Sword Art Online II

A year after escaping Sword Art Online, Kazuto Kirigaya has been settling back into the real world. However, his peace is short-lived as a new incident occurs in a game called Gun Gale Online, where a player by the name of Death Gun appears to be killing people in the real world by shooting them in-game. Approached by officials to assist in investigating the murders, Kazuto assumes his persona of Kirito once again and logs into Gun Gale Online, intent on stopping the killer.

Once inside, Kirito meets Sinon, a highly skilled sniper afflicted by a traumatic past. She is soon dragged in his chase after Death Gun, and together they enter the Bullet of Bullets, a tournament where their target is sure to appear. Uncertain of Death Gun's real powers, Kirito and Sinon race to stop him before he has the chance to claim another life. Not everything goes smoothly, however, as scars from the past impede their progress. In a high-stakes game where the next victim could easily be one of them, Kirito puts his life on the line in the virtual world once more.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Sword Art Online II adapts novels 5 to 8 of Reki Kawahara's light novel series of the same title.

The first episode was screened at various special events held in the United States, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan before its television premiere.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Sword Art Online
Prequel:	Sword Art Online: Extra Edition
Summary:	Sword Art Online II: Debriefing
Other:	Sword Art Online II: Sword Art Offline II, Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet: The Third Episode - Pilot-ban, Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet: The Third Episode
Sequel:	Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale
Alternative setting:	Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II

Yasumoto, Hiroki
Japanese

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Miki, Kazuma

Producer

Futami, Yousuke

Producer

Itou, Tomohiko

Director

Iwanami, Yoshikazu

Sound Director

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Opening Theme

	1: "IGNITE" by Eir Aoi (eps 2-13)
	2: "courage" by Haruka Tomatsu (eps 15-23)
	3: "Separate Ways (セパレイト・ウェイズ)" by Haruka Tomatsu (eps 24)

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Ending Theme

	1: "IGNITE" by Eir Aoi (eps 1)
	2: "Startear" by Luna Haruna (eps 2-14)
	3: "No More Time Machine" by LiSA (eps 15-17)
	4: "Shirushi (シルシ)" by LiSA (eps 18-24)

Reviews

Dec 20, 2014

Elegade

Recommended

Another flagship of the Anime Industry has ended again today. While some people would be delighted by Sao II ending, most are left wanting more and eagerly anticipating the next Sword Art Online. While the series itself is not perfect, I wouldn't say it's garbage as some would say it. I am going to cover the three arcs as separate rather than as a whole so it would highlight their strengths and weaknesses better, then combine it to an overall score.

Story, Phantom Bullet(8/10): The first arc is the meat of SAO II. It has the most episodes spanning 14 of the overall 24. Here, ... Kirito ends up in a VR called Gun Gale Online where he is tasked to investigate the deaths of VR players in the real world by them supposedly dying in the Virtual world. The story was crafted excellently, while it did have a slow start at first, the ending was satisfying. There are however inconsistencies to how the story picks up the pace. For instance, the story already jumped to Bullet of Bullets in the very first few episodes, then it jumps to Kirito defeating other players easily, then a duel with Sinon, then after defeating Death Gun. It feels rushed even though the story presented itself well. It doesn't give itself enough time to catch up with itself, it sends Kirito to battle and ends with KIrito beating his enemies. The story though is packed with the Impossibilities like the first SAO. This Time, characters are haunted by their past , and it's up to Kirito to guide them out of it. While that may seem irrelevant to the story, it adds a little emotional impact to the overall arc.

Story, Calibur(7/10): The second arc of SAO II. Here we find Kirito and his Harem + Klein back in Alfheim. They all do a quest to retrieve Excalibur from an Ice Kingdom and ultimately save Alfheim altogether. While it was a good watch, I felt the story was the weakest out of all the arcs. It didn't offer anything new, and it didn't bring out anything we haven't necessarily seen before in the SAO franchise. It's basically an arc dedicated for Kirito to get an upgrade. It is still refreshing to see the old team back together including Sinon to clear out dungeons and let them show off their skills after seeing Kirito slaughtering every bit of competition he has out there.

Story, Mother's Rosario(9/10): The third arc, this is where I don't want to go into detail about because it's an arc where you should see for yourself. I personally think this is the best arc out of SAO II. It doesn't focus on action as much as the previous arcs, it focuses a lot on characters and their hardships in the real world. While some may get turned off by that, it really is a good arc to see further character development in some characters.

Story, Overall (8/10): From the first to the last arcs, the story was great. While a side arc did manage to outshine the main arc for me, it still was a great story to marvel at.

