The Genius of Sword Art Online (Abridged): Fixing What's Broken [Part 1]

[@agiar2000]

After writing this whole, monstrous wall of text, I realized that it would be much more consumable if I went back and broke it into paragraphs, but it was still so long, I figured numbering them and adding titles, like they're chapters, would make it better. -(Better? Writing chapters to a KZbin comment? What am I doing with my life...)- Ultimately, if you want the tl;dr version, you can just read the titles and ignore everything else! Alternatively, you can ignore the whole post! Have a great day! *1. I Hate It!* As someone who deeply enjoyed and was deeply emotionally moved by the original SAO, I quickly disliked this video once I started hearing the presenter speak so harshly of it and of anyone who liked it. *2. Wait, Okay Now I Don't!* However, I continued watching, and I was really pleased with pretty much everything else! The person making this video clearly put a lot of thought into all of these points, used effective edits and highlighted important pieces from the source material, and made excellent points about all of the ways that SAO Abridged improves upon the original, points with which I agree. *3. Agree to Disagree* Ultimately, I do not agree with every single point, nor is it important to me that I do, since ultimately, this is about "good" and "bad" writing, which, while partially based in a lot of objective patterns, is ultimately subjective, and my _personal_ definition of "good" writing is "writing that makes me feel like saying 'Oh, wow, that was a good experience!'". SAO did that for me in a way it obviously did not for a lot of people, and when I watch criticism of it, I realize that they are right, in a sense. There are things that, if done differently, would have made SAO more appealing to more people, regardless of how much I enjoyed it anyway. *4. Subjectivity* Though I may disagree with statements of the form "X is bad because of Y, therefore people who like X are bad," I can internally translate them into statements with which I have no argument: "I disliked X because of Y, therefore I fail to understand why others enjoyed X." *5. I Like It!* After watching the end of the video, I changed my "dislike" to a "like". *6. You're a Stand-Up Guy!* I was also really pleased to see that the pinned top comment was actually a criticism of several points made in this video, to which the creator of the video responded, which I found nice! *7. I Like Everything!* I still like SAO, and I still love SAO Abridged, and I respect this creator. *8. I Like Positivity!* I guess I have a different outlook when it comes to the media that I consume. In general, regardless of any objective measure of quality, consistency, or complexity, I am more pleased by positive messages and praise of a thing than I am by criticism of it. *9. Criticism is Okay* I think that I understand the purpose of criticism. We all want to enjoy our entertainment. Entertainment that is well-crafted is more enjoyable, and carefully thought-out criticism helps to motivate and inform content creators of how _not_ to do things. Reviews to people who have not seen a particular work may also help to inform them of what content best meets certain standards. *10. I Have No Standards!* My approach is different. I try to enjoy whatever I watch. I try to get into the mindset that the writer/director wanted me to be when they wrote something. I try to help them along when they stumble, and even invent head-canons to spackle over apparent plot-holes. I treat my fiction the way some religious people treat their sacred texts. "Oh, that part doesn't make sense? Hmmm, there must be an explanation that I haven't thought of, yet! Maybe _this_ could explain it! Maybe _this_ is what _really_ happened!" *11. Having No Standards Makes Me Happy!* Perhaps this means that I am exposed to a generally lower quality of content, and perhaps this means that I have a poorer ability to precisely discern what constitutes "good" writing in a more objective sense, but I have done the internal cost-benefit analysis, and compared to the amount of negativity through to recognize flaws and to strive for excellence, simply re-tuning my tastes to fit what is handed to me actually leaves me happier! :)

[@ExplanationPointAnime]

Hey, I reward effort! Have a pinned comment!

[@agiar2000]

Awesome! Thanks so much! I am really impressed that you read that! I just watched one of Geoff's (Mother's Basement) videos on SAO while you were reading this comment, and I realized another thing: For viewers like me, that watch with the same sort of goal as I have, criticism of media we love is hurtful, but not simply for the reason "HOW DARE YOU HAVE OPINIONS I DON'T?!" Though not all of us are as consciously aware of it as I am, I think that the criticism, even when- No, ESPECIALLY when the criticism is well-crafted, well thought out, valid, and based in objective, observable patterns, the hurt is a bit like: "You BASTARD! I had to work SO HARD to tune my brain to LIKE this series, and now I can't UNSEE the FLAWS you pointed out!" Anyway, keep up the good work! You're a benefit to KZbin. :)

[@Shadethewolfy]

I completely agree with you, being of the same mindset as you are. Seriously, I have no standards and see anything as "good" as long as it entertains me in some aspect. Whether it be because it has really good music, good action scenes, good animation, or a pretty attractive premise. Or all of the above. Geoff ticks me off not because he has differing opinions, but because, like you said, he is /exactly right/ and I'm more mad at myself for essentially brainwashing myself into liking SAO original... (plus he sounds really pretentious but that's just my own subjective gripe with him)

[@Samm815]

I agree 100% with you! It take a lot of effort for me to absolutely hate something. It's usually when I disagree with someone so much that I shun them.

[@cinammonstyx7622]

agiar2000 I used to be like that too, but honestly? I found that when you are critical of what you watch but you find something that really keeps pace with it, it's super satisfying. Still a totally valid way to consume media though.

[@SWE]

Dude, you pointing out the edits I made to make Yui glitchy made my day. Thank you so much for all the kind words, and we hope you like Alfheim just as much! -YamatoSFX

[@ExplanationPointAnime]

It was seriously fantastic work. The whole series is great. Looking forward to Alfheim!

[@nocthemedic2951]

Explanation Point made a video so good the abridged gods smiled upon him

[@kyokyo718]

All the edits that I found (and I'm sure I missed some too) added to the show in ways that I could never have dreamed of in a million lives. My personal favorites were the Kirito's eye edit when he says "... and he's fresh out of mercy" coupled with the quiet crying in the background and the "Immortal Object" add ins (especially the one in the main town after Asuna punches Kirito). Thank you so much for making SAO what I wished it could be. ALSO HOLY SHIT ALFHEIM?! You sir, have made MY day!

[@gloweye]

Curious to find out how you're gonna do Incest arc. You guys are the only thing that could draw me to patreon.

[@sebastianleivaolsen2665]

You know what else was great? The captions. Seriously. I hope the guy keeps doing it.

[@UGNAvalon]

“The most noteworthy change about SAO Abridged is that *People Aren't Stupid.* “ Counterpoint: “Do you know how many of you charged into certain death screaming “Leeroy Jenkins”? More than zero!” Also counterpoint: *_Shatter VFX_* “You’re dead.”

[@uliseslz104]

"Ha"

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

@@uliseslz104 worthy addition

[@GamingWithHajimemes]

Man. Reki countered and then killed himself.

[@kuronaialtani]

Which, as far as I'm concerned, is grounds to *exterminate the species*

[@EpicScizor]

SAO abridged fixed that by making people *explicitly* stupid. The ones they didn't improve, they made obviously dumb in a way that makes it realistic that they would do the dumb shit they do.

[@givejotaroabreak6889]

*W E M U S T S A V E M Y F A M I L Y*

[@TheElf_Online]

*stab stab stab*

[@helmiboboy]

*Whispers* *GAAARRRYYY*

[@mennograafmans1595]

You left us to DIE!!!

[@enigmaj1494]

*TASTE MY VENGEANCE!*

[@SAM_ARTHUR_CL0VVNDOLL]

T H E B A N D I T S A R E C O M I N G

[@awesome_by_default]

Quick note: The hat Kurt got when he defeated Smurf Santa was the charisma hat that guy in the guild had. The same hat Kurt said he wanted and was the entire reason he agreed to find Sachi under the moping bridge in the first place since charisma hat guy told him he could have the hat if he found Sachi. The fact that Kurt didn't give two shits about getting that hat now is yet another sign of how affected he was by her death.

[@TwistedIdiot02]

Kurt didn't want the hat, he just wanted to take it away from his guild leader because it was allowing the guy to convince him to do things he didn't want to do.

[@awesome_by_default]

@@TwistedIdiot02 That is one of the reasons yes but he quite literally says: "I want that goddamn hat." Seemed to me like he really did want it but then after Sachi's death and him getting the hat instead of the revival item, he was broken too much to care.

