「Insurrection; 反逆」 (Hangyaku)

I always pitied Haruyuki for having a short, fat pig as an avatar. But this pink dinosaur one is adorable! He reminds me of a Yoshi and that makes me smile. And you know what also makes me smile? No Noumi this episode! It’s been a while since I thoroughly enjoyed an AW from start to finish, but this one was entertaining with new and old characters.

Tough love from Yuniko, but I wouldn’t expect it any other way. When we finally get to see her introduce the incarnate system with a bit more detail, I was pleasantly surprised by how little Sky Raker actually explained. Although Sky Raker did a great job teaching Haruyuki, I didn’t even realize that there were four different types of incarnate abilities. That was one gripe I had with this series earlier on… even when they did a decent job of introducing new aspects to the story to keep it interesting, it always felt like they were created just for Haruyuki (or whomever) to win and come out victorious. I enjoy watching a story where all the pieces are laid out in front of you and the puzzle can be solved with these pieces, it’s just all about how you piece them together.

One thing that I think Accel World excels in, is the introduction of characters and aspects to the story. It’s not a bombardment of facts and people all at once – it comes in mini arcs, major arcs and even side stories to bring everything together. Blood Leopard (Kawasumi Ayako) seems like a random off-side character who has no involvement in the story whatsoever to this point, but she could also be someone that the author planted in earlier on (my proof goes to the minor shot of her in the first OP). I have no say on either matters, but I can’t say that she has added much value to the story thus far for me. I’ll give her a few more episodes to grow on me. The cold and rough exterior doesn’t appeal to me and I much rather see someone cute and appreciates good desserts like Yuniko!

Now onto the actual meat of the story, the Akihabara Battle Grounds! A fighting arena and neutral ground within Yellow Radio’s territory. Once again, it’s just one of those “things” that get introduced halfway through the story and you’re like “Oh ok, got it!“. I just learn to accept them as they come. However I don’t actually mind this time because if it means bringing down Noumi, let’s do it! The real kicker was… the guy terrorizing everyone within this BG is actually a new character called Rust Jigsaw. Say whattt? Am I surprised? No. But does that just leave me with five hundred new, unanswered questions and a cliffhanger? Hell yes! What? Where? Why? How? Do they belong in some organized group that allows them to hack into networks and unseen as challengers? Probably. There better be a decent conclusion by the end of the season! If I sound very unreasonable and scatterbrained, that’s because I think they’re dropping a lot as the series is concluding and there’s a lot of loose ends to tie up for a neat ending.

Full-length images: It’s been a while since we’ve had such cute girls to take so many full-lengths of. Half my screencaps go to them. Yay for Scarlet Rain and Blood Leopard!

Quick Note: I have been out of town for the past day or so and I won’t be back to my normal sleeping/blogging schedule for a while >_< . Please be patient with me! I’ll try and get Kokoro Connect posted by Tuesday (but no promises)!

 

Preview

37 Comments

  1. this is the calm before the storm I should say… and yes, a lot of information are dumped at us right now, which is not anime’s fault. The LN dumped us all of that information right here at this point and no earlier… so I guess sunrise is being faithful here… but we will get a proper explanation to all of these… or at least all the major questions will be answered 🙂 Can’t wait to see the fights!

    unlike Niko, Blood Leopard doesn’t have much involvement with the main story aside from spying on 5th gen chrome disaster in arc 2 and what she will do in this arc, so no wonder there is little emphasis to her. But her appeal comes from her personality… she is actually quite caring person, except with an extreme liking of doing things quick… plus her seiyuu and that bike… reminds me of Saber xD

    and I just realized that Cherrie did not make any caps or any mention of that rotten girl filled bus with the overflow of bromance energy… xD

    ps. thanks as always about the post, hope all is well for you, Cherrie 🙂

    jrj
    1. Well the bromance scene on the bus is a complete anime original, that’s definitely a plus. Kudos to Sunrise for giving those lines from the LN some extra life and sparkle.

      There are a few lines from the LN that they omitted, i don’t really know whether that is a good decision or not as I believe several are important, but considering the time constraints, it is quite understandable.

      Questions just keep on getting piled up, some lasting untill Vol. 12! However in the afterwords of Vol. 12 Kawahara Reki did promise Vol. 13 will answer most of them. Lets all just pray to the god of anime and the executives of Sunrise for a swift coming of the second season.

      Lastly regarding Blood Leopard, her bike, her Akihabara Battle Grounds Avatar’s riding suit… they remind me terribly of a certain headless rider who roam the streets of Ikebukuro at night…

      Mixed Milkshake
      1. I uploaded Part 1 of Vol. 7 Chapter 1 on to Baka-Tsuki, Part 2 and 3 will follow after my various tests and exams.

        That entire monster of a chapter basically tells the back-story of the Accelerated World including the rise of Chrome Disaster. It’s still in its editing stage so don’t be too harsh on me.

        I hope you have as much fun reading as I did translating.

