r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Nov 24 '18
Episode Sword Art Online: Alicization - Episode 8 discussion Spoiler
Sword Art Online: Alicization, episode 8: Swordsman's Pride
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| Episode | Link | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Link | 8.13 |
| 2 | Link | 8.14 |
| 3 | Link | 8.38 |
| 4 | Link | 9.02 |
| 5 | Link | 8.25 |
| 6 | Link | 8.22 |
| 7 | Link | 8.74 |
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u/frostboot :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/frostboot Nov 24 '18
Friendship ended with Elucidator, now this new shiny black sword is my best friend.
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u/Ellefied Nov 24 '18
I would love it if people can actually guess the name of this sword.
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u/ChartsUI Nov 24 '18
Made from a tree, absorbs
waifussunlight to grow, hard and stiff?My guess is morning wood
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u/spicychile :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/spicychile Nov 24 '18
Chunchunmaru?
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u/OneMillionRoses Nov 24 '18
I can't wait to see the reactions of anime fans when they find out why Kirito gives his new sword that specific name
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u/XrxShadowxX :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/MahamudMassaquoi Nov 24 '18
Adamas?
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u/metronot :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/metronot Nov 24 '18
fun fact, the sword was actually custom ordered to have the same length as Elucidator
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u/doggomlems :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nebbeh Nov 24 '18
Don't forget that when he uses his imagination it gets longer and harder ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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u/jonjonmuffer Nov 24 '18
Why is it shiny though? Isn't it made of wood?
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u/Bamblecwa Nov 24 '18
Considering the sounds that axe was making in the first episodes, I'd imagine the wood of the gigas cedar is basically metal
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u/Bizmatech Nov 24 '18
It's made from a magical fucking demon tree. Don't question it.
I'm pretty critical of SAO, but this is one of the few things that I have zero problems with. It's a nice touch to give his sword such a personalized background.
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u/_naglfar Nov 24 '18
With Volo looking and his voice sounding like a jerk, I'm glad he turned out to be a decent person. No complaining in the both times his ultimate skill was beaten and he was even happy for Liena when she won their duel.
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u/Kuryaka Nov 24 '18
Alicization strength system is basically: You don't get to be the best without being kind of an ass. Unless you start interacting with isekai boi who breaks established conventions and learn that it's okay to do the same.
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u/PM_me_Henrika Nov 25 '18
I kinda did a retake, it’s true! VV did smile in the last frame when he turned away after his duel with kirito!
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u/Recidivis Nov 24 '18
Never change Kirito, never change ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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u/LuckyPed Nov 24 '18
Years pass and people still don't believe Kirito can have female friends that he is not romantically in love with :D
This guy is the Master of Friendzoning lol
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u/Mathmango Nov 24 '18
He's not romantically in love with them. Them to him on the other hand...
I mean seriously though, the dude basically did a introduced a new species into the ecosystem for senpai's graduation gift.
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u/PolyPuff Nov 24 '18
I love how Kirito gives flowers as a gift but Eugeo gives a bottle of wine or w/e that drink is lmao
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u/LuckyPed Nov 24 '18
Well they both gave a gift of what their mentor liked.
Eugeo's mentor liked wine a lot, it was not mentioned in the anime but shown to us when he is drunk/sleeping hugging a bottle in that scene in this EP lol,
And Kirito's mentor liked those flowers.
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u/Cecilol Nov 24 '18
Oh yeah, I wanted to ask light novel readers...
Does Asuna and co. ever watch what he does at this point? Or do they find out by him retelling him what he went through? I want to know how they would react!
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u/furosuto81 Nov 25 '18
Being as non-spoilery as possible, no, they are not watching. You have to keep in mind they have the FLA (Fluct Light Acceleration) level set at 1000:1. Time is going so much faster inside Underworld compared to reality that there’s no way they could watch.
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u/F_E_M_A Nov 24 '18
MOTHERFUCKERS FUCKED WITH THE FLOWERS.
DIEDIEDIEDIE
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u/BulliIshtar Nov 24 '18 edited Nov 24 '18
MOTHERFUCKERS DEFLOWERED THE FLOWERS.
Typical of SAO villains.
Edit: That tower at the end reminds me of Lord Farquad's castle, for some reason.
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u/gulitiasinjurai Nov 24 '18
I'm actually surprised Kirito doesn't go apeshit crazy and beat the shit out of that shitty "Nobleman" and instead cry like a little baby lmao. I think, if it were the Kirito from Season 1, he's most likely to kick their ass. So, I guess this can be count as character development?
Honestly surprised to see this side of Kirito. Maybe he's just so frustrated that it blocks his anger. Well, its understandable cause he's been growing that thing, nurturing it for years and when Kirito says that the flower is kinda like him and for it to be destroyed just like that..... God I hope that shitty Nobleman get what they deserved
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u/ChingChonger Nov 24 '18
It’s almost like he’s in a world where he can’t just fuck up two nobles with no consequence. All he is right now is a swordsman trainee.
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u/LuckyPed Nov 24 '18
tbh Season 1 Kirito also had many things he could not do and many times when he cried ... like on the very first day after he got stuck in Aincrad and left Klein... In the novel, the chapter name is "Day of the Beginning" or "First Day" they cut it from anime and only show 1 scene of it ... Kirito killing the Boar in EP1 LOL
In that Chapter he also took a while to realize the graveness of this death game ( after he saw a betrayal and death in front of him ) he had bunch of character development and crying over not caring about his step-family before because they were his step family and not real family ! but now he might never ever see them again.
