Sword Art Online episode 14: Blinded by Anime Magic

BROKEN RECORD! I am a broken record. Sick, stuck in bed, can’t do anything. Rinse and repeat. I think the only one happy with this situation is my cat. She is like woohoo momma is home all the time we will snuggle together! Kira, the finder of the silver lining.

For like 5 seconds.

Also I might be a liar. I said new animes were going to be blogged today…but clearly I watched Sword Art Online episode 14 first. I wanted to see what happened folks! Tomorrow! I promise tomorrow…if I am conscious for 75 percent of the day. XD Spoilers for ANIME MAGIC!!!!

Watching someone playing shooting games too.

Episode Summary: With Heathcliff leading the charge everyone starts hacking away at the dungeon 75 monster. There are a few more deaths and the main “speaking” characters do most of the work but everyone bands together and kills the creepy skeleton. Everyone pants on the ground exhausted when someone asks how many were lost. Kirito checks and everyone is shocked at the high number. Egil in particular wonders how they can beat 25 more levels. While everyone looks discouraged Heathcliff stands there looking stoic. Kirito looks at Heathcliff’s health bar…and suddenly attacks. Everyone is like X__X at Kirito but are more X___X when it says that Heathcliff is an immortal object, like Yui. Kirito is like this has been bugging me for a while, that you were so fast that day in our duel. Obviously you are Akihiko. Heathcliff smiles and says that yes he is Akihiko. Everyone continues their X___X faces as Akihiko demonstrates his powers and paralyzes everyone but Kirito. He explains that the duel skill went to the fastest player in the game and that if anyone reached level 100 he would have been the final boss. Now that he has had his fun training the people in the game that were meant to meet him he will go on his way and hopefully meet Kirito at the top. However if Kirito wants Akihiko will battle him now and if Kirito wins the game will be over. Asuna is like NOOOO we got to run away and live to fight another day.

Don't be a hero!!!!

Kirito thinks back to all the people he has lost in the game and how he wants to protect Asuna. Kirito agrees to the duel despite all his friends telling him not to. Kirito basically says goodbye to them and makes Akihiko promise to make it so that Asuna can’t kill herself after the duel if Kirito loses. It is fighting time and Kirito tries to break up the usual attack patterns as Akihiko would know them all. But despite Akihiko taking off his immortal status it becomes clear that Kirito is NOT going to win the duel. Kirito is about to be stabbed when Asuna throws herself in front of the blade. Her health bar goes to zero and she barely has time to say goodbye to Kirito before she poofs away. Kirito is obviously in shock and upset as Akihiko comments how weird it is that she was able to move. Kirito picks up Asuna’s sword as one of his own were just broken and makes a halfhearted attempt to start the duel again. Akihiko basically rolls his eyes and stabs Kirito. Kirito watches his health bar go to zero and sees Asuna telling him he can do it. Kirito disappears for half a second but reappears..sorta. He looks like ghost but is able to raise his sword to stab Akihiko. Akihiko is like WFT but disappears. Satisfied Kirito disappears. All over the game a voice tells the players that the game has been cleared. All the people that Kirito has met up with look up and wonder what has happened.

Oh were you expecting an answer?!

Kirito appears on some sorta of cloud overlooking the game with a loading counter ticking away. He sees Asuna and they embrace each other. Kirito apologizes for dying and not being able to protect her in the game. Asuna is happy to be with Kirito. They both look over and see Akihiko staring at the game. Kirito demands to know why Akihiko did this all. Akihiko says something about a castle and wanting to reach it one day. But as to why he trapped everyone in the game…he can’t remember why he did it. Just that he wanted to create something and he hopes somewhere out there a castle does exist that he can reach. Kirito and Asuna do not stab Akihiko like he deserves and instead listen to him talk about how the 6k players still alive will wake up soon in the real world and that the 4k who died are lost forever. He disappears and the two embrace for the last time. Asuna says that everything will be okay as the game is deleted. Slowly in the real world Kirito wakes up. He looks pretty ill due to being unconscious for two years but gets out of bed anyway. With Asuna on his mind Kirito walks down the hallway, looking for the girl he swore to protect. THE END!

