#sao 3 partes😐

[specialability]

Issue 3: Peaches & Venom (SAOAWotU Pt 2)

We have a couple weeks before the new anime season picks up so I will have some time to cover some more material from my backlog. Your options are: Witcher 3 impressions & review (aka more complaining about sexism), Tales of Vesperia from about halfway through (work within the system or become a vigilante?), or Tower of God series roundup (similar to the SAO posts). Or maybe something else. - Anarchae 2020-06-25

1. Music of the Week

Little Simz - Venom | A COLORS SHOW - YouTube

North London’s Little Simz returns to the COLORS stage with a blistering performance of ‘Venom’, lifted from her third studio album ‘GREY Area’. Follow ▶ Str…

Lil Simz - Venom

2. SAO Alicization

Stream-of-consciousness liveblog style reaction to Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of the Underworld (SAOAWotU). Last issue Anarchae covered Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of the Underworld Episodes 1-6. This is the second half of the season.

SPOILERS FOR SAOAWotU EPISODES 7-12

Episode 7

Administrator demonstrates for us a classic abuser tactic: make yourself the other person’s whole world and then tear them down so they can’t live without you.

Sure would have been nice for the two schoolgirls to be a little more useful. It is realisitic for them to freeze in a moment where they are confronted with real violence, but it’s so tiresome. Even this green-hair guy is afraid, but it’s obvious he’s going to get over his fear pretty soon. And for bonus misogyny, the goblin makes a sexual remark as if all species really want to have sex with human women for some reason.

Flashback: It’s a tale as old as time. A boy who uses boku and a boy who uses ore, friends and rivals, “battling” with their “swords”. Yaoi.

Why are they using real swords in what looks like a student tournament? Why isn’t there a ringside healer? And why do some characters die instantly but others linger on forever??

So the green hair guy is both a sad gay and got over his trauma in 0.5 seconds of meeting Kirito by being inspired by a disabled person. How many tropes can you fit in literally about 5 mins.

Goblin King did the right thing by trying to close the distance after the boomerang was thrown, but he wasn’t fast enough. RIP Goblin King guy. You got Freiza’d.

But now I have more questions. Why weren’t the schoolgirls and Kirito kept with the supply corps to begin with??

Whenever there’s a sexy confident woman she’s gonna be evil, right? Good women don’t show their boobs like that.

…That’s ossan’s one big fight scene I guess. 😐

Ah, and it’s time for the moral conflict over whether both sides are the same. Let’s see how Alice resolves it. Alice’s plan and the plan of the Dark Caster is essentially the same. They were both working on massive spells using up all the local mana. And actually the Dark Caster has come up with an interesting way of basically building a giant cannon out of a bunch of mages acting in sync. (Looks like the boob window is manditory part of the uniform.) Meanwhile, the Knights just have one OP person who has figured out lasers. (Although the writers definitely haven’t - the speed of light doesn’t change just from bouncing off of things, it’s more about focusing the energy of light into a point that makes it destructive.)

And she’s just going to decide she’s fine with genocide as long as it’s for Kirito. Cool cool cool cool.

Reflecting light inside a sphere infinitely as a battery and then releasing it as a sort of focused light weapon is intense. That’s not just something you come up with, that takes quite a lot of thinking. It’s kind of a massive version of Synthesis Two’s sword’s principle, but that was never really explained sufficiently.

Well, what’s the point of anime if you don’t have giant space lasers?

Alice doesn’t just look like Saber now, she’s got the destructive power to match. Now if she just shouts EX-CALIBUR while swinging her sword the weebs will wet themselves. As if there aren’t enough Saber clones already. How many blonde haired blue eyed stern women in blue and gold do you need?!

Episode 8

The wolf-ogre king was nice. Too bad for him, he needs to die to create moral conflict for Alice.

Ah, textbook fanservice.

And now more talking. I know it’s a normal thing in Japanese culture for the lower status person to serve and pour for the boss, but augh I hate watching Synthesis Two standing there serving the ossan. There can be valid reasons for something to happen in a story and it still be sexist.