[@TwistedIdiot02]

@@awesome_by_default Really? I always heard him say "I hate that goddamn hat!" I'll have to turn on subtitles the next time I watch it to make sure.

[@awesome_by_default]

@@TwistedIdiot02 I'm pretty sure. I'll find a clip of it to see. Edit: You're right. he says "I hate that goddamn hat." So it could be that he just wanted to get it off the guild leaders hands. Glad you brought that to my attention, don't wanna be spouting bs lol.

[@lyrqk5829]

@@awesome_by_default Actually mr Charisma Hat doesn't even offer it to Kirito, he just used the +50 Charisma to _convince_ Kirito to do him the favor just like what happened when Kirito joined the Cats in the first place. The visuals and dialouge do make it a bit confusing though

[@anothergamer112]

Another brilliant moment of characters not being dumb is in episode 4. "Um boss? A thought occured. This guy thought he was going up against Laughing Coffin but only brought himself and...and a small child. You sure we should be messing with this guy?" Kirito is laughing maniacally while approaching as he says this so you can see what he means. Even the choreography is better than the original show.

[@seelcudoom1]

ya both in sao and in general, when a setting allows for ludicrous differences in power scaling it always annoys me when the characters always assume if they come alone and are confident thye must just be stupid. rather then stopping to think "people who could slaughter us by themselves certainly exist in this world, maybe we should approach with caution "

[@s3studios597]

This is honestly just a brilliant subversion of that one trope in general.

[@cb6733]

"You don't have to wonder where your god is, he's right here. and he's fresh outta mercy."

[@orthusgames9888]

Then the other grunt that says, "boss I think this may be a trap"

[@themaddoctor5304]

Even the villan was somewhat smarter. Granted, she was way overconfident in her psychological profile, but if she's rolling with seven decently strong players, it would make sense logically for it to be a one sided slaughter. Granted this is SAO, so logic need not apply

[@JonnySpec]

2:06 A recent example of characters not being stupid in Abridged is when Kurt tells Leafa he's Kirito and she immediately realises he's her brother/cousin.

[@acebirky7956]

Yeah, and they're clearly taking out the "attraction" thing from the original, which is much appreciated

[@supercyclone8342]

@@acebirky7956 I haven't re-watched that part in the original yet, but I thought they did a good job with that it (for once) Although, I'm still with you in asking why he felt the need to put that in.

[@scurreith3667]

I mean... I wonder if they’re actually related in this, they weren’t in the Light Novels, or, well, okay, it was implied in the light novels they weren’t related, but, It was a nice realization, but the series as a whole if I am to comment on this video, shows why Percussive Maintenance never truly made anything from an inside perspective better.

[@beastunleashed657]

@@scurreith3667 they are cousins actually, which is pretty legal in most parts of the world.

[@bluemew22]

@@beastunleashed657 My US state doesn't care as long as you aren't double-cousins (definition: mom's sibling married dad's sibling)

[@IronCobraTD]

"WE MUST SAVE MY FAMILY" -npc dude and the chat whenever a SAO abridged episode is livestreamed

[@thecloseandsecondjohnmccor6527]

*The bandits are coming*

[@blademaster4361]

Someone: WE MUST SAVE MY FAMILY! Me: Draws weapon. Someone: What are you doing? Me: Force of habit.

[@helljumper2565]

To jump... jump

[@helljumper2565]

Remember winners don’t do drugs. Except steroids. In which case use lots of drugs

[@Jamplays592]

OH GOD ITS SPREADING, USE THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN, YEAH! WE CAN USE THEM AS SHIELDS

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

This video was so ahead of its time, it's genius

[@idork7302]

WHY ARE YOU EVERYWHERE?!?!?

[@casagrande__2526]

I cant be the only one praying that he releases another one on the new alfhein arc bro, these videos r so good that i keep coming back to em every 2 months

[@Gencinnamon245]

Why in the hell are you everywhere? LOL

[@ethanstyant9704]

How the fuck do I see you in every comment section

[@starlaser100]

Oh hey I know you

[@ThatSnarkyHunter]

Kurt and Ass' interaction with the old guy is frankly more memorable than the whole fishing arc in SAO proper

[@quandarioustoddricioushorn9292]

Fishing arc?! Wasint it just a single filler episode?

[@hdbordercollie]

Fucking fishing arc. What were they thinking???

[@beaniepanini]

There was fishing in the original SAO?

[@mioj0000000]

- the abidged fishing arc "Kurt that guy is not wearing pants" "Yeah! i know " I'm... Just trying to not look directly at it" "OH GOD! What is he doing with the fish"

[@lgachaboyyt]

I'll be honest, the fishing ark was pretty good. It was more memorable than the reason why god-fry got killed

[@amirthedude1232]

Here's a funny story. I was told by a friend to check out SAO, and I looked it up on KZbin, I watched the *ABRIDGED* first episode. And I told him I fucking loved it. Later I realized it was not the actual anime and watched the real one, I was disappointed the first episode wasn't as funny. But I thought it will get better. It kinda did and I forgot about the abridged. Not long ago I somehow got the abridged in my recommendations, and I realized there are way more abridged episodes now. Let me tell you I've been having the most fun I've ever had with a show. It was exactly what I wanted SAO to be.

[@justanotherannoyingperson1363]

Back in 2016 i dont have enough money to watch the original anime so i searched SAO ep.1 and i thought it was the original series cause im new to anime that time so i thought it was the original dub 😂

[@bullymaguireneedsyourprimo6581]

Your right, but firstly, what kind of person would go to watch anime on KZbin and not a pirating website

[@amirthedude1232]

@@bullymaguireneedsyourprimo6581 a 12 year old

[@Qfoundin]

@@amirthedude1232 true but it’s ez

[@Drip_Wooper]

@@bullymaguireneedsyourprimo6581 in 2005-2014 you could find entire movies, series and anime seasons in high quality at KZbin, OP was probably a kid that grew on old KZbin, rather than in the new full of rules one, so I assume they thought they could find at least the first episode here, but since it was 2016, it makes sense they couldn't find anything except reviews and parodies I myself watched the entire first season of gumball and JJBA pt1 on YT

[@Ericstone00]

"No need to look for your God I'm right here, And I'm fresh out of mercy! " That was by far one of my favorite scenes in the entire series.

[@Thomas-fz9xw]

"But I've got good news. You see, there's no need to wonder where your god is! 'Cause he's right here! _and he's fresh out of mercy."_

[@Ericstone00]

@@Thomas-fz9xw yes I know but I was playing on Kirito's ego.

[@Thomas-fz9xw]

@@Ericstone00 Eh, I just wanted to quote the scene. Love that one.

[@Ericstone00]

@@Thomas-fz9xw I was laughing hard core and rewound that seen at least 5 times because I was in stitches these guys do amazing work I think I've watched the Ambridge series at least 3 times in its entirety but I have watch the original Sword Art Online as much

[@Josh-gl7ly]

Proudly funded by the Kirito is always right foundation (c)

[@elementalcobalt1]

Chapter 17 just came out and I had to return to this. SAO took you complimenting its story and upped it so high that it turned the incest storyline into something as hard hitting as Puss in Boots 2, another line that would have made no sense 5 years ago when this came out.

[@hollowshield2315]

truuee. I thought that suga was just being an asshole cause why not? but then they pulled the growing rift story between them and my heart broke. the line "you dare you accuse me of hating you when you clearly never gave a shit about me" was done so damn well

[@imdarealblade6545]

The line that hit me the most in that interaction "just leave me alone. You've had enough practice"

[@undeniablySomeGuy]

idk about "hard hitting as Puss in Boots 2" since Puss in Boots 2 has the benefit of better animation dedicated around telling their story, but SAOA is definitely continuing their conquest to make gold out of shit

[@thesavagekitty1593]

18 just came out and oh my god it is so well done

[@marsi1111]

"The fact that the fact that it's terrible is a meme is a meme" *My non native english-speaking brain explodes*

[@quicogenio]

I feel ya.

