Accel World

I'm not going to play the game of “is this a good series??” here folks. Accel World is one of those series that will invoke nerdgasm towards those who have a strange taste of the cyber world. This piece of work that Sunrise is presenting here can be described as a wildly entertaining phenomenon that blurs between the lines of fiction and reality. Accel World (sometimes also known as the Accelerated World) is an anime adapted series written by Reki Kawahara. The author is also involved with the immensely popular ongoing series, Sword Art Online. Both series focuses on futuristic technology beyond our times that involvesplayers fighting in the other world for survival and bragging rights with that sense of technical nerdgasm. The story of the series takes place in 2046 where “neuro-synchronization”, a powerful piece of advanced technology that allows manipulation of different senses. Now, imagine that. In about 34 years, God knows what will happen of our world or even the Accelerated World. Nonetheless, the series stars Haruyuki Arita who has a low social esteem of himself as result of his physical appearance and views of the world. The kid spends his time playing virtual games mindlessly to void of the reality that he wants to rid of. That of course, changes one day when he meets the popular girl of the series, Kuroyukihime. With the beauty style of a butterfly, she forms a bond with Haruyuki-kun and together, they become close friends, partners, and even a couple at times. Now, the theme of the virtual world as well as some of its key elements are not new to the anime industry. Series such as the .hack franchise, the old school Digimon series, and even movies such as Summer Wars also have some of these elements. Sword Art Online also incorporates some of these themes such as the avatar and duel ideas. Given the fact that Reki Kawahara wrote both stories, it is no surprise at all. He presents to the viewers the line that separates fiction and reality by showing rather than telling. Although there are many characters involved in the series in several intertwined arcs, the series has four main characters who all become friends for the bonds they share whether be friendship, trust, or romance. As mentioned before, Haruyuki Arita begins the series as a kid with low esteem. He's one of those guys that have little trust in others or even himself. Yet, as the series progresses, so does his character and development. This is especially shown in later episodes where everything he does seems to be for the sake of others. That of course is thanks to the school idol of the series, Kuroyukihime. She is what represents the series as the goddess of paradise, the supreme beauty, and at times, a jealous butterfly wanting more nectar. But what she most desires is the position of level 10 as the strongest king and finding out the truth of the Accelerated World. That and of course, she also becomes the voice of a haughty girl and reason for Haruyuki-kun at times when he needs it the most. Speaking of what Haruyuki-kun needs the most beyond his virtual games that he plays are his friends. Chiyuri (also known as Chiyu) in the series is the cheerful childhood friend of Haruyuki-kun. She represents the light that Haruyuki-kun often looks forward at school and at home when he feels lonely. She is dating Takumu/Taku and both of them shares a bond with Haruyuki that far outreaches the virtual deception. Being tagged as a shounen, a viewer can expect a lot of action. In fact, the first episode immediately presents this as Haruyuki-kun is thrown into conflict with adversaries that far outreaches his troubles in the real world. Sunrise mixes in the action well but at times seems to be a bit forced in and predictable. In fact, there are a few times when you watch the series and might think “oh, I've seen this stuff before”. In a nutshell, it's Accel World and the action is accelerated so expect those fast paced combat scenes. Additionally, the author makes usage of many technical terms (Brain Burst, Incarnate System, Direct Link) that all fits within the theme of cybernetic technology. The story itself however has a relative pace. It follows the light novels in the beginning but with some cut out parts as well as some intertwined pacing. In addition, each title represents a technical term with the letters “tion” added on that turns a verb into a noun. It can be served as a symbolism as the action (what might happen in the episode) into an execution (what actually happens). It is also interesting to see not only Haruyuki-kun's development but some of the other characters as well such as Taku. At first, he holds some antagonism towards him but later on treasures him as a dear friend. To take things into different perspective, Kuroyukihime also becomes one of Haruyuki-kun's most treasured friend, partner, mentor, and