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Sword Art Online (TV).

Disjointed.

Instead of developing them as a couple, as first two episodes have set up beautifully, Kirito is shown wasting time. It's a waste of time because, again, of how disjointed everything feels. I can see how every early episode has some purpose of either world building or, poorly done, character establishment but the problem is precisely that every episode has some purpose that's not terribly related nor does it advance the story.

In recent episodes, again, the same feeling of disjointedness is overwhelming. This time it is more of the character based. Even after I assume that Kirito and Asuna are in love I couldn't help but notice two particular scenes that seemingly contradict that. spoiler[First of all, while may seem minor, Kirito did stop himself from embracing Asuna after revealing the guild issue. That shows he still has issues with accepting her.]

spoiler[Another scene was when Asuna stopped herself from reaching for Kirito's hand as he just killed a man. Again, to me this seems as rejection, due to fear or confusion, on a very basic level. She couldn't accept him at that moment.]

Not to forget that Asuna is still lacking any kind of plot development that shows her strength (beyond "Oh look at that awzm 'second' guild leader!", or simply weak "she is an idol" excuse). spoiler[She froze on the demon boss fight in episode 9 and did not impress in episode 10 even though she rushed to the rescue of her sweetheart. Oh and her winning against Kuradeel is of no indicator of her strength as the show portrayed him as very weak player (regardless of his level or guild rank)]. Again, other than episode two I have not seen her shine in any significant way.

As it is the Sword art online is a mess. I doubt it can improve since its already done by the same staff.

I'm sure you know as well as I do that you could come up with thousands of justifications for anything, but without having some kind of specific thing from the show pointing at that, it seems to me to be better to just take the most straightforward explanation. In this case, the show was depicting her being afraid and hiding behind Kirito, so it seems logical that the most straightforward explanation is that she didn't fight him because she was scared of him. That just seems to make sense to me.

I do find it ironic though how hard it is to simply say something like, "You know what Chibikangaroo, you might be right about your particular point, but..." Especially considering how I was being criticized for supposedly not acknowledging other people's positions. Apparently I get eyerolls and such.

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I do find it ironic though how hard it is to simply say something like, "You know what Chibikangaroo, you might be right about your particular point, but..." Especially considering how I was being criticized for supposedly not acknowledging other people's positions. Apparently I get eyerolls and such.

I'm pretty sure that I have acknowledged in the past that you had at least some ground to stand on concerning some of your previous arguments. I'm not going to say something like that when I'm convinced that you're flat-out wrong, though. Clearly that's the case on your end, too.

Sixthly, I wish Kirito and Asuna had been on the same page right from the start about what was going to happen that night. spoiler[The way he worded it totally sounded like he wanted sex. She then punches him for being a twat - for the second time this series, although this time he totally deserved it - and then we get a did-they-didn't-they. My initial reaction was that they didn't - surely the mood would have been broken after Kirito's moronic line - but of course they did (if the Anime is following the source material)].

Tenthly, how do you spoiler[have sex in the game]? (And LOL, please don't give me a snide answer like "same way as in real life".) And wouldn't that mean that spoiler[rape is possible? If there is an 'sex yes/no menu' then couldn't a strong player force a weaker player to allow it, otherwise they'd be killed]? Food for thought.

Seventhly, I wonder how Otaku are reacting to 'their' Asuna spoiler[having sex with another man]? After what happened with Kannagi and Ano Hana, I'd believe anything.

Pixelationist wrote:

It just seems like every second Asuna is on screen she is getting nerfed further from a badass and into a housewife. spoiler[Last couple eps she's shown us just how useful she is in the kitchen, had her honour defended by trenchcoat hunk, cried like a girly girl on his shoulders for like 5 mins straight after having her ass saved by him, and quit that prestigious guild to be at her man's beckon call.] I'm not trolling here, but I honestly think this is a straight up terrible show. It's cheesy without being really fun, it's self serious without being remotely poignant. The design of the world feels super generic and without any distinctive visual features it can truly claim its own. I feel like my main enjoyment of this show is the catharsis of being really annoyed by it.

Look, it's quite clear that you don't like the show, but if you're going to bother to criticize it at least base your criticisms on what actually happened, not your funky assumptions about what you think happened.

Geez, and here I thought the way this episode played out might actually put an end to some of the criticisms leveled against the series in this and other certain threads, but it seems like people are just looking for things to trash the series on. spoiler[Asuna saved Kirito here and utterly thrashed the guy in the process, proving quite definitively that she's not the doormat beholden to a Gary Stu for protection that naysayers have been insisting.] Clearly that wasn't enough to satisfy those who seem dead-set intent on continuing the sexism angle, though, so now we're complaining about spoiler[how Kirito had to finish the guy off when Asuna wouldn't]? Please. There's absolutely nothing wrong with spoiler[a player being reluctant to finish off another player - even one who's proven to be a dangerous murderer - and it's not like Kuradeel was going to take a full-health-barred, not-paralyzed Asuna out with a single blow anyway. IOW, Kirito didn't save her back so much as just do the dirty work.]

