Shout Out / Sword Art Online Abridged

Sword Art Online Abridged not only makes Shout Outs, it makes them plot points:

• In Episode 1, Kayaba compares the players' situation to TRON... which leaves everyone thoroughly confused, because they're too young to have seen it.
  • The random player who keeps yelling "WHAT?!" is a dead ringer for Al's Catchphrase in ReBoot.
  • Kayaba describes the NerveGears as "going Gallagher on your grey matter" if the players die in-game.
  • Eventually Kayaba resorts to playing the Your Head Asplode scene from Scanners to get the point across.
    Kayaba: Yeah, I'm just gonna keep that tabbed.
  • Subject Theta beating down a roommate he mistakes for a VR enemy ends with the Final Fantasy III victory fanfare.
• Episode 2 starts out with a dry, melancholic narration by none other than Rucks from Bastion, complete with acoustic guitar. He and Kirito don't get along.
  Rucks: 'Cause in a game of life and death... you either live... or you die.
  Kirito: Oh, wow. What brilliant insight! It's so deep it loops right back around to being stupid.
  Rucks: -the Kid ranted at no one, it slowly dawnin' just how alone he truly was.
  Kirito: Wait, what was that?
  • The narrator mentions that some players died to "sheer stupidity" during the first month, and wonders "I mean, really, why would you just stand in fire?" World of Warcraft features a number of boss fights in which inattentive or dumb players can die from not moving out of damaging hazards, enough so that "Stood in the Fire" became an in-game achievement.
  • The players' "Cheetos and Mountain Dew break" is accompanied by a Batman-style Idiosyncratic Wipe.
  • Kirito explains to Diabel how he can put up with all the moronic players: "lions do not concern themselves with the opinions of sheep."
  • Likewise, his final line to Diabel — "In another life, in another time, I think we could've been friends" — is a quote from Star Trek: The Original Series.
  • Recurring character Fluffles, debuting in this episode, resembles Kaya/Amanojaku from Ghost Stories.
  • The giant hallucinatory Jesus that Jeffrey/PoH sees takes the form of Buddy Christ.
  • The song that plays in The Stinger is the distorted version of “Jesus Loves Me” from The Binding of Isaac.
• The beginning of Episode 3 features the main theme of Trine 2 in the background.
  • Keita quotes Bill Lumbergh when sending Kirito to find Sachi, and his infamous charisma hat originates from the film Howl's Moving Castle.
  • Kirito's use of his tracking skill, which makes his eyes glow and highlights clues like footprints, is referred to as "Detective Mode."
    • They also make a sound effect identical to that of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's Z-targeting.
  • "And so, they say, Kirito's heart grew three sizes that day! Then immediately shrank six..."
• In Episode 4, Pina speaks to Silica in Dovah-Zul and calls her "Dovahkiin."
  • Silica thinks a glowing Pina is evolving, but the music playing during the scene is from Lavender Town, Pokémon Red and Blue's memetically Creepy Cemetery.
  • A remix of the Hyrule Castle Town music from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time plays when Silica's former party mocks her in Mishe.
  • Starting in this episode, "Beneath a Hollow Moon" plays during scenes that would be touching if a character involved wasn't a sociopath.
  • When Rosaria's mooks are looking uncertain about whether attacking Kirito is a good idea, we cut to their viewpoint. Kirito's face, with a single, wide eye and unnatural large smile, resembles a white version of the Terumi ghost◊.
• In Episode 5, Kirito misses out on a raid because he decided to power-level his Alchemy skill by eating random plants off the ground, which is how you identify the properties of reagents in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
  • When Asuna describes the fight against "goddamned Sheeptar," Kirito asks if she isn't talking about "a fluffy xenomorph" instead.
  • The BGM during the visit to Tiffany's store is the The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker house music.
  • Asuna refers to Kirito as the "Crown Prince of Douchebags", a title the shape-shifting Netking Rubirules gives himelf when impersonating Zetto in the second season of TOME
• In Episode 6, one of Kirito's Berserk Buttons turns out to be telling him that he will "never be Batman." He does however pull a Stealth Hi/Bye on Asuna just like the Caped Crusader, and when he confronts Laughing Coffin he starts off with a gruff, gravely voice like Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Trilogy.
  • Kirito cracks the case to Phoenix Wright music and sound effects.
• In Episode 7, Kirito asks Liz if one of her pieces is "a bad enough sword to rescue the president?"
  • Kayaba included audio of Goofy's trademark scream to mock Kirito when he fails to escape a pit.
