Anime & Manga Why Sword Art Online sucks! - Analysis/rant, kind of?

Birdsie

The God-Emperor of Mankind
Trigger Warning
I may, or may not have been slightly intoxicated while writing this. Viewer reader discretion is advised.

Hello there!

You're here because of one of three reasons:
  1. You hate Sword Art Online with passion and wanted to see me rant on it.
  2. You love Sword Art Online with passion and wanted to tell me I'm wrong/disprove my claims/etc.
  3. You clicked here because the title is a bunch of clickbait.
Now, without further ado, let's get to the point.

As is obvious to you, the anime community generally falls into two categories: Those that like Sword Art Online and those that think it is bad. Now, I fall into the latter type, and here's why:

First of all, Sword Art Online is far from perfect. And by that I mean it has so many flaws in it that it's comparable to tissue taken from a patient of IV-stage cancer. Trying to dig down, deep into the very source of this malignant tumor is risky, so I want to warn you. Now, let's start off with the very focus of the show, as is appropriate; our protagonist.

[1. The Protagonist.]


Enter Kirigaya Kazuto. With his own pet nickname "Kirito Jesus-kun," attributed to him most likely by the anti-fans of the series. Kirigaya, or, Kirito, as he calls himself online, is a leet gamer with legit skills. Or at least, that's what is established early on. I can accept that. But what is it that makes him bad?

Now, Kirito starts off in the show at: "Barely, but fairly likable," and quickly drops to: "I fucking hate him." That is, again, my opinion, so don't call me out on this. You're entitled to whatever opinion you hold of him.

Why is he so bad, though? You see, by himself, Kirito isn't that bad of a protagonist. It's not him by himself that he makes us hate him. If we were to see his day-to-day life as an anime instead of SAO, I bet he'd be a fairly average, if decent main character. If he was fleshed out a bit more, given a piece of backstory or actual motivation, maybe I'd be able to actually relate to him in about 10% instead of him being the Gary Sue that he is. He falls far below the average on the scale of "Likable Shounen protagonists," and a bit above on the "edge," scale. Why? Let me explain.

The "magic" of the first arc of Sword Art Online was the atmosphere. The whole premise of the show is that the characters are stuck in a world full of death and despair, and they can't get out. That being said, I liked this at first. They didn't go too overboard with the theme, but it was an ever-present and immersive feeling of fear. It was almost haunting and actually dragged me into this mess a bit further.

Of course, they instantly fuck that up by having him be the best player in the game that is undefeatable. Now, look, the mechanics of SAO as a video game are clunky at best -- you need to use gesticulation to manipulate the menu which removes many classic RPG features from being accessed (like keeping items tabbed, or chugging potions quickly during battles,) and it removes the classic RPG classes from the play, essentially making the concept of strategy and tactics inert by making all battles focus on "SWORD. TO. FACE," in the boss' direction. Why they try to make it out like there are any actual tactics behind swish-swish-swoosh is a mystery to me. This is bad. Very bad.

But let's go back to the "magic."

Taking that into the spotlight, think about it. The world where anyone can die. Where mistakes are permanent and actions have consequences: that's what they start off with -- what they hang in front of you.

And instantly, that's fucked up by the one protagonist who can't come close to being hurt -- and yes, once, Kirito almost dies, which I admit was a pleasant surprise in comparison to that... one... other... time...

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See, having a protagonist that's unbeatable by 95% of the things that exist is... well, fucking boring. And that boredom is doubled by the fact that it blends itself well with the disappointment we receive at the show's premise being ruined. That's very bad. And that's very bad by itself. And maybe the show would be able to redeem itself a bit later on had they stopped at that, very point. It still had potential. Still had the light of hope in front of it.

...

But no, they fucked it up further. Let me get to that.

[2. - The Bullshit Fairy.]

Asuna was likable, I admit.
Kirito, on another hand, barely made it on the radar of my attention.

But you want to know who really ruined it?

Her.

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Whatever little tension the show managed to build over time was ruined by this thing. This "perfect child." This, this... disgusting excuse for an inconsequential character.

Like I said above, the whole premise is that actions have consequences. So what do the writers decide is a good idea? That's right: Fuck the premise.

They... they create this abomination and have her die to create sadness and "motivation," for the characters. And it was at this point that I knew how it would end up. That's right, she comes back, getting revived. And it's at this point that the "dread" and "death," were ruined for me. The atmosphere and immersion, that although lacking, was still existent at this point, faded away with one character's resurrection, proving just how much the writers hated being good at writing.

Now, I'm not saying Yui is a bad character by her own, much like her "father," she has some redeeming qualities. Rather, it is her role in the story that the writers attach to her like a huge metallic ball with a chain that screws her up as a character. And this is more disappointing when you think that both Yui and Kirito had tremendous potential as characters, as well as plenty of space for development.

We never get to see that, because, frankly, and not meaning to boast, I could definitely write a better show than Sword Art Online by myself and with no supporting writers. I mean, hell, Sword Art Online Abridged had better character development than the original. Not even kidding. There's a whole advanced analysis video on youtube about it. That's right. A parody of the show that actually did things better.