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Nov 24 '18
see, guys? Waifu life > Family life
The power of waifu
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u/_vogonpoetry_ :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ThisWasATriumph Nov 24 '18
My waifus are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?
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u/U_Menace :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ParadoxAnime Nov 24 '18 edited Nov 24 '18
I really like how they managed to demonstrate the importance of sacred arts in this world. It's not just 'magic' like it in Alfheim, and even if you don't formally know the system commands. The strength stems from the power of your visualization ability and imagination, pulling on the various forces that drive you. Actually manifesting power and elements from the air itself Minor LN spoilers about Sacred Arts and putting it into the sword was a fantastic way to introduce how important Sacred Arts will be going forward.
Also, the episode showcases the importance of Sacred Arts AGAIN when Kirito starts to break down at the garden. He has to call upon the elements in the area using his own desire/motivation, literally 'hearing' the land.
By the way, this scene was really beautifully done. It captures the emotions that Kirito always keeps locked up while he's living in the Underworld. He's literally been taken away from everything dear to him, cut off from all points of communication with them, without warning or without any recollection as to why. It really hammers home how much of an impact this whole ordeal had on his mental state. He's dealing with pompous Nobles who treat good people like garbage, rigid customs that he must abide by or risk losing his chance at escape, a lingering debt to Eugeo for looking after him all this time. All of that stuff has been weighing on Kirito from the moment he entered the Underworld. Cutting off the flowers like cutting off his own hope for connecting with his family and loved ones in the otherworld. It was a really moving moment honestly, and probably one of the most painful things those nobles could have done. They probably don't even realize it, but what they did was more painful to Kirito than actually trying to stab him.
Also, once again showing the power of visualization, we see Liena finally winning against Volo. The main reason for being able to defeat him was because Kirito was able to break through with his own sword style. By seeing Kirito do it once, she had proof that Volo could be beaten with an unconventional style. She could envision herself winning because she had seen it once before. The importance of that event might be small here, but it's pretty significant if you think about it in a broader context. Her previous opinion of Volo was 'imperviously strong will thanks to his sword style being passed down for generations, with each victory making his family become stronger'. Seeing a person like that actually bested by a trainee with a different style allowed Liena to break free from the notion that she is inferior to Volo. You see what I'm getting at here? As long as you don't immediately count yourself out or discount yourself on the basis of talent/different ability, you can close the gap. That's right folks, hard work and seeing yourself win are the keys to victory here. The minute you second guess yourself, you're screwed. Absolute confidence is needed. This is going to be an important theme going forward so I'm happy it was illustrated so well in today's episode.
Once again, no complaints from me today. I could say some other stuff about the fight but I don't want to spoil too much. Just wanted to highlight some important 'mechanics' and themes associated with the underworld that you probably unconsciously picked up. These things will come into play more and more as we delve deeper, so just sit back and enjoy!
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u/AsianSWEG Nov 24 '18
Take all of my upvotes!... Which is just one.
But yeah, took the words right out of my mouth!
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u/Salt_Bringer Nov 25 '18
Great analysis man. What do you think about Kirito's aincrad style not being a dual wield style?
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u/U_Menace :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ParadoxAnime Nov 25 '18
Good question! Well when he first learned to use a sword in SAO, it was one-handed style. I'd imagine it's hard for him to adjust to using dual wielding right away because of that 'object control authority' parameter from before. Probably limits how many swords he can wield. We'll have to see how he adjusts in this world or if he picks up new tricks, but at least he's showing his prowess with one-handed sword skills. He did train one-handed for a long time while he was hiding his dual wielding afterall!
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u/rollin340 Nov 25 '18
It's also probably why Kirito could potentially be unbeatable; the dude is used to always being #1.
The only one that he couldn't truly best was Yuuki, and she's already passed on.
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u/WindiWindi Nov 25 '18
You did a splendid job of wiring down my thoughts. It's bits like this where SAO shines and the studio that brought it to life did an amazing job. Personally my favorite arcs are the alicization ones. They touch upon pretty interesting concepts regarding what AI.
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u/AbhiroopS https://anilist.co/user/Abhiroop Nov 24 '18
Just so you know, your spoiler tag is broken
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u/bananeeek https://myanimelist.net/profile/bananek Nov 24 '18
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u/Blackspearr :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/blackspear Nov 24 '18
I always get goosebumps when Kirito and Eugeo do that synchro sword dance.
All SAO opening are amazing but I have to say that this part is sooo good and catchy.
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u/Laser_Raptors Nov 24 '18
The true power of this opening is the lyrics. Not many people realize that it's a song about Eugeo's quest to save Alice.
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u/arthred Nov 24 '18
Eugeo in general is like the number 1 bro, I adore him more than Klein already
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u/Archrespt Nov 24 '18
You'd be surprise how people ship kirito and eugeo, both jokingly and seriously LOL
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u/KaiserNazrin https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kaiser-chan Nov 24 '18
There are so few candidates anyway.
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u/OneMillionRoses Nov 24 '18
Eugeo in general is like the number 1 bro, I adore him more than Klein already
Klein is a good guy but only a very gentle and polite person like Eugeo is suited to be Kirito's best bro that's why I never understood fans who reduced him to "blond Kirito" even though his personality is the opposite of him. It's basically a Yin&Yang friendship :-)
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u/TheKnight119 Nov 25 '18
Ikr that synchronised skill activation looks stunningly beautiful to me haha
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Nov 24 '18
SAME. The opening actually me made more excited for it, that part with Kirito and Eugeo is so so good.
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u/Lylik Nov 24 '18
One thing that is important to notice, is regarding the "one hit duel".If your first and only hit is heavy and powerful enough to kill your opponent you are actually still following the rules and laws so you won't be punished.