Characters(9/10): SAO II brings to you a new cast with very enjoyable characters. Kirito, Asuna, and the old gang are still there. With the exception of Kirito, and Asuna on the third arc. Most of them were hardly touched. Kirito still drives the main story further with help from new characters. The first up is Sinon. Sinon later became my favorite heroine at the the end of the the first arc. Maybe i just have a thing for girls with a heavy anti-material rifle for a weapon. You get to see into her past and her reason to play a game like Gun Gale. She seeks strength and finds that within Kirito. The next up is Yuuki and the gang on the third arc. This is where the emotional aspect of the show is centered. Konno Yuuki is labeled as Zekken, or Absolute Sword. She is they say the strongest player in Alfheim. While she's strong in the Virtual world in the real world she faces countless problems. It's the same with the rest of the Sleeping Knights. They face numerous problems in real life, and they dive into the Virtual world to escape those problems. You see the relationship grow between Asuna and the Sleeping Knights as the story progresses. You see what the characters have to face in the real world, and their methods to escape that harsh reality.

Art(9/10): Just like in the original SAO, SAO II brings with it fantastic looking worlds and characters. Gun Gale is just amazing to look at. it's a deserted area with tons of destroyed building and broken down vehicles. Also sand, sand everywhere. It's the perfect setting for a game like Gun Gale where bullets are flying everywhere and the world looks like its going crumbling down. Alfheim is also present with beautifully crafted atmosphere. In the Calibur arc, you see what lies underneath the world tree, it was once a prosperous land, but now it's covered in ice and snow. The new bosses and characters are also made fairly well. The back ground characters do look a lot similar, but that's understandable since drawing thousands of unique faces would be a waste of time. However the main and supporting cast all have their personal touch to their avatars which makes the look admirable. #CaitSithSinon

Sound(8/10): The sound overall was good. I don't really have much complaints for the sound even though I gave it an 8. Both Openings were amazing and characters themselves weren't annoying to listen to.

Enjoyment(9/10): I had a lot of fun watching Sword Art Online II. It gives me more to think about when I decide to let my mind wonder. Just the thought of how close a different world can be so close to us just makes me want to watch more and more. I really do hope they come out with an SAO III, it would be to sad to see an anime as great as this with more tales to tell us stop right here.

Overall(8/10): It's an enjoyable show to watch that most people often ridicule too hard because of it's growing popularity. It's a fun series with a lot of great ideas to offer. It's not perfect having some flaws, but it's not as bad as people turn it out to be. I recommend giving the series a go and decide for yourself. Do not let anyone's opinion hinder you from enjoying this show and determine for yourself if it is worthy of your time.

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Dec 20, 2014

Stark700

Mixed Feelings

Sword Art Online is a series that needs no introduction. To be quite frank, the first season spawned a lot of controversy with the adaptation. As a show taking place in an online realm, the series had a lot of potential but never really capitalized on them when it came down with the story and characters. Luckily, season 2 does freshen up a bit with some brand new storylines and characters. In particular, one of the first story arcs involves Kirito stepping forward into a new realm known as GGO.

To trace back a bit, the series is based off a light novel of the ... same name written by Reki Kawahara. As a 2 cour series, this sequel focuses on three different arcs that are adapted from the light novel starting with GGO (stands for Gun Gale Online although the actual arc is titled Phantom Bullet). While the name seems unorthodox (guns in a show with a title called SWORD art online?), the arc actually deepens its mechanics in ways that are more profound than the original. The first few episodes highlight this by exposition and explaining thanks to a young girl Kirito meets in-game named Sinon. Regardless of how GGO functions, Kirito’s main goal isn’t to actually win but to find out a mysterious killer who seems to know him. Meanwhile, we learn more about Sinon and her fear of guns that leads her to make a goal of herself: to get over that fear. While the motivations of both characters are farfetched, there’s a definite connection between the two as the game progresses.

Now, introducing a brand new major character can be a hassle. Luckily though, Sinon isn’t a weakling and she has the resolve to accomplish her goals. We also get flashbacks with concrete background information on her so nothing is left out to make viewers wonder her motivation. But the problem still remains with Kirito and his self-centered goals. While it doesn’t necessarily ruin the arc, his goal of trying to hunt down a cyber-killer is nothing less than generic and similar to ALO (remember him trying to find a villain who tried to ruin his life and Asuna’s?). Somehow though, the arc does manage to connect Kirito and Sinon despite some clingy and over-dramatic dialogues. A few episodes also stretches a bit to highlight how close they become in-game, despite them being enemies at one point. The ending of the arc is nonetheless predictable with Kirito playing a hero like the usual poster boy. The good news is that the GGO arc has great concept with its competitive angle. Competitors, weapons, and setting is visually adapted with elegance and astonishing features. Even the cyber-killer looks convincing enough to be called a menace with some cool gadgets to show off. And Kirito still remains very OP for someone new to the GGO world. When it comes to the action front though, GGO is where the game can be proud of itself. However, the antagonists from the arc is downright stereotypical, generic, and has a delusional purpose when the audience finds out the truth of their goals. Did I also mention predictable? SAO is a lot of things and the show never seems to escape that word.

