Pre-release imagery has arrived for Sword Art Online’s debut episode – giving quite a surprisingly solid grasp of the atmosphere and setting, whilst also making clear who will receive focus, and under what context.
Whilst examining these images, the most prominent feature to note is the accent on the fellow above – as the images recurringly highlight him, it means that surely he’s the center of attention for the episode. And of course, it’s also interesting to consider under what light this character is being presented – and such becomes a bit more complicated as one should also take into account what the stills don’t show.
Starting below, see how there’s a few frames of setting and other characters before reaching the very first image of the male character as seen above – if we’re being presented all of that through his point of view, then it means he’s rather adventurous, and there could be a variety of purpose behind that. Now looking at the image above, the amount of substance is quite blatant – one can see how engaged this character appears, clearly showing him to be concentrated on something, yet the absence of any tension indicates he’s not yet deeply involved.
Give some recognition towards the pink haired male as his repeating appearance marks him down as a key side-character – and then on another note, see how the city is subsequently put into unrest by the apparent antagonist force. The troubling dark red sky certainly needs no acquaintance as it speaks for itself rather well – and the unnatural heavy shadows aren’t particularly joyous or friendly.
Within the first episode, it appears Sword Art Online will go from peaceful days to utter devastation – yet that may have already been well-expected by most. Sword Art Online launches in a day or so time.
Jul 5, 2012 @ 16:14 CDT
…needs more loli. Also, needs less carbon copy faces…
Jul 5, 2012 @ 17:56 CDT
This looks like some sort of A-1 Pictures all-stars gathering:
http://dalian.7thstyle.com/2012/07/sword-art-online-ep-1-pre-release-009.jpg
Jul 5, 2012 @ 21:17 CDT
Looks interesting. Here’s hoping the first episode will be enjoyable :)
Jul 5, 2012 @ 21:35 CDT
I’m pretty confident it should manage as much – A-1 Pictures isn’t too bad a studio.
Jul 6, 2012 @ 7:41 CDT
Looks Promising indeed
Jul 7, 2012 @ 5:26 CDT
last but one picture:
1 male – 28 females (ok, maybe 27 – there’s 1 leg that may belong to a man near top-right corner).
… srsly? that’s too much perverts for 1 MMO, I’ll tell you.
Nov 8, 2012 @ 13:57 CDT
laughing at this post after watching all the later episodes