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「ユイの心」 (Yui no Kokoro)
“Yui’s Heart”
They say that opposites attract – that two people who are completely different are more likely to make a better pair than two people who are very similar. I guess it’s true in a sense, and the Asuna/Kirito pairing certainly seems to conform to this idea. Putting their taste in clothing aside (strange how Kirito has gone back to his regular black while Asuna continues to wear guild colours – perhaps it’s become too routine for her) along with their obvious disagreement on what can be considered edible, they both frequently react very differently to any situations which arise. With the appearance of Yulier (Shiraishi Ryoko) this week, we learn a little bit more about The Army – it was originally established by a guy called Thinker (Mizushima Takahiro) with honest and possibly even noble intentions and has only descended into the horror that it is today thanks to the rise of Kibaou (the mouthy guy from episode two) and his faction. With Thinker trapped unarmed in a high level dungeon having been betrayed by Kibaou, Yulier’s only recourse is to approach Kirito and Asuna for help.
This is where Kirito and Asuna’s reactions diverge. Asuna immediately wants to verify Yulier’s words – she’s already learned the hard way that you can’t just trust anyone you meet (case in point: the reason she and Kirito took a break from the guild in the first place) and The Army has certainly done nothing to merit any trust so far. Why should they believe this random stranger who’s turned up claiming to have heard about two ‘strong players’ who just happen to be the strongest duo in the entire game and wants them to come to a high level dungeon they didn’t even know existed? There’s a lot of potentially shady stuff right there. Kirito, on the other hand, has far less reservations about the whole thing – a girl is crying in front of him, and another girl is telling him that he can trust said first girl… what could possibly go wrong? Asuna manages to end up being swayed by Kirito and no-one questions the reliability of what Yui has to say. Maybe they all feel that Kirito is indestructible, but I can’t help thinking that they should’ve put more thought into the whole thing regardless of whether or not everything turned out fine in the end.
I would love to know what’s going through Yulier’s mind throughout the episode. How must Kirito and Asuna seem to her? First they bring a young child to a highly dangerous dungeon and laugh nonchalantly about the whole deal. Sure, she insisted, but that doesn’t make it any less of a strange thing to do on the surface. Then we have Kirito gleefully cutting swathes through hordes of monsters, practically laughing all the while. You can certainly see how much he’s been missing combat during their time away from the front lines, but by this point they must appear to be bordering on insanity to Yulier.
And so with the appearance of the unreasonably high level boss in a (relatively) low level area, we finally learn the truth about Yui. She was never a normal player to begin with, rather an AI under the Cardinal system designed and programmed to keep track of players’ mental health and act as a counsellor of sorts. As a system meant to operate without the need for GMs, it’s no surprise that such a program would exist, nor is the idea that it would be programmed to feel human emotions to make it more relatable. Glossing over AI corrupting due to witnessing players’ distress and being unable to intervene, I have to wonder a little as to why Yui was created in the image of a small girl. Surely players seeking comfort and reassurance of some kind would be far better off getting their counselling from someone a little… older perhaps? Or maybe she’s meant to serve the role in a different capacity. Or just an oversight. It might work for the younger children in the game though… I imagine it must have been extremely hard for them to be separated from their parents for such a long time. Even as adaptable as children can be, I’d think Sasha played a pretty large role in keeping them alive for so long.
tl;dr: @MoombaDS – A little background on The Army, a close shave for Kirito, and a horrible innuendo I almost unconsciously wrote. #SAO
Random thoughts:
- Sometimes there are moments in SAO I really shouldn’t laugh at. I can never resist though.
- What’s with that stance? Not to apply real-world standards to a game (okay I’m totally about to do just that) but that guard would be so ridiculously ineffective.
- Small Girl, Big Gun or perhaps Black Magician Girl is more appropriate in this context. Either way, always pretty damn cool.
- Kirito worked awfully quickly to turn Yui into a game object there. If programming is that easy in this future, then maybe it’s less of a stretch to believe that perhaps Kayaba built the entirety of Sword Art Online single-handedly!
Full-length images: 03, 27, 33, 34.
Preview
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End Card
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Aww can’t wait, next ep is gonna be real good
Are you guys all blind??? This show has really been disappointing since its great, great first episode and these last few episodes especially ridiculously cheesy and bad. This episode is so cheesy with its fake sentimentality inducing attempt that I want to gauge my eyes out and fill my eye sockets with rainbow acids! Gah~~~!! Gah!!!
God darn it, I still can’t believe this cliché-ridden crap is the same show as that first episode. Gimme back that great show~~!! There is no hope for this show now. I have been very patient, but I must speak up now. There is no hope. Abandon the ship.
Lol at your nick.
Well, what you say cliche is because it was great back in 2002 and other writers followed the writing/story style~
But I think it’s not that you dislike the show. It’s the fact that you were expecting the show to be completely something else than you expect. I had a bit of that in the beginning, even when I was reading the novel. It gave a slightly off impression of what the story’s gonna be like.
It definitely suit my taste, but I definitely agree it’s not for everyone, even though it did win awards~ To compare to the stories these days, it’s pretty much subtle and ‘happy’. But don’t worry, there’s more shows next season that might suit your taste.
That being said, SAO is unique to me, because nowadays the stories often make unnecessary twists, which is apparently what readers these days like. Once in a while I need stories like SAO which stuff are more straightforward~
Pot calling the kettle black. Is all the tsukkomi that i need against a boke like you.
The first episode… Back then the possibilities seemed to be illimited.
Now it’s moe.
The first episode just set a tense setting…..its not like it was expected to stay tense and dark the whole way through.
Worry not, the anime is gonna redeem itself real soon. Just wait and see 😉
Ananas, i must disagree at a point. If you take a look at the novels, you’ll sure notice that the only moe parts are those based on side-stories and some few moments from the original volume 1. The anime itself is not just moe, as anyone can see by the fights that happened and those which are coming
I think it’s interesting you censored the “darn” it part of your swear, but left in the “god.”
Also, rainbow acid is SOOO 1960’s.
Why is this guy downvoted again? He just explained everything that’s wrong with this anime in two paragraphs.
This episode was just LOLWUT the whole way through (though the same can be said for all the previous episodes).
Because he didn’t actually explain anything, and he insulted everyone who did like the episode?
I agree Eduardo. People seems to forget the horrendous situation they are in at the sight of moe. LOL.
In fact, they are complaining the wrong thing altogether. Instead of moe, they should be complaining how Kirito’s party is gonna look more and more like a harem.
Not Campione-level of harem though…
You complain about all that is wrong with this anime, that it’s cliched, that you don’t like it. Yet you’ve watched up to ep. 12!? And even waste your time writing here where most of the readers are fans of this anime.
^ Sometimes it is fun to watch a bad show just to see how bad it is. The human mind is funny. If this show was something under the radar, I might have dropped it from episode 7 already. But with all these praises and the actual substance of the story is homogeneous to that of Twilight, some people (like us) just can’t help but keep on watching. Yes, dissecting certain works to the bone is fun too. I think Naruto is a better show. Bleach is stupid and drags on forever but at least the character are WORTH CARING ABOUT.
Sure there aren’t many twists, but even life-of-slice characters have more depth than Kirito and Asuna. And when the supporting casts are more fleshed out and likeable compare to the official couple… The things that are keeping people engaged are moe, a boring generic bishounen number-one unbeatable male lead. Everyone wants to be like him, whilst forgetting that he is only badass in-game and not real life. For all we know, or at the very least, the girls who fell in love with him in-game, he could be even more pathetic compared to Ikari Shinji in real life and flees at the first sight of danger. Hence very unrealistic and silly to cry over that guy. There are better people out there, Klein why are you single?
If there is a better candidate for this sort of boring wish-fulfillment that you are all so crazy about, it is Dante. You all should go pick up a copy of Devil May Cry game (preferably 3, ANYTHING but 2). Do not watch the anime. He’s badass, witty, charisma has a sense of humor, a PERSONALITY *gasps*. He doesn’t win all the time. It is more satisfying to see him not giving up make a stellar come back, than having one that doesn’t lose and is the universe’s pet. And the girls don’t go all crazy about Danta despite his charisma, their relationship of bickering at each other is more interesting to see compared to a perfect guy leaving girls everywhere in trail of tears because he’s already taken.
