The year is 2046. Haruyuki Arita is a young boy who finds himself on the lowest social rungs of his school. Ashamed of his miserable life, Haruyuki can only cope by indulging in virtual games. But that all changes when Kuroyukihime, the most popular girl in school, introduces him to a mysterious program called Brain Burst and a virtual reality called the Accel World... My first contact with Accel World, I didn't know it was Accel World - a very nice piece of Kuroyukihime artwork that I threw on Tumblr without knowing who she was. It was only when the show aired that I was able to join the dots and go "Hey, must check that show out.... Turns out that as well as being a cutie, Kuroyukihime ("Black Snow Princess" translation fans) is also top-tier personality wise - confident, knows what she wants, and doesn't seem to be afraid of using people (like Haru) when it'll be of benefit to her. No, I don't believe her motives are pure. Haru, meanwhile, is one of the more believable male leads out there - a victim of bullying, he's trying to deal with it in his own way, hiding away from his problems in the virtual world, and you can't help but feel sorry for him. The show's use of technology is pretty neat, too, with virtual interfaces and other such tricks at the disposal of the characters. Far a gadget nut like me, this kit would be to die for. THE GOOD: Characters, mostly believable and acting in believable ways. Kuroyukihime would be the exception to that, but then I suspect she's an exception to a great many things - which only goes to make her more interesting to watch. THE BAD: For the first time this seasons, I can say: nothing significant so far. Very promising start. Could very easily turn into generic shounen fighting, but I have high hopes that it won't. Will definitely be keeping an eye on this one... Accel World is streamed by Viz Anime (North America only).
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