User blog:LaviBookman/Thoughts on Sword Art Online - Ep. 4 (Spoilers!)

I'll probably do this for every episode that is going to come out (guessing around 27 for the first season). The previous SAO episodes were excellent, and this new episode also doesn't hold back.

Although the first episode establishes that the game is classless, we are introduced what I would assume is some sort of profession that players could specialize in. We are introduced to a new character, a beast tamer named Silica, whose pet was killed while trying to navigate through a forest alone, at roughly level 35. I like that the episode teases fan service, but never actually does it, with scenes where Silica gets ambushed by monsters and almost revealing panties (but always manages to hide it in time).

This episode introduces two major MMO mechanics: a non-combative skill system, which includes skills such as listening, hiding, and detection, and a criminal/karma system. In the latter, people who have not committed crimes are labeled with a green icon, people who attacked other players have orange icons, and player-killers, those who have actually killed others, have red icons.

The episode's plot is very simple, but it's hard not to appreciate the amount of time spent on developing Kirito. I noticed the dialogue was more bland this episode than in the previous three, but we learn about Kirito's sister/cousin and his family outside the game.

My only disappointment is that this fourth episode makes it clear that it's taking a long time to set up the game world. There isn't any progressing storyline at the moment, which I'm hoping will end very soon. This anime is an adaptation of a visual novel, so there is no way this anime could be a collection of short stories.