Sword Art Online – 11

…with a side of heart attacks and moe-induced comas.

Welcome back readers! You are just in time for some epic online adventures with Kirito and Asuna, but I have to be honest with you and say I was not really looking forward to this episode; however I usually find something to talk about and who knows maybe it will be entertaining? I can just imagine the look on OC’s face right now…
Yeaaaaah, Fosh and I aren’t so big on romance as much as we are on jumping on the back of a dragon and ripping its wings out while screeching. At least, that’s how I see it. If you want more Metanorn coverage of SAO to make up for all the lovey-dovey shenanigans this week, look no further than our most recent podcast episode or my post on homemade versions of Asuna’s cooking. You get to hear Sushi’s voice for the first time if you listen to the podcast!

Cute time with Asuna and Kirito

Foshizzel // So this week we join the happily married couple on their virtual honeymoon together after they asked Mr. Heathcliff for some time off, but he mentioned seeing them both on the frontlines very soon! Damn guild leader getting in the way of the “extra-special-leveling” between our two main characters! I didn’t really mind the short clips of them holding hands or lying in bed together because hey those scenes were cute and quite short, but on the other hand they didn’t really do much for me because I haven’t been in those types of situations so yeah the romantic stuff was just filler moments to me. I did laugh when Asuna thought Kirito was younger than her? Wow Asuna you are crazy! Oh and her I want to live with you forever line she gave to Kirito while he slept what was that? Honestly it seems like she has her mind set on staying in Sword Art Online FOREVER; however with the sudden appearance of Yui I think Asuna might change her tune on that subject because she wants to save her. Speaking of Yui for a moment I kind of wished she had purple hair I mean she looks just like Yamada from Working! Oh man I really want some type of Working x Sword Art Online crossover stuffs and I know there already is some fan-art out there for that and I could always do my own right? Oh and why doesn’t Asuna know where Kirito lives? You would think after TWO YEARS together they would have exchanged that information…


Overcooled // Kirito and Asuna…have become a really boring couple. Things moved so fast from confessing to getting hitched that everything they do feels fake. I don’t care about them being together. I want them to ditch the casual clothes (Asuna especially…because she really doesn’t need size XXXXL) and go back to armour and stabbing things more often! I’m relieved that Heathcliff is forcing these two to return to the Frontlines once their fun is up, because I can only watch these two snuggle up to each other for so long. It’s like public displays of affection on the subway – I don’t want to see it! It doesn’t make things any more natural when Asuna is keeping up the tsun act and getting embarrassed at little things despite the fact the two of them have had sex (It’s heavily implied the two of them have got down and dirty, so I’m just going to acknowledge it as fact.)

The arrival of Yui just made things even more domestic and less like an MMO. I found it to be incredibly offputting when Yui called Asuna her mom. My immediate thought was “Oh dear God, someone needs to set this kid right…” This was followed by Asuna getting carried away and adopting the role of her mother to make this poor girl happy for the moment, even though she might have real parents out there somewhere. That is not sweet, that is just creepy. It also accentuates that Asuna and Kirito are married to such a painful extent that I don’t know how long I can tolerate such cutesy antics if it continues.

Children in DANGER YO!

 

Foshizzel // Now that Yui is in the picture it springs up more questions for me! Like why are there suddenly all these kids playing Sword Art Online? I thought I read that SAO was age restricted or was my mind playing tricks on me. I know Asuna made that comment about the children possibly playing with their parents which isn’t completely crazy because I play lots of MMORPGS with my family! Yeah I know my family is really crazy huh? Maybe these kids are like the next generation super beaters and Kirito and Asuna are going to adopt them and train them. Can you imagine an army of duel wielding children? Doesn’t that just sound fantastic? I mean they can form their own bad ass guild, but fun side note I heard Akarin’s voice from Yuru Yuri she was one of those random kids that they saved! I bet her special power is like invisbility or something like that? So apparently those players wanted to take the children and turn them into workers because they really can’t fight on the frontlines…unless someone trains them? I was still shocked that someone like Yui managed to survive for what two years in the game.

———————————————————

Waifu GET!

