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It's another day, which means time for another daily #sao_anime update. I'm 12 episodes into Phantom Bullet, which means we are almost at the end. My thoughts are in the thread!
I won't get anymore into the trauma part, because I feel like I picked that clean for now. It's still good, and still handled with tact and respect, and I was glad Sinon took center stage in that aspect in these episodes. Today though I wanna talk about about the author.
A lot of people have really shit on Reki Kawahara for his writing. They've over-emphasized his failings, and overblown his successes. That goes back to my belief that people, fans and haters have not allowed #sao_anime to just 'exist' without any of the baggage.
I'm halfway through season 2, and since Phantom Bullet looks like it is the "important" part of the season (not saying Rosario isn't, but it just seems like P.B is the 'heavy stuff'.) I am again, struggling to see the bad writer people claim Kawahara is.
It's solid work, 7.5/10, B+, all of that. Kawahara's biggest strength is his character work, and being able to string together arcs, giving the story forward momentum and not following into an episodic trap. When he wants to 'bring it' he does, boy he does.
Kawahara is a good writer, and borders on great at many moments. But I'll also be fair. Now that I'm pretty much through the entire anime series (i think). There are frankly only TWO major criticisms I have of #sao_anime right now.
The first is that Kayaba Akihiko is a fucking bad villain, full stop. Kawahara aimed WAY too high with his concept and ideas. I see what he was trying to do, and props for trying but it really doesn't fucking work. It feels like a first-time rookie mistake.
The second is more of a personal hang-up. I don't like how the secondary cast has been shunted to the sidelines. Granted Asuna is doing something this arc, but it does very much feel (right now at least) that Kawahara can't write a story with multiple females.
Is that bad? Not really, Suguha and Sinon both getting the sole spotlight made their story arcs REALLY good. But I do wish the rest of the cast was more present. But that just might be the story Kawahara is trying to tell. That's his choice, and that's fine.
But yeah, as I reach the end of Phantom Bullet, I am still really enjoying #sao_anime. I am starting to see "the issues" people have, but I do think they've been MASSIVELY overblown compared to what they are. The series is still exactly what it has always been, and that's great.
