Is the show really as bad as people say it is?

Dec 21, 2021 12:37 PM

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Jan 2021

21

I thought the first 15 episodes was good but then there was the other 10 episodes… I think that’s what made sao not good

Dec 21, 2021 12:39 PM

#3

Haydorwaldor

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Apr 2020

327

No it’s just that it’s sword art online lmao

Dec 21, 2021 12:40 PM

#4

MoustacheDino

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Jan 2021

215

yogie6969 said:
After my current watch, I was looking into watching SAO. I’ve heard mixed things about it but generally I hear people flaming the show. Is it really that bad? I know some people who really love the show so I find it hard to believe that it’s that bad. I’ve heard that it falls off between S1 and S2 but the first and preceding parts of the show are great. I’ve been told fhe animation for S3+ is good and the show itself is rlly good but people drop it when it is really bad which is why the show has the bad reputation it does. Do y’all think it’s worth watching? Does it have good fights?

S1 is absolute mid stuff. S2 is literal dogshit. S3 is actually pretty good and so is war of underworld but it gets a bit way too over the top at the end for me.

Dec 21, 2021 12:41 PM

#5

Dev_007

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Jan 2021

101

Ive only seen the first season but after the halfway point it falls off hard

Dec 21, 2021 12:41 PM

#6

Kikinenenka

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Sep 2020

8

Personally I enjoyed it. You should watch it and see for yourself.

Dec 21, 2021 12:42 PM

#7

SparCy

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Jun 2021

1384

yogie6969 said:
After my current watch, I was looking into watching SAO. I’ve heard mixed things about it but generally I hear people flaming the show. Is it really that bad? I know some people who really love the show so I find it hard to believe that it’s that bad. I’ve heard that it falls off between S1 and S2 but the first and preceding parts of the show are great. I’ve been told fhe animation for S3+ is good and the show itself is rlly good but people drop it when it is really bad which is why the show has the bad reputation it does. Do y’all think it’s worth watching? Does it have good fights?

it is worth a watch but it has a lot of moments in the first two seasons that people have mixed opinions of but after season 2 it’s all up hill and it becomes an easy 8 for me. In conclusion you well like the first 14 eps then the rest of season 1 might be a bit rocky. Season two it a bit different and propel ether like it of hate it and season 3 and 4 are great. If you do decide to watch this series I hope you enjoy.😊

Dec 21, 2021 12:43 PM

#8

MK17_2

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Jan 2019

636

I'm surprised too at the amount of hate. Even to this day I don't get it. Won't lie I don't love the pacing of the first season but otherwise the quality is legit. Music is good too. Kirito is stupid strong (not annoying tho) and he's not a typical airhead MC (I believe so)
Kirito and asunas relationship is one of those where you're like "damn they're still together?" And its cute.
The fight scenes are dope I oath.
Good anime. I don't understand the hate but whatever. The ratings speak for themselves and the series/movies seem to keep going so ye

Dec 21, 2021 12:44 PM

#9

NessyEirik

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Apr 2021

18

It is bad, dont watch it. It peaks at episode 1

Dec 21, 2021 12:46 PM

#10

Ryoiki_Mikata

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Feb 2020

33

MoustacheDino said:

S3+ is good and the show itself is really
S1 is absolute mid stuff. S2 is literal dogshit. S3 is actually pretty good and so is war of underworld but it gets a bit way too over the top at the end for me.

I exactly agree with ya

Dec 21, 2021 12:46 PM

#11

Legend-IX-9RA

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Jul 2021

21

The Aincrad Arc was really good and was the reason it gained it’s popularity. But it fell off pretty bad in the second half of the story Fairy Dance arc.

My biggest issue with it, is that it damn near got rid of everything we knew. HUGE SPOILER ALERT! ——— Once again - Spoiler Alert! ——— In a new game to find Asuna who for some reason never came back from SAO Kirito who people already found difficult to relate to since EVERYTHING came easy for him went on a mission to find Asuna, someone people could relate to more. During this arc Asuna’s role and personality felt diminished. She went from the strong, smart warrior who could hold her on to a damsel in distress.

