- Location
- Washington
Probably for the best in my opinion.
SAO Abridged
- Thread starter Anomen
- Start date
- Anime
They didn't, they preserved her as an item even in the abridged serise
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BBBence1111
Harbinger of Bad Luck
- Location
- Magyarország
What do ya'll mean Yui died in Abridged?
Besides that, I liked the episode. It's not the best one they made, but it's good.
The loreplay is an interesting idea, and the reimagined ALO is well, cringy but I can see it happen. Hopefully they'll tone that part down.
Also, I like dark humor, so I found the Yui joke to be hilarious.
Besides that, I liked the episode. It's not the best one they made, but it's good.
The loreplay is an interesting idea, and the reimagined ALO is well, cringy but I can see it happen. Hopefully they'll tone that part down.
Also, I like dark humor, so I found the Yui joke to be hilarious.
ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
I don't know where anyone got the idea that the retcon was that she really died at first, I meant they retconned it from Kirito doing his Supah Hackeeng out of nowhere just like in the real show to "there was never a problem and all he did was fuck it up worse while Yui was briefly vulnerable" which still doesn't fix the fact that the original scene is dumb and has no jokes or that the payoff is really awkward and unfunny.
Quadhelix
Professional Windmill Hunter
EDIT: As a side note, I haven't watched the new episode yet /EDIT
As for your criticism of the original scene in the Abridged:
On a side note -- why would Abridged!Kirito want to break the game to make himself stronger? He derives an enormous amount of satisfaction from being The Best(TM), and you can't get that satisfaction if you know that you're cheating.
In any case, I'm curious about your view that "the dramatic moments . . . from the show . . . [are] cringy as fuck." All of the show's most vocal critics -- even Digibro, who originally got the ball rolling on the whole "SAO is awful" bandwagon -- have been quite clear that the show did manage to get quite a few things right, but the negatives vastly outweighed the positives.
Finally, even if we agree that the dramatic moments in the original universally fall flat, the changes to Kirito's and Asuna's personalities in the Abridged series changes the context of those scenes. In canon, Kirito and Asuna adopting Yui is just them being absurdly mature for their age. In the Abridged series, it's two selfish people coming to realize that they actually care for someone that they had been manipulating for their own ends just as things reach the point where they can no longer make amends for their misdeed.
(emphasis added) -- Why is it a particular problem that the scene has no jokes? I know that, as an Abridged Series, it's supposed to be a comedy, but comedies can have serious moments -- e.g., nobody complains that Quellek's death in Galaxy Quest didn't have any jokes. And I get that SAO Abridged leans more towards absurdist humor than Galaxy Quest did, but mixing drama with comedy is a time-honored technique to increase the punch of the jokes by giving them additional grounding.
As for your criticism of the original scene in the Abridged:
I don't know if you came up with this criticism independently of Mother's Basement's/Geoff Thew's criticism of the scene, but if you are relying on his analysis of it, I think you may have missed a small but important difference between the canon scene and the Abridged scene: canon!Kirito apparently hacked the game's source code in real time (somehow), whereas Abridged!Kirito simply took an active admin login and used that. Hacking the game's source code in real time -- (a) represents a superhuman level of hacking that breaks the suspension of disbelief and (b) would allow the hacker to do anything, including re-enable the log-out function. Being granted admin access, as in the Abridged series, (a) doesn't represent such a superhuman feat and (b) doesn't grant anywhere near the same level of control over the game.
On a side note -- why would Abridged!Kirito want to break the game to make himself stronger? He derives an enormous amount of satisfaction from being The Best(TM), and you can't get that satisfaction if you know that you're cheating.
In any case, I'm curious about your view that "the dramatic moments . . . from the show . . . [are] cringy as fuck." All of the show's most vocal critics -- even Digibro, who originally got the ball rolling on the whole "SAO is awful" bandwagon -- have been quite clear that the show did manage to get quite a few things right, but the negatives vastly outweighed the positives.
Finally, even if we agree that the dramatic moments in the original universally fall flat, the changes to Kirito's and Asuna's personalities in the Abridged series changes the context of those scenes. In canon, Kirito and Asuna adopting Yui is just them being absurdly mature for their age. In the Abridged series, it's two selfish people coming to realize that they actually care for someone that they had been manipulating for their own ends just as things reach the point where they can no longer make amends for their misdeed.
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ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
Because if there are no jokes the scene is being serious and SAO Abridged can't handle being serious to save its life. The Abridged version of the Gleam-Eyes fight where Kirito does the "how dare you make me care about these people!" cliche completely unironically still makes my skin crawl when I remember it. Even they seemed to catch onto it because as I'm sure I also mentioned, there was that one other Dramatic scene from episode 12 where they pretty much played it all completely straight except for some very tacked-on dialogue from Klein obnoxiously blubbering over the top of it to the point that it almost seemed selfconscious.
