This arc is, by far, the best arc that I have seen in this series.
Overall, Sword Art Online II proved itself to be a better sequel than its predecessor. While Log Horizon establishes game mechanics and character development, Sword Art Online establishes the connection of humanity with the advancement of technology. There is nothing wrong with the concept but the narrative that the series took, in that we only see Kirito as the savior and everything else are damsels, made the whole series flat, overshadowing the message that it tried to convey.
While this approach is still prevalent in the second season, what I liked about it was how it finally was able to say what it was trying to all along. For instance, the use of VMMO as a therapy, as seen with Sinon in the GGO arc was conveyed properly by how it presented our characters and their traumas; It had much more emotion than its predecessor that got itself lost.
I don’t quite consider myself to be a Yuuki Aoi fan but after evaluating her performance in this arc and how she have reached a long way with her skills, I am quite smitten by how good she has become. Before, i’d pnly notice her raspy voice but now, I can feel the weight of her voice acting and how it breathes life to the characters. I have to admit, Yuuki Aoi as Yuuki is a perfect fit and without her performance, this series may not be as worthwhile.
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Dec 23, 2014 @ 19:41:40
Agree with your assessment overall. Though there were scenes where I felt it was just way over exaggerated (or maybe I’m just way too cynical :p). And I still don’t like the storytelling style, with the obvious emotional manipulation being done to the audience (this author seem to love doing it and seem to do it almost the same way every time). The insertion of Kirito into every story in this series seem almost like a bad habit (or maybe it’s just a sales and marketing thing ^^;). Having said all that, this turned out better than I expected.
I guess what makes it work well enough are the decent to good character portrayal, the subject matter being dealt with carefully enough, and the huge budget they have for art and animation. I’m pretty sure they will make more adaptations of this series (it’s too popular for them not to), but I’m not sure if I’ll be watching :p.
Dec 23, 2014 @ 21:40:21
There’s actually nothing wrong if they made Kirito as the “poster boy” for SAO as long as they balance him out as a character. Him coming down to save everyone every time is goddamn annoying!
Well, I fear that once the SAO train starts rolling, there’s no stopping it. If they plan on having another series again, I doubt I’ll be able to muster up the amount of fucks I give to watch it. I mean, season 2 just proved how dependent everyone is on Kirito. Yeah, most characters have issues on their own but it’s always Kirito who comes by and saves the day. And Klein remains as forever sidekick.
Still, this is like a slightly better form of Mahouka. But hey, Mahouka was enjoyable since they didn’t quite waste much of their time establishing the drama of individual characters. In a weird sense, Mahouka simply knew that its MC is a big dick and he always hogs the spotlight and made the story revolve with that.
You mentioned budget but man, how come ufotable does it so much better? I mean, not only were they able to deliver good animation quality but the story’s pacing, and characters, that’s quality work right there. Then again, perhaps its the director or the staff? =/
Dec 24, 2014 @ 10:41:15
Partly the staff I guess? And maybe different priorities? Though IMO, SAO’s biggest problem might be the source material than the adaptation :p.