Pigs literally being lead to the slaughter. This show is not subtle. And I really like this Priestess leader of the pigs, she’s cute and she deserves more and better story than this. Now I’m starting to think, how many named men die in this show vs named women? And how many named men died heroic positive deaths vs named women dying horrifying or pathetic deaths? Hmmmm. 😐

So in a normal war with competent generals there is absolutely no way you’d just blatantly sacrifice a bunch of your troops where everyone else could see it, obviously it’s going to be shit for morale and people will start deserting. The glowing of the eye of the pig-ogre leader is definitely foreshadowing of that happening. Either his eye will explode like humans do or he’ll go berserk like the giant did.

I knew Eldrie was going to do something reckless but at least he died in a cool scene. The fact that the curse focused on him instead of splitting to all the knights is silly though. It’s still silly that some people die immediately as soon as they hit zero and others through magic willpower are able to have a death scene in the arms of their loved one. And after totally unnecessarily exploding in the middle of the sky!

Dark Caster did not plan for the Power of Love. This fight is reaching the point where the Knight side is winning way too easily. After so many episodes this season of Not Much Happening why are we now cramming all this war into a handful of episodes? We could have spent a bit more time on all these side-characters before they’re killed off. The pacing and priorities of this show are confusing.

Episode 9

I am going to have a fucking conniption if it turns out Dark Emperor Rapist’s dead girl is actually related to Alice somehow. Like her brain was the basis of the AI because her dad worked on the system or something like that.

I saved this screenshot as “ossan is a perv”. That’s all.

So the way you know this Pugilist leader is going to not die right away like all the others is because he has a more idiosyncratic character design and we get to hear his inner dialogue.

Yes, of course, a girl on girl fight. The girl will lose and then the leader will take it seriously. *sigh*

But I seriously have no complaints about this fight. We’re finally back up to top-tier animation. Sheyta is great. I love this woman. A character with autistic-like mannerisms whose hyperfocus is cutting things. And a guy who looks like a muscle-head but figures out what’s going on in Sheyta’s head immediately. They’re so friggin cute.

I could screenshot this entire fight. This is the good shit.

They’re in looooooove.

This is easily the best pairing to come out of this entire goddamn season. 👌

Yeah!!! Asuna’s back!!! To save all the girls in danger from rapey men!!! I love you Asuna-san!!! 😭

Episode 10

Yes. Asuna is here to 👏 get shit done 👏 and take care of Kirito-kun, as usual. This is why she is best girl.

Aaah, I am back at my dilemma between liking it when female characters get to interact and be friends and hating it when their interactions are fighting over a boy. Someone please send Reki Kawahara the definition of the Bechdel Test.

Incidentally, a better story about “real world” people trying to take over a “virtual” world and the moral ambiguities therein is Apotheosis of a Demon - A Monster Evolution Story. The title makes it sound like just a Slime datta ken ripoff but it’s much more interesting than Slime. My full review is here.

Look at all these mooks sitting around asking useful questions to help Asuna lore-dump. I just realized the people of Knight empire don’t know English so they don’t know Asuna is calling her world the “Real World” they are just making the sounds and probably think that’s the name of it the same way colonizers screwed up a lot of place names. (Sheyta is great)

So bets on the traitor? Higa (the programmer), the female researcher I always forget the name of, some side-character who is really a Real World person diving in, Kirito’s Hot Nurse, someone from the SAO survivors who is familiar with the system and embedded the lock early, or maybe someone from the JSDF? The way the American bad guys were set up it seemed as though they were only hired pretty recently in the timeline and wouldn’t have had time to infiltrate ahead of time - also there’s no sign that Evil Rapist knows about the eye seal. Honestly it’s been so long since I watched the original series I have no idea if there’s a callback reference in here.

Is this what guys fantasize about? A harem of girls who all get along but also are all obsessed with you? Weird.

Episode 11

This part is really sad. :( Even sadder than the pig-ogres. I know it’s just to reinforce that Evil Rapist is Evil but now I am attached to the Pugilists so this is maybe the first actual scene in this entire show I actually feel a bit of emotion about.