Dec 21, 2021 12:59 PM

#12

official_brown

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Jan 2021

2334

It’s actually a really good show, but it’s popular to hate on it. Which I expect 90% of this forum to hate on it

The right mindset when watching an anime is hoping that it will break your top 10

Dec 21, 2021 1:01 PM

#13

shash_sama18

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Jun 2021

1135

It is not that bad, it remains enjoyable throughout the series but the fact is that it doesn't remains same in 2nd Arc, also the season 2 first half wasn't upto mark

But yeah once you will reach Alicization, you will not be disappointed and you may like it then (SAO was my 3rd anime, so I enjoyed it that time)

Dec 21, 2021 1:02 PM

#14

removed-user

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Jul 2018

564488

People tend to watch SAO as one of their first shows, so to prove that their taste has 'improved' they will incessantly pretend they hate it to high hell. It is not a bad show by any means but it is a power fantasy and does not have the most intelligent plot but do with that what you will.

Dec 21, 2021 1:05 PM

#15

Zech55555

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Oct 2021

122

NessyEirik said:
It is bad, dont watch it. It peaks at episode 1

literally what I was about to say, the show is garbage don't waste your time

Dec 21, 2021 1:08 PM

#16

iguzinsousa123

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Aug 2021

1

in my opinion, sword art online is only good in the first seasons, on alicization it's pretty average for me, but I'm looking forward to the progressive.

Dec 21, 2021 1:08 PM

#17

herofelix77

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Jan 2021

388

Yeah it’s that bad and I even say that as someone who read the LN

Dec 21, 2021 1:08 PM

#18

Svensgever

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Jan 2020

69

NessyEirik said:
It is bad, dont watch it. It peaks at episode 1

Yep, can't agree more with you.

Dec 21, 2021 1:10 PM

#19

laslodj

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Jul 2017

265

Watch it and rate it how you enjoyed it. Do not listen to people's shitty opinions, 50% of the time their opinions transcend subjectivity and are objectively wrong so you will miss out on the good ones and watch the bad ones because others say its good.

Examples: people thinking Demon Slayer, BNHA, Attack on titan ending, bakemonogatari is good

Dec 21, 2021 1:14 PM

#20

removed-user

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Jul 2018

564488

It's good, people over hate this series because it's what the YouTubers do. Watch it for yourself and make your own opinion, everyone I know in real life loves the series and season 2 part 2 is absolutely amazing with the Mothers Rosario arc.

Dec 21, 2021 1:16 PM

#21

Omeke

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Apr 2021

23

Nope one of my favorites personally it canes me

Dec 21, 2021 1:30 PM

#22

LENDARIO_DS

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Oct 2019

149

its not as bad as people claim in my opnion, sao have his failures but i think in general is a enjoyable one

Dec 21, 2021 1:31 PM

#23

Rinkusux

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Jul 2020

133

yogie6969 said:
After my current watch, I was looking into watching SAO. I’ve heard mixed things about it but generally I hear people flaming the show. Is it really that bad? I know some people who really love the show so I find it hard to believe that it’s that bad. I’ve heard that it falls off between S1 and S2 but the first and preceding parts of the show are great. I’ve been told fhe animation for S3+ is good and the show itself is rlly good but people drop it when it is really bad which is why the show has the bad reputation it does. Do y’all think it’s worth watching? Does it have good fights?

No, watch it and see if its for you. 50/50 some people like it some people dont

Dec 21, 2021 1:39 PM

#24

Casifix

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Sep 2021

55

Give it a shot, it’s pretty mid tho. I gave it a 4 I think. Has many issues. But it is what it is. Oh and I looked at your list and you have Violet Evergarden a 6 :( that hurt me, just saying lol

Dec 21, 2021 1:46 PM

#25

CCBG

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May 2021

48

In my opinion, SAO is one of those shows that's both not nearly as good as the defenders say but also not nearly as bad as the haters say. Overall, I'd probably rate it like a 5-6/10, but you should come to your own conclusion if you really want to watch it. My personal rundown of the series is: aincrad arc goes from great to just ok, the alfheim arc feels like filler and is kinda shit (not terrible but not really enjoyable), gun gale is better than alfheim but still not great, and the mother's rosario arc I found to be super boring because I wasn't really invested in the characters. As for alicization, the first part of alicization I actually found to be quite enjoyable, the best the show has been since aincrad, but I thought war was boring af and pretty stupid (good animation and music though, although that could be said for all of SAO). Also ordinal scale was super stupid, but almost enjoyable because of how dumb it was (haven't watched progressive yet).

