Sword Art Online [Series]

[Havoc10K]

First of all, he blamed himself cuz he failed them, he wanted to protect them but he couldn't, of course he shouldn't blame himself at all, his higher level doesn't matter when you are heavily outnumbered.

Additionally he suggested to farm at the usual grounds as they are safer, the girl's letter probably saved his life btw.

Also, we can now see what PVP is like in this game, seems to me it's all skill based and not gear, although the Alliance shields and swords seemed dangerous, all they really had was guts to attack a smaller group with their seemingly overwhelming power, as it showed it didn't help them at all.

Kirito's "Gift" was nice, although next time, if he will need to at all, he will do everything only for Asuna.

As the Op suggests, much higher levels will not be occupied by many players at all.

[Nikkoru]

Kirito's reasoning was, I think, that his presence in the guild effectively made them over-confident. By withholding his level, skill, and experience for the sake of fitting into a mediocre group, he left himself unable to protect them from their own ignorance when they sprung that trap. It was immature but kind of sweet, like secretly doing your friends job for them at work so they don't get fired and leave you isolated.

I have to say, Kirito reminds me of a Tomino protagonist like Amuro Ray, Kamille Bidan, or Gainer Sanga. He's got a quick mind and significant focus that separates him from others. He's immature and likely to make good as often as poor decisions. He's full of nervous energy, and you sense a depth to him which even he doesn't fully realize. He's awkward with people generally, and protective of women. There are issues regarding his home life and personal experiences which are absent thus far, he doesn't talk about himself and his situation is only vaguely hinted at in the first episode.

All of Tomino's stories are about young men and women facing an absurd and deadly situation without the emotional skills to match their inherent technical prowess. They mature through trial and error, if they survive. Sword Art Online is man versus nature... or machine, rather than man versus man.

[Sakubo]

episode 3 was good but they shortened it alot from the story in the novel. In the novel it explained he knew about the trap before hand since he encountered it with the poeple at the front that cleared. He tried to argue with them not to open it but they ended up doing it anyway because he didnt reveal how he knew what it was because he was still afraid to reveal his true level and they all died except for him. Afterwards the last dude came back found out he had be lying to them all along and ended up killing himself just like in the anime.

[Obstorm]

Here something that's been got on my nerves real fast, more to do with the dialog. The whole drama they made over beta testers having info and not sharing it or stuff. I wonder how they came up with the whole argument of beta testers are bastards for not sharing of hand holding other players or accusing them for not sharing info? The whole scene after the first boss fight was the main reason I bring this up.

I mean do people really think that betas are pretty much set in stone as far as events and stuff? Do people really believe that beta testers should had hold players?

Just curious about y'all opinions might have about this.

[Havoc10K]

Beta testers know the best ways to get xp points, they know the locations of all easy quests and generally know all the areas for easy cash and xp and items. Given the situation beta's have a head start. They do know more about the game than the rest of the players so claiming that beta's should have helped is in a way legit. However at the theatre that guy was right, the guide book was compiled from the knowledge gathered by beta players.

It is common to read some guide's in a situation like that especially since it's free and delivered to everyone and it can literally save your life. the first thing in this situation to do is gather information, and that guide sure is a great source of said information. Complaining about beta's is as I said earlier the way the lazy players would do. As i mentioned as well the guy that constantly complains doesn't do much at all, I watched that fight twice, he stood in the back doing nearly nothing.

Situations like this aren't a time to complain, and the best way to show it was given by Asuna, she's a new player to the game, it shows, she is careful and confident but at the same time she is aware of things she can't do alone. She's not an idiot but she isn't a pushover as well. Those two will make the best team in the end.

[Obstorm]

I actually meant in general, outside of SAO storyline. I'm curious as to whether or not the idea behind that particular argument applies in the gaming world. For example if you happen to playing say WoW when it first came out in '06 and they announced that any player that takes more then say 3 months to reach level 60 will be fine "x" amount of dollar as per the user agreement. So all the beta testers rush to reach lv60 leaving all the noobs behind. Would you use those arguments and blame/sue a beta tester for not helping?

Just an extreme example I just came up with, hope that helps get my point across.

[Havoc10K]

Beta testers usually get blamed for not helping in MMO games, I personally don't give a fuck about beta's I was a beta in a few games, and to be honest, beta players only know stuff ahead but they have the same chances of getting to high levels as any other player, all you have to do is experiment with what you can do and search for quests. In most modern MMOs atm you don't need to know where quests are, NPCs have marks on them when they have a quest for you, currently in WoW you don't even need to do quests to fast level up, I went from 1-60 in a week farming mobs and doing random dungeons. Blaming beta's for your incompetence is a fools errand.

[th3dudee]

Can't wait ^^ too bad for sachi..

[Nikkoru]

I've never bought a MMO on or near its release date, I expect to die in ignorance a few times, and the idea of being boot-strapped to max level by relying on veteran hand-holding just takes the fun out of the experience. To me it's not much different than buying your character through gold farmers, you've eliminated the challenge for yourself in order to get a nerd status symbol. You should play with people for the enjoyment of the experience and help even the odds a little, not so they can play for you as you drink up XP.

That being said, it's a legitimate criticism in a life or death situation like SAO, unless you're a Nietzsche Wannabe. While they pointed out the free guide, Kirito himself didn't think of helping others for months into the game, and I suspect many others are using their knowledge selfishly. Gaming logic cannot be applied to real life, which this is, in effect.

