"Sword Art Online" (Anime) Epsoides 14-16 Thoughts



So with the events of SOA ending, you thought it was going to be game over right? Wrong; the show now transitions on over to the next setting which takes place in the game Alfheim Online. Kiritio finds himself logging into this new world because of a photo given to him that shows someone looking very similar to Asuna within the game. With some help from his sister, friends, and a very important member from SOA, Kirto must find out if Asuna is really in this new world and without spoiling anything, he is on a time limit.

So first off coming from someone who has read the light novel series that this anime is based off of, I have to give the studio some credit on sticking with the original source material. Other than some omitting of information towards the end of SOA and some slight pacing issues, this anime has been a direct link to the light novel. We were recently introduced to Kirito's sister who may like her brother a little too much...(she does play a pretty sizable role in this arc later on) Also we meet the shop keeper from SOA that helped Kirito out so much in his weapon shop. He now works at a local bar that in the future will host many meetings between the characters of the show. So like I stated in the general synopsis for these couple of transition episodes, Kirito finds himself in a new game, Alfheim Online. This game sports new rules such as the ability to fly. I have to applaud the animation studio once again for making Alfheim look so beautiful. When I was reading the light novel, what I imagined Alfheim Online would look like pretty much matched the anime's interpretation. The latest episode (episode 16) shows Kirito logging in for the first time, him meeting a very important person from SOA, and also aiding the person that will help guide him to his goal in Alfheim Online.

Overall I am very pleased with the show thus far. A lot of people are criticizing and nitpicking every little wrong thing about this show but to me since I love the light novel so much and since the anime pretty much mirrors it, I end up loving the show. Yes there are faults but it isn't really a show you should watch for thought provoking concepts. It has accomplished exactly what the light novel has done, provide a gamer's fantasy from the hero's point of view. If you find yourself not coping well with the wait for each new episode, I strongly encourage you go read the light novel it is done very well.