Sword Art Online II improves upon the first series by being able to experiment with the dichotomy between reality and the game world. The biggest setback experienced by Sword Art Online was its inability to use its setting to any great effect. The virtual world is set up by displaying MMORPG conventions and although the narrative was focalized on Kirito's perspective of the game world, the show never really made a statement on video game culture, which is what I expected out of a series about players being trapped in a video game. Risk-free MMORPG conventions are thrown around and what resulted was a straightforward and cliched fantasy. Fortunately, Sword Art Online II isn't bound by characters being stuck in virtual reality as characters are able to interact and travel between the two worlds. This is crucial because it finally allowed the show to craft a statement around video games regarding how they are perceived and finally dares to imagine what might become of them in the future other than "it's virtual reality." To the future forecast effect, one could say the series took in a little bit of science fiction in some respects. In the first series, the video game setting could just have easily been a journey from point A to point B and the developments that follow; the story in Sword Art Online was more about an isolated population rather than the video game setting. Sword Art Online II adds importance to the fact that people are in a video game and is able to convey social problems by removing video games from its own isolated world, making the world and setting more relatable than its predecessor's.
ggo is actually destiny but with better loot drops
The Phantom Bullet narrative once again focalizes around Kirito (who is perhaps the most static character I have ever witnessed), but this time the Japanese government is asking him to dive back into the virtual world of Gun Gale Online (GGO) to investigate the real-world deaths of prominent players. Why the technology hasn't been banned after the deaths of thousands of consumers and why the government is entrusting Kirito is beyond me. GGO as a setting is a huge tonal shift from the fantasy settings of the first Sword Art Online series. A gritty, cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic cityscape populated by a demographic of big guns and burly bros greets Kirito, so naturally he bumps into the only girl who plays the game: Sinon (pronounced She-non).
Sinon is a powerful character in the sense that the preceding anime set such a low bar for characterization, any kind of backstory and development for any character was a sign of relief from the underworld of blandness that is Kirito and his irrelevant gang. Sinon does, however, come off as a dramatically successful character with real problems and real struggles. Whereas Kirito just pulls off feats of sheer willpower because he defies every rule set out by the game and "fuck you I'm Kirito," any challenge against him loses agency. Sinon's story is the crux of the arc's narrative and it paints her in a rare vulnerable light. Sinon is confronted with challenges like Kirito but what makes it easy to cheer her on is her fight to become stronger. Sinon didn't land on the powerhouse square for the sake of having a protagonist like Kirito. Instead, she is in a position for development as she fights childhood trauma and the resulting years of being a social outcast. Phantom Bullet revolves around what it means to be strong and how to find that strength. The message is epitomized within Sinon and actively places GGO as a setting where meek Asada Shino, the player, becomes Sinon, one of the top snipers in GGO. Abstract introspective moments in which Asada faces her game avatar reveals that they are different facets of personality: Asada Shino seeks to learn from Sinon's strengths so that she may become strong enough herself to confront reality. The show displays the fruits of potentials in being able to comment how people can reinvent themselves in video games as a form of expression, inventing characters, personalities, and even entire worlds. Sinon's characterization is without doubt the strongest point in Phantom Bullet.
Sinon's story is framed within Phantom Bullet's overarching murder mystery that necessitates Kirito's involvement, and wherever Kirito is involved, unnecessary sexualization always seems to follow. It's easy to point to the tasteless fan service that immediately targets Sinon (even Asuna survived for some number of episodes) and Kirito's girly avatar as nothing but a shallow theater act to please certain demographics, but the gender role and sexualization discussion becomes controversial in the scenes depicting Asada being sexually assaulted by her close friend before Kirito enters for a timely rescue. The topics of online stalking and harassment are subtly present within the Phantom Bullet narrative and mostly lies dormant until the concluding moments. The most striking aspect was the fact that the perpetrator was Asada's closest friend who lost inhibition after being rejected from a relationship. The aftermath of the scene in question has Asada confronting her fears again in relapsing moments and she discovers that her experiences throughout the series has indeed brought her newfound emotional strength and supportive friends. It's a delicate subject matter and I'm still not sure if the show handled it with enough gravity as there are a number of interpretations people can perceive depending on their own experiences and beliefs. It is my personal belief that, although Phantom Bullet drops the occasional fan service, Sword Art Online II has matured from Sword Art Online in staying away from its predecessor's absolutely tasteless moments.