lover. The overall coordination of the story seems to be alright but sometimes seems to be out of pace. For in stance in the latter half of the series, there are some episodes that seems to drag on and on focusing on a single antagonist. That and with an addition of a side story in between seems to throw the viewers off balance a bit and shifting focus. Sunrise and the director of the series (Masakazu Obara) wants to presents this series adapted from the LN but also wants to mix in some additional arcs to spice things up. Although it does work at times, some of the more episodes seems to decelerate with the pacing. In fact, the main story is never technically resolved. Kuroyukihime didn't reach level 10 and her dream still remains in shadow for now. Furthermore, the finale of Accel World is almost like saying “series is now over so log off now. Season 2 in the future? Who knows”. The visual artwork of the series is decent to say the least. The artwork of the avatars as well as the different settings of the Accelerated World ranging from ocean, city, wasteland, to forest are all presented well to portray the fantasy like themes. On the outside world, the school's background is those of a typical school with far superior technology than our own of course. It's not too special though and for this season, it's just decent and fits within the theme of the overall series well. Soundtrack on the other hand is coordinated and delivered very well in my estimation. The sound director Yota Tsuruoka (Bakemonogatari, Full Metal Panic, Rozen Maiden, Shigofumi) is known to be a talented individual who has shown many of his skills. His variety of soundtrack whether it's mysterious, comedic, action packed, or eerie, are all incorporated within Accel World. It is no surprise that he was hired for the job with a man of such talent. Accel World has an excellent soundtrack and is like eargasm pleasure to hear the style of its delivery. The OP songs of course are also pleasant to hear. The first opening song, “Chase the world" by May'n, has a good rhythm and beat to it. It even coordinates the loner Haruyuki-kun in the beginning and his development over time in the series. That and the montage of some of the potential adversaries in the series also shows the upcoming action. The second opening song “Burst The Gravity" by ALTIMA follows a similar style and delivers the music at an accelerated rate, just like it should be. Ultimately, Accel World is a strange, exciting, accelerated, and engaging experience. The usage and execution of the virtual world theme is nothing new but somehow, it manages to get its point across to the viewers. The characters' development and seeing how they deal with both reality and virtual reception is entertaining to watch. The soundtrack and artwork are something to think about especially the former with the talented Yota Tsuruoka in charge. The series does suffer setbacks such as the resolution of the finale as well as some of the intertwined fillers that seems to throw viewers off focus. Additionally, the series is quite predictable and some of the episodes seems to drag in the later episodes. In the end, Accel World is one of those series that blends fiction and reality. Perhaps in about 30 or so years, we can see what's like when our world is accelerated.

Accel World: The show where the only ridiculously fat-short boy ever(!) finds himself in a harem filled with your typical cliches, fan service and plot. Clearly, this show can't be worth watching... Yet, despite all these and its other horrendous flaws, it is. Unlike other shows without redeeming qualities, Accel World does do some things right. For one, it's hard not to get absorbed in its well imagined and detailed world. From the basic yet intriguing neuro linkers to the augmented reality they can bring forth, there is a ton of cool ideas in Accel World. Whether you enjoy the romantic idea of directly linking to yourpartner or the concept of speeding up your brains neural activity, the show will leave with lots to think about. It is something Reki Kawahara seems especially good at adding to his stories. What will absolutely destroy the show for you however, is the second half of the show (which is also a common trend with Reki Kawahara's works). It's not per say that its so brutal, more that it is a huge letdown and mostly irrelevant to the overall plot. It also goes on for way too long and feels very segmented. Regardless of the poor final half, don't let it turn you off. Accel World is a good show. By no means is it great but it is still imaginatively inspiring. It's also nice to see a digital world portrayed in different way than your typical VR anime and to have real life consequences too. Overall, Accel World is worth watching but be prepared to be disappointed when it fails to maintain the high it does so well to build.

