A review first posted on Deremoe in December 2014
First and foremost, this is the first time that I’ll be reviewing a single arc in a two-cour series, because why not? Times have changed for me, I guess. While the first two arcs of Sword Art Online II did well, — scratch that, I hate the Phantom Bullet Arc — Mother’s Rosario really touched my fancy.
From observing author Reki Kawahara‘s standpoint, he created a side-story wherein technology is used to help patients. With all the latest technologies coming out, I can somehow relate to what Kawahara has written years ago — If you were able to read his short commentary at the end of the light novel’s arc, that’s the way that I’m going to as I write this piece.
From his standpoint, he tries to make a melodrama wherein the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is used as a plot device; and his fictional Medicuboid, derived from a Nerve Gear experiment that was done during the first season as a connecting material that will bind Asuna and the other main character Yuuki in it. What I’ve said may sound complicated, but if you were able to watch the episodes of the Mother’s Rosario arc, that should make sense.
Truth be told, what piqued me more about Mother’s Rosario, aside from its plot, is that Aoi Yuuki is the voice behind Yuuki Konno. She did well on her role, and she somehow used a different voice profile that’s probably a mix of her Madoka Kaname and Hibiki Tachibana voice profiles.
While most of you may discuss about AIDS being used as a plot device (which sounds offensive when it is treated like a joke), I haven’t heard about having an effective vaccine against AIDS, and Kawahara might be in the presumption that there could be an AIDS that is drug-resistant in the future. Those things are yet to be discovered in the future, but raising that topic is okay with me.
Most of all, this arc is about survival and enjoying life alongside the struggles of confinement, in which Yuuki had to endure for years. If she hadn’t met Asuna, what could’ve happened to her? If Asuna hadn’t met Yuuki, what’s left for her as she tries to save herself from leaving the school she’s currently into — and from having a hard long-distance relationship with Kirito once that happens?
Mother’s Rosario is a story about touching someone’s hearts, and can be an inspiration to viewers who had a hard time with themselves. I’ve been telling before to my comrades and friends that Mother’s Rosario is the best arc that I’ve known in the Sword Art Online series — and it will be my most favorite part of it.