Sword Art Online - General Discussion

[ZoqFotPik]

It figures there would be a holiday break right when it seems like the story is about pick up.

[Lantern7]

Death Gun's Death Gun  . . . is a Black Star gun? So, what, is it gonna sprout blue hair and spout off about how it's going to surpass God?

 

Seriously, I don't know if I can take Death Gun seriously as a Big Bad, what with the pre-kill theatrics. Did not expect Sinon to become prey that easily that soon. Or for Sinon to get a PTSD flashback to her kill.

[ZoqFotPik]

So Death Gun's Death Gun is the same gun that Sinon used to kill the bank robber. Yeah, her creepy friend is involved with this somehow. Like the others featured in the show, It's a real gun. I thought it was interesting that Pale Rider did the standard Hollywood "I'm having a heart attack!" chest grab before he died. Possibly another hint at it being hoax.

 

Did not expect Sinon to become prey that easily that soon.

Of course she was going to go down quickly and easily. On this show, all women, no matter how capable they've been shown to be, become utterly helpless and in need of rescue whenever Kirito is around. 

[Sandman87]

Death(gun) riding a pale horse? They're laying on the symbolism kinda thick there. Presumably the horse belonged to Pale Rider.

[ZoqFotPik]

This episode may have more weight if hadn't already revealed that Sinon killed someone in third episode and already brought it multiple times. If they had not shown exactly what happened and only alluded to some traumatic event, for example show robbery and the guy die, but not make it clear that she was that killed him until now. Instead, we got more pointless rehashing.

[Sandman87]

Today our local PBS station used a song for their bulletin board titled "The Real Deal" by The Deslondes, and it naturally made me think immediately of Deathgun. Not really related to the show, just an odd coincidence.

[Lantern7]

Just a lot of speculation this week as to how Death Gun kills his victims. Kirito thinks that DG has another "red" player/SAO survivor killing people while they're playing GGO. That means someone might be in Sinon's apartment right now, ready to get a signal to kill her. It's a bit farfetched, but what the hell. I don't watch this stuff for enlightenment. BTW, I know that the endless chatter isn't exposition, but I maintain that the hosts from "Big Shots" should do the job for Sinon and Kirito. Or maybe I just need to hear the phrase "shucks howdy!" more often.

[ZoqFotPik]

Kirito thinks that DG has another "red" player/SAO survivor killing people while they're playing GGO. That means someone might be in Sinon's apartment right now, ready to get a signal to kill her. It's a bit farfetched, but what the hell.

A videogame gun that shoots fatal heart attack inducing bullets is less far fetched? Bullets that don't even have to actually hit the person to kill them. Remember the first guy killed was shot through a video screen. They made a point to show that in order to win the big BoB prizes you have to enter your real address. They stated that the two other people who died were top BoB players, suggesting that the their addresses were in the system. The actual "Death Gun" is the same kind gun Sinon used to kill the robber, suggesting to me that her creepy friend is involved. How many other people could know that specific information? I think they've dropped several hints that the "Death Gun" is a hoax.

Edited June 16, 2015 by ZoqFotPik

[lathspel]

A long exposition involving Sinon's shorts.

I didn't see the twist about there being two red players. If I were Sinon I wouldn't be able to calm down about having a killer in my place. What if that guy gets tired of waiting?

Edited June 16, 2015 by lathspel

[Sandman87]

I get the sneaking suspicion that the government task force guy who hired Kirito is the second red player. Either him or that annoying nurse who's tending to Kirito while he's in virtual-land.

[ZoqFotPik]

Why do you think it's the government guy? What would he have to gain by bringing Kirito into it? Also, if there is someone inside Sinon's apartment, it can't be him since he was talking to Asuna and company in ALO at the same they were in the cave.

[Sandman87]

Kirito has figured out that there are at least two people cooperating on the killings. Why not three, or more? That would explain how Government Guy could talk to Asuna while someone menaces Sinon.