So uh yep I’m pretty sure that is an accurate depiction of how this open beta idea would unfold. And the US military and intelligence agencies have been the villains of a lot of Japanese media over the years, especially sci-fi. I’m not going to do a big analysis of it now because I’m not an expert but let’s just say it’s an easy target that most Japanese viewers are going to sympathize with.

The time zone difference is probably the smartest and most interesting plot twist this entire series. I legitimately wasn’t expecting it and it makes for a nice realistic lag between the Kirito Team realizing what’s going on and being able to log in to help. Adds to tension.

Hearing a lot of anime fans quoting this mob chara lately re: current events. I think it’s obvious he’s not on the side of the good guys. Yep, this is the put up or shut up scene before the climatic battle and you’re heckling the protagonists.

This speech is a real tearjerker as someone who has spent a lot of time online and who basically grew up on the internet. It might sound trite to continue to argue over “is the internet the real world” but it’s still something people disagree on, and plenty of infantile people want it both ways, like the above mob chara. They want video games to be taken seriously (and for themselves to be taken seriously for liking video games), but also a soft toy world with no responsibilities or consequences. Sorry guys!! You exist in a society!!!

…and then some ominous foreshadowing going into the final episode.

Episode 12

“Who are these guys?”

They’re Americans. 😑 And I don’t know why voice studios don’t hire some actual English first language speakers for the few characters that need it. There certainly are enough JET teachers desperate for cash out there. Ah, well. Most anime still isn’t made with an international audience in mind.

So the Dark characters do have the same right eye seal. So, again, why did the Dark General and his Vice-Captain girlfriend not run into that problem when they decided to challenge Emperor Evil? Plot hole or plot point?

These Pugilists have been on the scene for like three episodes and are instantly more likeable than all the Synthesis Knights combined. Except Sheyta. Who also has only existed for like two episodes.

Also, why would Asuna use her last Earth Magic on so many bridges? Just make one! Jeeze. I guess if you’re going to use a high-MP spell you might as well go all the way.

I had a realization that the way the Americans are acting, being “unnatural” in the Underworld world, is a parallel to how the military wants to bring AIs to the real world. The beta players don’t realize they’re being used as fodder like militarized AIs would be in the real world. It’s like we’re all the same and it’s our actions towards others that show our humanity. Oooh aaaah. 🤔👏

People sure like freedom stories like this in fiction but never really follow through in real life because in reality you have to suffer when you fight power. It’s not just metaphorical pain either. But on the flip side, a lot of people do dream of freedom and know that what they are experiencing right now isn’t it. They just need to reach that life-or-death moment with their back against the wall to tear out their own eye.

Champion/Sheyta OTP 4lyfe.

I would also like to say IRL it is said (not that I’ve experienced it) that the sensation of dying really fucks you up. That is why waterboarding is so terrifying. Your brain genuinely thinks you’re going to die because you can’t breathe. So imagine you could plug into someone’s brain and give them the sensation of dying with realistic nerve stimulation. I’m pretty sure nobody would come out of that unscathed. You can imagine why the US military complex would love to have something like that around. And as a happy reminder, there are still 40 people in Guantanamo Bay who have never been charged with a crime.

Anyway, back to the anime! Where a fictional creeper is about to go try to kill Asuna while Emperor Rapefais is about to try to kill Alice. Our pleasant escape from reality.

Sure is convenient dragons shine brightly in the sky hunh. Also sure is convenient that carriages can just hop right down steep cliffs, no problems there. Also super inconvenient, running straight into an open bowl where you can be surrounded by enemies who have the higher ground. Hmmm. And it sure is weird to think they’re just dragging Kirito around in a carriage this whole time. But it’s not like we could leave him back with the supply corps where he’d be safe. Nope.

So. That’s a weird ending. At least we got some good sakuga for a second. The Kirito Harem Army is on its way. I feel like the face tattoo guy was one of the big time PKers in SAO, part of that scary guild that attacked Kirito at the beginning of this season, but I don’t really remember. I’m sure other fans have better speculation on that front.

