Sword Art Online episode 5

Asuna is so nice when she is passed out...

Aw look at Asuna sleeping! Could this post be about Sword Art Online? Yes indeed! Trying to get caught up while losing my breath each time an event happens for the Olympics. XD Spoilers for Asuna showing up...obviously. XD

This won't end well will it?

Episode Summary: Some time…after the last episode because this series is jumping around Kirito is at a meeting with the other Lead Group members. The person leading the meeting is Asuna who is now second in command of the of Blood Oath guild. She proposes the best way to defeat the current floor boss is to draw it into town and allow it to kill the NPCs. For some reason Kirito opposes this idea. Later Kirito’s friend Egil (the player with Asuna who defended Kirito in episode 2) notes that Kirito usually is butting heads with Asuna and why is that? Fast forward a month or so later and on a different floor Kirito is taking a nap near town. Asuna just happens to walk by and says that Kirito is setting a bad example by being lazy. Every day in the game is a day they lose in the real world. Kirito says that this is a perfect day and every once in a while people need to take breaks. Asuna looks skeptical but ends up falling asleep in the grass herself. When she awakens hours later she looks embarrassed and thanks Kirito for protecting her. Even though they are in a safe zone some players have found a way to enter PvP battles when people are sleeping and are able to take advantage of people that way. To thank Kirito for protecting her Asuna says she will buy Kirito some food in town. Their meal is cut short when a scream is heard in town. Everyone rushes to a church to see someone die with a spear in the chest. Kirito and Asuna quickly look to see a victory label over anyone’s head and to see what the crime scene looks like. It appears that no one “won” the battle and whoever committed the crime tried to make it look like a suicide. The dead player Kains was set to meet up with someone (the screamer Yoruko) so the whole falling asleep and getting taken out that way is ruled out as well.

I think selling the item was smart. Otherwise there might have been a fight over who got to wear it.

Asuna decides that Kirito will aid him in this investigation and off they go to find someone who can use a weapon skill to learn more about the spear. Turns out Egil is a merchant type player so he has the skills they need to learn about the weapon. Very quickly they learn it is a player made weapon that was created by someone named Grimrock. Kirito tries to test a theory out by stabbing himself but Asuna is like um no. Asuna and Kirito return to talk to Yoruko who becomes a WELL of information. Turns out she and Kains were in a guild a while back. One day this guild found a super rare item and it was put to a vote whether to use the item or sell it. It was 3 (Kains, Yoruko, and another member Schmit) to 5 in favor of selling the item. The guild leader Griselda went to town to sell the item and was never heard from again. It turns out she was killed and Yoruko now believes that Griselda’s in game husband might be out to get revenge on the ones who voted to not sell the item as they might be behind Griselda’s murder. She says that Schmit might be targeted next she also voted against the selling of the ring. Asuna knows Schmit slightly and sends for him. Schmit is understandably upset when all is explained to him. Yoruko by this time has lost her marbles and has decided that Griselda is a ghost trying to kill them. It appears she was going to throw herself out a window but is stabbed before people can talk her out of that. A dagger appears out of nowhere and everyone is shocked. THE END!

Don't kill yourself! We still need you!

Bounce bounce bounce. That is how I feel about this series. A very interesting premise, good art, and decent battle scenes. But dear lord do I feel like a ping pong ball with all this back and forth floor jumping and level earning.

Kirito...being shunned. So many tears for Kirito.

I THOUGHT we were going to see Kirito suffer from his beater announcement. That he would be shunned from the high level groups because they, unlike the guild in episode 3, knew what he “did”. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Kirito was front and center to hear about the current plans to take out the floor boss. Now maybe people are scared of him and they are just using him because he is powerful. Or maybe after all this time being a beater doesn’t mean much in the wake of player killing and guilds hogging items. Kirito isn’t the biggest threat anymore and people are more likely to forgive due to the panic of the first few months. But if that is the case I am slightly disappointed that the whole plot point of the beater Kirito got thrown out after a few uses and didn’t come a bigger deal.

I mean....err....Asuna is the best and doesn't sugar coat things for people?

Due to the liar opening credits one is to assume that Asuna and Kirito are to have a close relationship. That is not the case going into episode 5. Asuna is off and helping to run one of the biggest guilds in the game and Kirito…well is being Kirito. You liar opening credits. Maybe it is just my fault for assuming that Asuna was going to show Kirito how to be human again and connect with people. Turns out that Kirito is able to connect to people just fine and Asuna doesn’t really need Kirito.

