Thoughts; I was really late to this boat, the anime didn't seem all that interesting to me when it was first aired back in 2012. Ooo, Wow. You're stuck in a game. *eye roll* After watching part of Log Horizon however, I decided to give this one a shot too... if not just for a comparison.
The only part I like more about SAO so far is, the fact if you die in game you die IRL as well. It gives it more edge... more need to survive... Not that the main character Kirito really ever has any major OMG moments. He's extremely over powered in the game... Sure, he was a beta so he knew where to level better than most, but really... for a solo player he is extremely over powered.
As for Asuna, I like her....her character is cool and she's not so overly powered that it seems unrealistic. Well, before she started getting with Kirito... after she's turned into a goob kinda.
The ending was really lame, I wasn't expecting the SAO part of the show to end while they were on the 75th floor. Of course, I don't think I could stand watching Kirito and Asuna play house for another 10+ episodes either. Uhg.
Also, what's with all the Yui love? Oh goody, Kirito and Asunas love and happiness summoned her there or whatever.. it was like they had a daughter all the sudden. Oye. What this show could have been..
I'm not even sure if I want to continue on after 14...
I want to say the "Final Battle" was epic and all, but it wasn't. Asuna dies like the flake she becomes and Kirito goes god mod on the guy.. I'll admit I was actually sort of surprised that Heathcliff was really the creator in a game disguise... I guess it really is no fun just watching people play a game.
For a few years...
Breakdown....
Episode 1 - Introductions and what's happening, the game has just been fully released with 10,000 units sold. Players are logging in and enjoying the game and such, after some time they start to notice that they can't log out. A glitch maybe?
Kirito, our main character and beta player has just met Klein a newbie who came from another game and is waiting for his guild mates from that game to log on in SAO. Kirito shows him the ropes for a bit, but goes off by himself once Kayaba shows up and tells them what's going on.
They must clear the game to leave the game, 100 Floors of the tower. One month goes by, 2,000 people are killed and not even the first floor has been cleared.
Episode 2 - Kirito meets with other players to go take out the first floor boss, he meets and teams up with Asuna {a pretty girl!} to go into this mission. There's a bunch of player hate for the beta people because they know more about the game and have been taking the good quests and leveling quicker then the others. Just not helping the lower ranks in general...
After the boss is defeated, Kirito gets the special last hit item and comes forward as a beta player and brings the hate on himself by admitting to be a "Beater" or a beta cheater. Asuna and he part, he tells her that she should join a good guild if she finds one..
Episodes 3 - It's four months in now, players have finally organized enough to form powerful guilds to slowly start clearing the tower. Kirito joins a low level guild while concealing the fact that he's level 40, he makes some friends and has some fun, but that all comes to an end when they accidentally stumble into a trap room.
Uber monsters show up and kill most the guild, then the leader type person who wasn't there at the time blames Kirito and kills himself.
Episode 4 - In his wandering, Kirito happens by a Beast Tamer named Sillica. Her familier dragon Pina had just been killed trying to protect her from a monster type and Kirito offers to help her get the item that can rezz her.
Sillica is cute and small, people tend to keep her around because of this. She's kind of like a mascot and this drives her insane...or makes her angry. Anyways, on their journey to get this Pneuma Flower they run into a player that she had been partied with earlier.
Rosalia, a member of the orange player guild known as Titan's Hand shows up with a few of her guild members to take the flower away from Sillica. Kirito of course steps in and beats their ass.
Back in town, Sillica revives her pet and Kirito goes back to the front lines.
Episodes 5 & 6 - Asuna is back! She's now the Vice Commander of the Knights of Blood Oath guild and one of the people who have been clearing the tower. Anyways, she and Kirito meet up and have a date of sorts...well...not really...they relax some in the grass.
A mystery is brewing, while in town a man is somehow killed. Long story short, more people "die" when it's just their armor "breaking" and them teleporting away. Turns out there's just a bunch of guild drama that Kirito and Asuna stuck their nose into....not their guilds by the way.
Episode 7 - Enter Lisbeth or "Liz", Asuna's friend and skilled blacksmith. Seems Asuna referred Kirito to her and he shows up wanting a sword better then the one he owned. She doesn't have the materials to make a better sword then what he has so, the two of them go on a little adventure to get what's needed. Dragons and a bet of danger later and she has a huge crush on him... only to be squished down when Asuna shows up and she realizes he's the one that Asuna likes. Tada.
Episodes 8 & 9 - Asuna can cook, really, really well. Kirito brings her a high leveled rabbit type creature to cook and she makes him a meal. Then the two of them go on a date of sorts, on the 74th floor. This is only after Kirito beats up her "bodyguard" that objected to her going off with some weirdo... talk about over protective.
On the 74th floor the two of them find the boss room, this is a big mean boss and the two of them turn tail and run... quickly. After their retreat they run into the guild "The Army" hunting on the floor and they go to the boss room despite Kirito and Asune warning them against it.Oh yea, Klein and his friends are there too. After realizing the Army was trying to defeat the floor boss the three of them run in to try to save the under leveled guild. Long story short, things get very bad and Kirito has to show off his new....unique skill. He's a dual blade, apparently the only one in the game at the moment and the word of this spreads like wildfire. He beats the boss basically by himself... Yey! OP.
Now, Asuna wants to take a LOA from her guild to party {date} with Kirito more but her guilds leader Heathcliff will have none of that... Unless Kirito can defeat him.
Episode 10- Kirito fights Heathcliff and looses, amazingly. Kirito is forced to join the Blood Oath guild or whatever it's called and during his training time or whatever Asuna's bodyguard from the other episode try to kill him and ends up killing one of the other Blood Oath members. Time to get Boring, Kirito and Asuna leave to live together in a cabin.
 |
| Uhg, Die Please. |
Episodes 11 and 12 - Asuna has turned into loving wifey type and Kirito the husband type, then a little girl shows up to be the child type. Uhg. The little girl is Yui at first they think she's a really young player, but it turns out she some sort of computer program that has lost it's way or some crap.
People love her, but she's annoying. This whole part of the show is annoying and starts the downward spiral that turns this series into crap.
Episodes 13 & 14 - There's a relatively nice part about an old man fishing and a giant monster fish, then the episodes just start to suck again.
75th Floor Battle, Asuna and Kirito are called back to the front line to help with the boss battle. With Heathcliff and other players they defeat the boss... and Kirito realizes something. Heathcliff is an immortal object just like Yui was... He's not a computer program though... He's the creator of the game Akihiko Kayaba!
Lots of talking, some fighting, Asuna "dies" and Kirito breaks the game and "kills" Heathcliff. They have beat the game! The world is crumbling and players are finally able to "log out".... at least the players that are still alive...
Since they both kinda died, Asuna and Kirito are the last people out of the game. They have a little chat and share with each other their real names.. Asuna Yuuki and Kazuto Kirigaya. Awakening in the real world... Kazuto in the hospital, frail and weak from his years in the game slowly and carefully sets off to find Asuna.
Will I ever go past 14? Probably. When? No idea.
Really, this is all I am going to type about this show for now. It's just....No.
