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Post subject: Sword Art Online (the anime)
 Posted: Apr 19, 2013 - 12:38 PM
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Royalty
Joined: Dec 19, 2009
Posts: 1466
Status: Offline
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Hey guys, I dunno exactly why I wanted to introduce this here but for some reason, it has links to me and reminds me in some ways of you guys. In fact i'll be creating a topic for this in the general forum based on what would happen if obie were to be like this. But anyway, let me explain!
My brother came to me yesterday and told me he'd found an anime that I might be interested in. He told me he'd wait for me to catch up on the first episode if I watched it the very there and then. I was undecided at first but I did give in and boy am I GLAD I did!
So basically Sword Art Online is an anime about an online MMO (you can begin to see the links as to why it resonated with me and may with you guys). It's a virtual reality game - that is, you use headgear to disable your body's functions while inside and go to a fully fleshed out world based on the game, complete with sights, smells, sounds... i'm pretty sure even pain gets added after the first episode (the first episode is a gigantic twist that sets the premise up for the whole story). The actual game is interesting too: No actual 'classes' but you can level up skills to professionalize in stuff if you want to - so some people there invest into their beast taming skill and the like.
Anyway, as one of the first games on the VRMMORPG market, like any game it needs beta testers. There are 1000 of them in SAO and one of them is actually the main character and protagonist of the anime. The anime begins on the game's proper release date. 10000 people are invited into the game to play on the opening day and some of those are of course beta testers. The protagonist is teaching a new player how to play (awww it's like obie <3) when they notice something amiss: They can't log out.
Here's where the twist is properly introduced. The players are teleported (without their consent) to the main plaza on level 1 where the GM and creator of the game appears in a server announcement. He tells them they cannot log out... because he's trapped them there in an effort to create his own world. That's not all, though. If the players forcefully log out, such as a family member coming and removing the headset for the game, a gigantic electro-magnetic pulse will be sent directly to their brain, killing them.
But there's more. If a character dies in game, the exact same thing happens; the pulse is sent and they die in RL as well. That is, no respawning. The players can only log out by clearing the game and to do that they have to climb the tower Aincrad's (the place where the game is set) 100 floors, defeating the boss on each level and advancing to the 100th floor. Finally, he leaves them with a mirror, an item. Obviously in game you aren't your real self, your face is done by the game according to how you want. By looking into the mirror, everyone gets transformed into their real selves. So some girls are turned into guys because the player was actually a guy, that kind of thing (that part of the scene is actually pretty funny  )
Now that's the twist. The anime is incredibly good on its own merits which might surprise you: Any anime fan has probably found some anime which has tried to do something of the same sort (an anime based on a game) but usually only appeals to gamers because of its references or its story just doesn't hold up. Some animes really do that, just for gamers who know the terminology and can follow and isn't just fanboyism.
But SAO's (Sword Art Online) story actually does hold up. In fact it's a darn good anime, one of the best i've ever seen. It's incredible! The game is explained in bits as needed so you're never too loaded with information... and it's fun to learn the game as well! It also looks at the psychological effects of being trapped in a virtual reality game, one in which some young kids play and some as old as 50 or 60 play. Some rise to the challenge and go on, some stay on the lower levels (I THINK once a boss has been cleared, anyone can go up or down to that level but i'm never entirely sure), some never leave the first floor, some go insane, some become PKs (player killers, which is obviously a gigantic deal in a game where if you die, you die for real) and so on.
The scenery of this anime is incredible though. Every floor is different, each with its own town area and dungeon area. Some levels are mountainous, some are grassy, some have lakes, some are freezing cold, some have different terrains, some are just plain weird and so on! I think that's one of the reasons I love this anime so much and one of the reasons that if this technology became available i'd seriously consider making a (non life-threating version! ) game SAO (that is if i become a games designer!): I have finished all the current episodes of the anime but I really want to explore that world more. The levels you do see make you wonder about the ones you haven't and all that... it's just really really incredible and immersive. =D
The game is 25 episodes long currently (apparently it's actually ongoing) and it has two story arcs (the first is from about episode 1 to about episode 12 or 13 and the second is the remainder). Small spoilers here: The second arc is different from the first in several ways but it also has many similarities. Don't worry when you get up to it because the ending is worth watching and going through the new arc. =) (end the spoilers )
So that's a beginning to SAO. I think you guys might be interested in the concept but I do suggest watching the first few episodes before writing it off if you're originally not interested by what i've said - you might still find you like it, seeing as this is only a surface coverage of the anime. My brother and I literally stayed up as much of last night as we could, trying to watch as much as possible before giving into tiredness and watching the rest this morning. If it'd been earlier in the day, i'm sure we would have watched the entire thing in one go (about six and a half hours including the spoof episodes - every anime has them)!!
