Your making it sound like it's perfectly fine that Kirito pulled dual wielding outa nowhere and soloed a boss that shouldn't even be soloable, but it's unthinkable that Heathcliff would have access to or should I say, the smarts to be able to take advantage of the equipment required to play the game and use an ability that possibly anyone could use. Just as batou01 said, if your going to consider Heathcliffs ability cheating, you might as well consider Kirito's cheating as well since as far as we know, he's the only one who can use it. Hell, I'm in agreement with batau01 about who Heathcliff might actually be, it just seems to make sense.
Also, it's not that the game rules are "mostly fair" it's that they can't break the code to allow certain things to happen, for instance, the killing of players in safe zones, it's just not possible. So Heathcliff having an ability to increase his speed to the point that time around him slows to a crawl wouldn't be considered cheating, just an ability that was already programmed into the game that he and possibly others have access to so long as they can figure out how to obtain it. This would also apply to Kirito with his dual wielding. Granted, something later in the show could disprove all this, but as of right now this is how I see it.
Another thing, how are pk guilds considered unfair? It's part of any mmo you come across. The point of an mmo is to allow you to play the game however you want and if you want to run around killing other players for pvp fame then you should be allowed to do it. The fact that those who get pked in this world actually die just makes it more of a taboo thing to do. It'd be more unfair to not be able attack other players, hell it would be a step back in game design.
Akihiko Kayaba could be Heathcliff in desguies. He made SAO so it not totaly out of the question. But since he's the GM anyway, and if he really is HEathcliff. WHY? He's already able to watch over his ideal world. And manipulation of it as the GM isn't out of th equestion either. So why disguies himslef just to meet and get Kirito into a guild.
Yes I realise its a question that if what is guessed to be true will be answered in time. But I just still has to ask it.
After rewatching the ep I feel better about it as it is. But I still think they rushed it a but with 3 events hapening. Kirito's loss to Heathcliff. The assasination attemp by Kurodeal in association with Laughing coffin and then his propsal to Asuna. Just felt like to much for 1 ep. That my only real complant at this point.
I guess you have a point about it being a lot for one episode, and depending how far you read into it there was even more than that (especially in-between their dinner and proposal...) But I don't think The challenge fight should have been it's own episode, rather maybe been the ending of episode 9. While ostensibly the purpose of the fight was to get Kirito into the guild
Spoiler: Highlight to view
I think the more important aspect it brought to the story was the brain bust like time slow-down move Heathcliff did. He also made a face of being upset when he did it as if he didn't expect to have to use it. The whole idea of him having this further knowledge about the system is part of the reason I think he might be the games creator. Did they ever really make clear what his (the creator's) motivations behind the game are? I think it might be that he wanted to be able to put all of these people in life or death situations that they would normally never experience and see their reactions. If he is in fact Heathcliff it would give him the perfect place to guide his...I guess you could think of them as rats in a maze, and he is the scientist peeking in. Just like having Kirito join the guild it would give him much more direct control of one of the most powerful players in the game to place him in more interesting situations to observe. Sure he could do these things in the guise of the game master, but that wouldn't have the same results as him guiding events as an actual player.
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Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn’t happen.- Steven Wright
Well i don't mean to say that the duel should have ben its own ep. Yeah maybe having it combained with the later actions of ep 9 would hbeen good. Then end with Him going off on the training mission with the Forward captain and Kuradeal. Just something to seperate all the stuff they did in one ep
Spoiler: Highlight to view
Yeah that face Heathcliff made definetly bothers me. Was he expecting more? Just saying that he was foolish to accept the duel? Know your place? Alot of posssibilities. Was this ability something like Brai Burst? IDK but I'm sure we'lll find out down the road. Defineetly making it interesting at the very least.
I honestly don't see what was wrong with the outcome of the duel. Hell, having Kirito lose was the best thing that could have happened if ya ask me. To many shows have your protagonist getting into situations like this and coming out on top even though their opponent is supposed to be just as good or better. We already had that happen with boss last episode, I don't think we needed it happening again this episode. Plus, if you remember correctly, Asuna mentioned Heathcliff had a unique ability of his own that increases his attack and defense, which for all we know improves his speed and reaction time as well. To what levels? We don't know, but clearly enough to move his shield in time to deflect Kirito's attack. Just because Kirito has some unique ability, it doesn't make him invincible and I'm glad they proved that here.
