Sword Art Online II "Memories of Fresh Blood" Review

FULL EPISODE SPOILERS AHEAD

Huzzah, another Sinon episode! Actually, this one revolves more around Asada Shino, the woman behind Sinon. This one pretty much caps off any back-story we'll need for the rest of the arc regarding Sinon and why her characters acts the way she does.


This episode also makes Sinon probably the most intricate of the whole SAO lot. She gets bullied, suffers from PTSD, and has killed a guy.

Okay, well, as find out later the whole "killing" thing isn't exclusive to Sinon but still, for now she's the most interesting character we've come across.

This is a bit of a low-key episode in terms of progressing the story with Death Gun but it is a very necessary episode and it's probably the best that we've seen so far because of it's hard hitting moments and establishment of Sinon as a character. This is also another episode where most of it is spent outside of the games and focuses more on the people rather the players.

The episode starts with Shino going to get some food from the market when a trio of female bullies from her school ask her for some money. One of them pretends to have a gun in their hand and points it at Shino, who begins to freak out for some reason. Shino is saved by the timely arrival of her friend, Shinkawa, who treats her to tea.

There, we get to see the nicer side of Shino, as so far she's been pretty much a stoic character who doesn't show any emotion except for fear. It's definitely a nice scene compared to the one before it, and way way nicer than the one that comes after it. They made idle small talk for the viewers to know or establish some rudimentary things about them, such as how Shinkawa is also a GGO player and isn't half bad at it. Also his family works at a hospital.

But that's not important.

Right...?

Also: apparently playing GGO does cost money, like there's a connection fee or something, but in the game you can make that money back. So, that's how they get their money, along with being a super rich corporation. Interesting.

Shino goes back home where she decides to try something out, after talking about having to get stronger at the tea shop. From her drawer she pulls out a toy gun and tries to see if she can stay calm while looking at it and holding it. This little moment does a good job of showing us her deterioration. Physically, her expression doesn't change, but there are small shots of her blood quickening inside of her before it all unravels and we get a flashback.

Apparently Shino's father died when she was  little girl so her and her mother moved out to Tokyo. One day at a post-office, an estranged man came in and tried to rob the place, threatening to kill Shino's mother if he was not given all the money. I would question why he went to a post-office of all places, but the animation shows that he is not all right up in the noggin.

Shino attacks the guy, who fumbles the gun. After trying to get at him, Shino shoots him three times, the third bullet killing him. At first she just calms down until she sees the blood on her white leggings and it begins to pool around her and she freaks out. In the present, Shino has a mental breakdown and throws up.

It's a pretty horrific scene, but it's masterfully done. It shows us why Shino is afraid of guns and what has caused her, probably, to live a quiet and isolated lifestyle. What makes it all the more powerful is that this happened in real life, not in the game. So, that blood is real. People have died in SAO before, but, this death feels real. It feels like death should, it's scary and it can destroy a person who is around it. It wouldn't be right if Shino's character were just someone who were mildly put-off by killing a man as a little girl.

The fact that she's an innocent young woman makes it hurt even more. Why did it have to be her? How come someone who had nothing to do with this situation had to suffer? It adds layers to the character, layers that are unprecedented and very well-done.

We find out later that Shino actually got into GGO at the behest of Shinkawa as a form of immersion therapy, since moving away from that area and going to a different school has not proved any easier on her at all. And, the therapy is actually working. In GGO as Sinon, Shino doesn't get afraid of guns. Similar to why Kirito began to play SAO, Shino feels a different person when she takes on the role of her avatar. She can be stronger, she can do all these things nobody really ever could. It makes her a new person.

This episode really does make me want to see more of Sinon both in game and in real life. It gives reason for the audience to root for her and hope for her to get better. Plus, she's a compelling character, one that would be fun to watch develop as this mystery plot also develops.

Back in ALO, Kirito tells Asuna that he has to investigate something for Internal Affairs over in GGO, but does not tell her what specifically. In real life, Kazuto goes over to the hospital where the nurse who oversaw his rehab from SAO is now going to be monitoring him while he is in GGO. Both Shino and Kazuto log into GGO.

Thus, the episode ends while a mysterious figure listens in on a conversation, then pulls up a picture of three targets: two of them are crossed out--dead--and only one remains alive: Sinon.

Ooooooh Death Gun's after Sinon oooooooh.

Anyway, this is a great episode. It is a backstory-based on, but the backstory is so compelling and so necessary to the character that you can't help but feel engaged and feel emotionally connected to Sinon. It's great to see another character take the spotlight instead of Kirito, and what's even better is that this is actually a great character.

Tomorrow, worlds will collide as Kirito enters GGO...maybe or maybe not as a girl...we shall see.