Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episode 11 Review/Recap

If you haven’t watched the rest of the anime yet, then last episode will have gotten you confused: how is Alice an Integrity Knight now?

Well, that answer will be revealed in due time. For now, though, Kirito and Eugeo are about to go through a literal boss tower in order to find the answers behind the Axiom Church and that stupid Taboo Index.

LINK, START!

Recap

Picking up where the last episode left off, Eugeo’s positive that the woman before them is his childhood friend, Alice. Alice, on the other hand, doesn’t even recognize him or Kirito. Kirito advises that they do what she says until they get inside the Central Cathedral, and after a brief farewell to Ronye and Tiese, they are hauled back to the tower.

The scene then switches back to the Ocean Turtle, where Asuna is lamenting the fact that she has no role to play in this part of the story. She also encounters a prototype robot that RATH has built.

Once they manage to get one of the Underworld residents to develop into a full bottom-up AI, they plan on transferring them out of Underworld and into a robot body for them to inhabit. Fortunately, the newer models are becoming more human-like. Remember this for later: it will come in handy in the final part of the arc. Oh, and Asuna passes these two guys in the hallway that made my Spider-Sense go into overdrive, so I’m guessing they’re enemy spies or something.

Back in Underworld, a full day has passed since Kirito and Eugeo got thrown in the slammer. Bored with sitting around, they decide to finally break for it. Using their chains durability against it, they’re able to shatter the chains, and then walk right past the sleeping guard.

After making it onto the ground floor, their next step is to retrieve their swords. They also come to the conclusion that the Axiom Church has been erasing people’s memories in order to turn them into Integrity Knights, which explains why Alice seemed like a completely different person than what Eugeo remembers. To add onto the mystery, they run into Alice’s junior, Eldrie Synthesis Knight Thirty-One. According to him, he was only “summoned” a month ago, but Alice put him in charge of stopping Kirito and Eugeo once they busted out.

Review

Continue off the theme of comparing this to an RPG, this would be the point at which the hero ends up going through the wave of bosses in a dungeon tower. If this were a normal game, this may be the final act of that game. But since this is only the first half of the fifty episode Alicization Arc, this would be the end of the first disc, like with Final Fantasy VII.

I skimmed through what happens next, but I can tell you this: from here on out, Kirito and Eugeo are going to be spending the rest of the season fighting their way through the Integrity Knights in order to learn what happened to Alice and the truth behind the Axiom Church. From what my fellow blogger, Karandi, wrote, these next few episodes are going to be either really fun to watch or a snooze-fest. Either way, I am going to keep doing this series.

I would normally criticize the pacing of this episode, but I understand that’s done in order to set for what’s to come. As long as the payoff ends up being good, then I will consider this worth it in the end.

I give “Central Cathedral” a 3/5

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Eden’s Zero Chapter 40 Review/Recap

….Holy crap, that was dark. Is this what Xiao Mei meant when she said that this story was going to get sadistic? Because it crossed the line from sadistic to moral event horizon. In this chapter, we see how Hermit went from the happy young girl/machine to someone who despises humans.

Recap

Most of this chapter is told in flashback, but in the present, it’s the same old thing: Jamilov is tearing the ship apart. It’s the past that should be focused on.

That project that those scientists asked Hermit to be a part of was apparently a giant ether battery. Supposedly, it’s to provide ether to the neighboring Planet Hook (the thing with the hooks in the upper left corner). It’s a planet filled with machines without any purpose who are running short on ether. But this battery thing is supposed to fix that.

Hermit worked harder than anyone to make sure the plan would work, and then came the day of the test.

That “battery” thing was a giant ether cannon, and those scientists used it to blow Planet Hook and all the machines on it into space debris. They used Hermit so they could finish the project and fulfill their machine genocide. Then they decide to imprison Hermit and take her apart.

Review

Those who treat others so deplorably forfeit their own humanity. No wonder Hermit says that humans have no souls. If I went through what she did, I would think so, too! I have seen some messed up things in manga before, but this is one of the most sadistic, cold-hearted things I’ve ever read.

I honestly don’t know what’s worse: the fact that those scientists just blew up a planet, or how guilt-ridden Hermit must feel for being fooled into helping them. This was one of the darkest things Mashima has done in a long time, and I came away with a genuine sense of shock and sorrow. Anything that can make a person feel genuine emotion is a sign of good storytelling, and Mashima has that in spades.

I Give “Plan C7” a 5/5. Sadistic indeed

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Edens Zero Chapter 39 Review/Recap

What’s worse than a troll/griefer that abuses the power of technology to make other people’s lives miserable? One that doesn’t give up on anything. It would seem that the Digitalis Arc has not quite wrapped up, and since I am a week behind on this due to working on my Game of Thrones stuff, I will doing this back to back with the new chapter.

Recap

Years ago, Ziggy told the Four Shining stars that he was retiring to his hometown of Granbell to raise Shiki, and that they were free to decide their lives from then on. While Hermit initially wanted to join Ziggy, she decided that she wanted to become friends with people.