Oh, wait. So now we're complaining about Asuna getting all weepy and vulnerable over Kirito again? Why shouldn't she, when spoiler[he just about cashed out again - and would have, if she hadn't been so alert]? Gods, people, what are you expecting of her here? I'll grant you that the series went light on showing their relationship development, but given the way things played out in episode 9, I have no problem with how things are trending here with their relationship. It's what I wanted to see anyway. And, frankly, I'll be curious to see how this all goes over with Heathcliff.

And speaking on him, I find it curious that no one's commented on the duel and its outcome yet. Was that and the later events enough to spoiler[shake people's complaints about Kirito being a Gary Stu]?

Seventhly, I wonder how Otaku are reacting to 'their' Asuna spoiler[having sex with another man]? After what happened with Kannagi and Ano Hana, I'd believe anything.

However I couldn't dismiss spoiler[the Asuna not being able to finish off the dude issue] so nonchalantly, I think this is definitely tied to the writer's view on what it means for a women to remain a pillar of innocence, that somehow this is still ultimately a man's job regardless of the situation. I'm not attacking that POV, but I think there is significance in why the writer chose to go this route.

My problem with Asuna as a character has nothing to do sexism, I just don't think she's that interesting. Her whole devotion to Kirito just comes off as being another lazily written male power fantasy devoid of substance, or perhaps just too rushed in terms of development like the show at large.

Oh, and spoiler[as for the last episode where Kirito killed Kuradeel, the reason he did that was not because he was scared for her life but because he didn't want her to have to kill someone and feel what it feels like to know you've taken another persons life. It's something he found himself having to do in the past and he wanted to spare her that pain.]

As for the part where spoiler[they decide to leave for Level 22, that had to do with battle weariness and not the whole "I shall abandon my occupation in order to be a good cooking/house-wife for you, Kirito-kun!" Again, it's better explained in the LNs but I still think you get the point here since they are talking about how tired they are.]

So what happened with Kannagi and Anohana? Memory is hazy but there was no sex in either shows were there? Please elaborate.

Riddley wrote:

Oh, and spoiler[as for the last episode where Kirito killed Kuradeel, the reason he did that was not because he was scared for her life but because he didn't want her to have to kill someone and feel what it feels like to know you've taken another persons life. It's something he found himself having to do in the past and he wanted to spare her that pain.]

Except Kirito hasn't spoiler[killed anyone before the psycho in episode ten,] so I don't buy that.

«Laughing Coffin» used to be the biggest and worst PK guild in Aincrad. They were headed by a cold, sly leader and experimented endlessly with new methods of killing people; in the end, the number of players it had killed went into the triple digit figures.

The players once attempted to solve the issue through negotiations, but every messenger had been killed immediately. We couldn't even understand why they PKed, since it only lessened the chances of clearing the game, and because of this we couldn't talk with them properly. Not too long ago, the players who aimed to clear the game had formed a subjugation group that rivaled the boss-killing groups, and finally destroyed their guild after several long and bloody battles.

Asuna and I were in the group too. But the information had leaked somewhere, and the PKers were prepared and waiting for us. In my frenzy to protect my comrades, I ended up taking the lives of two Laughing Coffin members by accident.

Thirdly, spoiler[Asuna should have finished the dude off. No, not initially, her hesitation was understandable. But his slash should have hit her - it wouldn't have been fatal, given the disparity in strength - then she should have picked up her sword and run him through. This would have made sense and been a more powerful defining character moment for her. She told Kirito she would protect him, and being willing to kill to protect him would have really shown how much she meant it. What we actually got was Kirito getting up and blocking the attack. It was silly (oh-so-convenient for the paralysis to completely wear off in time), it was boring, and as others have said it took the shine off Asuna's moment.] It also reinforced that as powerful as Asuna is, she always needs someone to save her, even when she doesn't need it.

Tenthly, how do you spoiler[have sex in the game]? (And LOL, please don't give me a snide answer like "same way as in real life".) And wouldn't that mean that spoiler[rape is possible? If there is an 'sex yes/no menu' then couldn't a strong player force a weaker player to allow it, otherwise they'd be killed?] Food for thought.

I agree that it was a disappointment to let Kirito take all of the "glory" so to speak and do the deed himself. It spared Asuna the pain, but pain creates depth.