 

As for motive, "my brother/son/best friend/etc was killed in the SAO raid on the Red Players" would be sufficient reason to ally himself with grudge-holding Red Players. That's a common enough anime revenge motive. That's just off the top of my head.

 

On an unrelated note, I wonder if GGO was one of the games based on the SAO code like the Alfheim game was. Maybe we'll be seeing the digital avatar of the guy who created it again.

[ZoqFotPik]

While I disagree that the government guy is involved, for this show, I guess that makes sense. Although if he wants to kill Kirito, then he could, you know, just do it and avoid a rather convoluted plan to do so. That said, writing has never been this show's strength. Also, some of Death Gun's actions don't make sense if the Gov guy is involved. If he knew who Kirito is, why ask him if he was the real deal? I think it would be more unnerving for Death Gun to already know that it is the same Kirito. And if he wants to kill Kirito why kill 3 seemingly random people first, then Sinon, and then him? Doesn't make sense to me. Although, again writing.

 

 

On an unrelated note, I wonder if GGO was one of the games based on the SAO code like the Alfheim game was. Maybe we'll be seeing the digital avatar of the guy who created it again.

I think it is. At the end of season 1 they released the world seed on which all VRMMO games are based. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Kayaba showed up in some capacity again this season.

 

Edit:

 

Kirito has figured out that there are at least two people cooperating on the killings. Why not three, or more?

I just realized you are right about there being more than two people involved. One in the game playing as Death Gun, one in Pale Rider's home, and one potentially in Sinon's apartment. So at least 3.

Edited June 17, 2015 by ZoqFotPik

[Lantern7]

Before I forget . . . Michiko & Hatchin joins the Toonami lineup this Saturday at 1 a.m., pushing SAO II to the 1:30 slot.

[Lantern7]

This week: Death Gun and Kirito get their showdown. Turns out DG's ID is "Sterben," which means "to die in a hospital" in German. I'm not saying Nurse Joy is in on it, but considering that part of the action has moved to Kirito's secret place, I expect tension to ramp up IRL . . . so to speak.

 

Anybody else vaguely amused by the "DEAD" sign that pops up when somebody gets capped in the tournament?

[Sandman87]

Also this week: Kirito figures out that there may me more than two killers to deal with. Death Gun has a sword made from salvaged space ship hull. Sounds like it could lead to a virtual space-going sequel to the game.

 

I suspect that the "DEAD" signs are meant to prevent players from getting cheap kills by playing dead during the contest.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Sandman87

[ZoqFotPik]

 

"Sterben," which means "to die in a hospital" in German.

I don't think it actually means "to die in a hospital", I think it's the code word that the nurses use so as to not upset other patients and visitors. According to google translate the word simply means "die". 

 

edit:

 

I'm not saying Nurse Joy is in on it, but considering that part of the action has moved to Kirito's secret place

Apparently, many medical words in Japanese are of German origin, so this could be a red herring. Link 1, Link 2

Edited June 22, 2015 by ZoqFotPik

[lathspel]

So is Kirito really bad at sword fighting now? I find that hard to believe. I suspect he's just trying to get Sterben closer.

Why did part of the tower fall at the beginning? Was Death Gun's first shot really that far off?

The sequence with the two snipers was pretty cool. And Sinon has lost her sight so she can't help without a long walk.

When Kamikaze wakes up, doesn't that mean there's a Laughing Coffin dude in his apartment?

[ZoqFotPik]

 

When Kamikaze wakes up, doesn't that mean there's a Laughing Coffin dude in his apartment?

Potentially, but since they would have to be watching the BoB stream they would know that Death Gun did not make the kill and they would know they needed to get out. It's also reasonable to assume the player would stay logged in to watch the end of the tournament, giving the person plenty of time to leave.

Edited June 23, 2015 by ZoqFotPik

[Sandman87]

When Kamikaze wakes up, doesn't that mean there's a Laughing Coffin dude in his apartment?

