10 Second Anime - Sword Art Online II - Episode 14

Sword Art Online II - Episode 14



The end of the GGO Act. Shino takes her first steps as a strong person in real life and lets go of Sinon as her crutch.

Heh.

Kirito kinda sucks at melee class IRL.

Good for Shino and Kirito in helping each other knock out crazy Kyouji-kun.

At first I thought it was a bit meh to have Kirito saved from paralytic death because of one of his monitor stickers, but after some reflection, I let it go. The weapons IRL with Kyouji-kun as the son of a doctor was this hypo-spray, so what better way to throw in plot armor than another tool of the hospital? It also gave the viewer the reminiscent feeling of how close death always stalked those trapped in SAO, and with Laughing Coffin elements driving the circumstances, it was okay to have a life and death struggle.

Having another Laughing Coffin member on the loose, according to the Virtual Division agent, keeps the SAO survivors mindful that all sorts of things, good and bad, escaped when Kirito rescued them all.

Being bullied by an airsoft gun is lame, but then Shino did have psychological trauma to exploit. Not anymore, though.

This little girl stole the show.



This was the catharsis the audience needed. Shino saved lives when she killed that armed robber. Having the fruit of her efforts draw her a picture and take her hand was a great physical and emotional proof of that.

Bad boy Kirito picks up high school chicks on his motorcycle...

Bad boy Kirito also doesn't introduce Asuna as his girlfriend. Harem king rules and all that. Wait 'til Shino finds out they have a "child" together.

Hmm.

We had the very evocative scene with the little girl taking Shino's hand, proving that she was always strong, even in that moment when she was a scared child using a gun to kill. The scene tied to it, of Sinon putting down her sniper rifle and letting it go, shows us that Shino accomplished what she set out to do with GGO, become the strongest player to solve her trauma with guns. But the little girl born because Shino saved her mother's life also provided, as Kirito told her, the opportunity to forgive herself for taking a life because it saved so many others. The way Kirito said it sounds like he's still trying to do that for himself. For Shino, forgiving herself lifted that guilt she always had, and let her realize she didn't need a videogame to become stronger. Sinon Ass Online really is over.

What next for Shino? She let go of the gun, but does she pick up an elf-weapon equivalent in ALO? She's already part of the Kirito harem, whether she wanted to be or not. The Gun Gale Online Act is done. We're moving on to another mix of Virtual World and Real World adventure after the next episode's recap of what we've seen so far.