  • SAO's blacksmithing mechanic turns out to be a combination of Guitar Hero, Space Invaders, and the galaxy-sized mecha battle from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, set to "Big Blast Sonic."
  • Kirito spotted Liz's hiding spot after climbing up on a tower featuring a Synchronization Point and an eagle resting on it.
  • Before revealing the real name of his new sword to Liz, he tells her he originally wanted to call it "Sunlight Heart".
• In Episode 8, after discovering that eating Asuna's meal of Ragout Rabbit has made it so that nothing will ever compare again:
  Kirito: My god... we Flowers for Algernon'ed our taste buds?!
  • Kirito hits Kuradeel with a barrage of these over the course of the episode, comparing his appearance to if "Voldemort got caught in a grease fire," a "half-melted Troll doll," "Skeletor," if "Benjamin Button fucked an old catcher's mitt," The Elephant Man, and Jeff Goldblum by the end of The Fly.
• In Episode 9, Heathcliff tries to defuse a tense meeting with "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" No one gets it.
  • The announcers for the duel between Kirito and Heathcliff are dead ringers for Wiz and Boomstick in ScrewAttack's DEATH BATTLE! series, complete with an over-the-top, hyperbolic pre-match breakdown between the two combatants. Amusingly, SWE has explained that this wasn't intentional, and they were actually parodying fight announcers in general, or something along the line of Robot Wars.
  • And during the duel proper:
    Heathcliff: If you think you've got what it takes, then go ahead. Make. My. Day.
  • Kirito still considers Kuradeel to be "Mordor's Most Wanted," and later calls him Kuato.
• In Episode 10, Kirito and Asuna's thought processes are depicted as arguments between their brains' hemispheres, with each side coming out of its own audio channel, similar to how Nail and Kami "talk" to Piccolo after fusing with him in Dragon Ball Z Abridged.
  • Yui's Curb-Stomp Battle with The Grim Reaper is set to the Cleric Beast's theme.
  • The reason Yui gives for inserting herself into Kirito and Asuna's relationship: "I wanted to know what love is. I wanted you to show me."
  • As he's trying to save Yui, Kirito shouts that he's tired of Kayaba kicking his heart in the dick. Getting kicked in the dick is a Running Gag in the Dragon Ball Z Abridged movies.
• In Episode 11, Asuna considers Kirito her "sexy widdle baby."
  • The debut of the Skull Reaper is met with one player screaming "Sweet Shade of Eranikus, what the fuck is that?!" The Shade of Eranikus is the end boss of World of Warcraft's Sunken Temple, which prior to the Cataclysm expansion's overhaul of level 1-60 content was That One Level.
  • One of the players who fell victim to a Teleporter Accident has his eyes and teeth floating outside his face, an unnervingly common glitch in Assassin's Creed: Unity and the subject of much ridicule.
  • This time it's Kirito who compares the situation to TRON, which leads to The Reveal.
  • During the reveal Kayaba is shown making a series of references as Heathcliffe, including one to Road House (1989) despite the fact that Kayaba never makes this reference in the rest of the series:
    I used to fuck guys like you in prison.
  • When Kayaba is outed, one player lets out an "audible gasp!" Another player, meanwhile, strangely refers to Kayaba as "Methuselah Honeysuckle," one of Burton Guster's many, many nicknames in the TV show Psych.
  • A whole flurry of these come when Kirito explains how he figured out Kayaba's identity - he's the only one in the game who makes as many movie references as Kirito.
    Kayaba: Ah, yes, I should've known that - wait, you get my references?!
    Kirito: Um, yeah? I just remember-
    Kayaba: There can be only one!
    Kirito: Oh, uh, Highlander!
    Kayaba: Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?
    Kirito: Duck Soup, Marx Brothers, 1933.
    Kayaba: Dry land is not a myth, I have seeeeen it!
    Kirito: Ah, getting tricky, are we? While that line is famously attributed to the 1995 film Waterworld, it is never actually spoken in the movie.
    Kayaba: ...Goddamn. You're the real deal.
  • A paralyzed Asuna says "Staaaaare..." while giving Kayaba a Death Glare, which is not only a common comedic trope in anime, but a reference to the official Sword Art Online outtakes in which Cherami Leigh will utter "Stare!" on a dramatic close-up of Asuna's face. Becomes extra amusing when the "Stare" line was left in for the show's Mother's Rosario arc.
  • Kirito impersonates Eric Cartman when he taunts Kayaba.
    Kayaba: (unamused) Truly, you are the voice of a generation.
