Regular readers of The Otaku’s Study may already know, I consider the anime adaptations of both Mamare Touno’s Log Horizon and Reki Kawahara’s other light novel project Accel World to have provided a more satisfying watch compared to the first season of Sword Art Online. In my opinion this was not so much because of its concept, which was creative and suited my personal tastes, but rather because as a viewer I felt as if I were being hurried through the storyline. Both the Aincrad and Fairy Dance arcs of SAO provided only small glimpses at their respective VRMMO’s and the events which took place within them. An extra few episodes dedicated to each arc wouldn’t have gone astray, and could have potentially provided more depth to the storyline and filled in some of the significant time skips present in the Aincrad Arc.
But saying that, I was eager to see how its sequel – Sword Art Online II – fared, especially with the conclusion to season one opening the door up for pretty much anything to happen (or to comfortably conclude if need be). Because SAO II is being published as quarter-season (7-episode) volumes rather than the usual half-season or full-season collections that a good majority of anime titles are released as in international markets, I will reserve my full judgement of this current arc until it concludes in Volume 2. From these episodes however, while pacing can sometimes be slow and it is clear they don’t intend to spend too much time on the new VRMMO (Gun Gale Online), it actually manages to deliver a satisfying amount of action, solid plot/character development and a good balance between the virtual and real worlds.
Storyline
One year has passed since the incidents involving Sword Art Online and ALfheim Online, and life has pretty much gone back to normal for those who were involved in those two events. Not only does ALfheim Online continue to grow, but “The Seed” which Kirito went public with has caused a booming market of different titles which are interoperable with one another (allowing characters to switch from one title to another with select data transferring over). Kirito remains on ALfheim Online alongside his (mostly female) group of friends, and is still maintaining his relationship with Asuna. But this current arc is not about ALO or his current set of friends. In fact, neither make much of an appearance at all.
In addition to his studies and gaming, Kirito begins collaborating with the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Virtual Reality division – first introduced in the ‘Extra Edition’ episode which has yet to be bundled with a retail release. Following a string of mysterious player deaths, Kirito is drawn into the world of Gun Gale Online – a VRMMO considered to be one of the hardest to play and has its fair share of professional players. Although sceptical about the possibility of players dying in-game from what is described as a “heart attack”, his experiences participating in the major ‘Bullet of Bullets’ PvP tournament leave him second guessing this assumption, as a memory from his days in Sword Art Online begins to haunt him. Overall the core storyline is shaping up to be interesting enough, and it provides a good combination of new concepts and ideas which tie in with the progression of virtual reality technology and game development in the SAO universe.
While Asuna and most of the other returning characters are out of the picture aside from the very occasional appearance, character development is not exclusively focused on Kirito. Instead, an elite player named Shino Asada (In-game name: Sinon) who is considered to be one of Gun Gale Online’s best snipers, takes on a leading role. With a lot more attention put towards her out-of-game life, presenting an intriguing backstory and considerable differences between her in-game and out-of-game personas, she arguably ends up as one of the most developed Sword Art Online characters after only seven episodes. Large sections of select episodes are dedicated to focusing on her, as she seeks to use Gun Gale Online as a means to defeat a post traumatic stress disorder caused by a childhood incident. Although I haven’t watched ahead to find out if she lives up to expectations, Sinon has so far turned out to be one of the more interesting characters to follow.
Expect my full write-up of this arc when Part 2 is launched in November 2015. Although it is still early days of this arc given many of the episodes were dedicated to introducing Sinon and introducing the world and concepts behind Gun Gale Online, it is shaping up to be quite an enticing arc overall.
Design / Music / Voice Acting
One area that the original Sword Art Online anime excelled in was the design department, with picturesque landscapes, strong character designs and eye-catching animation all present at every opportunity. Even though the world of Gun Gale Online is more realistic and grungier than the previous fantasy worlds, and the heavier emphasis on guns does not provide as many opportunities for close-combat action, the visual quality is still high.
As with the first, Aniplex of America have opted to commission an English dub for this season of Sword Art Online. The original voice cast has been retained, alongside a few newcomers for the newly introduced characters. Most notably is Michelle Ruff (Etna – Disgaea) as Sinon, proving to be an appropriate match for her character. The Japanese dub is also present for those who prefer it, and in terms of quality, I think it will come down as personal preference for this show.
Extra Content
Unlike the North American release which offered a Limited Edition set containing a few additional physical goodies, the Australian release of Sword Art Online II Part 1 is only available as part of a DVD or Blu-ray Standard Edition set. The on-disc extras were adequate, which consisted of: two Sword Art Online II animations (Japanese dubbed w/ English subtitles) which were enjoyable to watch, original web previews (Japanese dubbed w/ English subtitles) for each episode and a textless opening sequence.
Final Words on Sword Art Online II Part 1
By jumping between both the real and virtual worlds, putting a bit more emphasis on developing its characters and offering a plot that doesn’t involve people being trapped in an online world for the third time; Sword Art Online II Part 1 has laid a solid foundation for this most recent season. I do hope these foundations blossom into something substantial when Part 2 is released by Madman Entertainment in November.
A Blu-ray review copy of Sword Art Online II Part 1 was provided for the purpose of this review by Madman Entertainment.
Images: ©2014 REKI KAWAHARA/PUBLISHED BY KADOKAWA CORPORATION ASCII MEDIA WORKS/SAOII Project