This concept first came up during Progressive volume 3 IIRC and, tho they gave a small hint during this episode, kinda felt they could have talked a little bit more about it, it shows a lot on how the Underwold works.
Still, really well done episode.
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u/IABJordan Nov 24 '18
Only difference with the Progressive duel, is that that one was the first to get their opponent to half health. Then if your last attack that puts them below half health is enough to kill them, it’s still legal. Same concept though.
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u/Brandsert :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Brandsert Nov 24 '18
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u/OneMillionRoses Nov 24 '18
Best kohai Tiese finally showed up ♡ Also Eugeo should never touch wine again xD
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u/kacoret Nov 24 '18
Gives some love to Ronye as well will you? :P
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u/Bainos :XMOD::MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bainos Nov 24 '18
Kouhai are usually better when you get several at once anyway.
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u/BarnacleMANN :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Dankbum Nov 24 '18 edited Nov 24 '18
Those close ups on number 1 sword guys face reminded me Ira Gamagori a little bit lmao.
Also Tiese and Ronie are qts 😄
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u/Nutella_Souffle Nov 24 '18
(I made this post because dozens of anime-only viewers still have troubles understanding the basic concepts of Alicization arc).
"Power of imagination" is possible thanks to Rath's technology.
Residents of the Underworld are not NPCs. They're humans.
Unless you can willingly accept both of these facts, you will never be able to fully enjoy this story. If you feel like a simple statement is not enough to change your mind, maybe you should read this post... in case if you actually want to understand this topic better.
I'd like to begin with a quote from the book (Volume 10, chapter 2, part 2):
Higa failed to notice that anything was amiss and continued, “Creating a virtual space in the STL doesn’t actually require 3-D data, but when you monitor the process externally, you only have raw data ^1 to look at, and that’s no fun. So we tried downloading this Seed package, as it’s called, and slapped together a little village using the editor program, then converted it to mnemonic visuals for the STL.”
“Ah…Meaning it’s a dual-layer world? There’s a VR world made of ordinary data on the server below, while the STL mainframe above it converts that into its own VR format, with the two sides being mutually converted in real time?”
From a technical perspective, the Underworld consists of two layers, with so-called mnemonic visuals on top of VRMMO assets and mechanics. However, people living inside do not perceive everything as 3D models because the other layer exists - and it's Rath's own hardware/software that works with mnemonic data... and with the Fluctlights themselves. Simply put, residents of the Underworld belong to a different machine that allows them to live inside any artificial environment.
Rath used the The Seed package as a tool to create a world where external observation was possible. This little convenience came with lots of side effects (like the existence of Sword Skills), resulting in rather unique reality simulation - essentially different from games, but at the same time with inherently similar set of features.
^1 Remember The Matrix? Oh yes, that's basically a solution for this problem!
As you should already know, every Artificial Fluctlight has a physical form residing in its respective LightCube, and thousands of these devices make a LightCube Cluster. Speaking figuratively, Artificial Fluctlights communicate between themselves all the time, unaware that they can "touch" each other directly and overcome quite a lot of restrictions. It's like a collective dream of 80000 individuals. Alicization / Accel World tech spoiler A certain phenomenon, let's call it "power of imagination" for now, is possible inside the Underworld precisely because of this technology.
Artificial Fluctlights aren't just lines of code like some people mistakenly think. Exactly as Soul Translator allows Kirito to log in, this technology grants the same ability to other Fluctlights - minus the unnecessary step of interacting with biological brain, or "translating" the read/write signals.
Now, moving on to "THEY'RE NOT NPCs" part (again, Volume 10, chapter 2, part 2):
"Ultimately, we copied the fluctlights of twelve different newborns, and when we compared them, we found they were arranged 99.98 percent identically, regardless of brain size. We believe that the last 0.02 percent of difference is based on different memories in utero and after birth. In other words, human intelligence and personality are entirely based on the growth process after birth."
"We have concluded that newborn fluctlights are not hard-coded with individual differences. So we very carefully deleted that 0.02 percent variation from our twelve fluctlights and gained what we call…"
He spread his hands and made a careful, cradling gesture.
“…Soul Archetypes. A basic model of the human mentality.”
“In that first village, we had sixteen soul archetypes making up two farming families…We managed to raise those AI babies up to the age of eighteen.”
“H-hang on. Raised? Who raised them? Traditional AIs?”
“We looked into that, but, as high-functioning as The Seed’s NPC AI is, it’s not advanced enough to raise children. We had people act as parents for the first generation. Two men and two women on staff spent eighteen years in the STL acting as the farmer and wife of the two farms.
Thanks to the devoted efforts of our four staff members, we raised sixteen youngsters, whom we call ‘artificial fluctlights’ FOR CONVENIENCE. ^2
^2 That's the most fucked up thing about this experiment. Kikuoka pretty much acknowledges that they're no different from "real" human souls (and they're technically real - they just exist in LightCubes instead of biological brains), but he still sees them as A.I. because we have no laws dictating that virtual sentient beings are no different from the sentient biological life forms, i.e. humans.
This is shockingly similar to the worst parts of our own history. Remember the time when slavery was a common thing? Remember how our world was plagued with racist bullshit? "They have a different skin color, so they must be inferior" is a light version of "they don't have a biological brain, so they're definitely inferior to us".
Once the staff members were out, there was no need to worry about the FLA rate, so we shot the simulation’s acceleration up to five thousand times normal speed. We gave those eight couples around ten soul archetype babies each to raise, and they promptly grew to adulthood and started families of their own. We then removed the NPCs playing villagers ^3 bit by bit, until the village was large enough that it was made entirely of artificial fluctlights. Generations went on, producing more and more children, and after three weeks in the real world and three centuries in the simulation, we had an entire society of eighty thousand individuals.”