Overcooled // The one topic that interested me the most this episode was a very brief exchange between Kirito and Asuna about the state of their marriage. Kirito tentatively asks Asuna is their relationship will carry over to the real world, and Asuna tells him that’s not even something he should have to ask. They love each other, and the fact that this is a “game” doesn’t matter in the slightest. Their feelings are real. SAO is a very special game though. Most online relationships tend to be very fragile and shaky. People might not even live in the same area, not know what their partner actually looks like and feel doubt about whether their partner is being loyal or not. Most games are just games, so online relationships tend to be taken just as lightly. SAO is special because it is more immersive, you can see the player’s actual appearance, and you get to fight to the actual death alongside them. It is a real world in of itself, so the bonds formed (even among friends) are a lot stronger. That’s not to say that all online friendships and relationships can’t be beautiful, life-enduring things, but it’s a lot more rare.

It makes me wonder what else will carry over when everyone wakes up from SAO and takes off their NerveGear. Will people simply forget the game and suppress all their memories, even the good ones? Will people be plagued by nightmares of their friends dying? Will they try and find their old Guildmates and lovers to stay in touch? I don’t know if SAO has an afterstory, but going back to a normal life after being in a virtual world for that long is not going to be easy. How do you just go back to school or work after killing monsters every day of your life for years? Everyone may be gunning to get out, but things aren’t going to be instantly rosy and beautiful once they wake up. With all this muscle atrophy going on, everyone’s going to need both emotional and physical rehabilitation before they’re on their feet again (literally and figuratively).

———————————————————

Who is Yui?

“Kirito, can we keep her?!” “Sure, I love more harem mem- I mean, uh, sure. Right. Daughter.”

Overcooled // Dearest LN readers, feel free to laugh at my confusion and feeble attempt to work out the answer to the pivotal question “who and what is Yui?”. Laugh, but don’t tell us the answer or if we’re wrong/right! She’s not quite a player and she’s not quite an NPC either. She seems to be some sort of anomaly in the game along the lines of what Aura is to the .hack universe. Like Aura, I’m guessing that she is highly sophisticated game A.I. that can learn and evolve. I think part of why she doesn’t remember anything is that there’s actually nothing for her to remember – she was simply created in her current state. Yui might not even be her actual name. If she can’t pronounce Asuna or Kirito, then her name might be missing a syllable or two as well.

She acts like a baby because these are her first experiences in the world, not because she has retrograde amnesia. Part of what makes her so suspicious is her lack of a cursor and how she says this is the first time she’s been at the Town of Beginnings, which I take to mean that she wasn’t there for that huge talk where all the players learned the horrible truth about their situation. Her mini spasm at the end that triggered some distortion in the surroundings seemed to be a result of her accessing data in the game somehow. She’s unaware of her origins, so she only carries out functions like this by accident. If she really is part of the game, she can probably do a lot of game-breaking things like Aura could and interact with Aincrad unlike any player ever could.

Foshizzel // While Asuna saved those children from danger Yui started to hear some strange voice in her head that caused her to reach to the sky, but it looked like everyone on the first floor heard something similar. I have a sneaky feeling that SAO is going to introduce some cheesy AI storyline that is extremely popular in the .hack\\SIGN universe, but I really hope Yui is not like a collection of data that magically spawned after Asuna and Kirito got together. I also thought the voice Yui heard might be people from the outside world trying to contact her? Like her real family, but of course I still think Yui might be the main game designer’s daughter? I know what you are thinking right now…Fosh…that idea…sounds completely CRAAZZZY! Still the sudden appearance of Yui or any of these children gets your mind going! I really hope we get the answers to this mystery soon with the next few episodes.

———————————————————

Final Thoughts

This was a pretty painful episode to watch, since it all but abandons the feeling of an MMO setting. It’s just Kirito and Asuna being affectionate and adopting a little girl for an added dose of adorable. Romance is fine when it is not saturated heavily into one episode to the point of bursting. I’m not very fond about Kirito getting married and I have…mixed feelings about Yui. I dislike how she seems to be there just to spark some touching moments between Kirito and Asuna (which my stony heart doesn’t even register as touching), but I do agree that she’s really goddamned cute. I’m also convinced that she is more than just a handy little plot-device to make our lead couple do funny things like adopt a child – haha so witty and cute waow – and actually play her own role in the story. That last static-y scene was very promising.


