RJ Writing Ink

Sword Art Online: Alicization-War of Underworld Episode 47 Review/Recap

Well, everyone, I did what I set out to do. I said that I was going to review every episode of Sword Art Online: Alicization, and managed to do just that. Was the season as good as I hoped it would be? At times, it was. But it had its fair share of moments that made us cringe. And pacing problems, to be sure. But for all its faults, I think that the Alicization arc manages to stick the landing with an emotional epilogue.

LINK START!!

Recap

The morning after he finally comes home, Kirito gets a call from Rinko, who says that Alice has run off somewhere! Just when he’s about to go search for her, though, he gets a box delivery. And guess who’s inside it?

Alice missed Kirito so much that she snuck out via the mail service. After getting herself situated, Alice then berates Kirito for not telling her he could be stuck in Underworld for good. She would have stayed behind to help him if that was the case, which is why Kirito didn’t tell her. She’s the hope for Underworld’s future. After talking things out, Alice gets to stay at the Kirigaya house for the rest of the day and bonds with Suguha and Kirito’s parents. Later that night, though, Alice wakes Kirito up and tells he she got a mysterious message through the Internet.

It takes while, but with Yui’s help, the two figure out that the message is giving them an IP address. One that will allow them to log back into Underworld! The three then call Asuna and head to RATH’s Office, where Rinko confirms that the address works. Thus, Kirito, Asuna, and Alice don’t hesitate to log in. And it turns out, the Underworld has been busy!

In the time since Alice left, the people of Underworld have developed space travel, and the Integrity Knights fly in starfighters and protect the planet from monsters in this big, sci-fi, Gundam world. As fate would have it, two Integrity Pilots, descendants of Ronye and Tiese, are locked in combat with a giant monster. The trio use their swordskills to make short work of it, though, letting the Underworld know that its heroes have returned at last.

Review

I won’t lie to you: I legit had tears welling up in my eyes as the episode came to an end. This wasn’t just the end to the longest arc in SAO. In Reki Kawahara’s original web novels, this marked the end to Sword Art Online. And it was going to stay that way for a long time, until Kawahara decided to give it a new ending with the ongoing Unital Ring arc. It may take years for that to get an anime adaptation, though, so there’s no telling if I’ll cover it. In the more immediate future, though, the series is getting a spin-off.

According to source on the Internet, SAO: Progressive is a soft reboot of the Aincrad Arc, one that sees Kirito and Asuna clear the game at a much slower pace. I admit, it will be nice to see the cast in their early days again, as Aincrad was one of the best arcs in the series.

As for how SAO: Alicization ended: I’d say it did pretty good, but that it’s not as exciting as it could have been. You can’t win them all, though, and I’m just glad that we got to see the anime version of this story. Getting my hands on the Light Novels was so hard! It’s too bad it’s over, though: that last scene of them all in space had me hooked!

I Give “New World” a 3.5/5. Good Ending, ’nuff said.

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Sword Art Online: Alicization- War of Underworld Episode 30 Review/Recap

It took us six episodes to get to this point, but at last, the War for Underworld has begun. I waited for this moment since reading about it in the web novels. I wanted it to be what made SAO a good isekai again. However, this first episode felt like a repeat of the Battle of Ice and Fire from Game of Thrones. The difference is that this time we can see what’s going on.

LINK START!

Recap

With the barrier between the Human Empire and the Dark Territory shattered, the War for Underworld begins. The Dark Territory’s plan is simple: win through sheer numbers. Goblins, giants, and more hammer away at the front lines without respite. While the Integrity Knights live up to their power, there are too many enemies. When Deuselbert  runs out of arrows to fire, he resorts to using his sword as an arrow. Eldrie’s position’s covered in smoke, so he can’t fight without hurting his men. As for Fanatio, one of her followers gives their life so she can slay the Chief of the Giants.

Despite the Knights best efforts, they’re fighting a battle they can’t win. One of their members, Renly, is so scared he runs back to the supply depot. Through all of this, Alice watches in the sky overhead, gathering the energy needed for what amounts to a Spirit Bomb.

Review

So far, I think the War for Underworld’s off to a slow start; a very slow start. The anime’s going out of its way to let as many Integrity Knights appear as possible, yet only a handful are shown fighting. After spending the first half of the season focusing on the Knights, it feels like a letdown.

However, I do think that Fanatio and Deuselbert had their own badass moments, so the anime’s at least making an effort. They don’t mentioned as much in the web or light novels. Meanwhile, Alice is flying above the battle pulling a Goku as she charges her attack, so the best Integrity Knight does nothing. However, it’s not Alice I want to see fighting: who I want to see is Asuna.

Asuna logged in several episodes back to find Kirito. However, we’ve yet to see any sign of her in Underworld. When she does show up, though, I can bet she’ll kick some serious butt. I want the War for Underworld to have Asuna kicking ass, but I have to wait who knows how long? Hopefully, next episode will have Asuna make her grand appearance and turn the tide of battle; that’s how these “cavalry ride” scenarios work.

I Give “Battle of the Knights” a 3/5. Give Me Asuna and Leafa now!

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