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Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 21 Review/Recap

Twenty-one episodes in, and we finally get the fight that no one asked for, least of all me. Kirito’s forced to fight a brainwashed Eugeo, now the latest Integrity Knight. I stand by my assertion about the time it will take for Kirito to kick Eugeo’s butt.

LINK START!

Recap

The clash between the two friends continues as Kirito does his best to undo Quinella’s brainwashing. Try as he might, though, nothing seems to get through to him. At least, not until Kirito mentions the name of Alice. Then just like that, all his memories come flooding back to him. Quinella was in such a rush to turn him into an Integrity Knight that she didn’t seal off his memories. Instead of teaming up with his friends, though, he freezes them in place and goes to confront Quinella alone.

We all know how that ends, though. Eugeo tries to kill Quinella, only to fail miserably. Fortunately, Eugeo had already set Kirito and Alice free, and they bust in right behind a terrified Chudelkin. Face to face with the fake Pontifex, Alice declares that she will never serve Quinella; she serves the people. Rather than sully herself in battle, the hag commands Chudelkin to dispose of the three. In exchange, she “swears by the Goddess Stacia” that he may spend one night alone with her. Chudelkin then unleashes his most powerful fire magic, summoning a massive Genie to fight.

Review

What kind of fight did we watch? It’s bad enough that there was little to no build up of tension to it, but then have it end so quickly is pathetic. I knew that Kirito was going to snap Eugeo out of it with the magic of friendship, but I wanted to see them duke it out. It was a buzzkill in the end.

I also had some issues with how Eugeo and Alice acted during the episode. I fail to understand why Alice didn’t jump in and help Kirito fight Eugeo; that doesn’t make sense. Second, if Eugeo snapped out of his brainwashing, then why didn’t he come up with a plan with Kirito and Alice? They could’ve ganged up on Quinella and taken her out in one fell swoop. Instead, Eugeo went to fight someone he knew he couldn’t beat alone. If the Abridged Series ever gets to this, I hope they bring it up.

I Hate Quinella

Another problem I have is, once again, with Quinella. I hate how the anime is going out of its way to use her for fanservice shots. Seeing her naked’s This bad enough, but the close-ups on her boobs and legs are irritating. It veers into shameless fanservice.

The worst part of it is that we know that Quinella has no intention of keeping her promise to that groveling coward, Chudelkin. I could tell by the haughty laugh she gives: she expects him to die for her.

While this episode was my least favorite of the season, but it did have one saving grace: Eugeo calling Quinella out on her idea of what love is. I had done it before in a previous post, but hearing her repeat herself made me realize how pitiful she is. If that’s her idea of love, then I don’t think anyone ever loved her before, because she knows nothing about it. She’s hollower than any machine could ever be.

I look forward to seeing her get her comeuppance.

I Give “The 32nd Knight” a 2/5. Worst “Fight Btwn Best Friends” Ever.

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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.

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Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episode 18 Review/Recap

We’ve seen how far the so-called “Pontifex” Quinella is willing to go to maintain her power. She created the Taboo Index to shackle the humans of Underworld to her oppressive rules. It’s only in this episode of SAO: Alicization that we see the depths of her wickedness. At this point, she’s number two on my list of most hated women in anime. Guess who’s number one.

LINK START!

Recap

The episode opens back with Kirito and Alice on the ledge, where Kirito tells Alice the truth. The truth that Quinella lied to the Integrity Knights about summoning them from heaven. That she wiped their memories and stole their identities. Above all, that she doesn’t care about the humans of Underworld; only herself.

Once Alice hears everything, it doesn’t take long for her to realize he’s telling the truth. She already knows from Bercouli that there aren’t enough Integrity Knights to stop the Dark Territory from invading. Yet Quinella won’t do anything, and refuses to arm and train the people. She just lets scumbag nobles get away with whatever they want.

