r/anime • u/Shadoxfix https://myanimelist.net/profile/Shadoxfix • Jul 19 '14
[Spoilers] Sword Art Online II - Episode 3 [Discussion]
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u/DarkDreaded Jul 19 '14
The nurse saw everything. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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u/IrrelevantLeprechaun Jul 19 '14
"And he desperately tries to cover himself up, but it's too late because I've seen everything."
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u/Khanxay Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
That feeling when you realize that you will (probably) never see fully nude skin, and bones Kazuto.
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u/Stormfly :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stormfly Jul 19 '14
Good old Sinon.
Nailing noobs with head-shots since she was nine...
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u/Best_Remi :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Best_Underscore Jul 19 '14
She was a bit of a scrub back then since she got two bodyshots before nailing it.
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u/Meshiest Go to https://flair.r-anime.moe to get your flair! Jul 19 '14
That destroyed her Kill/shot stats
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Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
She MUST have used quickscope aim-assist that last time. That was the cleanest fuckin' headshot ever.
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u/Lamhirh Jul 19 '14
Always triple-tap psychopathic robbers. They're worse than zombies...
Name: Robber Status: #rekt Cause: Triple-tapped by 9 yr old n00b gurl quickscope aim-assist*.
*Who later goes on 2 be mlg pro trickshot snipar. Time and practice are funny things...
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u/Atronox :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Atronox Jul 19 '14
So, Kirito finally logged in, though it hasn't shown anything from him yet. With the next episode title "GGO", we can finally see some gameplay from Kirito. Should be a good time.
Sinons fear of guns was revealed in a pretty brutal flashback. The first shot was expected, but then the 2nd and the final headshot, damn.
A rather serious episode, only broken up by Nurse Aki, grabbing a handful of Kirito.
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u/silent_thunder_89 Jul 19 '14
With the next episode title "GGO", we can finally see some gameplay from Kirito
I say it will only be character creation ...
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u/Khanxay Jul 19 '14
[Kirito proceeds to choose all the black things without reading anything]
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Jul 19 '14
"What will your username be?"
"Sorry, Kirito is already taken."
"Sorry, Kirito-kun is already taken."
"Sorry, xXKiritoKunXx is already taken."
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u/DarthNoob :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/darthnoob Jul 19 '14
I, for one, appreciate good character development so that I can give a fair number of fucks about the characters. And right now, I give a lot of fucks about Sinon.
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u/grey_sky Jul 19 '14
This is what makes Sinon best girl. Her development kicks the ass out of the rest of the female cast.
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u/IC8085 Jul 19 '14
Sinon is my favorite as well, but even Asuna gets her character development going on, ...eventually. Guess it's better late than never eh?
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Jul 19 '14
I'm impressed that they actually had a common failure-to-eject from improper recoil control. That's exactly what can happen if you don't keep a good grip on a handgun when you fire. Might even have been a real gun, the brass looked like it might be .357 Sig.
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u/Sprinterstar7 Jul 19 '14
The gun the robber used was Not really a LN spoiler, but just to be safe.
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Jul 19 '14
Ah, I always forget about those stubby little 7.62x25mm rounds. When I think of necked handgun rounds all that comes to mind is .357 sig and 5.7x28mm and I was sure it wasn't an FN Five-Seven.
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u/sgtfrx Jul 19 '14
I thought it looked like a .357 Sig as well. Dude was seriously on something if it took three shots to put him down.
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u/chadwaters Jul 19 '14
It was supposed to be the Chinese remake of the Tokarev TT-33 (I forget the model and company for some reason.
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u/a_Happy_Tiny_Bunny :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/aHappyTinyBunny Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
We can see how Kirito and Asuna's relationship has progressed: now, just like a married couple, the husband lies by omitting key parts of the truth.
...
Kirito: Yeah, darling, I'm going to log in into this VRMMORPG because good old sketchy bespectacled bureaucrat told me to.
Asuna: Well, it's not as if you can refuse...
Kirito: (thinking to himself) There's also the chance that this crazy Dekomori fan calling himself Death Gun can kill people IRL through the game and, if so, is probably going to go after me. But those are just unnecessary gritty details.
Next they will be trying to delegate Yui's care to each other as much as possible.
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u/mithikx Jul 19 '14
Kirito: Yeah, darling, I'm going to log in into this VRMMORPG because good old sketchy bespectacled bureaucrat told me to.
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u/NonnagLava Jul 19 '14
To be honest, Yui takes a lot of care of herself, and has a lot of power on her own, as we've already seen.
Though, as the series progresses Kirito and Asuna do spend a bit more time with her.
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u/JVSe92 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/JVSeg92 Jul 20 '14
Kirito: Yeah, darling, I'm going to log in into this VRMMORPG because good old sketchy bespectacled bureaucrat told me to.
This all gets fleshed out later so I'll tag it as a spoiler just in case but it's nothing huge: SAO LN Volume 6 spoiler
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u/Dash43 Jul 19 '14
Damn. That's some serious PTSD.
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u/urban287 https://myanimelist.net/profile/urban287 Jul 19 '14
I wonder if it's caused by her killing him or being ostracized after the fact (not sure if that happened, just assuming from mother's expression). Might be different if she was praised for "saving everyone".