[@jemm113]

The graph he put saying that explains it better: SAO is so bad, its terribleness became a meme. That became so overdone, people started meta-meming and memes spawned making fun of memes making fun of SAO, shown by having an advice animal graphic meming how bad the anime while it's within another advice animal graphic.

[@norishimogawa6125]

jemm13 my head hurts

[@skycastrum5803]

Old as heck post, but I can't help it. This can go further. The fact that the fact that the fact that it's terrible is a meme is a meme is a meme. The fact that this makes sentence makes logical sense is dumbfounding.

[@mcgoldenblade4765]

the fact (that the fact (that it's terrible) is a meme) is a meme Does that make more sense?

[@voldartthesorcerer9490]

And kirito's heart grew 3 sizes that day... and immediately shrank 6 imploding into a black hole from which no love could escape

[@diannehenry7748]

🤣

[@DaDoodler25]

The end. Oh, I’m sorry, were you expecting a HAPPY ending!

[@beaniepanini]

Oh God it's in the Persian rug.

[@ALJ9000]

@@beaniepanini For some reason that’s my favorite line, I don’t know why 😆

[@beaniepanini]

@@ALJ9000 I love his tone of voice when he says it. Perfectly encapsulates my life. The utter misery.

[@lizardperson9648]

Two years later, we find that Charisma Hat was an epic foreshadowing.

[@Winger785]

Nani?

[@Pumciusz]

Could you explain? I don't think I remember.

[@AteYourLiver]

@@Pumciusz In one of the earliest episodes keida puts on a hat that gives him +50 charisma, and thats the only reason kurt joined the guild. Now charisma is important because, in oberons words, "with a high enough charisma stat, even the most asinine suggestion becomes impossible to refuse"

[@Pumciusz]

@@AteYourLiver Oh yeah, I knew that. But I thought the same item appeared somewhere and I missed it.

[@AteYourLiver]

@@Pumciusz oh ok sorry

[@huuweee]

I also love the fact how they made that whole 'killing player in a safe zone' plot way better explained with the old visual glitch. Especially after you saw the dude runaway on the roofs having a total different effect as he teleports away.

[@jemuelmongado5030]

"The Genius of Sword Art Online-" *Draws blade* "-Abridged" *sheathes blade back in*

[@turlesdermighty3098]

Jemuel Mongado They are safe for now.

[@theoverpreparerlamenters3r436]

*silently puts chaingun on safety*

[@shadowwriter329]

Oooh...alright then. *turns and pulls out phone* Abort the ninjas! Abort the ninjas!

[@Author_Paluthor]

*Puts down hotshot lasgun*

[@guy.animations2935]

"the Genius of Sword art online-" A video saying why sao is good I actually like this idea sao is hated on for a long time finally a video on why it's a good ani... "-Abridiged" *well looks like me and devil dog got some business to attend to*

[@BlueShellshock]

Asuna: K-k-k-Kirito, I'll always b-be with you. Ass: Why are your pants still on? We doing this or what? What I like about abridged Asuna is she's strong willed and independent without it having to be explained that she's strong willed and independent. She knows what she wants, she's willing to fight for her goals, and she imposes her will without falling into that odd trope where the girl wonders if she's not too macho or unlady like. Hell, she's even witty from time to time. She's not a love interest, she's a god damn woman. A little stalker-ish from time to time, but that adds more than it subtracts from her personality.

[@the10creative-blinis46]

SHE BURNED A HOUSE ! She's a fucking yandere and that's why she's much more better than the real asuna !

[@theirishviking9278]

Teothehun oh shit... um remember what happens to asuna in alo... fuuuuuuuck why did i have to remember that

[@andreamontagnese9956]

i'm not telling that you are wrong, but read the LN, in the anime is all too childish, asuna is not like that in the LN, even kirito... it's all different, more mature

[@theirishviking9278]

Andrea Montagnese definitely chapter 16.5

[@andreamontagnese9956]

The Irish Viking ahahha i'm not saying that "mature", what i'm trying to say is that anime makes all too childish (i'm using the same words I know, i'm italian sorry). For me asuna seems independent for when she killed kuradeel in the WebNovel, or in sugary days when she proves that kirito is like a child, he doesn't know how to talk to people, how to live alone ecc...

[@nataliaborys1554]

"the fact that the fact it's terrible is a meme is a meme" Yes, basically

[@NEETKitten]

The "people hate high level players" thing is explained better in LITERALLY EVERY PIECE OF SAO MEDIA THAT ISN'T THE ANIME WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE STUDIO DOING OH MY GOD! Basically on top of most high level players being egotistical dickbags, players with higher levels have a better chance of finding rare drops from mobs. Sounds good right? Well loot is distributed to the player/players that dealt the killing blow, with the highest level player having a much better chance of getting the rare drop. This caused a lot of fights between party members, so an unwritten rule of SAO is that parties should all be around the same level to avoid this issue. Why the anime didn't go into this is beyond me.

[@DFX2KX]

I think that plot point shows both the failing of the anime in it's storytelling approach, and the failing of SAO from the standpoint of *being an actual game*. There where beta testers, sure, but loot drops that screw groups over like this (actual MMOs dump loot to *everyone*, in accordance with their level) and horrid menu security (the 'can see the menu from the third person' thing I'll ignore for filmography sake, it's the 'other person can move your hands to accept a duel' shit) would have gotten this game obliterated before it left beta, NDA be damned. Just the mechanical changes SAOA does to how the game is implied to work go a long way to improving that.

[@NEETKitten]

@@DFX2KX A year late, but I noticed that I got a detail wrong: In SAO, all loot from enemies are distributed to all players in a party. However rare monsters, as well as bosses and some higher level mobs, have a chance of dropping bonus loot that's only distributed to whoever got the last hit in. This causes the same problems though, but it's not *quite* as horribly broken as what I described initially.

[@DFX2KX]

@@NEETKitten I had to go and re-read for context, but yeah... amd I'm some ways, it's the worst of both worlds too

[@jacobsmith4428]

Reading this a year later... that sounds dumb. Why would anyone not want a party member that can soak up additional bonus loot even if they keep it for themselves, because more good items means better survival odds overall by sticking with the guy that can kill stuff fast in the death game. Even then, it's not like any one player can just use all the loot they get, I doubt Kirito would be big on keeping a good axe for example, so it just trickles to the rest naturally anyways... unless they're a douchebag that sells the stuff they no longer use, at which case that's just being a dick.

[@NEETKitten]

@@jacobsmith4428 The problem is that, like I said, most high level players are egotistical dickbags. IIRC, a lot of them went full "dragon's horde" with their loot even if they couldn't use it, purely out of spite for the plebs that hid behind them while they did all the work.

[@dracon2]

After 2 years, I can finally fulfill the legacy of the WHAT guy "People aren't stupid" "WHAT?"

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6KmpK2Gaa18bbc

[@chimedemon]

@@whensomethingcriesagain I love you.

[@thephantom3527]

Hope somebody kept Scanners tabbed.

[@DevI-vl7gp]

"Do you know how many of you have died screaming "Leeroy Jenkins?!" More than zero! Which, as far as I'm concerned, is grounds to exterminate the species."

[@Nameless-ln5mr]

Remember, a lot of people died because SOMEONE stole Charlie the Tutorial NPC!

[@acoolnameemm]

I love Sword Art Online Because without it Sword Art Online Abridged wouldnt exist

[@Ramsey276one]

Good mindset XD

[@erikthomsen4768]

I miss that viewpoint.

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

Same

[@MrHoeBow]

"Don't remember? Neither does he!" Talent.

[@-king-1230]

what the fuck is going on in your pfp

[@jackgebhardt2932]

@@-king-1230 Something unholy...

[@shady8045]

uhh how I didn't think that was that clever

[@alzhanvoid]

Please you unholy abomination switch your pfp to something normal or visually unrevolting. This should be bannable goddamit.

