Accel World – 03
War is srs bsns, yo.
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Though I have things to catch on for an episode of Fate/Zero, I’m completely right on time for Accel World because I’ve already covered the first two episodes in the pre-air impressions. It’s interesting how the anisphere has completely opposite opinions of this series of being good and bad. I’m still on the good fence and time for my reasoning. |
You are coming with me, puppy (read this in Yuno’s Yukki voice)~
Three episodes down, the definitions and terms haven’t lessened one bit and this time we get to know more about the final bosses of the game along with the fake princess visage of Kuroyukihime. Even after seven years of Brain Burst’s release, no Burst Linker has been able to reach the level 10 of Accel World (is this the last one or a troll like Matrix?). Like my comparison from last time, the similarities are still there with the ultimate goal being able to meet the Gamemaster/Maker of Burst Link as a final reward and finally understand the purpose of it and their reason of acceleration.
They should have just used vibgyor
So, out of the few thousands of Burst Linker teenagers, only seven could reach level 9 and for some time they languidly lounged in their bliss of higher status defined by the seven pure colours: blue, red, yellow, green, purple, white and black. However, humans inherently are restless beings and thus Black Lotus aka Kuroyukihime began the upset among the elite Kings to reach the next level. In the fight that broke out, she beheaded the anti-war Red King, making the audience including his girlfriend (dude, red doesn’t really go well with purple, you know?), quite enraged. She linked out after the half hour time limit and has been hunted down as a traitor ever since.
From then on, she has not connected to the Global Network and the only connection she allows is when she’s in school and through her made-up avatar. However, even that’s in danger because she has at least one stalker that knows about her Black Lotus identity. She has tried to trace the culprit and after a lot of search, she zeroed down on someone. In the meantime, she met Haru and successfully recruited him in becoming her dog pawn. Before even engaging the final bosses, their immediate goal is to find out the real identity of the stalker, Cyan Pile, a level 4 Burst Linker who has been after her tail for bigger rewards and points.
Chiyu, doesn’t seem a likely suspect to Haru as he has known her since childhood but he still agrees to investigate her. Their direct link scene was awkward at best but at least both of them opened up and shared their apprehension about each other and their rocking boat of friendship. Chiyu seems harmless and genuinely worried about Haru and somewhat even jealous of him being taken around a leash by Kuroyukihime. But she can’t really put any claims because she’s seeing Taku and I’m sure she doesn’t even know she’s feeling jealous rather than just apprehensive. Though the conclusion of direct link leads Haru to a backdoor in her Neural Link, which pretty much means her system is being hacked/remotely controlled by Cyan Pile for meeting his own end.
Extra Acceleration~
New rival of bishie sparkle. Pink sparks.
Haru is still pretty adorable…
Innocent…
And very awkward.
You can say, this is the sit-and-talk episode rather than the action-filled power house, like the previous one but hey, every anime needs that for progress and I’m not complaining because the Guild following and the other six Kings, sound interesting. I hope we will be getting loads of fights in the future for leveling up Haru, who I’m liking more with each episode. Don’t bitch to me about him being voiced by Yuki Kaji or his role reminding you of a fail anime because the dude has actually worked hard on this role and he has been over his emo phase like a rocket and being a reliable not-shirking-from-duty kind. He’s adapting well and using his brain when there’s need; he’s a likeable main character.
People call humans, social animals but I want to add information hog to it as well. Why do you think Google tells everyone, ‘go ogle’? Because we like to watch, learn, discover and know more. In general, we would really want to know why the sky is even there, why we get day and night change, how rain falls, why the summers are so hot and winter cold, what came first, chicken or an egg? We really want to peel away all the layers of onion and find that yellowish green stalk or do the same countless times from worldly concepts to general topics. Bottom line, in general, we can’t live a purposeless life and that wanting more is all about finding a higher meaning, which will be the driving force of this anime and its characters. Right now, Haru is being taken on a ride by Kuroyukihime but he’s not stupid and he’s doing it all to find his own goal and even self that he has let go since ages. He definitely wants to be someone who can be at equal grounds with his friends, who have always babied him.
Taku till now is a mystery to me. He looks straight as an arrow, a goody-two-shoes but something tells me that he must be a Burst Linker too. My wildest prediction could be him being the Red King, who was beheaded by Kuroyukihime while Chiyu being the Purple Queen but that is too wild a theory and I still have to make up my mind about Chiyu’s goals. I know friends are there to help each other out and give a shoulder when you are feeling down but if you be the big onii- or onee-chan ALL THE TIME, it becomes tedious and the person at receiving end gets self-esteem issues. Which is aplenty in our Haru and I really hate Chiyu for making him feel guilty about not sharing all the time when she’s the one who’s been pitying him all along. Sure, she’s worried about him, but give a man his space woman, and let him make his decisions rather than always hovering in the background.
