SAO II: Ep. 2 "Ice Sniper"

 

     The episode opens on a dungeon inside of the new game Gun Gale Online. Sinon, the female sniper from the previous episode, is firing shots at what appears to be a large beast that fires lasers from its tail. She is strangely cool and collected as she fires precise shots at the beast's weak point, defeating it with ease rather quickly. It then pans out to show that it actually took her several magazines of ammunition to defeat him. As Sinon stands to see the monster die, a new item appears before her. She accepts it, and a heavy sniper rifle drops into her hands. The new rifle is the same one she was shown firing at the end of episode one.
     It then fast forwards to a group of players loading ammunition in an abandon building. They engage in idol chat about the game and other topics. You come to find that they are a group of player hunters, and Sinon is with them. The scene is the beginning setup to the end of the previous episode. The leader and Sinon scan a group of oncoming players and they develop a strategy to take them out and steal their hunting loot. There is one player in particular that catches Sinon's eye. A large cloaked figure whose stats and weapons are unknown. Sinon insists that they target him first, but their leader says that taking out their heavy gunner is a bigger priority. She agrees, and the team moves into position.

     Sinon takes her first shot and eliminates her first target, but the second shot misses the cloaked figure. Her fears are realized when the figure removes his cloak and wields a huge minigun. Sinon's position is revealed, so she has to move. The man begins firing and tearing the team to pieces. She notices that the player in skilled enough to smile on the battlefield. She finds that he may be a worthy opponent, and suddenly has an animalistic urge to kill him.
     Once she meets back up with her leader, he explains that the team they were targeting must have hired a bodyguard known as "Behemoth", and that their escape is now cut off. Their leader begins to break down and wants to log out of the game instead of letting the other team win. Sinon becomes furious calls him a coward. She then immediately takes charge by giving orders to the rest of the team and she comes up with a strategy.
     The remaining members of her team charge forward to draw the miniguner's attention while she moves into a firing position. Sinon makes it and fires a shot, but the bullet only takes off his visor. The minigunner then turns his attention to her. He's about the fire when the team leader make a brave charge for towards the remaining players on the opposing team. He is shot down just as his grenade finishes them off, causing a large dust cloud to engulf the battlefield. It is now only Sinon and Behemoth.

     She heads into a nearby building to gain the high ground, but he is waiting for her. Behemoth opens fire and Sinon leaps from her perch. Bullets rip her leg off as she falls towards Behemoth. She lines up a shot in mid air and eliminates him before she hits the ground.
     The scene goes black as we open up on a dimly lit bedroom. The player behind Sinon is lying in bed with a somewhat displeased look on her face. As she removes her head gear, you can see that her in game avatar is almost identical to her real self. She raises a fist into the air in a almost triumphant way, and announces that she has to become stronger.

     The scene then moves to our heroes Silica, Leafa, and Liz clearing a field together and gathering materials for Lizbeth's shop in ALO. They then take a minute to let the monsters respawn so they can rest. Silica looks up as Kirito and Asuna are laying down above them on a large plant. The three of them are hit with jealousy as they see how in love the two are, but they laugh it off together once they notice each of them was staring. Kirito and Asuna are oblivious to this as they enjoy their day together with Yui. Kirito has a serious expression on his face as he turns to Asuna and begins to explain the situation with him and Kikuoka.

REVIEW:  
 
     This episode was exactly what we needed to pull us back into the story. There wasn't much action in the first episode, which is to be expected. They have to set up the story and the characters for the new arc. But this episode definitely had enough action for the two of them. The fight scene was fantastic, and very classic SAO in its style. The introduction and character setup for Sinon gave us a glimpse of what we can expect from this new addition to the colorful cast. We also got a glimpse at the abilities the players of GGO can obtain. Shot paths can be seen by thin red lines in the air, and weight will be a factor for certain weapon and skill types. We also know that there are monsters and bosses in GGO as well. These new reveals will make the next episodes very exciting, and I for one cannot wait to see what happens next!
     
-Otaku Anonymous

Show Source Website: http://www.crunchyroll.com/sword-art-online/episode-2-ice-sniper-656627

SAO II: Ep. 1 "Gun World"

       The show begins in the world of GUN GALE ONLINE. It's the latest and greatest game to hit Tokyo, and the only one to still have professional players. One of those professional players, known as Zexceed, appeared on show called MMO Stream. He was in the middle of bragging about his play style and mocking other players as a mysterious player stood up in a bar that had the stream playing on a television. He aimed his pistol at the screen and yelled "Judgement" as he fired a single shot. Seconds later, Zexceed became sick and his connection suddenly cut out. The figure then spun around and declared his name to be "Death Gun" and that all will fear him.

       It then cuts to our two main protagonists, Kirito and Asuna, enjoying a date in a nearby park. The year is now 2025, and it's been almost a year since Asuna and the remaining three hundred SAO players were freed from her prison in ALfheim Online. Nothing seems to have changed as they discuss virtual world versus real world, video games that they've been playing together, and their own futures in the real world. Both of them seem to be very happy as the scene goes back to four hours earlier that evening.

       That day, Kirito met up with Kikuoka Seijirou, an agent for the Ministry of Internal Affairs Telecommunications Bureau. This is a new character for those who didn't watch the full length movie that showed what happened between SAO 1 and SAO 2. Kikuoka came to Kirito with new information. Apparently Zexceed died of critical heart failure seconds after his broadcast on MMO Stream, and he's not the only one. Several talented professional players have been getting killed off in the real world through mysterious means. Every VR player is currently using a new secure head gear called an "Amusphere", which is specifically designed to prohibit the same thing that happened in SAO. Kikuoka met with Kirito to ask him if he would help him put a stop to whatever was happening to these players before it happens again.
       Due to Kirito's new found knowledge of technology and computers, he concludes that it is impossible to kill a person with a bullet from inside an online video game, and he chalks the incidences up as pure coincidence. Kikuoka somewhat agrees, but insists that he enter GGO and meet face to face with Death Gun. He knows that Death Gun only targets exceptional players, and Kirito is known to be one of the best online players. Kikuoka also offers to pay Kirito for his services.
       Because of his passion for saving people and doing his best to prevent players from death, Kirito reluctantly agrees to help, but he doesn't tell Asuna.

       The scene then moves back to GGO where a new character known as Sinon is in an online battle. Her squad leader is communicating battle tactics with her as she lines up an incredibly long ranged shot using her sniper rifle. She has a short monologue with herself, then fires a lethal shot at one of the enemy players.

REVIEW:  

     I really enjoyed this first episode of the new season. They didn't waist our time with endless cuts from the first season or the history of our characters. They just started the new story and progressed forward. It was nice to see our favorite characters back in a new setting. Both of them seem older now, but they haven't lost their familiarity. The new game, Gun Gail Online, also looks incredible. The Sci-Fi setting to it, the new design of the avatars, and the introduction of guns into the SAO storyline will make for some amazing fight scenes in the near future. All in all, I am very pleased with the first episode and I can't wait to see where it goes from here!

       If you want to view the episode you can use the source I have below, but it will not be available to free users until the next episode is released. I highly recommend this show to anyone, and I'm sure die hard SAO fans will be as happy as I am. Thanks for reading! :)

-Otaku Anonymous

Show Source Website: http://www.crunchyroll.com/sword-art-online/episode-1-656625