New Anime Series! Sword Art Online episode 1!

Hello there my lovely readers! I thought today was going to be a grand day of catching up on all the new Summer Animes that are coming out. But apparently I have been caught up in The Walking Dead marathon AND I am going to see the new Spiderman movie. XD So…maybe aiming for three episodes today was a bit silly.

Behold Tenchi likes pretty animes. XD

Let’s try for one in between Daryl’s scenes. He has so many good zombie apocalypse skills I’m jealous. Lets see…what to watch first. OHS! Another online video game show. Sword Art Online episode 1! I believe this show is made by the creators of Accel World so I guess I can expect more random terms and pretty art? Spoilers for the first episode happening at the speed of fast!

XO You are not a true gamer if you aren't devoting an entire day to a new game.

Episode Summary: A very perky newsgirl is going on and on how the day has finally arrived! Sword Art Online has been released in limited numbers and tons of people waited for hours to get a copy. One particular player (Kirito) watches the launch online and reads a magazine about the creator. Then right at 1:00pm he places his Nerve Gear helmet and logs on. WOOHOO Launch! Kirito takes off the second he logs on, happy to be back. Another player named Kline stops him and asks Kirito if he was a beta tester. Kirito answers yet and Kline asks him to teach him the basics. Kirito does so, talking about how there is no magic in this game and a variety of different game..things. They spend more time leveling a bit and chill in the grass. Kirito seems to be happy to be in a world where a sword can take you far. Kline says he is going to log off and eat a pizza but will be back on later to play with some friends. He tries to invite Kirito to play with them but Kirito gets uncomfortable. Kline gets confused when he can’t locate the logout button. After some investigating they decide this is a bug and the GMs must be working on the problem. Kline still freaks out and tries to remove his Nerve Gear so he can eat his pizza. Kirito then talks about the Nerve Gear and how they won’t be able to take it off.

Psht who needs a logout button anyway....

Just as Kirito wonders why the GMs haven’t made a mass announcement everyone is forced summoned to the courtyard. A crazy….thing forms in the sky and informs everyone he is the game creator Akihiko. The figure starts off explaining that the game has no log off button on purpose. While everyone is contemplating that Akihiko says that someone logging you out in the real world will result in your death. He then shows clips of the 200 plus players who have already died when their loved ones took off their Nerve Gear helmets. Akihiko explains that this should make everyone feel better, that the press around this event will probably make them safer and no one will remove their helmets. As a final blow to everyone’s brain Akihiko says there is no method to revive people in this game and if you run out of HP you die in real life. The only way to leave the game is to beat it, reaching floor 100. Akihiko gives everyone a mirror which turns changes them to look like they do in real life. Akihiko talks a bit about why he is doing this (really he says nothing) and leaves. Everyone starts freaking out and Kirito pulls Kline aside. Kirito says that with limited resources in this game they must hurry and make it as far as possible before people realize that too. Kline tells Kirito that he can’t leave his friends behind and knows that Kirito won’t take extra people. Kirito starts to run off but both guys take a moment to say goodbye to each other and that they will meet up later…maybe. Kirito runs off and dramatically takes out a wolf before anyone else arrives. In a huge church like a room a screen is shown. Since the game started a month ago over 2,000 players have died. THE END!

You must play forever!!!

I told you it was at the speed of fast! Like oh snap everything was fine and dandy then BAM the entire plot of the show happens at once. Okay maybe as the show progresses there will be tons more plot. Like this is only scratching the surface and it only seems that all has been revealed at this point. I will have to be careful with spoilers though. When I went to MyAnimeList to spell people’s names I saw that Kirito has two little spoilery links. That seems like a lot to me so clearly this show is not going to be as cut and dry as it appears.

Slimes are very complicated people.

Lets get started with this blog post shall we? As with any show, especially one that deals with technology, a lot of terms and phrases were thrown at the viewers all at once. Playing video games isn’t necessary to understand this show but I think it would help. XD It seems to be the kind of show that caters to that crowd anyway. That or make fun of them. Haven’t decided yet.

Aw training the newbies. Good times good times. XD

Once again, like Accel World, this show brought up fond memories of my online gaming days. Nowadays I play games that have very little interaction with people. Mainly just alone with people sending me stuff when I need it and vice versa. But watching this show made me smile and think back to when I would stop and help random newbies whether it be training them or giving them useless items that they needed. Because I remember when people would do the same for me. Of course there were other parts of the show that I don’t relate to, like waiting all night for a video game but still it brought up fond and sad memories in me.

WEEEEE! Look what street this is!

The first red flag that weren’t on the up and up with this new game release was the fact that there were only limited copies of this game made. Maybe I am just used to living in the United States with a population bigger than Japan but 10,000 copies of a game doesn’t seem like a lot to me. But maybe they are catering to a small audience. Still I think with this new technology video games would reach a larger audience and 10,000 copies seems like a very small amount for such a hyped game.

Ah yes. Back from beta weeeee!

