Before we begin, I’d like to quickly mention that I am a huge प्रशंसक of the light novels. Despite this, I will try to keep any mention of the novels themselves to a minimum, though it’s inevitable that some comparison will crop up in looking at how well the ऐनीमे adapts the original material. In addition, I am (and always have been) a huge प्रशंसक of the MMORPG genre and have played an unworldly number over the years so hopefully my knowledge in that area might help to shed some light on any exposition left out of the ऐनीमे adaption!

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To quickly summarise (for those who may be on the fence about...

When i first heard about Sword Art Online i thought it would be something i would like. i didn't know that it would lead me to a whole new life! SAO totally changed my attitude, my thoughts, my actions, even how i dress. When i saw the first episode of SAO i became addicted right away! I finished the first season in about a week या less. Now every Saturday i watch the new GGO episode. SAO made me want to watch other anime. My brother pointed a couple of ऐनीमे out to me and अगला thing i new i was watching ऐनीमे all the time and i was buying ऐनीमे shirts, bracelets, lanyards, and some other awesome...

Not all MMOs are focused entirely around combat. In fact, the majority usually have some form of crafting या profession system for those who prefer to play a supporting role away from the battlefield या as a reprieve from the constant battles. SAO is no exception to this. For me, Lisbeth (Takagaki Ayahi) is one of the और interesting side-story needs-more-deban characters to follow. Sachi… well Sachi can’t really be followed anymore and Silica would be similar to Kirito in her combat antics but with the addition of a pet. Liz, however, gives us a window into an entirely different side...

I’ve taken two main things away from this episode. The first is that Sugou is hilarious. I have no idea if this was intentional, but the guy is Class-A comedy villain material! द्वारा this point, he’s little और than a caricature of a man, with no substance beyond being a horrible creep who has his eyes set on Asuna and vast wealth. Koyasu Takehito has a great voice at his disposal and it almost felt as though some Dio came out in today’s episode. I laughed a lot this week. I’m not even joking.

Zephyr once told me that it was worth watching Zetsuen no Tempest for the reaction faces alone....

This week’s episode forms the conclusion of the mysterious murder case arc. To be perfectly honest, it felt a little out of character for the series, not just in the ऐनीमे but also in the light novels. I would consider this dissonance far और emphasised in the ऐनीमे though – the attempts to create an atmosphere of horror and mystery felt a little forced. Creating suspense and tension at the thought of death is one thing, trying to bring elements of horror and mystery to a story which isn’t really about either can be a risky move. Branching out can be good, but it’s always possible...

I was never right for the hero type of role
I admit it
With my दिल shivering in fear
I can see today's reflected in each past tear
Even so
It has been calling the heavens to me
But I cannot hide
All the emptiness inside
My fleeting दिल

Once in my dreams
I rose and soared
No matter how I'm knocked around
Or beaten down
I will stand up, restored

All of my प्यार
Has yet to wake
I know your strength is what I lack
You've got my back
And know that I've got yours

I have आप to thank
For lighting up the dark

Because you're here with me
Our dreams will soar free
Forever

(I wanna always be with you
I...

Alright, I’m going to say something extremely controversial this week. See, I genuinely enjoyed the सेकंड half of this episode. Quite a bit in fact. Sword Art Online can actually be very good when the focus isn’t entirely on how ridiculously powerful and badass Kirito is supposed to be which, in truth, has been the major focus for most of the ALO arc. What Kawahara Reki seems to frequently forget is that MMORPGs aren’t about the individual, but what the many can accomplish when they combine their strength. The same can also extend to all other mediums – Stilts and Stereoman even wrote...

It’s always interesting to have some light shed upon the motives of characters who aren’t one-dimensional antagonists. We heard और than enough about Sugou’s dastardly plans last week, so it was about time we finally had something to counterbalance that – the purity behind Sugu’s motives for joining ALO and becoming enraptured द्वारा it. Her original desire to play a VRMMO stemmed from wanting to see what kind of life Kirito was trapped in. Honestly speaking, ALO is so different to SAO in so many ways; it’s hard to believe she would have managed to get any sort of picture of what life...

