It’s time to head back to Aincrad with this series. Seeing as how Arc 1 is easily the best part of the SAO franchise, it’s good to see it again. Unfortunately, the series is already heading into the fanservice trap, which is regrettable. If the series can stay away from that it should be okay, but if not, it’s game over! I’ll have a review for this once the manga finishes. Overall 5/10
The infamous arc has returned as I can now see how it is handled in manga format. That being said, there’s really not much you can do when this is still based off of the same arc that was in the anime. The Asuna subplot still destroys the manga, but either way it was not a solid title. Kirito is still hardcore and one of the more intense protagonists out there, but he can’t hold a whole series.
This arc takes place after Sword Art Online and Asuna never actually made it to the real world. Kirito finds out that her mind has been trapped in another game and he sets off to save her. He has to hurry because it will be too late once the main villain goes through with the wedding. With no time to spare, Kirito must make it to the World Tree and complete this game as soon as possible. To do this, he’ll need the help of his sister, Suguha. Suguha is masquerading as a being named Leafa in the new game and neither one knows the other’s true identity. Drama and tension fill the air as they embark upon the new quest.
Well, this arc basically destroyed the Sword Art Online franchise once it was written into novel format and then adapted into the TV show. Seriously, the author just forgot that the series could have been good and naturally it spilled over into the manga world. The franchise should have ended with the actual Sword Art Online arc, but alas…it didn’t happen. Let’s launch into the various negatives here as it’s a sad read from start to finish.
For starters, the manga thought that it was a good idea to add more emphasis to the fanservice factor in this title. Not a good start. Just about every scene with Suguha has some fanservice in store and naturally the Asuna subplot contains this as well. This guarantees that you will be wincing throughout your reading and we’re just getting started. This is already the sign of a bottom tier title eh? The anime version actually didn’t have too much fanservice for this arc, a few scenes, but not as bad as the manga. I guess we just went from bad to worse.
Another bad subplot is the fact that Kirito’s cousin becomes infatuated with him. The fact that they’re only cousins is supposed to be reassuring, but it’s not as the subplot is still terrible and completely unnecessary. At least Kirito basically just denied Suguha and went to Asuna in the anime, but here he tries to be more open ended about the whole thing. He doesn’t return the feelings at all as Asuna is the only person for him, but he still didn’t just tell Suguha to move on as he should. Either way, it’s just another part of the train wreck.
The biggest problem with the arc though still lies in the Asuna subplot. The villains just go way overboard and it’s too extreme. Asuna is held against her will for quite a while and the main villain is sadistically in love with her money. In the real world, she can’t move so there’s nothing that she can do to stop the arranged marriage and the villain abuses his power in the virtual world. Kirito basically has to watch as the villain messes around with Asuna and that’s when I knew that it was game over for the title. That kind of plot will always be a big no no in any title and the fact that it happened in Sword Art Online is just terrible. It’s the main reason why the franchise is essentially dead to me. I’ll always like the first arc, but you simply can’t wash away a stain like this from the title. Whenever I think of Sword Art Online, I’ll always remember this arc. The main villain isn’t the only one who messes with Asuna as he also has two lackeys who are just as demented.
It’s too bad really since the manga had some promise otherwise. Kirito’s still a hardcore main character and we do get some nice action scenes. Kirito goes up against legions of humanoids in the final battle and he also has a nice fight against the big fire general. He does a lot to save Asuna so he certainly puts in the effort. If we took out the fanservice, the Asuna subplot, and the Suguha subplot, this could have been a really fun series. That being said, you can’t just take those things away as they do comprise a rather large part of the arc and it’s why I have to give this title a fail/10 in the end. It simply couldn’t manage to actually be a good story.
The art is better than the first series for what it’s worth. It’s just not worth all that much since the series was doomed from the start. It’s three volumes long and the final volume is pretty thick so it’s closer to 5-6 volumes in length. The arc doesn’t need to be rushed as a result although a rushed pacing would likely have helped the series in this case as it could have dwelt on the negative things a little less.
