What do y'all think of Accel World? Asking because I just finished it and I can't help but feel let down. Granted, I think one of my friends may have set me up for a fall, because after the last season of Sword Art Online finished we talked about it and he went on and on about how much better Accel World is. After finishing it though i'm not sure i'd agree. From what I just read on Google it's already been renewed for a second season, and since it came out in 2012 i'm mad late as it is
, which opens the possibility for the first season to just be laying the groundwork, with the second season then being even better. As it is though I think it's a good show, can see why people like it, but also had to force myself to watch these last 3-4 episodes.
Not going to give
too long of a rant as i've been doing for Gundam and Cowboy Bebop, but i'll mention a few points
You know people always make jokes about how it's easy to tell the main character apart from everyone else and I couldn't stop thinking about that here
I mean i'm fairly certain that the main character is the only character in the series who could be open to ridicule based on how he physically looks, because everyone else is perfect
If you're the only overweight guy in the entire world then of course you're going to get picked on man
But you know apart from that I never found myself liking this guy that much. My feelings towards him are similar to how I feel about the series as a whole. I don't hate him by any means, but I also don't really care for him either. I feel like the elements are there to make him compelling (Bullied throughout his life, trying to change for the better, gains confidence as the series goes on, not too arrogant, etc.), but they just don't come together for me. I think a major part of it is how big of a doormat he is. Son was crying or on the verge of crying every few episodes
Wanted to reach through the screen and slap him, nobody wants to see that ****.
I often see Accel World compared to SAO (No doubt because they seem to be connected and have the same author, along with a similar premise) and i'll say that I enjoy SAO more. But I think part of it actually has a lot to do with the game designs in the series. SAO uses avatars that consistently look human in appearance, whereas Accel World goes with a more...IDK ambiguous mecha type thing, It allows the avatars to look more unique in a way, but I also couldn't get into it and actually hated the look of them. That being said, Accel World goes more in-depth into the different features and abilities of the characters in its game, especially because everyone here is unique in every way, from their appearance to their abilities. That was really creative and this game is definitely better detailed than any of SAO's, which is more traditional. You have everyone just choosing a basic class and then focusing on whatever stats they personally gravitate towards. What really might have done Accel World in for me is that I didn't find myself enjoying a single fight until the last 2 episodes. They weren't necessarily bad, but I just found them to be pretty boring still. And you know SAO didn't exactly have great fights every single episode either, but there are still some stand outs, such as both of Kirito's duels against Healthcliff. I also think the random monsters in SAO looked better. The rest of the animation in Accel World was just fineoutside of the game though, but in terms of inside I think the animated scenes in SAO (And even ALO, as bad as the second half of the first season was) were a good deal more appealing.
Also, Chiyuri's plan to beat Noumi by pretending to help him and all, like many other examples, is unnecessarily complicated. There's literally no reason within the story that she had to act cold towards her friends and couldn't have just talked to them about her thoughts on her powers (Specifically the idea that they're actually the manipulation of time and not healing) and then proceeded to do the exact same thing she did anyways
Just seems like a case of not sharing informaiton for drama purposes. In fact, she mentions that she was worried about Noumi planting a listening device or something to monitor her, but still contacted Kuroyukihime about what was going on, which seems to kill the purpose since he logically could've discovered that as well. I also wish that Black Lotus
hadn't shown up in the end to help take Noumi down. I certainly don't dislike the character, but I enjoyed her absence, with it basically being a difficult situation that the others had to solve on their own. However, I can't say that I was surprised that she showed up the way she did, basically serving to take away Noumi's advantage, while still letting Haruyuki actually take him down. Speaking of that, Silver Crow slowly walking towards Dusk Taker and taking him out as he begged for mercy was coldblooded as **** and I loved it
Definitely my favorite moment in the series and I really do think a second season could be better, since the story is clearly going to be of a different nature than SAO's, where the first game wrapped up fairly well by episode 14 or 15. This series seems to be slower in pace, which might allow for a greater payoff in the long run.
