RJ Writing Ink

Sword Art Online: Alicization- War of Underworld Episode 35 Review/Recap

Since the war for Underworld started, it’s been influenced by the actions of people from the real world. On one side is Gabriel and his flunky, and as of last episode, Asuna’s on the other side. However, the real world’s influence has been limited to these few people. Until this episode, that is. The villains take this conflict and turn it into the First Great VR War.

LINK START! And there’s a new intro!

Recap

As dawn breaks on the second day of the war, the Knights learn that the Dark Territory’s trying to cross the canyon Asuna made. Vecta ordered Iskahn to send his forces on ropes across the canyon, something the young man’s against. Yet he can’t do a thing to disobey the order; not even when the Integrity Knights and Asuna begin to cut the ropes.

What no one knows, though, is that Gabriel’s minion, Critter, upped the ante. He set the Underworld’s time-acceleration thing to match the real world. Then, he leaked Underworld as a bogus VRMMO beta to every gamer in the US, who proceed to log in, ignorant to the fact they’re about to wreck a world home to sentient AI’s. Fortunately, Yui figures out what’s going on, so she does the one thing she can do: send out a call to arms.

First, she alerts RATH of Critter’s meddling, and sends Sinon and Leafa to RATH so they can log in to Underworld. Next, she alerts the rest of Kirito’s allies and has them ask the players in ALO to help them. They can convert their accounts over into Underworld so they can fight the Americans. There’s just two problems: first, there’s pain limiter, so they’ll feel injury. Secondly, if they die in Underworld, they’ll lose their characters.

Review

As a gamer and an American, I just want to say this: I am so dissappointed that my fellow gamers are being used as pawns in a Great VR War. We look like such boneheads right now.

That said, I think there are some pros and cons to this episode. On the con side, I think that this whole idea of bringing in thousands of ignorant VR players seems like an unnecessary attempt to escalate things. It’s really cool, but it also seems like overkill on Kawahara’s part. Also, I didn’t need to hear another speech about how important the VR world is to the heroes and how they’ve made so many friends and memories in it. They made that clear a long time ago.

On the other hand, I think that this is a clever way for the anime to tie the whole series together. All of the friends, allies and secondary characters in SAO are getting the chance to show off their skills in a VR War. I loved seeing that in Avengers: Endgame, and I think I’ll love it in SAO.

Overall, I think that the anime’s about to enter a whole new level of absurdity, even for SAO. If they do it right, though, it can be the fun kind of absurd. Thus, next week, GAMERS GO TO WAR! THE GREAT VR WAR HAS BEGUN!

I Give “Heartless Choice” a 3.5/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff.

Sword Art Online: Alicization- War of Underworld Episode 29 Review/Recap

I’ve noticed a recurring theme among stories that feature a climatic final battle between two opposing forces. Right before the big fight, there’s always a moment where the cast calms down and prepares themselves for what’s about to happen. Star Wars had their moment with Luke and Leia in Jedi; and Game of Thrones had a whole episode before the White Walkers attacked. Now SAO: Alicization goes through its own calm before the storm as the final battle for Underworld is about to begin.

LINK START!

Recap

Alice arrives at the Integrity Knight’s base with Kirito in tow, much to Eldrie’s dismay. However, Bercouli lets Kirito stay as he knows the boy’s aware enough to defend himself. In addition, since he beat Quinella and most of the Integrity Knights, Bercouli thinks he’ll be the key to victory in the final battle. To help protect him, Alice leaves Kirito in the care of Tione and Ronye, who have joined the Human Army. However, the two are guilt-ridden at Kirito’s state, believing that if they had been smarter, Eugeo would be alive and Kirito wouldn’t be in his state. Alice tells the two girls that they did nothing wrong, and that they should keep moving forward.

A day or so later, Bercouli calls a war meeting with the Knights present. The Dark Territory has around 50,000 warriors and sacred arts users on their side. On their part, the Human Empire has 3,000 soldiers plus the Integrity Knights, each worth a thousand soldiers. So their plan is to bottleneck them at the entrance and try and thin out their ranks.

The night before the battle, everyone prepares for what’s to come the next day. Alice takes the chance to reconcile with Eldrie, telling him to live so that he may reclaim his lost memories. The next day, the Human Army stands at the gate as it collapses, beginning the Final Load Test.

Review

As far as prelude’s to the final battle go, I can sum up my feelings to this episode in one word: meh. I mean, I think it did a good job of building tension up for the final battle, but it doesn’t really do much else. Game of Thrones did a better job with its episode leading up to the White Walkers arrival.

That said, I did like getting to see some of the other characters make their return. Bercouli shows off his leadership skills, and humorously, deals with the same kind of girl troubles Kirito has. We see that Fanatio overcame her insecurities over being a woman thanks to Kirito. In addition, unlike in the Light Novels, several of the Integrity Knights Kirito fought have cameos.

Now that that’s out of the way, though, I think we’ve all gotten to the point where we have one question: can we fight now? This is going to be an epic war that could not only decide the fate of Underworld, but affect the real world as well. If Gabriel captures Alice, then it’s game over. I only hope that it’s better than “The Long Night” was; and more visible.

Next week the War of Underworld truly begins! Can’t wait!

I Give “The Night Before Battle” a 3/5. BRING ON THE FIGHT!

Click here to see more animanga stuff.

