First Impressions / Shichisei no Subaru

「めの日の約束」 (Me no Hi no Yakusoku)
“The Promise”

You know I think I have SnS all figured out. SAO meets AnoHana with a bit of .hack ingenuity for fun? Oh no that’s just what the show wants to you think. Underneath that simple isekai veneer we got something else, something a little more instinctual—something undeniably romantic. Saving Asahi and letting her log out? Please, we all know which fight will decide the fate of the world here.

While a focus on the more personal aspects—i.e. character drama—of SnS’s story was always expected from the start, it’s still surprising just how much the show is determined to play these moments up. And I mean really play them up. A couple comedic scenes with some airheaded protagonist ring play is understandable given past happenings, but seriously, how many ring-related moments do we actually need? How many shots of putting on the bloody things are required? And really Satsuki, you missed the perfect opportunity browbeat Haruto into adorning your ring finger too! Poor girl. Given the indicated prominence of live triangles in SnS and the related drama it may seem like a strange thing to call out (particularly given the importance of the rings for Subaru overall), but the issue boils down to there not really being anything meaty beyond these character shenanigans. Take away the central predicament behind Asahi’s physical state, remove the Satsuki-Asahi feud and that oncoming Takanori train (with no brakes), and all you have left is a bare bones cookie cutter MMORPG world no different from the wide array of genre competitors. SnS’s story as well described will live or die with the strength of its characters, and if it all it turns out to be is the usual paint by numbers harem scenario for the foreseeable future there won’t be much to keep things interesting.

The one potential saving grace of course is Asahi herself and finding out what exactly happened to her. While I’m undeniably optimistic regarding this bit, SnS has done a good job so far of keeping it intriguing, dropping just enough hints to encourage guesswork without actually giving the answer(s) away. The reveal that Senses can only be activated if alive for example firmly suggests Asahi is still alive, but the emphasis on brain waves means Asahi’s physical form is very much anyone’s guess (*cough* Psycho Pass). Likewise is Elicia, her ability to go unnoticed by everyone expect Asahi apparently, and the reasons behind awakening that boss (albeit altered) who originally ended Asahi’s real world existence. There is quite a bit to mull over and explore in this story, which if SnS does gives plenty of opportunity to forge something interesting from its commonplace components—unless harem shenanigans are all to look forward to.

For good or ill it’s going to be an episode or two yet before we see the route SnS intends on going, which is really annoying for me because I have no idea yet if I’ll be continuing to cover this one (choosing is hard, you heard it here first). I may have my hopes up here, but as is always the case, we’ll just have to see what next week brings first.

 

Preview

11 Comments

  2. Well i dont care if people says its a anohana/sao ripoff… This episode 3 is plenty enough for me to go on to a possible feels train or possibly see a strange glimmer of hope and that adahi is possibly alive. People dropping this could be missing out a hidden gem of this season IMO

    Jeffers
    Reply

    2. Anyway my rough guess here (if asahi really is dead and that the asahi in the game is just a “copy” of her identity) is that if they want to keep asahi “alive” at least at the game is to become candidates to become executives of the publisher of reunion and prevent possible wipeout of data or something that will put asahi’s data in danger and keep reunion up and running until they themselves die. But that will be like keeping asahi from really resting in peace isnt it?

      Jeffers
      Reply

    3. I can see why people would be dropping this right now, but like you mention there’s good opportunity for it to become a dark horse. It all comes down to where the story goes and how melodramatic the relationships become.

      Pancakes
      Reply

    1. I think the boss faced by the three here was different than the original one (going by what Asahi said and the stun ability shown). If so this version could’ve been weaker, allowing Haruto to overpower it with minimal effort.

      Pancakes
      Reply

  4. Still don’t buy that Asahi is physically alive. I’m starting to suspect that instead of copying certain aspects of the player to create a virtual avatar, in Asahi’s case, they actually moved her. If the server has all the data it needs, then a physical host isn’t really needed. I kinda think Satsuki is right, but instead of a residue, the Asahi right now is the complete one. Complete as in everything but a physical body that is.

    Funny enough, even though Asahi is the biggest draw as a plot device, she’s also my biggest turn off. Would be good if they got the two love triangles moving and hopefully this doesn’t devolve into a typical harem. Might not mind a harem ending with the two current girls only, but if that happens, poor Takanori. Might end up feeling sorry for the guy.

    Still shipping Satsuki even if it has struck multiple icebergs already. Lets see how good the incompetent people at damage control gets through this. XD

    theirs
    Reply

  5. Well i’d say it passed the 3 episode rule with flying colors. It might be cliched as hell, but it’s been executed so well so far and I really am enjoying the character drama.

    sealouse
    Reply

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