Now convinced of the Axiom Church’s corruption and that her memories are a lie, Alice agrees to help Kirito and Eugeo. When she tries to renounce the Axiom Church, the Taboo Index kicks in and tries to stop her. Through sheer force of will, though, Alice breaks free, even though it costs her her eye.

At the top of the Cathedral, Eugeo awakens in Quinella’s bedroom, with a voice telling him to run. Before he can, Quinella awakens, and its too late. The immortal Pontifex draws Eugeo in with her sweet words and comforting promises. As the episode ends, she uses Eugeo to give her access to his fluctlight,and then she begins her work.

Review

First, I want to give credit where credit is due, and Alice deserves credit. I don’t know why, but I love seeing people rebel against tyrannical regimes. One of my biggest buttons is the notion of a group robbing people of free will; it angers me so much! So I liked seeing Alice say what is, for all intents and purposes, “there are no strings on me”.

I was going to say something else, but then I thought that verse was better.

As for Quinella, my loathing of her has only grown. Seeing her use both her words and beauty to ensare Eugeo in a honeypot of lies made me so mad, not just at her, but at myself. Quinella’s VA did a great job with her lines, knowing how to say them in a way that calms the heart. Even I was almost taken in by what she said.

What I hated, though, was all that “love” nonsense that she was spewing. We know that that’s not love, but she tried to use a memory Eugeo had of Kirito and Alice hanging out together to manipulate him. Even if that actually happened, I doubt that’s the whole story. Plus, using jealousy over the fact that Alice may have liked Kirito seems like a lame tactic. Especially since none of them should remember that yet.

In short, I got super happy to see Alice tell Quinella to stick it, and super mad that Quinella seduced Eugeo so fast. It was a good episode, though, and that’s saying something since a lot of the episodes this season have been hit or miss. Only five left before the first half is over, but I already know what’s gonna happen. Let’s hope its worth watching, though.
Especially since none of them should remember that yet.

In short, I got super happy to see Alice tell Quinella to stick it, and super mad that Quinella seduced Eugeo so fast. It was a good episode, though, and that’s saying something since a lot of the episodes this season have been hit or miss. Only five left before the first half is over, but I already know what’s gonna happen. Let’s hope its worth watching, though.

I Give “Legendary Hero” A 3.5/5

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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 16 Review/Recap

I was too busy dealing with the fact that Game of Thrones and Star vs. were over that I forgot to write my review for the last episode of SAO: Alicization. I have to admit, though, that this show’s now starting to get a bit repetitive. Still, I promised that I would do every episode, and I will keep it. Or my name isn’t Roderick J Fritz!

It’s not; that’s just a pen name. And until I say otherwise, that is what it will remain as.

LINK. START!

Recap

So after that cliffhanger ending last time, Kirito manages to unleash his ultimate attack and is able to beat Fanatio, but he doesn’t have the heart to let someone that good die because of the Axiom Church’s corruption. So he decides to use one of those four dagger things to save her, even though Eugeo thinks he’s crazy to do so.

And then, as if to reinforce that the Axiom Church is evil, Kirito and Eugeo hitch a ride on an elevator with an attendant whose calling has been to work the elevator. For centuries. She can’t even remember her name.

After that sad scene, we finally get to see the main event, as Kirito and Eugeo manage to make it to the floor where Alice is waiting for them. Another epic battle ensues, their teamwork.and while Kirito has a hard time keeping up with her and her OP sword, Eugeo and Kirito restrain her with their teamwork.

Just as they’re about to use another dagger on her, though, she breaks free, and then the wall breaks open, sending Kirito and Alice falling outside of the Church. Before Eugeo can do anything, the building regenerates, leaving him alone, without his two best friends.

Review

So, a couple of things. While I didn’t mind seeing that elevator woman, I thought that they wasted time on her just to establish something that we already know: the Axiom Church is evil and the “Sacred Task” thing is like slavery with extra steps. I wanted to see Kirito and Alice fight some more! Since Alice’s return, it felt like the plot was making the fight between Kirito, Eugeo, and Alice a huge deal. Instead, it lasted about two minutes. That’s lame!