Having addressed the problems with two of the worst characters in the show except for the villains, let's move on to another problem that is just as pressing.

[3. The Screwed Pacing.]

Can you imagine Reki Kawahara's reaction on their business meeting? "Hey, hey! Idea over here! How about we call it... Sword Art Online..."

And everyone nodded.

"But only the first arc of the first season is about Sword Art Online! Hahaha, I'm a fucking genius!"

And somehow, against all odds, everyone, fucking, nodded. How this decision came to pass is, was, and will forever be a mystery to me, and all people who exercise logical thought as their main philosophy.

I genuinely believe that the show would be far, far better if they prolonged the Aincrad arc and threw out the fairy-pixie machine bullshit. It was stupid and made Asuna into the typical damsel in distress, instantly dropping my levels of respect for her as a character from "Likable," to "Fuck you and fuck this show and everything it stands for and represents."

At that point, when I discovered what the arc was about, I just stopped watching. I couldn't bear the pain. I skipped to the ending of the season and, with agony, suffered through it before moving onto Gungale Online, which was comparatively just as bad if not worse. I'll get to this in a minute. Let me finish this part first.

Another point about this I wanted to address was the stupidity that this arc radiated. If I'm a stupidity furnace as a person (which I quite assure you, I am,) then this whole arc was a stupidity factory.

Let's review:
  1. The villain is a cyber-rapist.
  2. Asuna is turned into a damsel in distress.
  3. Kirito's sister is... in love with him?!
What I want to say, think about the writer/executive who had the 3 ideas above. How anyone in the studio agreed to any of the 3 is sick and should be executed for incompetence as a human being.

[3.1 Gungale Online is shit.]

Just wanted to point out that in a game with guns, this fucker uses a fucking lightsaber. At that point, I stopped watching. There was no more hope. I get it, he's a kendo adept or whatever, and SAO gave him sword experience -- but deflecting fucking bullets with a lightsaber is impossible. No human nervous system has the processing speed to keep track of projectiles as fast as bullets, virtual world or not. This is so sinful from a writing--no, not writing, scientific--no, just thinking perspective, that I wanted to kill myself just from the intense back pains I got from imagining his spine twisting from all of these impossible, virtual acrobatics. (PS: I dare you to open the link below and look at that gif I posted.)


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[4. Kirito Jesus-kun's blessings fucking curses of Fanservice.]

Of course, this is an anime.

Anime without fanservice doesn't exist. Any anime will have at least something a bit pervy at one point or another unless it is some grimdark horror, or other terrific thing and shit. That is simply how the world and how anime works. You have to live with it. I don't mind a panty shot or there... but this show? For all the dread of the first arc, takes the cake as one of the most perverted things created by mankind ever since the concept of perversion. Well at least there's no rape!

Oh, wait. This show has rape too. Sorry, I forgot. (Though, it's only implied. Still. I find that unacceptable.)

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Let's review:
  1. There's (implied,) rape.
  2. And then there's stuff like this, because why not. (I want to point out there's a scene later with her wearing only underwear, so don't complain about me complaining. This show is about as perverted as the average succubus demon.)
latest

[5. Curse of Bad Villains.]

The antagonists.

The sinister fellows in the alleyway.

The dark overlords.

Curse squad.

The bad guys.

Ma' boys.

They are always there to fuck up your day.

...

That being said, Sword Art Online has some of the worst villains in existence. I think it could get a custom award for some of the worst villains to exist. Let's go through one of them at a time, shall we?
  1. Kayaba Akihiko: The developer of SAO. Why does he trap people to die in a game? Why does he have a god complex? This is how the show explains it: Fuck knows why fuck knows when. No backstory, no motive. He's so bland that the meals on the average Hell's Kitchen episode suddenly look appealing and appetizing. I'm safely going to go ahead and shamelessly say that Sword Art Online Abridged does a better job of portraying him, because it at least keeps consistent with the comedic tone it had set for itself by saying it was a glitch because of a rushed release and he decided to act like this was all planned and he's some kind of evil mastermind.
  2. Whatever his name was/Rape King: That's how little fucks I gave about him. Who I'm talking about is that weird pixie king-rape-guy in Alfheim Online. The guy that imprisoned Asuna. He was such a stupid villain that he makes me look like a scientist with a Ph.D. by comparison. What perplexes me, is, again: Why? Just... why... Why does he exist? Why does he do what he does? Why is he so bland and lacking in texture? Where is the texture?! A good protagonist doesn't exist without a good antagonist! -50 points!
  3. Edge Gun: Or was it Death Gun? Or was it Sterben? My point is, this guy is like the child of Darth Vader and Shadow the Hedgehog that also went through an emo phase recently. Also, I get that he's several people at once, but this guy is still stupid. Why he exists will forever be a question to me. Also, the fact that the fucking government hires Kirito to hunt him down. The fucking government hires a teenager to do shit for them because they are less competent. It was at this point that I lost all faith I had in this series ever becoming remotely good.
  4. Fuck knows: Whatever villain appears in the 4th arc, if any at all. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't give a fuck to spend the character design budget to animate a new villain because of how little they cared. I heard the 4th arc is a bit better, but I don't feel like watching it. My relationship with this show is already too skewered to do so.
  5. That guy from the movie: Yeah, the SAO movie. I watched it. I don't remember the guy's name, but his daughter died in SAO so he tried to recreate her from the memories of people but it'd kill them or something. Now, see, they upgraded their writing to elementary school levels. Now, at least the villain has a Freudian Excuse/"motivation," so to speak to do his evil shit. He's not just a random piece of shit, he actually cares and loves something enough to seem like a human being. This was a step in the right direction, except they fucked up the movie with all the rest of its bullshit that I just don't want to point out because I'm sleepy.

