This week at the 2014 Anime Expo, one of the special premieres was the first episode for the second season of the hit anime series Sword Art Online. Sword Art Online is a fun, post-modern and interesting sci-fi take on the future of gaming and MMORPGs. The show, based on a series of Japanese light novels by Reki Kawahara, depicts a future of more advanced gaming technology. Programmers have developed gaming tech called “FullDive” technology, which allows users to fully immerse their consciousness in a virtual world.

The main characters of Sword Art Online are the young teenagers Kazuto and Asuna. The new season picks up about a year after the conclusion of the first season. Kazuto and Asuna are now dating in the real world. However, in another immersive MMORPG, Gun Gale Online, an in-game assailant called Death Gun, appears to cause the deaths of the top players. Since Kazuto has experience with the MMORPGs, a detective begs for his help in the investigation.

I do not consider the show a deep commentary or critique about virtual gaming technology, but the producers and writers definitely appear to be having fun in the development of this series. At one point in the debut episode, there is a fun visual reference to the iGlass. I am not sure if such a thing as FullDive technology is even possible, but when you look at things such as Sony’s Oculus Rift, is it such a stretch that gaming is moving in a similar direction to that depicted in Sword Art Online?

One of the most interesting conversations early in the episode occurs when Kazuto explains to Asuna that the main difference between the real world and the virtual world is in the quantities of data. The virtual realm cannot fully quantify things such as how skin feels when two people hold hands. However, it is Kazuto’s dream to somehow eventually bridge the gap between the virtual and the real, so he and Asuna can meet their virtual “child” Yui again. Watching the scene was a strange, somewhat unsettling, but oddly relevant moment.

Based on clips and other details on the future for the season, when Kazuto plugs into the virtual world of Gun Gale Online, his digital avatar takes a more feminine appearance. The appearance is based on the gaming technology judging the players’ impulses about their appearances, and it seems that Kazuto’s impulse was to look more like a female character. Considering the freedom certain games and RPG’s allow in letting us build and create our characters, be they alien, cyborgs or the opposite gender, it looks like this is another fun theme the show explores. I cannot wait to see more of the second season of Sword Art Online.