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Sword Art Online: Alicization-War of Underworld Episode 44 Review/Recap

You know what I hate? When something that we’ve been building up to for a lengthy period of time ends up falling flat on its face. Since the second half of SAO Alicization began, I’ve been waiting for three moments: for Asuna to show up, for Kirito to wake up, and for Kirito to fight Gabriel. Now, we’ve reached the third and final moment on that list. And while it was visually spectacular, I think that it could have gone on another episode.

Oh, well. LINK START!

Recap

After saving Alice from being captured by Gabriel (and reverting her dragons into eggs), Kirito turns to face down Gabriel. This way, Alice and Asuna can have enough time to make it to the World’s End Altar and escape to the real world. Thus, the final battle begins.

An epic battle ensues in the skies above Underworld as the two warriors clash. Somehow, the darkness in Gabriel becomes so great, it devolves him into a demonic entity of darkness. Meanwhile, Kirito throws everything he has at Gabriel, but it’s not enough. Determined to win and return to his friends and loved ones, Kirito pushes himself to even further levels of power. Drawing on the thoughts of everyone in Underworld, the true power of the Night-Sky Sword is revealed. And with a mighty charge and help from Eugeo’s spirit, Kirito manages to obliterate Gabriel once and for all. As for the girls, they reach the Altar, and Alice is whisked away to the real world. At that moment, though, the maximum acceleration begins. As a result, all the remaining players are logged out.

Kirito remains trapped in Underworld for the next two centuries, and breaks down in tears, thinking that he’ll never see his friends again. Only, he’s not alone. Asuna appears before him, revealing that she chose to stay behind.

Review

I had mixed feelings about this episode. On the one hand, I feel like I should have known that the final battle would be done in a single episode. That’s more or less what’s happened in the anime’s run. And I will admit, while the fight was taking place, it had some of the best visuals the anime’s ever done. On the other, I can’t help but feel a little let down by how Kirito was able to defeat Gabriel so soon. Or maybe I just got myself too hyped for this fight in the end. Lesson learned I guess.

There is one scene, though, that I wish they had included in this episode. After Gabriel’s defeat, his spirit returns to the real world, only for the souls of his victims to drag him off to hell. As dark as that was, I would love to see it happen on the screen. I will say this, though: he looked very scary in his final, demonic form.

As for Kirito, I knew ahead of time that he was going to be trapped inside of Underworld, and that Asuna would choose to stay with him. After being separated for so long, that girl wasn’t going to let anything keep her away from her boyfriend. I won’t spoil anything from the novels, but don’t worry about them. They’ll make it out of Underworld in one piece.

With the climax of the story now over, we have three episodes to wrap the anime up. Odds are, we’ll see the end to the raid on RATH and follow Alice as she adjusts to our world in the process. It’s not exciting, but it has to be done.

I Give “Night-Sky Sword” A 3.5/5. Could Have Been Longer, But It’s Cool to Look At.

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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- War of Underworld Episode 27 Review/Recap

Given what I know about the latter half of Alicization, I hoped that the anime would turn itself around. That it would give more of the action that I wanted to see. While the last episode gave us more of the action, it’s back to the exposition here. Pacing problems have been a recurring problem with this season, but I’m still holding out hope for Alicization.

LINK START!

Recap

In a flashback, we learn the identity of the man leading the assault on the Ocean Turtle. His name is Gabriel Miller, and he got hired by the US Government to steal the AI Rath’s developing. They want to weaponize it so they can maintain their dominance in war. The team that Kirito fought in GGO in the first episode was them; they were practicing for the attack.

However, in the present day, Gabriel’s team is locked out of the area where the Fluctlight cubes are. Thus, they devise of an alternative way to seize their target (Alice). Soon, Underworld will go through “The Final Load Test”, where the barriers between the human empire and the Dark Territory will collapse. Finding two god level accounts in the Dark Territory, Gabriel and his lieutenant use them to log in and use the Dark Territory for themselves.

Meanwhile, Asuna decides to take matters into her own hands. She prepares to log into Underworld herself in order to find Kirito and protect Alice.

Review

I get that exposition and flashbacks are important to moving the plot along, but when you use them too much, a show suffers. Pacing problems have been a big problem of Alicization, and I’m worried it will ruin the war to come. I want to see something as big as the final battle in Avengers: Endgame. Instead, we may get something “The Long Night” from Game of Thrones.

That said, this episode tries to fulfill its purpose, but it misses a few key details about Gabriel. In Tokyo, Sinon has a nightmare of when she fought him in the final round of GGO 4; he strangled her to death with his bare hands. Yet I think the show fails to show how much of a sociopath Gabriel truly is. The web and light novels talk about how he’s obssessed with the soul, and with Alice herself. I hope they show more about it, but if not, click here.

With Gabriel about to seize control of the Dark Territory, all out war is now inevitable. Fortunately, Asuna’s coming to rescue her boyfriend/husbando. Fans should know by now that nothing will stand between an angry Asuna and her goals. Pacing problems or not, I look forward to the war.

I Give “The Final Load Test” a 2.75/5

By the way, pay attention to Gabriel’s lieutenant, Vassago. We’ve seen him before, but I’m not giving any hints.

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