Sword Art Online: Alicization – War Of The Underworld part 2

Finally it’s here. After a long ride with the Alicization project (as well as the damn Corona virus delaying the suspense by a season), it’s time to finally get it over with Sword Art Online: Alicization – War Of The Underworld part 2 (the second part of the second half which makes it technically the third season overall?). After all, when this arc was announced, we were all prepared for the long ride when the first season came out late in 2018. Almost 2 years feels like a long time for such a series but I guess it beats spending like forever inside a virtual game! Gee, time really flies, huh? And also, we’re dying to find out the thrilling conclusion to the waifu wars. Will it be Asuna or Alice? Or some of the other girls? Or Eugeo?! Just kidding. We just want to finally have a conclusion for this story.

Episode 13
After Shino says hi to a very much relieved Asuna, she is brought to see Kirito. Is her heart ready for this? Apparently like any girl seeing Kirito in this state, she breaks down in tears. She hugs him and even pecks him. Will that change anything? Well, it’s too early to tell. Meanwhile Lilpilin (orc boss) is mourning over the death of his wife when Leafa crashes into the area. Lilpilin is suspicious of her but apparently Leafa for some reason isn’t an inch suspicious and be friendly with him. After all, she sees this pig as a fellow human. I’m wondering if she has a screw loose in her head after that crash because she agrees to be his prisoner to be taken to Vecta! Unfortunately Dee Eye Ell (dark mage boss) usurps him and takes Leafa as her prisoner. Is it too early for Leafa fanservice because she uses tentacle rape on her to suck out her life force! I mean, really?! Leafa just helpless orgasm as her life force being drained. When Lilpilin tells her to stop, Dee Eye Ell becomes mad for trying to order her. She can give Leafa to him in exchange for stripping naked and squealing like a pig. Lilpilin does so in hopes to save Leafa but then he starts to defy and breaks the seal in his left eye. He manages to scratch Dee Eye Ell so this infuriates her even more as she tosses away Leafa and beats him up. But before anything serious can happen, Leafa cuts off her hands. I swear, she might have some sort of feelings for this piggy boy… While Asuna and the soldiers take on more bloody American players, Bercouli has caught up to Vecta and cut down his dragon. We know it is too soon to be the final boss battle because as we can see and expect, Vecta dodges all his mighty moves with ease and can perhaps even absorb and repel his sword skills. Worse, there are times when Bercouli finds himself spacing out, allowing Vecta to just waltz up to him and cut him. Realizing that this might be Asuna’s prophecy that he will die here, no point holding back. He goes all out to kill this monster. Back to the battlefield, Asuna has slashed so many American players and it is starting to wear her down. I guess she’s not so immortal. When are those damn Americans going to realize this game sucks and log out?! But now fear, a bright flash of light crashes in taking out those stubborn Americans. Who is it this time? Be glad it is not another Kirito’s girl’s turn. It’s Klein!

Episode 14
Not just Klein but also Agil, Lisbeth, Silica and the rest of those convinced ALO players. You Americans now will pay! This is all possible thanks to Yui. Wow, Asuna so happy that the thought of Yui heals her?! Asuna further instructs the creation of a support unit to heal the wound while she goes to join the slaughtering of the Americans. Everybody here now, can’t lose, right? Back on Ocean Turtle, Higa realizes some reaction on Kirito’s monitor. Could it be coincidence those times are when his girls dived in? Yeah it gets freaking technical that I don’t understand what they’re explaining! Oh screw it! Basically, I think (I THINK!) that Higa deduces that Kirito’s Fluctlight has a backup and it exists in the Fluctlight of his girls. So they can extract this ‘backup image’ and restore Kirito’s damaged areas. The problem is that it is in the main control room and they can’t wait till the raid is over because by then the destroyer will attack, cutting the power, blah, blah, blah, more technical stuffs, basically Kirito will not regain consciousness anymore. The plan is for Higa to go himself to that room to do the necessary stuffs. I guess this is where Ichiemon comes in because this robot will serve as distraction while he sneaks through the duct and all. Of course he won’t go alone as Yanai the cable guy will go with him. Meanwhile we return to the epic fight between Bercouli and Vecta. Obviously the former has taken a lot of damage but he seems to be buying time and trying to find their past afterimage. Something about his secret sword skill that can slash the past and this will effectively kill Vecta. At first he fails because Vecta is smart. But thanks to his dragon buying time and getting killed in the process, Bercouli finds that past afterimage and slashes it. Vecta gone! So this was the final boss fight???!!! Alice wakes up and sees Bercouli dead and starts crying. But he’s smiling, right? No tears, please… Oh damn, this world also got ghosts because we see Bercouli and his dragon ascending to heaven while saying his last words. Heck, even Administrator is a ghost?! What’s that she said? She’s just his image of her?! Whatever. They’re still ghosts in layman terms, right? So after ascending to heaven, looks like Fanatio could feel his death and cries because, damn she’s pregnant with his child?! Miller returns to reality and gets updated by Critter. But upon learning how Vassago died and returned to the world with another converted account, looks like this sneaky dude is going to do the same with his GGO account.

