And we’re back for more terror. Last episode introduced Nine and Twelve’s old childhood friend, who’s apparently now a weapon of the system that abandoned them. I’ll be interested in seeing what she brings to the story – so far, the show’s thriller elements have kind of just been a vehicle for its atmosphere and societal grievances, but I could definitely see Five’s appearance pushing the show in a more plot-focused direction. But who knows! I’ll let the show speak for itself. Let’s get to it!
Category Archives: Episode Writeup
Sword Art Online II – Episode 7
It’s time again for the most sword art show of the season! I’ve got kind of awkwardly mixed feelings about this season, as I talked about in my season-so-far post – it’s not actually good good, but it’s definitely a more complex animal than the first season. The issue is that everything this season is trying to do is kind of undercut by the presence of the previous season – Kirito’s current character development has come completely out of nowhere, and pretty much contradicts whole piles of his previous behavior. I just can’t see the Kirito who’s falling to pieces over the memories of people he’s killed as the same Kirito who cackled as he turned last arc’s villain into a blood pinata.
And yet, in spite of that, this stuff actually is kind of working for me. Not in an emotional sense, but at least in a thematic one – the idea they’re exploring here (the validity of digital worlds as lived experiences, and the consequences of that) is interesting, and they’re approaching it from an interesting angle. I highly doubt the show will ultimately earn forgiveness for its previous problems, but it seems I’m more or less already able to forget the first season even happened. Hurray for selective memory, I guess?
I dunno. It’s weird. Make your choice, SAO – be good or be funny. This current combination is tearing me apart, Lisa.
Zankyou no Terror – Episode 5
Back on the terror train! Last episode was definitely a stunner – it started off with its usual slow-boiling, atmosphere-heavy thriller antics, but ended in a triumphant flight from the cops, from the city, from the world altogether. This is a show about abandoned people – people who’ve been given up because they either don’t fit into or are unwanted by a fairly rigid social system. In response to this assault on identity by the world they inhabit, Zankyou seems to spend equal time exploring both Fight and Flight. Lisa initially tries to run from her world, to get “somewhere outside it” – and episode four’s conclusion was a gorgeous articulation of this instinct. But you can’t really escape the world – no matter where you run, you’re still living within it. And so Nine and Twelve seem to have their own plan – either destroy the world that has abandoned them, or at least make some kind of statement against it. And against both these choices, there is constantly dangled the desire for human connection – apparent in Lisa’s story, but also evident in the increasingly personal games our young terrorists are playing with Shibazaki. That may ultimately point to a way out that doesn’t require destroying the world altogether.
Incidentally, one of my favorite details from last episode was the offhand mention of “fake IDs from Russia or China” that allowed the terrorists to gather the resources for their plot. This is generally a very tightly focused story, and the scale is “our young terrorists, Lisa, and Shibazaki versus the inescapable system they are facing in Japan.” However, that one throwaway line gestured at the exact same problem on a much larger scale – the Japanese system of justice and peace versus a world community that is unwilling to play by the same rules. It seems that even if you play within the rules of this story’s general system, you’re still a victim of a larger truth – even Japan itself can’t dictate the terms of how its society truly functions.
I’ll avoid going further on that thread for now unless the show actually engages with it, but I’m excited to see whichever direction this story chooses to go. Let’s get back to it.
Sword Art Online II – Episode 6
And we’re back! Last episode was fun, lightsabers are pretty cool, DEATH GUN IS NIGH. Apparently Desu Gan is someone we already know from Sword Art Online, so it’s looking like it’s time for a good old friendly witch hunt. Is it Lisbeth? Is it KLEIN? I bet it’s Klein, we should kill him just to be sure. And then kill everyone who helped us kill him, it could be them too if they’re just willing to kill a dude like that. And then kill everyone who helped us hide the bodies oh god oh god DEATH GUN WAS ME.
Look, I’d watch that show. Whatever. Let’s watch episode six.