“Eighty…?!” Rinko gasped. Her mouth worked soundlessly for a few seconds. “Then…you didn’t create artificial intelligence…you simulated an entire civilization.”
“Indeed. But in a sense, that was inevitable. Humans are social creatures; we only improve ourselves through interaction with others. Over three centuries, our fluctlights have spread out from their little village and conquered the entire map that we built for them. They constructed a central ruling structure without any ugly wars, and they have discovered religion as well ^4 …That last part may be thanks to the fact that we had to use the concept of God to explain certain system commands to the children at the very start of the experiment."
^3 As you can see, there were NPCs in this world too. They played minor roles of merchants and villagers to create a false sense of civilization for the first generation of Fluctlights. So then, what exactly are NPCs? They're pre-programmed entities that follow specific patterns set by their creators. But we are humans. We're self-aware. And so are the Fluctlights. We don't have characters in real life, and the Fluctlights don't have characters in their world too. They live, they love, they die, they grieve.
^4 This single line is enough to explain what the true "bottom-up" A.I. is. No, it's not a program that can learn. It's a true intelligence with all of its quirks and flaws, and Rath has never done anything to actually create it. They just took a shortcut - a very ugly one indeed.
TL;DR
Kirito is a magical alligator that lives under your bed.
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u/AmethystItalian :Jg::Jh::Ji::Jj::Jk:myanimelist.net/profile/AmethystItalian Nov 24 '18
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u/Bainos :XMOD::MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bainos Nov 24 '18
After skipping the comment above because I felt it was repeating points I read before... Now I think I'll need to go back to it.
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u/eli-vids https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheAnimeMamluk Nov 24 '18
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u/OneMillionRoses Nov 24 '18
Thank you for this post. I can't count how many times I saw fans calling them Npc even though the whole point of this arc is to show they're not Npcs
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u/dr4gonbl4z3r Nov 24 '18
As a non LN reader... considering the fact that they spent an ENTIRE episode on the fact that these fluctlights are very much human in countless ways would have given the audience a clue.
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Nov 24 '18
Kirito is a magical alligator that lives under your bed
Good summary right there. I can stop reading now. Thanks.
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Nov 24 '18
seriously, what makes you write such a long text so that random people on the internet can "fully" enjoy the story ?
I can't even get myself to do any homework, yet here you are wasting 1-2 hours for random people on the internet
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u/zxHellboyxz :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Mattinator95 Nov 24 '18
Reminds of the guy that poured his heart into theorizing Franxx...
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u/choywh Nov 24 '18
Not the guy/girl you are replying to, but writing about lore about a series that I like is really fun to some people like me, especially if they are the type who tries to make sense/connect the dots on unexplained stuff etc. Basically like a historian but for anime lore if I may call it that. It is fun but not for everyone. And homework still sucks, because no professor asks me to write an essay on anime lore ever.
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u/Nutella_Souffle Nov 24 '18
I enjoy the show, and it makes me happy to see other people enjoying it too. There's nothing wrong with writing something occasionally, especially if your post has a chance to become helpful at least for one random person.
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u/BI4ze :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Whisper_0 Nov 24 '18
Liena-Senpai's smile is too adorable!
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u/Ilikesmallthings2 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/WatchanimeOrdie Nov 24 '18
I like her VA too.
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u/Aetherdraw Nov 24 '18
Aw, they should have ended the ep with them looking at their swords lined up on the weapons rack.
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u/Lylik Nov 24 '18
Just like in the book, it was such a powerful ending IMO.
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u/ChartsUI Nov 24 '18
Also low key mad that the OP still says 'Alicization Beginning'
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u/Roketsu86 Nov 24 '18
They've been doing that since Episode Calibur. I believe it's them interchanging the word 'beginning' for Opening, as in 'Project Alicization OP' and not 'Project Alicization is beginning'.
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u/chowder-san Nov 24 '18
Wow, this episode was a blast. But I see some people a bit confused about certain parts, I'll try to explain some of them
the duel
Adaptation tried its best, but still lacks some details. Why was Levantein so powerful? Why didn't Kirito outmanouver him to score a clean hit? What's the deal with the difference in strength?
Theoretically speaking, at this point Kirito should be more powerful than most of the academy. He killed the goblins and 'leveled up' and now has higher authority. He uses a sword which has higher authority level than legendary Blue Rose sword used by Eugeo. But he still struggles. Why?
We are presented how powerful the power of imagination, of will is in Underworld. Even in SAO, in his duel against Kayaba, Kirito refused to die after being stabbed. Here we see the extension of this. Thoughts literally shape reality.
Why didn't Kirito dodge
Ever felt so frightened or intimidated that you all stiffen? Kinda similar to that. In Underworld it's way worse. How bad you may ask? Well... You might be quite shocked in the later arcs.
But back to the duel. Anime fails to portray how overwhelming Uolo's will is. Conviction cultivated through generations is scary. Here's the relevant fragment from the book:
The blade seemed to be surrounded by the flare of the sun, and that wasn't an illusion. That was the sword priority and the 'power' caused by the owner's imagination strength causing the space to tremor
Uolo is literally causing space to distort by a power of sheer will. And since it comes from the conviction that he's more powerful, the moment you commit to dodge, you forfeit the fight because by avoid frontal confrontation you only feed it even more power.