Sword Art Online: Alicization- War of Underworld Episode 28 Review/Recap

Sword Art Online has given us its fair share of villains over the years. While at are great hat sinks (*cough* Sugou and Quinella *cough*), I wouldn’t put them on a list of great anime villains. However, the exception to that has to be the big bad for War of Underworld, Gabriel Miller. I said that he’s a sociopath in my last post. However, it’s not until this episode that shows us how much of a gaming sociopath he is.

Link Start!

Recap

Through a series of flashbacks, we learn about Gabriel’s past. As a boy, Gabriel was fascinated by the idea of the soul, and longed to understand its power. This grew into an obsession as he got older, until one day, he murdered his best friend and childhood sweetheart, Alicia. As she died, he saw her soul leave her body, leading him to spend his life to experiencing that moment again.

In Underworld, Gabriel assumes the role of Vector and seizes power as Emperor of the Dark Territory. Playing off Underworld’s mythology, he vows to invade the Human Empire, promising its land for all in exchange for Alice. However, that night, a woman who’s opposed to his invasion tries to assassinate him. He kills her, and as she dies, witnesses her soul leave her body. Which he then eats.

The following day, Gabriel presents the frozen head of the woman to everyone, which leads to her leader/lover to attack Gabriel by incarnating himself into a storm. That storm’s then sucked into Gabriel’s soul, revealed to be a black void. Unphased, Gabriel then orders the invasion of the Human Empire to begin.

Review

It’s as I said: Gabriel Miller is a gaming sociopath. He’s got no ability to feel emotion, and his soul’s an all-encompassing void that devours everything. In other words, he’s the most evil person in SAO.

As good as the episode was at demonstrating how much of a sociopath Gabriel is, it leaves out some details from the web and light novels. Before he killed Alicia, he started taking insects apart so he could see their souls. That’s very disturbing! In addition to this, the light novel mentions how he becomes obsessed with Alice due to how she looks like Alicia. Even their names are the same. His ultimate goal is to steal Alice for himself and enslave her for his own, perverted goals.

Gabriel Miller’s the most dangerous enemy Kirito and his friends will ever face, and it will take everything they have to destroy him. I am personally looking forward to the fight between Kirito and Gabriel; we know it’s coming. If the show pulls it off right, this may be one of the biggest arcs anime has seen in a decade.

The war for Underworld is mere days away, and a gaming sociopath is leading the Dark Territory. They have 50,000 warriors to the Human Empire’s 3,000. Even with the Integrity Knights power, the heroes will need a miracle. Since Kirito’s in a coma, then maybe Asuna will do the trick!

I Give “Dark Territory” a 3/5. Getting better.

Click here to see more animanga stuff.

Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episode 20 Review/Recap

The last episode, we saw Alice renounce the Axiom Church but then deal with the Seal in her right eye as Kirito looked on. Meanwhile, Quinella was able to gain access to Eugeo’s fluctlight and began the process of turning him into her newest slave. In this episode, we get a look at how the Synthesis Ritual’s done, plus what happened to Alice before she was turned into an Integrity Knight.

LINK START!

Recap

Somehow, Kirito was able to stop Alice’s bleeding eye and then pull them both to the 94th floor. How he did it is beyond me, but it must have been a workout. Alice shows her appreciation by slamming him into the floor for getting her uniform all sweaty.

Using magic, they head down to Bercouli’s floor to retrace Eugeo’s steps, only to find the whole room frozen. As for Bercouli, he’s still trapped in that statue, to Alice’s horror. All she can do is watch as Bercouli, through sheer willpower, congratulates her for being the only person to ever break free of the Taboo Index. As a last piece of advice, he tells them that Chudelkin took Euegeo to Quinella.

The Deadly Web of Quinella

Alice remembers her first memory of meeting Quinella after the Synthesis Ritual, how terrified she was of her. She wouldn’t let that fear stop her now, even if she has to go through Chudelkin. As Prime Senator, Chudelkin oversees the Senators who watch over all in the Underworld and let Quinella know.

When they find the room of the Senator’s, its a sickening sight: pods filled with white, featureless puppets that watch everyone. They only stop to feed. The one behind them all is that worthless Chudelkin.

Chudelkin’s Confession

When Alice has Chudelkin cornered, the monster sadistically reveals what happened to Alice. After being arrested, Alice was trained to be a priest under the guise that she could return home. When she refused to undergo the Synthesis Ritual, he forced the process upon here.

While Alice processes everything, the pig flees with her and Kirito in pursuit. Before they can catch him, they’re confronted by a new foe: Eugeo Synthesis Knight Thirty-Two. Quinella turned him into an Integrity Knight. Thus, the only way to snap him out of it is by beating Quinella’s hasty brainwashing out of him.

Review

Wow, I knew that Chudelkin was evil, but after this episode, seeing him makes my skin crawl. He’s like a sociopathic, sadistic manchild who enjoys seeing others suffer. When I hear him talking about Alice as a kid, he reminded me of some sick pervert who gets off on this stuff. I know I can’t be the only one who got that vibe. Right?

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the big highlight: Eugeo got turned into an Integrity Knight. I have to give my fellow blogger, Karandi, points: Eugeo looks fantastic in his new armor. Do I think he stands a chance against Kirito? Heck no! I give it about 2 minutes, tops. Even if he didn’t have plot-armor, we all know Kirito would kick Eugeo’s ass.

So, next week’s the fans- I mean a fight between best friends. I stand by my two-minute remark!

I Give “Synthesis” a 3.5/5. Suitable for Exposition, but lacking in the fighting.

Click here to see more animanga stuff