RJ Writing Ink

Sword Art Online: Alicization– War of Underworld Episode 46 Review/Recap

So, it turns out that I was wrong about episode count for Aliczation. There are only 47 episodes, not 48. In other words, next week’s episode is going to be the finale for the season. And unless they adapt that Unital Ring Arc, the end of Sword Art Online. Thus, these last two episodes are an epilogue to welcome Alice to the real world. And, we see the Black Swordman come home at last.

Honestly, I feel like they could have released this and the final episode as one, but it’s the people in Japan’s call.

LINK START!

Recap

With Alice safe protected from those who would use her (*cough*America*cough*), RATH stuns the world by revealing her existence. As expected, people are skeptical and have a lot of questions about Alice: is she really human? Should AI’s have human rights? And the classic: what’s to stop them from trying to wipe out humanity. At a public press conference, Rinko and Alice handle these questions very well. In particular, Alice seems to win over a lot of people with her sincerity and personality. However, she prematurely leaves the conference. The reason? Kirito and Asuna have awoken. Their first action is to have RATH erase their memories of their two centuries in Underworld.

The two were very busy in Underworld. After the defeat of Gabriel, they reunited with everyone and returned to the Human Empire. Firstly, though, they brought peace between the Human Empire and Dark Territory. After that, they wound up getting crowned King and Queen of Underworld and ruled it until they awoke.

The real question now, though, is what will happen to Underworld? Kirito and the others realize that if nothing’s done, RATH will be dissolved, Alice seized, and the Underworld shut down. However, plans are already in place by two people. The first is Mr. Kiku, who faked his death so RATH’s enemies in the government can’t hide the incident. The second is an AI copy of Kirito made by Higu before the memory wipe.

Thus, Kirito can return home at last, reflect on his adventures, and mourn the loss of Eugeo once more.

Review

Well, it looks like the Light Novel did a much better job with the epilogue than the anime did. It’s not that the anime isn’t bad here; it’s just the Light Novel version was able to convey more emotion; that, and details. There are a lot of details we learn about in the Light Novel that’s only touched upon in the anime. Here’s the basics.

• Kirito and Asuna returned to their friends and made peace with the Dark Territory, bringing the war to an end.
• The people of the Dark Territory went home to rebuild, with the Human Empire agreeing to let them come and go as they please.
• Kirito and Asuna returned to the capital and got rid of the Axiom Church and Nobility, so that there wouldn’t be another Quinella.
• They opened the Integrity Knights to volunteers. No more brainwashing.
• They ruled as King and Queen of Underworld.

That’s a lot of important details that got glossed over by the anime. I understand the need to save time, but it’s still frustrating. Especially since it involves fixing the issues that led to the conflict in the first half of the arc, courtesy of Quinella.

Speaking of that hag, one of the reporters was right to worry about AI trying to destroy humanity. We saw them turn out good, like Alice, or evil, like Quinella. If Quinella was the one who made it to the real world, she’d want to conquer it. The lesson here is that if we ever create an AI on the level of Alice in the real world, we need to make sure they have a moral compass.

Philosophy aside, I think that people will grow to accept Alice and the residents of Underworld, as Kiku, Rinko, and Kirito hope.

Heck of An Interesting Future

Considering that Alicization is the final chapter to Kawahara’s original story, It’s almost sad to see the anime potentially end here. I think that there are more stories to tell about Alice and the Artificial Fluctlights. But at the same time, it feels like Sword Art Online has grown far past its original concept. Remember: players trapped in a VR game where if they die, they die in real life? That seems so long ago!

Overall, I think that while this penultimate episode helped to wrap things up, I don’t think that it was as good as it could have been. So many details wound up getting glossed over, it hurts to see. Still, at least the show’s trying to stick the landing.

I Give “Alice” a 2.5/5. Not enough emotional weight.

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Sword Art Online: Alicization- War of Underworld Episode 42 Review/Recap

Okay, I’ll admit it. At first, it was fun seeing Sword Art Online not revolve around Kirito. War of Underworld gave the rest of the cast a chance to shine and grow as characters. But eventually, you’ve got to have your main hero take center-stage. Otherwise, the story’s going to get real dull. This week, though, our prayers are finally answered. Kirito the Black Swordsman not only makes his return, but we also see just how scarred he’s been by the events of the series.