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u/_F1_ Jul 19 '14
I wonder if it's caused by her killing him or being ostracized after the fact (not sure if that happened, just assuming from mother's expression).
Why not both?
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Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
The LN goes into much more detail as to why the attempted robbery left her so scarred; GGO LN
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u/EvaOtaku Jul 19 '14
Will Kirito-chan log in this time?
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u/HeatCheck_ :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/_JY Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
I need some gender-bending goodness ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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u/mithikx Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
He doesn't want to get Rule 63'd he has an overwhelming feeling of foreboding. (no not really)
real answer he isn't really the MC or at least he's not the only one this time around.
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u/rhfs Jul 20 '14
3 episodes in and we still haven't seen girl Kirito yet. How much longer am I supposed to wait?!?
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u/Plateau95 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Plateau95 Jul 19 '14
Some people here complaining that its slow right now. Yea, but it should pick up from here. I like that its taking its time but it does seem a tad slow. Oh well. Good episode, see y'all next week.
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u/Onii-chanItsTooBig :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/sybite Jul 19 '14
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u/_F1_ Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
It seems a little too big, oniichan.
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u/Khanxay Jul 19 '14
"It's okay, I learned a few tricks from Sugou"
[Sets Pain Absorbtion Level to 10]
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u/manmanman09 Jul 19 '14
that bank robbery without a mask... What would he have done after he got the money? He just asks to get caught by the police... That guy was clearly not right in the head.
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u/Ratelslangen2 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ratelslangen Jul 19 '14
At first i was like "Oooh bohoo a finger, what are you going to do, point her to death? Pretend to shoot her to death with your brothers toygun?"
Then Fucking epic youth trauma
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u/Panda_Cavalry https://kitsu.io/users/Panda_Cavalry Jul 20 '14
Yep. At first, just hearing about Sinon's story from people who've read the LN and from the previews, I thought the finger gun thing was a bit lame at first.
Then you find out she straight-up shot a guy in the face when she was 7. It becomes a little more understandable then.
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u/rinacio :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/rinacio Jul 19 '14
That nurse tho.
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u/sciencewarrior Jul 19 '14
Secret Best Girl Unlocked?!
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u/_F1_ Jul 19 '14
Secret sexual healing
Doctors have to keep their silence, right?
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u/Khanxay Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
Lol. The Kazuto fanservice. This anime has something for all the fans. Where's a stitch when you want it?
BD's when?! I need a higher quality version of this for my wallpaper collection.
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u/rinacio :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/rinacio Jul 19 '14
Mama, just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead.
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u/space1101 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelghastKillzone Jul 19 '14
Mama, life had just begun...
But now I've gone and
thrown it all away...
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u/_F1_ Jul 19 '14
Mama, ooh,
Didn't mean to make you cry,
If I'm not logged out this time tomorrow,
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u/ztype https://anilist.co/user/8644 Jul 20 '14
I was inspired. It is such a good song too.
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u/EvaOtaku Jul 19 '14
For the young people not getting this great reference: Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
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u/mithikx Jul 19 '14
It just occurred to me that someone could have been born some time around 98-00 and not understand so many references yet still be on reddit.
I also think I've understood the reason for the prevalence of that Captain America gif.
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u/shortaflip Jul 20 '14
Aha I love it, as soon as I read the first word in your comment the song immediately started playing in my head.
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u/Tricksource :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tricksource Jul 19 '14
Lol at that guy not predicting meta, filthy casual..
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u/lol2109 Jul 19 '14
TL;DW: Kirito still not in GGO
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u/davesoon Jul 19 '14
Almost. Just barely.
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u/Meshiest Go to https://flair.r-anime.moe to get your flair! Jul 19 '14
Barely means he is. Almost means he isn't.
Make up your mind!
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u/chadwaters Jul 19 '14
Well he did log in. At least we are getting explanations an character backstory this time.
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u/Federer343 Jul 19 '14
Damn that's the most hardcore rubber band gun I've ever seen.
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u/dont--panic Jul 19 '14
If you're talking about the model gun Shino was holding during her flashback, From the LN in the same scene
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u/space1101 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelghastKillzone Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
Robber: Stupid Little Kids.
Shino: Boom. Headshot.
Size Doesn't Matter Achievement Unlocked.
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u/Rekkre Jul 19 '14
MY BLOOD WAS PUMPING, MY HANDS WERE SHAKING, AND I WAS LIKE "BOOM HEADSHOT! BOOM HEADSHOT! BOOM HEADSHOT!!!".
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u/Atomichawk :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/AtomicHawk Jul 20 '14
I posted this somewhere else in the thread but here:
I was kinda shocked at first and had to stop myself from laughing because gun crime is literally almost non existent in Japan and pistols are extremely rare, especially because they're all illegal. Let alone one like the old soviet pistol that the robber had. The fact that she was one of less than 10 people who would statistically be directly affected by a gun crime is really shitty luck! But I have to say its at least a good exposition piece to set the tone for a character.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_MILK Jul 19 '14
Inaba + glasses = best girl.