And I know that Kirito and Alice aren’t dead. Even if they didn’t have plot armor, those two wouldn’t let falling out of a building kill them. The whole point is to get Alice separated and make her see that she’s being used as a tool by the Church.

If what my fellow blogger Karandi says is true, Eugeo is going to have one of the best fights of the season in the next few episodes, while Kirito and Alice are stuck with exposition dialogue. Not looking forward to that, unless they make it interesting somehow.

So, this episode was a bit of a letdown after what happened in the previous episode. I hoped the fights would get better, but they didn’t. Not giving up hope, though.

I Give “The Osmanthus Knight” a 3/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 15 Review/Recap

When we last left off, Eugeo and Kirito had just gotten back their swords and had a mission: to get to the top of the Central Cathedral, rescue Alice, and beat the stuffing out of Quinella. But they have a hundred floors to climb before they can do that. Then they ran into these two little girls.

LINK. START!

Recap

Those two little girls say that they are Linel and Fizel, two sisters-in-training in the Axiom Church. They were supposed to stay inside their rooms while the Integrity Knights fought, but they snuck out. Also, they stab and paralyze Kirito and Eugeo because they’re actually Integrity Knights.

Several years ago, Quinella was experimenting with bringing the dead back. So she had a bunch of kids kill each other and then brought them back. Yeah. In the end, Linel and Fizel were the only ones who survived that experiment, so Quinella pulled the plug and let the girls become Integrity Knights in training. They captured Kirito and Eugeo to prove they could become full-fledged Knights and bring them all the way up to Floor 50.

That’s when Kirito reveals he was just faking being paralyzed. He pulled a Jotaro and realized right away that the girls were the enemy, so he cast a spell nullifying their blades.

While Eugeo waits for the paralysis to wear off, Kirito engages in an epic clash with the Vice Commander of the Integrity, Fanatio. There’s a lot of epic effects and sword fighting. Fanatio proves to be a dangerous opponent, wielding a sword forged from a thousand mirrors that can reflect energy. Through a bit of trickery, Kirito manages to knock Fanatio’s helmet off, revealing that she’s actually a woman.

Fanatio keeps her gender a secret because she’s insecure about her gender. No swordsman will take her seriously because she’s a woman, which she despises. Yet, as Kirito points out, she makes an effort to look after her appearance because she’s in love with the Commander of the Integrity Knights.

Having fought against and alongside tough girls like Asuna, Leafa, and Sinon for years, Kirito knows that gender has nothing to do with one’s skill, and refuses to hold back, actually earning Fanatio’s. Just when Fanatio has Kirito on the ropes, though, Eugeo’s able to move again and uses the Blue Rose Sword to freeze Fanatio in place. Even after all that, Fanatio stubbornly refuses to go down. It all comes down to a clash of wills: Fanatio’s will to fulfill her duty, and Kirito and Eugeo’s will to to protect Underworld. As the final clash begins, the episode fades to white and the credits play.

Review

This episode had one of the better fights of the season. While short, I could tell that Kirito and Fanatio were fighting with everything they had. They even started grinning in the middle of their fight. When I see that happen in anime, that means that a characters enjoying the challenge.

I have to give props to Kirito for being the first person Fanatio’s ever met who didn’t hold back because of her gender. Given how half his friends are women who can kick ass, that’s not surprising. Heck, Asuna’s as good a swordsmen as Kirito!

As for the two little girls, while I knew that they were going to end up being small fry, I found their backstory to be interesting. The fact that Quinella was willing to resort to using kids for her twisted experiments only cements her spot on my “Anime Women I Loathe”. I’m looking forward to seeing how this ends next week.

I Give “The Relentless Knight” a 4/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episode 14 Review/Recap

First, I would like to offer everyone my deepest apologies for not getting this done sooner. I have been so busy in my life right now, so I am trying to keep up with a lot of things at once.