This is not some insurmountable task. They managed to both make light of the original show's hamfisted attempts at pathos in fridging Sachi by both playing it up for dark comedy and actually having it develop Kirito's character by making it a PTSD trigger. They've just kept fucking up equivalent moments ever since.
A distinction without a difference. My point is that the scene still has Kirito with access to a dev console and, rather than doing literally anything else more productive, trying to save his fake computer daughter he met like yesterday. There are a thousand and one funny jokes they could've made about Kirito and his warped priorities in that moment but instead they held up a chalice full of all that potential and poured it out into the toilet because for some reason they decided to shoot for actual pathos and it boggles my mind.
Did you like, miss the part where 'cheating viciously' was just one bullet point in an etc etc etc list of the myriad different things Kirito could've been doing with his time rather than saving his fake computer daughter who doesn't matter?
For starters he could've been burning that ingame ad system to the ground like he promised back in episode one
[EDIT] Also yes he would break the game to make himself stronger because in the very same episode that just released he's entirely pleased to discover his endgame SAO stats got accidentally ported over to ALO and made him an unfuckable godbeast
[/EDIT]Look let's just be real here. This is not "Team Four Star commission a full English cover of Unmei no Hi and then play Gohan ascending to Super Saiyan 2 completely straight by editing Android 16's speech to be darkly comedic but also way more relevant to the situation at hand". DBZ's garbo anyway but it's iconic and it means a lot to people and that was a scene I'm sure they simply felt they couldn't possibly meme on so they built on the base the show granted them instead. This is Something Witty taking certain major scenes that are brief spikes of mediocrity in the ocean of shit that is SAO and then... basically not doing much with them. They didn't put the work in to make it funny but they didn't put the work in to make it work dramatically either.
Like, for fuck's sake they managed to make Kayaba a fully-realised character who bonded with Kirito as a foil, dropping his guard in a moment of frustration rather than forcing Kirito to make an insane leap of faith on a hunch, had an actual motivation, and they made it funny. Apparently they have the capability, it's just the willingness that sneaks out on 'em sometimes!
Oh and changing the epically groanworthy "I need you to fix it so Asuna can't selfkill out of grief if I die" thing into my favourite joke in the entire series.
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Quadhelix
Professional Windmill Hunter
Ironically, the one bit of the new episode that I have seen is the promo that they posted a few months back and, at least for me, the attempts at humor completely ruined the scene. I didn't find the jokes funny, so all they did was sap out any sincerity that the scene might have held. Maybe the scene works better in the context of the episode, but I don't think it worked well standing on its own.
. . . so far as I understand things, in both canon and the Abridged series, Yui is a legitimately self-aware intelligence. She isn't a scripted NPC (unlike, say, Gary), but rather a learning intelligence capable of learning, curiosity, and something analogous to human emotion.
Other than something along the lines of re-enabling the log-out function (which isn't necessarily on the table with "just" admin access), I'm not really sure what could be more productive than preventing the permanent discontinuation of sapient being's existence.
The odd thing here, and the point where I think we're maybe talking past one another, is that it seems to me that, aside from Sachi's death, all of the dramatic scenes in the Abridged series hinge on traits of Abridge!Kirito that he doesn't share with his canon counterpart.
My understanding is that canon!Kirito had a white hat pretty sutured to his head pretty much from the end of the second episode onward, notwithstanding any attempt that the show made to make him seem like an edgy loner -- e.g., he set himself up as a "beater" to take the blame off other beta testers, his adventure with Silica was because he was hunting down player killers, etc. Conversely, the Abridged series's dramatic moments hinge on the fact that Abridged!Kirito wants to be a selfish jerk (e.g., leaving the Aincrad Liberation Front to the fate against the Gleam Eyes), but he's finding that increasingly difficult to do because he's been force-fed empathy for their position.
Of course, it's still perfectly valid for you to feel that those scenes fell flat or otherwise didn't work. However, when a major part of the dramatic meat hinges on traits distinct to Abridged!Kirito, it seems rather unfair to say that the scenes are simply "lifted wholesale" from the canon series.
BBBence1111
Harbinger of Bad Luck
- Location
- Magyarország
I just recently found this and wow, this is definitely my favorite abridged series now.
The hilariously disfunctional relationship between the psychopathic Asuna and the sociopathic Kirito is just great. They're both horrible people, but it's great. And Yui is the perfect kid for them really, the latest episode really proves that.
I wasn't a huge fan of the Yui "death" scene, but the new twist on that really reframes it and makes it fit. I'm really looking forward to the next one.