[@OneTrueNobody]

3:18 - Ah, actually the question of why Kirito hid his level is just poorly handled in the anime specifically. In the book it's made clear that he just doesn't want people to think he's a high-level player poaching resources from mid-level floors that mid-level players need and high-level players don't (he was actually there to collect some very specific upgrade ingredients). This makes a fair amount of sense given that SAO was written on a very old-school MMORPG wavelength (the games that existed at the time were, like, FF11 and EverQuest) and players actually did have to compete a lot for resources or monster spawn areas in those older games, and Aincrad is that but, like, way slower and with ten times as much travel time between actually doing things. One of the things to keep in mind about the original anime is that it's light on details that the books actually did fill in, and it also throws together a bunch of stories in chronological order that Kawahara wrote at very different points in his career (some of the episodes that stick out as "better" are actually BETTER because he wrote them way later, as a better writer than he was when he wrote the rest of it). Both versions of the story have their flaws, but the anime exacerbates a lot through some really ill-advised adaptational choices, actively making things worse. This was one such case. The structure of Aincrad doesn't really WORK in the anime because Aincrad was written as one short stand-alone story (the Floor 74-75 Knights of Blood arc with a flashback to the opening day of the game) and several disconnected side-stories written out of chronological order and collected later in Volume 2 (the Silica, Lisbeth, Yui, and Black Cats stories, in that order) and Volume 8 (the safe haven murder mystery), and SAO Progressive Volume 1 (the Illfang boss story, which the anime only uses about 20% of the material from while leaving out the interesting stuff). Trying to string all of this disconnected stuff together and pretend it functions as a cohesive linear story was a terrible decision, because it doesn't function as one, at all. Which isn't to say that SAO is super-duper-amazing in book form, it just... makes more sense, in general.

[@itscarlosreally]

SAO Abridged's Aincrad arc started a parody, ended a remaster.

[@guy.animations2935]

Started a dumd parody ended a stupid series

[@chidangvan3240]

red guy 94 i see so you enjoyed bad anime

[@guy.animations2935]

@@chidangvan3240your saying Sao is trash

[@chidangvan3240]

red guy 94 but it is trash

[@guy.animations2935]

@@chidangvan3240I have several questions one being why do like this stupid parody with no effort vs an anime that had some effort

[@rakmal786]

I don't even consider SAOA an abridgement it feels like a real anime.

[@nocthemedic2951]

rakmal 786 it feels that way because it's better than the real anime

[@theirishviking9278]

Nocthe Medic same there one of the few abridgers outside of tfs that i actually watch cause they know what there doing

[@zacharia4061]

rakmal 786 ya

[@carlwebber4094]

I official announce SAOA as the replacement for the regular SAO, now would anyone like to object?

[@EmperorBob]

@@carlwebber4094 haven't heard that one before

[@PufflesDaViking]

Everyone I've ever known who actually liked SAO I have forced to watch SOAA and they afterward agree that it's 100% better and points out all the flaws perfectly.

[@zebimicio5204]

As much as I despise SAO after ALO until Calibur, I can never get myself to watch SAOA without cringing myself.

[@PufflesDaViking]

@@zebimicio5204 That's kinda the point.

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

@@PufflesDaViking the point of SAOA is to cringe?... Well it's not good at it then

[@PufflesDaViking]

@@thomastakesatollforthedark2231 The point of all abridged series is to take everything that was serious in the original and make it hilarious through satire and cringe humor, yes. With all the deliberate cringe in SAOA if you never cringed at it, well...

[@beastunleashed657]

@@PufflesDaViking well you should see what the SAO subreddit that has seen SAOA says about that. Mate I don't know which "plotholes" exist or are being mocked. Could you enlighten me? PS. It's not like the abridged has its fair share of plotholes too.

[@renenrneren]

One of the many things I love about SAO abridged is in the scene where Kuradeel kills Godfrey and poisons Kirito, they don’t drag it out, let Kuradeel trick Asuna and have Kirito save the day yet again. It just puts it in a much more logical way in line with Asuna’s(abridged) personality. She’s the one who attacks and successfully kills Kuradeel. She saves Kirito, not the other way round like SAO seems hell-bent on doing as far as I can see. The poison doesn’t magically wear off in the nick of time, and she cries at the end not because she almost died, but because Kirito, was the one who almost died and she’s working around realising that she cares about him.

[@repulser93]

Funnily enough, Asuna actually DID kill Kuradeel in the original LN.

[@Aflay1]

“Han Solo in Battlestar Galactica” *ACTUALLY SPITS DRINK HEAVILY* DAMMIT.

[@Reavermyst]

Gotem

[@strykerryder2346]

I actually choked in nerd rage

[@Not_A_Cat]

That choke we all experienced, nerd and movie buff alike, was well thought out and brilliantly executed. Touché good sir.

[@darksaiyan9103]

That joke always gets me

[@TheRhysStreams]

I paused the video at this point to scroll to the comments to see how much impotent nerd rage was present. I was not disappointed.

[@KirbyKips]

If you think the Abridged was good up till the end of the Eincrad arc, wait till you see what they did to Elfheim. There’s only one episode showing it so far but they’ve already made this arc more interesting than it was in the original. Go watch it.

[@Midnight-wh2bs]

There are two episodes out for Alfheim, Abridged episodes 12 and 13, granted that is unless you don''t count 12 since that episode takes place before Kirito actually enters Alfheim.

[@prettybigpengus]

Kirito tryna find a username was honestly more entertaining than the whole show itself

[@Aryc11]

@@prettybigpengus And so bloody realistic, too.

[@Shadow-gc6le]

@@Aryc11 then again why would a kids game that actively asked them to put in their name have a unique name system

[@Aryc11]

@@Shadow-gc6le Because the game is poorly designed!

[@felixrivera895]

When Kurt was talking to Balls and thanked him for pointing out the part of him that still cared so he could kill it, it was an excellent little refference to Portal 2 and Karen within Glados. The refference was subtle, efficient, and thanks to the way the abridged series handled it, genuinely emotional.

[@scurreith3667]

Only to be made irreversibly stupid by the fact that literally the next time we see him he has an emotional breakdown in his head, And then immediately go back to what he was right before that, was anyone reviewing their scripts?

[@randompromises1038]

@@scurreith3667 i don't think it's entirely 100% possible to lock away all your trauma and emotional distress especially at all times so it makes sense kirito would break sometimes, especially if he was alone.

[@scurreith3667]

@Random Promises Him having trauma isn’t the only stupid thing (the entire series is but don’t get me started on that.) The first grounding issue is that it makes no sense why he has it in the first place (as even SWE went out of their way to say Kirito’s reason to begin caring is super fucking contrived, acknowledging it only makes it more potent when it’s spoken by a narrator as opposed the Emperors New Groove Nailing it by playing the plot hole for Comedy, rather than just bringing attention to it.) so if his entire character arc starts on a contrivance, then his entire arc is contrived and thus making it incredibly stupid (which even if it wasn’t contrived to start doesn’t save how stupid his “progression” was.) but back to the main point of why it’s stupid, him not being able to hide his trauma makes sense, the series did well to prove his mental instability, the issue is him caring in the first place when the last analogy ever used for how much he cared about the MNBC’s is, “like a fat man tolerates the tapeworms in his intestines.” Yeah, totally sounds like a fat man would be traumatized by... the tapeworms in his intestines dying...

[@randompromises1038]

@@scurreith3667 idk you could be the most composed person but seeing the death of someone (really, regardless of how close you are to said person) can indeed strike some ptsd, especially when kirito put his defensive walls aside to attempt to get closer to the guild only for them all to die kind of stupidly, with sachi dying kind of gruesome and definitely traumatizingly. i don't really think his ptsd was contrived but we all have different opinions

[@scurreith3667]

@@randompromises1038 so... you're telling me a fat man would be traumatized if the tapeworms in his stomach died in front of him because of the tapeworms? That makes no sense.

[@johjoh9270]

7:12 I'd like to point out that the reason they were on the 27th floor going for the item too, asides of for being in debt to the mob, was because Kirito was trying to be nice to Keita after talking to Sachi and agreed to going there as well

[@PlagueBunny]

WE MUST SAVE MY FAMILY!

[@midnightproductions3442]

None of Your Business THE BANDITS ARE COMING!

[@Cone_A_]

None of Your Business PRESS A... TO JUMP!

[@umlungu360]

GARY... excuse me I have to go say hi to an old friend

[@97denis97]

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO JUMP... JUMP!