If there’s one thing आप don’t see very often in an MMO, it’s a murder mystery. That’s mostly because murder is never really a big deal in an MMO after all – sure PKing is often frowned upon, but unless you’re playing a game like EVE Online, it’s relatively rare that anyone will go to great lengths to solve such a case (not that it’s actually hard to solve in the first place). But a murder mystery is exactly what we get this week, focused around a guild going द्वारा the name of ‘Golden Apple‘ and their quarrels over a rare item drop.

In typical fashion, Kawahara picks up yet...

Episode 15 of Sword Art Online feels almost like an entirely different anime. Right from the OP दिखा रहा है Kirito and co. frolicking around in Aion the new game which wasn’t introduced in this episode, down to the new characters and real world setting, only Kirito and Asuna (along with Kawahara Reki’s distinctive लेखन style) remain as reminders of the पूर्व arc. We’re out of SAO, Kirito is undergoing rehabilitation, Asuna remains in a coma for some mysterious reason, and right off the bat we have another new प्यार interest and antagonist. Yes. Already. Perhaps some would complain that...

So how about some loli fanservice? This was certainly an episode packed full of it! Once again, Kirito manages to save the life of another player and ends up travelling with them. It’s also the सेकंड time he’s done so in order to help a female player (that we’re aware of).

Given what is probably a vastly skewed ratio of males to females in the SAO playerbase (just to put it into perspective, during the Pre-Open Beta Tests for Phantasy तारा, स्टार Online 2, over 71% of all characters were female… what do we think this says about the Japanese playerbase for online games दिया most of those were...

For the longest time, Sword Art Online has been lacking something that’s almost crucial in the चोटी, शीर्ष tier of anime. There’s a certain element of enjoyment that can only really be brought to an ऐनीमे द्वारा sheer, unfettered fabulousness. This is a flair Kirito, as our main character, is distinctly lacking – his almost bleak, and relatively stoic nature goes hand in hand with his dark and dour clothing choices. For the first time since its premiere, we have something that comes vaguely close to the spirit – a character who just barely manages to bring some fabulous to the table. Oh, द्वारा the...

I would hate to take part in a SAO boss battle. Let’s take a step back and look at how boss battles generally work in an MMO. It’s rare for things to go quite to plan – if it’s not a ‘Leeroy Jenkins!’ then someone will purposely ignore simple instructions, या fail to listen during the multiple explanations आप give resulting in complete chaos. Even if द्वारा some miracle आप avoid wiping completely, leaving nothing but a pile of corpses in the boss room, many people will go down due to that situation. Heck, even with the perfect strategy and no foolishness on the part of the members,...

I’ve been wondering this for a while, and I know others have too. Isn’t it rather strange that Leafa has never once questioned Kirito’s absurdities? I’m sure most players would notice that something was up pretty quickly दिया how prone gamers are to calling out exploiters. If anything, watching him fight General Eugene (Miyake Kenta) should have triggered some concerns that he was hacking. After all, he moves much faster than he should be able to as we’ve witnessed on multiple occasions (half the time it looks like he’s speedhacking); he can fly faster than Leafa despite the fact...

With episode sixteen of Sword Art Online we finally return to some of the aspects that the series excels at. Our new game for the rest of the season is ALFheim Online, an MMORPG built using the same systems as Sword Art Online but with magic replacing sword skills, environments that are somehow even और beautiful than its predecessor, the ability to fly, and a complete overhaul of the level and skill system. On चोटी, शीर्ष of this, we actually get to see character creation for the first time, minimal though it may be!

Personally, something about the idea of बिना सोचे समझे character appearance generation repulses...

One महीना in and two thousand players are already dead. The fear in the air is almost palpable – everyone is reluctant to proceed दिया what fate could potentially befall them. Heck, some people even abstain from participating in combat, choosing to remain in the starter cities and wait it out instead. In the same way, it’s no surprise to see the animosity felt towards beta testers – those who are perceived to have an unfair advantage over them. This has basically become their reality now, can आप blame them for hating the people who have an advantage they can see no way to obtain for...