Director: Masakazu Obara,
Starring: Yuuki Kaji, Erik Kimerer, Sachika Misawa, Kira Buckland, Shintaro Asanuma, Lucien Dodge, Rina Hidaka, Sarah Williams, Aki Toyosaki, Michelle T. Hseih
Running Time: 300 minutes
Certificate: 12
Coming from writer Reki Kawahara, the person behind Sword Art Online, makes Accel World an equally interesting project. It once again looks at the ideas and themes behind virtual worlds and escapism in an exploratory manner, while also remaining exciting and challenging with a vast array of great characters. The idea of slipping further into fantastical worlds is one which is slowly becoming a reality with China beginning a theft of virtual goods division within their police force, and the horrific story of a couple who forgot to feed their real life baby while engrossed in a game, leading to the baby’s death. Kawahara’s work is very balanced, in that it looks at the positives and the negatives, all of which translate well into this anime.
In 2046 humanity can be connected to virtually anything via a Neurolinker. This can allow people to have private conversations as their thoughts can be passed from one another, it allows them to have constant internet access within their mind, and it allows people to automatically transport into the gaming world. Main character Haruyuki (Kaji/Kimerer) is a teenage outcast, and for once in an anime, he even looks the part. Drawn very differently from the majority of character designs, Haruyuki is short, rotund, and very awkward looking. He lives within games, where he specialises in a single sport mini-game. One day he is brought into a more exciting world known as Brain Burst by the school’s popular but mysterious Kuroyukihime (Misawa/Buckland). Here the characters must engage in battle in order to raise their levels, but could it be that Kuroyukihime is merely using Haruyuki?
Accel World may not be up to teh standards of Sword Art Online when the latter was at its best, but it is certainly much better than the second half of that series. Haruyuki manages to be a very relatable character whose bravery gradually enters the forefront while still maintaining his moments of weaknes and cowardice. The designs are beautiful, especially when jumping into the virtual world. Haruyuki’s original avatar is that of a little pig whereas his Brain Burst avatar is an armoured warrior. This focus on character plays in nicely to the ever changing relationships, where real life friends can betray or attack those same people within the game. We get a sense of in game politics without much need for extended exposition, allowing for things to unravel at a natural rate.
This is a wonderfully diverse anime which gets the right balance of romance, action, humour and drama. The action scenes burst alive and keep the momentum going, allowing you to hop from one episode to the next without a bingewatching hangover. I can imagine that those removed from the world of video gaming and a connected world may not find the same kind of connection with the show s tech savvy viewers, but even they’ll be swept up into a well rounded and engaging show full of fascinating ideas concerning acceptance and whether real life actions are more important than those in an artificial reality.
[usr=4]Accel World: Part 1 is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 9th June via MVM.
Check out more Anime news and reviews here!
