Sword Art Online 2 (GGO arc)

Ah, SAO 2. You were much better than I had expected.

I took quite some time to finish this sequel, and I attribute this to somewhat bad pacing. Not horrible, just bad. The first few episodes were quite interesting, but there were definitely some things I hated about SAO 2.

I'll be talking about sao 2 in two seperate arcs, the GGO Arc and the Mother Rosario Arc. Cramming all that into one post doesn't seem like a good idea, anyways.

Story: 7/10

Firstly, the story. For the most part, it keeps the audience shifting nervously in their seats but like the first season of sword art online, the best scenes are often the action sequences. Despite having a bad impression of the show due to how they portrayed Asuna, I think they did a nice job of the GGO arc. Sinon was a fantastic character, and I am quite embarrassed to admit that I was one of those SAO fans who hated on her without even watching the show. But thankfully, I was able to set aside my bias and enjoy the anime, and Sinon has become one of my favourite female characters other than Asuna.

The emotional scenes are really well done, and it was a joy to watch whenever I was given a chance to watch from Sinon's POV. We also get to see how she helped Kirito in his moment of need, and while I wished it had been someone else, she did a pretty swell job of helping him out. The search for the mysterious killer 'Death Gun' was very good in introducing intense scenes and a few nail biting moments. Much like season 1, Sword art online 2 has little to no re-watch value, Most of the action scenes rely on shock factor. The bursts of adrenaline will only come once, and I can guarantee you that with each consecutive replay of a fight scene, you'll be less impressed than you originally were. But for the most part, the GGO Arc was decent. Though you'll be wondering how the heck Kirito's deductions hit so close to home. Maybe he should quit playing games and start working as a detective instead.

Characters: 6/10

Kirito has little to no growth from SAO. He still remains his usual lackluster self, and while he does have a few good moments, I do wonder what others see in him at times. But still, he is a fun and interesting character, and keeps the anime from being 'enjoyable' to 'boring'.

Sinon has brilliant character development, though she did have a cliched tragic backstory, her cool personality was likeable and paired nicely with Kirito. I can only thank my lucky stars that the two had good chemistry because of their 'rivals' dynamic.

Asuna on the other hand. Ugh. I just...ugh. They reduced to her to nothing more than a Kirito fangirl, and had her cheering for him on the sidelines while he was out gallivanting with another girl. I know it sounds bad and many people would defend him with stuff like 'But he was just trying to protect her!' but I don't believe in any of that crap. First of all, Asuna isn't some damsel in distress, is everone forgetting that she was in the death game, Sword art online? Or the fact that she was prominent figure of said game? As a Asuna Fan, I am very saddened to see her acting...so unlike herself in SAO 2. Instead of helping Kirito, or at least doing something to help him, she sits among their group of friends and sighs to herself, praying for 'Kirito-kun'.

I hated how her voice sounded here, so air-headed and lacking of depth. She sounded so 'fake' and the forceful cheer of her voice did not really help matters either. It pained me to watch the scenes she was in, always inwardly cringing at how she sounded. I would have given characters a 7 or a 8, if they had portrayed Asuna properly.

The rest of the cast were pretty much just there for the sake of being there. The story wouldn't have changed regardless of whether they were there or not. They could have been replaced by completely different characters, and sad to say, I couldn't have cared less.

Animation: 8/10

The ending song is one of my favourites.The opening and endings had amazing color schemes, and were honestly quite creative.  It goes the same for the rest of the arc too. Gun Gale has a pretty grungy colour palette, but it was not drab or boring at all! The fight scenes especially, it just got my blood pumping so well. Even minor details, like Kirito having to push aside his long bangs, stood out really well and added a nice touch. The quality did drop a little in the last few episodes of this arc though, but that's about it.

All in all the first arc was pretty entertaining.

To be continued in Mother Rosario arc review. 

The Guest Cat - Takashi Hirade

It took quite a long time for me to finish this book, due to the sudden onset of laziness and usual procrastination. It wasn't a bad book, not at all, but it is definitely a book which would appeal to certain types of people.

I like Japanese prose, they have a certain sense of detachment and hint of melancholy, but at the same time the stories told have a certain warmth to them. I would describe it as thoughtful, and depending on the books, feel as though they are grounded in reality despite the 'spiritual' elements. I'm no guru of course, this is just my own opinion. I have a strange preference for books in which the main characters evolve, come to terms with something, or have a mysterious charm about them. And in this case, the titular cat in this story, named Chibi.

Through the eyes of the writer, we see how this mysterious cat influences the lives of our main characters. In the story, she is described at charming, yet at times seem otherworldly, but she has a very profound effect on those around her. She comes and goes as she pleases, and though she already has a family of her own, Chibi is not held down by such titles and regularly traipses the line between the two houses, the line being a fence with a hole big enough for her to slip through.

The Guest Cat is not a story which can be understood through a review in my opinion, the writing of Takashi Hirade is very enjoyable as well. Through the eyes of the characters, the beauty lies in how they experience the events which they encounter. The emotions that could be interpreted by the reader range from many different types, like wistful and nostalgic, sadness, and fear.

One thing that might put people off, is the parts where financial and property related jargon is thrown into the story. There were quite a few chapters where things such as property values, job hunting and economy were included, and they were boring to me, since I'm not interested in such things. However, these parts do not subtract any enjoyment I felt while reading the book.

Recommendation: 3/5

The story has a very slow pacing, and concept of 'time' moves according to the events which happen in the main character's lives, and not by the day and night cycle. Some may dislike it, but don't dismiss it until you try it!