Honestly, I think the only reason why SAO is so hated is just because it went from something that could've been a 10/10 to just pretty mediocre or average; even amongst the haters, I've never met anyone who disliked the beginning of SAO, so it just seems to be a series that just disappointed a lot of people as it went on . There are definitely way worse shows out there, so if you're interested, I'd say just watch it and drop it if you start getting bored

Dec 21, 2021 1:47 PM

#26

hypegaming_555

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Apr 2021

18

While its my favorite anime in a while now, I can understand why people hate on it.The plot only lasted 14 episodes in s1 then after that, the story just took a hard turn that it went out of nowhere then changed the whole show. S2 was also understandable for being hated the most
S3 was good and and its the best in all of seasons of the show. So 1/3 seasons is the only good one based on what people said=
it is not that worth it to watch when u are really bored with the show. Even me personally had to drop it for 2 weeks then pick it back up again

Dec 21, 2021 1:50 PM

#27

AK-bro

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Mar 2021

29

Many plot points of the story are simply dumb(especially in the second half). I’d say the first 14 episodes are solids but many downfalls. Something that I’ve come to realize after watching SuperEyepatchWolf’s video on SAO is that the production is amazing; the animation is solid, the sound design and mixing is great, the atmosphere and ambience all feels like something video game Isekais and Isekais in general are missing, actually feeling like a video game and I feel SAO does this greatly. The story is still pretty trash though.

Dec 21, 2021 1:50 PM

#28

AK-bro

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Mar 2021

29

Many plot points of the story are simply dumb(especially in the second half). I’d say the first 14 episodes are solids but many downfalls. Something that I’ve come to realize after watching SuperEyepatchWolf’s video on SAO is that the production is amazing; the animation is solid, the sound design and mixing is great, the atmosphere and ambience all feels like something video game Isekais and Isekais in general are missing, actually feeling like a video game and I feel SAO does this greatly. The story is still pretty trash though.

Dec 21, 2021 1:50 PM

#29

AK-bro

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Mar 2021

29

Many plot points of the story are simply dumb(especially in the second half). I’d say the first 14 episodes are solids but many downfalls. Something that I’ve come to realize after watching SuperEyepatchWolf’s video on SAO is that the production is amazing; the animation is solid, the sound design and mixing is great, the atmosphere and ambience all feels like something video game Isekais and Isekais in general are missing, actually feeling like a video game and I feel SAO does this greatly. The story is still pretty trash though.

Dec 21, 2021 1:55 PM

#30

-DxP-

Community Mod

Equanimity

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Nov 2020

1417

Since Sword art online has a really big fanbase, obviously not everyone thinks it is trash. I personally liked the start/the first Arc of Sao but everything what came after that was average up to bad, i haven’t finished SAO only watched Season 1 & 2 and the ordinale scale movie but that was more then enough for me. Like for everything you need to watch it yourself to tell if it is „bad“.

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Dec 21, 2021 2:01 PM

#31

removed-user

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Jul 2018

564488

No, but apparnetly people find it cool to hate on it for no reason, even when they never saw a single episode or know what it is about

Dec 21, 2021 2:10 PM

#32

Piromysl

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Jul 2015

11432

First arc was very good, but second is simply awful. The difference is like day and night. Following arcs are also bad.
Very good first impression is the reason why series became popular, but severe quality drop earned it's infamy and reputation as overrated.

Dec 21, 2021 2:17 PM

#33

BigMoby99

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Oct 2021

14

SAO is good for the first arc (first half have season 1) but after that I thought it was pretty lackluster and continually getting worse so I didn’t watch season 2. Just watch it yourself and make that determination.

Dec 21, 2021 2:17 PM

#34

HulkTySSJ2

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May 2018

815

Its good with flaws like anything else.
Its just an out of hand bandwagon meme to hate it, just like how the same people that loved Adam Sandler in the 90's now say they hate him for the exact same reason we loved him. Lol

Dec 21, 2021 3:00 PM

#35

Lukoo2

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Sep 2019

6

I personally think the show isn't bad at all the first season is really good for an isekai genre anime.. It starts getting bad as the seasons go on.. And the main reason why people hate SWO is coz of the MC, Kirito is not a bad MC its jus that every girl he meets falls in love with him even though he has a fiancé.. Ig some ppl jus loathe it and hate on the show coz of that.

