⭐Sword Art Online Volume 1 Chapters 7-8: Read Along & Analysis
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⭐Sword Art Online Volume 1 Chapters 7-8:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XwSOjK_KO5UwzflfULE3XurXqgUfieWI/view?usp=sharing
Comments
Man, Since I’ve been so busy lately, I’ve been the last one to comment again. That also means that a lot of what I wanted to mention has already been mentioned, oh well. I’m still probably going to mention some of those again. You know, I knew that I would see things I hadn’t noticed before through your reactions, but I didn’t really know what that would be. I never paid much attention to those little details like facial expressions and simple one-off comments mentioned in the books, but now that you mention them, I do see how much that adds to the story. I feel like Kuradeel is made to look much older in the anime, but I don’t doubt that he is in his early twenties. Just like there are people who look much younger than what they are (i.e. you) there are people who are younger that look much older (i.e. Kuradeel). I’ve only read this novel once, but that’s because I usually don’t have time to re-read stuff. The only novel I’ve been able to re-read is SAO: Progressive 1 (And have been trying to re-read Vol 2). I immediately loved how much more detail the novels had over the anime. I think I’ve already made it quite clear that I very much dislike the anime adaptation of Alicization. I think that once you get to Alicization you will easily see why. That’s a very long time away though. (Still, can’t wait.) After volume 1 there will be a lot of jumping back and forth from present time to Aincrad. Thankfully there is a date at the beginning of every Aincrad story that tells you where it takes place on the timeline. You just have to remember what happens when. Anyway, if you do get physical versions of the novels (I guess this goes for digital ones as well), keep in mind that the covers for Unital Ring arc might have spoiler-ish content in them (Especially regarding a certain character). Regardless, it’s not like you’d have any context for it so I guess it doesn’t matter too much. Something that I do find kind of annoying though is the first few colored pages at the beginning of each novel. I feel like those spoil too much sometimes. For example, on volume 13, those pages spoil that Eugeo becomes an Integrity Knight and on volume 18 it spoils that Kirito makes it out of the STL and that they successfully take out Alice from the Underworld. I don’t see too many people complaining about that so that might just be me. Also, it seems that Unital Ring is either halfway or almost hallway done. From the looks of it, it’s about to be as long, if not longer that Alicization. I’ve seen people say that the next volumes is probably the turning point for the arc, but seeing as I know nothing about it apart from the first volume (And people spoiling) I couldn’t say for sure. At least volume 23 releases this October (Vol 25 of AW releases that month too) Sword Art Online: Abridged is definitely something. The fact that people call it the definitive version of SAO still irks me. People praise it like it’s a masterpiece of writing while calling SAO garbage. Just by searching on YouTube you can find people pointing out why the abridged series is so much better than the official version. I still think you should watch it since it’s a pretty huge part of SAO hate in general. Regarding Sonic, I used to be a huge Sonic fan. I played basically every game that came out and finished them as quick as possible. I did stop playing around when Sonic Generations came out, that game being the last that I properly played. I tried getting into the later games, but I just didn’t find them as fun (And this comes from one of the few people who enjoyed Sonic 2006). The Sonic X anime was just great, and I remember watching every episode as it came out. The ending is still etched into my mind. I do hope that the next game can be good so I can play that franchise again. I barely remembered of a light novel series that I feel like you need to check out at some point if you’re trying to get into LN’s. The only reason I remembered was because the final season box set for it arrived a little while ago. You might’ve heard of it, but it’s the Monogatari series. The way it’s written is very interesting and I’ve seen many people call the series a masterpiece. It’s written pretty out of order and apparently, it’s much better in the original Japanese version because of the way the author writes, but I definitely think it’s a must when reading LN’s. You could also watch the anime adaptation of the series, since I feel like that anime is unlike any I’ve seen before. I do think it might be a little hard to analyze on a first watch, but yet again, I’m still not the best at analyzing. It’s also pretty weird, really weird some might say, but it’s something. There’s also a lot of internal monologues, which I feel the anime did amazing with, and just a lot of exposition overall. This is why a lot of people find it boring, but I enjoyed every second of it (Except for one arc that really didn’t do much for me) (And what I meant by better in the Japanese version can be shown by the title of the first arc. It’s called Bakemonogatari and is a mixture of “Bakemono” = monster, and “Monogatari” = story/tale. So that would be Bakemonogatari or Monster Tale. Apparently, he does this a lot through his writing as well.) So, on my last comment I mentioned I was going to have a fun fact regarding the web novel, well, I might’ve got the timeline mixed up because that scene doesn’t happen until a bit later. For now, however, I do have another fun fact: On August 17, Reki Kawahara turned 47 years old. To think he’s been writing SAO since he was 28, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon in terms of writing. That’s some dedication right there.