There's more, but I honestly don't hold the mental fortitude to write all of the flaws down. Go on youtube, some people make several-hour-long videos about why SAO is bad.

Post and discuss below and stuff.
 
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Sinon is the only good part of SAO. Fite me normies
Honestly, it's just more fanservice in the eyes of the writers.

Some guy at the back of the meeting room said: "WE NEED MORE FANSERVICE," and everyone nodded, so they created Sinon. That's what happened, I imagine.
 
Honestly, it's just more fanservice in the eyes of the writers.

Some guy at the back of the meeting room said: "WE NEED MORE FANSERVICE," and everyone nodded, so they created Sinon. That's what happened, I imagine.
She is still somehow best character.

Also I... somewhat enjoyed GGO... More than the second half of season 1 and season 2...
 
She is still somehow best character.

Also I... somewhat enjoyed GGO... More than the second half of season 1 and season 2...
Here's how I sum up GGO:
  1. Edge Gun was like an evil batman but worse.
  2. Kirito turns into a bishie because why not.
  3. Asuna gets replaced by Sinon who now acts as the new Ms. Fanservice.
  4. Kirito gets a lightsaber in a game about guns and deflects bullets.
  5. Kirito gets hired to hunt down Edge Gun, by the government.
  6. He hunts down Edge Gun who is actually multiple people.
  7. Wow, what a twist. The opening totally didn't spoil it.
  8. The end.
 
Here's how I sum up GGO:
  1. Edge Gun was like an evil batman but worse.
  2. Kirito turns into a bishie because why not.
  3. Asuna gets replaced by Sinon who now acts as the new Ms. Fanservice.
  4. Kirito gets a lightsaber in a game about guns and deflects bullets.
  5. Kirito gets hired to hunt down Edge Gun, by the government.
  6. He hunts down Edge Gun who is actually multiple people.
  7. Wow, what a twist. The opening totally didn't spoil it.
  8. The end.
All reasons I can get behind, except 3. I never liked Asuna. She was good at first but quickly derailed.(Number 3 is true but Sinon is superior to Asuna is all I gotta say)
 
And Reki Kawahara is still shitting out new light novels almost on a daily basis.

God damn just put it to rest already. Growing Kirito's harem when he's clearly in a relationship with Asuna. What is this bullshit?
 
I like the sword art progressive manga. It's a major retcon of the aincrad days and has no harem aspects. It's like the author was saying, okay fuckwads, time for a non wishfulfillment version of the story: with flap jacks and character development!
 
