Sword Art Online – 07
…Shoulda brought a bigger sword
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Wooooooo! More Sword Art Online! I think mystery time is over for now right and judging from the last set of wonderful comments, this episode is about another new character!? Hopefully she proves to be just as fun as the other girls from Kirito’s awesome harem! Well, time to join Overcooled for our usual epic tag reviews. |
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Epic, indeed! I feel like no blog post is complete without at least one CG dragon floating around. I can check that off the list now. Really though, if a cute girl every week isn’t your thing, at least be grateful for giant dragons. There’s something for everyone. |
The Sacred HNNNGG Blacksmith
Foshizzel // Watching any brand new episode of Sword Art Online usually means one of two things: Kirito being a badass beater and the addition of a new female character that usually end up falling in love with him while they go on some random adventure together. True to the formula, Kirito meets up with the pink haired girl from the opening named Lizbeth (but everyone just calls her Liz for short)! So what makes this girl so special? In the game world she is a well-known blacksmith who specializes in making weapons and repairing gear, and of course she does sell all of that to the players. So being a blacksmith sounds like a fairly easy job right? I know in just about any MMORPG out there you can usually find a job or a possible trade skill where you craft weapons, items or armor to sale on auction houses or to other players through some type of trade channel; however most of these trade skills require you to farm raw materials found in the game world and honestly it can really suck the fun out of any game if you choose a really hard trade skill that requires expensive materials! But from what I gather, Liz has set up a fine place to sell weapons and I guess if you are not the adventuring type you might as well provide a service to the other players that are actually fighting on the frontline.
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Unrequited Love
Lizbeth is intently pondering the stats on Kirito’s “sword”
Overcooled // Here I am – balanced precariously between seeing Lizbeth as cookie-cutter harem fodder and really sympathizing with the poor girl. What a dilemma! But there is no escape from limbo so you’ll have to deal with hearing both side of the coin as I flip-flop all over the place. Lizbeth has some unfortunate character traits. First of all, she is weak and needs constant protecting. Secondly, she’s got a bit of a flat personality that seems to only show when she’s either scolding the main character or fawning over him. Most importantly, she falls into the category of yet another girl under the spell of Kirito’s dashing looks. Girls will fall for any guy as long as they save them from something, so I guess I can’t really blame her. That still doesn’t make me roll my eyes any less when every women this guy meets falls head over heels for him in the short span of a day or two. My brain labels her immediately as “harem fodder” and then it is all I can see her as. We all know Asuna is going to be Kirito’s choice, so it makes Lizbeth seem like she has no point to be there.
However, I like Lizbeth as a character. Parts of her, that is. Despite all that moaning and bellyaching in the paragraph above, she has some great moments, and I really do sympathize with her situation. Her unrequited love for Kirito is incredibly unfortunate since he’s basically crawling in bitches all the time, and therefore nigh unobtainable. Lucky for her, she got to spend a night alone with him in that dragon toilet (a romantic situation, I know) and didn’t have to compete because no one else was there. She thought she had a chance and boldly confessed. Heck, she was ready to confess a second time in the shop for him to hear! What a brave soul! I like a girl who isn’t afraid to just say what they’re feeling, and Lizbeth is that kind of girl.
Although Liz may be totally infatuated with our infamous beater, I like that she doesn’t blush madly all the time when she’s around him, She acts normal, and even calls him out on trying to act so badass all the time. She seems to genuinely just enjoy his company. It’s less of a silly crush like Silica, so it feels more sincere. She really cares about Kirito, but I’m more tempted to say it’s a longing for companionship as opposed to her being in love.
There’s a photo in her shop of her with a bunch of people who I assume are fellow smiths…but we never see them. My best guess is they kicked the bucket, leaving our pink-haired smith all alone, and kind of desperate for human contact. She really deserves someone to console her, but I think it could be any guy who’s nice, really. Kirito just happened to be the first one. It’s a shame she had to get her heart broken in the end, but she handled it like a champ. It’s not easy to let your best friend have the guy you like when they’re not even together yet. She could try and swoop in to claim Kirito for herself, but she doesn’t want to harm their friendship. Good on you, Lizbeth! Next time, try and not scream the entire time you’re carried over Kirito’s shoulder like last week’s laundry so the whole “likeable character” effect isn’t ruined, eh?