And if you argue that Kirito does lose, one time was because the other dude hax, and the other time he held back fighting with only one sword. Not actually losing.
@passingby
https://randomc.net/2012/09/22/sword-art-online-12/comment-page-1/#comment-873430
tbh, he’s not too far from the ‘truth’.
a great show will have the viewers emotionally invested. but when an element is introduced just for the sake of causing an emotional response, without creating a rapport… it’s just a product of bad story writing. and that’s what this episode felt like. just a cheap attempt at triggering an emotional response.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say SAO is hopeless. I’m still hopeful that the show will rise back to the brilliance shown in the first episodes but if the shotty story telling of the later episodes is a precursor for things to come… the future look pretty bleak.
Hello there. Well, deathtogeneric just said what he thinks about SAO according to his own perception of “what’s good” and “what’s awful”. However, I cannot agree that what he said is a ‘proper criticism’ since all he did was to insult the anime. It’s not even a review or any of the sort. Since it’s your own opinion of it and you dislike SAO that much, no one’s really stopping from getting rid of SAO in your life.
What do you mean Kirito’s harem isn’t going to exceed the Campione harem? at the end of the Sword Art Online series he will have
Show Spoiler ▼
@Suppa:
I mean it isn’t where Kirito would almost have sex with the girls every time something happened. Godou eats his girls for one reason or another…
Great episode
For those who say the sorrow that Asuna felt is unrealistic simply because she only knew Yui for a short time, it is actually more real than you think.
Having worked in the hospital for many years, I have seen firsthand the despair and devastation the loss of a child can be for the parents. This applies to both children by birth and by adoption. Blood relation is irrelevant for those who truly share a family bond. Furthermore, emotional attachment cannot be measured by length of time. I have met and talked to parents who mourned for their unborn child, never having the chance to see her or hold her in their arms. They have poured a lifetime worth of love toward their child before she even took her first breath, so their loss is as great as that experienced by any other parent.
Despite only living with Yui for a few days, Asuna truly loved her like a daughter, program or not. If you do not like Yui as a character, then that is your opinion. But do not belittle the emotions and bond a mother can have for their child.
be my nurse
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I think a difference between those parents of adopted or unborn children is that they’ve had time to accustom themselves to the idea of having and loving children.
Let me see if I can put it clearer: Expecting parents may never have had a chance to meet their unborn child, but they had the whole time of pregnancy to get used to the idea that someone is entering their lives, to build nurseries and buy toys, clothes, make the poor thing listen to Mozart while in the womb, dream of the things they could do with them, watch them grow, take them to the prom, teach them baseball, etc.
Similarly, parents who adopt don’t (or shouldn’t) do so on a whim. They’ve had time to want a child, perhaps regret they couldn’t conceive on their own, dream of what they could do with them, start restructuring their lives around them.
In the two cases above, the would-be parents have had significantly more than days to love their child, even if they’ve never met the child. This is in stark contrast to Asuna and Kirito, to whom Yui did not even exist until a few days ago. Their experience is more akin to teenagers who picked up a child left on their doorstep. They didn’t have the same amount of time to invest in dreaming of a life with a child.
While I believe Kirito and Asuna love Yui, I just find it unlikely that it would be on the scale of your examples. They would be very sad to lose her, but I also think their odds of sinking into say, postpartum depression is significantly less.
Your points are very valid, and I would agree with you that there is indeed a difference between the scale of emotion felt.
My earlier argument is meant more for people who refuse to accept that parental love can exist in such a short time. While it may not be the same as for expecting parents, love for a child is definitely not restricted by time. There is no set amount of time parents have to spend with their child to love them, or mourn for them when they pass.
“There are bonds much more stronger than bonds merely formed by blood, but that doesn’t mean blood ties are weak, either”.
Hikaru Sugii
I think this pretty much sums up what you are trying to say, the world is not so easy to understad and human emotions do not have a set rules to go by, that´s presisly what makes us so awe inspiring, the fact that no person can predict the way we deal with the gifts of our soul. Humans are truly interesting.
Indeed. I’ve already read the most of the novels, so I was already expecting what was to come, but it still brought tears to my eyes.
It must be noted that while the anime does have its advantages in giving life to a written word, it lacks the details that come with it. That is to say the thought process of each of the individual characters. The “Morning Dew Girl” story does have quite abit of instances where it explains in detail what is going on in the characters mind (alot of it is of Asuna’s thoughts). Hence it does a better job of explaining whey Asuna and Kirito are so attached to Yui. This is especially so for Asuna if we look even further about her background…
Show Spoiler ▼
Hence her meeting with Kirito and subsequently Yui, and the life they shared for those few days in the 22nd floor became something that was forever etched in her heart.
/me Brofist. Respect.
Nice story behind Yui, gave me a little chobits moment, haha
Yes, there are a lot of simmilarities between the stories. One of the greatest questions we humans has ask ourselfs, can we recreate feeling inside a cybernetyc being?, sci-fi is full of examples but seriously talking, if we can´t even understand the way our own emotions work how can we said another being cannot posses them?, even if it is artifficial, so to my eyes Yui is as much alive as Kirito and Asuna. I´d love to live long enough to see the answer to that question.
Great to see Yui in action protecting papa and mama.
Yeah! Where can I get a sword like that?! It would really come in handy in any RPG.
Kawahara explained in his twitter that Kirito basically searched Yui’s data(MHCP001 folder) and compressed it to object in his own storage. Kinda makes sense to be able to do it that fast, although making it to object in his storage doesnt.
MHCP001 must be pretty dam large folder even when its compressed.
I remember a 500mb .nds file fits snugly as a 50mb file when RARed. It was my copy of FFTA2.
Not to forget that the setting for SAO takes place like almost 20years in the future (its like the year 2020s there). Most of their hard disks are running on SSDs instead of the regular HDs we are currently using. And its not far fetched to think that memory storage by that stage would have far surpassed the largest single storage on an individual hard disk that we have now.
Not to mention executable data (especially when compressed — either as bytecode or source) is tiny compared to even a single high-res texture. Also, the physical size of the object in his hand (which may or may not have already existed in his folder in some form before his voodoo bootstrap compression) is completely unrelated to the amount of data internally referenced by it.
I’m more concerned with the fact that Kirito is capable of accessing his NervGear’s sub-systems within SAO itself. Compare this with accessing — and running compression subroutines on — Windows registry or “Program Files” directory from Skyrim’s menus.
That said, it’s also extremely intriguing that the only time a player is seen thinking about hacking SAO or the NervGear is when they want to prevent part of the game from deleting itself. And what prowess is displayed indeed!
There was no hacking on Kirito’s side for this. Any game data or downloads in general are stored in the NerveGear’s memory.
No, there was hacking alright. No question about that — in the episode he clearly states his intentions to take advantage of Yui’s administrator access to “hack into Cardinal,” and you need root access to determine the execution pointer and program data referenced by Yui’s PID. A comment above also reveals that his trace led him to Yui’s program data folder — a folder his user account does not have the necessary privileges to access.
But then he goes on to copy and compress this data, and append the archived data blob to an item in his storage. In order to do so, he would need access to programs or subroutines not normally available to players; namely, the copy command (imagine infinite item cloning) and the compression command (compression in such a game would happen on the fly transparently by the game engine if it were to happen at all — usually the engine decompresses compressed resources and textures, not the other way around).
Actually 12 years, since we’re already in 2012 if you haven’t checked your calendar and SAO started in 2024. If you go for simple speculation, the current gen consoles have 250-500GB of storage. Putting aside the limitations with the physical medium, which are constantly tackled by researchers, and with the constant increase in processor power and storage space, by 2024 the NerveGear might have 10-15 TB of storage.
And like other people said, it’s not like Kirito is trying to store the whole game server data. He’s storing a program or code which usually takes much less space than video, textures or audio.
Well on one hand up till now they haven’t had the chance to access the system or a terminal that grants access to GM functions. The players have limited access to the system, they only have their UI and menus, nothing else. And even in with access to the system as a GM it’s not like you are granted all system privileges. Usually GM in other MMOs are really in the lowest level of the hierarchy and only have access to moving/creating/deleting objects, mobs, avatars and other basic stuff. I can guess the only one with admin access and privileges might be Kayaba.
