I was curious about what arc/setting was shown during the end of the episode that took place in space,

So if Kirito and Asuna we’re inside STL for 200 years, how have they not changed mentally. Their personality would have probably changed... Why don’t they seem that much different.

Oh and aren’t they technically over 200 years old lol

What will happen in the next episode as alice at the end says I might wither away....?

After I watch the series until now I notice thing that Alice an advance Ai so she could back in last 3 episode or final in real as robots in real life. What I mean i Watch the scene in episode 11 with the robot when they explain about bringing fluctlights into the real world.

But yui could not OK it's maybe gonna see her as hologram or on her voice but

Basically Alice gonna be the robot that show in the second season of underworld or more advance.

Sorry my English is bad. :)

After having read at least some of the novels (i have hust finish download kindle versions of the missings pieces of my collection) and watched all the animated episodes film included i want to share some thoughts with you

Maybe it a personal taste but i have found the entire underworld set and most of its plot boring. well maybe not boring it is not the exact sensation. it is difficult to explain in another language. maybe is more correct to say that iwas less interested or les involved with it.

I will elaborate.

I am aware that the aim of the Big Bad Evil Guy is create another reality not just a game. and i am aware that as the story is progressing human rights to machine, ai interaction with humans and a fusion of virtual/real world is the direction of the entire plot as decided by the author himself kawahara.

I accept that nd i am well courious to see the developement (i think i am not the only one desperatly searching for translations of unital ring arc).

What i want to say is what has hit me of SAO.

Why it has become one of my preferite anime/novel?

It all started with viewing the anime on netflix casually one evening

And that was the start of a love

The answer can be found in the first arc

SAO has kickstrated a genre the isekai. the plot of trapped in an alternate world (usually a game world)

But that aside what has resonated in me and i suppose a lot of other people around the world?

Let's begin with the set

SAO aincrad is set in the classic format of a rpg world with rpg things like widows of stats, items, teleport, levels structure, pg progressions NPCs. what has hit me personally was that for the first time we have an anime that covers a hidden desire of every RPG player in the world. living his game. an rpg player want to live in another world and live adventures. Aincrad is exaclty that. a new world with the structere of a old familiar rpg in wich reality is so far away that it seems to not even exist anymore. every skyrim, zelda, baldur's gate player has hidden in himself the desire to experience that. sao the anime make the gap credible and well executed. it is bound to find success among rhe targeted audience.

Charachter interaction

Even if real people live inside aincrad the melting of real world interactions and game mandate rule is what us a viewer can appreciate more. we are external of the story and we can recognize all the elements of a social situation (the duel with kuradel with the formal widow to accept the duel, liz armory shop that mixed real speech with speaks about parameters and properties etc) . we know that aincrad is a game but it feels so natural that in many scene one forget all and only follow the progression of the events. the aim is to allude to the part of rpg players, us, that are used to that kind of situation and can easily relate to them. in the end the characters ROLEPLAY in aincrad without destroying the suspention of disbelieve of the audience.

The story

There is a BIG BAD EVIL GUY (kayaba). there is level progressions with bosses. there is drama, betrayal and epic moments. the story is not so simply to be guessed immediatly. there is romance and there is real emotinal involvement in some of the charachters

Aside from romance the other themes are a common line with every rpg ever made and contribute to instill interest in the rpg player viewer

The visual/music

Obviusly only anime part but the graphic and the music is something beyond the norm. especially the dramatic music of bosses is simply incredible

But also that relate to rpg players. who can forgot skyrim boss musics for example?

The aim of the story

There is an end point. for kirito and co is to end the game by reaching level 100 to return to the real world. they are not passive instrument of the story but they work to achieve something

The danger

Aincrad set the comparison for the genre. aincrad is THE death game. perma death, true world death. and even in this enviroment there are people that enjoy killing others. but also that aspect is something that rpg players crave, the sensation of trhill, danger and reward. mnay games in the recent past has implemented more and more difficulties or mechanics to simulated the danger of real death. examples like limited numbers of savepoints, saveslot to the more extreme permadeath with deleting of the charachters. aincrad is more extreme obviously but even that works to hook up the audience of rpg players

The sense of discovery

SAO aincrad (but also alo and ggo) made a wonderful job in recreating the sense of discovery and wonder in the discovery of new mechaincs and ability. the first run is always the best in a game every player can attest that because the sensation of disovery of something new or how something works is irreplaceble. you can become better in game but the sensation of the first discoveries is something else. and sao recreate that sense in a wonderful way.