[@SASburn6113]

WINNERS DON'T USE DRUGS! EXCEPT STEROIDS! IN WHICH CASE USE LOTS OF DRUGS!

[@Hemmelka]

"Quoting Han Solo from Battlestar Galactica" Well… he's a character… in a movie… where battles take place into stars… against galactic empire… What do you think Fluffles? -Meeeoow!!! -I thought too… BRING THE BOILING OIL!!!!

[@blademaster4361]

That's awful........ I LIKE IT!!

[@hydra5758]

Oh Fluffles, you are one sick kitty!

[@MrTigracho]

"The most noteworthy and impactful change that SAOA did is that People aren't stupid" Yeah right.

[@totoranger01]

MrTigracho They’re still stupid, just in a different way

[@williamchamberlain2263]

They're _realistically_ JRPG-player stupid in SAOA, rather than being functionally lobotomised as in SAO.

[@Noone-sz7mk]

WHAT?

[@RandomPerson-cm2wg]

@@totoranger01 They are intentional made to be stupid, SAO just made them to be stupid.

[@eeeeeeeee9895]

they still are but they're human beings

[@isaac2990]

My absolute favorite part about SAOA is the fix for Kayaba. "Have you ever experienced 500 hours of UNINTERRUPTED CONSCIOUSNESS?!?! Half way through I thought I saw the face of God!" Anyone who's been struck with ridiculous deadlines, or worked through an entire weekend on a project can understand how delirious Kayaba was after staying up for 500 hours likely fueled by whatever caffeinated beverage he could find. And the fact he became leader of the Bloodoaths makes perfect sense as well when he asks Kirito and Ass "Remember when 2000 players died in the first month... yeah..." SAOA proves that even shitty storylines have potential to be incredible if you're willing to tweak the original design

[@tremor230]

If you ask me... SAO Abridged is the Real one, and SAO is the parody. They have been switched at birth

[@RabbiB0Y]

No

[@shady3385]

@@RabbiB0Y yes

[@RabbiB0Y]

@@shady3385 no

[@DrybonesMC]

@@RabbiB0Y yes

[@RabbiB0Y]

@@DrybonesMC face it its isn't the real SAO, you guys thinking it is, hurts the real show and the creators of the parody who face it don't want you to watch their parody over the original, like okay I'm working on a parody series of my own (not an abridged because I care about my work) and I have the mindset that you shouldn't replace the show I am mocking as a fan, but watch the show and also watch mine for context I also keep characters consisted with there real show counter parts with the only difference being writing style/budget so the answer will always be no have fun trying to beat that

[@WormyMaster]

Why is a bartender objectively better than Kirito? Bartenders give people a shot pretty often, unlike Kirito.

[@lgmmrm]

Wormy part

[@raggabrashbastard]

Shizuo Haewajima is a bartender.....

[@Skallva]

Skeletor The Almighty He's a bodyguard *dressed* like a bartender Know the difference unless you want to know how being hit by a flying vending machine feels like.

[@raggabrashbastard]

Xeno OH MY GOD.

[@enrique1646]

*TWO shots of vodka.*

[@AetherRiddick]

"Han Solo from Battlestar Galactica." *Stares at screen*

[@mattmatt992]

Aether Riddick how could he mix that up? Han Solo's from Galaga

[@johnwaggoner1782]

Artana nah, nah, you're thinking of Han Duet. Han Solo's from Space Balls.

[@quicogenio]

I saw that too. i can't dude. I just... i can't.

[@mithrawnudo2152]

Yeah I was triggered too.

[@TraciaChoLeem]

i actually had to rewind an listen to it again, cause at first i was absolutly certain, that i simply misheard or something like that. but really...han solo...apollo...where's the difference XD

[@supermidget8060]

Kirito saying sachi to almost every other female character. Gives it a more real feel along with the glitches in the game

[@Deflamed_Sphere]

and help cement his trauma or explained why he is always with some girl and the cause of helping others

[@galactic-hamster7043]

That amd "SUCK IT ROSALIA!"

[@jag3596]

Thanks for pointing out the fidget spinner in Kirito's character design. I needed that.

[@thatnikkakris2339]

Jean d'Artagnan Delfin where?

[@jag3596]

3:40 Here bro. Enjoy.

[@xrrgr]

Jean d'Artagnan Delfin Reki himself even tweeted about that.

[@jag3596]

naomi obi, that sounds amazing. Don't bother linking. I'm Googling it.

[@jag3596]

sgcafe.com/2017/06/fidget-spinners-look-like-kiritos-buckle-sword-art-online-creator-reki-kawahara/

[@cade2369]

“... what allows Something Witty Entertainment to take sword art online from a barely coherent mess of broken dreams and lost potential and turn it into a series that isn’t downright insulting to anybody that has a better critical eye than a trained eggplant.” This is beautiful

[@slothtastic3667]

There's no need to wonder where your god is, because he is right here. And he's fresh out of mercy.

[@KangarooMonkey]

Jazzyhead123 this comment got 133 likes but this is the 1st comment

[@lukashughes4738]

that is one of my favorite quotes from the abridged series

[@patoman_]

That Reminds me of "Also, feel free to pray to your god, but spoilers, I won't be listening" -Mister Perfect Cell. Who is voiced by Takahata101, the same guy that makes the voice for Kayaba in SAO Abridged

[@marlom7882]

Jazzyhead123 * cries *

[@Zamerus]

First three rows are a splash zoooone!~

[@spirittail4958]

9:03 one thing that you forgot to mention is that the hat he specifically got from that event, is the very hat that forces him to bow to the leader of the black cats. It's the very hat that put him into that moping bridge situation and forced them all to go into that dungeon where sachi died in the first place. I'm not sure what the word is (I'll probably fix it if I'm incorrect) but it feels like the definition of irony that he goes to try and find something to save a friend that died because of that hat, and he got that very hat instead of said item to fix the damage that hat did. Which just compounds how he shouldn't open himself up to anyone ever again because everything in that world is just out to remind him why he shouldn't.

[@rogerogue7226]

My friend, you are entirely correct. But please. Some punctuation would make it much easier to read and see how right you are.

[@spirittail4958]

@@rogerogue7226 thanks for telling me I'm correct I was worried I used the wrong word to define the situation (ironic) I also added some punctuation I forget to do that sometimes when I'm just casually making comments.

[@Deflamed_Sphere]

its apparently a charisma hat hence the Christmas event the thing was suppose to rezz players (resurrect) but it meant rizz players because of the hat

[@spirittail4958]

​@@Deflamed_Sphere that is a very hilarious play on words that I'm hoping was intentional

[@NintendoHighSchool]

Do you know how many of you have died screaming Leroy Jenkins?! More than zero!!

[@TobytheNinja]

As far as I'm concerned, that's grounds for extermination of the species.

[@mrcat4508]

Team Rocket what is leroy jenkins

[@________dQw4w9WgXcQ]

Yosef Strimling it is an old meme started when a video went viral of peeps playing some mmo where the team came up with a strategy to beat the next room of enemies but then the player leeroy jenkins (screen name) who was afk returns and decides to just run in there shouting his own name, and his friends follow and the all ended up dying

[@TraciaChoLeem]

actually it's worse. leeroy ported out and was the lone survivor, after pulling all the mobs to his mates

[@________dQw4w9WgXcQ]

Tracia Cho Leem ah ok yeah i didn't know that, that makes it even worse then

[@arvy8096]

finally someone says something about kiritos fidget spinner on his coat

[@tripwire3992]

Nice saiki profile pic

[@doordonut-.-281]

Love your profile picture

[@lulooper]

My boi Saiki!! You have good taste.

[@alexbenavidez4500]

When it comes to their beautifully genius animation tweaks, the addition of Roselia's HP bar and name peaking over the tree she was hiding behind is one of the best. It's how and why Kurt knew she was there, and it was a subtle change I never even noticed in my first watch through It's a brilliant little detail that adds so much to the source material

[@scurreith3667]

That’s literally only there for convenience sake‘s, because why don’t we see stacks and stacks of green names whenever they’re in a plaza and there’s like 1 million fucking people there?