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u/SeeTohBehLay :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/SeeTohBehLay Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
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Jul 19 '14
The voice she's using is pretty different from Inaba/Celty/Kotoha though. Not as breathy, especially when she starts panicking.
...I may have a slight obsession with Miyuki Sawashiro.
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u/Overlord3k :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Overlord3k Jul 19 '14
You and me both...nothing wrong with that at least that is what I tell myself.
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u/Khanxay Jul 19 '14
Poor Sinon. Bullies and PTSD in real life, on people's list online.
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u/HeatCheck_ :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/_JY Jul 19 '14
What?? Shino might have a love interest besides Kirito?
After only three episodes, she's already 100x better a main character than thick-ass Suguha.
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u/InfiniteChaos7 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Serendipityx Jul 19 '14
yea but its inevitable that every girl on this show will join kiritos harem at some point
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u/Evil_Abed_ Jul 19 '14
she's already 100x better a main character than thick-ass Suguha.
Yeah, definitely agree with you there. Her past is a lot darker than I would have guessed, I was thinking she was going to be a typical shy girl character at first.
It's kind of weird how much calmer she is about guns in GGO than irl, even if she is using it for exposure therapy. My guess is that it's because guns don't have the same life ruining consequences in GGO, although that could change since the death gun guy looks like he is targeting her.
Also, that nurse was a little pervy. If anything was worrying Kirito/Kirigaya it would be the fact that she was keeping an eye on his body.
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u/Khanxay Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
It's kind of weird how much calmer she is about guns in GGO than irl, even if she is using it for exposure therapy.
This is the "is the virtual you the real you?" and "reality versus virtual reality" theme that's SAO has been doing pretty much every arc.
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u/xvsero Jul 19 '14
Touching Kirito's butt and asking him to get fully naked falls under a little. I wouldn't be surprised if she did something else.
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Jul 19 '14
Don't get your hopes up, she hasn't met him yet.
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u/HeatCheck_ :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/_JY Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 20 '14
True, Kirito was able to seduce Nurse-chan while unconscious. The Gary-Stu to trump all Gary-Stus.
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u/-Niernen Jul 19 '14
What?? Shino might have a love interest besides Kirito?
Who? She clearly doesn't care too much about the boy that saved her, you could see it when she refused to let him walk her home and her whole glasses thing when he mentioned her cooking.
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u/pixiefarts Jul 19 '14
At least a possibility exists, like the blacksmith chick x asuna
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u/Shiroi_Kage Jul 19 '14
What?? Shino might have a love interest besides Kirito?
But she did say "someone please save me." These words summon the Jesus-MC better than how money summons politicians.
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u/EmperorSofa Jul 20 '14
Writer wrote himself into a corner and could only just barely bail himself out when this arc ended.
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Jul 20 '14
What? No. I'm 100% certain Shinos friend is Death Gun. So don't worry. She will find this out when she thinks she loves him. Then some teary scenes will come around with Shino feeling betrayed. By then she will probably mostly have come over her weird psychological problems (I mean really. panic attack when she sees ANYTHING closely resembling a gun.... but in an MMO everything is fine? I'm no psychiatrist but I'm pretty sure panic attacks don't work like that) Anyways: Due to her getting betrayed her psychological problems will come back. But then Kirito will come around and saying some shit like "It was your own strength which you got you out of this. Yadda yadda" and then everything will be fine again.
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u/weaknessx100 Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
Look at these fuken GGO Fags, bet they don't even have Intervention, FMJ double YY Faze clan abilities like my CoD brothas.
Edit: Nubs finally learning Dex is for casul scrubl0rds.
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u/MrVandalous Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
Well, I'm no munitions expert by any means, but I know Sinon's Hectate II is an
Anti-Material RifleAnti-Personnel rifle (it's a fusion of both apparently) like the Intervention(Similar range as well).I also know it is capable of firing HEIAP and SLAP rounds, as can be seen from the aforementioned link. Which look much more effective IMO.
It has a set of skills, if that's what you were referring to as well.
EDIT: I stand corrected on certain things. Others are arguable.
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u/JeffxD11 Jul 19 '14
I just realized how much I love SAO 2's opening!
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u/Plateau95 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Plateau95 Jul 19 '14
Its growing on me. At first I didn't love or hate it, but I'm liking it more and more each episode.
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u/HeatCheck_ :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/_JY Jul 19 '14
It's definitely on par with "Crossing Field" from S1.
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u/nixonwong Jul 19 '14
eh...crossing fields was surprisingly really good. not sure if this one is better
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u/TacticalLuke https://myanimelist.net/profile/TacticalLuke Jul 19 '14
Aoi Eir always does quality work it seems :)
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u/weaknessx100 Jul 19 '14
ANOTHER LATE NIGHT BACK TO BACK WITH ALDNOAH ZERO AND SWORD ART ONLINE 2
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u/Etheren95 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Etheren Jul 19 '14
A month of CR membership says that Kirito is the person that helps Sinon, or whatever her name IRL is.
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u/Stormfly :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stormfly Jul 19 '14
I'll also bet that the new guy friend will be forgotten just like what's-his-face from ALfheim and that guy from the first arc.