Foshizzel // I bet everyone saw the whole “I love you Kirito” thing coming a mile away from Liz and I think most anime fans out there already have a good idea on who ends up together. I blame the damn openings that tend to spoil us on possible pairings! So do you think Liz has a chance in hell with the main character? Sadly, I do not think so because this series pushes the idea if Kirito and Asuna together forever and ever. So why do anime creators continue to follow that set up? Does it only appear for the purpose of building lame character drama for a series? For myself it just makes me feel so bad for Liz because you can tell she really likes him, but I suppose it does make things more interesting. I bet most of us have been in similar situations like Liz where we really like someone a lot, but of course they are usually involved with someone else at the time and yeah it really does suck. So what do you think about this subject? Does that type of character storyline keep you wanting more or are you growing tired of seeing it pop up? Hopefully Liz finds someone else to fall in love with other than Kirito!
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Asuna Has Many Special Friends
Foshizzel // While Liz is the newest character in the anime to meet Kirito we still had a guest appearance by Asuna who apparently knows Liz! Then again her guild is probably so popular that everyone knows her by name. I can only imagine there are newspapers floating around in Sword Art Online that mention how the blood knights are fighting to win the game. This episode kind of jumps around from Asuna chatting to Liz for a bit as she noticed Asuna wearing a fancy earring and after the OP we go back a few days with Kirito commissioning Liz to make a rare weapon for a friend like his current sword, but of course this only happened AFTER he smashed one of her rare weapons in the shop! Oh damn I seriously died laughing after that scene because the look on Liz’s face was like DUDE! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!? I have to give Kirito a high five for that even though he can be a complete idiot at times he always makes me laugh. So the quest is on to find some rare stuff to craft the perfect weapon resulting in the two of them getting trapped in a giant hole after a short fight with a frost dragon! So when did Kirito learn how to fly in a fantasy MMORPG where no magic is used? Just kidding he just has the power to jump high and run along walls like some overpowered ninja, but why didn’t he jump from wall to wall like Laura Croft?!
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Enjoying Life’s Little Gifts (Like Dragon Feces)
R.I.P. Slashy. You were the best sword a girl could have.
Overcooled // The end goal for everyone in SAO is with 99.9% certainty to get out of this crazy world alive, and finally wake up. There are plenty of ways to die in the real world too, but none of them involve getting shredded to ribbons by dragons, and that’s a major plus. The list of benefits goes on. So why isn’t everyone would be using every fiber of their being to get to the top and out of this deathpit as soon as possible? Despite being a deathpit, Aincrad is actually pretty nice, and you get to KILL THINGS without going to jail! So while there are plenty of reasons to try and get out as soon as possible, there’s really no rush to escape either since towns are safe and wearing bitching armour all the time is pretty rad. I could see myself getting quite comfy playing SAO, couldn’t you? I had expected SAO to be all about progressing from floor-to-floor obsessively, but I kind of prefer it this way, because it shows how everyone is just getting used to living in the game.
Another interesting side effect of Aincrad being a rather alluring place to stay are specialists like Lizbeth. By specialists, I mean people who don’t primarily concern themselves with advancing up the floors and instead take on certain jobs. Lizbeth, for example, is a master blacksmith. She can still fight, but she seems more concerned with providing other players with good weapons. Egil has his own shop too! I imagine that dedicating skill points towards crafting skills and such means that you’re losing out on possibly important battle abilities, depending on how the game works. Sometimes professional skills and battle skills are separate, but not always. I’m impressed that people have actually specialized in order to help other players instead of fighting to get out, despite how rough the situation is. I guess by now everyone is used to the prospect of being trapped in a game, and if they’re stuck there for a long time, they might as well do something they really want to do. Even in a “fake” world, Liz could find something warm to grasp onto, and was able to fall in love. More and more, I’m seeing that it might not be such a bad idea to enjoy the time spent in the world of SAO, no matter how fake it may seem. It still has beautiful skylines, warm hands, and swords made with the pure heart of a pink-haired girl in a bastardized maid outfit. I recently finished playing Eternal Sonata, and it really described this feeling best as “reality is wherever you wake up.”