I liked episode 1-4
Practiced show don't tell a lot; aside from the bad guy's speech and the flashy slashy bridge thingy.
The show looked good (Though the action was pretty lame tbh, but I hoped it'd get better. It was episode 2, after all.), they established 4 main characters and a possible side character (Asuna, Kirito, Klein, and "the black dude."). It's shown that Kirito has a hard time mingling people, and even has a pretty bad relationship with everyone. It establishes a kind of background politics that could come into play in the future, and since it was pretty vague, it could really be creatively implemented greatly (Beta players being hated, and beta players looking down on other players; infinite spiral). It established the black dude as an axeman who could become a great character and a cool fighter; Klein, as a guild leader and a loyal friend, the "connections man" with a heart of gold; Asuna the shadowy hooded figure who would obviously become kirito's girlfriend by the end of the series, but would probably only appear sporadically and come into play in greater measure later on. Finally; Kirito, the gamer who is twisted between a heart of gold and a heart that's cold; the one who is willing to help others, but will undergo any means necessary to help them (even using a small child as bait). He's a high level, sure, but that means we can take a look at this kind of thing from the other side of the aisle; see the perspective of the top players. He'd have dozens of challengers, maybe clan raids to deal with, having to help other players, conduct dozens of raids against boss rooms, etc. On top of this, he's been greatly affected by the loss of his entire guild, so he's not going to be willing to mix with other guilds very easily and he's going to have to be convinced to work with others; maybe even at the cost of someone else's life. The music fit the tone; the undertone was glaringly obvious and could come into play at any moment, etc.
Couldn't wait for a two episode murder mystery side story.
The show looked good, they established 4 main characters and a possible side character. It's shown that Kirito has a hard time mingling people, and even has a pretty bad relationship with everyone. It establishes a kind of background politics that could come into play in the future, and since it was pretty vague, it could really be creatively implemented greatly (Beta players being hated, and beta players looking down on other players; infinite spiral). It established the black dude as an axeman who could become a great character and a cool fighter; Klein, as a guild leader and a loyal friend, the "connections man" with a heart of gold; Asuna the shadowy hooded figure who would obviously become kirito's girlfriend by the end of the series, but would probably only appear sporadically and come into play in greater measure later on. Finally; Kirito, the gamer who is twisted between a heart of gold and a heart that's cold; the one who is willing to help others, but will undergo any means necessary to help them (even using a small child as bait). He's a high level, sure, but that means we can take a look at this kind of thing from the other side of the aisle; see the perspective of the top players. He'd have dozens of challengers, maybe clan raids to deal with, having to help other players, conduct dozens of raids against boss rooms, etc. On top of this, he's been greatly affected by the loss of his entire guild, so he's not going to be willing to mix with other guilds very easily and he's going to have to be convinced to work with others; maybe even at the cost of someone else's life. The music fit the tone; the undertone was glaringly obvious and could come into play at any moment, etc.
Everything I just struck out was butchered entirely in the following episode.
Episode 5 pissed me off almost as bad as the season penultimate episode which forced me to be shrieking *get up, kirito! get rid of the villain!* because I'm human and that's it.
Alfheim was the worst; GGO had a neat environment and a total of 2-3 interesting minutes (Death Gun and Kirito finally meet. I was hoping for some expansion on this, and some serious mental challenges for Kirito. LOLNOP). Haven't seen anything else.
 
I liked episode 1-4
Practiced show don't tell a lot; aside from the bad guy's speech and the flashy slashy bridge thingy.
The show looked good (Though the action was pretty lame tbh, but I hoped it'd get better. It was episode 2, after all.), they established 4 main characters and a possible side character (Asuna, Kirito, Klein, and "the black dude."). It's shown that Kirito has a hard time mingling people, and even has a pretty bad relationship with everyone. It establishes a kind of background politics that could come into play in the future, and since it was pretty vague, it could really be creatively implemented greatly (Beta players being hated, and beta players looking down on other players; infinite spiral). It established the black dude as an axeman who could become a great character and a cool fighter; Klein, as a guild leader and a loyal friend, the "connections man" with a heart of gold; Asuna the shadowy hooded figure who would obviously become kirito's girlfriend by the end of the series, but would probably only appear sporadically and come into play in greater measure later on. Finally; Kirito, the gamer who is twisted between a heart of gold and a heart that's cold; the one who is willing to help others, but will undergo any means necessary to help them (even using a small child as bait). He's a high level, sure, but that means we can take a look at this kind of thing from the other side of the aisle; see the perspective of the top players. He'd have dozens of challengers, maybe clan raids to deal with, having to help other players, conduct dozens of raids against boss rooms, etc. On top of this, he's been greatly affected by the loss of his entire guild, so he's not going to be willing to mix with other guilds very easily and he's going to have to be convinced to work with others; maybe even at the cost of someone else's life. The music fit the tone; the undertone was glaringly obvious and could come into play at any moment, etc.
Couldn't wait for a two episode murder mystery side story.
The show looked good, they established 4 main characters and a possible side character. It's shown that Kirito has a hard time mingling people, and even has a pretty bad relationship with everyone. It establishes a kind of background politics that could come into play in the future, and since it was pretty vague, it could really be creatively implemented greatly (Beta players being hated, and beta players looking down on other players; infinite spiral). It established the black dude as an axeman who could become a great character and a cool fighter; Klein, as a guild leader and a loyal friend, the "connections man" with a heart of gold; Asuna the shadowy hooded figure who would obviously become kirito's girlfriend by the end of the series, but would probably only appear sporadically and come into play in greater measure later on. Finally; Kirito, the gamer who is twisted between a heart of gold and a heart that's cold; the one who is willing to help others, but will undergo any means necessary to help them (even using a small child as bait). He's a high level, sure, but that means we can take a look at this kind of thing from the other side of the aisle; see the perspective of the top players. He'd have dozens of challengers, maybe clan raids to deal with, having to help other players, conduct dozens of raids against boss rooms, etc. On top of this, he's been greatly affected by the loss of his entire guild, so he's not going to be willing to mix with other guilds very easily and he's going to have to be convinced to work with others; maybe even at the cost of someone else's life. The music fit the tone; the undertone was glaringly obvious and could come into play at any moment, etc.
Everything I just struck out was butchered entirely in the following episode.
Episode 5 pissed me off almost as bad as the season penultimate episode which forced me to be shrieking *get up, kirito! get rid of the villain!* because I'm human and that's it.
Alfheim was the worst; GGO had a neat environment and a total of 2-3 interesting minutes (Death Gun and Kirito finally meet. I was hoping for some expansion on this, and some serious mental challenges for Kirito. LOLNOP). Haven't seen anything else.
I pretty much, essentially agree with everything you said.