I do like that Kirito has had prior knowledge to this game. That he just isn’t randomly awesome. The backstory with being a beta tester makes sense on a number of levels. Why Kirito was so eager to play the game, why he was able to train someone else, and to show that he is probably a game otaku. All that is explained with this believable backstory. If Kirito is such a game otaku there would be no reason for him to be all suspicious of a game since he has played so many in the past.

Ah yes...but where is the magic?!

Kirito’s interactions with Kline (Or Cline…) were pretty basic. Like oh yes let me talk to you to explain all the concepts that the viewer needs to know. This has to happen in most fantasy animes so there is no reason to hate on it happening again. I thought in this instant it was done the best given that it had to happen. Kline was aware of some gaming terms so when Kirito explained things it was a comparison. Like oh these monsters are like slimes in other games, no magical skills like other games, and how to move his avatar. I think I would have preferred slime monsters though. I guess that is besides the point. XD

Behold...the future of video games in 10 years!

The only thing that felt really forced in the conversation was the talk about the game helmet itself, The Nerve Gear. I am not sure how that could have come up naturally in conversation but it was almost given to us like a laundry list. But it had to be done and for someone like me who apparently needs things explained to her 23982 times so she can forget them down the road it is necessary.

So...everyone was playing for 4 hours and there wasn't a panic or anything?

I do find it a bit…special that no one tried to log out before Kline did. I mean I am sure other people tried to but were unable to. Maybe Kline and Kirito were too far out to hear anyone else having problems. But if that outside area was the basic place where people level up why was it so empty? I don’t know, that part felt unnatural to me. Should have been covered in newbies. XD Guess there is no feature where people can shout out over the server or something. This would be me thinking in gaming terms of this time though yes?

Just laying it out all in episode one!

After a few hours with meeting new friends and getting used to the new game everyone is summoned to the main square. By now I am sure most of them realized there was no log out button but decided it was just a glitch. Or maybe some nonpizza eaters were unaware of the fact. But Akihiko decided that the show was over and time for the real fun to begin! Obviously this game maker is made of insanity but one has to admire his flair right?

:( So many families feeling guilty.

So yes. Akihiko the homicidal game maker from hell dropped several bombs on people. The first one being that the log out button NOT being there is a feature of the game. So no one else can leave the game. Number 2 is that if in the event someone tries to log you out via removing your helmet you die. Which is pretty awful in itself. Just imagine how mothers (I am just assuming moms since they are the ones most likely to say GET OFF THAT VIDEO GAME) felt knowing they are the ones who “killed” their kids. Or loved ones. I know that they are not TRULY responsible but they will feel like it. And rounding up the fun fun fun is boom shell number three. If you die in the game you die in real life. WOOHOO! Take that Accel World.

What do you mean we don't look cute anymore?!

Really I thought there would be way more freaking out. It was like they all waited for Akihiko’s…floating blood avatar to disappear before everyone started wailing away. I would have been MOG NOOOOO when he started talking. But I guess a lot was thrown on them all at once. More than two hundred already dead, death if you die in the game, and now people have to walk around NOT looking sexy. Oh yes did I mention that yet? I am not sure what the point was behind that. It did stress some people out, that they have to be their real selves now. Maybe that will play more into the plot later. That the game maker was tired of people pretending to be something they weren’t and what not. Perhaps that is what is going on with the dissolving of the avatars. But yeah some people were freaking out more about that then the whole death thing. XD

Picture

Don't things respawn? X___X Confused here.

Kirito was on point though. Like time to go Kline. Instead of panicking or trying various things that weren’t going to work Kirito decided he was going to put a lot of distance between them and everyone else playing the game. I am not sure about that “rule” in the game though. Kirito said they needed to get as much done as possible because there were going to be limited resources. That has never occurred in any multiple player online game I have played. Maybe the spawn rate would be crap and everyone would be running around ksing but limited number of monsters AT ALL? Maybe that is what he meant to say but how I understood it that there only ever going to be a limited number of resources.

Take note my husband. DO NOT LEAVE ME BEHIND! Saying I need a zombie apocalypse skill....

Kirito seems to like to work alone. Kline wanted to bring Kirito along to meet his friends and Kirito acted all weird. Could have been an awkward moment but Kline let it slide. So Kirito could have just run off on his own but he did break out of his comfort zone and tried to take Kline along. That was pretty amazing of him. Kirito had a calm head in this disaster and would probably be better off alone than with a newbie. Yet he was willing take along one person with him. So Kirito not wanting 3 other people tagging along in a life of death game is understandable and Kline not wanting to leave his friends behind was understandable too. Both men made the best decision given the circumstances.

I tried to capture how amazing this looked...and I think I failed. XD

The episode ends with Kirito vowing to live and an update on how many people died during the first month of the game. 2,000 people? Seems like a lot. X__X But does this mean that there is going to be a time skip already? WAI! Still looking forward to seeing the next episode weee.