Ah, i was calculating according to the timing the novels were first written hehe. Which was around 2002.
But yeah, that console was able to grant a certain amount of access for a moment. And even then, Kirito had a limited amount of time before the console forcefully ejected him away from it (as shown when he was blown away from it just after he succeeded in saving Yui’s program).
I give this a ten out of ten even though it lacked a few things it was still definitely worth waiting for it to be animated
Lol show got covered just after I finished downloading the subs.
Btw, at the rate this show is going, I think it’s pretty possible to rush the ending in 1 episode, that is, episode 13, dividing the show nicely in half. I don’t think with this momentum, it’s worth stretching the ending to two episodes, especially if they want to dump the second story arc (ALO) in the rest of the season.
When reading Moomba’s explanation about the Army, I was reminded we were talking about them in the comments last episode, and this is where LN readers fall short – the LN readers understood what the ‘Army’ is while it’s still a question mark for anime-only viewers.. The presence of the ‘Army’ was differently appreciated since Gleameyes’ time by the LN readers and the anime viewers.
Regarding Yulier’s view on Yui, it’s not about ‘small children’ anymore in this game. What the ‘world’ sees are ‘survivors of the death game that has been going on for 2 years’. They at least has steeled their heart, just like Asuna in the beginning. Show Spoiler ▼
I also agree regarding the observation on why is it a younger person that is consoling the kids.
1. I don’t know her age – but she doesn’t have to be that young as it seems in the anime – she can be in her 20s.
2. The oldies has other goals, and given that this is a death game, as no time looking after little kids. But if the author was willing, I think he could’ve placed an older guy instead.
3. I don’t know, but a younger person looks ‘safer’. An older church person in anime tend to give a dark flag (Kotomine Kirei, the guys @ To Aru Majutsu no Index) so placing a younger person gives more of a harmless image. I think it’s a stereotype, that a younger nun-like person would give the best refuge (Asia, High School DxD, also I think some Final Fantasy titles, Haibane Renmei, and a bunch others. Tend to be middle-aged younger female)
That said, that’s an interesting point, but I don’t think the author spent that much time thinking about the age/gender of the counselor of the kids :p And if I have to write a story myself picking age/gender of a counselor for a considerable number of kids, I possibly would pick a female around 20s and associating it with the church, for easy association/identification.
And I pretty much liked the animation matrix-style programming by Kirito, that was fun o_O Realistic or not, that’s another story ;p Show Spoiler ▼
I misread your point about Yulier.. Cut my point above.. Yeah I agree with you, I think she pretty much they have some screws loose..
XD I dunno why the thumbs down. Is it because I missed a word?
I meant to say, Yuriel views Asuna and Kirito as having some screws loose, being carefree and letting Yui get her way. Mind you, I don’t feel this when I was reading the LN, but I do feel this in the anime, given a face-shot of Yuriel and all.
Interesting to see a boss like that which could 2-shot both Kirito and Asuna. Next episode should be where things start to get real. I guess they will skip some parts in the LN and go straight for the action then. Still kind of disliked how Kirito changed the program so easily but whatever still an enjoyable episode.
Seeing Yui cheering for her papa while he was butchering frogs was really cute. ^^
The frogleg scene was funny^^
Another thing, I felt a bit rushed because Yui was just introduced last ep and she dissappears in this episode. I expected her to appear more often since she looked like one of the most interesting characters in the anime.
Don’t worry.
Show Spoiler ▼
The ‘stance’ was obviously designed by Asuna: Kirito can’t get away because of her knife at his throat, they have a three-sword defense, and if something goes wrong it has to get thru Kirito to get at her. She should patent it.
I didn’t cry, I am a terrible person. 🙂
I think if you like this comment then you should know that it was sarcasm. I apologize because sarcasm on the internet is like winking when you’re talking on the phone.
People, Yui isn’t Miku. If she’s just gonna be moe and play house while being a Deus Ex Machina, get out of my sight!
At the end of the day, there is nothing new under the sun. If ideas or concepts being repeated bother you so much, you should really stop watching or reading anything.
Tiger & Bunny was cliched as hell. I correctly predicted most events of the story. However, the characters and the execution saved the show and it became one of the best anime of last year in my opinion.
The problem here is that Gary Stu is a Gary Stu and has not grown from episode 3, just the same old perfect guy. As competent as he is, he still has room to grow. He would have been a believable character if all the girls don’t fall madly in love with him with such little development. Also, everything in the game tailored towards him. Dual Wielding, he has it because he is special. He works hard to be able to use sword skill both hands simultaneously you say? Other people work hard too! Then he sleeps with the most popular girl. Then that AI chick who thought that Kirito and Asuna were somehow “more interesting”, “livelier” and than the rest . I think it was more along the line of lively. Klein is livelier. Hell, Yui didn’t like all the angst, and Kirito’s whole solo-player agenda is angst, as much sense as that makes. And she shows up when they get married, just for the sake of a “family” theme.
So your problem is not with cliche, but with execution. Say that then, instead of “ARGGH CLICHE SHANA CLICHE”
It’s like you don’t understand how unlockables in a game work. What matters isn’t how hard you work. What matters is that you clear a specific set of conditions. It’s just that in the process of clearing those conditions, you usually have to work your butt off.
It would be so much easier to take your criticisms seriously, if they didn’t read like the school nerd being upset the cheerleader dates the football player. “Oh god, he’s POPULAR and he get TEH SEXORS. WRRRYYYYYY?!”
Timing is everything. Yui had no interest in Kirito until AFTER he stopped being a solo, so your argument hold no water.
I don’t see the point of your analogy. Yui only exists as an in-game program, she’s similar NPC PVP’ers or anti-bot in certain games and she isn’t going to save my life in real life (while Siri can).
Sad yes. But most people don’t cry over the death of their pets after they reach high school. Once again, pointless analogy. And heck, that applies to humans too, people eating relatives while hungry is not unheard of.
The pet’s loyalty to its owner is natural, while Yui is only programmed to feel certain emotion, and emotion is complex to completely and perfectly emulate. Two completely different things.
lols, dude I said that weeks ago. I never said cliches were bad, but SAO is so shameless about it. And cliches with a few tweaks here and there subverts its status as a cliche. I said this before, mecha anime usually copy Evangelion, but they all have their perks that separate them as equally original works of their own (with the recent exception of Guilty Crown which is basically Eva+Code Geass+Macross). I even spoon-fed to you problems of characterizations, more than once and suggested what can make it better.
You can read some hero folktales of any cultures and the basic plotline is more or less: “Gary Stu is the chosen one to go on an adventure, he does good deeds here and there and soon becomes known throughout the land, then comes the perfect most beautiful and pure woman on earth love interest who will definitely marry him, and then proceeds to defeat the big bad boss and not once he is defeated.” Yes, that is SAO, in a nutshell.
And the Shana cliche was annoying because they couldn’t come up with a better tsundere and keeps recycling the idea. It’s like Disco, it’s popular now but after a while people are gonna hate it since it becomes way too popular and overused for its own good.
It’s like you don’t understand how unlockables in a game work. What matters isn’t how hard you work. What matters is that you clear a specific set of conditions. It’s just that in the process of clearing those conditions, you usually have to work your butt off.
Dude, it’s not unlockable when he somehow is the only person in the game who has access to it and nobody else is able to unlock it afterwards. If not then why not just give everyone some sort of unique unlockables with different weapons? Or at least make it difficult enough that only a few can get it. But the way the game is designed is that the system only picks one person, ONE!
Oh my, you’re down to insulting me now? I wouldn’t go that far. And hell, I don’t need to have a love life to be happy. Well, Kirito doesn’t have enough of a personality to make that harem compelling. If he was Lelouch or Keima then sure, but he is nothing more than an angsty kid who is good with gaming and is overly attached to the NPC’s who are going to be killed by Asuna’s plan (episode 5 I think).
Whatever, but I still don’t see how Kirito and Asuna combined is “brighter” than everyone else. This is like that stupid Dual Wielding thing.
oh shoot misquote about that pet comment.
