Cherry Rook, Cherry Rook, Does whatever a Cherry Rook does~——

I feel like a Neutral. Seriously, nothing in episode 12 really made me feel anything one way or the other. Which, when it comes to Accel World, is a real shame because I really want to like this show. And it is inherently likable. It was pretty much non-stop action throughout the whole thing, something that I thought was long overdue. The characters were fun, the story was gripping, the hits never really stopped coming. This show has everything going for it, at least in this episode, and yet there’s something about it that I find lacking. But all in all, a good episode. Nowhere near great, but still enjoyable.

I don’t know what this one-hour penalty knock out thing is about, though. Is that all that light really means? I was under the impression that the stakes were much higher than that. As in, you lose your Acceleration ability if you lose? Or is it because nobody picks up whatever it is you leave behind? For a show that meticulously works on world-building and fleshing out the story, that was pretty unclear. The entire struggle thing between Rook and Rain was very melodramatic and trite as well. I suppose it was to give  Scarlet Rain some depth to her character, but the entire thing was very unappetizing. And I guess that’s why I’m not into this show as much as I’d like to be: the show has some pretty grating flaws that I can’t really write off.

Episode 13 was pretty interesting though. I’ve been waiting to see Chiyuu come into the main story for a while, ever since I found out that she becomes a Burst Linker. I was actually pleasantly surprised by just how much sass Aki Toriyama could give. Chiyuu doesn’t take crap from no one. Now that she’s here and we have a new mystery fighter who doesn’t play by the rules, this next story arc should be fun to watch. Of course, there wasn’t anything to really get excited about in this episode. As is Accel World’s policy, a slow beginning and setting up the scenario and the different factors in play. Having Black Snow gone may have a serious effect on how this next arc plays out, but I don’t think it will; she seems to have kept a pretty low profile in terms of involvement with Haru’s story. It’s still pretty early on in this one, but the premise looks particularly promising.

I will say that the show is doing more things right than wrong. The animation and art is close to what I hoped for when I watched the first episode. And Scarlet Rain’s deal was alright, overdone as it was. I suspect the Calamity Armor to take over our man Silver Crow at some point, so we’ve got something to look forward to. Maybe it’ll come into play in this latest story? That’ll be fun, I’m sure.

GO Rating (average):4/5