No, seriously, that guy needs some therapy after this. He’s got some serious PTSD and Survivor’s Guilt.

LINK START!

Recap

In Underworld, PoH continues his sadistic killing spree, with his sheer malice corrupting almost all of the foreign players. As Asuna desperately tries to defeat him, PoH explains that the only reason he’s doing this is to wake Kirito up. Ever since he failed to kill him, PoH’s seen him as the incorruptible Batman to his Joker, and wants nothing more than to break him. Despite being at her limit, though, Asuna is spurred on by the memory of her friend Yuki. Gaining a second wind, Asuna unleashes her strongest attack, Mother’s Rosario, that comes close to defeating PoH.

Unfortunately, PoH’s weapon hasn’t the ability to get stronger when it attacks other players. As a result, it absorbs all the death that’s gone on around it, making PoH more powerful than ever, and leaving most of the foreign players under his thrall.

Inside Kirito’s mind, the young man relives every traumatic experience he’s had since he played SAO. From the deaths of the Moonlit Black Cats to Eugeo’s death, the pain nearly overwhelms him. Even with the support of Asuna, Sugu, and Sinon, he comes close to killing himself. However, a miracle occurs. A fragment of Eugeo’s fluctlight appears in his mind and reminds him that he’s not alone. He’s got the memories of those he lost in his heart, and so many left who are waiting for him. Remembering his will to fight, Kirito heals the damage done to his mind. As a result, he awakens from his coma, and uses Eugeo’s Secret Art to freeze all the enemy players save for PoH. PoH, he saves for himself to face.

PoH is so screwed.

Review

To paraphrase General Pepper from the Star Fox series, “It’s about time you showed up, Kirito! You’re the only hope for our world!” That was basically how I reacted when I finally saw Kirito stand up and fight after all this time. It can be fun to give the other heroes and secondary characters time in the spotlight, but there are threats that only the hero can defeat. That’s why they’re the hero.

Beautiful animation

Having said that, there are two things I think need to be discussed: the animation and what we saw in Kirito’s mind. The level of detail they put into the fight sequence between Asuna and PoH and Kirito’s return is high-tier levels of animation. The kind of things that anime fans drool about being able to see. I don’t exactly get why Asuna suddenly sprouted angel wings, but who cares? It looks awesome!

With the series so close to the end, I hope that the remaining episodes keep up this top-tier animation. It’s part of why I enjoyed SAO in the first place.

Kirito’s Mental Scars

The second noteworthy thing about this episode is how puts all the trauma Kirito’s gone through front and center. A lot of people tend to see him as this cool, level-headed guy who doesn’t let things faze him…on the outside. On the inside, we see just how badly his time in SAO messed him up.

First, there’s the memory of the Moonlit Black Cats’ death, and how he blames himself for keeping his level a secret. Then the fact that he had to kill three people, even if it was in self-defense. Everyone else may have forgiven him, but he hasn’t forgiven himself for it. Furthermore, it’s revealed that even after leaving SAO, he still felt guilty for killing other players in-game. Even if they didn’t die in real life or if they deserved it like Sugou and Death Gun. In other words, he never truly left the death game, and watching Eugeo die finally broke him mentally.

I just felt so bad seeing Kirito go through that, thinking that he didn’t deserve to live after everything. The worst part, though, is that this stuff happens to people in real life. Fortunately, Kirito had loved ones to remind him that he can forgive himself and move on. Not everyone has that fortune in real life.

The Real Fight Begins

Now that Kirito is back in the game, I think we know what’s going to happen to PoH and Gabriel. They are going to get their butts kicked all the way to hell where they belong. And with Kirito having reached a new level of power, it’s going to look amazing to watch. The Black Swordsman is about to join the fight!

I Give “Memories” a 4.5/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization- War of Underworld Episode 37 Review/Recap

After seven long months of waiting, Sword Art Online: War of Underworld has returned at last. Thus, it’s time for me to finish what I started. I will review this series to the end, and it looks like that end is going to be epic. To recap where we left off: the bad guys tricked an army of American Players into logging in to Underworld. Asuna’s held them off with the Underworld residents, and then Sinon showed up to wipe the floor with them. However, none of that will matter if Gabriel gets Alice to the portal and out of Underworld. The real war of Underworld’s about to begin!

