RJ Writing Ink

Amphibia, episode 13 Review/Recap

No matter how much Sprig may have matured in the first season thanks to Anne, he’s still a kid. Like any kid, or person in general, he messes up. In this episode, we see him mess up twice.

Recap

Croak & Punishment

Sprig’s excited to give Ivy a blue moon shell for her birthday, but when it disappears, he becomes convinced someone stole it. After Anne shows him some cop shows, the two team up to track the thief down. While wearing mustaches!

Unfortunately, Sprig lets his role as bad cop go to his head. He acts like a jerk to everyone in Wartwood. It ends up coming back to bite him when he sends new Wartwood resident, Gunther, into a rage. A Hulk-like rage. Sprig realizes the error of his ways and apologizes to Gunther, setting things right.

By the way, it turns out Ivy took the shell to polish it. Sprig gives it to her, and she hangs it up on their door so she’ll always see it.

A Trip To The Archives

With one week left until it’s safe to ravel beyond the mountains, Anne and the Plantars prepare for their big journey to get her home. To do that, Hop Pop takes the family on a trip to the Wartwood Archives. A trip that Sprig finds horribly dull. So what does he do? He steals the gem that serves as the key and then breaks it by accident, trapping them inside.

After a few failed attempts to get out, Anne gets trapped in the sunroof. Right as the giant cicadas come out to graze. Thinking quickly, Sprig uses the old plumbing to escape and rescues Anne from the bugs. Now free, Sprig admits that he shouldn’t have forced them into danger like that.

Review

You know, I was a little upset about the second part because I thought it would expand the world of Amphibia. The fact that we got to see more of Sprig’s antics, though, made up for it.

If we have learned one thing about Sprig, he’s reckless and impulsive, and that gets him in trouble. Even so, he’s still a well-meaning frog, and part of what makes this show so fun.

The one thing we did learn from this episode, though, is that Anne’s been in Amphibia for almost two months. I doubt she’ll make it out of the valley so soon, though. There are still eight episodes left this season. We’re getting close to the end of the first season though. Can’t wait to see what Anne and Sprig get up to next.

I give “Croak & Punishment” and “A Trip to the Archives” a 3/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 23 Review/Recap

Having been drawn out of hiding to save Kirito and Alice, Cardinal comes face to face with her nemesis, Quinella. The battle for the fate of Underworld begins, and admittedly, it’s better than last episode.

LINK START!

Recap

To stop Cardinal for good, Quinella splits the 100th floor off from the rest of Underworld. To break Cardinal’s will to fight, she then reveals a gut-wrenching revelation: she made the Sword Golem from the humans of Underworld. Specifically, the memories of the Integrity Knights. Worse, Quinella’s plan to beat the Dark Territory is sacrificing half of the Human Empire to create more Sword Golems. Unable to fight against the people she must protect, Cardinal offers her life for the three. Quinella accepts, and kills Cardinal.

However, with her dying breath, Eugeo asks Cardinal to do one last thing: turn him into a sword that can defeat the Sword Golem. He fuses with Alice’s memory crystal and the Blue Rose Sword, to become an ultimate Sword.

In his Sword form, Eugeo effortlessly destroys the Sword Golem before turning his attention to Quinella. Despite his best efforts, all he can do is chop her arm off before being shattered, leaving him dying. All that’s left to defeat Quinella is Kirito.

Review

What have we learned today? That Quinella’s the worst, and that everyone except for the main character can be cannon fodder. Seriously, we knew that no one else was going to beat Quinella, so why did Cardinal and Eugeo bother? They should have let Kirito handle it like he always does.

I already know what’s going to happen next, and this may be my least favorite boss-fight in SAO. I’m bummed, though, because Eugeo’s dying. Kirito finally had another guy to hang with, and this happens! Next week’s the last episode before the break, so let’s see how this ends

I give “Administrator” a 2.5/5. I’m generous because we got to see Quinella squirm.

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Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 22 Review/Recap

Karandi, my friend, we have reached the point where Sword Art Online: Abridged could do Alicization better. Instead of an epic boss fight against Chudelkin, we get a Hercule Satan one-shot.

LINK START!

Recap

Fueled by the flames of his lust for Quinella, Chudelkin transforms into a fire genie 🧞‍♂️! Kirito responds to this threat by doing what Kirito does: pull stuff out of his butt that defies the rules of VR. In this case, he turns into his Aincrad and one-shots KO’s the clown.

That leads Quinella to realize that Kirito is from the real world, not that she cares. She then brings out her trump card, a massive entity she calls a ‘Sword Golem’. The Golem then one-shots Kirito and Alice, leaving only Eugeo behind. Desperate, Charlotte reveals herself by transforming into a giant spider. The spider sacrifices herself to buy Eugeo time to summon their own trump card: Cardinal herself.

Review of one-shot letdown

This was by far the most disappointing episode of SAO: Alicization. First, the fire genie gets one-shot for the sake of an Easter egg. Then that ugly golem thing one-shot Kirito and Alice. Lame as heck.

Though to be fair, it wasn’t that exciting in the light novel, either. The main thing I remember was seeing Kirito become the Black Swordsman again. That, and Quinella validates my fears. If she got into the real world, she’d probably conquer it for herself. She must be stopped for the good of Earth and Underworld.

I give “Titan of the Sword” a 2/5. Two one-shots, one letdown

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By the way, I’m sorry I didn’t put this up a week ago. I got so distracted by all the other work that I’m doing that I didn’t have the time.