「Transformation; 変移」 (Heni)

Last week we left off with Haruyuki’s first confrontation with Ash Roller. This week, to no great surprise, we get to see his butt kicked within the first thirty seconds; this kid has no idea what he signed up for and I blame Kuroyukihime for the lack of explanations.

Of course, she explains the rules behind Brain Burst shortly afterwards. You would assume that such high stakes and conditions would have been explained prior to downloading Brain Burst. I feel sorry for Haruyuki because it’s as if he’s being set up by Kuroyukihime to die of embarrassment. I doubt she fancies him, so why bring up a confession? It’s not helping his reputation much, although I doubt that’s her intention altogether. It bothers me slightly that her actions and motives are still up in the air; it makes her character a lot harder to believe. She’s meant to be “popular”, however I have yet to see evidence of actual friends (just admirers). She comes across as your typical cookie-cutter strong female character, with a lack of defining characteristics – and I think that’s what irks me the most. Not to say that things will not change in the near future because we will likely see more of her past in upcoming episodes.

So enough about character development and all that jazz, let’s talk about these virtual battles (which by the way, I think are awesome!). The users of Brain Burst are required to fight one another in these virtual stages in order to gain more points, which are used to accelerate. If you run completely out of points, you lose your privilege to accelerate forever. There are also “levels” for the contenders; however that is not explained in the scope of this episode. The concept is simple and the idea may not be 100% original, but I still love the setup and the direction that the anime is taking. I’m also left with a ton of questions swimming in my head but I’m trying not to be impatient for answers either.

Sunrise has definitely met my expectations. All the action sequences and the details in the characters were a pleasure to watch – even the scenery was beautiful! I’m excited to see future episodes with more head butts and actual hand-to-hand combat. Haruyuki’s first win seemed a little weak for me – but at least he’s not dumb by any means. There’s also a good chance of more observers in the upcoming battles. Haruyuki will definitely be attracting more attention as he goes; I’m just unsure if that is a good or bad thing at the moment. At the least, he has the motivation to help Kuroyukihime… with whatever she has planned. I don’t completely agree with his reasons for being so devoted, but I won’t question it for now (since it seems like he’s very grateful for her help).

We also finally have an ED this week. It stays true to KOTOKO’s style, and I think it’s very fitting for the Accel World mood so no complaints there. Next week will finally be a new episode! I’m excited to see how Chiyuri’s role will impact the battles, but I’m not so much interested in the love triangle though. Also, what’s up with this shower scene?

Full-length images: 09, 11, 21

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「→unfinished→」 by KOTOKO
Watch the ED!: Streaming ▼

Preview

82 Comments

    1. Ppl been asking why SAO didn’t come out in April before Accel World, I think is because SAO are just so much more better than Accel world, so coming out with something weak than having something better then ppl will be like WOW this is great, but if they release SAO first and then later on Accel world, ppl might get disappointed later on being reminded how good SAO is.
      I like them both but is true to me SAO is far superior than Accel world.

      Benz
  1. At this point, those who keep cant stand main character’s look should drop the series instead of complaining. This series is AMAZING. I even like the main character because his ugliness fit his character. I respect the creator of this for making a main character that aint perfect. This is my favorite series on this season!!

    Nextlevel
    1. Me too, I like the fact that our MC is not some everyday Bishounen. In fact, I find it a lot easier to be sympathetic towards him because he looks different to everyone else.

      Gekokujou
    2. Look, I know the author was trying to create a character that had low self-esteem but did he really have to do it in such a clumsy way.

      The MC is 4-foot tall and as round as a ball, making him seem like an alien in a world where everyone else has a perfect physique. And to top it off, the kid actually chooses to make his online avatar into a pig. It’s almost like every scene that we see the MC, the author/animators are shouting in our ears “FEEL BAD FOR HIM!”

      I still think the anime has a great concept, and I won’t let something like a character design get in the way of enjoying it. But the character designer was just trying way too hard to get people to pity the MC.

      Moeronic
    1. Surely you can’t talk without spitting, can you?

      Say that you admire the serious because this and that. But apparently you can’t do this without bashing something on the way.

      I for one love Accel World, period. Was that too difficult?

      vladrin
  2. Honestly, I don’t feel as though the stakes are particularly high right now. If he loses all his points what actually happens? He merely loses his ability to accelerate.

    It’s almost like a drug really – in order to continue to be able to get his ‘high’ he has to participate in battles or risk losing access to it altogether. As Kuroyukihime mentioned, no-one is going to bully him anymore so he can live a relatively normal life even without the ability to accelerate. It’s not like losing will result in a coma… or death.

    I’m sure they’ll introduce higher stakes along the way. After all, this is the author who said that a strong setting with real consequences are a requirement for making a novel about an RPG interesting to read.

    Moomba
    1. The consequences is actually more serious than that… brain burst isn’t really as simple or innocuous as they’ve shown so far, but can’t really explain without major spoilers.