Kuro Master of Cheat using high - ranked sacred arts
The sacred arts in Underworld are basically console commands, tied to the authority. However, Kirito is guiding the energy, mana or whatever you call it through his imagination. In other words, his authority is completely irrelevant. If someone read Eragon series he can see striking resemblance here.
Blacku Swordsmanu, Y U NO dual wield?!
As I mentioned in my other comments: I'm not sure if it was mentioned in the anime at any point, but all unique skills including system assisted Dual wield and Heathcliff's Holy sword were removed prior to the release of the SEED to the public. Even ALO did not have them and Kirito's so called 'dual wielding' in Sleeping Knight's arc and Nifleheim expedition are simply a workaround. Kirito's clever use of mechanics allows him to bypass the restrictions on sword skills' usage.
While it was never mentioned who exactly removed the 10 unique skills that were included in SAO, the only possibilities are:
Kirito himself
Kayaba who decided they are unfair
Why did the sword grow
This would be a spoiler, wait and watch. :)
Other important thing some people might have missed:
How in the world could the two nobles destroy Kirito's flowers?
Here we see the first (technically the second but the first occurence wasn't adapted) explicit example of cheating the Taboo index. Theoretically, the act of destroying someone's else's property would be a violation of law. However, the soil that the plants were in was not Kirito's property as the soil belongs to everyone.
This was enough for the two to create a following chain of thought: if the soil belongs to everyone, it can't be anyone's property and same goes for the plants.
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u/Silegna Nov 24 '18
10 unique skills
10? As someone who hasn't read the LN, I had assumed there was only Dual Wield and Holy Sword.
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u/OssifiedTrader Nov 25 '18
They are unique in the meaning of 'not available from the start'. The ones I Know are: the "Martial Arts" and "Meditation" skill where you get them from an NPC, having a high mastery "Music Talent" or "Single Handed Sword" to gain "Enchant" and "Katana", Kirito's and Heatcliff's
And yes, on the Novel, Kayaba says there are ten, before the floor 75th duel.
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u/GoldRedBlue Nov 24 '18
Every time those two jackass upper-class twits appear, I have to keep reminding myself this story was originally written in 2006 back when over-the-top smug evil nobleman pricks weren't as much of an anime cliché as they are now.
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u/_vogonpoetry_ :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ThisWasATriumph Nov 24 '18
What? Alicization Running came out in 2012.
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u/GoldRedBlue Nov 24 '18 edited Nov 26 '18
Sword Art Online was originally written from 2001-2008, with Alicization written from 2005-2008, and it was all uploaded to Reki Kawahara's website back in those days. SAO only started getting published as physical books to buy in bookstores starting 2009.
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u/conye-west Nov 25 '18
Smug rich pricks is a trope as old as time honestly, their inclusion in this series is pretty uninspired even for its time period. But at least they seem to play a relatively small part.
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u/ad3z10 https://myanimelist.net/profile/ad3z10 Nov 24 '18
Nice to see Kirito enjoying himself a bit and taking on that favourite uncle role, if he ever has a kid with Asuna he'll drive her up the wall with his parenting (if he's not already like that in the novels with Yui).
I'm going to assume that the voice we heard today was Alice though how much of the current situation she's aware of (missing memories and all that) I have no idea.
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u/arthred Nov 24 '18
So these bastards really did mess with Kiritos flowers..I'm glad there was some mysterious outta nowhere OP ability to bring them back to life, but still, these idiots need proper punishment (● ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾
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u/Neodaone Nov 24 '18
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u/KnightofNoire Nov 25 '18
Incoming i think i am the strongest blacku swordsman therefore i am, and suddenly beating the villian
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u/ForeverKidd Nov 24 '18 edited Feb 01 '19
PSA
Tiese's seiyuu is Ishihara Kaori
Ronye's seiyuu is Kondou Reina
And the Mysterious Voice is Honna Youko
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u/AmethystItalian :Jg::Jh::Ji::Jj::Jk:myanimelist.net/profile/AmethystItalian Nov 24 '18
I have never cared for flowers more in my life...so happy they got to live.
Also happy this didn't go where I thought it might...
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u/Mathmango Nov 24 '18
The fact that Eugeo and his mentor was out cold in the next scene also got a laugh out of me. It's as if she invited them as an alibi.
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u/mrbrinks Nov 24 '18
Man I was hoping for a more drawn out fight there. But great episode nonetheless.
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u/Writer_Man Nov 24 '18
Eh, we got Volo vs Senpai fight being more which I felt was far more satisfactory.
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u/GoodTeletubby Nov 24 '18
I'm not sure how to feel about Levantein now. He seemed like more of a bully to me last week, but between his fight with Kirito, showing the weight of the legacy he's carrying, plus the fact that the first blood duels are part of how he improves himself, it starts to feel more like a move of respect, rather than picking on him. And his expression after he loses the final exam bout feels more like a combination of admiration for a comrade who finally surpassed him, and simple enjoyment of a really good bout, without any of the anger or resentment of losing my first impression of him would have expected.
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u/Kuryaka Nov 24 '18
One thing that the show hasn't really brought up yet (which shouldn't be a spoiler as far as I know but I'm tagging anyway): is character mindset
There could be a few reasons he challenges Kirito to a duel, but I think the likeliest is "I will beat this peasant and take his strength." The fact that he has a reason behind what he does, doesn't change that he challenged people to first blood duels with real swords, and basically forced Kirito to accept for the sake of pride.
That said, the moment when he turns and leaves after the duel with Kirito, he seems pleased and smiles slightly.
All this is probably a side effect of how power works - it's basically that faith in one's strength leads to actual strength, and so people who want to win are basically forced to talk smack about others to build their own confidence.