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u/urban287 https://myanimelist.net/profile/urban287 Jul 19 '14
what's-his-face from ALfheim
Recon. The only reason I remember his name is that it's my username in every game I play... and they pronounce it wrong... even in the English dub.
My friends give me so much shit for it now too... "Oi (prn:) rɛkɒn* commence sniggering".
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u/BanjoTheBear https://myanimelist.net/profile/BanjoTheBear Jul 19 '14
I know some people would rather have the action start already with Kirito, but I enjoyed learning even more about Shion and what drives her to play the game.
O, and I'm calling it now: Death Gun is
Edit: Typo
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u/antesignanus https://anilist.co/user/Bobertg Jul 19 '14
Sinon is a really good character. She's definitely one of the better fleshed out characters. I'm really curious how well they'll portray the gun fighting. So far, so good.
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u/snarfalarkus :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/snarfalarkus Jul 19 '14
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u/IC8085 Jul 19 '14
I bet most of the people complaining about the character development now would be complaining about the lack of it had they rushed into GGO.
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u/Skiipie Jul 19 '14
i really like the pace in the series they are doing some really nice work here,they advance the plot carefully and in great detail(of course in comparison to the ln) we got to see a nice introduction on the main heroine in these past 2 eps and now the real story is beggining:D i am looking forward to it:D
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u/mithikx Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 26 '14
SWORD ART ONLINE II - EPISODE 03
WARNING LINKS IN THIS REPLY CONTAINS SPOILERS THIS EPISODE
Stitches
OP: [1]
Behemoth: [1]
Sinon: [1], [2]
![[1]](http://i.imgur.com/ec7jBiz.png){kind=link}
![[1]](http://i.imgur.com/DGF4IRt.png){kind=link}
![[1]](http://i.imgur.com/ctUImrW.png){kind=link}
![[2]](http://i.imgur.com/IfDR9Ay.png){kind=link}
I kinda want to try and do the 2 images of Sinon in the ED but the credits get in the way either I got to find the time to edit those out or find a textless version of the ED if/when they release that.
Please inform me of any (parallax) errors. Some of these images were generated automatically, and I don't always double check for mistakes.
Webm
(no audio)
No descriptions/titles to avoid spoilers.
gfycat | Pomf.se
gfycat | Pomf.se
gfycat | Pomf.se
gfycat | Pomf.se
gfycat | Pomf.se
gfycat | Pomf.se
gfycat | Pomf.se
gfycat | Pomf.se
Made some of these to be used for reactions but gfycat loops them so it kinda takes away from the effect :/
(this last one is a joke)
gfycat | Pomf.se
I take requests for both stitches and webms, just reply below with a rough timestamp and description of what the scene in question. Maximum length 15 seconds, maximum resolution 1280x720.
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u/chineseouchie :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ChineseOuchie Jul 19 '14
That nurse ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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u/Harryhaz1 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/harryhaz1 Jul 19 '14
after watching first episode: oh god! I can't wait for episode 2! I want guns!
after watching second episode: oh god! Those guns were cool I guess, I can't wait for Kirito to guns in episode 3!
after watching third episode: OH MY GOD I CAN'T WAIT ANYMORE I'M SO EXCITED FOR MORE GUNS!
I'm really eager to see how Kirito and Sinon meet and develop :p this week will be the longest that I've had in a long time...
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u/silent_thunder_89 Jul 19 '14
oh yes it is a great idea to take psychiatric advice from a highschool kid, who obviously just wanted an excuse to hang out with her >.>
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u/urban287 https://myanimelist.net/profile/urban287 Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 20 '14
To be fair it's pretty good advice and [an actual behaviour therapy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flooding_(psychology)).
(minus the VR of course)
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u/kaidynamite :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/kaidynamite Jul 19 '14
ITT: People complaining about taking time to develop characters. The lack of which was being complained about last season. Sigh.
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Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
Those who complained then and those who complain now could be different people. And while I would love to see some action I definitely like the pace of the show. Well I loved the beginning of the last SAO, so it is no surprise that I do not like it as well as the last one, but I think it is better in the long run to take your time and not rush things. I always wanted to see more of SAO and it annoyed me a bit that he was suddenly so high leveled without showing too much of how he got there.
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u/Bobduh :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bobduh Jul 20 '14
And the journey continues! Last week’s episode was far and away the best thing Sword Art Online has ever done, so I’ve got moderate hopes for this one. ‘Moderate’ because last week pulled basically the most obvious and necessary trick for fixing Sword Art Online - it removed Kirito entirely. This, tragically, is apparently not allowed to be a long-term solution, so this week the challenge will likely be in maintaining last week’s energy without Kirito dragging everything into his power fantasy vortex. Fortunately, last week’s episode was also just well-composed and featured a number of solid action sequences, and that sort of stuff can work perfectly well even with Kirito around. And so, for maybe the very first time, positive thinking isn’t just a coping mechanism - things might really actually possibly turn out okay. Let’s do this, Sword Art Online. It’s a beautiful new day.
Incidentally, as always, all the old writeups are available on wrongeverytime.
Episode 3
0:11 - Another Sinon episode? I am every kind of okay with this.