The hilariously disfunctional relationship between the psychopathic Asuna and the sociopathic Kirito is just great. They're both horrible people, but it's great. And Yui is the perfect kid for them really, the latest episode really proves that.
I wasn't a huge fan of the Yui "death" scene, but the new twist on that really reframes it and makes it fit. I'm really looking forward to the next one.
Crazael
Rehydrated Demon King
- Location
- Lost to the vagaries of time.
As someone who regularly gets into RP scenes, I thought it was hilarious because I've run into people exactly like Leafa, who have no idea how to play their character. I've even done the whole "stop the scene to try and to help them out" thing.
- Location
- ferreries
This are the lines that flash past Yui's eyes before turning into a pixie:
New Objective Added: Locate and retrieve parental unit designated <<Mommy>> or <<Asuna>>
Executing MommySearch.exe
Search Radius: Server-wide
8396 players found
Refining Search Parameters: Accounts transferred from SAO
3 Players Found
Analyzing Results
PlayerID: xVx_K1r1T0_xVx_KillMe // Negative
PlayerID: Heathcliff // Negative
PlayerID: Titania // Match
<<Mommy>> Found
Location: Top of <<The World Tree>>
Distance: 500km
Estimated Travel Time: 6 hrs by air
Warning: Area is under direct control of game admin
New Objective Added: Kill game admin by any means necessary
As it turns out, kidnapping the mother figure of an AI and then mantain her prisioner inside a virtual reality is terrible idea. who would have thought amiright?
New Objective Added: Locate and retrieve parental unit designated <<Mommy>> or <<Asuna>>
Executing MommySearch.exe
Search Radius: Server-wide
8396 players found
Refining Search Parameters: Accounts transferred from SAO
3 Players Found
Analyzing Results
PlayerID: xVx_K1r1T0_xVx_KillMe // Negative
PlayerID: Heathcliff // Negative
PlayerID: Titania // Match
<<Mommy>> Found
Location: Top of <<The World Tree>>
Distance: 500km
Estimated Travel Time: 6 hrs by air
Warning: Area is under direct control of game admin
New Objective Added: Kill game admin by any means necessary
As it turns out, kidnapping the mother figure of an AI and then mantain her prisioner inside a virtual reality is terrible idea. who would have thought amiright?
Rapy-McRapeFace is gonna get his shit wrecked.
- Location
- Canada
Wait, isn't this Kayaba?
- Location
- Sweden
BBBence1111
Harbinger of Bad Luck
- Location
- Magyarország
Only 8k players when it's apparently really popular? Wow, daed gaem.
That's just the server they are on though (which I'm pretty sure is the RP server).
Crazael
Rehydrated Demon King
- Location
- Lost to the vagaries of time.
I think that's 'online right now'. Also, SAO only had 10,000 and it was supposed to be like the biggest game ever.
Chloe Sullivan
Subdefective
- Location
- 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale CA
It was?
SAO only had 10,000 because it initially only sold 10K copies, and only in Japan.
8k is probably only one server, perhaps only serving Japan.
I do actually like the direction they've gone.
A roleplaying server in a game made for kids that grew incredibly popular among adults for its actually pretty good fighting mechanics.
Then you have Kirito, the guy who is very much more into the combat, being an asshole to roleplayers, and is also trying actually save a real person's life, so he's bound to be a bit less patient with the people than he normally would, which is... saying a lot, really.
There's a lot of potential for clashing attitudes and personalities, here.
A roleplaying server in a game made for kids that grew incredibly popular among adults for its actually pretty good fighting mechanics.
Then you have Kirito, the guy who is very much more into the combat, being an asshole to roleplayers, and is also trying actually save a real person's life, so he's bound to be a bit less patient with the people than he normally would, which is... saying a lot, really.
There's a lot of potential for clashing attitudes and personalities, here.
Ten figurative bucks say that the tree is only accessible to groups that consist of all races, which is designed to help teach all the young kiddies about selflessness and cooperation.
They will all be praised for being such standup kids, which Kirito ignores as he leaves all his allies behind to race to the goal.
...
Also, another five on him trying to explain that he's trying to actually save his wife, only for whoever he's talking to to try to advise him that while his acting and roleplaying is impressive, he really shouldn't try to put setting important details into his backstory, as that can ruin the experience of the other players who want to tell their own stories.
They will all be praised for being such standup kids, which Kirito ignores as he leaves all his allies behind to race to the goal.
...
Also, another five on him trying to explain that he's trying to actually save his wife, only for whoever he's talking to to try to advise him that while his acting and roleplaying is impressive, he really shouldn't try to put setting important details into his backstory, as that can ruin the experience of the other players who want to tell their own stories.
