stop; I'm pretty sure I can guess where the next episode will end as well. Regardless of how people will feel about the content, this should be paced a lot better since the Fairy Dance story, by virtue of being linear and spread across two volumes in the novels, is more structured than the Aincrad story was. Of course a lot of the essential narration will probably get cut in some way or another, but it should hopefully hold up okay.

Also great OP and ED songs, and I was surprised to see some stuff in the OP that I didn't expect.

This brings my count of "Takehito Koyasu playing a smug bastard" shows I'm watching to two.

Like with the last arc, most of the key scenes I'll be looking forward to will be in later episodes, so I'll just enjoy the ride for now.
 
Episode 15

Nope.

I don't like the new OP song much, but the scene direction in it is relatively decent. Anyway, Kazuto's question to himself is similar to that of some soldiers when they come back from overseas. After coming home to a peaceful life after experiencing endless battles and death, how do you adjust to regular peaceful life like this? Everyone deals with this sorta thing differently. Oh, and it's interesting that some of the stuff from SAO transferred over. Like, Kazuto saying that the shinai is pretty light, even though his sister says it's pretty heavy.
Also the whole sparring thing and lol there not being any sheath on his back ohohoho
. I... don't really care about the sister character much. Yawners. And the whole
IT'S OK WE'RE NOT BROTHER AND SISTER
angle is dumb as hell. I felt like it took away from the episode.

Speaking of new characters! Hm.
Looks like Asuna didn't wake up, along with 300 other people. Plus lol at arranged marriage or whatever. Dad must be overprotective and wants to choose her husband or what?
Sugou's ridiculous and I guess he's supposed to become more ridiculous as we go on here. And he's predictably creepy as hell. Also, he's an asshole to the girl's love interest. Yep, sounds about right for a triangle of sorts.

Also, lots of scenes involving people worshipping Kazuto. When he was 10 he was a researching genius! He's super-good at swordplay even though he was in a coma! He built his computer when he was 6! Kazuto absorbs information like a sponge! Almost every girl who comes into contact with him falls for him! omg...

Meh. This is going to be a weak arc, isn't it? Honestly, I think reading the LN might be enough. The ending of the episode which is going to directly start the arc was fine. The ED animation was boring compared to the OP.
 
I really wish that they'd have left in the detail of
Kirito having previous kendo training along with Suguha
(or making it more obvious), as to make the sparring scene seem more feasible and realistic.

And yes, the new antagonist is basically as many traits designed to make the reader/viewer hate him as possible crammed into one, but that's altogether not unusual for this type of story.
 
gokieks said:
I really wish that they'd have left in the detail of
Kirito having previous kendo training along with Suguha
(or making it more obvious), as to make the sparring scene seem more feasible and realistic.

And yes, the new antagonist is basically as many traits designed to make the reader/viewer hate him as possible crammed into one, but that's altogether not unusual for this type of story.
Click to expand...

Unless I'm mistaken Kirito said
that he was thinking about taking up kendo again
to Suguha after the match ended.

I don't know how much more obvious it could have been without being bluntly stated.
 
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