As the series covers three different arcs, there’s an intermission of sorts. Perhaps I’m saying this wrong but the episodes taking place between GGO and Mother’s Rosario (the other major arc to be adapted this season) feels like so. In this so called Calibur arc, the series returns to its generic setting of sword fighting in their online virtual realm. Kirito also gets a new sword to show off while his female companions seems to try to get their senpai to notice them. The arc is fairly standard and predictable that uses tricks from the old books. However, I do give praise to the choreography and action presented. Every character gets some kind of highlight with their skills. It’s important to realize this since it also allows the viewers to see how far their skills developed since the first season. One other important element to notice in this arc is teamwork as the arc doesn’t just give Kirito all the screen time. Even Klein, a character that some people might have forgotten from SAO, returns and gives the audience something to remember about. To me though, this seems like a preparation to what’s to come soon; a way for the characters to stretch out their muscles and be like “We’re ready to take on anything now”. Still, it lacked much depth or appeal with the story development.

The final arc of the season titled ‘Mother Rosario’ take up the remainder of the season. This arc has more of a slice of life and action-centric flick mixed in together. While it starts off slow, the arc gets to its point quickly once the mechanics and backgrounds are fleshed out. Asuna, a character that seemed almost completely pathetic during ALO, finally gets a chance to redeem herself in this arc. Rather than have her knight in shining armor (Kirito) do all the dirty work, she takes it upon herself to deal with a new conflict. Most importantly is how we see Asuna and her family is like, in particular with her mother. It shows a different side of her lifestyle beyond just spending time with her boyfriend. There’s also a case of ideology that can be seen as controversial depending on whose side you agree with. But for what it’s worth, the arc bounces between real life issues and in-game motivations; a direction that definitely outshines its first half. Not to mention, the action scenes are fairly well done with decent OST and coordination when it comes down to the actual dueling. The arc expands beyond just dueling though as we learn more about the new character (Yuuki) involved and what the audience may be carving for.

When it comes to visuals, it’s fairly standard to see that SAO has touches of fantasy to it whether it would be the settings, characters, monsters, or whatever else you would typically see from an RPG game. Similar to season 1, A-1 Pictures adapts this based on the light novel designs. While fan service toned down a bit, there’s also some zany gimmicks used such as gender bender and the animal characteristics. In spite of this, the GGO setting is one I found to be the most evolved on the visual front. Taking a closer look, the landscapes is desolate but rich with details for a perfect setting for battle. Not only that but characters are designed like they actually have the edge to fight as if their life is on the line; unlike the previous season where some character had cardboard box designs. Action and production values also strengthened with more stylized movements. However, most of the returning main characters still remains generic to their character designs with little change. They are unmemorable on physical standards although I do give some praise to Sinon’s character.

Soundtrack is perhaps the weakest detail of the sequel. Nothing is really changed to the OST besides some minor adjustment while character voice mannerisms remains generally the same. While the first OP song is catchy, the remainder are mediocre that almost all sound the same. Most of the voice castings are also very standard with cheesy dialogues and overused words often to highlight some sense of emotional value; although real life conversation between some characters are worthwhile in particular with Asuna and her mother. I have some mixed feelings with Sinon’s voice with that tomboy tone of hers. While she definitely has a sense of independence with that tone, it also seems bratty at times and feels cranky. Other times though, she can be appreciable when we see her as a person.

As a sequel, SAO II is definitely an improvement of the first season. It gave returning characters more development and screen-time on their own while also debuting new characters with their purpose. The first arc (GGO) highlights the mechanics of the game at a much better way than the first season while also has a meaningful purpose for Sinon. Unfortunately, it doesn’t escape the usual “hero save the day’ shenanigan or one dimensional villains with their mojo. But for what’s worth, SAO’s technical aspects shines more than what is expected when it comes to action. The Calibur and GGO arc are a testament of this while Mother Rosario also gets its moments with consistent choreography such as the dueling scenes. As the show did evolve, this sequel does have potential but don't expect a huge blockbuster.

To sum it up:

The story (GGO/Phantom Bullet: 6/10), (Calibur: 4/10), (Mother Rosario: 8/10 ) – each of them offers something new to the tables; some still suffers from generics and weakly developed tropes.
Characters (7/10) – rather than Kirito become the host of his own show, we get development of Asuna and Yuuki, focus on Sinon, and also teamwork during the Calibur arc with each character getting some sort of spotlight
Artwork (8/10) – much better than season 1
Soundtrack (5/10) – repetitive and edgy along with second rated voice mannerisms
Enjoyment (6/10) – a fun adventure with different feelings of each arc

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Jan 3, 2015

Veronin

Not Recommended

*Minor spoilers ahead*

There are a lot of things that can be said about Sword Art Online, and most of those things are not pleasant. I will not mince words: I am no fan of the series. The first season was filled with so many issues, both significant and minor, that even watching a single episode was an incredible test of patience. There were some neat ideas hidden in between the mountains of nonsense, and while I can understand why the show was so enjoyable to so many people, in my case, it was like an aneurysm waiting to happen.

There is often a dichotomy of ...

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Sword Art Online II

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