12 Days of Anime--#10: A Requiem for Asuna's Personality

We hardly knew thee.

Adventures in Escapism: Sword Art Online and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

 
This is the last time I'm going to write about SAO on this blog, since I think that I've made myself really clear about why I dislike it in terms of how it's handled its characters. However, that wasn't the only reason I dropped the show. For a while, I had a nagging feeling that I'd seen this story before done far better. I wasn't familiar with most of the shows people were comparing SAO to, like the .Hack franchise, so I wasn't sure where this feeling was coming from. Then I realized that SAO didn't remind me of an anime; it reminded me of a game.

Disclaimer: The following post contains spoilers up to episode 9 of Sword Art Online and for the entriety of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. If you are planning on watching SAO without knowing anything going in or care about having the end of a 10-year-old GBA game spoiled for you, then it may be best to skip this post. It's also really long, so I suggest getting a pillow or maybe a favorite drink before proceeding.

Sword Art Online Episode 9--Kirito Saves Everybody, The End (Dropped)

That's it. I'm done.

Sword Art Online Episode 8--Get Back in the Kitchen

SAO's main plot returns with a bang by...spending half the episode cooking with Asuna. What.

Sword Art Online Episode 6 & 7--Captain Obvious & Dragon Poo

It's a two-for-one this week as Crunchyroll catches up with their stream. Unfortunately, SAO is walking a fine line with my patience.

Sword Art Online Episode 5--The Eyes Have It

Can we please stop adapting side stories? They have all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Sword Art Online Episode 4--Needs Moar Plot

"Hey, we introduce a loli in the episode! That means we can have tentacle monsters too, right?"

Sword Art Online Episode 3--People Die When They Are Killed

I'm pretty amazed that the whole "you lose, you die" thing doesn't seem to have sunk in with some people playing SAO.

Sword Art Online Episode 2--Don't Lose Yourself

While the world of SAO and its implications are fascinating, I'm even more interested by how it handles its characters.

Sword Art Online First Impressions--Let the Game Begin

Regardless of where Sword Art Online goes from here, that was a fantastic first episode.