ソードアート・オンライン — Season 1, Episode 1

by Jerry Sky

An analysis of a the transcript of the first episode of SAO TV series. The transcript is analysed sentence by sentence dissecting every word, every kanji.



1. It’s time for this week’s MMO Stream

(司会A)さあ始まりました

今週の「MMOストリーム」

  1. 司会
    Hiragana: し・かい
    Meaning: Presenter, leading a meeting

  2. さあ
    Meaning: come now, well, who knows, all right, about that, you see

  3. 始まる (始まりました)
    Hiragana: はじ・まる (はじ・まりました)
    Meaning: to begin, to start, to commence
    Conjugation:

  4. 今週
    Hiragana: こん・しゅう
    Meaning: this week

  5. 「MMOストリーム」
    Romaji: MMO su-to-ri-mu (MMO Stream)

2. We began with a promotional video

まずはPVを見てもらいましたが

  1. まずは
    Meaning: first of all, to begin with

  2. PV
    Meaning: promotional video, music video, page view

  3. 見る (見てもらいました)
    Meaning: to assess, to examine, to see, to experience
    Estimated role: we are seeing, experiencing, examining a 「PV」.
    Hiragana: み・る (み・てもらいました)
    Conjugation:

3. Was this the day of last week’s launch?

これは先週の発売日の様子かな?

  1. これ
    Meaning: this [day]

  2. 先週
    Meaning: last week
    Hiragana: せん・しゅう

  3. 発売日
    Meaning: launch date, release date
    Hiragana: はつ・ばい・び

  4. 様子
    Meaning: appearance, state, situation, sign, indication
    Hiragana: よう・す

4. What were all these people waiting in line for?

行列を作った彼らのお目当ては

  1. 行列
    Meaning: line, queue
    Hiragana: ぎょう・れつ

  2. 作る (作った)
    Meaning: form [a line]
    Hiragana: つく・る (つく・った)
    Conjugation: た (past) form

  3. 彼ら
    Meaning: they, them
    Hiragana: かれ・ら

  4. お目
    Meaning: eyes, vision, sight, looking
    Hiragana: お・め

  5. 当て
    Meaning: aim, expectations, hopes, prospects
    Hiragana: あ・て

  6. 彼らのお目当て
    Meaning: their expectations, their hopes, their aim
    Hiragana: かれ・ら・の・お目・あて

5. Sword Art Online

《ソードアート・オンライン》!

Romaji: sō-do-ā-to o-n-ra-i-n

6. The one at the front of the line waited for three days prior to launch

先頭の人は3日前から並んでたんだって!

  1. 先頭
    Meaning: head, lead, first
    Hiragana: せん・とう

  2. 先頭の人
    Meaning: the one (person) at the front
    Hiragana: せん・とう・の・ひと

  3. 3日 (三日)
    Meaning: three days
    Hiragana: みっ・か


  4. Meaning: prior
    Hiragana: まえ

  5. 並んで
    Meaning: alongside, side-by-side, abreast
    Hiragana: なら・んで

  6. 並んでたん
    Meaning: lined up
    Hiragana: なら・んで・たん
    Possible conjugation used: た (past) form

  7. だって
    Meaning: even [for three days] (emphasis)

7. Amazing

すごいね

  1. すごい
    Meaning: Amazing!


  2. Meaning: right?

8. Or is this just what any real gamer would do?

いや真のゲーマーなら当然と言うべきか?

  1. いや
    Dictionary: why, oh, quit it!, stop!, no!
    Role: filler word, as in “well, you know”

  2. 真の
    Meaning: true, real, genuine, proper
    Hiragana: しん・の

  3. ゲーマー
    Meaning: gamer
    Romaji: gēmā

  4. なら
    Meaning: if, in case, if it is true that
    Estimated role: is this what gamer would do?

  5. 当然
    Meaning: natural, as a matter of course, justified, deserved, reasonable
    Estimated role: is this natural to that gamer to do? as in *that would be reasonable for a ゲーマー to do
    Hiragana: とう・ぜん

  6. +言う
    Meaning: と — quotation indicator; 言う — to say, to call
    Estimated role: to say it is reasonable for a ゲーマー to do
    Hiragana: と・いう

  7. べき
    Meaning: must to do something, ought to do something, have to do something
    Estimated role: that’s exactly what would a ゲーマー has to do, would do


  8. Role: makes the sentence a question + alternative (‘or’ at the beginning)

9. The whole world is watching

世界中が大注目

  1. 世界中
    Meaning: around the world, throughout the world
    Hiragana: せ・かい・じゅう


  2. Meaning: large, big, great, huge, vast
    Estimated role: whole[ wide world]
    Hiragana: だい

  3. 注目
    Meaning: notice, attention, observation
    Estimated role: is watching
    Hiragana: ちゅう・もく