Why the hell is Kirito even bringing this up?!

Kirito was all over the place in the beginning portions of this episode. Is there a reason why he objected to Asuna trying to take out the boss in the safest way possible? I mean…does Kirito want everyone on the face of the planet to hate him? Allowing the NPCs to get taken out so no real people die sounds like a no brainer to me. But apparently Kirito has spent a little too long in this game and has started to think of this NPCs as real. Which I suppose is understandable. Mentally I am sure Kirito knows the difference but it is hard to put aside those feelings as they have been stuck in the game for a long time and familiar NPC faces might have a calming effect. Still maybe Kirito should keep his mouth shut when he is speaking from his heart and not his head.

Now get to work you maggot!

Asuna has shown to be the one who is serious business in this episode. Like we are getting out of this place NOW so everyone do their part or else. Which is understandable. I am not sure how healthy it would be to think like that. Imagine if you worked every single day of your life and in your off time you obsessed with work. Obviously things are different in this world with high stakes but the same thing mentally can happen. While it might be silly to stop and smell the roses (or go on dates in the Hill of Memories) people HAVE to take breaks or they will become burnt out. It might be upsetting knowing you are losing time in the world to do so but maybe small breaks will help you achieve your goals better.

So many ways to die in this game. X___X

Of course all of this nap time and thanks for making me take a break was all to introduce another major element in this game. That instead of outright killing players there is a new and exciting way to die in this game. Within any society there is going to be crime, that is a given. I would just think that in a game where everyone can die at a moment’s notice people would ban together against the person who did this to them instead of turning on their innocent fellow players. But no, when items are scare and there is no formal justice system people will find new and fun ways to screw each other over. So now falling asleep in safe zones it town aren’t safe. Your hands can be manipulated while you sleep and before you know it you have agreed to a battle!

Glad no one but Kirito and Asuna went out of their way to help this guy.

After all this explanation…BAM someone is killed it town. Very convenient but it is quickly apparent that the method Kirito and Asuna were just discussing could not be how this person was killed. Maybe they were just discussing the method to show the known methods of player killing and that they are knowledgeable about what is going on thus their surprise is real. So the drama won’t feel manufactured and over the top. XD

Hello let me showcase the new way to kill people in a very public way!

So this murder…if this is indeed a revenge killing is there a reason they did so in a public place? I mean if this is a new way of killing people maybe it would be best to keep it under wraps? You know…because there are other people you want to kill after all. It came across very weird indeed. I am not feeling this whole ghost theory yet everything else feels pretty weird too. WEEE lets kill someone out in broad daylight and bring attention to the matter.

Well that was a stupid idea...

Yoruko was a hot mess wasn’t she? She should have told Asuna and Kirito what was going on so she could be protected better. Not to give tiny pieces of information over time which could lead to her death. Like OH yeah I know someone who might have killed my friend…and the reason I am thinking of why applies to me. But I will tell you later so it can be more dramatic. XD Then later I will lose my mind and go bananas all over the place.

Yeah. And we are friends due to the fact we spend so much time together. Duh!

Egil being a merchant AND Kirito’s friend….le sigh. This all comes down to all the episodes jumping around and such. It is hard to believe in these “friendships” when there is no back ground. It would be hard to show such a history over a long period of time but I guess us viewers are just supposed to believe that once you are a high level player you tend to know a lot of people. And Egil seems pretty cool. Looks like he has gotten a bad rap for being a bit stingy with his prices. Well selling them back to an NPC would probably net you a lot less so stop your crying. XD It was interesting to see how one has to pick their skills wisely to be an asset to the game and to be able to fund your own goals.

I don't think ghosts have daggers and swords. I could be wrong though.

But right after Egil there was more crazy Yoruko time. Only now she has gone off the deep end and it is the final of the 3 Schmit to freak out. I would be too. Like um 6 months ago someone died and now we might be killed because of it? I think the twist will be that someone is mad these three people didn’t try hard enough to keep the item. That if they convinced more people to keep the item Griselda would still be alive. I don’t think it will be anything supernatural but who knows. Looks like we are going to get our first to be continued episode of the season. About time too. XD Oh..the end?