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Final Thoughts
Lizbeth’s story seemed to be the perfect length for a 20(ish) minute anime episode. After that Reindeer episode, I’m always going to be irrationally worried about pacing. It was also pretty interesting! Lizbeth’s one-sided crush on Kirito was a pretty cool topic because we saw the entire process of her meeting Kirito, falling in love, and then getting her heart stomped on. It wasn’t really about dragon poop or forging a sweet new blade, but about relationships. While Lizbeth has some annoying traits, I ultimately liked her episode because of how open she was in her love for this complete stranger who walked into her life. She’s a real go-getter who knows she has to ask to get what she wants, and I like that. Kirito’s moral lesson-of-the-week is that while protecting others is important, there’s no need to be so obsessive about it that he sacrifices his own life to do it. When he jumped in to grab Lizbeth, he should have thought “I’m going to save us” instead of “LOL DOUBLE KILL.” Because that is exactly what he thought. Anyways, pretty good! What colour of hair will you choose for your next female companion, SAO? I wait with bated breath.
Well this was a great episode even though it was another random one shot story complete with another new character appearance. I was really happy to see Liz pop up because she was a bit different than some of the previous girls, but honestly I was not really happy with the whole “I LOVEEEE YOUUUU KIRITO” thing from Liz! I mean Asuna is an awesome character to watch, but why do the creators of this series continue doing this to us? They continue to introduce new girls and they develop these hard crushes on him only to have their heart crushed! I really hope Liz gets over him somehow, but judging from most posts on this series I assume Liz doesn’t appear again? Or does she play a much bigger role later on? I can only assume that all of these side characters that Kirito and Asuna meet eventually join her guild later on? I should read the first few chapters of the light novels huh? Anyway thanks for reading! I hope you are having a blast with this series so far.
By the time they hit the ground, we’ll be ready for next week’s episode. See ya then!
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’m not sure I agree with the idea of all these stories being romantic love stories. I can go with the idea that they’re love of some sort, but so far, really only Liz has struck me as a romantic love story:
Sachi – Love life more than fearing death, allowing her to both live the life in front of her and accept the death that came.
Silica – A more brotherly and supportive love of a person as opposed to those who would idolize her and want her as a cute mascot. Kirito actually let her fight alongside him to a larger extent to help her grow as a person.
Yolko – Not actually any love around Yolko, but wanting to find the truth about what happened to the guild leader they cared for.
Lizbeth – Finally someone who gets an appropriate crush on Kirito, and confesses to him, but realizes how shallow her crush is compared to the depth of the similarities between Kirito and Asuna.
Asuna – Someone who is in the same class as Kirito, is not significantly inferior in ability, maturity, or courage. Also, has had a fairly naturally flowing relationship with Kirito, no crushes, no viewing him as a savior, nothing that would cause rose-colored glasses.
I would agree with the idea that he’s been building a party (with the unfortunate loss of Sachi and the other Black Cats), but I don’t really go with the idea of it being an actual harem. I really still think these ‘side stories’ have been a good way to pass much of this ‘leveling up’ time, which I’ve argued before is boring, especially as Kirito is a solo player. They help to crystallize the temporary nature of his alliances, while also adding significance to his longer personal relationships with Asuna and folks like Egil. I think it’s been a fine way to lay the foundation for more of the story.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Thanks for voicing these thoughts, BB, as it was something I was thinking myself. A harem is a main support cast, the storyline may focus on one or a few members as episodes turn, but they are always there as the support cast. None of the female “leads” so far, with the exception of Asuna, fill that criteria.
I also have been of the opinion that the “side stories” are a very good approach. I see them as “training” the audience to instinctively get the differences and similarities that Aincard has with our world. It’s more an emotional, character driven, narrative. I do hope we get to a big boom bang kinda plot driven one very soon, as it appears as it is high time.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Darn it, Highway, I called you by Black Briar’s nick up there (BB). Sorry bout that….
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Using strict definitions of the word “harem” would be inappropriate for SAO, yes. I meant to use it more loosely to say that a big proportion of the girls Kirito have met ended up falling in love with him. Even if their love isn’t the main story, it doesn’t change the fact that they all want Kirito. It bugs me that Kirito can hardly meet a woman without them having a crush of some sort on him. I guess because it keeps happening so much, I jump at even the slightest hint of the girl fawning over him. Humans are very good at looking for patterns in things.