Interesting. X___X

Holy Crap folks! I believe this show used up all the remaining anime magic that was left for the entire year. Meaning that when a show needs a bit of special magic to explain why things can happen..there won’t be any left. Because Sword Art Online used it all in this one episode. So much anime magic the screen nearly exploded in rainbows and sprinkles! And since I am still ConFlu central I was thinking the entire time…maybe it is just me. But no folks..no. Anime Magic. Explaining why the impossible can happen since the beginning of anime time.

Yay team work!!!!

First off I thought the battle with the monster was going to take much, much longer. Last episode everyone was dying or crying in the corner with very few people participating in the battle. Even if those few people were the strongest in the game it was still going to take forever. So I was shocked that people actually got up from the corners and started fighting. Maybe the battle was longer than was portrayed in the episode. It appears that monster was beyond strong. But maybe with Heathcliff, Asuna, and Kirito distracting the killer parts of the monster it was easy to hack away at it.

Things ain't looking good folks.

After the battle I liked that they acknowledged that they lost so many. Since they came together and became the official front lines losing large amounts of people at the boss became a thing of the past. They tried to perfect the battle system to lose as little people as possible and to show everyone else this game can be cleared. They didn’t want to dampen morale by losing people due to foolishness. But at the 75 floor they lost a great many people compared to previous floors. I am glad they acknowledged this moment as something important.

Time for tissues!

Of course maybe they were just thinking about themselves rather than the people they have gotten to know for 2 years. Which I guess is okay, think about the living because you can’t help the dead. Maybe that was the moment then. The moment where people really start to doubt if they can clear the game. Egil was shocked. At dungeon 75 they lost that many “good” players. At that rate no one would be left to even finish the game. Panicking might not have solved anything but it was understandable at that moment.

Oh snap everything makes sense!!!

So while everyone was feeling sorry for themselves Kirito got sprinkled with some anime magic. Tons of it. For most of the series there was a lot of jumping around. It wasn’t until the last few episodes that things were taking place one week after another. The battle between Heathcliff and Kirito was like three weeks ago. Before then how much interaction did Kirito have with Heathcliff? Probably just during dungeon runs right? So….Kirito battles Heathcliff ONCE and suddenly everything makes sense to him? The time when he was supposed to be on his honeymoon he was thinking about that one time Heathcliff moved too fast? I see. I SEE! Sprinkle on!

Yes please tell us ALL this.

I guess what I am getting at is while I appreciate the whole hiding in plain sight and actually training the people who will one day defeat you..I feel there should have been more build up. Not just one instance of Heathcliff being more amazing that Kirito. What happened to that smirking person in the crowd? I think I needed more signs and clues for this to believable. For Kirito to figure it out it needed to be more believable. Yui was clearly weird from the start but Akihiko was hiding the entire time. I wants to know how this was possible!

YAY SURPRISES!!!

But the twist itself I am okay with. I sorta like the idea of everyone making it to the 100th floor and the boss room being empty. I wonder if Akihiko would have started attacking people right away. I don’t think so with his concept of “fair”. Not that many people were going to make it to the top at this point but you know…if you are going to be an evil mastermind you might as well go big. And what better way to hide in the game than to be the person everyone depends on. Well besides Kirito. It does beg the question why they didn’t pull the plug on Akihiko in real life. Sentencing someone to death without a trial is probably iffy and I guess no one in the real world KNEW Akihiko was the main baddie. Were they concerned what would happen to the rest of the game if Akihiko was unplugged? Maybe he was in a hospital somewhere else. Questions folks.

Yay rewards!!!!

I was slightly surprised when Akihiko was like well lets have a battle now. I thought that Akihiko was going to smirk and wish Kirito good luck and leave. And then for the rest of the season Kirito was going to have to pull it together for everyone. Because during the battle Asuna was the one pulling Kirito together. But now after all this deceit Asuna and the others might fall apart knowing that everything was impossible and Kirito would be the one to pull them together despite being afraid himself. So when Akihiko was like well who cares about those next 25 levels, this show is insane. Well lets go to it Kirito.