It is unfortunate that absolutely every goddamn season of SAO ends with a rapefais dude kidnapping a female character. It really displays the male desire to have it both ways: be the good guy that all the girls like, but still be able to watch the abusive rapey stuff. I swear to god the number of web novels I’ve read where the main character is a good guy who saves girls from being raped and then they immediately become his submissive slaves is just absurd. Mainstream porn is a fucking poison.

There was plot need for Kirito to stop getting so OP and that was why he had to get locked out of this series - even though the reason why his brain was fried makes no goddamn sense. The attempt of the author to try and do something slightly differently from all the previous arcs is admirable, but he will probably still have Kirito do the final battoru because that is what protagonists do. It is also highly likely that Alice will sacrifice herself to save the world or become some kind of deity, but given how few characters have actually died in this series it’s more likely we’ll all think she died and then a bit later she’ll show up in one of the other VRMMOs or the real world.

I think Alice will probably choose not to come to the real world, but it’s pretty much 50/50 at this point. Kirito Team will win, of course, meaning at minimum they would keep the Underworld alive and maintain a co-existence principle with some limited exchange. But it’s also possible SAO will surprise me and set the ending up in such a way that they have to wipe it and everybody “dies”. Hard to say at this point.

The characterization in this whole arc has been awful, I don’t know if it’s the novel canon or just how the anime portrays it, but none of any of the characters decisions make any gd sense half the time. It isn’t until the very end that there is any feeling of urgency in the plot or sentiment towards the characters. It’s all just very dull. I have a feeling that in compressing the story to fit within the episodes given they cut out a lot of backstory and side-characters that would have made it more interesting. Instead it is a very tick-the-box tell-don’t-show writing.

I’m excited for the new season because I do hope they do something interesting and when the sakuga is good it’s good. It’s just never going to be one of my favourite anime.

That’s it for SAOAWotU until the next season starts airing July 11 when I will start posting weekly reviews.

4. Comedy of the Week

Hypothetical - “James Ancaster and Richard Ayoade Have an ‘Awkwardoff’“

There are unfortunately no watchable copies of this show on youtube and that is a dire sin against the pirating community. Please send me an email if you want directions to links. I heard “James Ancaster and Josh Widdicombe are doing a new panel show” and dug up a torrent for series 1 and most of series 2, and then had to search the depths of reddit to get the last few episodes. But it was worth it. The first series was a bit uneven, some second-hand embarressment moments, they hadn’t quite figured out the format, but it also had moments of genuinely brilliant comedy. The second series (which this is taken from) is much more polished but there is still quite a bit of entertaining unscripted chaos like this scene. I also appreciate that they consistently go for 2 female and 2 male guests and a mix of POC plus some of the more famous disabled comics on the UK circuit. I really hope they get to film a third series with everything going on. Not having a studio audience might be tough on something like this, though, I’m not sure you can do comedy without an audience.

5. June Wishlist Reviews

Manga & Light Novels being released in June are taken from the Yattatachi blog’s very useful monthly roundup. Consider using their links to purchase from B&N to send them a commission or order from your local comic or indie book shop.

Week of June 30

The Fall of Constantinople by Nanami Shiono (novel) - I am quite interested in this series of her books being released. They are very popular historical novels set in the Mediterranean from the 80s that have won a bunch of prizes, but also like most popular history books have been criticized by historians for being oversimplified.

Love Me for Who I Am Vol. 1 by Kata Konayama (manga) - I haven’t read this one and I suspect there will be a lot of discourse around it once it comes out. The protagonist is non-binary and also starts working in a maid cafe. So is it going to be treated like a “what’s under there?” comedy, or a more sensitive and modern take on non-binary life? Or maybe just a “daily life of a high schooler” where the protagonist happens to be nb.

More to come…

6. Sweet of the Week

Fresh Local Peaches

They are good. They are hard to cut. They are juicy but not too juicy because I am keeping them in the fridge. My roommate made pie with a bunch and we are splitting the rest. It’s not my favourite fruit, but these particular ones are quite good. I will be sick of them in a week or two though. 8/10

source https://buttondown.email/anarchaeopteryx/archive/issue-3-peaches-venom-saoawotu-pt-2/