That was not as dull as I originally thought after seeing the preview! Yeah the whole “I want to stay with you forever.” thing was a bit of a *yawn* moment was a bit uh like we already know that they obviously end up together? Thankfully they didn’t spend the entire episode focused on the romantic moments! If they did I would have been so annoyed, but I understand some of you out there really enjoy those touching scenes…so what about you readers? Did you like the romance stuff and what did you think of the adorable Yui voiced by one of my favorite voice actors Kanae Itou! She is quickly winning the award for cutest character besides Silica of course, right Skylion? Anyway I can’t wait to see what happens next week because I really need some monster fighting instead of afternoon romance with Kirito and Asuna…that and Heathcliff did say I will see them very soon or will they try to run away together? I think next week will give us a new opening and maybe a new ED as well?

What kind of reveals will be get next week? Some more thighs would be fine with me…

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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.
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76 Responses to “Sword Art Online – 11”

  1. JPNIgor says:

    The first time I saw Yui on the opening, I really saw a great resemblance to Aura of .hack. Ah, I just have to make a comment here… On the first episode, when I still didn’t have a clue about what the hell SAO might be, I said that it seemed like an advanced version of .hack and someone said that actually, .hack came after SAO LN, but now I can brag u.ú I was damn right! .hack came before SAO and there is many, many things in common between them. At least we can tell that actually there are a lot of improvements of SAO Virtual Reality systems to the .hack one.

    Watching on the anime it just seems really absurd that any child would just say “papa” and “mama” out of nowhere (AND DAMN THE FANSUBBERS THAT PUT “Daddy” instead of “Papa”). But… She is so cute TT.TT Why can’t she do it?! Let her be!

    And really, this episode was a little dull in terms of action, but Overcooled, you have to remember that SAO is not only action, but romance too, so everybody knew that this moment would come.

    Just a little last comment… THEY DID IT!!! THEY PUT THE DAMN HIGURASHI FACE ON YUI!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! TT.TT

    • Overcooled says:

      The pose in the OP really does bring back memories of .hack and Aura. So .hack came first? I think SAO did a good job making the world seem more game-like with the cursors, HP bars, etc. too. However, I doubt anyone looked at .hack and blatantly tried to mimic it and then improve it here and there.

      I guess it’s like an extreme version of imprinting where the first living thing a baby sees is imprinted as its mother? I think that’s what they were going for.

      Yeaahhh I know there would be romance eventually, but I was hoping it would remain a side-dish to the main course of ASS-KICKING. I would be perfectly happy if this show was all action and no romance. In fact, I’d love it.

      I actually really like those creepy faces, haha.

      • JPNIgor says:

        I think that .hack was at least an inspiration to SAO, since there are so many things alike, but their objectives are different. The problem is that there were so many unlikely things on .hack, like people doing all kinds of movements with their avatars using a XBox-like joystick.

        I still think that whether she is a forgetful child on SAO or an extremely special AI, there’s no way that she would just call her “mama” out of nowhere.

        I can’t like it -.-‘ Really. Higurashi left a big scar on my mind.

        • belatkuro says:

          Kawahara tried to submit SAO to Dengeki back in 2002, the same year .hack also started. But he didn’t make the page count for it as he wrote so much content. He then posted it in his website and garnered views. After 6 years, he tried again by writing Accel World and Dengeki approved to publish both works.
          So no, I don’t think he got the inspiration from .hack. I think he got it more from the MMOs back in the days like Ragnarok Online and Ultima Online.

          • JPNIgor says:

            Ah, I see, now. First, he published it on the web when he didn’t made it for Dengeki Prize…

            But, still, I don’t think it is the other way around, either, since the first .hack game came out in 2002, too.

            But Zefie, Aura’s daughter (why the hell would an AI have a child? Dunno) on .hack: The Legend Of Twilight might be have been inspirated by Yui.

    • D-LaN says:

      Well…. the charac designer is the same as Mirai Nikki…. Yeah.

  2. Andmeuths says:

    SAO has an after Story. Three times as long as all Aincrad materials so far, and still expanding.

    In-fact, there are Four Arcs so far that follows the current SAO Arc.

    • Overcooled says:

      Oh, good to know! If the anime doesn’t cover it then I’ll probably pick up from where it leaves off in the LNs.

      • JPNIgor says:

        Consider that episode 14 is most likely the last one of the first arc, according to a person in the comments on the last episode review, so we will most likely see at least the second arc, since it is shorter than the first.

        ALO *-* Can’t wait to see you.