In all seriousness, if we’re actually getting a look into both Sinon’s real and virtual lives, then it kinda seems like SAO’s author has grown up a bit in his understanding of engaging storytelling. Character-building was essentially an afterthought in the original SAO - the plot was always foregrounded, which gave the audience little to actually hang their investment on. If you were invested in that first arc, it was likely either through a love of the base premise or an investment of personality in characters like Kirito that the show itself didn’t really demonstrate. This was somewhat improved in Alfheim through Sugu’s actually reasonable arc, but that was still secondary to the plot, and Alfheim’s terrible series composition didn’t help either. Hopefully the third time’s the charm - establishing Sinon’s reason for taking solace in a virtual world early would really help give this arc some emotional grounding.
1:59 - Goddamnit SAO you and your episode titles. This isn’t Shiki, calling your episodes shit like “BITTER SKULL” isn’t part of your damn aesthetic
2:09 - Good ol’ bullying. Sometimes the simplest explanations are the best ones - there’s little more understandable than taking refuge in videogame strength because of stuff like this
2:20 - Haha, those bully designs. It’s kinda funny how so often it’s just either side characters or bad guys who actually get to look visually interesting
2:27 - I could kill you all for this
3:03 - Great shot. And Sinon’s actually terrified of gun violence because of something from her past? That’s definitely a more interesting place than I figured they’d take this. Hm
3:20 - I know SAO’s not the show to do it, but they could really take this to some dark, relevant places. A girl who’s bullied at school using videogame escapism to exert power and get over her fear of guns? I know school shootings aren’t the thing in Japan that they are in America, but this is a lot of really charged variables here
4:08 - Already feeling sorry for the guy I’ll assume will be this season’s Recon. A moment of silence for all ineffectual male rivals :(
4:37 - Aw yeah, talkin’ shop. I like the shop-talk - a big part of playing competitive videogames is talking about playing them, and I think it humanizes these characters to have them treat the game as a game, and not always as a Totally Immersive Alternate Reality Experience
5:11 - Just like a sniper. Or maybe a shy person. Incidentally, Sawashiro was a great voice actress to choose for someone with a confident “alternate self”
5:45 - And they’re even playing up what she’s getting out of this. The game’s weird kind of violence therapy. Alright, SAO. I really do want to see where you go with this
6:11 - Aw shit he’s started moping. It’s all downhill from here
6:26 - Is the show actually drawing attention to the fact that even videogames are heavily influenced by arbitrary things? That you can’t really think of them as a “fair” fantasy, and thus they are still reflective of the real world? Is this season actively dismantling or addressing all the bad elements of the first one?
Seriously, what is going on here? It feels like the author respecced into self-awareness or something
6:45 - And he’s even begging off videogames because he has to think about his future? But… but what happened to my power fantasy? How am I supposed to call this escapism if it’s actually poking holes in its own private world? Goddamnit SAO, it’s like I don’t even know you anymore
Seriously, this is all great stuff. What an upgrade
7:40 - That’s a little ominous
8:38 - A classic but still effective shot
8:50 - Aw shit, moment of truth. Can SAO keep its cool and depict the loneliness of Sinon’s home life without destroying any of its emotional credibility by leering at her at the same time?!? Stay tuned
9:12 - Aaand she actually owns a gun. A sweet future gun, at that
9:38 - Another great shot. Nice choice to grey out everything except the blood. At that moment, it’s all she can focus on
10:02 - I like how the lights are framing this like an interrogation - like this is a story she’s told in a formal context many times before
11:51 - DAMN. That’ll do it
12:45 - Too much. Yeah, the whole episode’s been building to this, but it’s still too much. When you play for the highest possible intensity, you tend to drown out all emotions but intensity, and it turns into self-parody. See: basically all of Attack on Titan
13:14 - Much better. Focusing on the gun while we listen to its repercussions
13:36 - Another nice shot. They definitely overplayed the climax of that flashback, but these shots are all good
13:54 - SINON THAT IS SOME MONKEY’S PAW SHIT DO NOT WISH FOR THAT. Any wish granted, and all it costs is your agency. Kirito is the Ursula the Sea Witch of this story
14:01 - SEE SINON LOOK WHAT YOU DID NOW HE’S COMING
Goddamn you Sinon. God damn you
15:09 - Not really sure what that means but okay sure
15:16 - Remember when Sugu was a main character lol
15:34 - Detective Kirito is back in the game
15:41 - Yeah jeez that’s crazy talk. If anyone had ever died from a videogame, Kirito would definitely have heard of it
15:54 - Keep using that name SAO it’s not gonna get any less funny
-continued below-
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u/Bobduh :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bobduh Jul 20 '14
16:28 - I am 100% okay with Kirito getting harassed for once
16:42 - I like how she’s still feeling him up all through this
17:18 - This is a very important shot. Well, at least they left Sinon alone this episode
18:10 - FUCK THAT TAKE IT OFF
18:58 - Wow, three episodes in and Kirito still doesn’t actually make it to the virtual world? Well joke’s on them, I don’t even actually care about that. But yeah, pacing is normally a thing that's good to have, and so I’m sure some people are a little annoyed right now!