  • More taunting and references:
    Kirito: What's wrong, McFly? Chicken?
    Kayaba: Oh-ho! Back to the Future, yes! That is definitely what I'm gonna watch after I kill you. Let's do this thing.
  • If you listen closely, what Klein is actually saying during his Inelegant Blubbering is: "No pod is worth two slaves. I'm a Toydarian. Jedi mind tricks don't work on me. Only money." This was confirmed by SWE during the 10th Anniversary stream.
  • During the climax of their duel, Kirito declares "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"
    Kayaba: Nice! Dungeonmaster!
    Kirito: What? No, Mythbusters. What the hell is Dungeonmaster?
    Kayaba: Oh... I was so happy there for a moment...
  • Kayaba mentions mistaking the night janitor Reki for "the face of God," a reference to Sword Art Online creator Reki Kawahara, who more or less is god to Kayaba.
  • Kayaba's last words with Kirito are to ask if he might "better know it as Ragewar: The Challenges of Excalibrate," an alternative title for The Dungeonmaster. Kirito still doesn't get the reference.
  • When Kirito gives his Anguished Declaration of Love, Asuna's response is a simple "I know."
• Episode 12's one-sided kendo match between Suguha and Kirito is set to "Duel of the Fates."
  • The King of Ashes survived SAO, is sending threats to Kirito over Twitter, and uses The Burger King as his profile picture.
    Kirito: Have it your way. :P
• In Episode 13, "I'm Flying" from Barbie Fairytopia plays when Kirito goes through Alfheim Online's character creation process. Suguha can be heard humming the same tune in an earlier scene.
  • An angry Kirito begins his venting to Tiffany with "Konchu's ass."
  • Could also be “Khonshu’s ass”, keeping with his Running Gag of shouting various divinities as profanities and staying a Shout-Out, as Khonshu is the name of the Egyptian god that may or may not be the power behind Moon Knight.
  • Tiffany's note about needing to boil 9up or else it's "hella toxic" is likely a reference to this Clickhole article.
• In Episode 14, Leafa's flying lesson consists of launching Kirito skyward with the advice "think happy thoughts!"
  • Leafa's healing spell were lines from the "Dick and Jane" books.
  • During Recon's faulty NerveGear-induced panic attack, he screams about a tentacle monster teaching a classroom.
  • While Leafa's giving exposition to Kirito, Yui hums the Song of Storms to herself while eating her cracker.
  • ALO's profanity filter automatically replaces swear words with more innocent, yet similar-sounding words. In one specific instance, Kirito intends to say "shit", but instead says "shirt".
• Episode 15:
  • Kirito wonders why Prince Cazmer is so hellbent on marrying Leafa and sarcastically asks if it's because Leafa is some fallen star that he needs to protect from a gang of witches. Cazmer stops his roleplaying to point out that Kirito just recounted the plot of Stardust.
  • When Asuna asks how she's going to be mind-controlled, she asks if she's going to have a remote, go by Alexa rules, or just go full on Stepford.
  • After Kirito gets 'checked' at the Fairport, Kirito laments the treatment meted out to him by stating Sam and Frodo didn't have to file work visas to Walk into Mordor.
• Episode 16:
  • Cazmer and his guards have Invisibility Cloaks, which they Squee is "just like Harry Potter!" while humming the theme song.
  • One of the spells Leafa chants is the lyrics to the lullaby Katniss sang to Rue in The Hunger Games.
  • The Salamander's incantation is The Raven.
    Salamanders: Quoth the raven, fireball!
  • After Sakuya resurrects Eugene, he tells her to "wire me the three hundred gold for the diamond." In Dungeons & Dragons, the revivify spell allows a recently dead character to be resurrected for the price of 300 gold worth of diamonds.
• Episode 17:
  • Leafa sums up the previous episode as a "long day of diplomacy and light treason."
  • When Kirito describes how he and Asuna met and fell in love, he summarizes the plots of Episodes 5 and 6 in a way that makes Suguha accuse him of plagiarizing The Lake House.
  • Kirito names Mario Kart as his inspiration for trying to glitch through the barrier around the World Tree summit.
  • When trying to bum-rush the World Tree over Leafa's objections, Kirito declares "fools rush in!" Leafa complains it was a terrible movie.
  • The fairy guardians of the Grand Quest say "Roger-roger" in a Machine Monotone, to Kirito's exasperation.
  • When Kirito is killed by the guards, "You Died" flashes over the screen, like in Dark Souls.

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