That said, let us get started with the second part of Sword Art Online: Alicization. For the record, I have not read any of Karandi’s articles on it lately, as I want to experience it for myself and make my own judgement

LINK. START!

Recap

After retrieving their swords from the armory, Kirito and Eugeo now face a brutal, dungeon style gauntlet ahead of them. They need to fight past the Integrity Knights, find Alice, make it to the top floor, and kick Quinella’s butt. It doesn’t take them long to find their first opponent in the form of the Integrity Knight that attacked them earlier, Deuesolbert Synthesis Seven.

The Crimson Knight proves to be a formidable opponent, wielding powerful fire magic and a powerful bow, but he proves to be no match for Kirito and Eugeo’s teamwork. As Kirito holds off his attacks, Eugeo charges in with his Blue Rose Sword and overpowers the knight with powerful ice magic.

As Deusolbert lays defeated, Eugeo recognizes him as the Knight who took Alice away, something he himself can’t recall. It ends up confirming Kirito’s suspicions about Quinella erasing the Integrity Knights memories and then lying to them. The man is shocked by this, but he recalls a faint memory of someone from his life before he was an Integrity Knight, seemingly confirming it for himself.

Eugeo and Kirito choose to spare their enemy’s life and continue to move up the tower. As they stop to rest, though, they are met by two little girls.

Review

From what I heard from Karandi, the rest of the episodes are going to follow the same basic formula, Kirito and Eugeo fight through a different boss fight to reach Alice and beat up the hag who refuses to wear clothes. I don’t care how hot Quinella looks: she’s still a hag!

That said, this should make for some interesting fights, if this is any indication. That duel between Kirito, Eugeo and the Integrity Knight was really awesome the fight between fire and ice.

As far as the plot goes, I don’t think we’ll be expecting that much from it. It’s pretty much gratuitous fighting scenes at point with the plot being put on the back burner.

In action shows like SAO, trying to balance between plot and the action can be a tricky task, and they don’t always do it right. Balancing the two’s going to be what I look for in the show going forward. I know SAO has its detractors, and they do make good points. But I’m not giving up on the show yet.

I Give “The Crimson Knight” A 3/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episode 12 & Episode 13 Review/Recap

I am terribly sorry for the delay on this, but I was busy all week, and now I’m trying to play catch up. However, Episodes 12 & 13 both tell the same important story. That story will define the remainder of the first half of SAO: Alicization. So I figured, just kill two birds with one stone and do them both at the same time. And that’s why we’re here now.

LINK START!

Recap

“The Sage of the Library”

Eugeo can’t shake the feeling that he’s heard Eldrie’s name before, but considering how they’re about to fight him with only their chains and system commands, that’s not as important. They do their best, but they can’t beat him. Just he has them on the ropes, Eugeo remembers who Eldrie is: Eldrie Woolsburg, the winner of the most recent Unification Tournament.

Since this means that that whole “summoned to this world” thing isn’t true, Eldrie starts to mentally break down, and its revealed that he has some sort of crystal implanted in him that blocks his real memories. Before they can make him remember everything, another Intergrity Knight ruins everything, and they have to run for it.

Just as they hit a dead end, a glowing door appears in the courtyard, with a girl inside beckoning them inside. Inside is a massive library, containing the history of Underworld and the Sacred Arts. More important, though, the girl’s name is Cardinal, the former regulator of Underworld.

While Eugeo goes to take a hot bath, Cardinal tells Kirito the truth: while the Gods of Underworld are super-accounts for emergencies, everything else is a lie made by the Axiom Church. Cardinal is, in fact, the manifestation of the Cardinal System that has run nearly every VR world Kirito has been in. Then she tells the true history of the world.

