What's this game doing in my anime?

Hi friends, 
 
As you may or may not know, my love for all things Japanese is not exclusive to video games. I'm also a big fan of anime and spend a lot of my spare time exploring this world. I usually discover anime by talking to friends and browsing on the interwebs. When a friend told me about a new anime that incorporated gaming into the plot, I knew I had to check it out and share some thoughts with all of you.

Last week, I watched the last episode of Sword Art Online, an anime series that began airing in July on Japanese network Tokyo MX. SAO follows a light novel series centered around players that are trapped in a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) in the year 2022. Players access the world using advanced technology called Nerve Gear, which allows each individual to control an avatar using their mind. It's high stakes for the players, because it is said that death in game constitutes death in real life. The main character, Kirito, and his friends set out to beat the game and help all of the players escape Aincrad.

Kirito and Asuna via urusai-baka

An anime about gamers? Seriously? Sounds like a little piece of heaven to me. But as my boyfriend kindly pointed out, it isn't completely unprecedented. The series .hack//Sign did it first. I just wanted to acknowledge this fact, because a lot of hipster otakus love to rub this in the face of SAO fans. I'm not saying SAO is the greatest anime ever made. I simply chose to discuss it, since I found it incredibly entertaining and addicting. Plus, I plan on watching .hack//Sign now that I've been introduced to it's premise. Like I said, I tend to watch anime once a friend makes a recommendation!

As you can probably tell from the above paragraph, SAO seems to be a polarizing anime. Many people hype it up to be the greatest anime in years, while others claim that it is grossly overrated. The arguments run the gamut, but I felt that Kotaku had one of the most compelling and accurate reviews. I'm not going to reiterate the author's points, because that would be boring. Just know that I wholeheartedly agree with his argument regarding the faults of the second half of the series compared to the first. You can check out the first review here and the second here (be aware of spoilers, especially in the latter!)

The single thing that sold SAO for me was it's connection to the words of Jane McGonigal. If you've followed my blog for some time, you probably stumbled across a previous post titled Harness your gaming power. The post includes a link to McGonigal's TED talk, which discuss how gamers have the ability to make positive impact in the real world through the skills they use in the virtual world. You should watch the entire video, but you can jump ahead to 3:32 to understand how this relates to some of the themes present in SAO:

"We feel that we are not as good in reality as we are in games. And I don't mean just good as in successful, although that's part of it. We do achieve more in game worlds. But I also mean good as in motivated to do something that matters, inspired to collaborate and to cooperate. And when we're in game worlds I believe that many of us become the best version of ourselves, the most likely to help at a moment's notice, the most likely to stick with a problem as long as it takes, to get up after failure and try again. And in real life, when we face failure, when we confront obstacles, we often don't feel that way. We feel overcome, we feel overwhelmed, we feel anxious, maybe depressed, frustrated or cynical. We never have those feelings when we're playing games, they just don't exist in games."

I felt a strong connection with Kirito in regards to this quote. In the first half, he feels validated by his success in the virtual world. I couldn't help but feel envious of his position. As a gamer, I've always dreamed of what it would be like to take the place of my favorite characters in these fantastical worlds. To be honest, it's a form of escapism for me and countless others.

SAO cosplayers via multipack223

Interestingly enough, Kirito finds out he is not immortal in the second arc. It's a thought-provoking and humbling experience for the character and viewer, and it makes you contemplate perfection. As McGonigal says, we tend to like ourselves better in games, but what about the potential for failure in these virtual worlds? A major part of me fell in love with this series for the absurd notion that this story could really happen. And if so, would I be able to cope with the chance that the virtual world may have just as many problems as the real world? Talk about a psychological dilemma.

Enough of my rambling, do I recommend SAO? Of course! It's a thoroughly entertaining anime with plenty of action, colorful animation, and a wonderful romance. Most importantly, it delves fairly deep into the sociological and psychological issues of living in a virtual world. It's particularly fun to watch as a gamer, because you'll understand a lot more of the terminology and references. My top five favorite anime list is pretty competitive, but I'm pretty sure I've got room for this one :)

Signing off,
-The Girl Informer