Review of Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale
As a rabbid SAO fan I couldn't wait until "Ordinal Scale" dropped so I could watch it. My mouth was watering, my heart palpitating with anticipation and then the day arrived, and like a kid with an early Christmas I popped it into the tray, closed it and began to watch excited and nervous. The movie opened and I was stunned with the visuals, the crisp lines, beautiful deep and rich color pallet and my favorite two characters beginning to appear. The story opens and I'm pulled in immediately, lost in my favorite anime, SAO. Then it happens, the unforgivable sin. Fan service rears itsugly head on the screen and a picture of a naked Asuna appears. There isn't the problem with fan service in a show/movie. I'm not prude by any stretch of the imagination but there are shows that this is expected of and shows that its not. However when she climbs out of the bath there it is, ass and nipple my disappointment shook the foundations of the world.
Yep, my whole being trembled and I fell into a fit of rage. "How [Censored] dare they do this! How dare they corrupt a wonderful, rich and deep story with characters that I actually connect to for a cheap five second thrill."
With that being said, let me tell you what the movie did get right first, as they always say the bitterest pill can taste like honey if a bee is near.
Again, the colors, line, art and animation were top notch. Definitely didn't cheap the budget on that aspect, which should be the benchmark set for any studio that does a major motion picture if its name isn't "Ghibili."
The story itself was a little generic but done in a way that made the viewer feel as though they were still within the original story parameters and was done in a way that was extremely engaging.
Character development was outstanding, not for the growth of the characters within the movie, but for the fact that Kirito and Asuna's relationship grew, and their feelings for one another solidified. Something that makes even the coldest heart warm to even if they're not into romantic shows/movies.
However, with that being said, that five seconds in the beginning of the show with Asuna's nudity (Unnecessary mind you since the same scene could have been done much more tasteful) ruined everything. From that point on I couldn't see the character outside of that. A betrayal because those of use who enjoy the characters and their purity, their ideal being kept on a mature level, was reduced to this juvenile moment.
That's what the entire movie did wrong.
Overall, the movie was awesome. Great action, great romance, great concept and story. But just hard to swallow everything good about it because of the studio and the directors lapse of reason. Would I recommend it, yeah, but I would suggest skipping that scene because if your pure and idealistic with SAO and have a deep connection to the MC Asuna, you'll greatly be disappointed. If you have always had a wet dream of seeing her naked, enjoy the butt and nipple and make sure you have a box of Kleenex nearby because your probably going to be fapping a lot!
As for me, this skewed my thoughts on SAO and I will try very hard to wipe that memory out of my head, return the DVD to the store and attempt to enjoy S3 (Upcoming from the time this was written) without that five seconds ruining it for me. It will be a long, long, long process to heal. And for those that did this, the studio, the director: "Shame on you, and may you never direct another episode of SAO again!" [Coughs: Assholes].