By the time SAO’s first season ended, I had gone off it in a big way. At the start, pretty-faced Kirito
was an underdog I rooted for, sweet-natured and ostracised in an unoriginal but
interesting world. By the end, he was the undisputed master swordsman of all
the universe, replete with powers that were his alone and not just a beautiful
and adorable – if rather dull – girlfriend, but a whole harem of girls to suit
any taste. Including those who like the idea of their sister having a crush on
them. He was no longer in any way an underdog, the way situations resolved
themselves were very contrived, and the cloying way everyone worshipped his
every action – including pseudo-government types taking him on as a kind of
consultant – became annoying. Kirito became far too like a male Bella Swan, who
everyone also loves for no reason.
For all that, though, I was
willing to give the second season a chance. There was a lot of talk about the
later arcs being much better from fans of the books, and it was after all a
cover of Kirito with a mysterious cute boy that drew me into the series in the
first place...though the boy, Eugeo, has yet to appear. Guess I’ll have to see
in season 3.
Sword Art Online’s big
problem is Kirito, and this season doesn’t quite deal with that problem –
though the second arc here finds an interim solution. Kirito is just not very
likeable, nor identifiable as wish fulfilment. His skills continue to be a cut
above, and he seems just a little smug about that, and more crucially the
stakes are very low now. He’s in online games, not fighting for his life. Plus
he is pretty enough that when his character gets long hair, people think he’s a
girl. Perhaps that’s meant to make him the butt of a joke, but its effect is to
make him seem yet more perfect and beautiful. And it’s annoying!
The reason he has a new avatar
is that he’s sent into a new game to track down a killer. A mysterious figure
seems to have the ability to shoot a gun in the game and kill someone in real
life. Of course, Kirito is the one to be sent to sort this out. Though this is
an American shooting game, Kirito of course not only adapts to it immediately
but decides to use a lightsaber and charge down all the campers and duellists.
Because he’s super special.
Of course, he finds a new girl
whose deep mental issues he manages to solve with a few platitudes, so he can
add one more to his harem. Sinon is a sniper and using the game as therapy. By
sheer coincidence she has a personal connection with the bad guy in the
picture, and super Kirito figures everything out.
After a brief and not very
interesting side-quest wherein Kirito and the gang finish a quest that might
have destroyed their whole world and of course rewards Kirito with Excalibur,
Best Sword in the Game, the final arc begins – and yes, it’s the best arc since
the first one. That’s largely because Kirito is taken out of the picture – a
little like how the best part of the Suzumiya Haruhi franchise is when
she disappears. Instead, Asuna is placed centre-stage when an incredibly good
swordswoman takes an interest in her and recruits her into defeating a boss
with just a small but elite party. Not only does Asuna figure out why the party
had been failing until that point (they are being spied upon) and lead them to
final victory, she comes to understand the swordswoman well. Yuuki and her
friends have come together because they are all terminal patients with
extremely weak bodies, eager to make a lasting impression at least on a virtual
world, which will record their names. Some parts of the story I find rather
weak and exploitative, with overwrought sexual tension between the two girls
screaming fanservice rather than something sweet, and the set-up being
blatantly contrived to have an attempted tear-jerker ending. As a result, I
found it rang a bit false.
But overall, it was beyond a
doubt a breath of fresh air. Asuna may not be a very interesting character, but
she was given some new dimensions here. The scenes in the real world were quite
delicate and sweet, especially when Asuna fixed it so that she could take
Yuuki’s virtual presence with her for an ordinary day at school, and I’d quite
like to know more about the other group members...especially the cute boy whose
name – a little gratingly for me – was Jun. Perhaps they’ll crop up in future
episodes.
The fact is, I’m fairly sure
there’ll be more Sword Art Online, and that I’ll watch it. But I can’t
say it will be with much enthusiasm. The series outstayed its welcome, and thus
far not enough has been done to make it better. It’s one of the success stories
of recent years, but really it’s a show that’s still trading on its strong
opening episodes and cute designs...
That said, it surprises me
that Kirito remains a very popular character. There’s still a very loyal
fanbase to this series! I guess there are people who don’t want to root for the
underdog – but want their avatar in a story a bit overly perfect. Which I
suppose would also explain No Game No Life.
I just finished my review of SAO II as well =)
ReplyDeleteI also find Kirito too perfect to be that compelling of a character, but he doesn't bother me that much. I'd rather have a bland protagonist than an unlikable one. But anyway, I really enjoyed SAO II. Despite Kirito once again saving the day in the first arc, I still liked it because I thought Shion was an interesting character and I wanted to see how she'd overcome her emotional issues. And of course, the last arc was good because Asuna finally gets to be the star. I thought the interactions between her and her mother were great. And even if it got a bit melodramatic at times, I liked her relationship with Yuuki (I honestly didn't feel any "sexual tension" between the two of them...of course people can interpret it that way if they want, but I didn't feel like anything of the sort was being hinted at).
But yeah, I liked SAO II more than SAO. The series in general isn't a favorite of mine or anything, but I do enjoy it and will definitely check out the next season.
Oh, interesting! I have to say, I don't find Kirito BLAND - I guess his being overly perfect crosses the line into him being actively annoying, for me. I did quite like Shinon - and ah, yes, the part where she took her mother to see her virtual home was sweet.
DeleteI certainly felt the show intentionally pointed to more than friendship between Asuna and Yuuki - she certainly doesn't act that way with, say, Klein - but if you didn't see it, fair enough!
Well, we don't see Asuna interact much with Klein or the others on a one-on-one basis: she's mostly friends with them through Kirito, but obviously she forged a special relationship with Yuuki. It felt like she had sisterly feelings towards her, or maybe even motherly feelings, rather than just being friends. I can see how people could interpret it beyond that, but I personally didn't XD
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