Phantom Bullet saw improvement in the two areas I found lacking from the first series: directing a statement and character development. By opening up the Sword Art universe to the real world instead of confining it to the virtual world, more complex developments and comments became possible. Phantom Bullet looks into a small window of how players define themselves from past experiences and future hopes, both beneficial and harmful, in virtual spaces where the freedom to become any persona exists. Pay close attention to how Sinon and Asada are individually characterized despite essentially being the same person and how the two interact with and mirror each other in Asada's mind. I have no hesitation in stating that the Phantom Bullet arc of Sword Art Online II is a vast improvement over the installments in Sword Art Online.
Up next: Mother's Rosario- what? Yeah, I'm skipping the middle arc because there wasn't much about it that stood out. You want to know what the middle arc is about? Here:
'it's a grillll ecks dee kappa'
Sinon is a powerful character in the sense that the preceding anime set such a low bar for characterization, any kind of backstory and development for any character was a sign of relief from the underworld of blandness that is Kirito and his irrelevant gang. Sinon does, however, come off as a dramatically successful character with real problems and real struggles. Whereas Kirito just pulls off feats of sheer willpower because he defies every rule set out by the game and "fuck you I'm Kirito," any challenge against him loses agency. Sinon's story is the crux of the arc's narrative and it paints her in a rare vulnerable light. Sinon is confronted with challenges like Kirito but what makes it easy to cheer her on is her fight to become stronger. Sinon didn't land on the powerhouse square for the sake of having a protagonist like Kirito. Instead, she is in a position for development as she fights childhood trauma and the resulting years of being a social outcast. Phantom Bullet revolves around what it means to be strong and how to find that strength. The message is epitomized within Sinon and actively places GGO as a setting where meek Asada Shino, the player, becomes Sinon, one of the top snipers in GGO. Abstract introspective moments in which Asada faces her game avatar reveals that they are different facets of personality: Asada Shino seeks to learn from Sinon's strengths so that she may become strong enough herself to confront reality. The show displays the fruits of potentials in being able to comment how people can reinvent themselves in video games as a form of expression, inventing characters, personalities, and even entire worlds. Sinon's characterization is without doubt the strongest point in Phantom Bullet.
ggo is actually a dating sim with rhythm mechanics
Sinon's story is framed within Phantom Bullet's overarching murder mystery that necessitates Kirito's involvement, and wherever Kirito is involved, unnecessary sexualization always seems to follow. It's easy to point to the tasteless fan service that immediately targets Sinon (even Asuna survived for some number of episodes) and Kirito's girly avatar as nothing but a shallow theater act to please certain demographics, but the gender role and sexualization discussion becomes controversial in the scenes depicting Asada being sexually assaulted by her close friend before Kirito enters for a timely rescue. The topics of online stalking and harassment are subtly present within the Phantom Bullet narrative and mostly lies dormant until the concluding moments. The most striking aspect was the fact that the perpetrator was Asada's closest friend who lost inhibition after being rejected from a relationship. The aftermath of the scene in question has Asada confronting her fears again in relapsing moments and she discovers that her experiences throughout the series has indeed brought her newfound emotional strength and supportive friends. It's a delicate subject matter and I'm still not sure if the show handled it with enough gravity as there are a number of interpretations people can perceive depending on their own experiences and beliefs. It is my personal belief that, although Phantom Bullet drops the occasional fan service, Sword Art Online II has matured from Sword Art Online in staying away from its predecessor's absolutely tasteless moments.
strength comes from microtransactions
Phantom Bullet saw improvement in the two areas I found lacking from the first series: directing a statement and character development. By opening up the Sword Art universe to the real world instead of confining it to the virtual world, more complex developments and comments became possible. Phantom Bullet looks into a small window of how players define themselves from past experiences and future hopes, both beneficial and harmful, in virtual spaces where the freedom to become any persona exists. Pay close attention to how Sinon and Asada are individually characterized despite essentially being the same person and how the two interact with and mirror each other in Asada's mind. I have no hesitation in stating that the Phantom Bullet arc of Sword Art Online II is a vast improvement over the installments in Sword Art Online.
Up next: Mother's Rosario- what? Yeah, I'm skipping the middle arc because there wasn't much about it that stood out. You want to know what the middle arc is about? Here:
See you in Mother's Rosario.
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