    • Foshizzel says:

      Daaayummm that sounds awesome! Maybe we will get those in the form of a few OVA/Specials? I guess we can hope!

      • D-LaN says:

        Let’s just hope tht despite of the whining, it still sell well enough to get a second season/movie lol.

        The source material is enough for at least another season as there 10 LN as of yet.

  3. belatkuro says:

    There’s some sort of an unwritten rule in the SAO game that people there shouldn’t talk about the real world details, like real name, age, occupation, etc. With the death rule looming over them and their real appearances being their avatars, it makes it difficult to accept that this is their reality now if those details were asked. That’s why Asuna doesn’t know much about Kirito and vice versa(although last episode Asuna should have opened up a bit about herself).
    Silica back in episode 4 managed to ask Kirito about his sister since he was the one who brought it up.

    Also, Kirito was said to look and act like an older person because of his solo persona. It’s also said he’s quite feminine in his looks when he’s relaxed. But that’s not quite evident with the current character design. Not that I hate it of course. Asuna looks pretty cute here.

    As for the kids…yeaaahh, details about them being in the game in the first place were far and few in between but anything is possible so I wouldn’t think about it too much. Remember though that their current appearances haven’t changed since the avatars they’re using is the one they have two years ago. Kayaba wouldn’t bother updating their avatars to match their aging, what with growth spurts, puberty and all that stuff lol. It’s sort of like an eternal youth thing if you think about it. Sucks if you’re a middle-aged man like Klein I guess.

    And lastly Yui. It’s spoiler territory about her so let’s leave it for next episode. I’ll just say they left out a scene to further emphasize the weirdness of her situation but I’m guessing they probably won’t put it next episode. I’ll mention it next week if they don’t.
    All I can say is that so much HHHNNGGG was given from me in this episode. And I need to prepare my heart as well for next episode as I think I won’t be able to take it.

    • JPNIgor says:

      You’re right. Actually, I started reading the LN after the anime but when I saw that Kirito looked a feminine I really missed something concerning this fact on the anime. And about the character design, they do look great… But sometimes I see myself imagining the anime with a character design closer to the LN and I can’t help from thinking that it would look great.

    • Yippy says:

      I’ll just say they left out a scene to further emphasize the weirdness of her situation

      *sigh* This is why I fear adaptions-they sometimes drop essential bits in favour of meandering scenes… Thanks for the tip, btw. I’m a bit curious about the LN now. How long is it?

      • belatkuro says:

        The LN currently has 10 volumes. The anime is slated to cover 4 volumes. Though with the chronological order of the anime, we’re jumping through different volumes here. I’ll break it down for you:
        Ep1: Volume 1
        Ep2: separate volume called ‘Aria in the Starless Night’
        Ep3-4: Volume 2(side story volume)
        Ep5-6: Volume 8(also a side story volume. There was actually a side story here too about Kirito after he left Klein in ep1 but they didn’t animate it)
        Ep7: Volume 2 again
        Ep8-10: back to Volume 1
        Current and next ep: Volume 2

    • Overcooled says:

      It makes sense that people wouldn’t want to talk at length about their lives before SAO since this is their current reality, and they don’t even know if they’ll ever go back. What’s relevant is what’s in the game. I never really noticed the lack of “so, what school do you go to? how old are you? where do you live?” sort of questions, even though these two feel close enough to share a bed.

      Kirito looking feminine? I don’t see that at all in his character design, but oh well, he still looks alright.

      So the avatars don’t change as you age in the real world? That’s actually kind of cool. Klein doesn’t have to worry about balding! I guess it makes sense since people might be wasting away and losing tons of weight in the real world from inactivity, so constantly updating the avatars would be troublesom.

      Yes, I’m very interested to see what’s up with Yui. She’s so cute when she’s not spazzing out!

      • Highway says:

        I think Kirito looks pretty feminine. For the longest time I was trying to figure out who those two women in the Metanorn (SAO) banner were. Finally it dawned on me that it was Kirito and Asuna and that it was an SAO banner. So yeah, he’s kinda girly.

        • Overcooled says:

          HAHA, wow, poor Kirito. I guess because of all my exposure to what yaoi doujins consider feminine that Kirito looks like a real macho man in comparison.

