Asuna is taking none of your sh*t, Kirito. Better watch yourself.

——

We’re finally getting into the main part of the story. Yay. I have to say that I like Kirito playing opposite Asuna. Lisbeth was great and Silica wasn’t anything to complain about, but Asuna is just feisty and feistiness is always fun. Plus, since they’re both (at this point) kinda sorta into each other, Kirito’s going tit for tat which makes for some pretty good chemistry. If there was one thing missing from Liz’s story, it’s that Kirito didn’t really respond to Liz’s personality as well as he could have. This made her episode feel flat by comparison to this one. I dunno. There was just something missing before that Asuna has. A spark? Good character chemistry? The main storyline? Who knows.

Kuradeel is not very well written if his logic is any indication. His entire argument is inherently flawed. For one, by virtue of being a beater and his own admission, of course Kirito’s going to be better than Kuradeel. And second, if cheating ensures Asuna’s safety, then there’s no point in resisting. Of course, none of this matters because Kuradeel is just a sleazy, virtual, stalking scumbag. Ever since I found out this Kuradeel existed, his zealous protection of someone who has to be stronger than him makes no sense to me. I don’t know if this is a flaw in writing, in guild management, Kuradeel himself, or all three. I mean, it makes sense in the real world where celebrities get bum-rushed by mobs of fans and stuff like that, but in a video game with basically no distractions? Also, let’s think about this: Just from his appearance, he has to be significantly older than Asuna. How is his obsession with a teenager any better in a virtual world? This guy, man…

I’m a bit disappointed in myself, as I read the manga adaptation and so I know what’s going to happen. My assessment is that there’s a lot of “novel-ness” that’s missing, but such is the translation from page to screen. Overall: so far, so good. I’m hoping it stays that way.

GO Rating: 3.5/5