It wasn't all that unexpected for Kirito lose but to have so much build-up and then end it so damn quickly? What the hell?! That fight should have been at least 5 minutes I'd say. Too short (like it was) sucks, but too long (10 min or more) would have just gotten boring. And nobody said Kirito was invincible. It's even been pointed out earlier that nobody wants to see a main character or any character who's completely unstoppable. Also, what do you mean by, "they proved it right there"? That was a ONE-HIT-WIN duel . The way you put it, if somebody never gets hit, they're invincible. Asuna broughtup Heathcliff's ability, Divine Blade, which boosted his defense and power but nothing about speed. I think when the screen went red was to show that Heathcliff was moving so fast, nobody could see it, except for Kirito who is either at, or just below, Heathcliff's level.
Rift wrote:
Your making it sound like it's perfectly fine that Kirito pulled dual wielding outa nowhere and soloed a boss that shouldn't even be soloable, but it's unthinkable that Heathcliff would have access to or should I say, the smarts to be able to take advantage of the equipment required to play the game and use an ability that possibly anyone could use. Just as batou01 said, if your going to consider Heathcliffs ability cheating, you might as well consider Kirito's cheating as well since as far as we know, he's the only one who can use it. Hell, I'm in agreement with batau01 about who Heathcliff might actually be, it just seems to make sense.
If you're going to consider Kirito's ability cheating, you're a complete idiot. I'm sorry but there's no way it's cheating. I mentioned in an earlier post that he probably got it from using one hand for so long. That's my theory and it gets more evidence from Heathcliff's Divine Blade ability. His boosts his power and defense. Considering he uses a sword and shield, I'd say that's how he gained that ability. However, while somebody mentioned that Asuna said a shield would slow someone down, she said one would "slow down a rapier-user like me". It is true though that a shield would slow you down unless it's weight is balanced properly between yours and your weapon. This does not, however, reason that you could gain an ability that gives such a masssive speed boost while using a shield. It makes utterly no sense.
@batou01: It's an intersting idea but it's all based on speculation at best and until further evidence pointing at it is revealed, I believe it's just a shot in the dark.
@Reapersbeast: Personally, I'm glad those two finally got together, but I agree that it could have and probably shouldn't have been in this episode. They should have postponed that for a few more episodes.
Dragon0 wrote:
Yeah that face Heathcliff made definetly bothers me. Was he expecting more? Just saying that he was foolish to accept the duel? Know your place? Alot of posssibilities. Was this ability something like Brai Burst? IDK but I'm sure we'lll find out down the road. Defineetly making it interesting at the very least.
I think he made that face because he was pissed. When he was talking to Kirito just before the duel began, he seemed content. He was confident that he would win and would be glad to have Kirito join. After though, he just made that face and walked away without saying a word. It seems to me that he never considered that Kirito might actually stand a chance of winning and when he came close to losing, it forced him to use that hidden skill(still seems like bs to me) or cheat(highly likely but I'll give him the BOTD) in order to guarantee his victory.
On a final note: it doesn't surprise me that Kurageel(Asuna's ex-bodyguard) was part of the Laughing Coffin guild. That whole scene though, was a bit misplaced. I agree with Dragon0 that this episode had too much crammed into it.
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"When you truly care about someone, you don't need any specific reasons to justify your feelings. If you don't know why you feel the way you do, then you can't lose that which causes you to care."
When Kirito froze up, and HeathCliff defeated him, I got the impression that the game master had interfered in that moment. I don't know why, maybe he was keeping an eye on Kirito since he got the farthest in the beta test or something. Also if anyone remembers that member of the laughing coffin guild had been watching kuradeel or whatever his name, is duel Kirito. It makes me think that another member of asuna's guild is a part of the laughing coffin guild.
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Sometimes I pretend to be normal, but then it gets boring so I go back to being me:P
Wouldn't be supriseing really. Rememebr Asuna said at one point that when her guild got bigger things got kina wiered. And the bigger your guild gets the harder to track everyone in the guld. So it makes it easy for spys to get in your ranks and you wouldn't know it.
Just hopeing the next ep doesn't stay a slow ep the whole way. It can start that way but I hope they pick up a bit to get back into the good feel of the show. Will be interesting to see Kirito fight on th efront lines as a guild memebr now.
Yeah, you're right. I don't mind him being in a guild, I just personally like his old outfit better. The storyline seems like it would be to long to fit all into one season so hopefully the show will be popular enough to expand on his conflicts with players and obsticacles (sorry if I spelled that wrong) in the game, his relationship with Asuna, and beating the game to escape in upcoming seasons. I hate slow episodes too. Shows like Bleach have a ton of them, and you're sitting there hoping it will pick up and the episode ends with a cliffhanger.
