Accel World – 16

[Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_01.30_[2012.07.27_23.41.10] [Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_11.03_[2012.07.27_22.52.33] [Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_18.55_[2012.07.27_23.00.25]

That was downright metaphysical by AW standards…

[Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_01.19_[2012.07.27_22.42.47]Well, without question that was a pretty dramatic change of pace from the last few Noumi-dominated episodes.  This was the sort of story that I suspect would have had a lot stronger impact on me if my buy-in to the series were a little more solid – to be honest, I’ve kind of wavered for the last month or so (in fact, my interest in AW has fluctuated quite a bit almost from the very beginning).   I think Sky Raker’s story was quite well-told on its own terms, but my current skepticism for the series as a whole undercut my suspension of disbelief a little bit. 

[Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_04.42_[2012.07.27_22.45.04]What we had, in fact, was a sort of super-condensed one episode training arc, with Endou Aya putting on her most beatific Nadeshiko voice as Haru’s gentle master.  There was a Buddha-like quality to Sky Raker all through the episode in fact, giving Haru the equivalent of Burst Linker koans to try and help him  regain the ability to fly.  Her back story is pretty interesting – a girl who’d lost her legs in life (as we find out late in the episode) who dreams of flying in the accelerated world, and comes as close as anyone ever did before Haru.  She sacrificed her virtual legs to the effort, in fact, believing they were holding her back – and it was her friend Kuroyukihime she asked to cut them off for her.  This is a very Buddhist concept – the attachment to the material preventing the soul from taking flight.

[Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_07.24_[2012.07.27_22.48.54]In fact one could, if they so chase, paint the whole Accel World scenario as a kind of quest for Buddhist enlightenment – but that would require several leaps of faith, and probably giving Kawahara-sensei way too much credit.  In any case, Sky Raker is a bit too messianic for my tastes, but she did plant the seeds of some interesting ideas – that it was the flying that gave birth to the wings for Haru rather than the other way around, for starters.  Essentially her philosophy is the “Incarnate” system (another extremely Buddhist notion) – that power is inherent in all burst linkers, latent in most, and all they have to do is get in touch with that power and they can do whatever they set their minds to.  To this end, she gives Haru a little nudge off her ivory tower, promising further lessons if he can make his way to the top – and proceeds to offer him bread and wisdom to help him get there.

[Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_09.20_[2012.07.27_22.50.50]On an island, this was quite a good little story – considerably more thoughtful than most of what’s served up in AW.  What strikes me is that the line between wisdom and obsession in the AW, just as in the RW, can be a blurry one – and that Sky Raker can certainly be said to have crossed it. Still, that experience has left her wiser, and she seems to see it as her duty to share that wisdom in small ways with the likes of Ash Roller, and in more substantive ways with those like Haru who have more soaring ambitions.  I like the notion that the bigger the scars one carries from their real life, the more potential they have as a burst linker – if there’s any profundity in this series, that seems to be where it resides.

[Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_10.27_[2012.07.27_22.51.57] [Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_12.18_[2012.07.27_22.53.48] [Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_13.58_[2012.07.27_22.55.28]
[Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_14.27_[2012.07.27_23.40.01] [Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_17.10_[2012.07.27_22.58.41] [Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_17.25_[2012.07.27_22.58.55]
[Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_18.52_[2012.07.27_23.00.22] [Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_20.00_[2012.07.27_23.01.30] [Hadena] Accel World - 16 [720p][F4E201DA].mkv_snapshot_20.15_[2012.07.27_23.01.45]
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3 comments

  1. A

    I've argued several times that I think this is Accel World's strongest episode yet. Kawahara can write very well, when he is on form – I advise you to read Sword Art Online's Mother's Rosario, for example. While this episode (or rather, this portion of Volume 3) doesn't reach the quality of Mother's Rosario, it is to date, the strongest point in Accel World, I've seen (I've not gone beyond Volume 3, since I'm reliant on Baka Tsuki's translations.)

    This episode has all the feel of Kawahara's better SAO writings, which Accel World have only shown very faint traces on in the Nico Arc.

  2. g

    This episode also made the current villain a little more interesting.
    Considering his ability is to steal other people's abilities and also considering the philosophy we got this episode I think we all can already imagine his backstory and Haru's victory speech to him.

  3. F

    This was indeed a very strong episode for Accel World. Aside from converting me to a total Sky Raker fanboy, it showed us Haru actually manning up a bit and doing something instead of whining, and gave us some interesting food for though.

    I'm excited to see how the confrontation with that shitty bastard Noumi turns out. I hope Taku and Haru kick his ass good, and that they confront him in the Unlimited Neutral Fields for 2x the pain.

    Although with Noumi's ability, I thought of a really derpy scenario where he just goes and steals Gale Thrust from Haru too. That would suck! Although that makes me wonder what happens if he steal conflicting abilities. What if he gets something like Scarlet Rain's gigantic fortress, then tries to fly with it? XD

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