@ PassingBy
I see you are conveniently forgetting that Yui saved their lives, both real and virtual, and from a decision she made herself.
First, there are ADULTS who mourn the loss of a pet, who break down weeping when their pets get sick. They hold funerals even.
Second, I think it’s odd that you find cannibalism more easy to relate to than people loving their pets.
Yui is also programmed to not disobey Cardinal, yet she did. Thus, it is clear that she has already surpassed her programming. So your argument holds no water.
PassingBy
Yeah, and your examples of other tsunderes were questionable at best. Tsunderes are characterized by their use of violence to cover up their actual emotion. So if they are secretly pleased by being groped, but they lash out with violence. If the person is genuinely angry or embarrassed, there is nothing “tsun” about violence. In that case, it is the natural and normal response.
Ah, someone’s gone and read some spoilers I see. Fair enough. Let’s wander into spoiler territory then.
Show Spoiler ▼
It’s only insulting if you think being a nerd is insulting.
He’s not angsty. Angsty are the kids who put on chains and makeup and whine about the futility of life and the unfairness of it all. Kirito is someone who had a negative experience, which while it haunted him, he did not let it keep him from continuing to live his life.
Looking at how your bait a response after getting none and abruptly end the conversation doesn’t lend credence towards your I’m not a troll defense in the later posts.
A civil discussion doesn’t normally start or end with “whatever, lol, yuck, etc…”.
This is an epic series any way you cut it.
This is exactly the catalyst this series needed. It was always good but it needed a truly large reason as to why the two vets should come out of their retirements/honeymoon. I mean the two of them arent battle mongers who fight on the front lines just for a reason to fight, Kirito himself said some days he cant even remember his old life and Asuna is burnt out from similar changes in her guild as The Army experience equaling a similar lose of purpose for the both of them and this episode just gave it back to them in an awesome way which is a wonderful thing.
These last three episodes have been spectacular, getting married, eloping, the joy of a first child of sorts which is not really a rare occurance for two people who are now 18 years old and much older experience wise and then the crushing saddness of losing that child and finally the hope they may see her again to drive them into the finale… spectacular!
“Any way you cut it”? Sword Art? Swords, cut? eh? eh? anyone? anyone? lol
That joke ain’t gonna cut it here mayne
I feel this episode was an absolutely beautiful portrayal of Morning Dew Girl, despite the hate it may get. Reading it and picturing it definitely rouses feelings of sadness, but there’s just something about actually seeing the emotions on their faces and hearing it in their voices… in an emotional sense, this episode was flawless to me~
@ Moomba: I’d say, Small Girl, Big Friggin’ Sword! And its Flaming Sword (T), to boot!
I must say as much as I’d like Yui to stay with them, it was simply impossible due to her being Game Breaker (T)(not only she has awesome attack power, she is Indestructinble Object…. she could probably solo all the bosses to the top.)
Oh, and I’d love to see Thinker and Yulier reform The Army back to the noble ideals of its founding. Not to mention to see that jerk Kibaou meet deserved fate…
Also, there is probably no player in SW:TOR who didnt feel the temptation to jump off the skyscrapers of Coruscant or into the spacestation bottomless service pit…
Ewok out!
It didn’t take me long to figure out that SW:TOR didn’t have the normal invisible railings protecting you from falling into the abyss 😛
You forgot the Sarlac Pit
WAAAHHHH – cries eyes out –
Your teaser pics of this episode on the front page made me think this was a good ending until I watched it (;_;) Yuiiii….
I feel sad that they’ll probably skip the fishing story. I’m still hoping that despite the next episode’s title they will spend atleast half of it on the fishing part and the latter as prep for the things to come and end with a cliffhanger much like what they did for the leadup to Gleam Eyes.
A table will be flipped if they don’t even mention it. >_<
Was I supposed to cry? This arc hinges on the fact that I should get attached to Yui because of her onscreen moeblob treatment and then feel for her when she dies. No, just no. I didn’t care because Yui has barely any screentime to make me care. Drama doesn’t work that way. Its just blatant emotional manipulation.
This arc just further empathizes what I find to be the biggest flaw of the series: It relies on too much cliche and pandering. Looking back at the first episode it gave a lot of promise about the reality of death on a bunch of normal players. The show then barely dwell’s on it instead resorts to plot elements that could be inserted into any action-romance fantasy. Granted it does it well, and Kirito and Asuna are decent characters, but I keep thinking on how much better this show could have been. It basically stoped being interesting after the Sachi arc.
This show is constantly disappointing me and the only thing I enjoy about it the Meta-gaming experience I get for being a former MMMORPG player. Sorry SAO, fans but I really needed to get that out of my chest.
I suppose it could always go the .hack//sign route and have a character with a game-breaking power do nothing but whine for 26 episodes…
Except SIGN actually focused on the reality of a character trapped in a game and Tsukasa didn’t whine for 26 episodes. If anything, Tsukasa was improving after interacting with others who cared for her.
Fine, 20 episodes of whining, “leave me alone,” and other characters taking pity on her except for her lesbian love interest, 2 episodes of being catatonic, and 4 episodes of minimal spinal growth. Whatever. It dragged like a rug set to beautiful music.
That’s not all that happened. You sure love engaging inaccurate hyperbole don’t you? And while .hack// had its ups and downs (ROOTS is abysmally bad) it at least sticks to its established theme. SAO keeps jumping everywhere and excelling on none.
I’ll give you hyperbole, but I’ll fight you on the inaccurate. I was hyped about SIGN and every episode of Tsukasa not doing anything except wander and stare at Gruntys was like a dagger to my naive young heart. It was like the Lord of the Rings, if all it focused on was the Hobbits and their complaining about wanting to go home, sit at a fire, smoke tobacco, and stare at their hary feet.
Also, SAO has a theme: a skilled player living his life in an MMORPG for an extended period of time. Sometimes there’s fighting, sometimes he needs a break. And girls dig competent people.
And it doesn’t excel on that theme either because it constantly uses time skips for Kirito’s development. “Show Don’t Tell” is a very imporatant aspect in visual media. SAO defies that, because we get jarring transitions for Kirito’s development especially in his relationship with Asuna. This is why I liked the Sachi arc, because for once we actually get to see what Kirito is going through instead of being alluded to it in different scenes.
That is a fair criticism about the time-skips, but I can’t blame the anime. They are taking what was available to them from the Light Novels. And the events of SAO were pretty much covered in disparate, out-of-order vignettes.
Nyahaha you guys are practically chatting with one another.
You know.. When reading SAO, I was expecting a .hack development.. but when I was watching .hack, I was expecting an SAO development..
Does any of you feel this? SAO seemed to be more prepared for action, while .hack was more prepared for psychological experiment. It seemed the other way around as the story progresses. And mind you, neither points to drama IMO, interestingly.
The reason why everyone is reacting like this is because the first volume of SAO contains all of the meaty action and romance, ei the stuff that you want to see in anime. While the second volume of SAO contains the happy side stories which would be more fitting as an OVA or tv special. Had the anime followed the story in order of volume, then the Aincrad arc would have been over by episode 4. It’s like having a soda except someone diluted it with water.
Who needs a good story when there is moe! Moe is the new number 42.
Yui’s true purpose is to play house. She conveniently showed up after they get married. A little bit too “clean”, if you will.
And the fact that I am supposed to feel bad for this pixel chick makes it the more jarring. Yes Asuna (and maybe some viewers), I am looking at you! And the moment she said that Kirito and Asuna’s emotions are somehow more lively and “special” compared to everyone else, it’s just BS from there. Many facepalms to be had. If Miku made a cameo and was programmed in the game then she dies I think I might come 10% closer to crying.
SAO wants to be everything, from Battle Royale to shounen classic and now it wants to beat Key at its own game, family emotion. It doesn’t succeed in any of them.
10 percent? Sure, why not? I’ve read your comments and I think it’s safe to assume that a 10% increase on nothing is still nothing.
It’s additive, and let’s not get too technical here….
” I enjoy about it the Meta-gaming experience I get for being a former MMMORPG player ”
Well us RL gamers were never trapped inside one, with no way out except death(real ugly, probably drool dripping, brain frying death) or the end of the game.
no more papa hug……………………. me sad………………………………..
