Anime's Dead Horse – Why We Keep Coming Back to SAO
Anime's Dead Horse – Why We Keep Coming Back to SAO
Is talking about Sword Art Online really just beating a dead horse? or is there a reason it won’t die?
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In the depths of his Mother’s Basement, Geoff Thew creates videos analyzing the storytelling techniques of anime and video games. He has been named the number one Worst YouTube Anime Reviewer by The Top Tens.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:31 am
This is almost a year old but seeing this thumbnail ALWAYS kills me and I end up here again
October 7, 2019 @ 8:32 am
When i was little i watched the first two seasons. First season i loved and thought it was great, second season was ok, but i still loved it. Then i saw that the next season was just guns, FUCKING GUNS. Like what the fuck? He had the power to create his own mmo and he chose fucking guns??? While the whole time he was a swords main user. What the actual fuck?
Safe to say i just abandoned the series, i hate it now.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:35 am
have you ever watched Angels egg? if not find it and have fun, it’s a ride. it would be fun to see what you think, all I know is that it is made by the director? (maybe) of ghost in a shell
October 7, 2019 @ 8:36 am
Rant, you’ve been triggered.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:37 am
I know the show has it’s problems. But is it really that bad to like it? Cause I fucking loved that show and still i dont think its bad
October 7, 2019 @ 8:37 am
SAO is a bad anime that had a lot of potential and isn’t just boring, so there’s a lot of interesting problems to pick apart.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:38 am
I don’t think Reki Kawahara is a bad writer. I saw what he was trying to do and I respect him as a creator for his efforts. Furthermore, Reki Kawahara is the creator of the original Sword Art Online light novels. Which means he doesn’t really have much to do with the animated adaptation. Even if he did, just because one fails, doesn’t mean they are poor at what they attempted to do. I say that because Reki Kawahara’s other series is called Accel World and Accel World was not bad! Reki Kawahara’s Accel World was actually a success., both original light novel and anime adaptation. To add more to it, he also rewritten his Sword Art Online novels known as, "Sword Art Online Progressive" Where he fixed the plot wholes it had. Lastly, every time a Sword Art Online game comes out, Reki Kawahara writes the video game stories and the video game stories are actually pretty good. Technically, Reki Kawahara is NOT a bad writer! He even honorably admitted to having plot holes in Sword Art Online but, he fixed those plot holes in his rewritten novels. By doing that, he shows he has learned from his mistakes and went back to correct them. That’s still a good writer in my book! Once again, I saw what he was trying to do and I respect him and his efforts as a creator. Even though the first "SAO" anime in 2012 failed, I saw what they were trying to do and I respect them for trying. Perhaps an anime remake to correct the first SAO animated series in 2012 would probably end most of the bashing this series receives.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:39 am
well, i’m back here because i haven’t seen nearly all the shows you discuss, but i did see SAO, and i love watching rants about things i dislike
October 7, 2019 @ 8:42 am
No why do YOU keep beating a dead horse (sao) is the question.????
October 7, 2019 @ 8:43 am
So I got ask about you thought about a game that became a anime aka utawareumono
October 7, 2019 @ 8:44 am
I’m interested in your commentary because I like hearing positive and negative opinions of my favorite animes, games, and movies. Plus you are cogent in your analyses; you help me see why you view SAO and other animes as you do, rather than assuming that I share a level of perspective. Your (dare I say) brutal commentary is also fun.
(That said, I feel blessed because I can suspend disbelief, belief, opinion, and assumption-of-fact despite partaking of others’ disillusionment or "everyone says" or "all the experts say".)
October 7, 2019 @ 8:44 am
Honestly just bored and wanted to watch some of your content. I like all of it and this one just happened to be in my recommended. Not a huge Sao fan but love to se you cover it.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:45 am
exell world is a bad game plssss
October 7, 2019 @ 8:46 am
Personally, I like to hear the specific issues. It helps me to avoid those problems in my own writing, and to some extent it is me just jumping from video to video to try and fill the silence.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:49 am
I don’t like SAO but because I was a past fan of it I enjoy watching people discuss it and criticise it ?
Plus it was one of the first anime I watched ?
October 7, 2019 @ 8:50 am
Season 3 of Jo Jo had me wondering the same thing… why do ppl keep coming back to this dead horse?!
October 7, 2019 @ 8:51 am
I’ve seen this video at least twice, and whenever I watch videos like this, I feel a bit like the odd man out. I dropped SAO like a lot of people, but not for the reason most people did. I gave up after episode 4 because episodes 2-4 felt like filler. I remember asking my fiance if we are really going in order and they if he’s sure we’re not missing episodes somewhere. I felt like what it showed us wasn’t as interesting as the stuff that would have gotten us to those points and that the missing information was important enough to atleat show flashbacks to because it would have closed gaps in storytelling. The show thought differently, though, and I just couldn’t invest in it after episode 1…in the end, yes, like most people I was disappointed in it and don’t care for the writing but the reasons for it differ slightly.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:51 am
"SAO is to Mother’s Basement what FNAF is to MatPat"
-Does anybody know who originally said that, because I honestly don’t know.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:52 am
Reviews of SAO is basically free how not to fuck up your writing guides when it comes to anime.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:52 am
I will often watch a person’s whole library once I decide I like them, whether I’m connected to the specific content or not. I happen to have seen sao, unlike most anime you discuss. I’m more of a hentai watcher, and that field has it’s own tropes. Still I feel it’s more honest than some of the studio crap you highlight.