OP and ED music is nothing to write home about, sounds generic to me but I see the future for Haru’s avatar figures. Should be a must have for the fans and of course Kuroyukihime figures in her princess avatar and limited editions of her later revealed Black Lotus visage. I’m definitely looking forward to know more about guild formation (will Haru start one after reaching level 7?) and the five remaining Kings. If the Red King lost his acceleration ability, would he find a way to get back to Accel World? The elite must have ways to hoodwink the system and find loopholes. I’m sure there has to be a way to get back into the game. Well, share your own crazy theories and if someone has read the source material, please use spoiler tags for sharing info. Ja ne till next week.
Preview
Haru is thrown into an alternate world, where he’s interviewed because he’s an alien, passionate about fishing.
Oh wait… wrong anime. Haru goes after the stalker dude, let’s hope he finds him/her and kicks their ass.
About Kyokai
The Boss lady of Metanorn, who makes it all happen. An animanga enthusiast, who watches/reads almost anything that strikes her fancy. Just beware of her Death Perception and always keep her happy. Regularly found at @KyokaiTM & #[email protected].
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
First of all, I completely agree about hearing a seiyuu as another character. Voice actors perform multiple roles, so that is just something you have to get over. This show is its own show, and criticism about a different show are irrelevant.
I’m glad they went in a different direction for this episode. They could have done another Monster-of-the-week. Instead we got some set up for a bigger conflict, and also complicated Haru’s relationship with his old friends. I think that was a good choice.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
It’s just Yuki Kaji’s bad luck that he voiced Shu; he’s doing a good job of Haru. Overall, I’m really liking the concept of technology and how these kids are taking this game so seriously. Of course, it helps them to accelerate time as well but still, my interesting meter is still ticking.
The human factor of friendship and relationship is also a good angle to explore. I’m also very piqued about the audience who saw Haru’s fight with Ash Roller. Those guys could be part of his entourage later.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 144 comments
Kuro’s manipulation of Haru is pretty excellent. She’s spent the whole time phrasing things to make it seem he’s equal or even better than her. Now, in the span of a single conversation Kuro got him to mistrust a friend he’s had for years. Just wow.
Yet this chain of events is believable to a good extent because of how Haru has benefited, and because he has a bit of resentment in him toward Chiyu.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
As Chiyu said, she literally solved all his problems in day. To him, she’s like a goddess sent from above to make his stand on his feet again. The only thing I’m worried about is that she doesn’t abuse this power over him. I can’t say she’s just but I hope she doesn’t go overboard.
Also, I hope Haru can resolve all her problems with Taku and Chiyu because there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding and less sharing.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The OP and ED are ok but nothing worth mentioning. This is a lot of plot build up so early for what I understand is a 24 episode series. And with a twist: You normally see the lead paired up with a girl who’s in a quest to do all in her power to end a certain conflict but you’d rarely see them paired with one who has caused the conflict to begin with and who seeks to continue that road in order to meet her ambitions. Kuroyukihime is quite the smooth talker the way she manipulated Haru to investigate his childhood friend but it’s a prospect that creates distrust.
This episode was pretty much 90% dialogue but it was still compelling and action packed. Here I thought only shows like Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari could get that kind of quality.
Never expect a friendship to be nothing but smooth sailing because things change when you grow up. Haru saying he didn’t mind any of inconveniences when he was a kid was very realistic because everyone goes through that phase. You can’t really stay mad at just Chiyu because both sides are guilty for doing something that effects the other.
Even though Haru has found an unusual program in Chiyu’s memory, I doubt she’s Cyan Pile. Having that kind of suspiscion on someone only to have it quickly cleared up, especially in about two episodes (if it takes that long) would be anticlimactic. I don’t think it’s her but more like it’s someone close to her.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Even being full of dialogues as someone would call it a lot of yapping, this episode was good for progress because you get to know why Kuroyukihime is giving so much attention to a complete nobody. Of course, she had been in search of a good pawn but I’m glad she’s being honest about it rather than saying, I want your babies but you have to fight for me. Now, THAT would be really awkward.
I hope the friends can resolve their matters and I’m sure that Chiyu is not Cyan Pile but rather the system through which the hacker dude is trying to trace Kuroyukihime’s data. Backdoor is a hacking term used for remote accessing another person’s system. Now I can only wish, it’s not Taku because that would be bad as Haru looks up to him so much.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Good review Kyokai, kudos to the brief thoughts on the need we have for information.
I would like to add that in addition to the desire to hunt information, we hunger for patterns. One of the dangers we run into doing that is usually by taking two points and connecting them in a line and mistakenly calling that a pattern. It’s not, it is merely a line. You need one or several more points to find an emerged set of circumstances.
Case in point. Be seeing the backdoor emerge from Chiyu’s neural net, we can assume she is Cyan. But, a backdoor is usually a secret set by someone else. Who else has cabled with Chiyu? So, would that make Taru our culprit? The two points can lead that way, but we assume that would be the only reason he would put a “backdoor” in his girlfriend (and I mean nothing leading by that). He could have other motives that don’t point to Cyan. Jealousy is one. I’m eager to see how that plays out.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Thanks, Skylion. :3
And you have valid points about how our brain tries to draw conclusion seeing some factors, when it should wait for all the pieces to come together to get to a result. It’s almost like how while watching a mystery, we go, hey, I think that dude has done it but I’m not sure, but I FEEL it in my bones. Which is of course, not always right.