One of the four Rath employees who built Underworld was corrupt and instilled a sense of arrogance in his children, which led to the creation of the nobles. From their ranks, a girl named Quinella was born. Quinella attained an unheard of mastery of the Sacred Arts, which she used to fool everyone into believing she was a prophet of the gods. She then built the Axiom Church and the Taboo Index to ensure no one else could surpass her.

When she eventually grew old, she used the Sacred Arts to restore her youth, and then usurped the Cardinal Systems authority over Underworld, becoming the Administrator.

“Ruler and Mediator”

Even with all her power, Quinella hit another wall: her fluctlight had reached its memory capacity. Thus, she used a young girl as a test dummy to gain control of another’s Fluctlight. That would become the basis for the Integrity Knights Synthesis.

While it helped save her memories, Quinella’s plan backfired, and allowed Cardinal to use the body of the little girl as her own. Quinella was too strong for her to defeat, though, and she was forced to flee to the Great Library. She’s been hiding there while she sent animal agents to find someone who can help her take down Quinella.

It gets worse: Rath has designed an endgame to Underworld. Very soon, the inhabitants of the Dark Territory will invade the Human Territory, which will result in Underworld’s bloody destruction. If Kirito and Eugeo help Cardinal defeat Quinella, though, she will make them a deal. She can save ten people in Underworld, while she deletes the rest. Even though Kirito agrees to help Cardinal, he refuses to give up on Underworld.

After meeting up with Eugeo, Cardinal explains how to break the brainwashing of the Integrity Knights: by recovering the memory fragments of the Knights, located in Quinella’s quarters, and put them back in the Knights. Which means they need to fight through all the Integrity Knights to get to Quinella.

Cardinal then gives them some power-ups that will help them beat the Integrity Knights, and then she sends the two of them on their way, towards the fight of their lives.

Review

Now you see why I loathe the Axiom Church, the Noblility, the Taboo Index, and Quinella. That woman represents everything I despise in those who govern: she’s arrogant to the point of considering herself a goddess, and she abuses her power to oppress those beneath her and keep them from standing up to her rule. Her dumb rules are why Alice was taken away, and why Ronye and Tiese were nearly raped. She’s everything wrong with Underworld, and I am looking forward to the day that Kirito takes her down. It’s already happened in the anime; we just need to get to that point in the dub.

What should be of greater concern, though, is Cardinal’s prediction for the fate of Underworld. I know for a fact that she’s correct. The Dark Territory will invade, and the Integrity Knights won’t be able to stop them. The only chance Underworld has to survive is for Kirito to take down Quinella and rally the humans of Underworld. That, though, will be a story for another time.

Regarding the episodes themselves, I personally enjoyed them. I know that a lot of people may not like having to deal with exposition and flashbacks in shows, but they are necessary to move the plot forward at times. In this case, these two episodes establish what we had already suspected: that Underworld wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Next week, we start a new chapter in the Alicization saga, as Kirito and Eugeo must fight to save Underworld from Quinella’s tyranny and the coming apocalypse. If Karandi is right, then the next few episodes are going to become repetitive and boring. Since I didn’t start watching until the dub, though, I reserve judgement. I’m hopeful, though.

These episodes had far more talking than they did fighting, but they were some of my favorite episodes of the show so far, as they revealed a lot of important information about what’s happening. That, and I’m a sucker for a good flashback story

I Give “The Sage of the Library” and “Ruler and Mediator” 3.5/5 and 4/5

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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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Sword Art Online: Alicization, Episodes 9 and 10 Review/Recap

I knew this day would come, but I’ve dreaded it all the same. Why on earth did Reki Kawahara think that this was a good idea? I even put off watching these episodes for a week because I didn’t want to deal with what I saw. Well, there’s no point in delaying the inevitable. Here are the episodes of Sword Art Online: Alicization that caused controversy before Shield Hero was a thing. And unlike Shield Hero, these episodes were legitimately controversial.

LINK, START!