Dec 21, 2021 3:03 PM

#36

tyolu

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Oct 2020

130

The truth is, it’s not as bad as it’s reputation. It’s painfully average. It uses very typical tropes, which are typical because they work, and they’re not executed poorly. It’s very entertaining! If you want to watch a good show, watch the first part, 12ish episodes. If you want to continue, try the next 12. It changes vibes pretty often with different arcs, so each one will feel different from the last. Not necessarily special, basic action shōnen in the sense like Demon Slayer, although I think Demon Slayer is MUCH better fundamentally. So if you want to watch to critique, stick to the very first part. Otherwise, enjoy all the stories.

forum set by bunnyama & taiyaki

Dec 21, 2021 3:43 PM

#37

DisneyThunder

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Dec 2021

2

Yes it Is bad but the first part of season 1 is good

Dec 21, 2021 3:44 PM

#38

cueynuts

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Jan 2013

160

yogie6969 said:
After my current watch, I was looking into watching SAO. I’ve heard mixed things about it but generally I hear people flaming the show. Is it really that bad? I know some people who really love the show so I find it hard to believe that it’s that bad. I’ve heard that it falls off between S1 and S2 but the first and preceding parts of the show are great. I’ve been told fhe animation for S3+ is good and the show itself is rlly good but people drop it when it is really bad which is why the show has the bad reputation it does. Do y’all think it’s worth watching? Does it have good fights?

It’s not as bad as people make it out to be. Yes, the show isn’t very good but honestly it gets more hate than it deserves. If we’re being totally honest, Aincard is actually really solid, the only real problem with is the pacing but fix that and it becomes really good.The real reason so many people hate on is is because it’s essentially the start of the isekai trend. The popularity of LN adaptions that happen in another world with a OP main charter and a harem pretty much blew up because of SAO and because so many people hate the isekai trend they hate SAO.

Dec 21, 2021 3:44 PM

#39

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564488

Yeah i genuinely think SAO is truly underatted, every season is a hard 9 for me

The only issue i have with it is that war of underworld felt quite slow

Dec 21, 2021 3:45 PM

#40

tinitits

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Aug 2021

24

How many old show you know people still speak about it?? 😅 It's hated bcz almost everyone have watched it 😂 many people have started whit Sao started whit anime it was boom in the day,same like aot but aot is not hated so much 🤔 maybe hate started whit boom of so much Isekai 😯 it was not first but that's have it go 😯

Dec 21, 2021 3:50 PM

#41

Abysmal_Saint76

Offline

Feb 2021

532

How many times SAO is gonna get forum like this and how many times those haters who has nothing to do in SAO panel and with SAO come around here just to bash the series. If feels like as if they are lurking in SAO forum anticipating when someone gonna post the forum like this so they can disparage it again.

Just give it a try, if you like it watch it and don't then move on. If you are asking opinions on SAO especially in Western site, than majority gonna say you don't watch it since they treat it as one of the worst anime which is not the case by long shot. Personally, it is my favourite show. I am also very happy how those hate is not stopping SAO from getting new contents rather it is coming more stronger.

Abysmal_Saint76Dec 21, 2021 3:58 PM

Dec 21, 2021 3:54 PM

#42

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564488

No. I think is show is average at least. This show get more hate than what it deserves seriously.

Dec 21, 2021 3:57 PM

#43

yogie6969

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Jun 2021

36

[quote=Casifix message=65249984]Give it a shot, it’s pretty mid tho. I gave it a 4 I think. Has many issues. But it is what it is. Oh and I looked at your list and you have Violet Evergarden a 6 :( that hurt me, just saying lol[/quote

Casifix said:
Give it a shot, it’s pretty mid tho. I gave it a 4 I think. Has many issues. But it is what it is. Oh and I looked at your list and you have Violet Evergarden a 6 :( that hurt me, just saying lol

LMAO, don’t take it to heart; I love action shows so Violet Evergarden wasn’t precisely my taste. A 6 is pretty average for me tho, if I could it would be a 6.5, good show.

