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Sword Art Online: Alicization War of Underworld, Episode 26 Review/Recap

After a quiet prologue to show us what’s happened to Underworld, SAO begins to ramp up once more. The war between the Humans and the Dark Territory’s on the horizon, and the latter’s already make the opening salvos. Rulid Village is under attack by the Dark Territory, and the only one who can stop them is Alice? Although, can Alice regain her warrior spirit, though, and what’s happening in the real world?

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Recap

Alice races on her dragon Amayori to Rulid Village, finding that her worst fears have been realized. A vanguard of goblins and other beings from the Dark Territory are invading Rulid. In addition, the greedy Master-At-Arms refuses to let anyone evacuate. Enraged and inspired by Kirito’s resolve to help even in his state, Alice reveals her status as an Integrity Knight and orders everyone to retreat. Afterwards, she proceeeds to drive back the invaders on her own. However, knowing that war’s inevitable, Alice chooses to return to the capital with Kirito to prepare for the upcoming conflict.

Meanwhile in the real world, the Ocean Turtle’s under attack by an unknown assault team. It doesn’t take long for RATH to figure out their objective: to get inside the Fluctlight Cubes and acquire Alice for themselves. Much to Asuna’s fury, the only person in any position to stop the enemy is Kirito, and he’s in a coma within a coma. However, Asuna refuses to stand any longer and demands that Kikouka do something as she comes up with her own idea.

Review

I considered the first half of this episode to be a warm-up for the war that’s coming to Underworld. More importantly, I consider it an important moment in Alice’s character development. We’ve seen her go from a proud knight blindly following the Axiom Church to someone broken by the loss of her childhood friends. Add on the revelation that everything she was told was a lie, and she lost her resolve to fight. In this episode, though, we see her regain that fire she had as she takes up a new cause. This time, though, its worth fighting for. Additionally, I thought the restoration of her eye, while not explained very well, was a symbolic rebirth for her.

As for the second half, though, it represents the shortcomings of adapting a light novel. Exposition dumps are necessary to move the plot along, but I think the show didn’t need to spend so much time explaining it. The long and short is: Kirito’s self-loathing over losing Eugeo+power surge= frying his mind and sense of self. As for who these intruders are, it’s clear they’re working for another government that doesn’t want Japan to create a bottom-up AI. We also got a big reveal in a post-credits scene of the assault team’s leader. Remember this guy, because he’s going to be one of Kirito’s biggest enemies.

The main draw to the real world remains Asuna. She’s running out of patience and, by the looks of things, is ready to dive into Underworld to find Kirito herself. Considering how strong-willed she and Alice are, there would be sparks flying if they met.

Buckle up, people, because things are going to get really crazy from this point on. Crazy even by SAO standards.

I Give “Raids” a 3/5

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Sword Art Online: Alicization War of Underworld, Episode 25 Review/Recap

Back when SAO: Alicization ended the dub of its first half on Toonami, I promised that I would continue reviewing the show when part two came out. Now I intend to keep that promise, and I’m not waiting for the dub. Not when this could be the biggest arc in SAO. In addition, I don’t know if Karandi will be reviewing the second half, and I want to pick it up for them. Therefore, get ready to put on your nerve gear for Sword Art Online: War of Underworld.

LINK START!

Recap

Several months have passed since the death of Quinella, and Underworld’s still picking up the pieces. Thanks to the attack on the Ocean Turtle, Kirito’s been left in a coma in Underworld, Abel to move but unable to interact with the world. To protect him from those who still seek to punish him, Alice took him back to Rulid Village, living just outside the village. Alice makes a living helping the village, but they still see her as a criminal, save for Selka.

Meanwhile, Bercouli told the Integrity Knights of Quinella’s crimes, and her death leaves them vulnerable to the Dark Territory. Knowing they don’t stand a chance on their own, the Knights have issued a call to arms, training the people how to fight for the imminent invasion. Despite all this, Alice refuses to leave Kirito’s side, despite the Knights insistence. However, Alice may not have a choice; late one night, she awakens to find the village in flames. The war for Underworld has come.

Review

I knew going in to this that we’d have to wait to see some action, so I didn’t expect a lot to happen in the first episode. However, I stand by my hopes that the second half of Season Three will be better than the first. I say this because based on what I remember from the Light Novels, War of Underworld is not an exaggeration. Sword Art Online is about to go into a full scale war, and they’re bringing their entire cast of main and recurring characters to bare for it. That’s what I want to see in this kind of story: a war bringing together or reuniting characters from all parts of the show. They may not all get the same time in the spotlight, but it would be awesome to see everyone get at least one moment to shine.

Speaking of spotlight, don’t expect it to be on Kirito for most of War of Underworld. He’s stuck in this catatonic state most of the time. Therefore, this leaves more room for everyone else to grow. On that note, I did like some adjustments the anime makes to the Light Novels. For one, they give cameos to the Integrity Knights that Kirito and Eugeo beat; outside of Bercouli, Fanatio, and a few others, everyone else fades into the background. I’m hoping that we’ll get a scene or two showing them fighting in the upcoming war.

Alice’s Plight

This whole episode focuses on Alice, and I thought this was a great idea. We know how hard Alice has had it: arrested because of unfair laws, losing her memories and have them replaced with lies. Even her hometown sees her as a criminal at best, or a freak at worst. I respect her for remaining outwardly calm, but we know how much it’s eating at her on the inside.

With the war for the Underworld now on her doorstep, Alice will have no choice but to become a knight once more, and I look forward to seeing it. This time, though, she’s fighting for a cause worth fighting for. I know the second half started out slow, but I have high hopes going forward.

I give “In The Far North” a 4/5. A slow start, but this can be the calm before the storm.

Also, can we mention how Kirito attracts girls even while in a coma? I’ve lost count of how many girls are attracted to him by now.

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