October 7, 2019 @ 8:54 am
Honestly i aplaude you. For say saying you partially did this video to pay the bills then jumping straight into an ad? lmfao
October 7, 2019 @ 8:55 am
becouse SAO is not a dead horse its a zombie its an undead
October 7, 2019 @ 8:59 am
SAO is like the Twilight of anime. You either love it or love to hate it
October 7, 2019 @ 8:59 am
Hello SAO haters! SAO is getting better now that Alicization Arc is doing well.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:02 am
Just let it go get over this Obsession about SAO. I know there is a lot of faults with that series but just take all of your copies of it throw it on the grill pouring lighter fluid over it and you get the picture. There are things I don’t like about it myself but there are there are things I do like about it. Just stop beating a dead horse already. Please.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:02 am
-Hold up-
Morgana: “it’s time for an all out attack!”
“Beats up dead horse”
October 7, 2019 @ 9:03 am
I find it funny that some people are commenting on Reddit about how you’re "having" to make these to earn money. Especially one that you showed saying they hope that you will someday be able to afford to go back to making the content you want to make. I guess these people just ignore all the videos *not* about SAO that you released between each SAO video? Weird.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:03 am
Why *You Keep Coming Back to Sword Art Online
October 7, 2019 @ 9:04 am
The video that got me to sub was the naruto is bakugo
October 7, 2019 @ 9:05 am
For me, there are so many anime where either the premise or first few episodes do something that is inherently distasteful to me that I give SAO a bone for mostly being bad in the second arc.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:05 am
tbh, part of the reason I watch all these SAO videos is confirmation bias. I have an opinion (based on my own experiences rather than just seeing other videos and decided that I wanted to believe that) and I want to see it validated. That opinion, of course, is that SAO started out really neat, than devolved into fucking trash.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:07 am
Why won’t you just die
October 7, 2019 @ 9:09 am
SAO is the best anime don’t @ me
October 7, 2019 @ 9:09 am
Wait… there were people who didn’t understand that having a reference point that the maximum number of people can understand is a benefit to discussing other things? Are these the same people who wonder why each culture has a set of "classics" that, in general, it’s a good idea to be familiar with if you want to be able to discuss art in those fields? Did they expect you to reference "this one fanfic I read this one time that was gud" that *nobody else has read or has interest to read* when critiquing a new show that just came out?
This video should basically have a subtitle "morons click here" so those idiots don’t get missed. Well explained, but it was totally unnecessary for the majority of your viewers.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:10 am
i just wanna see this edgy, rapey, incestuous mess get roasted.
that’s why im here
October 7, 2019 @ 9:11 am
Yah I only consider watching SAO when a certain time of the month comes and I am riddled with hormones, but really any drama will do at that point.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:13 am
I’m pretty sure you guys beat a dead horse because the SAO horse isn’t really dead.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:13 am
Why does the fact that that chameleon at 9:36 blinks as if it has eyelids that are separate disturb me more than anything else in SAO?
October 7, 2019 @ 9:16 am
I’m actually here to understand why other people don’t like it. I enjoy it and I want to respect your opinion.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:17 am
I enjoy when people trash talk about Alfheim Arc or I could say Incest Elf Dance Arc
October 7, 2019 @ 9:18 am
1:08 so… I’m weird because the only reason I watch your SAO videos is because I like your videos and style and analysis…?
October 7, 2019 @ 9:20 am
my brother suggested I watch your videos and so far I really enjoy them:) I haven’t seen many of the shows you talk about, since I have a high standard of what’s appropriate to watch (too much violence, sexuality, or language do not make the cut) but I love the while artstyle of anime: the way of telling stories that is both the same yet totally different than the western stuff I consume. I love hearing and learning about it, even stuff I won’t ever watch, and as an author knowing what people like and don’t like is helpful too. So thanks for making cool stuff for me to watch! Question: have you seen the show Lost Song, and do you have an opinion on it? I really enjoyed it, but my brother hated the first half, so I’m curious as to what other people might think.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:21 am
I love your sao rants, my favorite content
October 7, 2019 @ 9:21 am
We need an Alicization video from you……..
October 7, 2019 @ 9:23 am
so the rape scenes in sao turned him away form the show… welp guess he’s not gonna like alicization either
October 7, 2019 @ 9:23 am
I think the reason for the hate of SAO is because of it’s lost potential. It was a good concept, it could’ve been a pretty cool anime. But it failed incredibly and it was so disappointing when it did.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:24 am
I love hearinjg you rant about it
October 7, 2019 @ 9:26 am
I’m beginning to this you actually have a huge crush on sao like the girl who bullies the boy she likes??♂️??
October 7, 2019 @ 9:27 am
I wish I could watch SAO for the first time all over again. So I can use the same insults again. Seriously, the show had so much god damn potential to be a good show. It could have been so amazing. And then I got a huge middle finger through SAOs horrible writing. But I’m pretty sure I’ve said this exact things in another video.
October 7, 2019 @ 9:28 am
The fact that this guy gets so pissed of about rapists/ almost rapists/ perverts being killed/imprisoned is really interesting to me. Does he want the rapist to win? How else can a show handle a sensitive topic like sexual assault? This complaint about the show is a joke, The really bad guys get really bad consequences. It’s super basic and simple and seems like justice to the entire western world. Stop being such a pathetic snowflake who can’t talk about sensitive topics without blowing a casket.