Not necessarily, but the only thing I actually get out of SAO is not "I feel sometimes the world isn't viewed in black and white; bad things can have good outcomes." I get "shit dude I like this concept but I'm stuck." Like I said, the fact that the villains always, always, always become drooling lunatics overrides any perceived ambiguity for me.
Another thing I said in the post that was devoured, was that I don't think SAO author guy thinks he has to redeem Kayaba / Anyone in order to show good from their ambitious actions. I think he legit thinks we will try and process this, even with all the hammy crazy faces and depth of depravity.
This seems more like a Japanese society thing. You can get away with crazy stuff in a manga work, and then speak about it like... what you just fantasized about on paper was dinner table talk. It odds me out personally, but it also keeps me aware of how different their society is than ours.
I can't believe we have people in this thread defending this crap, when the other major villains have been crazy rapists who lick the ears of their victims with crazy faces before they go to work. like what the FUCK? It's clear this hack has no ability write gray area anything.
It's not a defense thing, it's more of a "look beyond your nose" thing. The point of discussion isn't to say the same points that are spoken of over and over, and pat each other on the back. It's to continually explore other views, and expand potential understanding.
The judgment of SAO at large, and the reactions to it here are incongruent to me. I think it's one of the more interesting things to discuss about the show.
It's always been intriguing to me how Japanese authors can go so low with stuff, yet still seem socially acceptable. It's pretty obvious that either they don't view these things in entertainment in the same light, or the exampled fed from their entertainment just paint them in such a way. Do you honestly think that hasn't affected the new writers and designers in any way?