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Well, Kirito is apparently in the papers as the "Hero of Aincrad". So yeah, he's famous now and will never get his username again.
Anyway, there were some interesting tweets back at the end of Ep. 12. TheKingOfAshes apparently still wants to kill Kirito, but it's the other two that are far more worrying:
1) Kayaba Akihiko [H] @HeathCliff_RPH
26m- "Kayaba Skill << Battle Healing : Mastered >> ^ ^ #Bot
57m- ..."Skill <<Heavy Metal Equipment : Mastered >> ^ ^ #Bot
So, Kayaba is definitely alive (see the Yui text above). And maxing skills at a very fast pace. I do wonder what the _RPH stands for, google says it might be a Roleplaying server for WoW?
2) @SilicaAndPina
60m ..."dea? from where? who did I steal it from? plz tell me."
Silica AND PINA!!! I'm really wondering what's going on there. Anyone with Japanese knowledge know what the text for her name is? I doubt it'll reveal much, but might as well ask.
And then a review that doesn't seem relevant.. I think it says it's from November 22, 2017. Which is just kinda weird considering it's 2025 here... I have no clue what's going on there.
Anyway, there were some interesting tweets back at the end of Ep. 12. TheKingOfAshes apparently still wants to kill Kirito, but it's the other two that are far more worrying:
1) Kayaba Akihiko [H] @HeathCliff_RPH
26m- "Kayaba Skill << Battle Healing : Mastered >> ^ ^ #Bot
57m- ..."Skill <<Heavy Metal Equipment : Mastered >> ^ ^ #Bot
So, Kayaba is definitely alive (see the Yui text above). And maxing skills at a very fast pace. I do wonder what the _RPH stands for, google says it might be a Roleplaying server for WoW?
2) @SilicaAndPina
60m ..."dea? from where? who did I steal it from? plz tell me."
Silica AND PINA!!! I'm really wondering what's going on there. Anyone with Japanese knowledge know what the text for her name is? I doubt it'll reveal much, but might as well ask.
And then a review that doesn't seem relevant.. I think it says it's from November 22, 2017. Which is just kinda weird considering it's 2025 here... I have no clue what's going on there.
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
The SAO wiki lists the kanji for her name, both in reality and ingame, but I dunno whether it has any special meanings or not:
Ayano Keiko (綾野珪子)
Silica (シリカ)
I assume a typo?
Quadhelix
Professional Windmill Hunter
I watched the episode and . . . there were some parts I liked.
I don't think the teaser was any better as part of the episode than it was as a preview, but I did like the "9Up is hella toxic" gag that they had after that -- both the joke itself and the whole bit with Kirito downing it on reflex. Suguha continues to be a gem -- especially her attempt to dislodge the muffin she's choking on with another muffin. I thought that the bit in the character creation screen where hilarious. I don't know if this was in the original, but Yui hijacking Kirito's flight system was pretty funny.
As for the whole retcon with Yui . . .
I absolutely agree with this.
I have the further issue that, unlike ZerbanDaGreat, I think that the retcon undermines an important character moment. The idea of the system deleting Yui because she hacked it probably doesn't make too much sense if you think about it carefully. Kirito solving it by reversing the polarity of the neutron flow through the subspace manifold certainly doesn't help on that front. However, as a character moment, Yui's death is the point where Kirito and Asuna are forced to face the fact that their selfish dickery can come back to bite them in ways beyond Three-Stooges-style slapstick.
Moreover, even if the events of Yui's death scene don't really hold up to scrutiny, I think that the actors do a really good job of selling the sincerity of it. Maybe that's just because I have low standards for acting. Nevertheless, that still leads to the issue that, in the flashback in the current episode, Yui's voice actress again does a great job of selling me on her sense of despair -- only this time, I'm supposed to laugh at it for some reason.
As for the LARPing bit -- I, too, felt that that part was a bit of a slog (my reaction: "Mayo? Seriously?").
That sounds amazingly frustrating and I really, really, really hope they go with that.
Xero Key
Flying high, spinning webs!
You know, I have a good idea why Abridged ALO's RP Server (or the whole game) is so low in player population: It's a freaking NerveGear Game! Even discounting everything that happened in SAO where people were trapped in a virtual world to fight for their very lives, tanking stock markets for it across the board, the system has to regulate the bodily functions for who knows how many hours at a time! That shit has got to be expensive!
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
Regulate bodily functions? What? The NerveGear/Amusphere doesn't muck about with the brain beyond feeding false sensory data to it, everything else works as if you've got the helmet off and are experiencing stuff normally. Your heart keeps beating, lungs inhaling air, etc.