There are more characters of course, but not many more and there’s not much to say about them at this point. Suguha is essentially impossible to like and the same goes for the main villain. Asuna doesn’t really get a role at all aside from being a damsel in distress, which is sad. So…yeah, this review’s definitely a short one as are most of my 0 star films. One day, they’ll make a Superman comic/movie/something that will be terrible and thenI may have a long negative review at the ready…or it could still be a short one if it’s just that sad I suppose. Either way, the important thing for these titles is to at least cover the negatives and since the mild positives were evidently not enough, they’re barely worth mentioning.
Overall, if you ever wanted to know how a manga with good fight scenes, good art, and a good main character can end up being terrible, this is the manga to check out. However, I highly advise against checking this manga out. You should avoid it like a Mouse evading a Lion. The positives that the manga has are simply overshadowed and this will certainly go down as one of the worst manga titles out there. At least, from the ones that I’ve read. This rivals Black Bird as they’re both really down there, although this is likely a tad better than Black Bird…maybe. It’s like comparing a double cheeseburger to a Mc double at Mc Donalds. They’re more or less the same thing, just packaged differently. Looks like .Hack will be the big virtual reality series once again. Take a big glass of water and then watch Yugioh 3D Bonds Beyond Time. It’s the best thing to do after reading this manga.
Overall 0/10
The 57th episode is now up after a long break!
Matt Murdock took a gulp from his glass of water and silently set it down on the table in front of him. He had taken up this case along with his partner/rival, Foggy Nelson. Foggy had warned Matt that this was a bad idea because the prosecutor was none other than the famous Phoenix Wright. Phoenix Wright had allegedly only lost a single case in his 20+ years of practicing and that was to a shifty foe who went by the name of Charles Xavier. The whole case was enshrouded in mystery and citizens suspected foul play due to Xavier’s ties to the mutants. Matt shook his head. Now was not the time to think about such matters. Wright was good, but Matt knew that he was better! Murdock’s record was fairly impressive as well. He had won a good 70% of his cases, which may sound small, but he won them in Hell’s Kitchen. Matt figured that if he could win cases in the most crooked area of New York City, he could win a case anywhere. This case took place in ABC city and nobody appeared to be bought off. “Will the defendent make their opening remarks now?” the judge commanded from the podium. “Looks like I’m up,” Matt thought as he grabbed his cane and slowly rose.
Phoenix Wright eyed Matt Murdock with an expression of confidence. Wright knew that Matt would lose the case because nobody could hope to overcome Wright’s wall of objections. Wright had studied the case through and through. Matt was defending a guy who went by the name of Reginald Kastle. The charge was that of theft. It was a fairly light act and the kid was a minor so he would likely just get a slap on the wrist so to speak. Matt’s case would likely be that Shark was forced into doing so by the pressure of the situation, but Wright was prepared for every contingency.
“Your honor,” Matt said with a voice that was as crisp as one of Ihop’s traditionally overcooked pancakes. “I move that my client is innocent of all wrong doings as Syrus Truesdale, the kid whose deck was stolen from, has no proof that Kastle took his card beyond the fact that it was found in Kastle’s pocket. This is circumstancial evidence an-,” Matt had been about to finish his sentence, but the resounding roar of Wright’s catchphrase took him by surprise.
“OBJECTION!” Phoenix Wright yelled as he slammed his desk with his full might. He jumped to his feat and pointed his finer at Matt Murdock. In truth, Wright didn’t need to be so theatrical, but it never ceased to amuse him and having fun on the job is what he was all about. “There was nobody in the waiting room aside from Kastle once Syrus went to the locker to get changed. The deck had been left by the couch along with a package of Buddy Rare cards. The security footage shows that Shark walked over to the deck, but his coat obscured the lens and prevented us from seeing if he took the card in question, but there were no other suspects!” Phoenix Wright stated as he sat back down.
