Sword Art Online

[Compass]

Oh, come on, there was an arcade Tower of Druaga simulator inside Tower of Druaga, it's close enough to Inception!

I watched up to 7. It's really adorable and I like it. Episode 3 made me well with tears.

[Janx_Dolaris]

I will say despite my previous comment, I'm rather enjoying this series more than .hack, it seems more focused on characters and mmo mechanics (as well as the different mechanics needed for a VR based RPG), whereas .hack never really felt like an actual MMO to me, and spent alot of time on major bugs, metaphysical stuff, and weird super hard, mysterious goals, which aren't really in modern mmos.

[Compass]

It also has likeable leads, which I have found to be quite rare in most of the anime this season.

[Shinji103]

I just hope there isnt another "Girl of the week".

Well if you don't mind spoilers,

Spoiler

there won't be any mor egirls of the week. Starting with episode 8, we're on to the main story of the novels. There will only be one more episode(s?) that will be about a new female character, but it won't be anything really like 3, 4, and 7.

[Compass]

Has anyone established how far this anime will go? I read somewhere it'll span the first two books for 24 episodes, which doesn't seem bad (power-read through the first book today).

[quasadra]

from the current pacing, i believe it will cover the whole trapping in Aincard and the arc after it, which will place us in vol 4 when its done. they can cover what remain of the current arc with another 4 episode.

this is how i think it would go:

Spoiler

ep 9 will be about Kirito's fight with The Gleameyes.
ep 10 will show Heathcliff challenging Kirito for a duel and that dude from KOB trying to kill Kirito
ep 11 will show Yui
ep 12 will be about Kirito killing Kayaba and ending the arc.

[Shinji103]

Yeah, the general consensus is that the series will cover the second novel arc, Fairy Dance. Supported by the length of the series, the pacing of the series, and the fact that Kirito's

Spoiler

sister was shown in the cast list back in the pre-series trailers.

But it's a bit debated where the split will be; many people think Fairy Dance is too short to be given a whole 12 episodes, and I would tend to agree.

[Compass]

I did not realize the person who composed the music also did Fate/Zero. Enjoyed listening to the battle epic music and even the casual town music on my rewatches.

This guy makes some of the best orchestral music I've ever listened to. Can't wait for the OST. Anyone else like the music as much as I do?

[Destiny_Gundam]

Composer is a chick named Yuki Kajiura. She's one of the more famous composers, known for doing .hack//sign, most of Bee Train's stuff, My HiME, Fate/Zero, and Madoka. Often seen as Yoko Kanno's rival.

I think she's okay, though easy to make fun off (.hack//sign's soundtrack was basically the same 4 songs used over and over). As I mentioned earlier in the thread, her work on SAO is much different than her usual fare. She's a fan of big productions full of lots of chanting and wailing, but I haven't noticed any of that happening in SAO.

[Compass]

There was chanting in Episode 2 up the wazoo with the 1st Level Boss Fight. But it wasn't obnoxious

Edit - in case it wasn't apparent, I love watching my favorite action scenes over and over =D

[yazi88]

Well, given that Accel World is around 24 episodes, I could say the same for SAO.

Although the show might end with either Phantom Bullet or Mother's Rosario or maybe even the main story with Fairy Dance like stated above. It remains to be seen depending on the pace and just how much they can cram in from the core material.

Personally I think the show is alright but it seems a bit too fast paced in some episodes but then again the novels are still ongoing so I'll give them credit for not going overboard cutting the core story out of the novels. The battle sequences however are really cool and well animated. The music is pretty decent too. Can't wait for the 2nd OP though.

[Destiny_Gundam]

Well for sure I think they'll cover

Spoiler

all the SAO stuff, however considering how that ends I think they'll go for ALO, perhaps as a second season.

[Compass]

If they do that, it'll be about as painful as waiting for Tower of Druaga: Sword of Uruk

Edit, a question for those who have read the novel:

Spoiler

Kirito being 16 and Asuna being 17, is this something taboo/not normal/looked down in Japan? I didn't think it weird at the time, but it appeared to be re-emphasized regarding the age difference in later books.

[yazi88]

If they do that, it'll be about as painful as waiting for Tower of Druaga: Sword of Uruk

Edit, a question for those who have read the novel:

Spoiler

Kirito being 16 and Asuna being 17, is this something taboo/not normal/looked down in Japan? I didn't think it weird at the time, but it appeared to be re-emphasized regarding the age difference in later books.

No, I don't think its something that is really looked down upon. Just a bit unusual but definitely not something that goes against Japanese society really. At least I think it isn't.

The only difference is that

Spoiler

Asuna is going to graduate before him being a year older and not able to spend as much time with him. Plus the fact that her family is trying to get her married for their own benefit AKA political/corporate arranged marriage.

[Shinji103]

There's absolutely no way that the series will cover only the

Spoiler

SAO arc

given the extremely fast pacing and crunching of the earlier episodes. It's just not feasible to stretch the rest of this arc out for another 16 episodes, otherwise they had absolutely no reason to remove so much and make Aria and Red-nosed Reindeer into one episode each when they could have easily made 2/3 episodes of them. They probably could have made Warmth of the Heart two episodes as well.

That and as I stated a bit above, the cast list of characters shown way back in the pre-airing trailer credits has Kirito's

Spoiler

sister included, who isn't introduced until ALO/the Fairy Dance arc.

[Compass]

Is it appropriate for me to link to translations light novels here? Not sure what posting them here would be considered

[yazi88]

Probably not a good idea. Just PM anyone who asks.

[Destiny_Gundam]

It's essentially the same as linking to manga scanlations so don't do it.

[yazi88]

Today's episode was quite interesting.

Spoiler

Kirito's Duel with Kuradeel was done well, but the anime included something that happens later in the novel by showing a member of laughing coffin as part of the crowd watching. It makes sense considering what happens with Kuradeel later on and easier to transition into.

It was also more amusing to see in animated form

Spoiler

Kirito accidently grabbing Asuna's breasts and then being knocked back in a very comedic manner.

[Compass]

This episode was pretty good. I've noticed recently that a lot of recent series are taking their romance developments for granted *cough*AGE*cough*. At least this one, even though it's blatantly obvious, gets a well-deserved light novel treatment that actually has major substance.

Edit - someone might know a tad more than me about the marker system. Not plot spoilery.

OK so we have green, orange, and red markers.

Green tags are players who have not committed crimes.
Orange players are those who have committed crimes such as attacking, robbing, and injuring other players. Orange players can be attacked by Green players without the green players losing their status.
Players who are orange can supposedly lose their orange tag by questing or over time.

Players who are red are those who have killed other players in cold blood. I assume that these markers are permanent due to the severity of the crime.

I assume the same rules apply to these. Green players who attack red players do not get punished with tags. What I don't get is...

Spoiler

If you kill a red player as a green player I assume you stay green because that person is a murderer and it can be considered self defense.