It's not that they made a world with characters that were inherently shitty, or bad. They made characters that were "average, but with immense potential," and then they screwed up that potential and threw it away and replaced it with wish fulfillment and fanservice.
 
What was so frustrating was the fact that they could excuse the fact that the actions went against the character they had written by timeskipping, like, half a year or so. So he'd had "time" to "recover."
The time skips were a serious frustration early on, but as long as whatever the time skip led to was really fulfilling, it's fine!
It wasn't fine...
Plus I laugh at half-year-ago self when I was scrolling along in Crunchyroll and wondered why it looked like some of the thumbnails had fairies in them before the first season had even ended.
 
Birdsie Birdsie You probably bit off a little more than you can chew. Kirito' some defining character trait is he's a brooding short sighted baby. He got some friends killed in a dungeon, felt powerless to save them. Yet for some reason he felt it wasnt necessary to try and protect his remaining friends like asuna, Klein, and that black guy blacksmith. They were still fighting the good fight. They did nothing wrong, but he closed himself off for extensive periods of time to brood like a loner.

The one piece of actual development in sword art and you didn't rail on him for that. The rest of the problems could be chalked up to wish fulfillment(every girl I meet is attracted to my dick) and him being an allegory for Jesus.

Which weren't faults of the main character but rather were merely the product of An author taking of his audience's desires.
 
Birdsie Birdsie You probably bit off a little more than you can chew. Kirito' some defining character trait is he's a brooding short sighted baby. He got some friends killed in a dungeon, felt powerless to save them. Yet for some reason he felt it wasnt necessary to try and protect his remaining friends like asuna, Klein, and that black guy blacksmith. They were still fighting the good fight. They did nothing wrong, but he closed himself off for extensive periods of time to brood like a loner.

The one piece of actual development in sword art and you didn't rail on him for that. The rest of the problems could be chalked up to wish fulfillment(every girl I meet is attracted to my dick) and him being an allegory for Jesus.

Which weren't faults of the main character but rather were merely the product of An author taking of his audience's desires.
I did mention that he started off at 'Barely likable' and dropped very quickly. And I did mention that it wasn't his character by himself that made him a bad character, but his role in the story. The writers simply didn't know what they were doing.
 
I did mention that he started off at 'Barely likable' and dropped very quickly. And I did mention that it wasn't his character by himself that made him a bad character, but his role in the story. The writers simply didn't know what they were doing.
Simply saying he was likeable, then he wasn't. Isn't an analysis of his character. That's just an statement of opinion. There's no breakdown of the characters' actions, motivations, goals, and moral compass. Nothing that shows there was any humanity in his character or a lack thereof.
 
Simply saying he was likeable, then he wasn't. Isn't an analysis of his character. That's just an statement of opinion. There's no breakdown of the characters' actions, motivations, goals, and moral compass. Nothing that shows there was any humanity in his character or a lack thereof.
But there is nothing to breakdown. We don't see much backstory on Kirito other than his parents died in a car accident. There's no "deep-seated heroism." Really, there's no reason why he does half of what he does in the show, like helping the government hunt down Edge Gun. He's just there to do what he does. His moral compass mostly comes down to killing/fighting whoever deserves it and the only motivation he had at first was to beat Akihiko and get out of SAO, which, I guess is reasonable enough, it's just that he has no nuance to him.

Take for an example Jonathan Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and compare the two. Literally, the first scene in the series shows us that Jonathan's mother dies in an accident where their carriage derailed on the way home. The next scene after the timeskip quickly establishes Jonathan as a good boy, motivated to become a gentleman because of his father's good will, resolve, and love for him as a son, which originated in the fact that Jonathan's mother died so George felt he needed to give Jonathan a good example. Then Dio comes along like a bomb that explodes Jonathan's calm life apart, but later we see him not being angry at Dio, because his father wouldn't. The teachings that George gave to Jonathan, the example, the motivation -- all of it is there.

Compare that to Kirito:

Motivation? I mean, it's there, but wouldn't anyone be motivated to get out of a death trap? Not to mention, he literally had to cheat/hack the game to accomplish it (he doesn't die when he dies,) and they throw it off as willpower. There is no willpower that will let you beat a boss in World of Warcraft, only calculated logic and taking potions at the right time, using the right special moves, and combining skills. He did it with bullshit plot armor powers. None of his own input. He did it because the writers decided the show had to end.

Backstory? We don't ever get an extensive backstory on Kirito, nor why he is the person he is, unlike with many other characters. From what I recall, you'd have to read the manga or light novels to actually know anything of his past, and even then, all of his pre-SAO life can be summed up with a single short paragraph, which is sad to say the least.

Actions? Like I said, anyone would want to get out of the death trap. He's kind of good-hearted in some of his actions, but I can't relate because I don't know what made him be that way. Other than that, he doesn't show any gaming skill other than being OP because the show demands it.

There is barely a human being in there. Kirito had potential but the writers squandered it very quickly.
 