If you're interested, my only suggestion is, start watching and say what you think! 
http://anilinkz.com/sword-art-online-episode-1
Then if you haven't already, go to the general thread for the topic there, based on speculation as to what might happen if obie went through that (maybe some game mechanics would be changed a bit to be more like SAO's but still our obie world!). It's really interesting!! |
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Dracilus:Insane until proven crazy.
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Post subject: RE: Sword Art Online (the anime)
Posted: Apr 19, 2013 - 02:27 PM
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Respectable
Joined: Sep 26, 2011
Posts: 185
Location: Not even I know that
Status: Offline
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| I haven't watched the anime, but I've read the entire manga. There are people who scan, clean and translate the pages, and I thank them for that. What I find really weird is that it's only 11 chapters long, and it's completed(granted, there is a sequel, SAO: Fairy Dance(I think), but that's only at 2 chapters so far). The most popular mangas on that site, such as Bleach, Fairy Tail, or, the most popular, Naruto, have over 400, over 300 and over 600 respectively. |
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The difference between Giants and Hill Giants is one level. That one level makes them indestructible to all players below level 9.
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Post subject: RE: Sword Art Online (the anime)
Posted: Apr 19, 2013 - 03:18 PM
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Royalty
Joined: Dec 19, 2009
Posts: 1466
Status: Offline
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Some of the really good animes are only 10-20 episodes long.  |
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Dracilus:Insane until proven crazy.
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 19, 2013 - 10:11 PM
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Noble
Joined: May 19, 2008
Posts: 617
Status: Offline
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 20, 2013 - 06:00 AM
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Royalty
Joined: Dec 19, 2009
Posts: 1466
Status: Offline
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| Teleco wrote: |
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Meanie... 
I'm proud to say one of the posts I have ever made was done for the sake of increasing my post count. ^_^
But yea, anyway, Teleco.... your point? |
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Dracilus:Insane until proven crazy.
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 20, 2013 - 09:40 AM
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Peasant
Joined: Oct 04, 2011
Posts: 27
Status: Offline
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I agree it is one of the best anime I have ever seen. If you did not know, you should read the novels by Kawahara Reki, the author of Sword Art Online, which the anime episodes are based on. You can find the translations written here ( http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/?title=Sword_Art_Online )
You might find the translation of the original japanese text odd, since japanese authors have different ways of expressing characters' emotions and such, but when you get over it, it's all good
I've followed up the novel ever since the first volume came out, and all I can say is that its pretty darn well written. You can tell that the author has alot of experience with MMORPGs and it has good drama to it as well. It runs in 11 volumes (if I remember correctly) and my favourite is the 'Mother's Rosario Arc', tragic and sad.
The light novel in Japan has alot of support from the public, and I would not be surprised if the animation company would decide to put all the novel stories in animation. The SAO market has alot of supporters also outside Japan, so I dont think they would just stop with one season. I heard the second season is coming out late summer or early autumn. |
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Luciella, Rogue of the Marali Vanguard
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Post subject:
Posted: Apr 20, 2013 - 09:53 AM
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Royalty
Joined: Dec 19, 2009
Posts: 1466
Status: Offline
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| Yea that sounds incredible. In fact, it's amazing to think that in 20 or 30 years' time, something like this would actually be possible (and due to how popular SAO is, maybe SAO WOULD become a reality... without the death part haha! ). I'd probably think about making something like SAO if it hadn't already been done by then, seeing as i'd like to become a games' designer. =D |
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Dracilus:Insane until proven crazy.
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