Manabu Ono, Director of Sword Art Online: Alicization and War of Underworld, recently spoke to the microphones of the Anime News Network, unveiled curiosities about the production of the two seasons of the anime, and even discussed the allegations that have been raised in recent months, according to which the series sometimes, really too violent.
The director of A-1 Pictures first spoke about Ordinal Scale and his relationship with the author Reki Kawahara: “When we talk about production, Reki Kawahara is always there, we discuss everything with him. For example, Ordinal Scale, we knew it would be complex to include it in the plot (Editor’s note: Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale is original and therefore not part of the Light Novel series)So we decided to link it directly to season two and Alicization so as not to slow down the pace. These are all decisions that we make together. It is the same in terms of cuts too. Some scenes are deleted for one reason or another, but we always discuss everything with him“.
The director then spoke about the animations and the new graphic style that was introduced in season three: “The underworld is a different place than the real world, so we needed a suitable style. We tried different color schemes and character designs and ended up with the result you see today. I would say that we have achieved our goal“.
Another point touched by Manabu Ono was the allegations of the scenes of violence: “Okay, take episode 10 of season 3, for example. There is a lot of cruelty, but it is necessary. Seeing Kirito and Eugeo hurt someone may seem strange, but it couldn’t have been an ordinary scene of violence. To justify the behavior of the two heroes, we really had to show the whole badness of Raios and Humbert without sparing ourselves. Personally, I wouldn’t want to make a bad guy for whom it is bad, and would eventually see him killed with a simple sword strike. Raios and Humber were evil, but had their faith. I know that there are still many debates today, so I would say that we did a good job“The director also talked about Kirito and how he is 17 now, 3 more since the beginning of the series.
And what do you think about it? Can violence in the SAO be justified or not? Let us know yours by leaving a comment in the box below!