[@spartin1173]

“TIS THE FABLED WORD TREE OF GAMAGORATH QUICKLY CHILD WE MUST SPIRIT IT AWAY BEFORE- oh god would you just come out already”

[@kadenbaio9758]

@@spartin1173 I never understood why he specifically said,"the word tree," and now I do.

[@reefb6292]

coming back to this vid after ep 17 and it hits so much harder seeing how sao abridged managed to change the whole sibling relationship from alabama to a genuine, realistic but dysfunctional sibling relationship

[@spacedoyster7686]

They also did a great job of making Asuna seem a lot more competent. In SAO proper, she's a faux action girl who gets very, very few scenes of badassness before being completely reduced to a damsel in distress who is completely reliant on Kirito. Ass feels like she's on his level not only because of him specifically saying so, but also because she is a fair match for him intellectually, too, and they changed a few of the scenes where she would have been helpless to her manipulating Kurt for gits and shiggles and getting shit done herself. She doesn't actually do all that much more than Asuna, but Ass seems to be a lot more competent as a result of a few minor changes.

[@deathnights-bane8488]

you know they soved the damsel i distress problem in season two by having her get basically socally mentored by a girl who later dies of cancer

[@deathnights-bane8488]

CAN NO ONE READ THAT THEY SOLVED THAT PROBLEM

[@m0nkEz]

@@deathnights-bane8488 see, now, no one cares because it took them too long to start addressing its issues, by which no one who gave a shit was watching anymore.

[@deathnights-bane8488]

@@m0nkEz #stillbetterthandragonball

[@deathnights-bane8488]

@E-Rank Luck Lancer #stillbetterthandragonball

[@animegundude7934]

"F*ckin Bethesda "kayaba, 2017

[@Ei__Archon]

XD

[@yamamato910]

that aged well

[@joaoborges1764]

@@yamamato910 Fallout 76 shows up as a perfect example of what kayba was complaining about

[@Cure_Hana]

Considering how Fallout 76 turned out, that quote has aged surprisingly well. 😅

[@o5-814]

This aged like a fine wine

[@RADZIO895]

"The genius of sword art online" -what the fu.. "...(abridged) -oohhh..

[@USAFreewayROTF]

SWE is a genius. They didn't have to give the characters personalities, or a different plot, or work on editing unnecessary scenes out. But they did it anyway. That's why I have a deep sense of respect for SWE's efforts into the abridged series. I tried other abridged series, but most of them didn't match up to SWE. So we should keep giving SWE and any other potential, smart Abridged makers love and support for their efforts, cause they won't be around forever...

[@P1nstr1p3]

SAO abridged: Tilting the lamp so hard you knock the source material straight to hell.

[@kaj4life1]

SAO Abridged is the new golden standard for abridged series.

[@scurreith3667]

Really? Then abridged series are f*cked if SAOA is the gold standard.

[@ikagura]

Scur Reith yes really

[@scurreith3667]

I mean, if it’s the gold standard then there will never be a ‘great’ abridge series... oh wait, DBZA exists...

[@MisterK9739]

Scur Reith The last few DBZA episodes have been kind of a let down, compared to the SAOA epidodes

[@ikagura]

What about YGOA and CDZA?

[@mountainhaas978]

"Quoting Han Solo from B A T T L E S T A R G A L A C T I C A"

[@soularous8793]

Have a Boy This triggered me on an emotional level...I even rewatched to double check...

[@TengrioftheCrimsonSky]

Mountainhaas I seriously thought I was the only one who noticed

[@viridityone3106]

Im seriously hoping that as a joke

[@sawyercoletang]

WHOOOSH

[@Warune1]

Omg yeah, It actually made me stop what I was doing. I can feel the the fury of the star wars nuts

[@d_camara]

For the characters, they follow the Limp and an Eyepatch principle If you have a random janitor on screen for 50 seconds, it'll be an overall better experience if he has a limp and an eyepatch than if he had no odd characteristics, it's a way to make unimportant characters feel like they have stuff going on outside the story and less like the device they are

[@SimGunther]

What irony is it that I get an ad for SAO mobile in an SAO satire analysis video?

[@snotenberg7]

SimGunther I've watched this video at least 8 times. 3 of them I got the goddam SAO mobile game add

[@syntheticvocalist-p472]

That's why I love KZbin Red. But also hate it because some of my favorite videos were taken down due to copyright

[@amishverma8415]

SimGunther that is fitting not ironic

[@josephdavis9234]

"That is not at all what irony is. I believe the run of events you just described would be best classified as completely expected. Irony. Noun. A state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contradictory to what one expects, and is often amusing as a result. Example: Your leader is named Thinker, yet he appears to be something of a dullard."

[@norishimogawa6125]

joseph davis love it XD

[@zeemod1556]

When I was watching the abridged series I actually couldn't remember (in the real show) if those other guide members were NPCs or not. It just goes to show, they might as well have been.

[@Ahrva538]

Zeemod155 I can no longer remember what Kirto's voice from the original sounds like

[@shent1059]

fuck I literally tried to remember it right now based on some lines from the original that I remember and ALL I coud hear was the abridged guy's voice. This is fucking briliant

[@Raya.T]

i like the original and the abridged but the voice.... the only reason i can still hear the original is because of the VA being the same for a lot of other characters.

[@justanoman6497]

Considering that I couldn't watch pass I think the 4th episode or so of the original while binge watching the abridged... twice... no wonder I can't remember a lot of the things in the original. That said, I DID watch Sinon's Ass Online... I mean the Gun Gale Online arc because... err... the plot?

[@Posterofshithahah]

Zeemod155 uh your very wrong on that because it does give quit a bit of detail on them and it may just be me being a total suck up to Sao but I really got emotional on this anime.

[@raw6668]

You know another thing that SAOA did better than the original SOA with Kayaba was that Kirito realized who Kaiubya is not just the movie reference, but because he spent too much time defending the game. Especially after a game-breaking bug at the end of the whole thing.

[@711storeclerk]

Wow can't even spell Sao Kirito and kayaba ha even my phone auto corrects to those names HA

[@emiledlund9559]

Keagan Kirigaya I pride myself on my comprehension skills and I still had to reread that several times

[@ScottieBoy99902]

Coming back this 5 year old video to note what they have done (so far) with the horrendous Alfheim Arc is even more impressive, that also deserves its own video essay lol.

[@storminfirefang09]

Trivia question: Why does Kayaba Akihiko make the Sword Art Online kill people? Don't remember? Neither does he!! Ain't that some shit. this part had me dying. had to pause for a few secs to appreciate this and sub

[@theunkindledhunter]

storminfirefang09 Kirito: So how come you wanted to trap thousands of people in this game? Kayaba: Pfft I don't know. Kirito: Seems legit.

[@angeltheangel2088]

storminfirefang09 seems legit

[@killa-tm3bb]

Cause they ain't wanna wait till all the bugs where fixed

[@nightshade7092]

Kirito: So why did you kill all of these people? Kayaba: dunno Kirito: k.

[@thallan]

Crystal Phoenix hahaha, not really their philosphy (theirs is retcons & lore breaks) but still great.

[@potassiumcyanide3857]

Klein?? What klein? I though his name is ballsdeep69

[@gabrielaubry1334]

Kirito: "Balls?" Klein and his guild: "MY NAME IS KLEIN!" Kirito: "That was...unsettling...What the hell was that?" Klein: * sigh * "I correct people so often, they think it's how I say hello."

[@jokerkid6594]

Potassium Cyanide WHAT

[@rovirejams5391]

BallsDeep69 isn't the hero we deserve, but is definitely the hero we need.

[@hellothere_1257]

Alright, let me teach you why they call me the legendary FUCK!

[@epox_]

By now its even better. The way they turned the incest plotline into something so emotional instead is incredible.

[@Deflamed_Sphere]

mhm

[@secrfidr]

Ten-year-old me had a worse critical eye than a trained eggplant tbh

[@beasy901]

Sabine Lesher honestly i think most of at ten had a worse critical eye than a trained eggplant

[@thecloseandsecondjohnmccor6527]

Ten year olds have eyes?

