- I went to Fanimecon last weekend and the prevalent cosplays that I could not help but notice were Kirito and Asuna. No one cosplays Leafa for four reasons: fairy wings and boobs. Well, except that her sword looks nice.

- We just finished talking about how the sky has a barrier to it and Kirito thinks he can just Jesus his way through it. This is the perfection we strive for in our lives, boys. This is our [rainbow]future[/rainbow]

- Here's a shot of Yui suffering because she [radio edit]ing deserves it.

- what. There's no way some personal pixie is able to penetrate one full barrier and probably half a mile's worth of height to reach Asuna's ears.

- also those bars are awfully wide. She could squeeze through those pretty easily without having to use a keypad. To her birdcage. I'm still pretty giggly over that.

- i mean seriously cant you just

- Now Asuna is contemplating tossing something down to Kirito. That's dumb. Wind exists in ALO.

- Meanwhile, Kirito is still punching the barrier like a [radio edit]ing moron and then exclaims, "What the hell is this!?"



- Asuna somehow tosses a keycard from the admin block (which she took back when she was being tentacled) despite both high winds and a goddamn mother[radio edit]ing barrier. Oh thanks, Yui! Now we know it's a sysadmin code! What a good daughteru!

- In the name of the husbando, the daughteru, and the [rainbow]Perfect Waifu[/rainbow], amen.

- Now Kirito has no option other than to go through the tree and its trials. Leafa then does her good side character duties by showing us exactly how strong Kirito is going to be when he defeats the bad guys.

- And he has to be dramatic about it and shit. I mean, I get that he cares about his [rainbow]Perfect Waifu[/rainbow] being NTR'd by Literally The Creepiest Person On Earth, but I'm reminded of when he first started SAO and he was so, so reserved about even making friends. Less so talking about all his problems with strangers like Leafa. Perhaps it's something that signifies character development because he's not more open and more willing to accept help (haha lol nope), but the circumstances here are different. No one is going to die. He has four [radio edit]ing days to save Asuna. There is no reason for Kirito to be so dramatic.

- Leafa has an internal dilemma at this point, both struggling with her feelings for her brother and figuring out exactly what she feels when it comes to the person in front of her. If she lets Kirito go now, it would mirror when Suguha continues to hide her feelings in real life.

...Look, if you want me to be completely honest about this whole incest thing, I'm actually not so offended by its existence unlike most of the internet. It's the wrong reason to think that the ALO arc is bad. What's real bad about Suguha's position in the story is the anime's tendency to sexualize her at every waking moment she's on screen. THAT's what makes this whole relationship squicky. Otherwise, it has the potential to be a more interesting dynamic than Kirito has with his [rainbow]Perfect Waifu[/rainbow]. Sadly, it's equal. And considering how bare-bones the Kirito/Asuna ship already is, this is a Bad Thing.

- Remember that fat Spriggan I posted an image of earlier? Well, he's back with a NEW METAPHOR.



WE MUST GO DEEPER.

- HEY IS THAT THE CATGIRL FROM EARLIER



SO DEEP.

- Wait, does this door swing inwards or outwards? I don't remember.

- w8 4 meh bby im cumming sooooooooooooooooooooooooon

- Let's strike a pose before we FINALLY HOLY SHIT OH MY GOD save Asuna!

- THIS IS IT GUYS, THE GRAND QUEST. THE PENULTIMATE BATTLE BEFORE WE DEFEAT THE EVIL SUGOU AND SAVE THE PRINCESS. THIS IS GOING TO BE EPIC AS [radio edit].

Kirito then enters a grand... tunnel of endless sentinels.



Man, [radio edit] this game.

- One sword in Kirito doesn't look that dramatic. I know! Let's photoshop some more swords in!



Now he's triple pentuple ded'd!

- I'm not impressed that the story decides to have Kirito die here for various reasons. One, all of his losses so far have been red herrings so he'll still win. Two, it's [radio edit]ing ALO so his death doesn't even count. Three, he died because he was being but the show spins it as some metaphysical bullshit between his avatar and real life identity. Hell, that revelation isn't even that deep because he's only talking about that one line he said in like episode 16 or so. Man, this anime.

- But hey, instead of waiting ten whole minutes to respawn we can have Leafa come save his bacon for once! I'm not dissing the anime for that. I'm being serious.

- LOLNOPE HERE'S SOME CLEAVAGE

- YOU THINK WE'RE [radio edit]ING DONE

- BECAUSE WE ARE SO NOT [radio edit]ING DONE

- LEVEL OF DONE: [radio edit]ING ZERO

- "Ahn, Kirito-kun~..."



Okay, now we're done.

- "Please stop." Yes SAO, please stop making this [radio edit]ing show.

- Welp.

- WELP

- WELP

- WELP



I'm so pumped by this reveal.

- Let's talk about Sugu angst, shall we.



Yeah I know, me too. It's just that... there's nothing else important to talk about in this episode.

Okay. This scene was nicely played out. I'd go into the details of why I think this scene worked, but it actually doesn't. Because this scene doesn't belong here. In fact, this whole incest subplot had no place in the story. I'm sure that in a separate anime, if we were to think about this with just Kirito and Suguha with Asuna placed far into the background, and if we cut out all the skeevy shots of imouto boobs and ass, this scene would have a lot more impact on me. But no. Instead we are given the cartoonishly evil Sugou to think about and how he's going to NTR Asuna. So all this subtle, more intense suffering that Suguha feels throughout this second half amounts to nothing more than another obstacle for Kirito to overcome in order to save Asuna. I'm telling you, I'm sure there are ways for incest stories to work. But this isn't one of them.

- And we just end with Sugu telling Kirito off and curling up on her own bed and crying herself into the credits.