Saddest episode of season.
Might I remind you Klein did not get his pizza in episode one
LOL, this show is so hilarious XD
So-so episode I didn’t feel anything for Yui and I just rolled my eyes at Asuna crying..
many manly tears were shed in this episode :'(
Oh please! I think I have a better chance of crying from watching Lucky Star!
I want to know what the innuendo was…
Don’t care if it look cheap writing or out of place, i would love to see her resurrected.
Yes, i’m sucker for hating to see young child’s tragic fate, even if she/it’s not a human but a young self aware AI.
She did, but the real spoiler/kicker is HOW. I can’t wait to see your reaction when you see.
Hey, as eager as i am to know that, i don’t need a spoiler, major in my case, to ruin my experience.
Real world statistics suggest that people who are more similar are more compatible. Opposite attracts do make for better drama on the movie screen though.
I’m not sure if I’d call Asuna and Kirito opposites. They’ve got different personalities, but it’s not like their opinions, tastes, or interests are diametrically opposed.
Damn good episode, knowing what was going to happen ahead of time somewhat lessened the sadness to me but a lot of people didn’t seem to get attached to her as I thought they would, but I think a lot of people will have a different reaction later on…
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Melodrama~
The emotion was so contrived and robotic in this episode. It’s like writing “sad” scenes just for the sake of having them, with no real substance because moe is the answer to everything and everything in this crappy universe. I’d rather watch a bunch of girls eating cake and drinking tea than fake emotions. Why is it fake? Yui is basically similar to an in-game pet. It’s like… crying over catching a rare pokemon only to have your DS battery runs out on you. You’d rage for a while, but if you did cry when that happened, I suggest you see professionals!
And Kirito further confirms his Gary Stu status if that wasn’t obvious enough already. That hax skill.
I see your pet analogy, and raise you that if you have ever seen kids take in a lost puppy, they can get attached REAL fast. Granted, Yui is in-game, but again, this game is basically their real lives now.
Yes, Kirito and Asuna are not little children anymore, but then (and this is going to sound awful) Yui is superior to a puppy. She talks, is moe, is intelligent, won’t chew up your shoes, and won’t take a dump on the rug.
Also, how did you like seeing high-level enemies and boss on the first floor of Aincrad?
Oh come on, you’re still going on about that? I already admitted last week that it was possible to have something powerful on the weak floors, the thing was about Asuna wetting her pants at the first sight of danger after she promised to protect him. Anyway, you and I have different world view, so for me it was OOC. I apologize for being a believer in reality (emotion-wise), so sue me.
Yui is just a program… If she dies you can still program another one. And hell, Kayaba is pretty darn stupid for programming an AI that was smart enough to be able to betray him. And what is the point of having a “counselor” anyway. She would have served a better purpose if she was Kirito’s puppy playing the Nervgear.
A believer in “reality?” What does that even mean? In reality, people still freak out at haunted houses. In reality, People are scared of the unknown. And in reality, people are really scared when the unknown has a tendency to be something that could kill you.
Actually, I would argue that Kayaba was very smart, if he could program something that could develop a pseudo-intelligence.
I will agree with you that it’s a strange thing to have programmed a “counselor” for SAO, since the original game would have let people log-out at their convenience.
But don’t you scoff at the ability of people to become attached to fictional things. Japan is filled with people who do that. And stage marriages to their favorite Love+ game character. It’s not healthy, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
Yes kids, children do freak out at haunted house. That ends in high school. I think being “freaked out” is more like an element of surprise from people creeping up on you in the darkness. Anyway, we both are spewing the same craps over and over so let’s stop it here.
And no you are missing the point. Kayaba is smart, but common sense would tell anyone to not create anything that is capable of going against the will of its creator.
Kirito and Asuna seem to forget that they are trying to get out of the game. They’re becoming to take the VR element too seriously, as if it was real life. It is unhealthy to be obsessed with something not real. Nothing good comes out of marrying fictional characters. Seiyuu, thanks to their 2D characters, get bashed in real life by their own fans for getting into relationship, all because they want that “pure” images in the characters. But let’s not derail the topic here.
Remember guys, Kayaba Akihiko wanted to create a new world with his own hands and that includes everything that comes along with it. Yui´s sel-awarness and awakening as a true artificial life form is nothing more than the natural evolution of what started the momment the game became a death game, the momment everything stop being virtual and transform into reality.
Hey that was a pretty good point. I think I can agree with you to a certain extent. However, the problem of your argument is, Yui’s purpose was to be some sort of “angel” that cures everybody’s emotional problems. So if Kayaba was was supportive of Yui being capable to act with her own will, then why did he program the system to delete her if she doesn’t do what she was supposed to?
They haven’t forgotten, they’re taking a break. It’s healthy. Just like how a sprinter can only go so far, or how people can only focus on a lecture for 30 minutes.
And granted, Yui is just a denizen of SAO, but does that mean she is any less real? (Wandering into Issac Asimov territory here) If she has feelings, if she has desires, if she can think on her own, make choices on her own, is she any less of an existence than a human?
And while Yui could potentially be recreated, would she be the same? Is a person the same as their twin, or is it their experiences that define who they are? And along those lines, maybe the reason why Yui became self-aware was because due to the circumstances, perhaps a one-in-a-million occurrence.
I don’t know how to not make this a spoiler.. But basically.. If I’m making any sense..
Show Spoiler ▼
@Rasen
Crying over an AI is a little bit too dramatic. At best Yui is similar to Siri on the iPhone. Siri can joke too you know! Yui was programmed, she has only the emotions that Kayaba allows her to feel. There’s more to real emotion than just love, hate, happy and sad. It’s like playing a visual novel. It’s not genuine emotion.
The difference is that if your life is in trouble, Siri isn’t going to do a thing until you beg her to do so. And even then, there’s a decent chance she’ll go “I’m sorry, I don’t understand ‘He’s stabbing me with a rusty trombone,’ and it WON’T be because you insulted her the whole night before.
As for crying over an AI being extreme, why not take that and apply it to pets? Sure, they play with you, but are they really your friends? You feed them, you clean up after them, you pamper them – you are their servant. And the moment you’re dead, they’ll eat the flesh off your bones and strip you down to a skeleton. (I will never look at cats the same way again)
I don’t see the point of your analogy. Yui only exists as an in-game program, she’s similar NPC PVP’ers or anti-bot in certain games and she isn’t going to save my life in real life (while Siri can).
Sad yes. But most people don’t cry over the death of their pets after they reach high school. Once again, pointless analogy. And heck, that applies to humans too, people eating relatives while hungry is not unheard of.
The pet’s loyalty to its owner is natural, while Yui is only programmed to feel certain emotion, and emotion is complex to completely and perfectly emulate. Two completely different things.
Response here
https://randomc.net/2012/09/22/sword-art-online-12/comment-page-1/#comment-873425
lol if Kirito is a Gary Stu he doesn’t need any help from Yui to Curberstomp the Grimreaper boss. and you make it sound like Kirito is a genius programmer by saving Yui, but what he do is only compressing program and moving it to his nervegear device. That is something a kid with basic programming knowledge can do, you don’t have to be a perfect genius Gary Stu to do it.
Only because he was unlucky and underleveled. I am willing to bet my virginity that he can solo that dude if he was level 90 or 100 or something.
Well somebody revealed that Show Spoiler ▼
He knows everything related to the story and has the skill to get out of every situation and all girls for some reason want him. How is that not Gary Stu?
You actually think that people liking computer games knowing how to program or build a computer rare? I guess that makes the local computer society the “Gary Stu” club.
I guess I am too awesome as I consider Kirito a pretty normal kid, although really good at SAO.
Eh, Kirito says the boss is lvl 90ish, but you forget that at that point, Kirito is already lvl 98. So if Kirito wanted to solo the boss, he would probably have to be around lvl 120-140.
LOL According to you I’m Gary Stu levels!
Pinch me! I must be some goddamn hero!
Cried a little but I know Yui will be back.