Taku is a very easy target because after all Chiyu is his girlfriend and who else could set a backdoor on such a harmless and friendly girl? But hey, I think there’s a hint in this. Anyone from her class or group could have done that because she’s friendly and seems to go over her way in helping others.
Currently, I just don’t want to think it’s Taku but he’s a good contender of it as well. I can only think of a reason for him to stalk Black Lotus: for Burst Link points, so that he can win in Kendo Nationals? We’ll find out soon enough.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I would like to join you in not thinking it is Taku, but damn, if that wouldn’t make for a great narrative. It creates problems in his relationship with Chiyu, with creates problems in her friendship with Haru, which creates problems he will have with Kuroyukihime. IOW. Drama, and it will hurt.
Which, is what I am looking for in this show. I get a feeling that despite the puni puni design, we will not have any fuwa fuwa.
Luckily we have Acchi Kocchi for that…
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Now I DO WANT DRAMAAAA. This story would become too bland if it’s so happy go lucky. Go have a friends’ betrayal or something. I don’t care, it just has to make awesome sense but please no hail Hitler screams, kthx!
That reminds me, Acchi Kocchi. I need to catch up on it to gain more HNNNGS! xD
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 243 comments
OH YEAH YOU TOTALLY DO. That show only gets better. And your heart only grows more fragile.
POWUH: iLurker with 12 comments
wow¡¡
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
XD
POWUH: 400-499 with 428 comments
Hm, the moment they busted out the whole control over certain regions, it seemed like they were playing a game of thrones between the formerly Seven Kings. Interesting to see how Kuro was actually one of the Kings until she decided to be the Queen of Hearts and declared Off with your Head!
Hm, I wonder if she still nurtures intentions of becoming the top dog even with Haru as her accomplice/minion. Still, having the secondary main character as an actual boss like that is good to see, even if she is manipulating(?) Haru for her own machinations. As for Chiyu and the backdoor, I agree that it is someone else linked into her (damn it, every time I see the Neuro Linker, I think of Ghost in the Shell and the whole backhack to their Ghost 😀 ), since I don’t think most people need a backdoor to themselves, unless they forget their passwords all the time 😀
As for who it could be, saa~! Guess we’ll just have to wait, like I’m waiting for Eureka Seven Ao’s next ep~~
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
I think Kuroyukihime being manipulative goes hand in hand with her being an “actual boss”. To get to be one of the top players, leading minions and whatnot, you have to be very clever, and think about how you can create situations that are advantageous to you. Kuroyukihime has that in spades.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Like JJB said, Kuroyukihime is a very intelligent boss herself. She might tell you that she’s doing it to meet the maker but who knows its all because of her competitive nature and she just wants to be on the top? I don’t know how the rest of the six were but maybe she just got bored of their lazy behaviour? We will know later, I guess.
My theory on Cyan Pile is here, but I’m sure it’s not Chiyu. Let’s wait to see who it is.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 243 comments
Oh man, people are taking this game pretty seriously. That girl is a hunted traitor just because she wanted to play the game properly? Man, and I thought our protagonist was the one who needed to get a life. 🙂
Right now I’m thinking that Cyan Pile is that Taku guy.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Lol! That is what happens when you take things so srs bsns like! I’m sure getting Burst Link points is a high for the players to manipulate time whenever they require. Imagine the usage!
I have the same theory about Cyan Pile but it can be a random character from her group too. Let’s see what the fourth episode brings!
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 323 comments
cubby boy remind me of shinya from Lunasea
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Lol! Let’s see if Haru can do drums~ :3
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Oh my God, so much talkinnnggggg. I don’t mind episodes that go away from the monster-of-the-week formula but Jesus Christ that was a whole lot of explaining. They should really edit the dialogue to make it shorter. I’m pretty sure they could have explained the war a lot faster. I’m impatient and don’t like long explanations unless I’m playing an actual video game. I wish Accel World was a game instead of an anime.
Huh, interesting theory about the Red King being Taku! Never really thought about trying to guess which king is which at this point. I’ll probably reserve my judgement until I know more about Taku. I think he’s at least a Burst-Linker though, even if he’s not level 9.
Best part of the episode was Chiyu being cute. SHE’S SO CUTE! SO VERY CUTE! I felt the moe vibes =w=
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I hope we get lots of fighting in the next round because damn, I want some FIGHTS and POINTS!!! We will find out who is Cyan Pile and if it’s Taku, BOOO. I want some interesting, mysterious person here than the best friend involved from the beginning episode. I’m just speculating, so we’ll see how it goes.
Btw, I think Accel World is getting a game so you will get your wish come true. Chiyu was indeed cute. I just hope she stops getting jealous and weird out Haru even more. I was having pity on the guy for being pitied by his best friend. >.>
POWUH: iLurker with 1 comments
[…] I said before, Chiyu is not Cyan Pile but simply a pawn being used by him via backdoor hack. However, rather than […]