        Mixed Milkshake
      2. I just got the Chinese translation of vol.12 yesterday… so it will be a while before I can say much about vol.12 (too bad my English is much worse than my Chinese so I can’t really do translation)

        but from what I skimmed over in vol.12 and what Kawahara has been doing with the LN, I somehow just don’t feel that he will explain all the new information in vol.12… (since he keeps saying he will not end on cliffhanger, but he always does since vol.6 till vol.12)

        and yes, that bike does reminds me of Celty… but too bad blood leopard doesn’t have that awesome synch or shadow or that talking PDA xD

        jrj
  2. I was slightly let down by the Incarnate system explanation. I liked SkyRaker’s interpretation much better as it was an outside-the-system power with infinite possibilities depending on your willpower. Niko’s explanation puts more concrete categorizations onto this system and makes it seem like it was pre-programmed in. Basically, seemed more limited in scope with Niko’s interpretation, so I think I’ll stick with SkyRaker’s.

    Also, the 4 types of Incarnate techniques really reminds me of Haki from One Piece or the CP9 techniques.

    1. well, Niko’s explanation is more pragmatic… since what Haru and Taku really want at this point is a way to counter Noumi’s void wave attack (that purple claws), but when Haru trained under Sky Raker, he wanted a way to fly again… hence the difference…

      plus, there is more to incarnate system abilities than what either Sky Raker or Niko has alluded to (take Black Lotus’s overdrive mode for instance)… it is just that I am not entirely convinced that Niko has any other incarnate abilities besides the two she has shown due to possibly her incomplete coping with her trauma…

      jrj
      1. This has been brought up many times but Black Lotus’ Over Drive is NOT an Incarnation System ability. It is more closely related to Zero Fill and Over Flow phenomenons. It is a strong positive self suggestion that utilizes the absence of color in Black Lotus, allowing Kuroyukihime to ‘choose’ a color for herself.

        Mixed Milkshake
      2. I see your argument, but zero fill and over flow to me seems like incarnate system as well… the will of void and nothingness makes you unable to fight, and the negative will that extend beyond the game world… neither of these belongs to the physical control system or other regular in game system… instead they both seems to fall under the imagination control system, which is the core system in which incarnate system is depended upon.

        jrj
  3. well they not goner finish crap with 24 episode to be honest once the chrome disaster arc start it kind of go all the way up to LN vol.9 as one big story. So for now we just goner get bit and pieces of clues how this all begin.

    benz
  4. How are they even playing Tekken Tag 2? Tournament There should be atleast 5 or 6 right? Licensing rights by Bandai Namco?

    But am glad they featured Lili my main 😀

    About the episode itself probably the best episode of Accel World so far. Haryuki finally manning up and takes the lead.

    Worried about Show Spoiler ▼

  5. https://randomc.net/image/Accel%20World/Accel%20World%20-%2021%20-%20Large%2002.jpg

    Cherie, maybe you could have a better screenshots of this where all the BL-fangirls on the bus were oogling at Taku and Haru’s ever developing “friendship”. Sometimes the lengths that Taku goes to do things for Haru far exceeds that he does for Chiyu, though he himself doesn’t seem to realize it yet. lol (“BL” here obviously doesn’t mean “Burst Link”. XD )

    Oh yes, no Noumi this episode + Niko + Pard = Win.

    Kawasumi Ayako as Pard reminds me a lot of Saber, what with her stoic demeanor, tendency to address Niko as “Master” and insane bike-driving skillz.

    Kinny Riddle
  6. I’m still not very thrilled about the introduction of the Incarnate System since it feels so ridiculously cheap, but at least they’re not keeping it exclusive to Haruyuki, Noumi, and the Kings. In the end though, it’s a lazy insert tool to have each of the characters confront their past traumas. The characters aren’t facing their pasts so that they become stronger as a person, they’re just facing it so that they can fight someone. And besides, confronting your past hardships of getting beaten up just so you can… beat up another guy? That’s a bit too paradoxical for my tastes.

    Once again, it’s just one of those “things” that get introduced halfway through the story and you’re like “Oh ok, got it!“. I just learn to accept them as they come.

    This is pretty much how I feel about every world building element thrown into this show, lol. They sort of just pop up out of nowhere, but I’ve somehow managed to just roll with it I guess.

    On the bright side, less Noumi means better show. What a terrible, boring villain.

    1. well, most players who knows incarnate abilities will not use it until attacked by incarnate abilities first… that is the grand rule of using this system… so this is kind of like the “extra skill” in SAO…

      as to the trauma comment, I just have to say this, these kids are in middle school (13-14), do you expect them to face their past trauma head on? I don’t think that is too realistic… since we do have a lot of PTSD even in RL. Also I feel you are getting it slightly wrong… overcome the fear so he can learn incarnate ability and fight is not an end result by itself, it is rather a byproduct… maybe you don’t see it, but since Haru learned incarnate abilities, he has manned up quite a bit… the real power of these incarnate abilities is their effect that extended well beyond the game world…

      and lastly, about world building elements or “setting”… I don’t know how you would introduce all the settings? like dumping all of them in the first episode?

      jrj
  7. No Nomi makes me a happy man. ^_^

    All this time, I’ve always thought that Haru had it worst; being bullied by that Araya guy. I really hope that Taku overcome his fear and gain one Effing awesome InSys attack. One that would make Nomi scream for his mummy.