Anyway for people who thinks this has degraded into a moeblob anime, I have to tell and remind you: this is a deathgame. A two year deathgame. If anyone is complaining why they are emotionally attached to Yui, its because everything inside the game is almost real to them: their emotions, their friends, the people they started calling family, the people dying and the time passing by. You guys do remember how Kirito once reacted to Asuna’s suggestion to use the NPC’s as bait.
But this game is coming to a close…
Well, Stephen King says that endings are nothing more than new beginings to a new story, so I just waiting at the edge of my seat for the resolution of this death game and the future it will bring to the characters.
I know what the next part is already LOL. You forget: I’m an LN reader.
I´m a light novel reader as well and I already finish the Fairy Dance arc but everything feels new and unknown when you see in animated form, you can compare the differnces and rejoice when you think they made juctice to the source material or even add something good to the story.
@haseo0408 wow haseo you pretty much nailed the way I thought down. Ever since I started reading LNs (which was a month ago btw, compared to reading manga and anime since.. primary school..) I always think whether the adaptation do justice to the source material. In fact I think it’s becoming a disease I can’t get rid of -_-
While I don’t think it’s become a ‘moeblob anime,’ your point about it being a deathgame is invalid since none of the main cast see it that way. They take Yui into a dangerous dungeon simply upon her insistence to go, and the whole ordeal up until the end is very lighthearted. While there have been many arguments about whether or not the feelings for Yui were very realistic, I don’t think it’s because we’re using time they spent together as a way to judge how close they should be. It’s just the whole premise is just ridiculous. AI having feelings, AI not having a more efficient way of escaping (She’s an immortal object, just use her as a shield to get to the safe area and then tp out together), Kirito hacking into Cardinal and managing to find Yui’s data, and then turn into an object that’s saved inside his local drive in his nervegear. All in all, i feel like the drama is forced and its hard for me to really feel anything.
They took Yui there, as she insisted, because they thought they can protect her. I don’t think they’d take her there if they think it’s actually super dangerous. This is one of Kirito’s biggest mistakes in the series.
All anime premises are ridiculous. Which is why there must be a suspension of disbelief on the viewer’s part or he/she will never get over it. Especially here, where online games have moved to a level I guess we will never live long enough to experience.
This is the bad part about critics: they think too much, they don’t enjoy anything at all! They always try to find things they can complain just to feel smart, instead of throwing everything unnecessary to have fun and just enjoy the show. In the end critics will pat each other’s backs in consolation, never actually achieving anything, except ruining the experience for themselves.
I am politely asking you to start using spoiler tags.
Well first of all I thought it was made pretty clear it was dangerous considering the Guild Master needed to be rescued so taking a little girl there seems slightly on the dangerous side. Also, from all their experiences in seeing people die in the game, and in some cases being helpless as to save them, I don’t see why they would take the risk, since nothing can really harm her in town (except for knockback, i guess).
I’m not talking about premises such as the situation of them being stuck inside the video game as being ridiculous. If that were how I felt, hell I’d probably not watch anime at all. No, what I dislike are the things that occur that are coincidental, unexplained, and seemingly half-assed. I’m not trying to be what your ridiculous definition of a critic is, but SAO is just straight up ridiculous. I’m not sure how good of a LN it was, but if it was good, then this is one terrible adaptation.
I didn’t cry, I felt a bit sad when Yui was gone.
If the producer have extended this ark and make the story longer so that we get “attached” to the new character like Yui, it would have been perfect (i.e cry like a baby).
Then again, it applies for other girls as well such as Sacchi.
You’re right. I think it was against the author’s plan to be too attached to the character. Lives are at stake, I can say that, volumes after volumes of the LN. While some may say that the author developed the characters badly, if I look at it in a different light, the author doesn’t want too-heart-wrenching ends. Show Spoiler ▼
To LN readers: Do think about this – how hard was it when you saw a character die? Personally, I wasn’t as disturbed as I was preparing myself to be. While I do think that it’s a shortcoming, I am glad for that too because I can easily move on.
The illustration for this Boss was much more intimidating and awe insparing in the light novel than the animated form. I´m not saying it´s bad, it was actually really good but there was something in that picture that made my hair stand on end.
So the OS for the system deleted the mental health counselor when doing so would negatively impact the mental health of two characters…. … =^=… Death is too kind for Kayaba…
Also: Since when did Kirito have 5000 ranks in CS nerd?. =3= contrived, but y’know what, for as good as that necklace looks on Asuna, I’ll let it slide.
Yui was pretty kick ass there in her “Guardian of the Garden” mode >D.
*sigh*. Not a great ep, but not a terrible one either. SAO certainly continues to show its age, and perhaps a reason why it hasn’t been adapted until now. It’s not that great as an anime :/. It probably works better as a fantasy in the mind of its readers.
Y’know if the series ended right here, I wouldn’t be terribly disappointed. *sigh* sounds like it’s time for me to drop it and marathon after the second half :/. I’ll still be around for the end cards, but I dont want to try and juggle this show with all I’m picking up this fall ^^;.
~Kuma.
The anime did not reveal this, but Kirito is actually quite a tech wiz in real life. He actually managed to assemble a pretty powerful PC from parts lying around in his home when he was very young. He’s also pretty knowledgeable in the field of computer programming as revealed later on.
Also a gm console is supposed to have some sort of GUI, animators probably thought it would look cooler like that.
Technically, the anime did. In the first episode, Kirito’s room had a shelf that was littered with programming books.
Kirito is Show Spoiler ▼
Also, Show Spoiler ▼
That’s kind of what makes me think Kirito is part of the creation of the Accelerated World.
So Kirito
Show Spoiler ▼
I felt that all the emotional scenes were there for the sake of having an emotional scene. In a way, I kind of want the show to stop with the character development and just get on with the world of SOA at large. The episodes that I enjoyed the most had little to no Asuna and Kirito development and just showing the interactions of the characters within that world. Let’s not forget the adventures that seems sparse in an older MMORPG design. I think it would be really cool if they had more episodes showing them doing MMORPG stuff like clearing dungeons, questing, friendly PVP or just doing guild stuff. For an anime that is base within a MMORPG, it seems to be missing the massive multiplayer part imo.
There’s one fatal flaw with your expectation: This is adapted from the LN, and the LN does not depict it as such. And this is a flaw I mentioned in replying to the first comment – people expected a .hack development, clearing dungeons, questing, and such. SAO is not such story. Yet it did hint you that it is a possible development. In fact, it was more focused on the psychological aspect.
Mind you, this is not the first time a story’s development is like this. Blame me for not remembering another example I read/watched, but there was another work where it was so prepared for action, but in the end it was 15% action and 85% drama.. the action part was just a setup.. or something like that..
Good observation though, but sadly this is an adapted work, the original work is done (web novel, not LN FYI), and it didn’t focus on what you want to see. Either move on, or you have to find another way to enjoy the rest of the story. I personally just had to accept it and enjoy it for what it is 🙂 I did think like what you said though!
For you to take my comment completely the wrong way shows that I need to clarify what I said. It is not that I want the show to have more action or even be more like .Hack. The show can do both action and drama at the same time focusing on the drama. I will use the Lisbeth episode as an example. They literally did a dungeon raid mixed with the whole Lisbeth falling for her best friend’s love interest, Kirito. I thought it was done well, not great, but well enough that I knew what was going on and was invested in the characters. Maybe in the light novel, the Yui arc had more impact. However, solely base on the anime alone, the show did not invest me in the Yui character and most importantly the relationship with all three Asuna, Kirito, and Yui for me to be emotional when the time came. If SOA really is 15% action and 85% drama as you have said, then it needs to invest me in the characters instead of expecting me to cry, be happy, sad, etc. on cue. To sum it up, I’m criticizing it for poor writing and if the LN did a better job then poor adaptation, not for being something I did not expect.
Actually, dark, that’s exactly why is it not within your expectations.
Lisbeth episode and the non-Asuna episodes are side stories, including Yui. They are the action parts I’m talking about. They’re the stories which are more faithful to the MMO feeling. The main storyline is more drama. They talk more about the game’s mechanisms in the side stories rather than the main story (except the latest arc of the LN, which I’m sure will be to your liking, not that it’s completely published yet)
The main storyline is focused in, story. The side stories explores more of the game, and focus less on Asuna x Kirito (e.g. even though we got our dose of Asuna x Kirito here, it’s more of Asuna-Yui-Kirito)
The Yui arc, contrary to your expectation, does not have an impact to the SAO arc in the LN. It is a side story. It uncovers a side of Asuna that is not shown in the main story.