[@ChronoShadow69]

Over a year after this video came out. More than THREE years since the abridged episode with Yui came out. OVER a year since Yui-abridged's triumphant return... ...and I'm still laughing myself out of breath at 'and you ruined my joke!' Thank you, Something Witty Entertainment crew!

[@thecloseandsecondjohnmccor6527]

That scene was so fucked up, but so god damn beautiful at the same time.

[@TheTsugnawmi2010]

"It's so terrible that the fact that the fact that it's terrible is a meme is a meme". Yes, I did have to type this sentence out to wrap my head around it

[@osmosis453]

That line killed me 😂

[@airiakizuki5592]

I only vaguely know what 'memes' are but I think I understand it.

[@incognitoburrito6020]

+mike hutchinson In general, memes are a lot like inside jokes in a group of friends, except the friends are the entire internet and the jokes last under a month instead of years.

[@andreaarroyo1373]

You should totally do another video on the abridged version once they finish the Fairy Dance arc, it's been absolutely amazing so far and I love your analysis

[@AzureSkyCiel]

Okay, so in summary: It is not weird to watch only Sword Art Online Abridged and find yourself loving the series, and then just GLANCE at the source material and suddenly be massively put off like I was? I mean I seriously never really watched SAO before watching the Abridged version but the Abridged version even FELT like a marked improvement (okay, Kurt's voice was a little grating, especially when he got shouty, but I'm guessing that's kind of the point) over what it emulated. Like a Weird Al song.

[@NopeJustPatrick]

AzureSkyCiel - Honestly, I can't even remember Kirito's voice. It's all Kurt now, and that's just fine with me. _(I still enjoyed the original series though, but I have low standards)_

[@a-drewg1716]

holy shit man you're right I just tried to hear Kirito's voice but I only heard Kurt's voice (but ya most of the characters had good voices but Kurt's sounded.... a bit off)

[@PositiviteaTheFirst]

I still remember the Japanese VA (because he's actually talented as fuck) but I can't imagine Bryan voicing the dub anymore. It's all Kurt Kurt Kurt whenever I try to remember it

[@andrewrobinson8199]

If that was your experience I suggest reading the progressive light novels the anime was a shambled attempt to recreate them

[@repulser93]

First off, Bryce, not Bryan. Second, Bryce has actually done Kurt's "Fresh OUt of Mercy" speech before.

[@linleybaruch8368]

People die if they are killed

[@Dev-dq9ce]

What?

[@theweevilman]

Dév SOMETIMES... THINGS ARE BORN...

[@Rashed-ep3uq]

You've given me much to think about.

[@HeroOfJusticeYT]

i know right

[@edu483]

-Said the wise old man

[@Mysticbean54]

So, Reki Kawahara has come out and said in the first volume of SAO Progressive, that he was basically given a shorter time than he wanted to write SAO. He originally wanted to do the 100 floors the way he is in progressive but due to his short schedule, was forced to rush the whole story to an ending. He wasnt expecting the manga to blow up the way it did and had to stick with the obvious pacing issues. That is why SAO Progressive is a thing now. Hopefully its animated at some point

[@yukisetsuna1325]

tl;dr: why sao sucks f*cking bethesda

[@nightshade2826]

Thats the case for sao but I dont think the author wouldve changed the power fantasy self insert harem aspects of the manga even if he was given time. The plot holes, shallow characters, mechanics that make no sense are just way too severe that I dont think everything couldve been a result of rushing. The foundation of sao is that its a power fantasy with shallow characters to fullfill peoples guilty plesure. It wouldnt change so much when its given time. It would maybe have lesser shortcuts with its plots but none of the other things can just be excused because of rushing it.

[@runeanonymous9760]

So Reki was the real Kayaba all along…

[@d4s0n282]

SAO Progressive is rewritting the storyright? is it even any good?

[@Mysticbean54]

@d4s0n yo I'd say so. You get to see more with laughing cofin and it's friendly to people who don't understand all the terms for mmos without watering it down for everyone else

[@arctrooperjesse7582]

I think "A sleep deprived cabbage." Is my new favourite insult.

[@hannalulu2350]

I love how he used Nearly Headless Nick to illustrate the concept of "poorly executed." Well played

[@yummyherbicide7296]

Warning: Sao abridged has been rated nerdgasmic.

[@IR-xy3ij]

Fun fact: I remember the fishing arc and always think it's a pretty important part to show that despite everyone seems to be having a good time, the game still isn't real life and clearing it still is the only option

[@offspringfan100]

I really liked it when the show highlighted that there's a lot of people that kind of have just given up on escaping and are now just trying to live a peaceful life. Blacksmiths trying to make a living, warriors and generals fighting wars, in-party conflicts between players, how some have turned to violence and subterfuge as rogues and assassins trying to make a living, etc. Really fleshes out the world

[@coldshadow7880]

5:06 when he said "characters like this" iy immediatelly came to mind "U WANNA TAKE THIS OUTSIDE?"

[@solarsonic7178]

"Because Hunger Games online with sword-lasers is probably the best idea to come out of Japan since ritually cannibalising their enemies as an intimidation tactic during WW2." ...wut?

[@VeryPeeved]

look it up

[@bluesphere4860]

VeryPeeved, Didn't call you "original" at some point?

[@awalkingcontradiction3017]

What? (SAOA reference)

[@rai4119]

I laughed hard cuz I already knew and so many ppl dont

[@HS_Merciless]

Appreciate the humor, but one thing bothers me about this line. Hunger Games was already an idea coming from Japan. Something something Battle Royal.

[@moseszero3281]

SAO was a beta test - SAOA is canon

[@biazacha]

100% legit

[@alonelyperson6031]

Zap is that a reference to a movie ?

[@nathanclark2424]

This reminds me of when I watched Hellsing Ultimate: Abridged. I started doing something I haven't done in a long time. That being I cared about a show. The voices just fit the characters so well, and it would be great if you could review it or discuss why it's great. Unless you dislike it, which in that case just forget I ever said anything.

[@thecloseandsecondjohnmccor6527]

Hellsing wasn't even bad, they just made it so damn entertaining.

[@DarcelineFarce]

Why the hell was he a cyborg!?

[@Nehfarius]

@@DarcelineFarce Because the Vatican. That's why he was a cyborg.

[@macewindu3492]

Bitches love cannons

[@blendpinexus1416]

"my men don't even know the word surrender" "but we're willing to learn"

[@Wizkid490]

NPC: "We must save my family!" Kirito: *Whispers Ominously* "Gary."

[@astralminstrel]

The hat Kurt wins at the end of the Christmas event in SAOA... Wasn't it the charisma hat?

[@cyberbyte2168]

Same texture, different hat.

[@thecloseandsecondjohnmccor6527]

The amount of fuck you they gave that hat was beautiful. Thinks he might be able to save Sachi, but no, he gets the god damn charisma hat that caused it all in the first place.

[@no-ku6jp]

him thanking balls for showing him the part of him that loves people so he can kill it now was so good and really hammers home that kurt lost all hope there because normally he'd throw out a bunch of sarcastic and snarky remarks. the writing is just so good?

[@16BitGamerCat]

"Death dungeon" *Shows 4Chan* I wouldn't call that death, exactly. More like a living hell.

[@blast-proofexplosives7792]

I think you forgot the fact that the hat Kirito won was the EXACT HAT the guild leader of the MBC used to force him to do things, reminding him of the ONE PERSON who was responsible for the group entering the dungeon to begin with.

[@skyereave9454]

Exclamation point: goes on rant Me: you live in Belgium?

[@sarahmorris4575]

Phillip Cho Same. I died at that.

[@finetimegames3789]

i'm also from belgium

[@daanpieters2388]

I just couldnt stop laughing (from belgium as well )

[@voltairinekropotkin5581]

SAO Abridged is so much better than the show it's based on it's goddamn ridiculous. Not only is it more enjoyable overall, but it's actually better at the things SAO itself should have been good at: character development, themes, romance, and videogame culture. Seriously, if you're thinking about watching SAO, don't even bother. SAO Abridged makes watching the original series redundant.

[@iaxacs3801]

I would agree with watching SAOA and never touching SAO if it wasn't for the fact they make fun of the original content sometimes. In essence knowing how bad the real thing is makes the abridged that much better.

