Well for the first time in the series we are given a story that is not going to be resolved in one episode. It also gives us the return of Asuna which isn’t a bad thing at all. Seems like the topic of player killers brought up in Silica’s episode really took over in this one. We had a couple characters killed off, though at least this time it wasn’t characters that we were overly attached to.

I’ll say sorry to Yoruko right now since for most of the episode I did have her as a suspect in all of this. Unfortunately the first person on a scene is a pretty good person to start investigating. Even more so in this case since she was close to the victim and could have gotten him to lower his guard. Doesn’t help either that she seemed to become more unhinged as the episode went along especially at the end. Of course this is a very stressful situation to begin with and now some mysterious force has killed someone close to you. Wasn’t really a big fan of her, but having her die like that was unsettling. Especially since everything that is supposed to be safe in SAO is becoming increasingly less so. If even the inns are no longer safe than what is everyone to do?

Of course when I think about it this sleeping PK thing is utterly horrifying. What if someone gets a high lockpick skill and can just go around breaking into inn rooms and kill people? It seems pretty nuts, but you never know. Suppose it depends on how the inn rooms function for this game, but if someone with a high listening skill can eavesdrop then the doors aren’t immune to being bypassed. THere is just too much to worry about in this game. Have monsters and people in the fields and if town is completely unsafe then the stress might make everyone snap. Sucks that you can’t even sleep peacefully outside and have to pay for inn rooms to avoid taking serious risks.

I’m starting to think Kirito’s third theory is on the money though. I mean obviously Yoruko wasn’t killed in a duel. It could still be a system exploit, but what kind? Something about the height maybe? Clearly the first guy died in the air and Yoruko was sitting high in a window. Wait a sec….ok this literally did just come to me. What if the person is attacking from outside town? Would take more than one person to set this up normally, but if you have someone hanging and then throw the weapon from outside of town you could hit someone while technically being outside of town. It’s not a perfect theory though since the person attacked is still in town, but could be something. Especially if the game only focuses on where the attack starts since normally there is little range abilities in SAO. But there could be a dagger/weapon throw ability and if that is leveled up to ridiculous extremes you never know. If not then maybe Kirito is wrong and this game isn’t fair. Not sure what could be allowing these people to be killed like this.

I’m not even sure the motive makes sense for these crimes. Sure, the killer might not be rational but it seems weird. If the vote went 5-3 then it means the leader voted and voted to sell the ring. Whether it was left up to her wouldn’t have changed anything. People who wanted to keep the ring would have been resentful and she still would have left to sell it. There has to be something more to all of this. Well I’m sure we’ll get to the truth of that incident along with everything else.

Anyways good to see Asuna again. Obviously she’s hardened up over the past year or so. Though do remember her being an intense person even back then. Wanting to take action to avoid rotting in towns like those too scared to venture outside. Something is driving her and maybe she has more reasons to want to get back to the real world as fast as possible. Regardless of her motivations she is driven and that has made her a rather prominent person in SAO. Took Kirito’s advice and joined a guild though it ended up being one of the top front liner guilds. Probably picked that one because it was a front line guild and she would be able to keep fighting and not hanging back like some guilds would. She has definitely turned into a powerful character and it seems she still focused heavily on speed and attacking power. If she has skill points to use they are probably going towards killing something.

Though does seem like Asuna and Kirito don’t agree on a lot of things. Kirito has had to see good people die in front of him and that has helped shape who he is. Can bring a lot of it back to Sachi’s death and the impact it had on him. Asuna on the other hand may have avoided such losses or at least attachments. The girl is constantly moving ahead while Kirito stops to help people while still keeping up that pace. He can’t just treat the NPCs of the game as inanimate objects. Part of it probably is that Kirito treats this world as a real thing. People really die there and therefore it is the reality they are living in right now. The NPCs might not be usual players, but they aren’t like rocks either. It makes tactical sense to use them as shields, but where does it end? If we can treat things that look human as not human does it reach a point where criminals are used as shields? It can be a slippery slope and frankly just a good idea not to forget our humanity.

Does show she cares though. She was pretty quick to stop Kirito from testing that weapon on himself. I’m sure it was perfectly safe since he does have quite a lot of HP and a battle healing ability. Still the chance was clearly too high for Asuna to be taking chances. Does show how quick Kirito is to act when he feels it’s necessary. Does show that she doesn’t particularly dislike Kirito either since she just wants him to call her by her name normally. Her attitude is one that can put people on their guard, but I’m sure there is a good person behind it. Will also say her sleeping was rather cute, especially the sneeze when she woke up. People are most off their guard when waking up and got to see a nicer side of her when groggy. Funny that her first reaction was to try and cut Kirito down for seeing her like that XD. Glad she restrained herself, though it clearly took a lot of willpower.

