"Well, they say you're character is built on life's challenges. So keep soldiering on, young man."
FULL EPISODE SPOILERS AHEAD
Picking up at the immediate end of the last episode, literally as we see Kirito and Asuna walk into the boss room, this episode once again establishes that the Floor Boss, Gleam Eyes, is going to be a bit of a problem. So much so that upon first glace Kirito and Asuna are forced to make a break for it.
Though, the shock-value of this episode is a bit decreased. Gleam Eyes is the boss that we see Kirito and Asuna fighting together, and so when we see them defeat him in the opening, the surprise of the victory and is a bit down-played. It makes me wish they'd used a different boss, like one that we don't see or something, for the opening so that the outcome of this boss wasn't a dead give-away. But, the way that the boss is defeated is different from the opening, which is also cool and surprising. Still, the overall outcome is shown, which is kinda lame.
I should also make note of the new song that's added to the ever-awesome Sword Art Online soundtrack, "We Have to Defeat It." It's often thought of solely alongside Gleam Eyes and is absolutely perfect for the boss. The beginning of the song makes you feel like you're walking into an inescapable battle, and then the rest of the song carries out the epic battle against your foe. Plus, the title instills a certain desire for battle, too.
When the two escape they decide to take up a small hiding spot, where they try to think how they can beat the boss with the assault team, and Asuna begins to get suspicious of Kirito when she realizes he doesn't use a shield like other single-wielding users (Asuna does't because it slows her down, which could also be why Kirito doesn't use one but for the sake of the episode it's dropped). Clearly, Kirito is hiding something. Yeah, he's pretty bad at that as we see throughout the series. The discomfort is written all over his face and at points like these it's easier for the person pointing it out to keep it up.
But it's dropped because they need to eat and Asuna tells Kirito about how she was able to create many of the sauces from the real world in SAO. And it's hear I realize what a real hassle making food in SAO really would be so I take back my comments from the last episode where I said cooking was easy because it's not and there's math so no. None of that.
Klein and his guild show up and we get a bit of inconsistency as Klein sees Asuna and he acts like it's the first time he's seen her. But in Episode 5 we saw that they were in the same room together, and Asuna was at the center of attention. Why is he acting like this? Did they just forget that Klein's guild is part of the assault team too?
Kirito also asks a weird question to Klein of if he's lagging as he freezes when he sees Asuna, which makes me wonder just how strong a connection these people have to their Wi-Fi to be using it constantly for two years? I know it's the future, nearly ten years from now, but that's some pretty tough Wi-Fi.
The Aincrad Liberation Army--from Floor 1, yippee--arrives and takes the map from Kirito that leads to the Boss Room (Kirito only giving it to them because he was going to go public with it when they reached the down on that floor anyway). Despite being completely exhausted, their leader forces them to march to the boss room, much against the warnings of Kirito and Asuna.
Before Klein's group along with Kirito and Asuna head out to do some monster killing. Klein and Asuna have a brief, but nice, moment where Klein asks Asuna to keep Kirito safe and keep him alive since he's often way in over his head. It's nice because this is the first moment where we can see two people who have really bonded with Kirito, or at least made an impact on him, talk about keeping him alive, showing that he does have friends despite what he may think.
Kirito and Asuna hear cries of despair and rush to the Boss Room to see that Gleam Eyes has taken down, but not killed, most of the guild. Klein shows up and when the army's leader dies, Asuan charges in to take on Gleam Eyes. It's an interesting move because normally it's Kirito who rushes in blindly to help those in need.
Ah, but that's what character conflict is for. The soldiers cry out that they can't use their teleport crystals, and suddenly, the situation reverts back to the one with the Moonlit Blackcats from Episode 3, where Kirito is stuck in a hopeless situation. As he watches them fall he seems to be watching his old guildmates fall, and the shock is what's holding him back from fighting. Only when Asuna charges in is he able to follow through, but find he isn't strong enough to fight back.
He continues to feel conflicted, but when he remembers what Sachi told him about how she was really happy about his strength, he decides that he can't hold back anymore. Klein and Asuna take over for a second before Kirito returns dual-wielding whaaaa.
He takes over the battle from there and we have a pretty sweet, albeit brief, showdown between Kirito and Gleam Eyes as the two hack at each other's health until finally Kirito is able to avoid the final stab of Gleam Eyes and plunge his sword through, defeating the boss with just a hair of health left. It should be noted that the epic song "Swordland" was playing, too, which heightened the moment to levels of "holy crap this is crazy."
The whole sequence of events against the boss is major character development for Kirito in terms of strength and in terms of actual character. In strength, Kirito has finally used his dual-wielding skill that allows him to use the dragon-sword he and Lisbeth forged a few episode ago, which is, remember, just as strong as his regular sword. In terms of actual character, this episode brings back his former restraints from Episode 3 but sees Kirito letting go of those past mistakes and making up for them here. It's great resolution for that little arc and those troubles Kirito was facing, and it comes full circle as there's a brief instant when he's coming back to consciousness and he sees Sachi calling for him instead of who it really is, Asuna.
I interpret that little moment as now Asuna is the one that Kirito is fighting for, whereas before with Sachi he was fighting to defend her. He's found a new purpose, and while he hasn't necessarily let go of Sachi or the Blackcats, he has put them aside to focus on honoring their memory and beating the game. And, it shows that he is no longer afraid to hold back all his potential and use the dual-wielding.
Much to Kirito's surprise, Klein is super happy that Kirito has dual-wielding, but understands the jerk-players that would rip him to shreds to find out how he's capable of using such a skill. Apparently, the skill is unique to Kirito, as it just showed up in his skills box one day. I guess that's cool, but it does add to the fact that Kirito is a tad bit over-powered. Guy's got a skill that no-one else has, how fair is that?
Klein and his guild leave and you can't help but get the feeling that the bond between Kirito and Klein is stronger now for some reason. Maybe it's because we've seen Klein more, I don't know, but you can sort of feel this distantly brotherly connection that's formed between the two. Kirito might not admit it, but you know it's there.
Another bond is forming as well, or strengthening rather, as Asuna tells Kirito she is going to take a leave of absence from the guild to be with him, since she meant for the two to team-up in the long-run, not just for the day. D'aw, Asuna likes Kirito. And Kirito likes Asuna, d'aw.
Later, at Agil's shop, Kirito, Agil, and Lis have a small talk about Kirito's new skill--apparently Lis knew about it, which is fair since why else would Kirito need a second sword?--when Asuna shows up with bad news. The two go over to the HQ of the Knights of the Blood Oath and we finally meet the guild's leader, Commander Heathcliff. He seems a decent guy, too, but you completely get the military vibe of having strict rules and needing to abide by them.
Heathcliff challenges Kirito to a duel with the stakes being if Kirito wins, Asuna can leave. But if Heathcliff wins, Kirito joins the guild. Kirito accepts, ending the episode.
Alright, so, two weeks in a row we're promised an epic battle for the next episode, sweet.
Typical of the show, this is a great episode, but it's also one of the more memorable ones for the battle against Gleam Eyes. Not only was it the battle in the opening that we could see play out in full, but it was also the moment where Kirito got some huge development and even gained a new skill. The image of Kirito with his two swords for the first time is pretty much a staple image of the Aincrad Arc, if not the entire show, and it's for good reason. It's a major stepping stone in the development of the character and how strong he is.
Next episode, our heroes find themselves in dire straits as Kirito fights for the right to stay a solo player. See you then!
No comments:
Post a Comment