[abc cuz]

4th episode was great, i'm loving it how he's a boss as main character, solo's the front lines but is also kind to others like the girl he helped. exactly what i've been expecting from this anime, if he just joined a guild and became just another member it would get really gay.

[Havoc10K]

He wants to be solo to not lose anyone he cares about, but he wants to help others because he is a good person.

I also like this show for what it is.

I wonder however how Asuna fares.

[Nodame-chan]

This show is definitely my favorite this season.

And yeah Kirito is really a good person. I'm sure that he loves his little sister as well. Well that's the feeling I got when he was talking about her.

Kirito is pretty cool. A really good main character.

I wonder however how Asuna fares.

^And this. I'm starting to miss her.

[Japanimation]

I haven't read the manga, but I'm pretty sure Asuna plays a pretty engaging role in the story. She had a somewhat early introductory and you see her a lot throughout the opening. At the end of it, you can see Kirito's sword and her's crossing blades in the ground.

Between four episodes, Kirito has become level 70 something, while most people (excluding the lead group) are in the 40-50's. I feel like the story is trying to rush Kirito forward, showing how predominant he is in the MMO world, before something catastrophic happens later on. That's just the vibe I've gotten so far and it is by far my favorite series airing this season.

[th3dudee]

Between four episodes, Kirito has become level 70 something, while most people (excluding the lead group) are in the 40-50's.

78 to be correct.
and i don't get it.. the year 2024? so fast he didn't even aged (it's a game but still)
love this episode! not much drama..

[Havoc10K]

Between four episodes, Kirito has become level 70 something, while most people (excluding the lead group) are in the 40-50's.

78 to be correct.
and i don't get it.. the year 2024? so fast he didn't even aged (it's a game but still)
love this episode! not much drama..

I don't get that, do you mean they are in the game world for a few years now ? it's been less than half a year so far.

[Japanimation]

Between four episodes, Kirito has become level 70 something, while most people (excluding the lead group) are in the 40-50's.

78 to be correct.
and i don't get it.. the year 2024? so fast he didn't even aged (it's a game but still)
love this episode! not much drama..

The plot starts in the year 2024 and I believe it's been about 4 or 5 months since the game was launched (I could be wrong, the series does tend to skip time frames in vast proportions.) If you're asking why their appearances don't change, my only guess would be because the item received took their current body image of that time from the Nerve Gear and it was a static image, because it was a one-time use item. I haven't read the manga and I have no idea if there's any clarification on the subject, but that would be my guess.

[Nodame-chan]

Between four episodes, Kirito has become level 70 something, while most people (excluding the lead group) are in the 40-50's.

78 to be correct.
and i don't get it.. the year 2024? so fast he didn't even aged (it's a game but still)
love this episode! not much drama..

The plot starts in the year 2024 and I believe it's been about 4 or 5 months since the game was launched (I could be wrong, the series does tend to skip time frames in vast proportions.) If you're asking why their appearances don't change, my only guess would be because the item received took their current body image of that time from the Nerve Gear and it was a static image, because it was a one-time use item. I haven't read the manga and I have no idea if there's any clarification on the subject, but that would be my guess.

Actually you're wrong. The game started in the year of 2022, November 6th. So yes, two years passed already. That can explain the fact that Kirito is on 78th level, is somewhere near to 50 floor, and is infamous as beater "The Black Swordsman" who fights only with blade and doesn't use a shield.

They write the exact day and year on the beginning of every episode. Be more attentive.

Btw, "beater" stands for beta tester and cheater. Well if somebody doesn't know Though I doubt that.

[Japanimation]

Between four episodes, Kirito has become level 70 something, while most people (excluding the lead group) are in the 40-50's.

78 to be correct.
and i don't get it.. the year 2024? so fast he didn't even aged (it's a game but still)
love this episode! not much drama..

The plot starts in the year 2024 and I believe it's been about 4 or 5 months since the game was launched (I could be wrong, the series does tend to skip time frames in vast proportions.) If you're asking why their appearances don't change, my only guess would be because the item received took their current body image of that time from the Nerve Gear and it was a static image, because it was a one-time use item. I haven't read the manga and I have no idea if there's any clarification on the subject, but that would be my guess.

Actually you're wrong. The game started in the year of 2022, November 6th. So yes, two years passed already. That can explain the fact that Kirito is on 78th level, is somewhere near to 50 floor, and is infamous as beater "The Black Swordsman" who fights only with blade and doesn't use a shield.

They write the exact day and year on the beginning of every episode. Be more attentive.

Btw, "beater" stands for beta tester and cheater. Well if somebody doesn't know Though I doubt that.

I actually didn't notice the dates at the beginning of each episode, thanks for pointing that out. But, I still stand by my guess as to why their in-game appearances haven't changed. If anyone has an actual answer to that though, that would be helpful.

[Havoc10K]

So it's been 2 years, and we only saw Asuna for a little while, I wonder if Kirito still even remembers her.

I really want them to show her again, she does things with Kirito in the OP so I am hopeful.

[Sakubo]

I explained this somewhere else but the first book for Sword Art Online actually starts 2 years after they have been trapped. All the storys we have seen were explained in books or posted as short storys on the authors website after the main story was finished. We are pretty close in terms of timeline to that point now so we should actually get to the main storyline soon. Asuna is a major character in the main story so we will be seeing alot of her soon enough. Once we get to the main storyline there isnt really anymore skipping because it becomes "now".