The story shifts its focus to Suguha for a bit as she savors the game that she’s discovered.
What They Say:
Leafa is making enemies leaving her area and group to team up with Kirito. On their way to neutral Territory, they speak more of the rules and areas of the ALO.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the reveal in the previous episode as to who Leafa is in the real world, it was a reminder that the real world itself does have an impact in ALfheim Online. Whereas things were kept completely separate after the start of Sword Art Online, there is that ability to logout her and that reminder of who we are in the real world. With the revelation about Suguha, something I’ll admit I didn’t see right away, we get to spend some time with her in general as she’s making it clear her interest in the world that her brother was lost in, or at least the games themselves. Getting into it herself was something that opened up a whole new world to her and she discovered her love of ALO and its ability to fly.
The relationship between Suguha and Kirito has certainly been a small part of the first half of the series, but there was enough to bind them there and to give us more of a meaning when he came back to the world. Seeing her getting into the game (filled with a little more fanservice than is really necessary) helps to show that kind of wonder that she’s still feeling with a lot of it. Her intention to show him the ropes and really get to know him in the game, secretly, isn’t going to be too easy though as the group she’s been a part of is intent on keeping her there. It’s amusing to see their intense nature with this and the way that Kirito is just so confident. While his gear and wealth is small, he certainly has the skills to back himself up which makes his approach to them a mixed bag.
A good chunk of the episode is devoted to Leafa showing Kirito the ins and outs of the game, which he picks up on pretty quickly as one would expect. He has a lot to take in quick in order to work his way up the World Tree before Asuna gets married off in the real world and he’s handling it well with Leafa. Her place in the scheme of things is really fun to watch since there’s so much care in her heart for her brother in both worlds. She also gets to learn a few things along the way about him, especially when it comes to Yui as she’s so unusual in the game. And Yui’s relationship with Kirito only makes it more so since she can’t quite figure it out. Seeing the two get a sense of each other and the game itself over this episode works well, even if it keeps things pretty mellow overall.
In Summary:
Sword Art Online has had its share of mellow episodes along the way which tend to frustrate fans it seems, but I enjoy them since they help to flesh things out and let us see the characters in a different kind of setting. With its focus here being through Suguha’s point of view, we get some good stuff as we see how into the game she is, what she’s learned and how intently she wants to help Kirito in his efforts so she can get closer to him. Kirito’s more of a minor character here as he learns, studies and adapts, but it shows how quickly he takes to everything. Between that and a great, if short, little tense bit involving Asuna and her captor, there’s a lot to like here, but it doesn’t push forward hard or fast, rather giving us a bit of space before the storm hits.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