[@freshstart3401]

disagree. i think the original is still alright and worth watching with the parody as well.

[@toastybunzo97]

The parody won't be as good if you don't watch the original, especially with the new season starting, it just makes everything so much better when you do. I know the original is a heaping pile of incinerated potential but it makes the parody better

[@ernestogastelum9123]

lmao you guys are so dramatic

[@guy.animations2935]

Everything you said is actually go... stupid I don't know what happened to your brain it's just I don't Sao abridged is so stupid and dumb

[@velcrofridge]

This whole time I thought sachi said her LEG is gonna get her friends killed, now it makes so much more sense that it was her lag- the kirito is always right foundation would definitely mock her leg.

[@InsomniaOwl952]

"I know."- Hanzolo, Battelstar Gallactia

[@enthymeme4856]

Marc Krapp-Kuhlmann "Hanzolo" wat

[@pcachu]

"I know." - Jean-Luc Picard, _Starship Troopers_ [insert picture of Gandalf here]

[@manjittoor9208]

Marc Krapp-Kuhlmann "I know."- WessLee Khrusher, Doctor Who [Picture of Marty McFly]

[@AlpenSkyWatcher]

"I know!" -Dora the Explorer viewer

[@InsomniaOwl952]

i didnt expect people doing what i did but smart

[@xblackdog]

I know this is hellishly old, but I just watched the rest of SAO abridged after stopping on ep 6, and I knew something was different with yui's fight, but until watching this I never realized what it was. You hit the nail on the head. That subtle effect really did sell the scene, and it did so almost without being noticed!

[@colint.m.1758]

17:35 And no one expected them to have Yui say this was a joke.

[@iteststuff1197]

Ong💀

[@gamerdomain6618]

3:19 No, it is explained outside of the anime, and it boils down to a loot table issue. Sword Art Online has two categories of item drops: “generic” and “last hit.” All party members will be awarded generic drops, but last-hit drops specifically reward the person that kills the opponent. The main reason why over-spec into defence at the cost of offence is unpopular outside of large parties or boss raids, despite being just as effective as swashbuckling with a lower skill floor, is because it significantly reduces the last hit drops that you receive. Conversely, having a massive potential to deal damage as a result of, say, being 30 levels above the party average, will dramatically increase your personal chance of obtaining last hit drops at the cost of your teammates' profits. Since the cats valued collecting col over xp, Kirito being overlevelled without highly specific contractual specifications would be a massive detriment to each individual's profits, since drops are kept by the people that obtained them instead of distributed through the guild.

[@notabigfanofgoogle]

SAO Abridged is exactly what the show should have been. The crappy plot is elevated by not taking it seriously.

[@negromancer.2685]

In other words, SAO should've been Konosuba.

[@OnionKnightRises]

Yeah, that is EXACTLY the problem with SAO and many of it's contemporaries, they try to take themselves way too seriously. You can't make a brain dead plot that a middle schooler could debunk, and try to cover it up with things people like, like romance or power fantasies, and expect people to not criticize the brain dead plot. Negromancer bringing up Konosuba is a good point, there's a part in Konosuba where this gigantic death machine called the Destroyer is rampaging, and you find out the creator of it was actually just a fuck up, and everything was on accident. Because Konosuba doesn't try to take itself so seriously and act like more than it is, that made that revelation hilarious, whereas if a similar scene were in SAO you know they'd play it completely straight and use some irrational ass logic to legitimize it.

[@negromancer.2685]

@@OnionKnightRises LOL, they would take it too seriously. In order to take something seriously in a story it has to be written competently and believable like Ghost in The Shell or Fullmetal Alchemist.

[@Blizzic]

"Et tu, Kayaba? Then fall, SAO." DUDE. MY INNER NERD IS TINGLING

[@evandugas7888]

I think a predictable but good motivation for Kayaba would be he wanted to create a real breathing world. No matter how realistic you make it if people can just leave it's a game. No one sees it as reality. The real world has consequences, work, death, unity and so on. So in his quest to create a world just as real as ours he decided to make it so people would die and to make people live in the world. He wanted to become a god would be a good motivation he may not word it like that but that's what would happen.

[@PeterJavi]

I think that SAO proper eventually sort of makes most of that Kayaba's motivation. Except I believe he only made the log out = death purely out of spite because he was so in love with Aincrad he desperately didn't want people to leave. By eventually I mean that it takes until Alicization season 2 to get there.

[@Noname-md6lc]

"Im sure that'll hold up in Court Asuna: Hey thats my line

[@lazyh-online4839]

16:34 according to gigguk that's called the "instant nut moment" tied to "stopping the victory music".

[@aflyingpumpkin1073]

Fine I’ll watch it for the third time.

[@thecloseandsecondjohnmccor6527]

Those are rookie numbers.

[@hydra5758]

I did the math, and currently the masterpiece stands at 4 and half hours long. I only realized it when I started the night before and finished the next morning.

[@AstroHunny88]

@@hydra5758 So If I started binge watching it with no interuptions I could finish it quicker than I could finish Omori...

[@OrbInDaFrame]

You kidding me? That is insultingly low

[@AstroHunny88]

@@OrbInDaFrame I don't even remember how many times I've watched it. I get sucked back into SAOA like every couple of months-

[@justicethemagnificent4996]

MOTHERS BASEMENT TALKED ABOUT YOU DUDE YOU'RE BECOMING MORE RECOGNIZED FOR YOUR AWESOMENESS GOOD JOB!!!!

[@eval5392]

Lojky wait where what video

[@BearfaxII]

Sketchette It wasn't a video, it was on his Twitter.

[@fakename287]

Sketchette The "Why SAO is good" video

[@boyishdude1234]

Lojky Fun fact: Mother's Basement is full of shit. He can dislike SAO all he wants, but he can never get details correct in his SAO videos. More importantly, just about everything he has said about SAO is bullshit (so bullshit that simply watching SAO and paying attention to it will disprove a lot of the shit Geoff has said automatically). So yeah, if you think Geoff has any credibility when it comes to SAO then you are foolish. Stop listening to Geoff, or anybody that tells you SAO is shit. Form your own opinions, and make your own critiques. And avoid the bullshit memes too while you're at it. Actually, one of the biggest problems with SAO criticism is treating the series like a normal anime in terms of criticisms and NOT like an MMO. Kirito isn't OP, he's just really good and does a lot more grinding than everyone else. Of course, anyone who hasn't sunk a good amount of hours into MMOs like WoW wouldn't understand my argument about why he is not OP. P.S His worst SAO video is the one where he talks about the game design in the SAO series. Good god that video is insulting, and I am a passionate gamer myself and even I knew he was wrong at pretty much every part of the video.

[@boyishdude1234]

TheSinisterSableye Probably, but that Piracy video was really bad. It conveniently ignored a shitload of things that should have been discussed (including that CR use to be a pirating site) AND a crapton of more relevant arguments from pirates (and just in general) that make piracy He specifically picked the arguments from pirates that make his point seem true. But there a ton of relevant arguments that he left out on purpose because he wants you to believe we are all *entitled children who never grew up, even if that is not true* for the sake of saying "I'm morally better because I watch it legally. If you don't enjoy anime the way I enjoy it, your a horrible person because I say so." I don't believe for a second the idea that he made a genuine morals video about piracy, that would be hypocritical of him (the video itself is hypocrisy). Rather, he made the video to *prop himself up* and keep the cycle of toxic comments going so his videos will get more views *[it will get recommended to more people that way, I think]* and shit (he's done that before, too. Just look up and watch his video where he responded to comments from his mediocre Kakegurui video. It was not only unnecessary but was used to prop himself up as well as prop Kaiji). And besides, I only really dislike most of the videos he makes that aren't his real content *(Real Content = What's in an OP videos).* He often brings up interesting topics to discuss, but is either *sloppy in execution* or *flat out wrong on some things.* At this point he has destroyed his own credibility several times, so I take everything he says with grain of salt these days.

[@mafaldaviana9060]

Sword Art Online Abridged is so good it made me question why I stopped watching the actual anime Sword Art Online, only to then realize I only thought for a moment that SAO was good because of the abridged series