Anyways, the side stories do serve as man other things other than JUST love stories. Definitely! If it was just romance, I’d have dropped this show like a rock. How exciting or boring the stories are really does vary, but they all have altered Kirito and the viewer’s perception of the world in some way. If there was no purpose to these meetings other than to rotate through different girls for Kirito then…yikes…it’d really be a harem story!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
The way I look at it: It’s a story. You want a story that has a specific interest. People attracted to people. Kirto probably meets a dozen people each day that pay him no mind at all. Lady Blacksmith even points out something to that effect. He doesn’t look that impressive, no armor, no shield, a thin sword, small in stature, probably doesn’t have much money. They look at him, and then look away. No story to tell there.
As for purpose, they’ve been laced in the narrative. He’s is reluctant to join a group but does for his own reasons. He’s looking for a crook. He wants a better sword. All of these are good narrative devices that worked in his favour. As for all of the supporting characters being cute girls……cute girls sell product. If you can find a decent narrative in forcing a main character to meet cute girls every episode…you can have my hat. I think they are doing pretty good. Cause really, I think the female support is actually an audience surrogate into Kirito’s character.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I wanted to add a couple of narrative points that I think have been introduced to Skylion’s listing. Through these embellishment stories (I’m starting to hesitate calling them ‘side stories’), we’ve found out how Kirito lives in Aincrad, what values he holds higher than others, how he thinks people should treat others, how he thinks people should view the world of Aincrad, and important things about how the world operates. In short, even though these stories are ostensibly about the girls and their adventures, they’ve really related a lot about Kirito to us.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Nice list you got right there!
Silica and Liz are the best right now I mean I liked Sachi a lot but her whole emo phase was kind of getting annoying to me! Then again I guess that was her character? Yeah I guess we can’t really call this series a harem because those girls are not around Kirito all the time in my eyes that is a harem anime when you have 5 girls following the main guy everyday.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think judging Sachi on the amount we saw of her is a little unfair. I got the impression that there was quite a bit of time after that night with the canal-side conversation after she ran away and then climbed into bed with him, not for sex but for presence and reassurance. In the time after that, which we did not see, the impression was given that she was much stronger, even while still leaning on the presence and reassurance of Kirito.
In fact, that might be a common theme through these stories: They have worked to convey the *presence* that Kirito has in Aincrad, something that other people seem to dismiss since it’s just a ‘game’. For Liz, the presence of another person’s hand, feeling warm, indicating that the others she sees are really people, are really tangible. For Sachi, the presence of a reassuring person, giving her own self a reason to live. For Silica, a presence that reinforces her as a person, not an idol or mascot. And for Asuna, Kirito is a presence that conveys her *own* presence in Aincrad, to feel the sun and shade, to enjoy the beauty of spring, to not dismiss the entire thing as a figment of imagination.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
True on Sachi Highway! I just don’t like characters like her is all, but I don’t really hate her I mean she was a fun character at the time and I don’t expect everyone to be LETS FIGHT!! RAWWWRR! type of characters because that would get really boring…
Yeah I noticed each girl brings something different to Kirito’s overall character.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I liked Liz’s character until the fall-in-love stuff really took flight and took over Liz. I do wish that she had just let Kirito go get the crystal on his own, though. Although she did kind of help them get it by way of falling into the lair. And she was a master blacksmith, to boot, which is a nice change from all these weak girls. (Well, one was an animal tamer thing too, I already forgot her name. That was cool although she needed more animals.)
I just wish that Asuna would just become the main female character, instead of all these random girls Kirito runs into. The girls only get one episode and honestly, they need to stop falling in love with Kirito. They should be more of a mix between Liz and Asuna- some stronger and some a bit in love with him. SAO is boring me with all of these little arcs of love and weak girls. One more, and I’m logging out of watching SAO, no matter how interesting everything else is.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Apparently, he needed a smith to extract the crystals. It makes sense considering the mechanics of most MMOs, actually. Kirito has no skill in that area, so he couldn’t get the crystal even if he wanted to.
Toooo many girls are falling in love with this guy! It’s a real waste because it’s not like anyone expects these poor saps to have a chance against Asuna. D: Romance isn’t my cup of tea either, but each side story has had enough other content (Dragons! Character development! PKers!) to keep me content. SAO isn’t GREAT, but it’s an okay little series. My motto is that if it’s a chore to watch then DROP IT!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
With all this discussion over girls falling for this guy, I would like to point out one thing: I would fall for this guy. And I’m an ugly middle aged Gandalf.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 107 comments
You got that right. He’s not gathering the girls as a pimp, he’s gathering them by acting as a noble human being.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Gandalf the pimp!