The overall result is that an rpg player looking to sao aincrad fell himself puled inside the events and the entire world/events resonate deeply with the hiiden desire of rpg player of living first hand their games

Many of these trait are also presents in fairy dance and phantom bullet

Even if the danger of the set is toned down removing true death the other charachteristic remain

Even if there is not anymore the same goal of aincrad there is an objective

Find asuna and save her

Find out deathgun and stop him

Both objective are real tangible

Alo and ggo can be appreciate more or less depending on personal tastes, but it is undeniable that their game structure (a fantasy world, and a shooter) deeply connect with gamers in general

It is not the plot in itself(that can be appreciate based on personal preference), but the set and the structure of this worlds and adventures that resonate in the audience and make the entire SAO stand apart from the avarage anime/manga/novel. this is not an alternative world (one piece naruto etc...) with its own set of charachter or stories. this a GAME, and the protagonist lives his adventures exactly as us the readers will do in a videogame (even if full dive is way ahed of the today tecnolgy). we are all kirito Lenn or klein. we are players. we can appreciate pirates and ninja but we are not them. we can identify in kirito and recall similar experience in our games

On the other hand underworld

The set

Even if underworld is based on the seed it is not a game. it is a complex simulation of civilization. it share some mechanics from a videogame (priority levels, magic, statistic windows) but it is not one. it is an alternate reality. something that has more in common with a scify or fantasy story that a videogame. it is not structured as aincrad levels, alo worlds (macromaps essentially mimicking norse mithology) or ggo (macromaps for free roaming or closed map to make duel or tournaments). it is a real simulated world. yes it has something reminescent of a fantasy world meant for a videogame but is far less obvious of the other examples

Characheter interaction

Aside from post wound kirito the charachter are LIVING their story. they are not roleplaying. the difference is huge. in sao liz is roleplaying the profession of a smith. she is well aware of the fact that she is using abilities to achieve something. underworld smith no. they are just living obliviious to the enitre system. they are not acting

The story

The story is not so linear o clear. there is not an obvious BBEG from the beginning.

The visul/music

Aside from quinella theme song i have difficulties remembers other stunning music. the visual on the other hand are pretty well made and easily on the same if not better level respect on the rest of the story

The aim of the story

For much much episodes kirito is living his life in the underworld. we can relate to that but the goal of finding alice is vague and distant. only after many episodes quinella become the center of the attention as a clear obstacle to overcome. but that has more in common with a novel than to a videogame

The danger

Underworld is not a death game and aside kirito special case(to heal from death gun and later damaged fluchtlight) the other charachters of the main cast coming to the underworld were mostly safe (pain absorber aside). the underworld charachters are artificial not real humans and the public has a lot more difficulties to interest on thier well being. aside from some exeption like alice or euguo the rest of the cast barely pass the level of attention to actually care of their safety. in the boss room of aincrad the minor charachters that died were actual humans. you feel sorrow or at least you can relate. in underworld we the audience know that they are artificial. they are treatedlike complex NPC. only alice and in some way eugeo become important enough to actually be seen as human

The accelleration was a danger only for kirito and asuna because of the stl use. and only because of the mercenaries intervention. it become a problem only in the last moment of the story

The sense of discovery

The underworld is more like the discovery of the custum and traditions of gondor and rohan in lord of the rings, that the discovery of the skyrim or zelda gameworld or mechnics. the magic the priority and the statistics are there to remind us of the game origin of the underworld but they are too few to recreate the sense that was common in alo sao and ggo

For all this reason underworld arc was at leat in my opinion far less compelling to read/watch.

Don't misunderstand me i still appreciate it a lot ( i actually started toread the novel only to discover how alicization wuold end after the stop of the anime at quinella defeat) but it was far less effective on capturing my imagination or interest. in underworld i was more interested in asuna sinon leafa and the real world than most of the underworld storyline. not to mention that i appreciate more sinon duel or asuna and leafa intervention that many of integrty knight duels. i was more courious to discover the dinamics with the old cast than the underworld one and more courious about kirito and co and what would happen to them that the underworld events.

I have only read parts of unital ring

But from what i have read it has catched my attention because it seems to at least partially come back to the dinams of sao alo and ggo with theur heavily game desing. unital ring seems related to survival games and i am eager to read of that world.

So Kirito will be stuck in the underworld for 200 yrs in the real world as well? Wont he die before the stimulation end