Been waiting to say this again: LINK START!

Recap

Thanks to the arrival of Sinon, the Underworld Army has been saved from being annhiliated by the Americans, with the two girls having a heartfelt reunion. Asuna gets Sinon up to speed on what’s happening, and Sinon leads the army to a series of ruins where they can hold out. Like Asuna, Sinon’s heartbroken at the sight of a catatonic Kirito, but it hardens her resolve to fight for Underworld. Since she can fly, though, Asuna has her go after Garbiel.

Meanwhile, Lilpilin, the Chief of the Orcs whose lover we saw be sacrificed for a spell, is mourning the loss of his comrades. Then, all of a sudden, Leafa drops in to Underworld. Sadly for her, while Lilpilin tries to understand why she’s not afraid of him, she gets captured by that hag Dee Eye Ell, who’s somehow still alive. When she tries draining the life from Leafa, though, Lili snaps and attacks her. It doesn’t do much damage, but it gives Leafa the opening to free herself and kill the hag.

Back with Bercouli, the leader of the Integrity manages to bring Gabriel to the ground near the portal. What follows is a clash of titans; one that, sadly, Bercouli is at a disadvantage, since Gabriel can absorb his incarnations. With Alice’s life on the line, though, Bercouli refuses to back down.

As for Asuna, she and the others are fighting well, but there are simply too many enemies to face, and they’re in danger of being overrun. At that moment, though, a bright light shines down. Before Asuna knows what’s happening, Klein appears and wastes the Americans. The cavalry is here!

Review

See, I told you that the War of Underworld was about to get good! The top Integrity Knight vs. the Emperor of Darkness. Sinon and Leafa have joined the fight using god-accounts. And top it all off, Klein and the others seem to have convinced their friends and allies to join the war. In other words, get ready for a war with all hands on deck.

Since this is (likely) going to be the last hurrah for SAO, I think it’s necessary for the show to end on as big a bang as possible. And nothing’s bigger than having all the secondary and recurring come together for one epic final battle. At least, that’s what I like. If you don’t, then I will not judge.

Seriously, though, I think that this is going to be worth the wait in the end.

I Give “The Great Underworld War” a 3.8/5

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I get pumped for the finale to Sword Art Online

I’ve been waiting for seven long months for this to happen. Sword Art Online: Alicization- War of Underworld is coming back!

I swore that I would see the entirety of Alicization through to the end all those months ago. I intend to keep that promise no matter what.

For those who need a recap after these long months, here’s where we stood back in December:

• Alice has been captured by Gabriel in his guise as Vector, God of the Dark Territory, and is being taken to this portal thing in the Dark Territory that will take them back to the real world.
• Gabriel’s tricked thousands of gamers from America into logging into Underworld. They think it’s just a beta. As an American and a Gamer, their ignorance fills me with shame.
• Asuna and Sinon have logged in using their own God Accounts and are helping the residents of Underworld hold off the Army of Idiots.
• The Human and Dark Territory armies are pretty much working together now.
• Kirito’s still in a coma.

Even though I’ll now have Amphibia and The Owl House to work on every Saturday, this won’t stop me. I will see SAO through to the end!

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Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episode 17 Review/Recap

Let’s go through this one more time. After getting arrested by the Axiom Church, Kirito and Eugeo escape and vow to take down the corrupt Axiom Church. After fighting through the Integrity Knights, the pair finally face their childhood friend, Alice, who the Church turned into their weapon. After a brief fight, Kirito and Alice are thrown from the Church to the outside. And that’s when we pick back up; should be interesting.

LINK START!

Recap

Kirito manages to save Alice and himself by digging his sword into the side of the Cathedral, even though Alice insists on letting her fall. After arguing for several minutes and calling each other idiots, Kirito convinces her to call a truce until they get back inside. Working together, they begin to climb up to the 95th, where they can get back in.

Back in the real world, Asuna and Rinko are eating breakfast when they notice that one of the Ocean Turtle’s escort ships is moving away. Something’s not right, but the SDF is not telling them.