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
LOL FUNNIEST QUOTE OF THE DAY (YET)
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…wha?
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I get the feeling that his character and personality just attract everyone. So it’s easy for viewers to fall for him, and it makes him “likeable.”
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
You’re in love with him??? Noooo not you too! You traitor!
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
Surprising that he couldn’t extract it, considering he has so many other little skills… No, he probably wouldn’t spend time doing that.
For me, dropping a series isn’t about it being a chore, it’s just that I’m a bit of a snob with stories and characters. I prefer longer arcs to short ones, and SAO is like SHORT ARC ONLINE or something. (wow, I didn’t think that anagram would work so well.)
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yeah I have to agree with you Gecko I hated that whole thing with Liz! WHY DID SHE HAVE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM!? Ahh!! I hated that so freaking much T___T
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I have to say I don’t care for all these random, one (or two) arc stories. Get on with the main story of getting to the top floor and getting out of the dungeon. These episodes would be nice if they occured every now and then as a break from the main story showing how others are dealing with the situation. But they have completely taken over the anime.
Basically, I liked Liz as a character, except for the part where she fell for him. Well, at least he’s not the helpless nice guy like most harem heroes.
Now for something that really irks me, although it’s a very common misconception. Kirito saying the sword Liz made for him is good because it’s heavy. A good sword is NOT heavy! I have several books on historical swords listing such things as their weight, I have several quality reproduction swords and I’m on a couple websites devoted to swords. A long sword such as Liz made should weight about 3 lbs, give or take a bit. Hardly what anyone would call heavy. (Although unless your arm and shoulder muscles are built up it will quickly seem heavy when you swing it around.)
A final thought–if you’re going after a dragon, shouldn’t you want Silica along? If she can’t tame it, maybe she could at least distract it long enough to make it an easy kill.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’d see much more of a continuity problem if they’re working on getting to the top floor (let’s say they’re in the 80’s and 90’s) and then toss in a story where Kirito’s down in the 40’s, and spending his time helping a girl get a flower to resurrect her cute little dragon while playing cop, or toss in a story about a mid-level former guild running a sting on a guy.
Pretty much everyone is saying that this is the end of these other stories, and I think they’ve done a good job laying a foundation of interactions and variety of life within the world of Aincrad.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I really have no idea where they could put these side stories so that it would work well with the stories. On one hand, they’re really tiresome put all in a row like this. On the other hand, they might not be able to fit well in between serious attempts to get from floor to floor. I wouldn’t know because I feel like I haven’t seen Kirito try to advance to the next floor in ages, so I can’t say how odd it would be to suddenly break off into Kirito backtracking at his leisure. :/ The side stories aren’t bad, but putting so many in a row has turned a large number of people off of SAO.
Getting back to that point about the swords! That bugged me too! I’m probably not as much as an expert as you, but I train with swords every now and then at my dojo. Real swords as well as wooden ones. A good sword isn’t just heavy. If the best sword was just heavy, it would be a bloated block of lead. Especially since this isn’t even really a two-handed sword, he should be more concerned with the craftsmanship. ANYWAYS, whatever, as long as the stats are good I guess he doesn’t care.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yeah I credit the sword thing to Kirito’s level? I assume it helps with his weapon skills xD
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yeah I think the main story is soon! We just have to get through the side stories and well we are dealing with at least 24+ episodes so sadly they have to stretch a lot of the story right now! I know it sucks and hopefully they get things going eventually.
Yeah Liz as a character works, but not the part about her falling in love with the main guy! That was SERIOUSLY the worst part about this episode…
Ahahha yeah I didn’t really think about that part with the sword I just assumed high levels = stronger with heavy weapons? Also Kirito can jump high and use all of these advanced skills! I can’t wait to see what else he can do.
If she could tame something like that I would be so impressed! Just imagine what you could do with a dragon that big? You could fly anywhere and it can fight for you! Daaammmn she needs to come back asap…
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
Your sword point is interesting. I wouldn’t know anything about swords. Perhaps Kirito is just used to a slightly heavier sword than the first one he tried and broke. He likes being in the world of Aincrad and enjoying the weather, eating good food, and such, so he might just like feeling the sword in his hand. I think that’s what the story is getting at, although they should have not made that mistake.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I didn’t realize we were getting a guest appearance from one of Final Fantasy’s Bahamut dragons. The dragon’s CG, I think, could have been better. Maybe if it was like AKB0048. While it was crystal based made to blend in, with a good eye, you could easily spot it.
