Sword Art Online II

Episode 12

I'm not sure why Sword Art Online episodes always seem to break down into solid halves and terrible halves, but that certainly held true this time. For this week's episode, SAO dialed the plot back from Kirito and Sinon leaving the cave to spend half an episode reiterating pretty much everything we already know, before finally leading into the big face off with Death Gun.

This episode's first half was one of the most egregious examples of filler Sword Art Online's ever indulged in. I believe I mentioned last week how it feels like this arc is being stretched in order to fit an arbitrary episode count - after this week, I can't really see any other explanation. The first ten minutes were spent listening to Sinon and Kirito stand in the cave, alternately going over either the plans we've already heard them make or the emotional issues we've already seen them explore. Considering how unnecessary last week's second half was, it's frustrating to think how much this arc's pacing could be improved simply by cutting out both those halves, and attaching last week's first half to this week's finale. I don't need to hear Kirito think “I've got to defeat them. It's gonna be tough, but I've got to do it” half a dozen times in order to appreciate the seriousness of this situation.

Fortunately, the second half of this episode actually featured Stuff Happening, as Sinon and Kirito set up a trap to lure the last pro player and Death Gun out of hiding. In spite of the show occasionally mangling her arc's execution, I still enjoyed hearing Sinon make her final resolutions as she prepared to use her sniper skills to save her own actual life. GGO was initially an escape for her, but by tying this in-game shot to her real-world self, the show is forcing her to acknowledge and take responsibility for her own actions. If she can fight here, presumably she can accept the actions she had to take in the real world. It's a neat character resolution, and the fact that it perfectly mirrors Kirito's own “I must accept what I've done” arc makes it significantly more elegant than any of SAO's prior storytelling.

On top of that, the direction and animation of Kirito's standoff with Death Gun was solid as well. Kirito attempting to find Death Gun through sensing his “killer instinct” is a pretty silly concept, but it was portrayed well (the sound design was particularly effective here), and I enjoyed the transition from that stillness into his manic charge once Death Gun took his first shot. There was some stellar animation here, too, which makes me feel slightly less grumpy about spending two full episodes watching Kirito and Sinon monologue in a cave. Kirito's somersaults and general acrobatics felt like they had more of a sense of weight and urgency here than previously, making this episode's action setpiece both fun to watch and actually kind of tense.

The ending of this episode somewhat explained why the pacing has been so terrible these last couple episodes - the show clearly wanted to end at this exact moment, with Kirito in jeopardy and none of the plot's secrets revealed. But an explanation isn't really an excuse, meaning in the end, my feelings on this episode are pretty mixed. Hopefully next week will keep up the tension for an entire episode, and not just the first or second half.

Rating: B-

Sword Art Online II is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.