In the Underworld, Kirito and Alice have made progess, but with the sun setting, they won’t be able to make it up any higher. That’s when they’re attacked by monsters. Somehow, winged creatures made with dark magic from the Dark Territory were able to roost on the Cathedral’s walls. It takes some teamwork (and more arguing) but Alice and Kirito beat them. Kirito even mildly impresses Alice with his sword skills.

As all this is going down, Eugeo continues up to the top of the Cathedral on his own, where he comes across a massive bath, and the one inside is the commander of the Integrity Knights, Bercouli.

Review

It may be because I watch too many slice-of-life anime, but I found the sight of Kirito and Alice yelling at each other funny. Those two are as stubborn as they come, and Kirito has a way of getting under a girl’s skin. And yet, they somehow end up falling for him; one of life’s mysteries, I guess.

At the same time, it’s weird to see the normally stoic Alice lose her cool because of Kirito’s antics. She’s acting like a classic tsundere.

While it may seem like it’s beating a dead horse, too, I enjoyed seeing Kirito break down Alice’s arguments about the Axiom Church. It may be because I’ve read a lot about this stuff in history books, but I have a deep hatred of people who abuse their power like this. And my opinion on religious groups who do that is even lower.

No matter what Alice may say, I’m going to say that what Kirito and Eugeo did was justified. Those two pieces of trash would have hurt their friends. It was unfortunate one of them had to die, but I didn’t mourn for them. Plenty of people would have done the same to protect their friends. I would have.

If the next episode ends up being as awesome as I have heard, then I think I will be in for a treat.

I Give “Truce” a 4/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episode 6 Review/Recap

This post would have been up sooner, but there were technical difficulties. In the midst of the dubbed premiere of episode 6 of Sword Art Online: Alicization, it. froze up.

Fortunately, I can be very resourceful. I went online to a website I know I can trust to get me the latest episodes of animated shows, and I watched it from there. So here it is, my review/recap of Sword Art Online: Alicization, episode 6

LINK, START!

Recap

The episode picks up where the last one left off, with a very pissed off Asuna demanding one thing from Kikouka: Take me. To Kirito. RIGHT. NOW.

Kikouka then explains the reason why they basically kidnapped Kirito from the hospital: because a hospital wouldn’t be enough. Johnny Black’s attack damaged Kirito’s brain too much for normal tech to heal him. But with the STL, they can create a new neural network, saving his brain. Asuna is happy with this, but Rinko wants her own answers: what is RATH really doing.

Kikouka drops a bombshell: the whole purpose of Underworld is to create a bottom-up AI. Unlike a top-down AI, which is programmed with knowledge to respond to situations. But they can’t respond to situations they don’t know the answer to. Yui may be an exception due to her bond with Kirito and Asuna, but that’s about it.

A bottom-up AI, though, is recreating the human brain through technology. They use the STL to scan people’s mind and souls, then put them into a virtual environement where they can grow and learn like normal humans.

Key thing to note: they can’t just copy an adult’s fluctlight or soul. The copy can’t stand the fact that they’re a copy, go crazy, and kill themselves. So, they have to raise them from infancy. Hence, why Underworld exists. Combine that with accelerating the time in Underworld, and they have an entire civilization.

The only problem is, they refuse, or can’t, go against the Taboo Index. They have no real free will, to choose what to do. Or who to kill. RATH wants to create bottom-up AI to fight in wars so human beings wouldn’t.

Asuna is obviously pissed at this, and so would Kirito if he weren’t in Underworld. But the reason he was in Underworld in the first place was part of an experiment: to see if a human could break the Taboo Index. That led to Alice breaking the Index, and then the Axiom Church took her away, and RATH was too slow to react.

After explaining this to her friends in Alfheim Online, Asuna gets to see Kirito. Afterwards, Rinko tells Asuna that she had helped Kayaba create SAO. She then looked after Kayaba, and she begs Asuna for forgiveness.

In spite of all that happened, though, Asuna’s grateful for being in SAO. It’s how she met her friends, Yui, and Kirito, and she’s grateful for it.

Review

I get why some people don’t like exposition in a story: they want to get on to the fun stuff, like the fights and the plot. But I appreciate it when they do this stuff anyway. It’s necessary in order to explain the backstory behind the characters and their motivations.