        • Foshizzel says:

          Soooo what your saying is Kirito = basically bishie bate for the girls? xDDD

        • JPNIgor says:

          I wanted you to see Kirito’s avatar in another VRMMO game and I would tell you what is to be feminine. If you want to see it and don’t mind to be spoiled for a possible 2nd season, just search on google “Kirito GGO” or “Kirito Gun Gale Online”.

      • Foshizzel says:

        “so, what school do you go to? how old are you? where do you live?” sort of questions < THIS Why is that so hard for Asuna and Kirito to do? Seriously...and why don't they ever mention that in the anime? It would clear up most of the questions/rage T___T

    • AllenAndArth says:

      yeah and later he gets even more feminine(in phantom bullet)

  4. Highway says:

    I dunno, I think I would rather watch “Kirito and Asuna’s Married Adventures in Aincrad” more than “Sword Art Online”. I loved this episode, and really don’t care how much of a coincidental setup it is, or how cheesy their marriage is, or how realistic her sweater is (cause get married and all the nice looking clothes go away, especially if your wife’s not working… I’m almost surprised she didn’t cut her hair short, too). None of that matters, cause it’s so sweet, and I’m looking forward to more. I always like shows that show actual relationships, rather than last-minute romance, and I’m really interested to see how they are as a couple throughout the rest of this show.

    • JPNIgor says:

      Yeaaah! I wonder what people have against sweaters XD People might be a little upset since they were accomodated with the old rhythm, like a big space of time between the episodes, showing a new character (girl) in each episode, since the story will start to be continuous from here on now. But I think too that there is nothing wrong with lots of romance and couple cuteness on SAO and you have to accept it since the romance was as emphasized as the action on the teasers.

    • Overcooled says:

      Proof that Highway has a working, human heart while I just have coal in my chest. I have a very strong, conditioned dislike for romance in my anime, but I’m glad other people found it to be cute. :3 I’ll trade you a SAO that is just fighting and struggling for one with just post-marital adventures!!

      • Highway says:

        I wouldn’t mind that trade. Although I don’t mind some fighting and strife in my shows, too much is very tiresome and boring to me. That’s my second biggest problem with Accel World: they spend all the time ostensibly fighting. Now, their fights are actually terrible shouting and crying yakfests, and not much fighting (which is actually worse than just fighting), but they still spend too much time in fights.

      • Foshizzel says:

        Highway has the biggest ZE-HEART-O! <3 <3 <3

    • Foshizzel says:

      Yeah that could be a selling point for SAO because it appeals to fans of romance and fans of action/fantasy anime and I agree you have a point that it was bound to happen anyway right? Agreed…I just don’t want it to be five or six episodes filled with fifteen minutes of more romance with one fight scene and the last fifteen minutes.

      I do like Asuna and Kirito as a pair because they are fun to watch for the most part, but I can see them easily pulling away from the whole lets beat the game in favor of the couple related stuff? Of course it wont cause me to drop SAO because at this point to drop it because there is romance seems dumb.

      It doesn’t bother me to have romance it just feels odd to have them on a honeymoon thing and suddenly they gain an adopted daughter? Yeah…they could have said x amount of weeks passed and THEN have Yui appear >.>

      • Highway says:

        You know, some of my feelings on this is probably due to playing WoW with my wife for more than 7 years. We’ve raided together pretty much the whole time, and spent time together in game. We’re not one of those couples that always HAS to do everything together, but we enjoy when we do do things together. And having spent time on an RP server (when being an RP server actually meant something), we did act like a couple in game, mostly. We never went for a wedding or were overtly affectionate, but we have definitely acted more like a married couple (the miscegenation of Dwarf and Gnome! For shame!).

        So maybe I see something in SAO, based on that experience, a little different from what other people see, and am more willing to believe the desire of people to step back from the fighting in this only home they have and live like people do. For us in WoW, we could always log off and go be a meatspace couple. But Kirito and Asuna can’t do that, and if it’s something that becomes a big part of their lives, and changes the way they live even as they continue fighting the game, then I think it’s good that the show includes that stuff. And since Yui is now part of their lives in game, she’s also going to inform how they deal with things.

        Also, I think the ‘Yui shows up right away’ part is kind of necessary, in order to actually *break* any association that it might have with ‘married > pregnant > kid’ as people usually know it. I’m not an LN reader, but I’ve seen people talk about Yui before, and I’m not above believing that Akihiko is far more puppet master than is indicated, and likes Kirito and Asuna, and as such is willing to put a thumb on the scale with respect to things happening for them (special abilities, odd ‘people’ showing up, etc).