After all, the SAO arc is volume 1, and Yui story is volume 2.
So, in conclusion, basically they focused more on the drama part for the main story, and save the action/mechanism stuff in the side stories. Which so far I think is adapted well, because the anime tries to do that, beside forcing a chronological order to the story, making sure that they pick out (and leave out) enough action and drama.
It’s not like I’m saying you’re wrong, it’s more like I’m saying – just be aware of what you can expect 😉 False expectations might ruin your enjoyment, and I did too have false expectations when I first started reading the novel..
I think we are talking past each other here. I’m basing my opinion solely on the anime’s own merits. Let me try this in a different angle. It’s the execution. I know SOA is about Asuna and Kirito. I know that it will always be about them first and everything else second. I figured that out early in the season with all the hints the show dropped. I also won’t mind if the show completely stops with the whole MMO action thing and just does a slice of life with Asuna and Kirito. It is not that I want more action, I just don’t care enough about Asuna and Kirito and that is the problem I have with the show. I want to but I can’t empathize with them because in my opinion, the anime did not do a good job at getting me invested into these two characters. I hope I got my point across and if I didn’t, then I’m just going to leave it as is haha XD.
You’re watching the wrong show bro – SAO is a Romantic Drama with action elements. The whole premise of the novels is squarely the devlopment of Asuna’s and Kirito’s relationship, it just happens the setting is SAO and the other game. Basically two lonely people with poor social skills meet, fall in love, get together, face challenges, etc.
That’s actually quite the nice way of putting it.
Poor Asuna, and I was just about getting started to like Yui even more, particularly when she’s voiced by Itou Kanae, who did this loli role justice despite not being known as a loli seiyuu.
In Yui’s absence prior to this episode, I agree that Sasha did a great job in looking after all the young prepubescent players stuck in SAO. Though she is just one person, whereas Yui as an AI was supposed to look after thousands more, both adults and children, if it wasn’t for Cardinal/Kayaba interfering.
Speaking of Kayaba, why would he want to keep Yui hidden? Was he afraid that the players, by relying on Yui’s emotional support, might hasten the clearing of the game?
Also this begs the question: Why would he create Yui in the first place if he had no need for her? Could she be written by some other developer?
“Speaking of Kayaba, why would he want to keep Yui hidden? Was he afraid that the players, by relying on Yui’s emotional support, might hasten the clearing of the game?”
That would probably be it…
The reason why he doesn’t want Yui around is that her presence would ruin the SAO experience.
The true extent of Kayaba’s machinations are revealed in this heartfelt episode of Sword Art Online.
I doubt very many people, including both myself and Kirito, thought that Kibaou would be important to the plot again. Years after the first boss and he’s still causing Kirito grief, even if this time its indirectly. I am a bit disappointed that Kirito and Asuna didn’t pay him a visit and give him a piece of their minds, but Yulier made clear he’s being punished for the results of his actions from episode 9 so at least he’s not getting off completely scott free. And at the very least, what he did to Thinker might warrant him being locked up in jail with the PK’s.
Never have I had more contempt for Kayaba then I do now, as Yui’s story shed some light on exactly what he’s been forcing the players to live through. By blocking off psychological help in the form of Yui, Kayaba has effectively made it easier for the players mental state to crumble to pieces and drive them to commit suicide and go effectively crazy like with Grimlock and Laughing Coffin. He’s actively trying to break them in any way he can, all the while watching like some God who sees himself as above the pitiful “humans” and enjoys their suffering.
While indirectly, he managed to almost crush Kirito after the Black Cats incident, where I’m sure Yui would’ve been quite useful in alleviating his guilt and preventing him from becoming the swordsman with slight suicidal tendencies that he came to be, who was stopped short of killing himself by just one simple goal: beating the game and finding out what the point of all this death and despair is. And with that goal Kirito has moved forward and saved others from the despair Kayaba has forced upon, such as Scilica, Lisbeth, and Asuna who also helped save him. Yui was probably drawn to the couple because they were able to fulfill her role just through having each other.
Thankfully, Kirito manages to be the first one to finally defy Kayaba by saving Yui. I guess all those tech books from episode one were good for something. And Kirito being a fan of Kayaba’s before the death game began probably gave him an understanding of how his systems worked.
I can’t lie… I felt a little emotional during Yui’s “passing.” Neither I, nor Kirito or Asuna, knew her for very long but there is something about her childlike innocence that I think both myself and the couple found endearing. That’s why I could understand their pain at having to see her go, and I thought that scene was handled quite well which probably contributed to why I got a little emotional. And even though Kirito saved her, it doesn’t look like she’ll be returning to the forefront anytime soon. Though there is hope, and I’ll be looking forward to the couple working together to bring back their daughter.
With Sword Art Online’s first course nearing its end, I expect things to get quite hectic after this “breather” arc. But no matter what happens, I’m sure both myself and Kirito will have one question at the back of our minds: where the hell are you Kayaba?
It would be nice if Kibou got punished…
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Question is the next episode the last episode? Or does SAO longer than 13 episodes?
It’s 25 episodes in this season of SAO.
I won’t post what I actually thought about the episode, since everyone here apparently loves this show and I don’t want to get downvoted to oblivion. But “They say that opposites attract – that two people who are completely different are more likely to make a better pair than two people who are very similar. I guess it’s true in a sense, and the Asuna/Kirito pairing certainly seems to conform to this idea.” They say a great many things that aren’t true, Studies actually show that, in point of fact, people tend to be attracted to people that are like themselves. Hollywood and anime would have you believe otherwise but these mediums are not known for their staggering realism, they wouldn’t be a good escape outlet if they were too realistic, obviously.
Yuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~! ;_;
Ah fuck… I’m in mourning
Didn’t cry but that was probably because I was replaying Little Busters! last night.
I don’t see what wrong with this episode aside from cutting some LN element, some people do hate moe element over too much ignore everything else and turn into a mindless hater.
This episode didn’t made me tear though unlike when I read it in Light Novel version I kind of expecting it long ago.
Iori is not amused.
Haters gonna hate.
So its seems like ALA is also facing the same prob. of KoB huh…. Never though tht rear end with a top hat Kibaou would have some importance lol.
Nothing to complain here. At least they saved Yui data so tht mean she can be restored ryte??
I was gonna start to read the LNs just when the anime came. After a bit of consideration, I chose to watch the anime first. And boy, I don’t know how to say this without being seen as a jackass right now.
I’m simply unable see what the hype is all about. SAO is a decent show, sure. It’s entertaining enough for me, which leads me watching it until this episode. I regret nothing. But I find nothing truly special about SAO. It might be my personal preference or something else, but let me say this: SAO is (currently) overrated.
If I were to give a criticism, maybe the main weakness of this anime (remember people, I haven’t read LN) is that they make the conflict, the issue of living inside MMORPG where you die if you are killed, less personal. I can’t grasp their characterization -their mindsets- deep enough to justify all the drama, angst, tears, and even comical moments in this series. It sometimes feels random and pretentious. Yui’s disappearance made me sympathizing, but that’s it. I don’t feel like losing anything. There is not enough attachment. And my enjoyment degrades. Hope everything will improve.
There it is, my opinion. I’ll keep watching, I’ll keep my hope in this anime, I just want to let this out of my system. Thanks.
I think your criticisms are fair, and as someone else mentioned, a lot of it comes from the time-skips. Anime can spend 70+ episodes to detail the events of a single year, (sometimes 3 episodes for a single night….oh god, the memories of Pumpkin Scissors) and SAO is covering 2 years in 13-14 episodes. I think/hope a lot of the complaints will be resolved as the story progresses from trying to give snapshots of an extended period of time and moves towards just telling a story of a single event.
There’s nothing wrong with voicing criticism. It’s just that if you’re worried about downvoting, it should be voiced in a reasoned tone. “I did not like this and these are my reasons why,” as opposed to “this is crap, I hated it, you should have hated it too, and every expression of your appreciation is an example of how wrong you are.”