 

They haven't addressed it in the show, but there's no reason to suppose that being killed normally (as opposed to being Deathgunned) in the competition means that a player is automatically logged out. They may just be relocated to the competition's lobby area where they can watch the rest of the match with all the other virtual spectators, or to the game's general "Oops, you're dead" respawning area.

[lathspel]

Ok, good points about not being logged out.

I guess personally I'd still be worried about the actual killer in my home - for all we know they might depart from their rules as it becomes more clear that Death Gun may be exposed.

[Lantern7]

How many more episodes are there? It looks like we'll be getting an ending soon. And for those who suspected Sinon's IRL friend to be involved in the Death Gun stuff . . . give yourself a round of applause. I know, we had a tiny list of suspects, but it was still jarring to see the guy turn the creep dial past 10. Natch, Sinon needs Kirtio to come to her rescue, but I do give her props for fighting back (urged on by her online avatar), even though she passed up an obvious nut shot.

[ZoqFotPik]

 

How many more episodes are there? It looks like we'll be getting an ending soon.

There are 11 more episodes. I'm guessing the next episode will wrap up this story, and then move on to another arc. Very similar to last year.

 

Edit: There's probably another holiday break this week.

Edited June 29, 2015 by ZoqFotPik

[lathspel]

That was definitely creepy.

I can see that Death Gun having the same gun was the big clue - only someone Sinon knew would know that.

[Lantern7]

I saw the latest episode. I'm not sure whether Kirito is the best friend ever or the worst. Consider. . .

 

Kirito: Hey, Sinon? Don't get mad . . .

 

Sinon: Asking somebody not to get mad is not a good way to start.

 

Kirito: . .  . but I told your deeply personal story to my girlfriend and her bitch best friend.

 

Sinon: Wow. Now I feel the urge to have a gun in my hand.

 

Kirito: Wait. It get better. They went to the town where you shot and killed that guy . . .

 

Sinon: Urge to kill rising . . .

 

Kirito: . . . and they found a lady whose life you saved by thinking fast and traumatizing yourself. Bonus: she was pregnant! Here's her daughter!!

 

Sinon: I should put my foot so far up your ass that I lose a good shoe . . . but since this is a shonen anime, I thank you profusely.

 

Maybe I should be more critical as to how some bitch managed to obtain -- and conceal -- a loaded gun to taunt Sinon with.  And her henchwomen making faces were no picnic, either. Sinon needs better company. I'm just uncertain as to Kirito qualifying.

 

I'm guessing we're going back into the elf game for the rest of the show's run, if the teasers are to be believed. Maybe they'll run into the third Death Gun there.

[ZoqFotPik]

Maybe I should be more critical as to how some bitch managed to obtain -- and conceal -- a loaded gun to taunt Sinon with.

That was an airsoft pistol, completely legal in Japan. At that range, a real 1911 would have obliterated that soda can instead of knocking it over.

 

Sinon needs better company

They were bullies plain and simple. It's not like she choose to hang around them.

Edited July 15, 2015 by ZoqFotPik

[Sandman87]

That was an airsoft pistol, completely legal in Japan.

 

The first clue was that it didn't go "bang." I expect that the gun that Sinon has in her apartment is also an Airsoft.

[Sandman87]

Kirito and friends make friends with a critter that looks something like a giant Flumph in Alfheim, then have it give them a lift to Questville. The quest turns into a full fledged campaign to recover Excalibur and save Jotunheim from the evil king who's getting players to do his dirty work.

[Lantern7]

I guess nobody in the SAO world watches Soul Eater. Going after Excalibur is a huge waste of time. "FOOLS!!!!"

 

I hope Sinon isn't there to merely fill out the numbers. I'm also guessing that she became a cat person because that's what happened when she converted from GGO to ALO, and scales needed to be balanced in regards to Kirito looking like a chick in GGO.

[ZoqFotPik]

 

I'm also guessing that she became a cat person because that's what happened when she converted from GGO to ALO, and scales needed to be balanced in regards to Kirito looking like a chick in GGO.