Gen
2021-08-18 15:34:56 +0000 UTCYep, Sasha :D I created account by binding to another website, so it inherited the name not in English and I'm afraid to change anything in the settings about that at this point)
Саша Одинец
2021-08-17 03:34:03 +0000 UTCFirst of all, I agree with MasterAries7, you should definitely watch Abridged some time. It's a ridiculous, cynical comedy. But as Саша ("Sasha", I believe?) wrote, it's a bit dissapointing to see people hailing snarky cynicism as a "fix" of the actual story. Now, on to the LN: Up to around chapter 8. I actually read the LN before. About everything that follows now, I know just as much as you do (only the anime). One thing I like more than in the anime so far is the order of events. While in the anime, at least for the first one or two watches, I felt very disoriented about time - between episodes 1 and 8, there are a lot of time skip which are only briefly noticable in the dates written at the start of episodes. The LN has pretty much only one time skip so far: from the introduction on floor 1, via a short status update after one month, straight to levelling in the labyrinth of floor 74. Notably, the LN reader doesn't know anything about Kirito's traumas yet. We haven't read how he fought alongside Asuna for the first time, or how he was first called a "beater", or how he lost his guild. We don't know Silica yet, which means we also don't know what he tells her about his family situation, either. And neither have we met Lizbeth or solved the murder case, which - in the anime - lead the viewers towards the ship with Asuna. Instead, we are going head first into the part where Kirito and Asuna have dinner and start to really fall in love, which will practially become their mutual therapy. Going forward, we may see Kirito recounting all the traumatic experiences, maybe to Asuna or maybe just to the readers. We may have seen a hint of this in the anime where he recaps the loss of his guild to Asuna. I'm not sure. So to recap, the eight chapters we've read so far cover basically episode 1 and most of of ep. 8 (introduction to SAO, meeting Klein, introducing Agil, eating ragout, duelling Kuradeel), but at this point the LN reader must have a completely different perspective than the anime watcher, because all the backstory and character exploration is yet to be filled in. In fact, going by a few LN synopses I've peeked into, some things going on in the middle of the anime will be explored much later in the LNs.