      Mike
      1. Its not that crazy, but its just as bad Show Spoiler ▼

        Hakarum
  3. well, the real “meat-and-potatos” explanations are next week, so I’m expecting more drama (no triangles though), LOTS of drama; THEN more action…

    (I’m spoiling sutff for the next week, am I?)

    info600
  4. Uno Dos Tres Fight!!
    Maybe adding this theme will make the fight scene much more fun to watch.
    After watching 2 episodes I still find the Anime kinda dull or maybe it’s just me getting too old and cynical for this type of show. And it also doesn’t help, that the MC attitude is to whine first before trying to do something, well I hope he will try fix by the end of the series and not just run in the virtual world because something is not working in real-life. (Very bad influence to young viewers ><)

  5. I was a little dubious of this show when I saw the pig. That was then, this is now. I really like this show. So far I’m watching far too much anime this season (14 shows!), and when I make my “postponement” cuts next week, I’m doubtful that I’ll drop Accel World. I’m curious to see where this is heading, and I’ve been a good boy and not looked up spoilers (!).

    Chiyuri is super-cute, and her relationship with Haruyuki is intriguing. Does she like him more than her “boyfriend”? If so, why’s she with that guy? Oh, the melodrama!

  6. Oh Kuroyukihime you foxy lady. You are so cute :3

    I think this show really has some potential. Then again, I pretty much felt the same after watching two episodes of Guilty Crown… so we will see.

    Currently I am only watching this show and F/Z… I decided to drop everything else due to lack of time.

    suff
    1. Please don’t compare it to GC! It gets waay better, and far more vicious later on, if they are going to animate to Ufotable’s standards, then we’ll get to see some serious stuff that is on par with Uryuu + Caster’s crazy actions

      Hakarum
    2. You don’t need to worry about this show going down the drain. After all it’s based off of a very successful light novel. There’s not going to be random plot twists like GC and Haru’s character improves drastically after

      Show Spoiler ▼

      Suppa Tenko
  7. It´s really hard to see how Haruyuki has no love for himself, he goes as far as to hate his very nature wich leaves him in a really vulnerable state, I hope I see him emotionaly in the future because if not he´s going to be crushed by his own hatred sooner or later.

    haseo0408
  8. Their’s nothing wrong with the main character im just curious as to why he’s the only ridiculously short guy in the series?
    like i’m fine with that he’s chubby/fat ( idk what u would consider him in anime terms),
    im just curious is all

    ksjddragon
  9. You have a good point questioning Kuroyukihime’s motives. What she’s doing indeed seems to be a bit fishy.Now I’m curious to find out more about it in the next eps.

    I can pretty much understand why Haruyuki is so devoted to her, though. I would be the same.

    jreding
  10. If Silver Crow, a Level 1, gains extra points by beating Ash Roller, a Level 2, does Ash Roller suffer in turn by losing more points due to losing to someone lower levelled than him?

    Kinny Riddle
  11. I REALLY wished he’d stolen roller’s bike and ran him over with it lol. It would have looked good with his avatar on it…one hell of a power combo if you have a rocket bike headbutt LOL. I like the way it played out with some level of thought. Instead of a fluke we get a gamble. I’d rather see it play out that way anytime. Squeaked out victories ftw. I kind of wished they didn’t have him snivel like that when Chiya shows up at the end though. I’d have rathered he was perplexed by her rage. We don’t know if she likes him yet but it seemed like it with her protective stance. I wanna see more about his friendship with Taka. This is quite an interesting tale already.

    Breedo
      1. when you put it in that context it makes good sense but i still think it would have made good theater, he practically looks like a Kamen Rider variant already lol, a little….maybe 😉

        Breedo
  12. Nice to see the MC isn’t another Guilty Crown…guy…thingy (what was his name again?).
    Even so, I still don’t get why people are bashing that show. D:
    Maybe it’s cuz I went in with no prior knowledge of what I’m about to delve into, but after watching the final
    episode I actually felt depressed. O_O
    That usually means I found it decent, you know? (But the only thing that I actually miss? The soundtracks. xD)

    Hoping Kuro yukihime girl get’s more originality pumped into her, cuz I’ve seen too many pretty idols put on a smile when they’re actually lonely (really hope this isn’t one of those “break down and wait for MC to bring me back up”).

    That Bored Shounen
  13. I’m grateful SAO was translated on baka-tsuki by amazing people, and now I hope that one day Accel World gets fully translated. It’s really a shame that light novels were abandoned in the U.S. T_T

    Benichi
  14. The Neurolinker supports a 2 way communication, what happens in the virtual world you can feel as well.
    Man, do you need a good virus scanner in that age, imagine a virus that goes and attack you with pain!

    Djalaal
  15. Wow. And I thought all the nerdy, socially awkward, losers from harems were bad before. Now we have a nerdy, socially awkward, FAT loser for a main character? What is it with Japan’s obsession with pathetic underdogs?

    anonymous
    1. Because from a story telling perspective, showing the growth of a weak protagonist is a lot more interesting that showing a perfect being, being perfect. Or even a normal one, which is also done quite often.
      Now of course if the weak character stays weak and never grows, that’s a different problem…

      rsquirrel
  16. Just finished the first 2 eps.

    At first it felt rather .hack, the virtual world feels similar to The World.
    Felt like CC Cooperation has perfected The World and it has become widely used 😛

    The squash game felt Tron to me.

    Somehow the Brain Burst game felt like Air Gear to me.
    The Dual Avatars reminds me of Air Trecks.
    The battles like AT-battles.

    Since the light novel is already into 10 volumes there should be spoilers floating around the web already.
    Time to hop over to the JA wiki for a read 😛

    iron2000
  17. Watch this anime after watched sword art online ep.1. and learned that this was written by the same author.After 2 episodes in AW,It seem to be soft-core and less seriousness compared to SAO but still fun.

    Topboy

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