Kirito continues to be badass which isn’t a bad thing but I hope he doesn’t become too overpowered that there isn’t the hope of a equally, if not more powerful rival to come along. He’s been getting around a little too easily. There should be moments where he’s actually struggling once in a while.
Another girl with a unique ability and this one is a blacksmith. Liz is probably double the tsundere Asuna is. That mindset from annoyance to love was really quick. It’s amazing what a single life threatening situation can do. I wonder if it wasn’t just that. It seemed at the spur of the moment and she attached herself to him. But still, you can’t help but feel sympathetic toward her seeing there is someone ahead of her to win Kirito.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Hooray dragons! Don’t you like them? I love dragons and the CG was alright but yeah it could be a lot better I can agree right there <3
Kirito is a badass indeed and of course extremely overpowered at the same time, but I don't think he would become the type of guy to go insane with power...then again who knows I could see something like that happening.
Yeah I can see the tsundere in Liz more than I can see it in Asuna, but both of them are equally fun to watch even though I like characters just like Liz! I just hated the whole "I love you Kirito" thing from her because I know she do not stand a chance in hell against Asuna for OTP with Kirito...
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Still better than DEEN CG Dragon? (Or not?)
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I can’t remember that DEEN CG Dragon…
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Go watch the painful FSN again then. =P
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It is something I will never forget…Unfortunately.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 109 comments
liz is not just a side story character she will apear later in the main plot which will begin in the next episode.by the way here the next episode titles:
episode 9:Blue-Eyed Demon
episode 10:Crimson Killing Intent
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Great news! Thanks for letting me know <3
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 26 comments
I have the lingering feeling that all of these new girls are the same core tsundere, just with a different character design.
If there was a sign that Kirito’s and Asuna’s relationship was undeveloped, it was here. They’ve had minimal interactions over the course of the story and they’re by far the least developed characters. If Liz is able to see how shallow her love for Kirito is when compared to Asuna’s, then at least show us why through Kirito’s and Asuna’s interactions. If they have a mutual attraction, show us, don’t just tell us.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Hahaha if anyone is Tsundere it has to be Asuna right now because we really haven’t seen much of Liz besides this one episode! Hopefully we get to see more of her? I heard we haven’t seen the last of her <3
Agreed! I can tell that there wasn't much development between them, but I can bet we will have some lame ass back story on why Asuna is wearing some fancy new earring right? I suppose it means they got married? Purely for the inventory space? LOL
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Hiiii… Back is the guy who reads the light novel, too.
Well, I gotta say first that this is the first episode that was very much different from the light novel counterpart. First thing is, on the light novel, this is, up until now (I’m in the 3rd volume), the only one to have a 1st person point of view from the side character, Lisbeth, so in the visual novel, I got to understand her much better and to like her so much to the point of preferring her over Asuna.
Liz on the anime, without knowing what she was thinking, she just seemed a real weirdo, differently from the ln, where all her actions seemed to have a reason. I can tell that she was not so cute.
Overall, the episode was just fine. Guess I will tell that I was even disappointed, since I was waiting much more from the episode that featured my favorite girl on the SAO arc.
Let’s see… First, on SAO you really have to have some rush on clearing the game. Why? Because while you’re there, enjoying life in Aincrad, your body is degrading on the real world on a coma state. Another thing is, people who don’t want to fight don’t need to in order to escape, since an only player is clearing the game is enough to free all the players from the NerveGear.
I just have to agree with Overcooled. The reason I liked her so much is that she don’t remember me of any character (expect Inori and her pinky-colored hairs). She is not a tsundere who just blushes over anything that Kirito does to her. She looks fragile many times, but she have a strong personality after all. On the anime, she may have seemed like she was precipitated on her declaration, but on the ln, things seems to happen more naturally and we can clearly see why she would fall in love with him. Even on the anime… He said “I couldn’t let someone die alone. Even more if it is a girl like you”, after all. Even I have to say that anyone would be shaken with words like this… Oh Kirito, you’re the ladies man, huh… Well, at least this time, at least once, Kirito was aware that she fell in love with him… And in the ln, seems like he was in love with her too… At least a little.
