Sword Art Online - General Discussion

[Sandman87]

I, on the other hand, totally called it. Yay me! Owww...I hurt my arm...

 

Can't think of other anime with characters who have HIV or AIDS. There are plenty of anime with characters who are dying of Vague Unspecified Disease, so I guess some of them might qualify.

 

I suppose that all it would have taken to infect Yuuki's older sister would be for Mom to do a "kiss it and make it better" on a cut or scrape, as parents often do with young kids.

[ZoqFotPik]

 

I suppose that all it would have taken to infect Yuuki's older sister would be for Mom to do a "kiss it and make it better" on a cut or scrape, as parents often do with young kids.

They were twins. Yuuki's sister was born first. The three of them were infected when the mother received a contaminated blood transfusion during a complicated C-section. Also, it is impossible to transmit HIV/AIDS via saliva.

[Sandman87]

Also, it is impossible to transmit HIV/AIDS via saliva.

Saliva can have blood in it after brushing or flossing, or from a bitten tongue or cheek. Low probability perhaps, but not impossible.

[Lantern7]

So . . .  how many more episodes are left? Nice that Asuna can take Yuuki out to school and to her old home, then top that off by finally getting her mother to understand her life. I guess I'm used to the ass-kicking VR/MMORPG stuff, but the personal stuff is okay by me.

[lathspel]

It was ok, nice that Asuna worked things out.

I actually appreciated that this one was a bit low on the action scale - I didn't have to look up often from my recent pastime of plucking our slow-shedding rabbit. (It's hard to tell, but I think he was keeping an eye on the VR bunnies in this ep.)

[ZoqFotPik]

Next week is the last episode of the season.

[Sandman87]

I was hoping for something a little more confrontational between Asuna and Mom. Not something violent mind you, just something a little less real world-ish than "let's sit down and discuss this like adults." Like maybe threatening to drop out as soon as she turns 16 or something.

 

It's nice that Kirito's virtual-real link project has a medical application. If he has any brains he'll patent that sucker right now.

 

The optical thing on Asuna's shoulder with Yuki's voice coming from it reminded me of the Tachikomas from GitS. Also, the line about getting married to each other and being named Yuki Yuki cracked me up.

 

Notes from my limited knowledge of Japanese vocabulary: Have I mentioned yet that yuki means snow? Maybe there was some related symbolism in the in-game scene with Asuna and Mom. And in case anyone wants to know, that low table with the built-in comforter (and a small heater on the underside) in Asuna's flashbacks is called a kotatsu.

[ZoqFotPik]

Well, that was an ending I guess. It was a little hard to get too attached to a character that had only been introduced 6 episodes ago.The revelation that Kayaba was behind the development of the Medicuboid came out of nowhere and really didn't go anywhere. This whole last arc seemed kind of pointless to me and overall, with all the pacing issues, obvious plot twists, and the last half of the season being mostly filler, I wasn't really impressed with this season.

From what I understand, while it hasn't been green lit, a third season is likely and light novels on which it will be based are longer than all the previous arcs combined. I guess that Parasyte show will be taking the time slot. I'll give it a shot, but doesn't look that interesting. Anyway it's been fun discussing this show with the 3 or 4 of you who post here. Later.

[Lantern7]

I'd welcome a third season. Isn't one of the "Death Gun" killers still loose?

 

Is it wrong that I teared up a little with Yuuki's final moments? I'm not usually emotional about anime, especially when it's not as good as it neighbor shows, but homegirl got a huge sendoff.

[Sandman87]

Nice that Yuki passed on her super-duper high level sword technique to Asuna. I didn't realize that the players could do that.
 

Isn't one of the "Death Gun" killers still loose?

That's my understanding of it.

[Terrafamilia]

I guess that Parasyte show will be taking the time slot. I'll give it a shot, but doesn't look that interesting.

I've read the manga series and enjoyed it so I'm looking forward to see how well they do with the anime.

[lathspel]

This show has made me tear up more than once, and it has been really pretty, if not particularly deep. I'll miss the mindless distraction and infrequent awesome battle scenes, but not the relatively flat relationships.

I will miss Asuna, I really liked the combination of VA and character design. Kirito, in contrast, was a little too much wish fulfillment for me.

[Lantern7]

Because a media thread was never set up . . . SAO flick to premiere around the world. Would anybody reading this pay to see that?

[Lantern7]

Honest Trailers takes on SAO. They are not fans of the second volume. No reaction about the GGO arc.

[Lantern7]

Good news: Season 3 arrives at Toonami on February 9! Bad news: I cannot find that damn Honest Trailer!!

Shit, it's lost. Maybe it'll get posted again. But hey, Kirito's back! And Asuna! And whatever their real names are!!

[Lantern7]

Trailer!

[Sandman87]

I'm strangely ambivalent about the prospect of another season.

[lathspel]

The first ep back was a deep dive indeed.  I think I preferred the creepy society of the first half (even with mini-kirito), to the exposition fest of the second half.