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Sometimes I pretend to be normal, but then it gets boring so I go back to being me:P
Wow I go away for 2 days and theres alot going on on this forum finally lol! I haven't even gotten to read all the new posts lately but I will I just want to make my point clear since after 3 post No one seems to understand why I think its cheating!
@batou01: Rift should read too!
I don't read/watch those spoilers you post Their spoilers for a reason, and I personally hate spoilers! So I never look at them. As for him cheating I'll say it 1 last time. The reason it seemed like a cheat was because the way it was preformed! They didnt make it look like him just increasing speed they made it look as if Kirito was frozen by magic or something(which isn't supposed to exist in the game!)! What makes me think that way is the fact that they put a whole frame up of Kirito being Frozen in air, Not a frame of Heathcliff just being super fast like a skill! And IF it was a skill the law of physics, Yes even in this virtual world, still apply. At Least according to everything we've seen so far anyway! So a shield wielder would have 1 in a TRILLION chance of being even just as fast as someone without much less faster!! Even with a special skill. Especially since his opponent was using his "faster", "even faster", unique skill That he used to solo a boss Has Heathcliff every had story's told of him on the front lines DOING ANYTHING yet, No! So yes that to me says he shouldn't be able to beat Kirito! NOW IF the story just hasn't been told very well leaving out alot of details like a good story should then I could understand what types of things you and rift are saying! So I strive for a better presentation then just average!
@Rift:
This is a Real life and death game So no this isn't like any other mmo we've come across before! The creator even makes it a point to say that in the first episode! So pvp takes on a whole new meaning in this game. That meaning being Murder!! So No they shouldn't be allowed in a FAIR life and death game!! How could a gang rape of 5v1 from a pk guild ever be fair! And if you want that kind of fame you belong in prison to say the least! Which the game does have, so why would they send some pk'ers to the jail like the lady in red(can't think of her name) who tried to kill the beast tamer and did kill that other guild, that caused Kirito to hunt her down, But not other pkers???
@Forlorn:
Yes that red screen with Kirito being frozen in place is the man reason I think Heathcliff was cheating somehow! Then his looking down on Kirito with that hateful look makes me think he's a laughing coffin member himself maybe. Or at least probably going to be the jealous bad guy by the end!Their duel couldn't have been a 1 hit win duel Because Kirito slashed Heathcliff across the face first. That was just one option on the menu when the duel was started. Asuna mentioned that no one has ever seen Heathcliffs hp bar go yellow and that's when Kirito lost the duel, when his went yellow. So I'm thinking that's the type of duel it was! I was the one that mentioned what Asuna said about a shield slowing ALL users down(then she said it would really slow down a rapier user like her!)! And I'm glad that you pointed out Heathcliffs unique skill raises his attack bonus and defense NOT SPEED!! And the fact that you don't gain a speed boost skill or any skill for nothing! You have to earn the unique skills you gain in the game by experience of using the same type of skill, Like Kirito does Speed!! Which points even more towards Heathcliff cheating some how! And since he was never shown in the rest of the episode it points even more toward some sort of foul play!!!
@Everyone:
I have to disagree with the conversation about the 10th episode! All three of those situations in 10 should have been their own episode they are all Hugely important to the storyline! The worst part though was that they only spent 2 mins on the duel between probably the 2 strongest players yet spent 15 mins on the Failed assassination attempt on Kirito! That was just dumb to be honest! So far it's the only bad thing I've really seen in this show!! Now if the assassination attempt was with the duel in an episode but the duel lasts 15 mins and the assassination lasts 5 or so that would have been ok! Because we know Kirito's loner status is what the main focus has been this whole show Now for it to end with a 2 min fight is just stupid! Yes even though we know he probably has to get into a guild at some point! As for their starting a loving relationship with each other(every hero needs 1 thing to truly fight for so its fine!), Not just a profession one They should take a full episode to actually show and grow some true love and I personally think that her saving his life would have been a great start to that episode! As for Kirito being in that guild I would beat he doesnt stay in that guild very long Unless he ends up becoming its leader! That's just the simple history of story telling there, Heroes don't follow they lead!!! Or at least they Should!!
Agreed. When he put on the new uniforn. My first thought was. "You don't look good in that outfite Kirito". His black jacket looked so much better. Made him distinguesed I think.
