HomeAnimeAccel World Part 2/2

Accel World Part 2/2

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HB0113_Accel_Part2_BLU_SUPER_3D_flat_largeReki Kawahara will quite likely be remembered for years to come for his role in creating light novel franchises surrounding virtual worlds. One series in particular would clearly be Sword Art Online which is still being written and has a second anime series based on the Phantom Bullet arc currently airing in Japan this season. While it hasn’t received as much attention worldwide, his other light novel franchise Accel World received an anime adaptation back in 2012, which has been picked up by VIZ in North America and Hanabee Entertainment in Australia / New Zealand. Split into two half-season volumes, the second has recently been made available in the ANZ region.

While I alluded to this during my review of Part 1/2, I can now come out and say that in terms of anime adaptations only, I am much more fond of Accel World than Sword Art Online. Both have their charms and Reki Kawahara offers two interesting takes on the future of virtual reality, which asides from being trapped in an online game with no escape, I wouldn’t mind seeing as the real future of VR. But while Accel World offers more of a straight forward plot with a balance between real life and virtual elements, Sword Art Online didn’t always hit the mark when trying to balance presenting everything about an arc’s virtual world while delivering the plot in half an episode count it could have used.

Accel World Part 2 continues from where the last one ended, with Haru and Kuroyukihime having just celebrated defeating Chrome Disaster at the bequest of Level 9 player Scarlet Rain. But things don’t stay calm for long, and the start of a new school year brings new issues to the group. While Chiyuri manages to acquire the Brain Burst program for herself with a unique ability, this is offset by a new antagonistic Burst Linker named Seiji Nomi who gleefully and unremorsefully uses acceleration for his own gain. With Kuroyukihime away on a school trip to Okinawa, most of the episodes in Part 2 focus on the other members of Black Lotus and their allies taking down this growing threat.

The progression of events and reduction of Kuroyukihime to a secondary character grants viewers a look at many new aspects of Brain Burst and focused development of other characters aside from the relationship between Kuro and Kuroyukihime which has dominated the episodes so far. How can a Burst Linker jump back if they happen to lose their unique ability? How is it that some characters can be significantly stronger than others? How will the long-time relationship between Kuro, Chiyuri and Takumu survive when all three find themselves powerless and blackmailed?

In the middle of this volume are two episodes dedicated exclusively to Kuroyukihime during her trip in Okinawa, where she comes across an old acquaintance and two fellow Burst Linkers as they seek to take down a powerful foe threatening the region. Asides from one almost insignificant event during this episode duo which has a role in the final episode and hints towards something else to be explored at a later date, there was little purpose to these episodes and could be seen as simply padding to reach the 24 episode count. Despite this and the fact the episodes were placed just after a major cliffhanger in Episode 17, they were enjoyable episodes that I wouldn’t call “filler”.

Accel World is an ongoing light novel release by Reki Kawahara which shows no sign of ending anytime soon. One of the issues I have with some anime based on ongoing work is that the anime production team will adopt their own events and attempt to conclude in some way that is often inferior to the source material and locks any chance of a direct sequel. While the anime adaptation of Accel World wraps up with the Seiji Nomi arc, they have fortunately left an opening for future releases, even leaving scattered hints about what will be adapted from later light novel volumes.

In terms of production values: design, music and voice acting all remain consistent from previous volumes. Fortunately you don’t have to wait for a blu-ray release this time around, with Hanabee Entertainment simultaneously releasing the DVD and Blu-ray editions.

There are many anime / manga series on the market that surround virtual reality and virtual worlds, .hack// and Sword Art Online just to name two of them. While both have their charms, it was refreshing to watch a series like Accel World which goes a step beyond by not just focusing on the virtual world but integrating a balance between real life and virtual elements. While primarily focusing on only one event rather than a series of events that the first volume did, Accel World Part 2/2 managed to provide plenty of new insight into the Brain Burst virtual world, solid character development and an overall enjoyable experience. We are almost two years from when the last episode aired in Japan, so let’s hope that Sunrise commits to a second season sooner rather than later.

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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