Sword Art Online II – 12
I always listen in sepia tones
Alright, it’s skylion back in the Full Dive….
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We’ll never meet again…
Sinon, now with 100% less crack
Well, after last weeks exposition laden and male gaze infatuation and intuitive leap to a cadre of killer outside the game stew, we get down to some action. Something the series is exceptional at. I haven’t yet grown tired of seeing Kirito in action, and all the careful planning it takes to squeeze off the perfect snipe. When they are in the zone they are in the zone, and this episode was no exception. Yeah, liberties are taken, and buggies are driven with reckless aplomb. Schwarzenegger would be proud. As would all his Expendable ilk. And I really like the show for that.
…not disconnected…
So call it a treat for both Kirito and Sinon to hatch a good plan based on what they could gather in the field and turn it to an advantage. This lacked the Hollywood bombasity and went for some straight up tactics and follow through. Taking chances, and taking the shot when you can. I thought Sinon was going to let her nerves get the better of her when she couldn’t line up her thoughts to the shot, but she pulled it out fine. Clean kill. And then she’s out….for now?
…splitting hairs….destroy ruins…
I’m beginning to think Internal Affairs really suck that the job, at the very least a connected department. So, all the members of the Laughing Coffin are registered and identified as such. Ten of them. And they walk the streets? Really? Take a moment. Take two. Why is this even allowed? Are they known killers to the administration, are there extenuating circumstances? This really strikes me as a sore thumb to the whole shebang, cause it really hinges on the big plot point. Death Gun and his cohorts out and about. If I was Kirito or even any of the surviving front line players that were on the Laughing Coffin detail, I would have seen to it that they wouldn’t be that free to walk about. But, we can leave that by the side of the road for now.
I kinda liked this bit of taunting and back and forth between the two of these guys. All bravado and boasts laid right out there before the showdown begins proper. It would be one thing for Death Gun to be a murdering thug, but they played up the scene rather well here. He’s looking to be the better swordsman, and that has to hurt Kirito’s pride. But before that, the Big Ugly has to drop a bomb or two. One, the killer outside theory may not be just as Kirito intuited. Two, you didn’t even want to know my name.
Not Death by a Thousand Not Cuts
For me, it put me at bit more in the mind of this Big Bad. Now, this isn’t to say it unraveled his psychology right then and there. But for him to take that to his already black heart, and let it fuel the fire. It does make me wonder how personal he took whatever Red Player kills he has under his belt. He acts the noble predator, and though we shouldn’t look to deep into that mindset, this wrinkle is a nice additon to the character. It kept him from being just a vulgar plot device. Or we could just have him as a plot device. Specialized Medical terminology my butt. Sterben…..LOL. But good thing that Asuna had a magical AOL daughteru App for just this needing to find Kirito-kun moment. Wonder what she’ll be doing next, can’t stay sidelined forever…
LOLi App…
needs more GARRRRRRRR
I know, I’m skipping a big detail at the very beginning of the story. The player count. I wanted to save that as a last thought. We can assume that Death Gun, just like Kirito assumes, has killed another hidden player in short order. But the word hidden just might be key here. Going out on a limb, but what if there are two Death Guns? That might be a bit to dumb, so let’s assume they both use the same stealth tactics, and one is the performer, and the other is just there for the stealth. Hunting in pairs?
…or else this is the missing player…
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: iLurker with 19 comments
“I would have seen to it that they wouldn’t be that free to walk about.”
How would you do that? Killing some people in a game is not a crime. And although their victims ultimately died by having their brain fried by Akihiko Kayaba’s device, they have they very strong benefit of doubt on their side that they didn’t assume that killing some people in-game would led to actual death as nobody.
So on what legal ground could you restrict their freedom?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
If there is motive and clear understanding that the Red Players knew of the possibility of real death outside the game, you can set some precedent. Even if you didn’t truly mean to kill someone in a car accident that you are the cause of, it doesn’t mean you get off without being charged for vehicular manslaughter…Besides they tested the survivors, and those Red Players would be nothing but big old flags.
But, I am applying real world stuffs to SAO….I’ll quite while somewhat ahead.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hahaha!! You mean Stallone. Schwarzenegger’s character was just an ally of convenience.
Kirito and Sinon make a good strategy team. But of course things wouldn’t go their way. Especially for a lead who practically possesses godhood in the gaming world. Kirito’s big mistake was shutting up a source of information when he refused to hear out that LC member’s name. His one trump card gone just like that. In this age, knowledge is power. So much as a name can be vital.
SAO must’ve realized it’s got competition for Fall because in my opinion, it pulled a Log Horizon for Death Gun’s sake to be on equal ground as Kirito where sword wielding is concerned. Crafting a long sword from the material of a riffle… What are the odds he’s the only one who’s ever figured that out?
With the corrupt temple we call the “legal system”, if it did come to incarceration because of what the LC members did in SAO, it wouldn’t be shocking if they found a soulless, media-whoring lawyer to find and exploit a loophole and they’d walk on a technicality. Besides, it was already clear the SAO incident was unprecedented. Other than going after the game’s programmers, I don’t think much else could’ve been done.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Sure…yeah…those arse’s are pretty much interchangeable for me these days.
Well, in common law there is no such thing as unprecedented, that’s how it works. And like I say above, there is a way to legally collect evidence to establish motive…blaming the Full Dive gear is like blaming the car or the beer…
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Seriously needs more screaming Kirito! Have you noticed Yoshitsugu Matsuoka screams a lot? Like in No Game No Life, Mangaka-san to Assistant-san, Yowamushi Pedall, Buddy Complex and M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane I guess that is something he is known for much like Nobuhiko Okamoto aka Accelerator.
As much as I kick SAO around I will say Death Gun is insanely creepy sounding and I found myself cheering him on as he fought Kirito xDD
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Don’t forget. He also did some screaming as Campione’s Godou Kusanagi (aside from that epic kissing scene) and High School DxD’s Freed Sellzen. The guy does it so well you’ve got to ask if he ever gets a sore throat.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I stopped watching Campione quite early and I forgot he voiced Freed from DxD wow that was also a screamy dude.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
You should have stuck with Campione because that kissing scene with Yoko Hikasa’s Erica was one for the ages.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…remember Okamoto did Io from Acchi Kocchi…a far cry from Accelerator…
Death Gun has an excellent overall design. The mask is a bit much, but I like how the body type is against expectation. You would expect him to be a trolling monster..but he’s lean and combat ready.
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
i want Yui’s voice as my Ihone secretary
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…would take that in a pinch, but would want Shinobu’s as a priority…