But there is nothing to breakdown. We don't see much backstory on Kirito other than his parents died in a car accident. There's no "deep-seated heroism." Really, there's no reason why he does half of what he does in the show, like helping the government hunt down Edge Gun. He's just there to do what he does. His moral compass mostly comes down to killing/fighting whoever deserves it and the only motivation he had at first was to beat Akihiko and get out of SAO, which, I guess is reasonable enough, it's just that he has no nuance to him.

Take for an example Jonathan Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and compare the two. Literally, the first scene in the series shows us that Jonathan's mother dies in an accident where their carriage derailed on the way home. The next scene after the timeskip quickly establishes Jonathan as a good boy, motivated to become a gentleman because of his father's good will, resolve, and love for him as a son, which originated in the fact that Jonathan's mother died so George felt he needed to give Jonathan a good example. Then Dio comes along like a bomb that explodes Jonathan's calm life apart, but later we see him not being angry at Dio, because his father wouldn't. The teachings that George gave to Jonathan, the example, the motivation -- all of it is there.

Compare that to Kirito:

Motivation? I mean, it's there, but wouldn't anyone be motivated to get out of a death trap? Not to mention, he literally had to cheat/hack the game to accomplish it (he doesn't die when he dies,) and they throw it off as willpower. There is no willpower that will let you beat a boss in World of Warcraft, only calculated logic and taking potions at the right time, using the right special moves, and combining skills. He did it with bullshit plot armor powers. None of his own input. He did it because the writers decided the show had to end.

Backstory? We don't ever get an extensive backstory on Kirito, nor why he is the person he is, unlike with many other characters. From what I recall, you'd have to read the manga or light novels to actually know anything of his past, and even then, all of his pre-SAO life can be summed up with a single short paragraph, which is sad to say the least.

Actions? Like I said, anyone would want to get out of the death trap. He's kind of good-hearted in some of his actions, but I can't relate because I don't know what made him be that way. Other than that, he doesn't show any gaming skill other than being OP because the show demands it.

There is barely a human being in there. Kirito had potential but the writers squandered it very quickly.
See, now we're talking. Even pointing out the lack of humanity in a character, is a valid point of analysis. Certainly not perfect, but it's an analysis vs a opinion.

If there's anything to actually dissect, I'll quote you again when I'm a computer and not on my iPhone.
 
I love this analysis. Reminded me of Mother's Basement and DigiBro on YouTube. If you haven't, you should check out both of their analysis' because they're hilarious.
 
You're here because of one of three reasons:
  1. You hate Sword Art Online with passion and wanted to see me rant on it.
  2. You love Sword Art Online with passion and wanted to tell me I'm wrong/disprove my claims/etc.
  3. You clicked here because the title is a bunch of clickbait.
4. I saw so many people saying exactly the same I think you are about to say that I thought I might come and check it out for myself...

And after reading your actual arguments, it holds up. I won't be criticizing your points, at least not for now, as for one thing I kinda agree with a lot of them, and for two, few are YOUR points. Instead, that's the aspect I want to focus my criticism on.

Now, inspirations, opinions we all have them. And really nothing is made entirely without inspirations and trying to critique something with your opinion is also kinda innevitable. Put these two together and in some way or another what we see influences what we think, and putting ourselves out there with our opinions can sometimes feel like we'll never be on that level. So, it is a commendable effort of you to take the time to come here and post this piece about sword art online.

But on the other hand, if you're gonna take that effort, then please have something to ADD to the conversation. The vast majority not only repeats points already made by every other anime youtuber, but you don't bother justifying it half the time. For example, you state Kirito is OP and basically immortal (never dies). However, one is not given a reason at all, the other is a trait basically every portagonist ever has. So it being so bad in Kirito is something that is lacking justification from your part. And yes, I know that he is OP and that he is basically immortal, but if you want to make a point you should never assume your audience agrees with you.

I will admit the irony of me saying this, since I also heard this point being done somewhere else (the adding to the conversation part), so do allow me not to be a hypocrite here and explain the line of thought: Any discussion can be one of two things Either a shouting match or a civil discussion. And the kinds of contribution done to the discussion are what tells them apart. In a shouting match, people compete to see who can spread their same repeated argument or position the most. In a civil discussion, arguments are piled side by side or against each other or on top of one another, in function of each other argument and constructing something so intricate it could pratically be called an art piece. Therefore, each participant should be contributing with their OWN thoughts and offering different perspectives to look at things from.

Now this isn't to say you didn't do this at all. You did offer plenty of personal opinions, and to a minor extent, you did seem interested in figuring the reasons some of these characters were detestable (not that I would agree with you on all of them, but hey, tastes differ). But the notion of not needing to properly justify things, the various references you made to youtube videos, they all hint at the fact your inspiration took hold of your work.

Now, if I may go on a stretch here, I think you lost because of this because you genuily had some VERY interesting thoughts. Contributive, constructive, innovative even. But you shyed away from them. Went through the beaten path even though there was a treasure on the high grass, because you were afraid of falling into a hole. Of course, this is mere speculation, but it too me two-three reads to figure something there distinctly YOU.