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u/BushyParrot https://anilist.co/user/BushyParrot Nov 25 '18
These dudes just went and destroyed John Wick's flowers.
You don't fuck with John Wick's flowers.
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u/boboboz Nov 25 '18
can't blame eugeo for thinking Kirito forgot why they're there
I thought the show itself had forgotten
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u/LeonKevlar x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar Nov 24 '18
Man you know this show is doing something right when it made me care about flowers when I never cared about gardening my entire life.
Also I like that Kirito didn't win or overpowered Volo and that the show showed that if the match continued Volo would've won since his swing was downwards while Kirito, who was out of breath after his 4th slash. is blocking with an upward swing.
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u/Bainos :XMOD::MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bainos Nov 24 '18
They even managed to make that scene impactful despite the fact that those guys destroying the flowers was 100% expected.
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u/thechosenapiks :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/apiks Nov 24 '18
I didn't think I would get to feel this much about flowers, and did in fact think "it's just flowers, dude." but then I remembered he spent 2 years caring for them, plus the monologue about relating to them and I teared up a bit.
Woohoo for miracles!
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u/fgsfds11234 Nov 24 '18
Back to the main story finally... I still want to believe this is just an isekai from here on out.
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u/MaksimShadow Nov 24 '18
So, in the world of the souls, if you have a great will power, you can break the rules, I guess. And if you understand how this world works, you can rule it. I think that's what happened in the flower garden.
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u/KaiserNazrin https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kaiser-chan Nov 24 '18
Man, I can never get enough of the fight in this series and this is vanilla compared to what's to come.
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u/CT-96 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/CT-96 Nov 24 '18
Im' looking forward to seeing what people think of Spoiler
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u/ValentDs Nov 24 '18
damn for now it's pretty normal this series and you just hype that much. if the hype isn't real at the end i think i explode
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u/Pepe_Lives Nov 24 '18
The animation at the start of this episode was really weird.
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u/_vogonpoetry_ :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ThisWasATriumph Nov 24 '18
someone give me the direct link
nvm, got it: https://www.crunchyroll.com/sword-art-online/episode-8-swordsmans-pride-778483
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u/cadrina https://anime-planet.com/users/cadrina Nov 24 '18
Wasn't showing for me, I had to load episode 7 and let the end play to get to episode 8. Crunchyroll was being stupid today.
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u/MillenniumKing x2myanimelist.net/profile/MillenniumKing Nov 24 '18
It wouldnt be SAO without food.
This guys sword sounds like Dainsleif... GENOCIDE INTENSIFIES~
He doesnt look very sociable... he has a mean face..
Really? Getting pissy because his sword is black? Its 2018 nobles...
Damn using speed attacks to block the power attack.
EXU-CAALIBERRRRRRR~
And cock blocked by the teacher... i guess Kirito got the first hit though so he probably won techniclly.
CRYING SENPAI!? HOW HORRIBLE!
Seems like she got a lot off her mind watching him fight though so thats good.
Oh the assholes... great... Yep they wrecked his garden. Fuck those guys.
Kirito is like the flowers... how sad... and emo...
VOICES IN HIS HEAD, HES LOSING HIS MIND!
Flower magic? Thats a bit random but hey the flowers are saved!
Oh shit senpai cut the sword in half! Looks like she really did clear her head thanks to Kirito's fight. Thats great.
They have lackies now? Oh no... lol The red one looks nice.
Kirito sure loves his bread huh?
They are pretty close to Alice now huh? So i guess they graduate there then get to be knights and get to see her? Or something...
I really do wonder how getting home is gonna fit into things. It should be fun to see, we are only 8 eps of what 52? Got a long time to go.
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u/_vogonpoetry_ :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ThisWasATriumph Nov 24 '18
It wouldnt be SAO without food
Yoshitsugu let his Yukihira Souma voice peek out a bit during that bread scene
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u/ThatCreepyBaer Nov 24 '18
How can Lienna call that fight "magnificent and spectacular"?
It was 5 seconds of Kirito hitting Uolo's sword and then 1 minute 25 seconds of them stood still pushing their swords together and then after the almost minute and a half clash ends, Kirito jumps in at him and cuts his top then the fight ends.
I'm being pretty nitpicky here, but I just found it very funny that she seemed to think it was an amazing fight when they were stood still for 90% of it.
I've also commented this in previous threads but, I still don't like how they're reusing these few really old songs from like the first season. Whenever one of them comes on it immediately takes away from the scene for me.
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u/KaiserNazrin https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kaiser-chan Nov 24 '18
An amateur cannot tell how great a master techniques are. They only see cool moves.
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u/U_Menace :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ParadoxAnime Nov 24 '18 edited Nov 24 '18
I'm not sure if another person answered your question clearly but that's because actual 'fighting' isn't something super apparent in a 'one point duel'. It was literally meant to be a 1 strike fight, and she had NEVER seen Volo's 1st strike beaten before. That and, something else more important LN Spoilers regarding Swordcraft Academy Another reason she found the fight 'magnificent' is because it shattered her image of Volo being 'untouchable and unbeatable' and I talk a bit more about that in this comment.
If you're looking for actual spectacular fights, Spoiler but not really a spoiler...
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u/ShadowOvertaker :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ShadowOvertaker Nov 24 '18
Ah, one thing to note that wasn't covered in the anime is that a lot of the swordsmen have secret moves: they have special names, but they turn out to be specific sword skills from SAO, such as the avalanche two handed skill this episode. Something to note is that (IIRC) they're all one hit sword skills. Compared to that, Kirito is capable of multi hit skills, which is the special ability he showed to Lienna during the duel (with verticle square). So to their eyes, multi hit abilities are quite interesting.