Dec 21, 2021 4:06 PM

#44

finn21

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Mar 2021

37

It was just boring tbh

Dec 21, 2021 4:35 PM

#45

popole123

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Jun 2020

34

yogie6969 said:
After my current watch, I was looking into watching SAO. I’ve heard mixed things about it but generally I hear people flaming the show. Is it really that bad? I know some people who really love the show so I find it hard to believe that it’s that bad. I’ve heard that it falls off between S1 and S2 but the first and preceding parts of the show are great. I’ve been told fhe animation for S3+ is good and the show itself is rlly good but people drop it when it is really bad which is why the show has the bad reputation it does. Do y’all think it’s worth watching? Does it have good fights?

I’d say just watch it and you’ll find out if you enjoy it or not and the upside is if you don’t finish it is that you can watch the something witty entertainment abridged version of the show which works to fix most of season 1s shortcomings in terms of things like character development also it’s just hilarious

Dec 21, 2021 4:38 PM

#46

KarnaKua

Offline

Mar 2021

201

Its very subjective. Its either you like it, or you don't.

I don't see anything too special about it, just the occasional well-animated fight scene and banger OP, but i wouldn't call it bad. Just extremely tropey, average, power-fantastical, and a shut-in gamer's dream of what they could be.

I did enjoy S3 the most out of all of them tho. And i liked S2 the least. The abridged verson on YT was wayyyyy better than a majority of the series imo.

Dec 21, 2021 4:49 PM

#47

Pdx0116

Offline

Apr 2020

151

nexuro01 said:
SAO is like fast food - hot garbage that will be tasty but you’ll end up shitting for half an hour afterwards

This is the best possible description of the show.

yogie6969 said:
After my current watch, I was looking into watching SAO. I’ve heard mixed things about it but generally I hear people flaming the show. Is it really that bad? I know some people who really love the show so I find it hard to believe that it’s that bad. I’ve heard that it falls off between S1 and S2 but the first and preceding parts of the show are great. I’ve been told fhe animation for S3+ is good and the show itself is rlly good but people drop it when it is really bad which is why the show has the bad reputation it does. Do y’all think it’s worth watching? Does it have good fights?

It entirely depends on whether or not you’re generally critical of the shows you watch. If you watch shows mindlessly just to relax then you might find this to be a guilty pleasure. If you can’t help but be critical then I would simply not bother watching.

In terms of whether the show is bad or just over hated because of how popular it is, well it’s all relative. There are shows far worse than this, so if you’ve stumbled into many dumpster anime this one might not seem all that terrible. However, for me personally, it was one of the first anime I’ve watched, so I didn’t really have a standard for dropping anime. Now I do, and I’ve dropped far better shows than this one. I can honestly say it’s one of the worst anime I’ve watched to completion, but I also have sort of unreasonably high standards for the shows I commit to since it’s such a high time investment.

One thing I’d disagree with in the public opinion is that the show is inconsistent and that’s why it’s bad. For me it was consistently bad, besides the very beginning of S3 Part 1. I found massive problems that extended through the entirety of the show, even in part 1 which a lot of people actual praise. There are very few characters with any depth at all. The plot is pretty generic, and there’s not really any thematic significance, or at least it wasn’t really executed well, and over the show frustrates me more than entertains.

Dec 21, 2021 4:55 PM

#48

Crimsunreaper

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Jul 2017

264

First half is pretty good, second half is where you start having problems. Overall, it's fun, watch it and see for yourself.

Dec 21, 2021 4:57 PM

#49

Aquifilia

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Mar 2020

27

Honeslty, it's just one of those series where you either really like it, or you really hate it

Dec 21, 2021 5:06 PM

#50

Suprizer

Offline

Jul 2021

2

official_brown said:
It’s actually a really good show, but it’s popular to hate on it. Which I expect 90% of this forum to hate on it

Or just like SAO your taste in anime is bad. I believe anyone who is over 15 years old would cringe watching SAO it offers a lot and doesn't live up to anything it offers. "Doesn't have anything original so must have some good overall process" i thought to myself when starting SAO. Nope full of fillers if you watch ep 1 and than 15 you would lose nothing there is no progression or character development in between. But there are quite a lot of erotic scenes including tentacle rape. I can't think of any way of enjoying the SAO other than making a drinking game out of it, whenever you cringe take a shot.

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