In the present, the crew of Eden’s Zero was able to bring back Hermit, but she’s still in her state of depression. Also, for some reason, being in those suits in stasis made them all really, really sweaty.

As Sister and Witch explain, she may be back physically, but she’s still not back to the cheerful self that she was in the past. Just as Shiki decides to go talk to her, alarms start blaring like crazy.

As it stands, they need Hermit and her computer skills to protect the Eden’s Zero from within cyberspace. Without it, it’s easy prey to hackers like this ugly mug.

According to Rebecca, he’s one of the top five hackers in the Sakura Cosmos. In Digitalis, he was Jamilov. Now he has hacked into the ship as payback for them ruining his plans. As a result, the ship is tearing itself apart. The only one who can stop Jamilov is Hermit, but she still refuses to do anything while being locked in the Clothes Factory

The chapter then ends with another flashback where it’s revealed that a group of scientists asked for her help in creating a device that can help machines. Hermit happily agreed to help at the time.

Review

I have been wondering since we first met her how Hermit got to be so sad and hate humanity so much. Now I’m starting to get a clearer picture. Whatever those scientists promised her turned out to be a lie that hurt a lot of machines. That’s why she hates humans so much.

This is just a theory, though. Until the next chapter comes out this week, I can’t be sure of anything. Given that this is a Shonen manga, though, Shiki will end up making her realize that some humans are worth trusting. I’ve read this “tragic backstory” scenario long enough to become genre-savvy at it. That said, I’m still looking forward to seeing what it has in store for us.

I Give “The Genius Spider Hacker” a 3/5

Some Stray Observations

• Anyone notice how bummed Pino was to be back in her robot body?

• BABY SHIKI!

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One Piece Chapter 939 Review/Recap

I am so sorry this wasn’t out sooner, you guys. I too busy last week working on my stuff for Game of Thrones, so I had very little time to focus on anything else on my blog. My apologies. But I’m here to make it up to you with the most recent chapter of One Piece, and it was a good one indeed.

Recap

After revealing herself as Momonuske’s littler sister, Hiyori’s overjoyed by the fact that Zoro knows her brother. As for Toko, Hiyori had told her years ago; she was one of the few people who knew Hiyori’s true identity. Which would explain why she was so attached to her as Komurasaki.

As to why she didn’t go with her brother and his other retainers into the future, it was a contingency plan to ensure the Kozuki Clan’s survival if something went wrong. She was then raised by one of her father’s retainers, the self-proclaimed Kawamatsu the Kappa.

He did more than that, though. He helped her learn how to smile again after Kaido and Orochi killed her parents, singing and dancing to make her laugh. They got separated when she was 13, but she’s confident he’s still alive (he is in Udon Prison right now).

Out of the Kozuki Clan retainers known as the Nine Red Sheaths, the only one that the Alliance hasn’t met yet is the one called Denjiro. All others have either been recruited or located (at least, the readers know this).

Back in the capital, Orochi’s hunt for the Kozuki Clan loyalists is getting worse and worse. They’re arresting so many people that the jail house is full to bursting, the Heart Pirates among them. Should this continue, all their supporters will be captured.

Back in Udon Prison, Queen is busting out the big guns: he’s sent in an Armadillo SMILE user. And the user has guns filled with Seastone bullets. With Luffy’s Haki ability to see into the future, though, he and Hyogoro are doing fine. Luffy’s just frustrated he can’t master that advanced armament Haki that Rayleigh used. Once he makes that known, Hyogoro offers to teach it to him.

In Wano, there’s a technique for Haki that Hyogoro knows, called “Goken”. Using Luffy’s Haki to predict the enemy, Hyogoro uses his own Haki and shows the technique, sending one of their opponents flying.

Review

Like my title suggests, never underestimate the abilities of the elderly in anime and manga. I’d say don’t underestimate the elderly in general, but in the case of a lot of Japanese cartoons and comics, the elderly are tough. Shonen has a long tradition of having old men and women with crazy strength, and a lot of them have been from One Piece.

The more we see of Hyogoro, the more convinced I am that he’s going to be one of the deciding factors in the coming war against Kaido. If this is how strong he is after being in prison for years, then imagine what he can do once he gets proper care? People will flock to him!

No matter what happens, I can only see Luffy’s time in prison ending in one way: he and all the other inmates bust out, and Luffy will be far stronger than he was before. If he can master this “Goken” technique, it might be enough to put him on equal footing with Kaido in the final battle. Otherwise, he won’t have a chance.

I really enjoyed this chapter. We got an update on the Kozuki Clan’s retainers, we saw a glimpse of Hiyori’s past, and we are seeing how all the pieces in this game are ending up where they need to be. The climax to this arc is going to be amazing!

I Give “An Old Leopard’s Claws are Always Sharp” A 4.5/5