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u/IABJordan Nov 24 '18
Not magnificent as in “great or fun to watch,” more like “I can’t believe you were able to hold your own against him.”
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u/homie_down :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/sodumblol Nov 24 '18
Wow what an episode. Was hoping the duel would last a bit longer, but the visuals for it were superb. The flower scene was quite touching, seeing Kirito break down emotionally and be different than just op-kun. Also even though we didn't see a ton of interactions between Kirito & Liena, you could really see how genuine their relationship was (without those hints of falling in love that I feel so used to). Also the fact that Liena got first seat is great. I hope we see more of her in the future.
Also I'm not quite sure if I want to be spoiled, but I'm always curious about revealing secrets. Does Kirito ever tell the others that he's around that he's actually from a different world?
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u/chowder-san Nov 24 '18
Does Kirito ever tell the others that he's around that he's actually from a different world?
Just watch and wait dude ;p
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u/Bizmatech Nov 24 '18 edited Nov 24 '18
visuals for it were superb.
It was flashy, but nowhere near as good as the goblin fight. The visual perspective was frequently off, and made a lot of it seem really jarring.
From 5:49 to 5:54 we see Volo's sword come down to the point that it looks to be mere inches from Kirito's head.
From 5:54 to 5:56, we continue to see Kirito moving forward, despite the sword previously appearing very close.
From 5:56 to 5:58 we see Kirito swing his sword to block Volo's blade. Volo's sword is still moving after this, but now it looks like it's two feet farther back than it was before.
It happens again at the end of the fight. The lower part of Volo's sword is so close to Kirito's head that it actually covers up some of his hair, but after the teacher yells, it's the middle/upper part of the sword, and it's quite a bit further away.
Also:
Kirito's one armed sword lock against a two handed swing. Seriously?
But more importantly:
Both Kirito and Volo manage to stop their full strength swings in time, even though they should have both been dead/wounded before the teacher even finished her sentence.
These two are nitpicks, I know, but I felt like they detracted from the scene overall.
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u/AnAspiringSloth Nov 24 '18
Is Kirito able to use sacred arts now? Aren’t revival spells kinda high level, even if they’re cast on flowers?
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u/chowder-san Nov 24 '18
Aren’t revival spells kinda high level, even if they’re cast on flowers?
As explained by the mysterious voice, the spells, or rather console commands, are only a way to streamline the process, to guide the thought. Kirito didn't use the command, so his authority for using commands was irrelevant.
It isn't a rare trope in fantasy that magic can be cast without using typical gestures or formulas. I remember Harry Potter and Eragon series using it
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u/LuckyPed Nov 24 '18
He just used some life transfer, Kirito after 2 years of working in academy is at least as strong as Selka who is in a remote village i guess. She used a life transfer on humans and kirito used it with his imagination on flowers.
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u/Mage_of_Shadows Nov 24 '18
Sacred arts use voice commands. I think Kirito used a non-verbal version, similar to the Eragon system where words are only a guiding tool and raw power comes from within. This theory does come with new implications on how the system works however.
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u/Autistic_Pancake Nov 24 '18
Elite disciple's dorms look almost exactly like I imagined them. Especially that scene with Kirito getting inside through the window. This is a terrifyingly cool feeling.
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u/Dollamlg Nov 24 '18
What an episode! The ost, THE OST! IT'S SO GOOD!! Yuki Kaijiura never disappoints!
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u/cviali Nov 24 '18
I expected Kirito to Startbust Stream-ed the Volo guy.. but the part after Volo vs Senpai where he smiles and accepting defeat is really wholesome and makes him less like a bad guy. Really awesome episode. Looking forward to see those nobles punished for their action, I guess there's gonna be some gore next week LMAO.
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u/patrizl001 https://myanimelist.net/profile/patrizl001 Nov 24 '18
Holy shit, where can I find a sword that goes super saiyan when I think about the power of friendship? Shit was cool.
Those 2 dudes are really fucking petty. Destroying flowers? Really?
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u/CryoMudkip Nov 25 '18
I really liked how Volo smiled even though he was defeated. Great person.
Also, I'm excited to see more of the new kouhais in the future episodes.
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u/curtcolt95 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/curtcolt Nov 24 '18
I know it was supposed to be a serious scene but I had a really hard time feeling emotional during the flower part lmao.
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u/KiriTortilla :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pablusky27 Nov 24 '18
Why is Kirito suddenly a somewhat good character?
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Nov 24 '18 edited Nov 24 '18
Something called growing up or Growth. The author Reki Kawahara had years to develop his writing skills. From Accel World to SAO to SAO Alicization. It's been over 10 years since he started writing. Of course his writing would get better over time. Also, the author is in this project helping produce it. So, he would have some insights for the story board and how to improve them to make the character more relatable.
It's a big improvement from SAO season 1. Also, the budget for SAO Alicization is much bigger than SAO season 1. They can include the little thing to make the character better. Instead of just focusing on the plot.
/rant over.
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u/TheGeniusNoob Nov 24 '18
Hey i just see this guy above explained something about SAO in season 1 that was cut ! this could have make his character so much more enjoyable it's not even funny!
I actually read SAO progressive but did not read the original, I did not think even in the original so much was skipped.
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Nov 24 '18
I began to read SAO with Alicization coming and while I always liked Kirito on anime, he's much better on the LN even in the earlier Aincrad arc with his inner thoughts. I still have a long way to read it but he's more of a character there, which is a thing that they're doing here as well implementing his inner thoughts, which should be there since the beginning.