Of course, if you’re not worried about downvoting, go to town and have a ball. It’s just that turnabout is fair play.
I agree with Rasen that you bring up some valid criticism.
SAO is by no means a perfect series, and some of its storyline follow a predictable formula. But it also does not try to appeal to every audience, instead staying true to its source material, a light novel that was written back in 2002. People who are expecting it to be the next Fate/Zero are investing way too much expectation and will only be disappointed.
Is SAO perfect? No. Is it overhyped? It depends on your expectations.
That said, it is nice to hear opposing arguments in a civilized fashion. You may not end up liking SAO as much as others, but I hope you walk away with no hatred towards the series or toward those who enjoyed it.
The pacing was here better than last week for me. I have to read again the side story, because I seem to forget that Yui has such a huge sword, it’s been such quite a time ago since I properly read this.
Anyways, if I do remember correctly, Asuna being attached to Yui was partly due to the fact that she unconsiously yearned for a family to complete her, recalling her own story about her family in the real world. Asuna’s personality has changed a lot since she met Kirito more than a year into the game (which admittedly to anime viewers, in hindsight, would think that some parts would feel too fast).
This is where I sometimes wish the anime could make visible what Asuna’s thoughts (or even Kirito’s) were in this side story (or for the other arcs too). That I think would be pretty difficult to do though.
This episode was just emotional.Too hard to resist Yui.
I don’t know if this was brought out earlier, but shouldn’t the guy who created this game be in jail by now?? I mean this is like a mass murder via virtual gaming system. Plus, the creator can’t really find excuses to defend himself, because he said it himself that he made this game this way on purpose at the beginning (if i remember correctly).
Kayaba is currently in hiding. He prob been in hiding when the death game started.
Thank you for the reply.
I just started this show recently and i haven’t read the reviews up till now.
Then if he is in hiding and the people are stuck in the game, it means he is controlling from where he is, right? And, how come its been 2 years and nobody found a solution to save those people in the game? Even if he is just that smart of a person and nobody surpassed him yet in Japan, a news like this should be world wide and nobody found a solution yet? After 2 years…
Spoiler on Kayaba’s location
Show Spoiler ▼
LOL. And then when everything ended, someone posted some dumb video about how people trapped in SAO are not wanted anymore in society, hence #AincradRage…
Well, would you be the one who accidently caused ppl to die while trying to hack the game?? I think no one want to be.
And keep in mind this is not 2012 (and reality) we r talking about.
To understand why Kirito agreed to help without further background checks, listen to what he says. The words of Yui (at that time only known to be an innocent child) brings out the point that the extremes of cynicism is as bad as being a naive fool. If you live your life trusting nothing and no one, it is as sad a life as the one who lives his life being used and manipulated by everyone
Added on the information that 60 level monsters exist there (which should not be a big problem for mid 70 level characters) and teleport crystals are still usable rather than it being a teleport locked down area, this creates a false assurance or it being a breeze.
The bigger problem i have is why the entire lot did not retreat to the safe room and teleport out from there. A possibility though would be that Kirito, as his creature sense skill failed, probably considered the possibility that the boss being much higher level than them, would move faster in both chasing and slashing and exposure of all their backs would be fatal.
As for why Yui looks like a child, it may be to create a sense of being harmless. An older man or woman may seem naggy and remind the players of their parents, hence creating an initial hostile attitude from the player.
I wondered about that too, actually. You have to go the LN for the answer about why Kirito and Asuna did not retreat immediately. The reason is because the Boss monster moved with such speed that they (at least Asuna) was unsure they would be able to run away safely.
Well it looks like yui’s circumstances were taken off a magic hat. I’m very disapponinted on the way this story developed up to now as it’s always resorting on plot devices.
Not that it’s so bad this way, but not really that masterpiece everybody was so hyped at (and still thinking it is)
Then you have a bigger problem than this show and should address it.
I can’t think of two shows that work against every argument of yours more than those.
This argument would make sense in a non-SAO world. The infinite respawns let cowards take actions they wouldn’t in real life. But in a game with one life and you die if you fail, cowards do not head to the frontlines.
REALLY not helping your argument here. Dante is generally not considered witty or charismatic. People like him because he’s so cheesy it hurts.
Except they are crazy about him. Lady, Lucia, Trish. Actually, these would be closer to tsunderes than the characters you mentioned before, as the only thing keeping them from jumping Dante’s bones is the tough-girl exterior they hide behind.
LOL! Agree at Dante being cheesy. I’d as far as to say Nero feels more human than him, as he has a goal and someone to protect.
In the next arc you’ll see that Kirito is a lot more badass in real life.
Show Spoiler ▼
Soooooooooo…….. That was a nice episode. But I thought at the moment that Kirito turned Yui into an game object ‘while you are at it make a logoff button dude.’
That she got to be an object is more like putting a file on the desktop creates an icon.
WOW! That was a sloppily made episode of SAO. ><
Question:
So the boss mob was not blocking the path to the safe area. Why did Kirito not retreat to the safe area as well and simply teleport out?
Actually, I believe the boss was between them and the safe area. But even if he wasn’t, would you turn your back to something that may be faster than you, and can one-two shot you?
Then he’d get shot from behind. This is a boss who can two-hit KO him and Asuna, who are considered big names in the front lines.
But the boss in the next episode can 1 shot tank type players.
You should put that in a spoiler… But yeah: it’s like Morroc or DarkLord on steroids.
Well, it’s very common to be downvoted here whenever one complaints about the shows everyone love. But I also think this ep was terrible: poorly explained, rushed and with a deus ex machina. Anyway, I still like SAO despite all its clichés because it keeps the fun for its sense to win the game and see what lies at the end.
Kirito rocks hell!!
Well I do love the series although some of the episodes lack were about meh….but I do not this how this show will drag the story for another 13 episodes. I feel the love story between Kirito and Asuna was a little rushed for a 25 episode anime. All I could think of is they are probably either gunna break up and return to each other again, or maybe they will have a child…I don’t know…they are close to completing the game, 76th floor I believe was their latest.
It’s just sad Yui had to go. But don’t worry I think we will be seeing her again since Kirito was able to save Yui’s heart or her central data.
I think there are still lots of twist and turns in the story, since we are still on episode 13 and they are almost at floor 100. I think SAO has 25 episodes in total. Can;t wait for the next episode to come out…. ^_^
You know what amuses me about everyone who has been upset with these last few episodes? They act like they’ve forgotten that there are almost always “fluff” episodes in between major plot episode segments. C’mon, this was never sold to us as a blood-pumping action thriller anime like Deadman Wonderland. I’m not sure what everyone was expecting. The first episode set the tone well if you ask me. When Kirito was going around helping Klein, I could already tell we were going to have slice-of-life episodes without even reading to novels (which I’m in the process of currently). I’ve found that this show is more of a study of the human condition and human behavior wrapped up in the cool packaging of a MMORPG becoming akin to real-life. If seeing slice-of-life type studies in between the major plot points isn’t your cup of tea, I suggest just checking here every week to see what the screenshots look like so you can decide whether to bother watching that episode. But I wouldn’t say its a horrible show. You just expected the wrong things from it. It’s simply just not what you thought it was. But for what it is doing and what genres it is combining, it is definitely well done and touches everything it should without being corny or boring. While some things were predictable, especially this Yui bit, it was still enjoyable I think. In some ways, it kind of reminds me of C in that it takes an intangible type of world (economies/MMORPG) and makes it tangible (SAO allowing real deaths/doing Deals that actually effect global economies and companies). Only SAO is more readily understood in its context for the average anime viewer than global economics in C.
As much as I thought this episode was good, I was never enthralled in it the way I’ve been with past episodes. I did feel bad when Yui’s “life” and death played out, but overall I was never close to tears. In retrospect of her role, Cardinal making her an oh-so-moe-loli just comes off to me like cheap viewer/reader appeal. The surrogate family Kirito and Asuna formed with her was interesting, but I think skilled writers could have employed a bond with an older character just as well.
Anyhoo, looking forward to the next arc, which will hopefully bring to light more about Cardinal and the inner workings of SAO.