        • Foshizzel says:

          Ooooh wow! That is really awesome Highway! I know a few WoW players that are married and my whole family from my mom, dad, brother, aunts and cousins play.

          Ahhh yeah I can see that and coming from a “gamer” family I can feel the whole family vibe from Asuna, Kirito and Yui together which is nice.

          Hmmmm that could work I suppose? So what you are saying is Akihiko has been watching them all along pushing them into their quest to finish the game? Interesting…I could see him doing that! Then again if that is the case it kind of makes Kirito less “special” if everything has been “handed” to him! Can you imagine if the other players found that out? They probably would hunt him down.

          • Highway says:

            Well, if that were what’s happening, it wouldn’t be just Kirito and Asuna. I’m sure there would be other players (maybe like Heathcliff, for instance) who have shown themselves to be excellent players and able to handle extra things. And it certainly wouldn’t be ‘handed’ to them, more than something like the ‘dual wield’ enhancement was. But as far as I’m concerned (like we touched on a few weeks ago) the other players can go hang. Become outstanding yourselves, quit whining, and put your big girl panties on and go get things done.

            • Foshizzel says:

              ahahah yeah I can see the addition of special skills acting as some type of motivation just to get the other players going? Aka reach level 90 and get this fancy new skill! BECOME LIKE KIRITO!

  5. Reaper says:

    Wah, I wondered what they would put in to try and get the season length up (even though they already did skimp out on the main story a bit 🙁 ) and the solution? Yui-chan! I’m glad they put her in since she just makes the relationship between Kirito and Asuna that much closer, a more richer plot as authors would like to say. Having said that though, bring on more action! Asuna’s moment was definitely fun to watch, especially with the Front running away like pansies…hm, I guess she would be just as scary with a butter knife, wouldn’t she? 🙂

    • Foshizzel says:

      Yui-chan is so hnnnnnnngggg! Be right back I need to charge up my moe heart powers~

      Right I don’t mind the couple stuff between Asuna and Kirito; however I really do not want to see the tone shift from PEOPLE ARE DYING to something like AAWWWW I LOVEEEE YOU FOREEEVERRRR! Ah well I guess all we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride? Although I plan on reading the LN after the series ends anyway xD

  6. JPNIgor says:

    Sure. She would be as scary just with a spoon. A fork works too.

  7. elior1 says:

    i cant wait to see her in later episodes she will be great and after yui story will end a big suprise wait for you

  8. Tofu says:

    This is what happened in episode 11:

    Kirito and Asuna totally did it and Asuna shitted out an Egg which she placed into her inventory, it randomly hatched in the forest and out came the humanoid pet Yui that lives and grows to fight for our cute couple BUT WAIT!!! Why does Yui look similar to Sachi!? That’s because Sachi and Kirito totally did it and before she died, Sachi gave the voice recording message along with the Egg. Kirito placed it into his inventory and after marrying Asuna, Asuna found it in HER inventory (since they’re shared now). She totally thought that she shitted out an Egg but it was actually Sachi who shitted out Yui and Kirito completed the amount of steps needed for Yui to hatch!!!

    IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!!! Wait… SAO is an action flick you’re telling me? Da fuq? I totally thought it was a family tv drama flick. There’s totally going to be a fishing scene next episode! XD

    • BlackBriar says:

      Whoa!! Excellent imagination, Tofu. I take my hat off in respect.

    • JPNIgor says:

      I can’t help but laugh hard at your hell of a imagination XD I just hope that Yui’s nature didn’t got wrong, otherwise they would have to hatch another egg… And it would take like… Another two years for it to hatch.

      Actually, on the LN they mention that Sachi and Kirito had a partially shared inventory so… Yeah, they did it \o/

      • Tofu says:

        A partially shared inventory!? They were half-married or something? LOLS!

        • JPNIgor says:

          I don’t know how to explain it. Apparently, it was something that Sachi came up with, with the excuse of the possibility of exchanging potions and crystals when she needed, since he promised that he would protect Sachi.

    • Foshizzel says:

      BEST EVER! Seriously Tofu why aren’t you writing the script for SAO? EGGS EVERYWHERE! Also you need to add Asuna messes up and cooks one of her special eggs and Kirito is like…

      “Ohhhhh Asuna you so crazy!”