This was the episode that was meant to explain everything that was going on: Underworld, Kirito’s involvement, Kikouka’s motivations, and how important Alice really is. It’s necessary to move the plot forward. And honestly, I liked it. Especially considering how next episode, it’s back to the Underworld for the forseeable future.

The only thing I didn’t like was how the whole “reading the soul” thing seems like bullcrap that’s delving into rabbit holes I don’t want to get into. A lot of philosophical, moral, and scientific issues are being brought up here. Right now, I just want to see cool sword fights. Still, I appreciated how Reki Kawahara thought everything out and gave explanations.

Overall, this episode gave me back hope for this season of SAO. And if it doesn’t pan out like Karandi says, then I got the second half of the season to look forward to. Or I can just switch to Rising of the Shield Hero. That’s a good anime.

I Give “Project Alicization” a 4/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 5 Review/Recap

I’m just going to come out and say it: Karandi, you were right. I had high hopes for Sword Art Online, and I still think that the show’s going to get a lot better. Especially considering what’s going to happen in the second half of the season. For now, though, it’s going to going at a slow pace.

There, I said it. That said, I made a promise to review every episode of Sword Art Online: Alicization in dub form, and I aim to keep it. So, LINK START!

Recap

Remember when Asuna was the main heroine of the anime? Yeah, good times. Say what you will about the dub, but I think hearing a character be voiced by a VA you’re a fan of can make a dub better. In this case, Asuna’s voiced by Cherami Leigh.

I’ve been a fan of Cherami Leigh since I first heard her play Lucy Heartfilia in Fairy Tail, and I’ve followed her work ever since. Next to Lucy, I think Asuna’s one of her best characters. She brings about a feeling of confidence and strong-willfulness, but also has a sweet and caring nature to her voice. It’s why I was so quick to like Asuna, and Sword Art Online.

Asuna’s taken a back seat in some of the series adventures, but she’s still my favorite, and this episode focuses entirely on her efforts to help Kirito.

After Johnny Black attacked Kirito, we learn that he was taken to the nearby hospital where he was stabilized. Thanks to the drug, his heart stopped for more than five minutes.

In the medical field, five minutes is the limit that the brain can go without oxygen. After that, brain cells begin to die. If Kirito’s to make a full recovery, he’ll need the best treatment in the world. That’s where his acquaintance from the government, Kikouka (who I just realized is voiced by Matt Mercer) comes in. He’ll take Kirito to the best medical facility in the world.

Only, Asuna and Suguha can’t get to him, because he’s not where they said he would be.

Realizing quickly that something is up, Asuna and the others start digging around, and they confirm that Kirito had been loaded onto a helicopter that then traveled outside of Japan.

The group nearly gives up, but then Asuna remembers someone that Kirito had spoken to: Rinko Koujiro,, Akihiko Kayaba’s former research partner and lover. Rinko had been getting emails from Kikouka to work with him on the big project Kirito was a part of.

A few days later, Rinko arrives at Rath’s main location: a giant ocean facility called the “Ocean Turtle”. Her and her assistant, May- Asuna. It’s Asuna in disguise.

As soon as she’s onboard,d Asuna ditches the disguise and flat out tells Kikouka “Take me. To Kirito. RIGHT. NOW.” And then the episode ends.

Review

I will be honest with you guys: I do not think that this part of the story really requires more than one episode to finish. Whereas the last episode was focused more on the action, this one was all about the exposition. Moving the plot forward with dialogue is important, but if it’s not interesting, then we get bored quickly.

Hell, if SAO: Abridged were to get to this part, they would probably skip all the way to Asuna ditching her disguise and then give us a quicker answer like she used her and her boyfriend’s contacts to track him down. That, or they’d make a joke about that heart monitor app doubling as an actual tracking device. Abridged Asuna would do something like that.

My point, this and whatever’s going to happen in the next episode could have been placed inside a single episode.

As for the show itself, as long as the second half of the arc is epic, then I will put up with whatever they throw at us. Granted, I know what’s going to happen (read the light novels) but I still want to enjoy it.

I give this episode 2.5/5

Karandi, I hope you’re reading this!

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