Having dive time run longer than IRL is a neat concept.  It also may explain Kirito getting so skinny - his brain is operating a lot faster than the rest of him. 

[Lantern7]

Minutes 0-30: Adventure with three kids, with the girl -- Alice -- inadvertently committing the ultimate taboo. Also, one of the boys is a wee Kirito. At the end, the real guy wakes up from a deep dive.

Minutes 30-60: After a fun round of Gun Gale Online (hey Klein! Girls whose names I can't remember!), we get Kirito talking about his new gig with Asuna and Sinon (it's okay not to look up actual names, right?) And it's way the fuck too complicated to process right away. Something about the light in brain cells being the soul . . . one would expect Kirito to leave the pub (hey, black dude from previous seasons! You wanna say more than two words? No? Cool) and start handing out pamphlets. The real red flag -- aside from Kirito's weight loss -- is that he's prevented from remembering his experiences from his dives. But since he's Kirito, he's not a complete dummy, and he's taking precautions.

Afterward, Kirito tells Asuna he wants to go to America for better opportunities, and he wants her to come with him. Given how he's got a small implant that allows her to monitor his health, I'd say they were already married. And then the last remaining asshole from Laughing Coffin (SAO's notorious player killers) comes up to them, acts crazy, and attacks Kirito with some sort of hypodermic needle. He nails the guy with his umbrella, but he looks boned.

Oh, and Kirito still wields photon swords in GGO. Yes, he still brings knives to a gunfight. Also, he hasn't clipped his avatar's long hair, so he still looks female.

[Sandman87]

As soon as they said "It's forbidden to go to that other place over there" in the first half, I knew exactly how things were going to turn out with them. Chekov's Gun, and all that.

[lathspel]

It’s weird that no one remembers Kirito from before, right?

Is Alice supposed to be older than the two boys?  Because her little sister is just barely younger than Kirito I think. 

I’m kinda hoping the plot is actually that Yugeo has to grow into the hero and Kirito supports him, but I’m not holding my breath. 

[Terrafamilia]

Asuna and Rinko start to get an explanation about A.I.'s and fluctlights but run into technical difficulties. Before you know it Megalobox has taken over on my DVR. GRRRR.

[Sandman87]

4 hours ago, Terrafamilia said:

Asuna and Rinko start to get an explanation about A.I.'s and fluctlights but run into technical difficulties.

I guess you might say that the broadcast was all fluct up.

Short version: Kirito is in the super-duper VR world because it will make his brain heal up good as new.  I predict that Asuna will insist on entering the simulation too.

[Lantern7]

Haven't caught up yet. Here's a post from Toonami's Facebook: basically, corrected version this Saturday, back-to-back episodes on March 30.

[lathspel]

The explanation that the Alice world is populated by stolen baby brain patterns is the most revolting thing I’ve seen on this show - and I’m including “Asuna vs the tentacle porn aliens”.

[Sandman87]

Was anyone surprised that Asuna's flowers got dug up by the jerkwad noble kids?

Thinking about last week's episode, they're not handling the brain copy freak-out problem very well. It took me about two minutes to come up with a couple of possible remedies. Making a copy of someone who wants to be an AI, for example.

[lathspel]

That was quite a fast forward in-game.  It’s convenient that “wanting it more” is a game mechanic (with a hidden stat).

I’m glad Nanbu could find a new job as a blacksmithing artificial fluctlight.  Once again he’s confounded by what the kid can do.  

[Lantern7]

Did those dick nobles get imported from Black Clover? Actually, those guys were way worse.

I'm guessing Eugeo was based off someone that exists in the real world, as opposed to being an AI offspring. The concept is pretty ingenious. It does open a huge can of worms, though.

[Sandman87]

Every time someone says "Eugeo", it makes me think "Yu-Gi-Oh!"

[Lantern7]

Saw the second episode. Fucking hell, there is no subtlety. I will say that it’s badass for Eugeo to overcome the programming, to the point where his eye blew up from the pressure. At least those “nobles” went out like punk-ass bitches.

[lathspel]

Recently:  Quinella tries to hack the system from the inside, and turns into that lady from the Superman movie with Richard Pryor.  (You can tell that one messed me up as a kid.)

In security terms I think she just performed a privilege escalation against her container runtime, but she didn’t quite construct the right supervisor stack to return into.  

I know the first thing I’d do:  assign a shell alias for “System Call:  generate thermal essence, Arrow shape, straighten flight, release!”  I don’t even like typing “kubectl”.

Also, apparently killing life forms increases your System Control Authority, which is a lousy design for a VR world with actual humans, if you think about it.

[Sandman87]

Kirito and Eugeo manage to defeat the Integrity Knight by talking him to death. "Does not compute...er-er-er-er-er-error-error." Judging by the dialog and the names of the knights, I'm guessing that they're  modified copies of the original people.

The Magical System Command Librarian looks a lot like Taiga from Toradora, but with glasses and a witch hat, and without the violent temper. Same  hair and height.