Zankyou no Terror – Episode 4
Oh shit what’s this a timestamp breakdown of something that isn’t Sword Art Online?!? I know, crazy. The reasoning’s pretty simple – unlike with Ping Pong, my thoughts on this show seem to take the form of tiny “oh, nice” moments throughout, and not larger thematic/character thoughts on the episode as a whole. Meaning it seems appropriate to get out the blackboard and slide ruler once again, and sift my way through an episode of this shiny new thing Watanabe has given us. Let’s blow up some city monuments!
Aldnoah.Zero – Episode 5
Like the second episode, this one started off by bouncing an idea from a few angles – this time, it was “what you gain from fighting.” The defeated martian knight was probably the most childish in his desires here, scoffing at Slaine’s reasons for fighting while bemoaning his loss of “honor” on the battlefield. The childishness of this desire was then pretty much immediately highlighted by framing it in the actual voice of a child, as Inko mused over how nice it’d be to get a medal in battle. Their instructor was quick to provide the cynical counterpoint there – “dying for honor isn’t so bad when you’re living in misery.” He’s talking about his own regrets, of course, but if you’re not living in the war-story dreamland of the martian knights, “using yourself for the cause” may be the only way to actually gain the will to fight.
Sword Art Online II – Episode 5
And we’re back! I wasn’t really that enthusiastic about last episode, but I think we’re through the exposition now, so things may be smooth from here out. Will there be action? Will there be adventure? Will Kirito overwhelm the narrative tension and drag the whole show down with him? Who knows! Hopefully we jump right into this Bullet of… bullets…
Like, goddamnit, SAO. I know “DEATH GUN” is supposed to be all 2chuuni4u because it’s written in English letters and thus is automatically mysterious/romantic/always fucking ridiculous, but “Bullet of Bullets”? You couldn’t think of, like, one word that compliments “Bullets” there? I’m pretty sure my comment section thought up at least three (Ballad, Ballet, Battle), and they were hardly scraping the bottom of the Barrel of Bullets. Or subbers, even if that’sactually the translation, couldn’t you just, you know, perform a little corrective surgery on this writing here? I doubt anyone would complain.
Alright, forget it. Starting this episode with an open heart and an open mind. Let’s do this, Sword Art Online.
Sword Art Online II – Episode 4
It’s that time again. I’m actually kind of excited at this point, you guys. Episode two was a solid action vignette, episode three was an okay character-building episode – this season is showing off a whole new side of Sword Art Online! I originally picked up the first season in large part due to an abiding appreciation of schadenfreude (which paid off both through the show itself falling apart and me falling apart watching it), but if season two just wants to be a reasonable adventure show with high production values, I am very ready for that as well. STRIKE UP THE BATTLE MUSIC.
…that’s the battle music? Alright, sure. Let’s Sword Art Online.
Zankyou no Terror – Episode 3
Hoo boy. This was another crime procedural episode, but that didn’t matter at all because holy crap was this episode thematically focused. The very first comments of the young police officer set the tone of this one, establishing a clear parallel between Shibazaki and Nine/Twelve. As someone consigned to archives until he retires, Shibazaki is also someone abandoned by the world, someone no longer “useful to society.” Like them, he doesn’t fit into the system anymore. People in this position are generally expected to take it, to be quiet and accept their loss of a role – but Nine and Twelve clearly aren’t willing to do that. And just like in Psycho-Pass, it turns out a system that tries to simply ignore its outsiders isn’t really equipped to deal with them – it has to bring in someone like Shibazaki, and acknowledge those it has deemed worthless in order to deal with other leftovers.
Sword Art Online II – Episode 3
And the journey continues! Last week’s episode was far and away the best thing Sword Art Online has ever done, so I’ve got moderate hopes for this one. ‘Moderate’ because last week pulled basically the most obvious and necessary trick for fixing Sword Art Online – it removed Kirito entirely. This, tragically, is apparently not allowed to be a long-term solution, so this week the challenge will likely be in maintaining last week’s energy without Kirito dragging everything into his power fantasy vortex. Fortunately, last week’s episode was also just well-composed and featured a number of solid action sequences, and that sort of stuff can work perfectly well even with Kirito around. And so, for maybe the very first time, positive thinking isn’t just a coping mechanism – things might really actually possibly turn out okay. Let’s do this, Sword Art Online. It’s a beautiful new day.