      Followed by a hilarious laugh track in the background.

      • Overcooled says:

        Tofu needs to be hired for the team who writes the OVAs and specials RIGHT NOW!

        • Tofu says:

          AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Unfortunately I was kicked out of the team as my Egg idea was said to be “too similar to the Pokemon franchise”. They didn’t want to have a lawsuit filed against them so they took the safe option 😛

  9. Yippy says:

    @Overcooled: Your theory on Yui sounds very plausible. I was thinking more on the lines of ‘experimental Nerv-Gear test subject with amnesia’. Dark places, people’s hearts and interference with a MMORPG system are not much to go on in the first place though…Houtarou Oreki, where are you when we need you?

    Agree with the Kirito x Asuna-overload. It was just fanservice/filler imo. And nice observation on the physical deterioration of the players’ bodies, I never noticed that. Before I end though, what’s with the random ‘stache on Asuna? It’s oddly fitting, but how did you come up with the idea?

    • Foshizzel says:

      Ohhh the mustache was my idea I noticed her face and was like HMMMMMMMMMMM! I need to add something there…yes…and BOOM! There you go <3 I guess I love to add random stuff to screenshots that practically scream PHOTOSHOP ME NOW! Yeah my mind is a strange place xD

    • Overcooled says:

      Oh, that’d be cool if she was a test subject too. I don’t know how the player marker would disappear if she’s an actual player though. I wish I had the mind of Houtarou sometimes (minus the energy-conserving habits) ^^

      …and yes, Fosh’s mind is a mysterious place…*nods sagely*

  10. HannoX says:

    I have no problem with an episode devoted to romance. It’ll make things more intense when Kirito and Asuna return to the front lines and one of them is in danger.

    That said, let’s get back to the monster bashing.

    • Foshizzel says:

      Ahahahha yes! You are probably like me thinking OH DAMN if one of them dies off…just imagine how X character will react to that? I assume if either of them “died” it would push the other to unlocking some amazing skill? It happens all the time in certain shounen anime and I love those moments.

      YES I WANT MORE LOOT…Hurry up Kirito and Asuna solve this mystery <3

  11. BlackBriar says:

    This was nice episode. Kirito and Asuna’s road to marriage was rather quick if you look at it from the episode point of view but I’m able to accept it. Besides, they spent two years together storywise. They do make a cute couple. Asuna is worried about being older than Kirito. Nice but there’s no need to worry about something like that. I don’t think it’s bad having a relationship with a cougar if she’s a year or two older and shouldn’t matter because like Overcooled said, with all the cuddling, they’ve probably already had sex.

    The thing about their relationship extending out to the real world. That’s a 50/50 chance. It’s one thing do things in a virtual world but it’s another in reality. In SAO, you basically go by your own set of rules, easy to manipulate your fate like having a huge amount of money from anywhere to buy a house whereas in reality, you have to follow social order and because of that, the people you knew in the game won’t act the same way. Kirito and Asuna know each other through SAO, they know each others patterns there but nothing of their real lives.

    @Overcooled: I agree with your theory. Since she has no health bar or player information and because SAO is ever expanding, she may be a program without a purpose created from bugs and raw data that has evolved on its own in the time everybody has been trapped. She may also be a glitch to the game. I got this idea thinking back on the third season of Digimon where a villain came in existence from a program that got corrupted but kept surviving and evolving by absorbing raw data from the surroundings.

    • Overcooled says:

      Yeah, I don’t see what’s wrong about being older! The age difference isn’t that big based on their appearance anyways, so who cares? If you’re only a few years apart, then it’s totally fine. Maybe this issue is something unique to Japanese culture.

      Not everyone will carry over their experiences from SAO into the real world when they’re free, yeah. Plus, there are differences in how the real world works(like the inability to buy a house, as you mentioned) that might change a few things. My guess is Kirito and Asuna wouldn’t get married, but they’ll still be dating. I think the slight differences between their game personality and real life personality will be so negligible that their relationship will be just as strong, whereas some people might still be very different in real life. I wouldn’t say it’s a 50/50 chance of staying in touch though, more like 70/30 since the bonds formed in SAO are so strong. No one else will understand what you’ve been through either, so you’re gonna need someone to talk to.