Dijky
2021-08-17 03:27:41 +0000 UTCPersonally I have very mixed feelings about Abridged. I like it as a comedy and do respect it as such, also I'm very grateful it exists, because that's the reason I found out about SAO. Usually, I have a hard time watching anime without cringe, so usually I just don't. But one day I was watching a stream of my favorite game in terms of storytelling, and when the end credits came, someone in the audience persuaded the streamer to try and watch SAO Abridged with us. And I stayed mostly by inertia of having a good time on the stream. And as I watched, and laughed, I realized two things about SAO - it is about gaming, and it has a love story that I might want to explore more than it did. I remember, during some of the anime reactions, Kat had Twilight book with her and was ready to defend it - if it says anything about me - I do have this book series on my shelf too, and I've read it a couple of times xD So, I checked that SAO is based on books, and has 2 seasons of anime. And I went to it trying to explore the relationships between Kirito and Asuna. 2 seasons turned out not being enough, so I looked at ~20 books and many side stories as an interesting challenge, since I always felt - I like when there's a good amount of stuff in series, but Never before had such a big one in front of me... (well, to tell the truth, I did once read each and every book in the category of Detectives for teens, that my local library had - all 73 of them... but there were very few that actually shared same characters, and after such experience I started to reread more than read new stuff xD). Given such a challenge, I had a lot of fun "playing" through SAO novels - following its "dlcs" volumes, changes of gameplay genre in sequels, and finding new side "missions" stories to explore. Trying to find all of the little connections among them, analyze it, felt similar to how I experienced the world of the same game thanks to which I found out about SAO. And the more I've read it, the deeper I felt the story is written. I realized, that reading SAO started to influence the way I play games, transforming my philosophy of gaming little by little into better shape. I can't say it was bad - I always respected games, but I had a couple of personal rough edges in my own experience of playing some of the rpgs, like explorations of choices that were available in the game, but I never tried even after a couple of replays. SAO made me realize, that there's nothing wrong with not exploring these options, because the choices I made are both the reflections of me, and at the same time reflect its weight on me too. And there are other things it helped me realize too. So, after going through all this journey, from Abridged to anime to novels - each time diving deeper and deeper - I can't stop myself from feeling that Abridged is more of a surface in all this, with it's twists of waves that show the story in completely different angles than reality. At the same time, so many, so many people say it is *better* than original and *fixes* SAO, that it makes me uncomfortable. It is a great source of material if you want to see the things people hate in SAO because of how much same people usually love things in Abridged. But for me it never will be better - it's just different, it's a comedy, and it is oftentimes great at it. But that's not what SAO is :) *and yeah, I remember that line about Kuradeel xD
Саша Одинец
2021-08-17 00:59:39 +0000 UTCI confess - I've reread the first volume like 5 times since the start of the readalong xD I'm still rereading SAO as a whole, that I started a couple of month ago, once I finally got myself the copies of it in English. But rereading chapters along the video is something that is *very* hard to stop once the video ended, and the book isn't too big :D Plus audiobook did came out already, and that is one of the finished rereads for me too - very strange experience, when you kinda hear Kirito voicing other characters, I had a lot of fun listening it too :D Kuradeel’s face does looks younger on his very first appearance on the illustration, which is right after the book's cover - when Asuna visited Kirito in Agil's place. And the very next illustration shows exactly how he looks older with another expression - in the anime, I guess, they used this version and enhanced it for even his normal looks. The theme of players being older in their appearance or acts is a reoccurring one in SAO. In their duel, I would say neither Kirito nor Kuradeel looked like their age, but for completely different reasons. Being trapped on the battlefield for two years, you would expect at least some of players to mature in one way or another faster, than they would in the real life and safe environment. This seriousness with which Kirito acts when he's in his defensive mode, adds to how old he looks. At the same time, for Kuradeel, it's him slowly loosing humanity that changes his expressions to one of someone older. I think anime version wanted to properly show it, so that *everyone* will see - it's a villain, though they did made everyone older in looks than the light novel art versions at this point. There are so many little details in this scene alone... in this chapter I should say - even though the first volume progresses fast, it is packed with so many things to think about - I love it. Like, if you start to wonder - why exactly Kirito wasn't able to fall asleep? So many things comes to mind, especially knowing his past. Was it the fact that he spent the evening in Asuna's home? Was it the fact, that tomorrow he will be teaming up with someone, and