    Terrorhunt
    1. Not to mention with how people have mentioned that his real life self is completely opposite of his Burst Linker self, so given how he’s so wild and boisterous in Accel World, being like Blood Leopard fits, lol. (And even being a girl as opposed to a guy, lol.)

      HalfDemonInuyasha
  8. Give Blood Leopard black hair and she could pass off as an older Kuroyukihime in appearance. The recent magazine image of Kuroyukihime in a maid outfit only emphasizes it, lol.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
  9. *Cherrie goes lengthy screenshots rampage?*

    Haruyuki, please dump your scariest piglet avatar and keep using this Yoshi instead. <3

    Next episode epic battle please!

    Oh, someone please kill throw Nomi in prison under Unlimited Brust mode. Lock him up for a month, preferable in real time sense.

    Note: Math time~ 30mins in real time = 20 days in UBM.
    1 month in real time =…? =D

    Bakaro
  10. With some returning characters, Accel World gives us a nice “breather” episode before things kick into high gear for the finale.

    Ah Niko… any Accel World episode benefits from your influence, especially when we’ve had to deal with rage and Noumi. She’s just so fun, from her shifting personalities to how she trolls other characters, and how she in her own way cares about Haruyuki and the rest of Nega Nebulous but shows it the only way a tsundere can. I also found it interesting how her trauma has, unlike most of the other Avatars in Brain Burst, negatively effected Scarlet Rain by forcing her to rely only on external armaments for strength. Both that and her lack of complete understanding of the Incarnate system puts her at a severe disadvantage compared to the other Kings. Though it can’t be helped considering she’s the newest and youngest out of all of them.

    As funny as the Haru and Taku scene on the bus was, and their friendship has certainly always had those kind of undertones, what made it funnier for me is that Taku actually has his own route in the Accel World video game. Does that make him a member of Haruyuki’s harem? Maybe.

    Speaking of Taku and the trauma that creates Avatars, we finally learned the true origin of Cyan Pile and what an ironic origin it is. I never expected that Taku had gone through the same type of bullying Haruyuki did, though it would explain his frustrations and anger as Cyan Pile and why he, in his own way, closed himself off from others like Haruyuki did. It would also further explain why Taku makes such self-sacrificing decisions, as he’s so used to pain that he’ll take any of it to ensure his friends don’t have to. He’s basically a glutton for punishment but with the best of intentions.

    Blood Leopard, or Pard, was certainly not what I was expecting. She is very straight to the point, almost to a frightening degree, and from how she treats Haruyuki I’d say she’s a veteran Burst Linker, which means she was probably under Red Rider before Scarlet Rain took over. And I knew I recognized her voice, but it wasn’t until later that I learned she was voiced by none other than the wonderful Ayako Kawasumi, AKA Saber! It’s official, she needs to be in Haruyuki’s harem. I hope Haruyuki is able to set off some flags next episode, because who wouldn’t want an Ayako Kawasumi character in their harem?

    So the Red Legion is based out of a cafe… so where’s Nega Nebulous’ base? The school? Haruyuki’s apartment building? Though I’m sure Kuryoukhime likes to think of Haruyuki’s apartment as a home away from home.

    I like how we get a bit more world building in this episode with the Akihabara Battle Grounds, showing how the Burst Linker society has grown and developed. I also liked how they lampshaded how since most Burst Linkers are kids and teenagers, they don’t actually have much money to gamble. I guess that’s one of the positives to be found in Brain Burst’s age limit.

    And Noumi is definitely apart of something bigger, presumably the organization Sulfur Pot was affiliated with, and it seems Rust Jigsaw is, funnily enough, another piece of the puzzle. It looks like the next episode will have some revelations as to what exactly is going on, and probably set the stage for the final fight between Nega Nebulous and Noumi though I presume the organization might get involved as well. Here’s hoping Accel World manages to end on a high note.

    Frontier
    1. hmm… Pard is only lv.6 due to her past involvement with certain someone she cares… so I don’t think she was with Red Rider…

      as to the base, the first Nega Nebulus didn’t have a base since they weren’t as close as the current one… (ie KYH don’t know most of her members’ RL identities)… but yeah, Haru’s apartment has become their base now 🙂

      jrj
    1. sorry to spoil the pot here xD
      Although silver crow with all types of incarnate abilities would be godly, but sadly Haru is not Akatsuki (Hagure Yuusha), he is not going to be that powerful… and even if he manage to master more, with just 3-4 episodes left to go, anime only viewers probably won’t be able to see it till season 2 🙁

      jrj
    1. Fuuko, that is her name xD… we probably will see her again this season, but most likely next season (if we get one) since she plays a much bigger role in vol.5 of LN and consistent roles in subsequent LNs xD

      jrj

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