Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-79.24.170.237-20160510203254/@comment-38120486-20190226210619

Sourcedartonline wrote: Like people scream Gary Stu, but then ignore all the other characters that are shown or are stated to be able to perform the exact same feats.

I dunno, Sourced, Kirito does some pretty incredible things. I don't believe we've seen anyone else slicing bullets. That said, I do agree on him not being Gary Stu, and I think it's primarily an optics problem. Characters that seriously challenge him are dealt with and die or disappear into the background. A lot of the time, it's just Kirito on stage with a group of characters you know he well outclasses as a fighter. Throw in some hefty plot armor for our hero in some of his signature fights, and Stu-dom becomes an easy accusation to make. Still not a correct one, but I do at least understand why someone would say that.

I do also get the whiplash for some SAO viewers with MR. It IS different than the rest of SAO in some key ways; amount of characterization, themes, what characters receive the most attention, etc. There's certainly some constant variables, but its different enough that I can see why some viewers who really liked the earlier arcs might be frustrated with MR. I had the opposite problem, honestly. SAO did not really grab me until I got to the Mother's Rosario arc.