Well, moving on, aside from the Kirito breaking Liz’s best sword part (hilarious), I’ve gotta say that I was expecting much more from the “dragon’s nest” part. From the dragon’s poo part to the “Oh, if it is the dragon’s nest and dragons is nocturne…” part, things all seemed much more hilarious. Firstly, I missed the part where when they discovered that the ingot was the dragon’s excrements, they kept throwing it to the other for a while and I laughed hardly while reading it. It would be nice if they put it too, on the anime. Another thing is, when Kirito tried to go up the wall, he did jump from one wall to the other, but the result was the same… Oh, no, it was much funny… Liz could have a laughed a little more. And the way I did imagine their faces when they found out that the dragon was coming was priceless.
Well, just ending it, I expected much from this episode. It’s a shame that it made Liz seem a weak and pitiable character because of it’s one-sided crush. Damn it, you’ve gotta read at least her arc on the LN, Fosh and Overcooled! I’m sure both of you would think differently of her. I guess the side characters are over, so the next episode, we will have Asuna \o/
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 109 comments
@JPNIgor they didnt show the scence with the sword like in the light novel becouse they want to save it for the battle against you know who in the main plot
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Oh, I forgot to mention it. Damn it, I missed it. And I, here, thinking that we would finally see why Kirito was so fucking overpowered e.e’ Well, I guess it will really be better to show it in the anime on a main story episode.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Thanks for this post and I am curious about Liz in the light novels and I will probably read it after the series ends, but I will probably give in and read the entire thing anyway hahaha
I like Liz a whole lot more than Asuna at this point, but I guess she will grow on me eventually..well maybe! I prefer characters like Liz <3
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Read it, read it! *-*
Well, the problem is, Asuna surely will grow on us all, after all, she is the main character… And Liz is a side character… I’m not sure, but I guess she will appear again, that is, if they do a counterpart arc for the volumes 3 and 4. Still, just reading the ln, I still like Liz more than Asuna. She is just too perfect and real to be an anime character.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Personally, this ep really lacked those inner monologues frm Lizbeth…. But aside frm tht, several stuff were cut out due to SPOILERZ so I can’t complain much…. (It feels accurate yet fast-paced lol)An OKAY episode overall.
The main problem of SAO are they choose to adapt those SS who assume the readers ady read Volume 1 and to expand the world… But if SS isn your taste the main story should strt next week….
@Overcooled yeah my though exactly…. but I feel RLY bad 4 her in the end… Well, at least she still manage to pull out the “I want my love to be happy” card and gv her best regards to Asuna.
@Fosh yes they DO have newspaper in SAO….
I would totally have the same reaction if the rare metal is dragon poop lol.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
lolol so Asuna is in the news all the time? Hooray!
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Since there is a mention of a list of hottest chicks…. YEAAHHHH it prob came frm there.
Tht or some monster hunting news.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 109 comments
@Foshizzel if you want to see the next episode preview it in youtube right now just write sword art online episode 8 preview
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Good idea! Thanks xD
POWUH: iLurker with 1 comments
Not all MMOs are focused entirely around combat. In fact, the majority usually have some form of crafting or profession system for those who prefer to play a supporting role away from the battlefield or as a reprieve from the constant battles. SAO is no exception to this. For me, Lisbeth ( Takagaki Ayahi ) is one of the more interesting side-story needs-more-deban characters to follow. Sachi… well Sachi can’t really be followed anymore and Silica would be similar to Kirito in her combat antics but with the addition of a pet. Liz, however, gives us a window into an entirely different side of the community in SAO with her choice to train blacksmithing and assist the front-line fighters from backstage. I have to admit I do find it a little disappointing that we haven’t actually met a character who is entirely devoted to their profession and lacks combat skills altogether – both Liz and Egil have fighting capability and can handle themselves fine in battle. It would be nice to have some more solid evidence that there are players who get by while avoiding combat entirely, something that should be perfectly feasible. That’s not to say that I dislike having characters who can handle themselves, rather that I feel SAO heavily downplays the value of players who dedicate themselves entirely to their craft.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Ahhh yes! I really enjoyed this episode with Liz because like you said we got to see a different side to SAO besides all the monster fighting and people getting owned! I still want to see more of Silica though…
POWUH: 600-699 and Wingman with 655 comments
TIME FOR MOAR SMEXY SWORD ART ONLINE 😀
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Mikkkadddoooooo!!!! Damnn right it’s time for more!
POWUH: 600-699 and Wingman with 655 comments
hehehehehe