Serving to be as surprising as the color of the sky, Sword Art Online’s seventh affair is simply another side-story – this one managing to start relatively well, only to then put the series on par with a generic harem.
Skipping over the dull scene of the heroine, which despite how uninteresting it may be, is admittedly important to comprehending this half-baked tale as one will later come to see – the episode initiates with the overpowered protagonist entering a shop belonging to a pink-haired bishoujo who is supposedly a blacksmith in spite of her fetishistic maid outfit. From her, he requests a custom sword – and the subsequent interactions amongst the two proves highly amusing.
For a moment, the episode seems promising as the minutes which transpire after these two make acquaintance flourish with a variety of subtle humor that concurrently elaborates upon both characters – whilst of course, also keeps a stream of entertainment going, and there’s simply little to dislike at the current moment. The atmosphere feels very vibrant – and one can also sense the radiance of sincerity from both characters.
However, that dies quite quickly once the two finally embark on a trip to procure materials for a new blade for Kirito – the entire escapade is disgustingly conventional, with the animation literally being a horribly tattered together stop frame skit during an action scene of combat against a dragon.
Starting from the top, the adventuring pair are atop a frigid mountainous terrain – and the series then executes the first of many expired tropes to soon strike, having the protagonist share his coat with the girl who came scantily clad to a snowy region. Yet as much of a nuisance as that is, there’s events certainly more deserving of ridicule to follow not too far after – the two encounter a dragon, and the scenes of Kirito’s face-off against the beast consists of what is truly no more than three or four still images, transitioning with PowerPoint style fades of a quarter second each.
Alone is that scene of scrap enough to make it apparent that this episode is garbage – yet still unsatisfied with its own self-degradation, yet another pitiful descent unto the recycling bin occurs as although the pink-haired female was warned by the protagonist to stay hidden, she seemingly decides that the midst of a battle against a dragon is a fitting moment for her to randomly run out and risk her life.
It goes without saying that this entire ordeal was heavily slopped together and rushed – yet as if that doesn’t detriment the quality enough to begin with, the stack of extensively overused pseudo-developments suffocatingly arranged on top is certainly not aiding the matter. Unfolding from there is merely a route of romance predictable as it isn’t even anything original – it’s simply a girl falling for a fellow immediately as he’s a cure for her loneliness, which means this series has merely gotten more so akin to a below average love story.
Ultimately, the worth of this episode is zero – and it did magnificently well to waste another opportunity of Sword Art Online’s chance as being recognized as more than trash.
Aug 18, 2012 @ 23:08 CDT
hmmm….a lot of good stuff was left out…guess they r rushing it…but its sad to see liz first love was d taken…n some more its her best fren….talk about heart broken….T_T
Aug 18, 2012 @ 23:30 CDT
PINK HAIR! URYUU
Aug 19, 2012 @ 0:25 CDT
Generic filler at its finest.
Seven, considering Kirito and Liz were ultimately searching for dragon waste product in this episode, comparing this episode to trash may not actually work.
Aug 19, 2012 @ 1:14 CDT
Sidestories…sidestories….sidestories…what more can i say..cause well everything i have to say will have already crossed your mind…this looks no more like your typical harem to me…it started off strong..but then degraded itself too much…ok so next episode we get the main plot right??? i mean i wouldn’t give this more than a B at this moment…if they can manage to pull it off in the next few episodes maybe a B+…they got like 25 or so episodes..wow…
Aug 19, 2012 @ 2:11 CDT
I’m hoping for main story, as well. I read a description of the overall plot a few days ago, and it sounds much more interesting than the random filler. As to the second sword for Kirito today, this will become important eventually.
I wonder when they’ll get to the 75th floor? Something interesting will occur there :)
Aug 19, 2012 @ 8:38 CDT
The problem is you shouldn’t have to read anything to enjoy an animation.
Aug 19, 2012 @ 8:39 CDT
If they can pull it off in the next few episodes, I’ll give this an F, maybe an F+.
At the very least, it will be above G.
Aug 20, 2012 @ 4:42 CDT
And here I thought F was the lowest you could go…
Aug 20, 2012 @ 8:30 CDT
http://seventhstyle.com/2012/07/27/guilty-crown-oppai-mizugi-merchandise/#comment-14198
Aug 19, 2012 @ 3:07 CDT
OK, just finished watching the episode. Seems that interesting event I was talking about will occur next time :)
Admittedly, not the 75th floor one, but still a good scene.
I wanna walk up walls like Kirito :)
PS:
Didn’t edit my previous post as the site didn’t show the option (?)
Aug 19, 2012 @ 8:35 CDT
You can only edit your comment for 10 minutes after you make it.
Aug 19, 2012 @ 8:18 CDT
American Lifestyle: Another day another dollar
Kirito Lifestyle: Another week another woman
Aug 19, 2012 @ 12:03 CDT
I wish the dragon was a bit stronger in that episode, Kirito beating it too easily kinda annoys me. I just hope there would be a proper fight when they get back in the front lines.
Aug 19, 2012 @ 12:05 CDT
More annoying than that was how he beat it in three still frames delivered PowerPoint style.
Aug 19, 2012 @ 16:18 CDT
Yeah, totally. Everything about this episode just screams: “TYPICAL HAREM ROMANCE”, doesn’t it now?
Aug 19, 2012 @ 16:45 CDT
It screams some other things too, but you actually have to read more than the title of the article to learn that – don’t worry about it though, we wouldn’t want you to strain yourself.
Aug 20, 2012 @ 0:21 CDT
Not typical harem romance, more like *** girl wins, still boring and typical. I like ecchi and lolis but plot and interesting charcters got me into anime. By the time anime with good plot with romance/ecchi at 5% importance pops up I’ll be 40+. Now back to golgo and mushishi.
Aug 20, 2012 @ 4:44 CDT
I dunno…I liked Steins;Gate and it didn’t have much of an ecchi element. There were the occasional maid bits, but apart from that and another scene…It also had a great plot :)
Sep 2, 2012 @ 18:54 CDT
You really are a moron, the only one beyond redemption is you….honestly would you call Bakemonogatari a harem? SAO is basically the same thing, Kirito already has his mind set on one person (he comes to realize this later, like most MCs do) Harem MCs are nothing like Kirito, i like you to point out one that is even close, you are either a wimp like 99% of harem MCs, or you are a Alpha BA like Akatsuki in Hagure Yuusha. Honestly you should stop reviewing, your stupidity may spread like an epidemic.
Sep 2, 2012 @ 19:10 CDT
“your stupidity may spread like an epidemic.”
—————————–
“Harem MCs are nothing like Kirito”
Adolescent with an assortment of females who all love him for no apparent reason – that sounds like most harem series, and that also sounds like Sword Art Online. You don’t seem to even understand what a “harem” is.
“would you call Bakemonogatari a harem?”
Yes.
“a wimp like 99% of harem MCs,”
Kirito would be the 99%.