Now Reaper. Actualy I don't even know where to begin.. Well as to the building of relation they did that in 9. When she said she didn't know what she'd do if Kirito had died in the sight with the boss. That basicly said right there that she already had strong feelings. THen with the dinner they had and that incident, the lunch before hand. Started to get Kirito thinking more. So when he was about to dies and thought of him it made him decided what he was hesitent about since his was always a solo throught out the game. The last ep I think should hav ebeen 2 eps. You could easly break them up that way, and still give enough time to the events and draw them out a bit. The duel should have bee longer but since Kirito broke through Heathcliffs defences he was forced to use this unknown skill to avoid lossing and thus beat Kirito. But I still say they should have drawn out the fight. then cover a bit of him now apart of the guild and then lead out to the Kuradeel assasination attempt. THis you would think would have been drawn out a bit since he held such a grudge you'd think he'd want to tourcher Kirito longer since he wouldn't have known that Asuna was coming to his rescue. IDK he just seems like that kind of guy to me. So I was suprised they spent so little time on that.
Anywho again I jsut hope they don't spend a whole ep on their new relationship. This show really doesn;t need it but you neve rknow what they have planned. Hopefully we see them fighting on th efront lines for a bit then they can end it off agian with Kirito and Asuna at their new home resting form the dungen battles.
@Reaper
Your making it sound like it's perfectly fine that Kirito pulled dual wielding outa nowhere and soloed a boss that shouldn't even be soloable, but it's unthinkable that Heathcliff would have access to or should I say, the smarts to be able to take advantage of the equipment required to play the game and use an ability that possibly anyone could use. Just as batou01 said, if your going to consider Heathcliffs ability cheating, you might as well consider Kirito's cheating as well since as far as we know, he's the only one who can use it. Hell, I'm in agreement with batau01 about who Heathcliff might actually be, it just seems to make sense.
Also, it's not that the game rules are "mostly fair" it's that they can't break the code to allow certain things to happen, for instance, the killing of players in safe zones, it's just not possible. So Heathcliff having an ability to increase his speed to the point that time around him slows to a crawl wouldn't be considered cheating, just an ability that was already programmed into the game that he and possibly others have access to so long as they can figure out how to obtain it. This would also apply to Kirito with his dual wielding. Granted, something later in the show could disprove all this, but as of right now this is how I see it.
Another thing, how are pk guilds considered unfair? It's part of any mmo you come across. The point of an mmo is to allow you to play the game however you want and if you want to run around killing other players for pvp fame then you should be allowed to do it. The fact that those who get pked in this world actually die just makes it more of a taboo thing to do. It'd be more unfair to not be able attack other players, hell it would be a step back in game design.
Fu-chan Starfish Powers Activate!!!
Your right Rift. About Batou's conclusion
Yes I realise its a question that if what is guessed to be true will be answered in time. But I just still has to ask it.
After rewatching the ep I feel better about it as it is. But I still think they rushed it a but with 3 events hapening. Kirito's loss to Heathcliff. The assasination attemp by Kurodeal in association with Laughing coffin and then his propsal to Asuna. Just felt like to much for 1 ep. That my only real complant at this point.
I reject your reality and replace it with my own.
I guess you have a point about it being a lot for one episode, and depending how far you read into it there was even more than that (especially in-between their dinner and proposal...) But I don't think The challenge fight should have been it's own episode, rather maybe been the ending of episode 9. While ostensibly the purpose of the fight was to get Kirito into the guild
Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn’t happen.- Steven Wright
Well i don't mean to say that the duel should have ben its own ep. Yeah maybe having it combained with the later actions of ep 9 would hbeen good. Then end with Him going off on the training mission with the Forward captain and Kuradeal. Just something to seperate all the stuff they did in one ep
I reject your reality and replace it with my own.
It wasn't all that unexpected for Kirito lose but to have so much build-up and then end it so damn quickly? What the hell?! That fight should have been at least 5 minutes I'd say. Too short (like it was) sucks, but too long (10 min or more) would have just gotten boring. And nobody said Kirito was invincible. It's even been pointed out earlier that nobody wants to see a main character or any character who's completely unstoppable. Also, what do you mean by, "they proved it right there"? That was a ONE-HIT-WIN duel . The way you put it, if somebody never gets hit, they're invincible. Asuna broughtup Heathcliff's ability, Divine Blade, which boosted his defense and power but nothing about speed. I think when the screen went red was to show that Heathcliff was moving so fast, nobody could see it, except for Kirito who is either at, or just below, Heathcliff's level.