“Sustained,” the tired, old judge said as he yawned and lightly tapped his hammer onto the podium. “Fine,” Matt said as he took a step back. Obviously, Wright was already prepared for that trick. Matt had only been using it to buy some time anyway. Thanks to the chemicals that hit him in the eyes and morphed his body into a lethal weapon to hurl at villains, Matt could also tell if someone was lying or not. He knew that Kastle hadn’t stolen the card so he needed to win this round. Letting an innocent person obtain a criminal record was not on Matt’s to do list after all! “I’m blind,” Matt said for the shock value. “I know things that most do not and I talked to all of Kastle’s friends while they were still on Earth and not in another galaxy. They vouch for him,” Matt said as his voice began to waver. Wright hadn’t even bothered to object since the testimony of allies would not fare well in court. “I move that we delay the proceedings until I can gather more data,” Matt said as he pretended to drop his staff. While bending over to pick it up, Matt scanned the room with his “super sight” and noticed that one person was breathing quickly and on the verge of tears. “No,” the judge stated in replay to Matt’s request. “Fine, but then I wish to call to the podium, Luke Benson,” Matt said as he got up. The NFL draft’s theme played as Benson went up to the stage and said the oath. “Benson, don’t lie….you put some glue on the outside of Kastle’s shirt, which made a card stick to it and then pretended to bump into him in the hallway so you could put the card in his deck before the match didn’t you,” Matt said with a commanding voice. While the leap in logic may have sounded big enough to fit a few wars in the crevice, Matt had found out this data through his means as the illegal vigilante known as Daredevil.
“Objection!” Wright yelled as he stood up. “Murdock is intimidating the witness and planting ideas into the heads of the jury,” Wright stated as he pointed his finger at Matt. “Benson’s also clearly not a reliable witness” Wright said while pointing at Benson’s large bags under his eyes. With a drunken face and his tired appearance, Benson looked like he could use some sleep. “Shut up Wright! I’m not the bad guy and I’m doing nothing of the sort,” Matt said as he glared at Wright. “Benson’s lack of sleep will not be an issue in his attempt to remember the truth” Matt replied. Wright’s eyes narrowed. For years he had suspected that Matt was not actually blind. How could he tell that Wright was talking about his lack of sleep and not the fact that Benson was drunk unless he could actually see Wright’s hand. “Can we reasonably assume that such an act happened with no actual proof to back it up?” Wright rhetorically asked the Jury.
“Enough!” The Judge yelled as he slammed his hammer a few more times. “Matt…get on with it. This is not a criminal case and it is merely a mild issue of whether Kastle stole the card or not in order to win the competition,” The Judge explained. “Unless you can prove otherwise, Kastle will have to do some volunteer work for the next few months and will be placed on probation” “I understand sir, and my final piece of evidence is most telling,” Matt said as he clenched his fist. Reaching into his suitcase, he took out a paper. “This is Benson’s journal entry for the day, which was found in the trash,” Matt stated as he gave the paper to the Judge. “It states that he was going to attempt to execute this plan,” Matt continued with a smirk. “OBJECTION. Does it say that he succeeded?” Wright asked the judge. “It does not!” The Judge bellowed as he threw the paper to the ground. “A simple coincidence, but someone would have noticed if Benson had pulled off such a feat and putting glue on Kastle’s jacket before letting the card get stuck to it and then bumping Kastle while reverse pick pocketing the card is simply too elaborate for a drunk,” The Judge said as he raised the hammer. “GUILTY by unanimous vote of the Jury and myself,” The Judge yelled as he slammed the hammer down.