So, if I have any advise to offer, for what my advise or isn't worth, I'd say go bolder. Keep trying, but detach yourself from doing things others have covered. If analysis is something you have any interest in, then it's more important right now that you learn to express your inner thoughts and opinions without hiding behind safe bets.

Good luck with everything!
 
Really, there's no reason why he does half of what he does in the show, like helping the government hunt down Edge Gun.
I actually was planning on making an SAO/Death Note crossover (with some major changes to, like, everything?). My introduction has Kira doing the killing, not Death Gun, but Death Gun thinking that he's the one doing it. In any case, everything goes pretty much in line with the first scene in GGO until he shouts "Death Gun!"
At which point Light runs out of the room almost shrieking with laughter. Most people think he's crying or afraid, since his hand is over his head/mouth. Nope.
I hope that sums my thoughts up on Death Gun.
I also tried to include motivation for that ^^ Kirito is "K," pretty much like L divided by 3 or 4. He's investigating Kira in cooperation with the new L, so Kirito isn't making any progress. So when the government official tells him about a mysterious figure in a game killing people with heart attacks and leaving no clues as to how... Well, motivation?
4. I saw so many people saying exactly the same I think you are about to say that I thought I might come and check it out for myself...

And after reading your actual arguments, it holds up. I won't be criticizing your points, at least not for now, as for one thing I kinda agree with a lot of them, and for two, few are YOUR points. Instead, that's the aspect I want to focus my criticism on.

Now, inspirations, opinions we all have them. And really nothing is made entirely without inspirations and trying to critique something with your opinion is also kinda innevitable. Put these two together and in some way or another what we see influences what we think, and putting ourselves out there with our opinions can sometimes feel like we'll never be on that level. So, it is a commendable effort of you to take the time to come here and post this piece about sword art online.

But on the other hand, if you're gonna take that effort, then please have something to ADD to the conversation. The vast majority not only repeats points already made by every other anime youtuber, but you don't bother justifying it half the time. For example, you state Kirito is OP and basically immortal (never dies). However, one is not given a reason at all, the other is a trait basically every portagonist ever has. So it being so bad in Kirito is something that is lacking justification from your part. And yes, I know that he is OP and that he is basically immortal, but if you want to make a point you should never assume your audience agrees with you.

I will admit the irony of me saying this, since I also heard this point being done somewhere else (the adding to the conversation part), so do allow me not to be a hypocrite here and explain the line of thought: Any discussion can be one of two things Either a shouting match or a civil discussion. And the kinds of contribution done to the discussion are what tells them apart. In a shouting match, people compete to see who can spread their same repeated argument or position the most. In a civil discussion, arguments are piled side by side or against each other or on top of one another, in function of each other argument and constructing something so intricate it could pratically be called an art piece. Therefore, each participant should be contributing with their OWN thoughts and offering different perspectives to look at things from.

Now this isn't to say you didn't do this at all. You did offer plenty of personal opinions, and to a minor extent, you did seem interested in figuring the reasons some of these characters were detestable (not that I would agree with you on all of them, but hey, tastes differ). But the notion of not needing to properly justify things, the various references you made to youtube videos, they all hint at the fact your inspiration took hold of your work.

Now, if I may go on a stretch here, I think you lost because of this because you genuily had some VERY interesting thoughts. Contributive, constructive, innovative even. But you shyed away from them. Went through the beaten path even though there was a treasure on the high grass, because you were afraid of falling into a hole. Of course, this is mere speculation, but it too me two-three reads to figure something there distinctly YOU.

So, if I have any advise to offer, for what my advise or isn't worth, I'd say go bolder. Keep trying, but detach yourself from doing things others have covered. If analysis is something you have any interest in, then it's more important right now that you learn to express your inner thoughts and opinions without hiding behind safe bets.

Good luck with everything!
Trigger Warning
I may, or may not have been slightly intoxicated while writing this. Viewer reader discretion is advised.
 
4. I saw so many people saying exactly the same I think you are about to say that I thought I might come and check it out for myself...

And after reading your actual arguments, it holds up. I won't be criticizing your points, at least not for now, as for one thing I kinda agree with a lot of them, and for two, few are YOUR points. Instead, that's the aspect I want to focus my criticism on.

Now, inspirations, opinions we all have them. And really nothing is made entirely without inspirations and trying to critique something with your opinion is also kinda innevitable. Put these two together and in some way or another what we see influences what we think, and putting ourselves out there with our opinions can sometimes feel like we'll never be on that level. So, it is a commendable effort of you to take the time to come here and post this piece about sword art online.

But on the other hand, if you're gonna take that effort, then please have something to ADD to the conversation. The vast majority not only repeats points already made by every other anime youtuber, but you don't bother justifying it half the time. For example, you state Kirito is OP and basically immortal (never dies). However, one is not given a reason at all, the other is a trait basically every portagonist ever has. So it being so bad in Kirito is something that is lacking justification from your part. And yes, I know that he is OP and that he is basically immortal, but if you want to make a point you should never assume your audience agrees with you.