Kirito got to pick his race when he started ALO. 

[Sandman87]

I guess nobody in the SAO world watches Soul Eater. Going after Excalibur is a huge waste of time. "FOOLS!!!!"

"Fools! My AI subroutine dates back to the 12th century!"

[Lantern7]

Catching up . . . it turns out that Ragnarok resets the land, which is more or less what Ragnarok does. Kirito claims Excaibur and Klein lucks into getting Mjolnir after Thor whacks the giant king. Or king giant. Oh, and it turned out that Freya was Thor, which was unsettling to Kirito and Klein.

 

Out of curiosity, has anybody heard Excalibur referred to as "Calibur"? That's new to me. Also, I'm guessing that this isn't the end of SAO, even if the year-ending quest would've made for a good epilogue, especially with Sinon pulling off a nifty magic spell to retrieve the discarded Excalibur.

[ZoqFotPik]

Yeah, there are 7 more episodes this season. Apparently, Asuna is the protagonist of these episodes.

[Sandman87]

It didn't occur to me until now, but what the hell is Excalibur doing in a quest based on Norse mythology?

Samurai dude has some big brass ones, asking a goddess for her phone number.
 

Out of curiosity, has anybody heard Excalibur referred to as "Calibur"? That's new to me.

Caliburn. It wasn't called Excalibur until European continental writers started writing about it, but that's the most well known name these days. It originally had a bunch of names in the various languages of the British Isles, all of which were at least a little similar to "Caliburn."

[lathspel]

I had heard of Caliburn, but only through a subplot from Homestuck.

In an even nerdier opinion, Caliburn's presence in a Scandinavian-based mythos could make sense, if ALO is some representation of the conflict over the British Isles, which pitted the Welsh/Britons against the Anglo-Saxons, who shared some kinship with the Scandinavians. Some of the aspects of ALO seem derived from Old English culture, although it was probably just intended to be generic high fantasy.

[Lantern7]

I'll admit it . . . I'm piqued by Asuna meeting a guy who got the best of Kirito. Sure, Kirito didn't go for dual-wielding, but I'm sure he had his reasons. Hopefully, my mind won't wander as much as I did in this episode. For example . . . wouldn't it be hazardous to sleep while in VR immersion? I'm guessing its safe, given how the SAO players had to rest while trapped, but it can't be healthy. Also . . . why hasn't Asuna told her family about Kirito? The impression that I got is that her folks keep trying to set her up.

[lathspel]

Yawn. Sometimes this show really goes in for exposition to build up a character, rather than letting you actually see what they are like.

Also, the opening and closing title are working hard to ruin any mystery that's been established about Zekan. Hopefully it gets more interesting next time.

[ZoqFotPik]

 

Also, the opening and closing title are working hard to ruin any mystery that's been established about Zekan. 

I rarely pay attention to the opening credits, but yeah they gave that one away. I suppose since it happened in the second episode it's not much of a twist. I wonder if Asuna's mom turned down the temperature in order to try and force Asuna out of the game. 

[Sandman87]

Asuna's mom is a turbo-Stage Mom. She's going to make sure Asuna has a wonderful life no matter how miserable that life ends up being. I don't get what objection she has to Kirito. It's not like he comes from a poor family. I mean, there's a dojo in his family compound fer cryin' out loud.

[ZoqFotPik]

I'm guessing while Kirito's family may be wealthy, Asuna's Mom wants her with someone whose family is not just rich, but capital 'R' Rich.

Edited August 17, 2015 by ZoqFotPik

[Sandman87]

Heh. So her family is from something like the Hamptons, and Kirito's is only from Atherton? Works for me.

[Lantern7]

Finally caught the episode. Asuna's mother is sad, mostly because she's a sad trope, and nowhere near as evil as Ragyo Kiriyun. Oh, and why didn't Asuna play the ultimate card:"Sure, Kazuto isn't loaded. . . but he saved me from Father's idea of Mystery Date!!!!"