Well this mystery is a change of pace and does make me wonder just what the truth is going to end up being. They better hurry up and figure it out before anyone else gets killed. Can’t wait to find out exactly how the rules are being broken when it comes to PK in town. A pretty good episode though didn’t have any moment that stood out to me like the last couple have.
Score: A-

• setsuken

  This was definitely one of the best episodes yet, and yay for it being a two parter. I was half expecting the story to wrap up quickly within the confines of this very episode, but it was great to actually get a longer event.

  Asuna and Kirito have a very interesting dynamic going for sure. As you said, I think Kirito is actually perceiving SAO as real. He’s living in it and not just trying to get out, which is different from Asuna, who’s been so focused on moving forward and getting to the end goal that she hasn’t stopped to relax and perhaps bask in the world, that despite its cruelty, is quite lovely.

  I think in many ways Kirito and Asuna’s viewpoints are largely based on how they came to SAO. Kirito looked up to the creator of SAO, and so I think he secretly believes in some grander reason or purpose behind whats happening.

  I think currently, Asuna and Kirito have different view points, but given the stuff in the OP, who knows what will happen. It may end up being just the two of them that make it past a certain floor.

  What’s especially interesting is that in about a year, they’ve only hit floor 200+. Also, I worry for what state their bodies are in, since if they’ve been on a hospital bed, hooked up to an I.V for a year, its safe to say most of their muscles have gone numb at this point.

  Which is why I’m more inclined to think that Kirito’s way of looking at SAO is better, because I can’t imagine a good ending awaiting those that do survive this world.

  • FlareKnight

    Yeah it’s an interesting dynamic between the two. Kirito even said in the first episode he felt more alive in that world. Of course the events just hardened those feelings. Facing against dangerous boss monsters, watching people really die around him, that kind of thing is going to impact you. Looking up to that guy should give some insight into the kind of guy Kirito is. Maybe the type that gets into these games because he’s not good with interacting with others.

    Clearly Asuna has a different point of view and her experiences have been different. I’m sure plenty would agree with her feelings about losing time in her real life and using NPCs as shields rather than losing real players. We don’t know a lot about her and I’m sure whatever background she has would help explain her own viewpoint.

    With that OP I’d expect Asuna to leave her guild eventually and go with Kirito. They probably make one hell of a combination. But what might lead to that I’m not sure. She’s up there in her current guild.

    I think their pace isn’t as bad as it could be. 100 floors and they are sitting at least at floor 59 right now after a year and a half. About 60% there. I’d agree that after a year and a half their bodies can’t be in great shape right now.

    The fact remains for the survivors they are bound to have to spend a long time in rehabilitation. No matter how good the medical support their bodies aren’t going to be doing a lot during this time. Really kind of like astronauts coming back to Earth after a long stay in space, their muscles are going to weaken due to not having to use them like they do on Earth. Better than dying, but plenty of time spent recovering after this I’m sure.

    I’m sure Kirito wants to get out like everyone else. It’s just that his experiences have made him treat this world seriously. While there he’s living in SAO. But in the end he wants them to escape and do things like meet SIlica again in the real world, not having this specter of digital death hanging over them. Think Kirito has a good approach since sometimes you have to just take things in. Getting through this situation is a marathon, not a sprint. Nothing will change if they burn themselves out and don’t just relax every now and then.

  • Kid Kaos

    i don’t think that the survivors of the game will be in such a bad state when they wake up. after watching the first few episodes i’ve read the first two chapters of the novel (those cover episode 1), and during Kayabaya’s explanation, he say that the Players’s bodies were being sent to hospitals and put on coma while he speak.

    • Cheesecake

      Muscles atrophy when they’re not being used. They’ll be pretty darn weak once they get out of the game.

      • Kid Kaos

        oh good point, i didn’t tought about that

    • setsuken

      I believe Cheesecake put it best. Its more to do with the fact that the muscles aren’t being used or moving, which causes them to atrophy. Lets just say as someone who knew someone who was in a coma for a while, it can be pretty bad, to the point where sometimes people cannot regain use of their limbs at all.

      • FlareKnight

        Yeah, that’s how I looked at it. They aren’t going to be in great shape especially after a year in a half in that condition.

        Of course to be fair this is a time period where they can make an immersive virtual game. So maybe the medical technology has also advanced to a point where they can keep the muscles of these people in a relatively normal condition. How I’m not sure. But a situation where thousands are suddenly in a coma like state might be enough of a crisis to push for innovation.

        I wouldn’t be surprised if the series took that kind of approach rather than saying “we saved the day and now everyone has to go through intensive rehab.” Would kind of end the series on a negative.