I will admit the irony of me saying this, since I also heard this point being done somewhere else (the adding to the conversation part), so do allow me not to be a hypocrite here and explain the line of thought: Any discussion can be one of two things Either a shouting match or a civil discussion. And the kinds of contribution done to the discussion are what tells them apart. In a shouting match, people compete to see who can spread their same repeated argument or position the most. In a civil discussion, arguments are piled side by side or against each other or on top of one another, in function of each other argument and constructing something so intricate it could pratically be called an art piece. Therefore, each participant should be contributing with their OWN thoughts and offering different perspectives to look at things from.

Now this isn't to say you didn't do this at all. You did offer plenty of personal opinions, and to a minor extent, you did seem interested in figuring the reasons some of these characters were detestable (not that I would agree with you on all of them, but hey, tastes differ). But the notion of not needing to properly justify things, the various references you made to youtube videos, they all hint at the fact your inspiration took hold of your work.

Now, if I may go on a stretch here, I think you lost because of this because you genuily had some VERY interesting thoughts. Contributive, constructive, innovative even. But you shyed away from them. Went through the beaten path even though there was a treasure on the high grass, because you were afraid of falling into a hole. Of course, this is mere speculation, but it too me two-three reads to figure something there distinctly YOU.

So, if I have any advise to offer, for what my advise or isn't worth, I'd say go bolder. Keep trying, but detach yourself from doing things others have covered. If analysis is something you have any interest in, then it's more important right now that you learn to express your inner thoughts and opinions without hiding behind safe bets.

Good luck with everything!
Hm.

Hm.

I assumed that most people reading this would have watched SAO, and that I didn't need to point out the obvious. Kirito is one of the most stupidly overpowered characters in all anime of the decade. Here: a few examples of when writers show this just because they wanted power-wank.
  1. The bridge scene where they cut him but he has too much HP.
  2. The fact that somehow he can dual-wield which is apparently special in some way and unique to him.
  3. The fact that he fucking lives after dying... in a video-game. If that's not bullshit, I don't know what is. Just because I have more resolve to kill a boss in World of Warcraft than the next guy, doesn't mean I will. Same would go for SAO. It's not a real world. It's a videogame. It has coding that says that when you die, you disappear and die. How he went around that is not just OP, but shows that he can't die because the writers don't want him to. It's not just OP. It's that he can't die, which is both OP and shows that he's fucking immortal beyond the standard protagonist plot armor. If a standard Shounen protagonist has Class-2 Plot Armor, Kirito's is the Prototype Class-3-Plus-Ultra Plot Armor that protects from death under any conditions as long as writers want it, just so they can milk the franchise more.
  4. Then comes Gungale Online and all of the impossible lightsaber bullshit that no human should be able to perform under any conditions.
  5. There's more, but dissecting it so in-depth would, as you said, bring nothing inventive to the conversation.

I referenced youtube videos, mostly to give people who want more a place to go. I'm not going to post a novel about why Sword Art Online sucks, although, now that I think about it, that seems like a good meme.

And I didn't really think this whole thread through too much. Remember the (literally,) first sentence in the post? The trigger warning?
 
I assumed that most people reading this would have watched SAO, and that I didn't need to point out the obvious. Kirito is one of the most stupidly overpowered characters in all anime of the decade. Here: a few examples of when writers show this just because they wanted power-wank.
I did watch SAO
And I probably even watched more videos about it than you did, knowing my consumption rate of these things.
It's not that I didn't know about these things (as I did point out), but that while NOW you gave examples and justified, before you didn't. If it was so obvious you didn't need to justify it, no one would disagree with you there. But there ARE people who disagree there. Furthermore, unjustified points, regardless of the audience, are indicative of a lack of cohesion. Which I guess maybe Hall Kervean Hall Kervean justified with pointing out you could be intoxicated while you wrote this, but my ultimate point still stands.

now that I think about it, that seems like a good meme.

And I didn't really think this whole thread through too much. Remember the (literally,) first sentence in the post? The trigger warning?

Still,maybe I'm the weird one here thinking that one shouldn't be wasting time doing something they can't even bother to take seriously, appearantly.
 
I did watch SAO
And I probably even watched more videos about it than you did, knowing my consumption rate of these things.
It's not that I didn't know about these things (as I did point out), but that while NOW you gave examples and justified, before you didn't. If it was so obvious you didn't need to justify it, no one would disagree with you there. But there ARE people who disagree there. Furthermore, unjustified points, regardless of the audience, are indicative of a lack of cohesion. Which I guess maybe Hall Kervean Hall Kervean justified with pointing out you could be intoxicated while you wrote this, but my ultimate point still stands.



Still,maybe I'm the weird one here thinking that one shouldn't be wasting time doing something they can't even bother to take seriously, appearantly.
I mean, it's true. I can't take this franchise seriously.

Not after this...
kirito-vs-rosalia.gif
 

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