 

One interesting thing about Asuna's upcoming quest . . . there's the inherent danger that she might get pulled out of her "full dive" by her mother at any given moment.

[lathspel]

It's a good question - if you start getting frostbite in the real world, will your dive gear warn you?

I'm not spoilered, but my theory is that Zekken is another digital artifact like the "daughter". That's what Kirito means by full-time. I'm hoping Asuna gets the story on her own so we can avoid Kirito mansplaining it first.

[ZoqFotPik]

It's a good question - if you start getting frostbite in the real world, will your dive gear warn you?

When Kirito and Sinon were talking in the cave, she started to get nervous about someone potentially being in her apartment. Kirito told her that she needed to get her heart rate under control or she would be logged out, so it's possible there are safeguards for body temperature as well. 

 

I'm hoping Asuna gets the story on her own so we can avoid Kirito mansplaining it first.

My understanding is that Asuna is the protagonist of this arc with Kirito serving in a more secondary role, so you may get your wish.

 

ETA:

It only took 20 episodes, but someone finally asked Asuna 'The Question'.

So the new guild, "The Sleeping Knights", has to clear a floor before permanently disbanding. That's not at all ominous. I'm guessing the leader girl is dying and her friends want do this for her before she dies. Naturally, Kirito somehow figured this out during their duel.

Edited August 23, 2015 by ZoqFotPik

[Sandman87]

It only took 20 episodes, but someone finally asked Asuna 'The Question'.

I'll bite. What question?

From the name I suspect that The Sleeping Knights are all bedridden and/or terminally ill, and spend all of their time in the game.

Looks like Asuna just got inspired to stand up to her mother. Be interesting to see how she goes about it.

The three guys who were spying on the entrance to the boss encounter reminded me of a series of articles that Cracked.com has about truly spectacular dick moves that players have perpetrated in online games. Here's a few:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-6-most-spectacular-dick-moves-in-online-gaming-history/

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-7-biggest-dick-moves-in-history-online-gaming/

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-7-most-elaborate-dick-moves-in-online-gaming-history/

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-biggest-dick-moves-in-online-gaming-history-part-5/

[ZoqFotPik]

 

I'll bite. What question?

Asuna's Mom: Why are you still using this thing that almost killed you?

[Lantern7]

One interesting thing about Asuna's upcoming quest . . . there's the inherent danger that she might get pulled out of her "full dive" by her mother at any given moment.

 

Called it. Sorry if I'm bragging over nothing, but I'm seldom correct in predictions on stuff I watch.

 

Asuna's arc is the last one of SAOII, yes? I'd rather they devote a denouement to Kirito, since he's been the protagonist throughout the series, but I can get behind Asuna getting some depth. It's just that her mother is so awful. I'm not expecting her to create a character and dive in with her daughter, but pulling the plug for missing dinner? That's bad.

 

ETA: Deleted extraneous stuff from the quote. Also, "awful" in the sense of not understanding her daughter, as opposed to legit evil "awful" like Gendo and Ragyo, my "go-to's" for evil parents.

[ZoqFotPik]

 

From the name I suspect that The Sleeping Knights are all bedridden and/or terminally ill, and spend all of their time in the game.

Yeah, after this episode, I think you're right. I guessing whatever disease Yuuki is suffering from has already killed her sister.

Also, as is standard, because of the holiday next week, the next episode will air on the 12th.

[Lantern7]

Something tells me the "secret" of the Sleeping Knights is going to wind up being lame. At least we had Kirito being l33t again. For some reason, I never tire of him going into self-made god mode.

[Lantern7]

Looks like I was wrong about the Sleeping Knights. Has any other anime dealt with AIDS? I did a profile on somebody who got infected the same way Yuuki did . . . but I don't think it's possible for the mother to infect the entire family. On the bright side, we got a brief glimpse of Asuna's mother, and that's enough for me.