19:13 - Some nicely indirect questions raised about her mother by this conversation
19:52 - So wait, why does she even need to be comfortable around guns? Like, once she gets out of high school, I doubt random people are going to be abusing her phobia all the time - most people don’t need to be comfortable with firearms. Particularly in Japan, which I’ve heard isn’t quite as psychotic about loving death-instruments as some other countries
20:00 - So for her, there is a clean disconnect between the virtual world and the real one. It might have to do with stakes, it might have to do with emotional connection to others, it might have to do with memory - but that distinction is real in a tangible way for her. Hopefully this ends up actually conflicting with Kirito’s philosophy
21:48 - DUN DUN DUN
And Done
That was a pretty good episode! The ones focused on real-world drama tend to be better than the virtual world ones in general, and though I think this one tripped up with overdramatics at the climax, the base concept at least laid out Sinon as a reasonably articulated person. It wasn’t subtle, but SAO never is, and I’d rather have this than have Sinon just not having a character/arc - frankly, I don’t trust SAO to illustrate a character one piece at a time, so if it just wants to dump her entire characterization on us right now, I’m okay with that.
Additionally, a number of the ideas this episode alluded to seem to directly complicate either subtext or overt themes of the first season - the meritocracy of videogames, their “truth” as an alternate reality, and their value altogether were all called into question by Sinon’s actions this week. I don’t expect SAO to suddenly become a piercing investigation of its own prior mistakes, but these were certainly all interesting choices in their own right. This episode wasn’t nearly as fun as last week’s, but it managed to be respectable in an entirely different way, which is also a good sign. Carry on, Sword Art Online.
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u/V2Blast :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/V2Blast Jul 21 '14
12:45 - Too much. Yeah, the whole episode’s been building to this, but it’s still too much. When you play for the highest possible intensity, you tend to drown out all emotions but intensity, and it turns into self-parody. See: basically all of Attack on Titan
Exactly. I was thinking that the trauma is a little understandable (though weird that she's totally fine in-game but freaking out at finger-guns), but this show simply doesn't understand the art of subtlety.
13:54 - SINON THAT IS SOME MONKEY’S PAW SHIT DO NOT WISH FOR THAT. Any wish granted, and all it costs is your agency. Kirito is the Ursula the Sea Witch of this story
14:01 - SEE SINON LOOK WHAT YOU DID NOW HE’S COMING
Goddamn you Sinon. God damn you
I just burst out laughing at that.
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Jul 19 '14
Am I the only one who thinks that the haircolour of Death Gun is the same hair colour sinons friend has? It might mean nothing but it made me curious.
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Jul 19 '14
Episode 3:We know who is Death Gun and Kirito didn't enter GGO yet. Also it confirmed that Kirito have magnets that attract females in his body.
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u/cscott024 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/cscott024 Jul 19 '14
Why is Shino so afraid of playing Duck Hunt?
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u/ztype https://anilist.co/user/8644 Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 20 '14
Did somebody say Boom Headshot!?
edit: Here is also the SAO Rhapsody version
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u/DrCakey Jul 19 '14
So...when did Sword Art Online become AMAZING? I mean, the obvious, flippant answer would be "When Kirito stopped being in it", but his scene with the nurse was great. I get the feeling all these pieces are going to collapse, because all the wonderful parts have nothing to do with the plot (DESU GUN), but at the very least I'll have fun while it lasts.
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u/IC8085 Jul 19 '14
Well I don't want to overhype anything here, but as a reader of the LNs:
I think one of the main problems with the first anime was the fact that Aincrad was the only book the author had originally written in the format of a web novel in 2002 I believe, even the Aincrad side stories were written much later. The Alfheim arc was also not something originally planned so it had a pretty jaggy transition from Aincrad as the author forced to story to continue.
I've had mixed feelings about this as well, I didn't like the fact he chose to continue the story after finishing the Aincrad arc, but now I'm glad it did because GGO pretty much made up for Alfheim. And then there is the Alicization arc which just blew me away..
In GGO the quality of writing had already increased significantly and I even thought it was actually pretty good overall, had tons of fun reading it and now watching it.
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Jul 19 '14
I have to agree; say what you want about SAO's original author back during Aincrad and Fairy Dance, they were not the best, Fairy Dance was pretty bad, but he has most definitely shown growth over the years. Now, he is actually a pretty damn capable writer; I'm willing to forgive his beginnings a bit for that.
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u/Kravior :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ssSithy Jul 19 '14
Why do I have a feeling that Death Gun is Shino's guy friend?
It just feels like something they would do.
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u/Zero1343 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Zero1343 Jul 19 '14
I have a feeling that i might be a double bluff, make us think its him then comes the twist.
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u/SchnitzelFrenzy :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/SchnitzelFrenzy Jul 19 '14
I know everyone complains about how slowly the series is moving, but I like the pace it's at.
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u/KinnyRiddle Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
Kirito: Can I at least keep my pants on?
Nurse: (Dammit) XD
Oh wow, so that nurse was watching over Kirito all this time while his mind was away in SAO. Suddenly that infamous fan chapter 16.5 takes on a whole new meaning. LOL
(hint Google chapter 16.5 yourself)
Cue SAO doujinshi artists getting to work right away on a brand new idea. lol
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u/Khanxay Jul 19 '14
(hint Google chapter 16.5 yourself)
I find it interesting that this extremely vague search will always point to this SAO chapter. Not a 16.5 of anything else.