that fact brought back anxiety, fears of what if something will happen to her, too? Or the fact that this someone is Asuna, or all of these together... Later, barely moments after all Kirito wanted to do is to run away, he casted such impulses aside because of Asuna. Just a day ago, he wasn't able to say anything to her gaze, but this time, when he needed to act, he did it instinctively to protect her. Then the duel. Why did Asuna approved it? She had both authority and strength to stop it here. Many haters don't like that she hid behind Kirito in that moment, *being strong female character who doesn't need it*. But really, the simplest explanation actually comes in the end of the duel. "I could sense the note of suppressed pain in it and unconsciously put a hand on her shoulder. Her tense body shifted slightly, leaning some of its weight on me." And for me - most of it, was her mentally "leaning some weight on" Kirito. Yes, you could be strong, but that doesn't mean you have to do everything alone - that's the same thing, that Asuna tried to tell Kirito, because she knew it too, that sometimes it's hard to carry everything alone. And just moments ago, she had both the huge shock because of Kuradeel's actions, and what that all meant in retrospective, and at the same time had someone to rely on, someone who already started to act to protect her. Maybe, in a sense - and that's the part I would like to hear someone else's thoughts about - maybe they actually both needed it. This duel. For Asuna to feel protected, to lessen mental pressure, to strengthen her choice of whom she fell in love with, For Kirito to act instead of saying what's on his mind, for Kirito to protect someone, to protect Asuna. All these details, things to consider - reasons I would never agree that Reki's writing isn't great. There are 2 things about the duel that were changed in the anime. First - Kirito saw in Kuradeel the wish to take out his second blade and continue battle, even though the duel is finished and that would make him an orange player. But he controlled himself. In anime, they did let Kuradeel do that before he resigned, so they made Asuna to stop the duel. It's also interesting, that Kuradeel used the English version of the words "I Resign", which probably, in his twisted logic, left him more leftovers of honor, than doing it in their main language and in front of so many people. Which also leads to the second change - in the book, I guess, he wasn't able to spend even an extra second with such a "disgrace" in front of people, because rather than walking to the teleport gate, which is right nearby them, on the same square - he used the expensive teleport crystal to instantly disappear. I don't think he made a single step after the end of the duel, to control himself. In anime, he went to teleport gate instead) Sonic! There are so many games, I played only a portion of them, but my earliest memory of ever playing anything - is me, playing Sonic the Hedgehog (8 bit version). Even if I don't follow each and every media about Sonic, haven't played many games - he is a part of me that will always be important to me. There's an anime based on one of Sonic game series - Sonic Adventure (game), that became Sonic X (anime). And although different games and cartoons picture characters differently, this version of Sonic is the one that I grew up with, both as a game and an anime character... And last time I rewatched SAO, I suddenly understood, realized for myself, that there's a moment in it, where Kirito is very much like Sonic of this version. I think, at this moment, I felt deeper connection to SAO, to reasons I love it so much. Also, after so many readalong episodes, I can't stop myself from picturing Kirito - the fashion expert - travelling through Aincrad and valuating things at shops, things players wear and etc xD And I guess I can't stop myself, but again - the last line of the 7 chapter. It would've worked even if all there was, is that Kirito complained and followed Asuna. But even the little added "breathed a sigh of relief" makes you look back on what the relief was actually about. And that makes you remember - yeah, even though he did just spoke a lot of important things to say - he is still Kirito that has a hard time expressing himself in words :) *or maybe it was his relief, that Asuna was back to her normal mood after all that happen, which made him just little bit happier (because I always picture this moment with a little smile on his face, for some reason)* That last part is of course me being romantic, but *oh why not* :D Speaking of romantic - did Asuna just asked Kirito to a shop, to spend the time together and after the fights? *Yes, she did*. *Looks at the amount of text* - yeah, I'm definitely trapped in SAO, but with such a company here - I don't mind :D
Саша Одинец
2021-08-17 00:03:14 +0000 UTCI am not sure if we ever get an official "how old is Kuradeel" but i cannot read or watch these sections without thinking about a line from SAO Abridged. (Which i will put in a reply to this in the event you havent actually watched all of SAO Abridged...which you should if you havent) One of the things that the books mentions fairly consistently but was not really shown in the show, was the fact that there is a CEILING above them at all times. So you really only get sunlight in the mornings and evenings, when the sun can shine in the sides. I have been re-reading the books because of this, lol, about half way through the second book atm. Which you will love btw.
MasterAries7
2021-08-16 19:49:02 +0000 UTC
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