If you're going to consider Kirito's ability cheating, you're a complete idiot. I'm sorry but there's no way it's cheating. I mentioned in an earlier post that he probably got it from using one hand for so long. That's my theory and it gets more evidence from Heathcliff's Divine Blade ability. His boosts his power and defense. Considering he uses a sword and shield, I'd say that's how he gained that ability. However, while somebody mentioned that Asuna said a shield would slow someone down, she said one would "slow down a rapier-user like me". It is true though that a shield would slow you down unless it's weight is balanced properly between yours and your weapon. This does not, however, reason that you could gain an ability that gives such a masssive speed boost while using a shield. It makes utterly no sense.
@batou01: It's an intersting idea but it's all based on speculation at best and until further evidence pointing at it is revealed, I believe it's just a shot in the dark.
@Reapersbeast: Personally, I'm glad those two finally got together, but I agree that it could have and probably shouldn't have been in this episode. They should have postponed that for a few more episodes.
I think he made that face because he was pissed. When he was talking to Kirito just before the duel began, he seemed content. He was confident that he would win and would be glad to have Kirito join. After though, he just made that face and walked away without saying a word. It seems to me that he never considered that Kirito might actually stand a chance of winning and when he came close to losing, it forced him to use that hidden skill(still seems like bs to me) or cheat(highly likely but I'll give him the BOTD) in order to guarantee his victory.
On a final note: it doesn't surprise me that Kurageel(Asuna's ex-bodyguard) was part of the Laughing Coffin guild. That whole scene though, was a bit misplaced. I agree with Dragon0 that this episode had too much crammed into it.
"When you truly care about someone, you don't need any specific reasons to justify your feelings. If you don't know why you feel the way you do, then you can't lose that which causes you to care."
When Kirito froze up, and HeathCliff defeated him, I got the impression that the game master had interfered in that moment. I don't know why, maybe he was keeping an eye on Kirito since he got the farthest in the beta test or something. Also if anyone remembers that member of the laughing coffin guild had been watching kuradeel or whatever his name, is duel Kirito. It makes me think that another member of asuna's guild is a part of the laughing coffin guild.
Sometimes I pretend to be normal, but then it gets boring so I go back to being me:P
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Wouldn't be supriseing really. Rememebr Asuna said at one point that when her guild got bigger things got kina wiered. And the bigger your guild gets the harder to track everyone in the guld. So it makes it easy for spys to get in your ranks and you wouldn't know it.
Just hopeing the next ep doesn't stay a slow ep the whole way. It can start that way but I hope they pick up a bit to get back into the good feel of the show. Will be interesting to see Kirito fight on th efront lines as a guild memebr now.
I reject your reality and replace it with my own.
Yeah, you're right. I don't mind him being in a guild, I just personally like his old outfit better. The storyline seems like it would be to long to fit all into one season so hopefully the show will be popular enough to expand on his conflicts with players and obsticacles (sorry if I spelled that wrong) in the game, his relationship with Asuna, and beating the game to escape in upcoming seasons. I hate slow episodes too. Shows like Bleach have a ton of them, and you're sitting there hoping it will pick up and the episode ends with a cliffhanger.
Sometimes I pretend to be normal, but then it gets boring so I go back to being me:P
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Wow I go away for 2 days and theres alot going on on this forum finally lol! I haven't even gotten to read all the new posts lately but I will I just want to make my point clear since after 3 post No one seems to understand why I think its cheating!
@batou01: Rift should read too!
I don't read/watch those spoilers you post Their spoilers for a reason, and I personally hate spoilers! So I never look at them. As for him cheating I'll say it 1 last time. The reason it seemed like a cheat was because the way it was preformed! They didnt make it look like him just increasing speed they made it look as if Kirito was frozen by magic or something(which isn't supposed to exist in the game!)! What makes me think that way is the fact that they put a whole frame up of Kirito being Frozen in air, Not a frame of Heathcliff just being super fast like a skill! And IF it was a skill the law of physics, Yes even in this virtual world, still apply. At Least according to everything we've seen so far anyway! So a shield wielder would have 1 in a TRILLION chance of being even just as fast as someone without much less faster!! Even with a special skill. Especially since his opponent was using his "faster", "even faster", unique skill That he used to solo a boss Has Heathcliff every had story's told of him on the front lines DOING ANYTHING yet, No! So yes that to me says he shouldn't be able to beat Kirito! NOW IF the story just hasn't been told very well leaving out alot of details like a good story should then I could understand what types of things you and rift are saying! So I strive for a better presentation then just average!
