User blog:LaviBookman/Sword Art Online

This is a bit different than the typical blogs that I'm writing, but this is something that I'd like to share. I've been watching a new, on-going anime called Sword Art Online, and I have to say: it's absolutely fantastic. There are only three episodes out right now, with the fourth being released tomorrow, but the anime does a great job of showing the online gaming culture, though obviously mixed with dramatic twists.

The jist of the story is: a new virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online (I'm abbreviating the title as SAO) received a smashing release day, since the technology of VR gaming reached a new height. However, unknown to the players who purchased and logged into the game, the log-out function was disabled and dying in the game world or attempting to remove the VR device would kill him in real life. The only way to be free from SAO was to complete the 100-level game. I'm not sure if the condition only applied to the winner or if everyone would be freed.

The main protagonist is Kirito, though that is his an in-game alias. Each episode reveals and develops a lot about him, which I really enjoy. Kirito was a beta tester for SAO, so we get a lot of insight about the game from his dialogue without getting bogged down by cheesy dialogue of learning how SAO is played alongside the protagonist. Also, the reality of permanent death (called "permadeath" in gaming circles) gets dropped on the audience starting from the first episode.

The anime also introduces Klein in the first episode, who acts as the game newbie to help the audience get a sense of the basics of the game from the beginning. We see that Klein matches the gruff and goofy archetype very quickly, but he seems to serve as the palette to paint Kirito's personality at the beginning of the series. I'd love to see more about Klein later on in the series, since he says that he was going to start a guild, which could be important later on for Kirito.

Before you all ask me about this, yes: Sword Art Online is the source of my latest inspiration for an original universe. I absolutely love how a literal permadeath completely changes the atmosphere of what would normally be a casual and fun experience. I could only imagine what would happen next in Sword Art Online - in short, I'm very excited for the next episode.

A link to a trailer for Sword Art Online