Oh snap Kirito is losing? I am shock.

Since Kirito hasn’t done much training since his last encounter with Akihiko I didn’t expect much to change in the battle. Only that Kirito was trying to change up his skills since Akihiko knew them all. I was actually expecting Kirito to die, Akihiko to walk away, Asuna to cry, and for Klein to surprise everyone with his Christmas Life Item. But yes I was expecting Kirito to bite the dust.

Asuna moved by the power of love!!!!...in a video game....

Anime magic was sprinkled again on Kirito’s head. Well maybe everyone’s head. Remember when Kirito was unable to move when he was life was in danger? Well Asuna managed to get herself up and throw her body in front of Akihiko’s sword. Amazing yes? They are stuck in a video game. A video game that has certain rules and restrictions. This isn’t real life where the power of friendship or even your own will power can change things. But Asuna was able to move where others wouldn’t have been able to. Why? Anime magic. Because I am cynical.

Aren't you happy that everything works out for you Kirito?

I think everyone else should have been more upset when Asuna died. Kirito had the correct emotions, swinging around halfheartedly and looking shock. Even Akihiko looking confused on how all this happened was expected. But everyone else should have started crying and losing their minds. Like you are all DOOMED! DOOMED! But then I expected Klein to bring back Asuna, Kirito see that out of the corner of his eye, and hold his own against Akihiko.

FOLLOW THE RULES!!!

NOPE! Kirito got stabbed. I was like hot damn this show is going to end at episode 14? Getting slightly confused here people. Then Kirito and his anime magic self come back as a ghost to finish Akihiko off. And by finish I mean stab once. How is this happening?! There are RULES! I know this is anime folks and they can make whatever happen happen. But we are in a video game with specific rules. There should be some boundaries set that people can’t come back from the dead just because they are the best player in the game. Like look at Kirito, he is SO AMAZING! Off killing Akihiko and such.

I don't think that makes it better....

Asuna and Kirito with anime magic on their side are able to watch the game fall apart. Did this happen to other people who poof in the game? Seems to me that once you die you die. Maybe it would have been okay had Kirito been the only one there since his death was technically after Akihiko but not Asuna. But there she was, pretending to be okay with this death while Kirito was crying.

What the hell?!?!?!?

Akihiko ….was so disappointing. Maybe he got too much anime magic in his eye and he started to suck. But there Akihiko was, watching his world collapse. This was the moment where he would explain why he did this all. Only…HE DOESN’T KNOW! Like what the hell folks?! You don’t trap 10,000 people in a game that is life or death without a plan! A reason! He talked about how he wanted to see a different world, a castle, and that is fine. Trap yourself there. Hell he could have said since he was going to trap himself there he didn’t want to be alone. But since he was going to be the last boss to be KILLED I doubt it. I was expecting some sort of explanation, like society doesn’t know how to truly live or people are more free inside a game. But nothing. AND KIRITO AND ASUNA WERE OKAY WITH THAT! Clearly I am not.

Guessing it is not over since this is only episode 14?

So after Akihiko disappears and the game is…deleted. Kirito wakes up! Can you overdose from anime magic? Maybe my post has given how many times I have said it. Again since Kirito did…ghost himself back to kill Akihiko maybe his “death” was after the game had cleared. Maybe folks. I don’t know. I DON’T KNOW! He looked worse than Rick did in The Walking Dead first episode. At least the anime magic didn’t heal him all the way.

SO CREEPY!

The episode ends with Kirito creepily walking down the hall, looking for Asuna. Seriously could that moment lasted any longer? Like I know he just woke up and it is a miracle he is alive but it was so…awkward. And where were his people when he woke up? Did he wake up days later and he was left to be a veggie? If so where were the other people who sadly were going to be veggies too? And why does Kirito think he is going to find Asuna? He got more anime magic in his pocket? OH BOY! There are more episodes despite the game being over? Interesting indeed. So….all the “dead” people are really somewhere else right? Right.