[Terrafamilia]

On 4/22/2019 at 11:04 PM, lathspel said:

Also, apparently killing life forms increases your System Control Authority, which is a lousy design for a VR world with actual humans, if you think about it.

But it was intended to develop AI's for military use so there's that.

[Sandman87]

Kirito and Eugeo manage to befriend the red armored knight with the classic Nanoha technique: They kick his ass. In the talky bit that follows, they figure out that the knights get their memories erased on a regular basis.

[Sandman87]

Last night I was reading through an old collection of science fiction stories, and one of them used the exact same Big Plot Mystery as Gun Gale Online; player gets killed in a virtual world, turns up dead in real life. And it had exactly the same solution; someone in real life kills the real person when the VR character dies. Outright theft by GGO, or just coincidence?

If you want to look it up, the short story is "Death in the Promised Land" by Pat Cadigen, published in 1995.

[lathspel]

I’m so tired of there being two girls to simper over Yugio and Kirito.  Easily my least favorite trope of season three.

I like the new opening, glad they kept a complicated high-five as their signature. 

[Sandman87]

A sword that traps you and grows flowers as it drains your life? Dude, Bleach called, and Yumichika wants his secret shikai back.

[Lantern7]

Female Antagonist: No one loves you, Eugeo.

Eugeo: That's not true!

Female Antagonist: No one ever loved you. Not your mother, not Alice, not Kirito. But I love you. And now, I'm going to go topless in a rather tasteful scene (given what's happening), and I will basically seduce you into letting me screw with your mind.

Eugeo: [nodding]

Me: [watching] Okay, things are taking an interesting turn. DAMN. Looks like Eugeo is "hoes before Kiritoes."

Should I be ashamed over that last bit? It seems funny in my mind.

[Sandman87]

So Alice is on the verge of an eyesplosion, and Eugeo will apparently believe anything if you say it nicely enough.

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Should I be ashamed over that last bit? It seems funny in my mind.

It worked for me. Better pretend to be ashamed, just in case.

[Lantern7]

11 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

. . .and Eugeo will apparently believe anything if you say it nicely enough.

In his defense, the lady was basically offering her body unto him. "Give me your love, and I will help you." Very thin subtext. Seriously, have we ever thought about sex with this anime? Kirito and Asuna adopted a kid in SAO, but they probably didn't consummate their relationship. And if they did, it could be waved off for being in virtual reality. Also, because they were trapped in SAO for two years.

Edited June 12, 2019 by Lantern7

[lathspel]

I assumed that the trapped participants of SAO did something to forget their existential dread during the two years they were trapped.  But I guess it’s more a question of whether intensely realistic VR games have parental controls.

This ep was not quite as exploitative as the original “Asuna vs the tentacle aliens” ep, but it’s still the one ep per season that ensures I won’t watch it with my 12-year-old, who is super into video games.  Oh well. 

[lathspel]

Random actual plot related comment:  IF Kirito actually let Yugeo in on what he learned from the Cardinal, then this could all be a feint from Yugeo to get close.  Is he still holding the knife?

But probably none of these characters are that smart, and Kirito is going to have to fight Yugeo Synthesis 31 😕 .

[lathspel]

I called it but that one was obvious. 

It’s interesting that the Senate together can force through system calls that would otherwise require the user’s approval.  I bet that’s going to be relevant.

”Two sword style” - hah!

Edited June 19, 2019 by lathspel

[lathspel]

So just me watching this one, then?

I spent most of the episode trying to figure out if Toonami added strategically placed locks of hair on Administrator, or if those were original.

Glad Kirito and Yugeo didn’t fight for too long.  I like that Admin mentioned no metal blade can pierce her, making it really clear that an ice dragon bone sword is where we’re heading. 

[Sandman87]

50 minutes ago, lathspel said:

I like that Admin mentioned no metal blade can pierce her, making it really clear that an ice dragon bone sword is where we’re heading. 

Kirito's sword is made from part of a tree...

[lathspel]

I know, but I’m hoping against hope that Kirito isn’t the hero of this one.  I hope it’s Yugeo. 

[Terrafamilia]

Administrator has been watching Yu-Gi-Oh! so she special summons Golden Snicker-Snak of the Gleaming Blades, or Sword Golem, or whatever (my name sounds better). To counter, Eugeo special summons Cardinal who delivers a curb-stomp. Unfortunately, Charlotte the spider had sacrificed herself to make the Cardinal's summoning possible (the spider's name was Charlotte, get it?). However, Administrator is clearly not finished.

[lathspel]

I expected Yugeo to save the day somehow, but not as a giant winged sword.  Whoah.

[Lantern7]

I'm just along for the ride at this point. Yugeo transforms into a giant sword? Cool. As long as he doesn't tell long-winded stories and blame all murders on Dr. Watson, I'm good with it.

How many more episodes are there this season?

[Sandman87]

5 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Yugeo transforms into a giant sword? Cool. As long as he doesn't tell long-winded stories and blame all murders on Dr. Watson, I'm good with it.

It'd be worth it just to see Kirito and Alice making that face...