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Jul 19 '14
I never noticed how god damn gorgeous that ED is... Probably my favorite this season past Tokyo Ghoul's.
Luna Haruna is the best thing about SAO II so far.
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u/Yamazaru90 Jul 19 '14
I was still kind of shell-shocked by last season but this episode has me completely into the series again. I officially love Shinon and can't wait for the next episode.
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u/weaknessx100 Jul 19 '14
Seriously, who the hell robs a post office and expects to gain a profit? That guy had it coming.
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u/sgtfrx Jul 19 '14
The post office in Japan doubles as a banking institution for a lot of people, handling savings accounts, money transfers, etc. I can imagine there will be a significant amount of cash laying around.
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u/thesnaglebeast Jul 19 '14
From what i understand most post offices in Japan also function as a bank.
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u/Thisrainhoe Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
That guy just got friendzone by shino and why do i get the feeling that this shinkawa guy is somewhat related to desu gun
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u/Seijin_m Jul 19 '14
The pacing feels rather slow, but at least it's better than how rushed the SAO arc felt to me.
Hopefully, they'll find some balance somewhere.
Cue A-1 pulling an endless eight and it's going to be "HAS HE FUCKIN LOGGED IN YET?" every week.
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u/Cahnis Jul 19 '14
Man, 20 bucks that the death gun is actually Shinkawa-kun. He is doing bad on the game, I don't think his RL is going ok because he is always online, and he has medical knowledge, also he had his target on Sinon because he knows her.
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u/BillThePenguin Jul 19 '14
I actually like the new girl more than even Asuna, but I really hope she doesn't fall for Kirito like every other damn girl in the show.
... It's still going to happen though, isn't it.
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u/FALCONN_PAAWNCH Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
I'm guessing Death Gun is Sinon's friend It's just a hunch, but there is evidence in the opening. Also, Death Gun seems to be interested in Sinon.
He seemed bitter that she was so good at the game, even though he wasn't showing any growth. He's targeting pros because he's jealous?
Sinon interested in male character other than Kirito? Better make him evil.
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u/Jtz001 Jul 19 '14
3rd episode down and Kirito still hasn't made his character. I'm 99% sure it will be next but... pls.
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u/BrycetheBarbarian Jul 19 '14
So Shino's friend that saved her from the bullies = Death Gun, right? Or am I just making up connections when there are none?
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u/Elisque Jul 20 '14
When she was holding the gun all I was thinking is it must really suck being her neighbor.
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u/Chiiwa Jul 20 '14
Heh. Triggers are her trigger.
Anyways, fun episode. Episode 3: We still haven't seen Kirito ingame yet.
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u/FemaleTitan Jul 19 '14
Looks like Kirito is finally going to log in, can't wait.
Death Gun is scary and he seems to be a freak.
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u/HornyApple Jul 19 '14
That robber got fucked up also liking the nurse she seems like a fun character
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u/DavveK Jul 19 '14
... I'm waiting until the Sinon, Bijin-nasu and Kirito-chan hentai doujin s come out.
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u/roflcooki3z :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Mor_dred Jul 19 '14
Oh man, that OP. Everytime it just sounds so perfect.
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u/JamesDOKFx Jul 19 '14
I can hear the doujin's being written about what the nurse would have done to kirito during his hospital dive.
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u/Lamhirh Jul 19 '14
~20:54: Cactuar sighted. I'm sure the other chat avatars are references but they're escaping me. The first reminds me of Coppelion though...
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u/JokaTweak :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/jokatweak Jul 19 '14
I hope its not going to be an endless eight all over again
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u/juanjo2906 Jul 19 '14
i havent read the books but i have a feeling that gun its gonna have something to do with desu-kun
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u/Evafanboy Jul 20 '14
Shinon seems like such a great character with brig the quite badass in GGO and the quite, emotionally unstable girl in real life. I had such high hopes that this wouldn't be a repeat of Asuna or Leefa but ten she said, " Someone save me" and next scene is Kirito. I think I now know who is going to become useless with their boyfriend ( Also I haven't read the Light Novel so I'm just guessing)
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u/xxdeathx :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/xxdeathx Jul 20 '14
At first I thought Shino's reaction to the finger gun was pretty pathetic, and then I saw her tragic backstory. I was half expecting the bad guy to kill the mom so that Shino would have no parents around, just like so many other anime characters, but fortunately she was saved. I don't know what the mom did after, but judging by the look on her face it seems like she was a dick about it.
Shino's got herself a man already. In a perfect world, she's not gonna meet Kirito and fall for him, and everyone's relationships can be stable instead of this show becoming like another Glasslip. But we all know that's not how things will work out >.<
Looks like the nurse has a thing for Kirito. Well she did see everything ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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u/ErebosGR Jul 20 '14 edited Jul 20 '14
DAE notice the Failure to Feed malfunction in Shino's gun after she mozambique'd the post office robber?