Outside, Wright had a bad feeling about this. He had won the case as expected, but Matt had immediately disappeared over into crime alley. Benson was walking home, but he lived near many convenient dark alleys. Wright decided to walk on over. As he approached Benson’s neighborhood, he heard a gruff voice yelling. “You did steal the card and put Kastle as the fall guy didn’t you!” the guy yelled. “Yeah, what of it,” Benson said with a confident voice even though his knees were knocking. “Whoa there,” Wright said as he hustled over to the alley. “Put him down!” Wright said as he got into a fighting stance. “I’m not the bad guy!” a masked vigilante in a red suit said as he ran at Wright. “Then why are you acting like one?” Wright said as he tripped the guy up with a low kick and then punched him to the ground. “This is where law meets reality and the name’s Daredevil!” Daredevil said as he got up and knocked Wright against a wall. The impact knocked a lot of the fight out of the persecutor as he was not used to physical violence. “If Foggy Nelson had remembered to bring the security footage of Benson taking the card, Matt Murdock could have solved this in court. That didn’t happen so now I’m going to destroy Benson and prove that I’m not the bad guy. Villains get what’s coming to them and I’m the man for the job!” Daredevil howled like a madman as he grabbed a pipe and walked towards Wright. “OBJECTION!” Wright yelled before Daredevil hit him across the stomach. Wright knew that he’d be sore for a few days as he fell unconscious. He had won the case and had proven that he was better at using the court system, but was it really a victory when he was accusing an innocent person? With those thoughts, everything went dark. He would later wake up at Gotham City’s hospital with a few new cases ready for him to read. He would not forget about the man named Daredevil anytime soon and his knowledge that Daredevil was really Matt Murdock would be a secret that he would ultimately carry to the grave. “Wright?” a voice asked. Wright groggily looked up from his bed where he was still recovering in the hospital. “Who are you?” Wright asked the old man with the funny top hat. “They call me Layton…Professor Layton…and I’ve got a little job for you!” the man said with a smile as he took out an alien artifact. “Sounds like fun,” Wright replied with a confident smirk.
Meanwhile with Daredevil, he was thrilled that he had beaten Wright. He couldn’t do it in the legal way, but it was a minor issue. Daredevil had won and that’s all that he cared about. There had been something called the Tournament Smashers competition which would automatically count the spar as a victory for the crime fighter, which would boost his reputation among the criminals. “As for you Benson!” Daredevil yelled as he ran towards the guy. Before he could connect on the hit, Daredevil was thrown off of his feet by a thunder clap. He banged the ground rather hard and felt his staff break. “Fight’s over son,” a calm voice said as Flip appeared. He seemed to have come from the sky, but that was impossible. “Benson comes with me,” Flip said as he grabbed the guy and then gravity seemed to lose its effect on him as he fell upwards into the sky. “I’M NOT THE BAD GUY!” Daredevil yelled as he dramatically threw his staff and went into a sliding crouch. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” he yelled upwards at the sky as it started to rain. Later that night, he walked home where Foggy Nelson was waiting. “Matt, you sure messed up big time didn’t you?” Foggy said with a condecending tone as he poured Matt a cup of coffee. “No Foggy….you did,” Matt replied solemnly as he sipped his coffee. He hadn’t gotten to finish Benson off, but the guy was off the streets. Wright wouldn’t dare challenge Matt again either. Feeling satisfied, Matt walked to his room and went to bed. At around 3:00AM Daredevil woke up and noticed an evil clown standing by the window. Slowly and silently, Matt reached for the shotgun under his pillow. This clown was about to realize that he had messed with the wrong attorney Matt thought with a grin. “I’m not the bad guy,”
One of my longer Tournament Smasher stories for sure. More may come soon, but I do these rarely as they do take up more time than most of my posts. It was certainly fun to write though and they are heavy with continuity. If Daredevil or Wright appears again, their plot will continue and lead to the next fight. Daredevil’s personality was based off of the new TV show, taking place after season 1. It shows how he is slowly losing his grip on reality and turning insane, borrowing the iconic “I’m not the bad guy” from the movie. Portrayals and personalities are subject to change in future installments although I try to keep the characters relatively in character or at least consistent. As for Wright, it’s mostly from my view of the character as I haven’t actually seen him first hand. Until then!
Fanfic version below.
Update, MVC3 says hi and its big power ups for Phoenix Wright grant him the win. Phoenix Wright wins.
DReager1.com 