@Rift:
This is a Real life and death game So no this isn't like any other mmo we've come across before! The creator even makes it a point to say that in the first episode! So pvp takes on a whole new meaning in this game. That meaning being Murder!! So No they shouldn't be allowed in a FAIR life and death game!! How could a gang rape of 5v1 from a pk guild ever be fair! And if you want that kind of fame you belong in prison to say the least! Which the game does have, so why would they send some pk'ers to the jail like the lady in red(can't think of her name) who tried to kill the beast tamer and did kill that other guild, that caused Kirito to hunt her down, But not other pkers???
@Forlorn:
Yes that red screen with Kirito being frozen in place is the man reason I think Heathcliff was cheating somehow! Then his looking down on Kirito with that hateful look makes me think he's a laughing coffin member himself maybe. Or at least probably going to be the jealous bad guy by the end!Their duel couldn't have been a 1 hit win duel Because Kirito slashed Heathcliff across the face first. That was just one option on the menu when the duel was started. Asuna mentioned that no one has ever seen Heathcliffs hp bar go yellow and that's when Kirito lost the duel, when his went yellow. So I'm thinking that's the type of duel it was! I was the one that mentioned what Asuna said about a shield slowing ALL users down(then she said it would really slow down a rapier user like her!)! And I'm glad that you pointed out Heathcliffs unique skill raises his attack bonus and defense NOT SPEED!! And the fact that you don't gain a speed boost skill or any skill for nothing! You have to earn the unique skills you gain in the game by experience of using the same type of skill, Like Kirito does Speed!! Which points even more towards Heathcliff cheating some how! And since he was never shown in the rest of the episode it points even more toward some sort of foul play!!!
@Everyone:
I have to disagree with the conversation about the 10th episode! All three of those situations in 10 should have been their own episode they are all Hugely important to the storyline! The worst part though was that they only spent 2 mins on the duel between probably the 2 strongest players yet spent 15 mins on the Failed assassination attempt on Kirito! That was just dumb to be honest! So far it's the only bad thing I've really seen in this show!! Now if the assassination attempt was with the duel in an episode but the duel lasts 15 mins and the assassination lasts 5 or so that would have been ok! Because we know Kirito's loner status is what the main focus has been this whole show Now for it to end with a 2 min fight is just stupid! Yes even though we know he probably has to get into a guild at some point! As for their starting a loving relationship with each other(every hero needs 1 thing to truly fight for so its fine!), Not just a profession one They should take a full episode to actually show and grow some true love and I personally think that her saving his life would have been a great start to that episode! As for Kirito being in that guild I would beat he doesnt stay in that guild very long Unless he ends up becoming its leader! That's just the simple history of story telling there, Heroes don't follow they lead!!! Or at least they Should!!
Pathetic Trolls will Always be Pathetic Trolls!!
Ryder wrote:
Agreed. When he put on the new uniforn. My first thought was. "You don't look good in that outfite Kirito". His black jacket looked so much better. Made him distinguesed I think.
Now Reaper. Actualy I don't even know where to begin.. Well as to the building of relation they did that in 9. When she said she didn't know what she'd do if Kirito had died in the sight with the boss. That basicly said right there that she already had strong feelings. THen with the dinner they had and that incident, the lunch before hand. Started to get Kirito thinking more. So when he was about to dies and thought of him it made him decided what he was hesitent about since his was always a solo throught out the game. The last ep I think should hav ebeen 2 eps. You could easly break them up that way, and still give enough time to the events and draw them out a bit. The duel should have bee longer but since Kirito broke through Heathcliffs defences he was forced to use this unknown skill to avoid lossing and thus beat Kirito. But I still say they should have drawn out the fight. then cover a bit of him now apart of the guild and then lead out to the Kuradeel assasination attempt. THis you would think would have been drawn out a bit since he held such a grudge you'd think he'd want to tourcher Kirito longer since he wouldn't have known that Asuna was coming to his rescue. IDK he just seems like that kind of guy to me. So I was suprised they spent so little time on that.
Anywho again I jsut hope they don't spend a whole ep on their new relationship. This show really doesn;t need it but you neve rknow what they have planned. Hopefully we see them fighting on th efront lines for a bit then they can end it off agian with Kirito and Asuna at their new home resting form the dungen battles.
I reject your reality and replace it with my own.