Oh man how everyone howled when there were news of a new SAO movie.You could hear the screams of joy from 'Murica to the North Pole.That's how much of a stir it caused to the community and indeed the trousers of fans cause they would get to see Asuna all dressed up...You sick sick little b@stards.
But first let's take a quick glance at the history of SAO.The anime adaptation of Reki Kawahara’s light novel series SAO originally started airing back in 2012.If you don't know how to count that's 5 years..In dog years that's eternity!The first half of the season was very good indeed while the second half was actually so bad the North Korean army used it as a biological weapon.Then after 2 years,SAO came back in 2014 with a second season,and it was even worse or better..Depends on many factors such as:"Are you a fanboy or not?"..Which brings us to 2017 and a new movie.Was to be expected really,no matter what it was a huge success..Can't think of a reason why but here we are trying to decipher this mystery.
So in goes the DVD and out goes my patience already..A new movie..A fuckin new one and there are scenes from the TV series?Why?In case i got a case of extreme memory loss?That thing there is a sign that something is going wrong.A sign it was made in a rush or that what comes next is plainly pathetic and devoid of any actual meaning.Think about it,5 mins of screen time showing nothing new.5 mins that could be used otherwise.And 5 mins doesn't sound like much in series terms but in movie terms?That a whole new level of different.
But let's dig further shall we..It's a new movie after all.Well that's what they wanted you to think cause apart from the new title and somewhat different setting all else is almost exactly the same.
So they ditched the full dive VR for a bluetooth earpiece-like thingy that enables them to feel the joys of VR with none of the drawbacks of the Amusphere.it does not require it’s users to be in a bed to operate it like the Amusphere does.What’s more,the Augma has become increasingly popular due to a new game called Ordinal Scale,in which players can use some Wii-like controllers for battles against monsters in augmented reality using their own bodies.Of course this time round if you die in the game you don't buy the farm in real life.Before every battle you also get a Pop idol singing and giving players rewards..We needed an idol in 5 mins cause there rarely are any in anime.Player's stats are regulated based on a ranking system.The higher the rank,the better the stats of said player.So when Kirito joins in on the fun he is the king of the hill right..Actually no he kinda sucks at it.Cause here he has to use his body to play the game not just lying around in a bed.From there on SAO goes full beentheredonethat mode where the game isn't what it's supposed to be and Kirito kicks arse.I cannot say much more cause i'll spoil it for ya.
So storywise then not much is all fresh and new and shiny.Just some tweaks here and there and that's it.At least animation was pretty damn good i have to say.Stunning.Take out some notsogood CGI moments and it's great.
Music and VA..VA was spot on no probs there.As for music that's a whole new kettle of fish.Cause of this pop idol i was talking about earlier.In each battle there she is singing amidst the battles.Why?Manowar was too cheesy?Well they are cheesy and disgusting but at least they are not as boring as hearing some high pitched squeaks from a pop idol.
Onto the characters..Is this the work of a "BEST OF album" enthusiast?Cause almost everyone from the series makes an appearance.Speaking for my self that was a stupid move.Sure fanbitches were very happy and made happy noises while playing feverishly with their private parts but for normal people it was out of place.It's like they were out of ideas as to how to procede and thought "oh yeah let's put some old characters there for the heck of it to justify the fact that we made a movie.."
All in all it's the same old formula with a lime twist that lasts for a really short amount of time.I can best describe the whole movie and indeed the whole franchise as fucking lazy writing.Cause no matter what,in the end it's all the same where things just conveniently work out for the characters.SAO never had the strongest of plots and this movie is no different.The only thing going for it really are the fights and the fact that it's only 2 hours long so they couldn't drag things out like in the series.If you're a fan this ticks all the boxes,if you're not though it's as interesting as drinking water from the toilet.