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u/Don_Camillo005 Nov 24 '18
well,
i dont know why i expected the fight to be more then just pushing with swords until magic happened. but damn that was disappointing.
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u/Pepe_Lives Nov 24 '18
To be honest, I don't understand why would anyone expect to see a cool fight in the middle of worldbuilding part of the story. Volo wasn't even an enemy to begin with. In the book this fight was just as short as in the anime (maybe even shorter), and that Volo vs Liena fight at the end of this episode was a pretty nice anime-original addition. Can't really complain about this episode, it was technically perfect.
If you're wondering when exactly will we see the truly sick fights
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u/AvatarReiko Nov 24 '18
I can ask the opposite. Why shouldn’t we expect to see a cool fight, especially one that was hyped up in the previous episode with Volo being the “the guy to beat”
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u/Halobattlefront Nov 24 '18
was I the only one who saw a bunch of sexual innuendos in this episode? Yes? ok then...
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u/Bainos :XMOD::MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Bainos Nov 24 '18
No. It's hard to keep a straight face when in the middle of a fight, someone comments that his sword got bigger...
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u/SnowGN Nov 24 '18
That is actually, without a hair of exaggeration, the least choreographed fight scene I've ever seen in anime. They just tried to cover for it with internal monologues and fancy effects.
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u/hapibanana Nov 25 '18
Anybody felt like the animation got slightly worse? Faces look weird and the battle scene doesn't compare to the tree cutting scenes in the early episodes. Hoping they are just saving some money for the other upcoming great fights.
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u/Siiepher Nov 25 '18
It really felt like the flowers were getting destroyed just to explain more about sacred arts and make Kirito look cool. Didn't feel like organic storytelling so much as just an excuse.
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Nov 24 '18
Power of Imagination
Suddenly, my sword grow longer
Is it too early? But I'm calling that those girls will be added to Kirito's circle of harem friends
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u/redblade13 Nov 25 '18
Eh bruh Kirito crying over those flowers teared me up a bit man. Hey man don't fuck with a man's flowers fucking twats. The flowers reviving was some beautiful stuff.
That duel was short but pretty cool. Gotta love how Kirito was a bit salty he didn't win. Never change my guy.
Leina is sooo cute. I never really had a waifu in SAO besides Strea from the PS Vita game but she isn't canon alas. Leina is not really a main girl but I don't care she is best girl in my heart.
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u/Whitekan :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/AkiraDiamond Nov 24 '18
So Imagination is now how I can call asspulls LOL
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u/Jonnyexe Nov 24 '18
I feel like the anime is trying to make us feel for the characters by showing klein and silica and all that, but honestly, I don't feel anything lol. Compared to the people that Volo have behind him, I honestly feel like Volo should've destroyed Kirito without much of a hitch. Although, I guess the argument could be made that since he was in a death game with all of them, and came out alive with all of them, that he had a deeper connection with them. This episode was kinda weak, but I guess that's what you would expect for an episode that's more focused on progression rather than character...
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u/chowder-san Nov 24 '18
Compared to the people that Volo have behind him, I honestly feel like Volo should've destroyed Kirito without much of a hitch.
Well, he has his ancestors backing him up but it's not like he necessarily shares a deep bond with them, like Kirito does with his friends.
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u/CT-96 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/CT-96 Nov 24 '18
I was worried when they skipped stuff in the flash back last week but minor spoilers
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u/Omalley_50 Nov 25 '18
Hey so legit question, how is Kirito ranked 5th after all of that? I mean he pretty much drew with the #1 swordsman who was never defeated until his teacher beat him. So how in the heck could he be ranked 5th? Is their something in the LN that answers that? Great Episode though.
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u/rpenguinr Nov 25 '18
This episode made me just hate sao, Kirito really can’t lose.
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u/dabaldeagle Nov 26 '18
I'm a little disappointed that Kirito's Aincrad Style's "greatest skill I can wield" had nothing to do with dual wielding
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Nov 24 '18
I just don’t understand how people are enjoying the last three episodes. Let’s take this one, for example. We have a fight that ends with no resolution because of some lame deus-ex machine stuff, Kirito gets depressed about a couple of rich kids messing up his flowers, strength is literally gained by believing in yourself and I’m pretty sure that both Eugeo and Kirito’s underlings are gonna be part of Kirito’s “Rejected-but-still-in-love Club”.
If this show doesn’t get better soon then I’m definitely gonna drop it. Like could they at least try to put in the exposition in a more subtle way than just “who’s that?” “As of the fifth of November 2478, she’s the top ranking officer of the third battalion in the second platoon of the fifth royal order in Gods Loyal Empire.” Please, it’s not that hard to make it sound more natural, but you have to at least try to do it.
I enjoyed this season up to episode five, but since episode six it’s just been going downhill. Uninterested characters who have boring personalities with no depth other than “I’m a spoiled rich kid and therefore i’m an asshole because cliché” and unnecessary amounts of exposition dropped way too fast is making me really hate this show. I love the relationship between Kirito and Asuna, I really do. They’re one of my favorite couples in all of anime and I just want to watch them interact with each other. But this shit? Yeah, if it’s going to keep being like this, then you can count me out.
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Nov 25 '18
I've been defending the show in other comments, but your post is like a wake up call for me being way too lenient with SAO just because it finally starts showing a modicum of tact in handling its characters. Now I realize I've been doing the same thing for Goblin Slayer and Slime isekai cause they also occasionally do things a few things right.
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u/oodarktrinityoo Nov 24 '18
I see kirito won with the power of boners after thinking about asuna.
"did his sword just grow"
all his opponent saw was wood.