      My theory is basically “she is Aura, but in SAO” XD She might be just an accidental glitch though, that’d be cool! Then they creators might try and “fix” her and erase her. Uh oh…

  12. skylion says:

    Wow. This is how you do derpy romance. Complete with an adopted child.

    Seriously. I’m on the fence with this. One. Moe and hnnnngg overload shorts out the critical parts of my brain. Second. You have a kid now? Herp de derp. “Mama” does that, I guess.

    I don’t mind romance in my anime, and I watch at least two romance shows a season, don’t care what they are. If there are more, I’m watching them too. Now, having said that, we have to come to terms with what SAO actually is: A slice-of-virtual-life show, with some Sword Arting on the side.

    • Foshizzel says:

      I completely agree with you bro…derpy romance WTF! I love Yui because she is so moeeeeee but seriously Kirito and Asuna are on a honeymoon having a kid appear sort of ruins it doesn’t it?

      HURRR I HAS A Mama and a papa~

      Same I don’t mind romance in anime as long as the relationship isn’t like x character holds hand with another character BAM! WERE MARRIED YO! Yeah slice-of-virtual-life-show fits this episode nicely.

    • Highway says:

      what SAO actually is: A slice-of-virtual-life show, with some Sword Arting on the side.

      But I kind of think that’s what it’s gotta be. I think a lot of the impact of the show is based in the fact that for the people in SAO, their entire lives have been hijacked to be in this game. The characters we’re following are more advanced fighters, but they’re also people, and pretty young ones at that.

  13. SparkNorkx says:

    You guys just have to read the novel to get the full details someday.

    The anime is just lacking on the “details” and is mainly focusing on “side stories” which is now about 6 of them currently. In other words, I think the anime is somewhat just rushing the story.

    But though on episode 11, it’s an important side story to show the relationship between Kirito and Asuna.

    Anyway, the next episode should reveal something to you guys.

    • Foshizzel says:

      Yep! I plan on reading all of it after the series ends, but who knows maybe I will breakdown and decide to read it now? I sort of love the not knowing part so far! I even skip out on going to youtube for the previews.

      YES! The anime is lacking in the detail department…I mean how do non novel readers understand why SAO players never talk about their real lives? Personally that bugs me and if they included that piece of info it would clear up lots of confusion for the most part, but I suppose it is minor right and doesn’t NEED to be added in?

      Yeah episode 11 = Asuna, Kirito and Yui bonding moments with lots of relationship building.

      GREAAAT! I can’t wait to see what happens in epi 12 <3

  14. D-LaN says:

    I’m curious, do they still have time to animate Show ▼

    after they are done with Yui arc?? EP13 titles suggest tht they r moving on to the main plot…

    Watching the latest .hack movie and SAO side by side plus some info dumping from several .hackers in RC… Put in the AW-style data windows in the OP, I think there no doubt Yui is an AI/Bug program of sorts.

    • Foshizzel says:

      LOLOL Fishing? Really? I guess that would count as a “filler” episode?

      HOORAAAY MAIN PLOT! Wait I thought we were on the main plot? I guess Yui’s story wraps up in three episodes then?

      Oooh I haven’t watched that CGI .hack\\ movie I guess it was entertaining huh?

      • D-LaN says:

        The next episode should wrap up the Yui arc. EP13 is the main plot if the titles is any indication. So most likely its omitted….

        This ep is another SS included in LN2.

        • Foshizzel says:

          I sure hope so! I love Yui a lot, but I don’t really want to see 11-END filled with HNNNNNNGGGGGGG moments! I NEED FIGHTING YO!

      • D-LaN says:

        There a swallowed comment btw. Plaese help??

  15. elior1 says:

    here the next episode preview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc3RSZ-ewhY more action coming this episode after the relaxing episode last week

    • Overcooled says:

      Eeeeeeeexcellent

    • Foshizzel says:

      WOooooooooooooooo! Yay more new characters~

      0:11 in = FK YA FROGS yo!

    • AllenAndArth says:

      yahhhh, i was about to comenton it >.<
      the good thing about SAO is that the entire novel dosen't let it forget the real focus of MMORPG and fights;
      and
      Yui does have importance like forever, she's not just SUPER MEGA ULTRA KAWAI AND CUTE *0*9
      she has role witch is pretty dificult nowadays with animes like campine, hagure yuusha and the hentai one that are casino-like(or easy-money-like)

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