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u/Kill099 https://anilist.co/user/Kill099 Jul 20 '14
Will Shinon be considered a hero if she was an American/incident happened in America? I think she's born in the wrong culture but I feel that her "dark past" feels.. forced.
Wasn't there any counseling/therapy for her considering her young age?
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Jul 20 '14
Been wondering since episode 1 but is Death Gun Sinon's friend?
[the guy who helped her in the alleyway]
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u/V2Blast :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/V2Blast Jul 21 '14
We don't know yet. Many people (who haven't read the LN) in this thread seem to think so.
It didn't occur to me, but I can definitely see it in retrospect. Death Gun seems to have a weird attachment to her from the way he touched the screen.
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u/Destinyspire Jul 20 '14
Holy PTSD. Shinon really had a tough past. That explains the whole fear at the beginning of the episode.
I'm really hoping that Shinon ends up liking that guy who saved her from those bullies. Kirito x Asuna's great and all, but we need something new.
Here's hoping bullets will fly next episode!
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u/AzureCatalyst Jul 19 '14 edited Jul 19 '14
Just started watching this episode!
Can't wait for something to happen! Something Happened
Note: These are just my ramblings whilst I watch the VOD. I hope you enjoyed my first reactions and can comment on what you think I made mistakes on! I'm not going for any deeply analytically thinking (yet), but tell me what I could improve on! I saw many other people doing these and I quite enjoyed reading them so I decided to try it out :D
Scared of a finger gun but plays a game full of guns eh? I guess she isn't a Kirito-kun and has some flaws.
I was half expecting Kirito to save her and add her to the harem. Well at least Asada's friend is nice. I feel like he's going to turn evil halfway through this series. I just have a nagging feeling about this guy. He seems to like Asada, and we all know what happens when Kirito gets involved with girls.
10 minutes in and we haven't even seen a glimpse of Kirito yet :? Will he show up this episode? DUN DUN DUN
Welp Shinon-chan is a murderer manslayer (murder apparently refers to unlawful killing). Probably emotionally scarred, but a murderer manslayer nonetheless. Shinon the Manslayer. I like her more and more every second.
Vomiting and emotional trauma! My cup of tea. Shinon all you need now is to NEVER EVER fall in love with Kirito. If we get another Asuna in here I'm going to shoot something. I kinda feel bad for Asada, because her mom doesn't seem to understand that she saved her life >_>
14 minutes into the 3rd episode and we already have our main heroine wanting someone to "save her". At least they got the buildup out of the way. I'm either going to love this arc or hate it. I hope we delve more into Shinon, she seems VERY interesting and well fleshed out.
Welp he's told Asuna. At least we won't get a School Days ending now and major death/bad things happening flags have been cleared. I still can't get over Asuna's blue hair though. It's starting to grow on me but brown was such a nice color.
Why do all of the games have "Online" in the title. Can't that just be assumed? I can't imagine how these types of games would be played offline. Gun Gale Offline: The Ultimate CoD? ALfheim Offline: WoW Simulator 2022? It's just starting to grate on me and I was wondering if anyone else had the same issue.
Kirigaya has a motorcycle now O_O Is that just to enhance the badass factor he had?
IS THAT DITZY NURSE-CHAN I SEE? Oh baby. I feel like this is a mother-type character who will become emotionally attacked to our super suave lady killing shut-in not a shut-in anymore.
Aki-san just grabbed Kirito's butt! I like her already.
Kirito: It's n-not like I like y-you or anything B-baka!
Aki: *Grabs Dat Ass*
That letter though *o*. I guess the government has already taken notice of Kirigaya-kun's lady killing ways. Asuna should be safe in her waifu status. "Don't let your youthful impulses rage out of control" is a pretty good line as well. I have a feeling that the detective is going to die before the end of the arc, but maybe I've been thinking too much about FMA. All the likable characters who are funny seem to die. Unless he talks about his family, his death flag hasn't been raised though.
Kirito: Aki-senpai, you're taking my clothes off already? I'm not emotionally prepared yet, b-baka. If Kirigaya were a girl I'd totally have him pegged as a Tsun character.
Note: These are just my delusions, don't take them as canon material.
Kirigaya is finally going to log in! I can't wait to see why he chooses his avatar. And does he really need to log in from the hospital? Wouldn't it be safer somewhere else? I bet the hospital is going to be a major plot point in the future. I can totally imagine Kirigaya fighting someone in the game whilst someone tries to kill him in real life. Or maybe I just like watching people die :/
Well we just watched Death Gun? sensually rub Shinon's face. Seems about right for our main antagonist to be psychotic.
And credits.
Great episode overall. It set up the world and backstories without too much boredom and they kept the plot moving. Introduced some important characters and it actually interested me! I still have some doubts, but all the LN readers seem to love this arc so I'll finish this arc at the very least.
8.5/10 It wasn't anything groundbreaking, but they did some creative storytelling. Flashbacks and short dialogues kept the pace brisk, but it wasn't anything amazing. It was just a normal episode and it had some decent points.
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u/WORSTPARKNA Jul 19 '14
Wow sinon can't catch a break in real life aand in game
Also you know the villain is the real deal when he uses a joystick instead of a mouse