Anime Friday: 6 December - 12 December 2023

Sword Art Online: Episode Synopsis

The Red Nosed Reindeer

It’s anime. There needs to be at least one pick that turns the most wonderful time of the year into a heart-wrenching occasion of digital anguish. Heroic digital avatar Kirito links up with the Black Cats’ Guild in this sword & sorcery MMO, and the small group toils throughout Advent to raise enough in-game money to build a home for themselves. Of course, on Christmas Eve everybody walks into a trap with devastating consequences. The episode ends in tears, with the most dispiriting humming of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” because it must.

Synopsis: Geek and Sundry

P.S. The rendering of snow falling in this anime deserves special mention. Also, I think that the final tune should have been "Silent Night" as it would have added just that much more "heart-wrenchiness" to the final scene IMHO. 

Mr. Simonton