Accel World was one anime that I honestly did not have many expectations for. The main reason being: before watching the show, I have constantly been hearing about how bad the main character looks, and that his personality is horrible. As such, when I was watching the anime, I made it a point to ignore these comments, and to go in with an open mind, then judge the anime from there. Honestly, I was really surprised by just how good it turned out to be. Story (9/10) A short summary of Accel World is that this is set in the future, where humans have a device knownas the Neuro Linker which makes a person somewhat like a walking computer. Think of it like the Google Glass being produced. With this device, virtual reality games are made possible, just like in Sword Art Online (same creator). The story revolves around the protagonist, Haruyuki, who is given a game known as Brain Burst, which gives him the power to accelerate. The first half of Accel World basically introduces us and Haruyuki to the Accelerated World, allowing to understand how this game world works, the consequences surrounding it as well as the conflicts that exists in the game world. This was done well as everything about the game is not given in one sitting, blasting you repeatedly with confusing explanations, but rather, more of a show and tell, explaining the necessary details as they come by. The second half, I felt was done masterfully well. The antagonist (whose name I will not reveal) is truly a detestable person of extreme levels, throwing the characters into pits of darkness with almost no way out. This heavily puts the bonds of friendship among our main characters to the test. Will the bonds of friendship prevail, or will it fail? Sometimes when watching such incidents in anime, I like to think, if I were to put myself into their shoes, just what can I do to solve the problem? Is it even possible to solve this problem? The best part of Accel World is that I do not see any possible way out of the problem presented. I was legitimately feeling afraid for the characters, understanding their predicament. This is were I have to give props to the writers, for creating such a well thought out arc for allowing viewers to relate to the story itself. Overall, the story of Accel World however, is more than just people playing a game. It is more like the story of the human will. How a person’s will to break out of the status quo to change him, grow wings and soar to greater heights that he wants to achieve. Do you want to constantly stay un-contented with life, or do you want to do something about it? The power of the mind is limitless, as long as you believe you can. Characters (9/10) Despite popular belief, the characters in Accel World are actually really good. The most controversial character being Haruyuki, just because he’s chubby and fat. However, I think that it’s his looks that allow people to relate more to him. Because he’s fat and chubby, we can understand him even more. In real life, there’s always that one fat kid that’s being bullied. Obviously he’ll hate life and be sad about not being able to do anything. Basically, negative thoughts, thoughts about despair and weakness flowing through their minds. That’s why throughout Accel World, we can more noticeably see the change in Haruyuki’s character. From that weakling that cannot defend himself, to one that is full of confidence and positive thoughts. Kuroyukihime is portrayed as Haruyuki’s Senpai who can solve any problem, is knowledgeable and strong; basically she’s Haruyuki’s foil, the exact opposite of him. However, despite all of these positive traits mentioned, she’s made human, being given fear, regret and guilt. What makes this great is that as such, both Haruyuki and Kuroyukihime rely on each other, supplementing each other flaws and helping one another to reach greater heights. Takumu is also yet another well developed character since he’s totally different at the end of the series. Chiyu however, is kind of irritating throughout. She’s the kind of character that gets angry over everything, is fussy throughout. Moreover, her role in the second half gets more important which makes her all the more detestable. Of course, it was resolved in the final episode. As for the supporting characters, they are all pretty well developed as well, such as Sky Raker and Scarlet Rain. I’d rather not spoil so that you can enjoy the series to the fullest. Art (9/10) The beauty of the art can really be noticed in the accelerated world maps where everything is super detailed. The Unlimited Acceleration Field is where the art truly shines. They are well designed with plenty of detail. Not forgetting of course the fighting scenes, which are a joy to watch, especially the sparks when two blades clash with each other. Sound (10/10) I started watching Accel World because I heard Altima’s song, Burst the Gravity. When I listened to the other openings and endings, being Chase the World, unfinished and Unite, I just can’t help but listen to them every episode, as much as I want to skip them to get to the episode. They are just so catchy. Accel World also uses plenty of soundtracks especially during the fight scenes. Each stage has a different soundtrack, and all matches really well. Somehow, the soundtrack reminds me of the soundtracks from the Pokemon games. Enjoyment (9/10) I thoroughly enjoyed Accel World. After every episode I would find myself wanting for more. Each and every episode is entertaining and is important in driving the story yet another step further. Overall (9/10) Accel World on the whole is an anime that provides an interesting story that focuses on games, human beliefs and the will to surpass them and friendship bonds. The characters are well fleshed out and developed. Both the art and soundtrack are beautiful to watch and listen to. Please note: If you’re planning on passing up on Accel World just because of how fat the main character looks, please, do yourself a favour and just watch it with an open mind. You might just find the hidden gem inside this awesome anime.

From my first time watching this anime, I thought this was for a moment .hack. I could say it is similar but different. Accel World follows Arita, Haruyuki, a short fat boy who attends a prestigious school. But his entire life he is bullied and so he despises his life(reality). He wished the world to be like a video game( Accel World). Accel World is some sort of MMO where your avatar can interact others and play all sort of mini games. Fate changes Haruyuki life as he meets the most popular girl in his school - Kuroyukihime who saves him from histurmoil. She introduces Burst Limit where he can change his situations in reality but he has to play a variety of games for it to change.