Recap

“Nobleman’s Responsibilities”

Time has passed since Kirito and Eugeo became elite swordsmen at the Sword Mastery Academy, and Eugeo’s skill continues to grow. After realizing that he doesn’t have that spark to his attacks that others have, Eugeo begins to train himself even further.

Then these wastes of human flesh show up: Humbert and Raios. They’re the Nobles who wrecked Kirito’s flower bed last episode. They also represent the worst kind of upper class people: the kind that gets off bullying everyone beneath them, like Eugeo. That’s probably how they get the number one and two spots in the academy. In order to gauge how powerful he is and how strong they are, Eugeo duels Humbert. The brat’s power is formidable, and literally fueled by his arrogance, but Eugeo manages to fight him to a standstill.

A few days pass, and Kirito and Eugeo are taking their valets, Tiese and Ronye, for a picnic. After a while, Tiese and Ronye bring up a big problem their friend, Frenica, is having. Humbert’s her mentor, and ever since their duel, he’s been forcing Frenica to do things that are borderline sexual harrassment. He’s been forcing her to massage him in the baths in her underwear. Just typing this makes my stomach churn.

It all goes back to the Taboo Index and how flawed it is, and Kirito doesn’t buy it. Doing what one knows is right is more important than following some dumb rules.

When the two confront Humbert and Raios, they admit it, but they can get away with it because of the Taboo Index.

I can’t stand it. Watching people in power abuse it for their own sick desires makes my blood boil and my stomach churn. The worst part is that this isn’t limited to fiction: this happens in real life.

That evening, Tiese confesses to Eugeo that, she graduates, she will be forced to marry someone of higher status, and she’s terrified that it will be someone like Raios and Humbert. If Eugeo were to rank high enough in the future Four Empire Unification Tournament, he’ll be granted a rank of nobility. I think you know where this is going.

“Taboo Index”

A few days later, Eugeo gets a knock on his door and meets Frenica. The poor girl reveals that Tiese and Ronye went to confront Humbert and Raios and never came back.

Yep, the two have been kidnapped by the monsters, and as they punishment for their “disrespect” they’re going to violate them. When Eugeo tries to stop them, the cowards invoke the Taboo Index as justification. Remembering his inability to save Alice and what Kirito said in the last episode, Eugeo overcomes the Taboo Index through sheer willpower and slashes Humbert’s arm off.

When Raios tries to kill Eugeo for attacking them, Kirito intervenes, and proceeds to slice Raios’ hands off. The living pile of crap then bleeds to death while his fluctlight tears itself over using Humbert’s life to save himself and violating the Taboo Index.

As Kirito, Eugeo and their valets process what just happened, that creepy face that showed up when Alice broke the Index appears again. The boys know what this means. The next morning, an Integrity Knight shows up to take them to the Central Cathedral for punishment. The knight in question shocks Eugeo, though. She looks just like Alice.

Review

I don’t know what Reki Kawahara was thinking when he thought that this moment was a good idea, but it may not have been any good. I was already pushing it with what happened with Asuna back in the Fairy Dance Arc, but this was just as bad. That’s why I put off watching it until now.

That said, the original Web Novel version was actually worse. What Humbert and Raios planned to do to Tiese and Ronye actually happened in the Web Novel. Which is just as bad!

After watching this, I have to admit that it was as cringeworthy as I thought it would be. The worst part, though, is that part of the story wasn’t even included. In the Light Novel, Eugeo had this internal struggle over defying the Taboo Index. In here, we barely even see it..

I mentioned back when I started this that I loathed the Taboo Index with every fiber of my being. This moment is why. It’s a rule that literally keeps people from doing anything when they see something they know is wrong happen in front of them. I’m proud that Eugeo was able to do what he did. I would have done the exact same thing.

As for the Integrity Knight who looks like Alice, I can assure you that its really her. Read the wiki, remember? How she got to be like this is going to be revealed over the remaining episodes this season. Next week, we begin the second half of this season.

I Give “Nobleman’s Responsibilities” and “Taboo Index” A 2/5.

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