Episode 15
Sinon arrives too late to help Alice and Bercouli as per Asuna’s request. Alice wants to return to the battlefield but Sinon reminds her to head to the Altar. Alice is shocked to hear Vecta isn’t dead yet. At least when those from the real world dies, they will come back again in another form. This makes Alice frustrated that Bercouli’s death was for nothing. And then Sinon had to bring in Kirito’s name. Yeah, she likes him too. And so the other girls. Thing is, Kirito’s pain and suffering are real. He did it to save her. The same goes for Bercouli. I guess enough crying and let’s get a move on. Meanwhile we see a short detour of Iskahn (pugilist boss) and Scheta. Man, is there some weird romance coming up between them? Because they’re like realizing what’s important and talking about what if they started a family with each other?! Can we put this on hold until you take out those darn Americans? As Asuna and Klein are resting, it seems a familiar face pops up to stalk them. Though this is Vassago, he is now using another account and this avatar is the leader of the Laughing Coffin, PoH. You think there are so Americans logging in now, huh? Actually, turns out to be Koreans and Chinese players! You see, those players received a message that this VRMMO has been hacked and attacked by the Japanese players and thus require their help to destroy them. Vassago then rallies them all with more lies that the Japanese killed the test players and hence he needs their help. While many take this chance to just go all out and kill those Japanese players, some with suspicions like Moonphase and Mei Mei Xiang remain cautious. If that was the case, why didn’t they just shut down the server? Oh dear, Asuna better not lose faith seeing her comrades getting killed one by one. Elsewhere, Vecta revives. However Miller is using his avatar from GGO. But this time with magic? Yeah, he kills Sinon instantly! So much about waiting for Vecta’s revival, huh? Meanwhile Higa has successfully connect whatever he needs to connect. However Yanai pulls a gun on him.

Episode 16
Apparently Yanai’s boss is Sugou and he is pretty adamant in preserving his legacy. Though that bastard isn’t dead yet and is rotting in prison. He is also the one who leaked info to the Americans about this Project Alicization. By doing so, he is promised some big bonus and position overseas. The shock must have made Higa move carelessly so Yanai shoots him. Sorry, Sinon not dead yet. She recognizes him as Subtilizer from GGO and he too recognizes her the same. He then forcefully hypnotizes her and tries to steal her soul (something he wanted but couldn’t do back at GGO and BoB) but luckily our Sinon is saved because of a charm she held from Kirito. After breaking free, both engage in a gun shootout. Looks like the Japanese side is at their limit as they are getting slaughtered too. Sinue manages to get Moonphase and Mei to listen that they have been duped. Before the Americans could buy her story, Vassago interrupts to tell them otherwise. His lies are more believable since the Japanese side have better weapons and it will not be in anyone’s right mind to simply convert their main characters into a beta server to lose it all. Oh well, dumb Americans want more blood, what can we do? Before we see the end of Iskahn and Scheta’s weird love story, they are saved by Leafa and Lilpilin’s orc army. Back to Ocean Turtle, Kikuoka and Rinko are talking more technical terms I don’t understand. Something about the appearance of another Alice but not the same level as the original. Because Higa’s report is strange, he left a strange code in which our brilliant scientists realize the traitor is Yanai. Speaking of them, Yanai’s bullet only injures Yanai’s arm. Yanai is happy if Kirito gets killed because he killed the Administrator. Looks like he sounds like a crazy fan of hers (wants to be her slave if he brings her out?!) and possibly the one who brought corruption into this world. He was the one who helped Administrator assume absolute control over Underworld and he sometimes visited her via some secret Lightcube. This guy so twisted that he thinks he needs to make up to her by killing Yanai too. I know Asuna has seen too much of deaths and war. But at this point she is getting really traumatized. Could have been killed had not Vassago ordered the Americans to stop. Because of that, Asuna values everyone’s lives and has them surrender to Vassago. Time to play some mind games with her. He reveals that he was the one in SAO who tipped off her team to kill Laughing Coffin’s hideout so that he could make Kirito feel despair in killing others. He doesn’t think Kirito repented at all because he would’ve not touched another VR game after that. Speaking of him, he knows he is here and forces him out of his hiding. Oh my dear Asuna, her trauma level is going to shoot through the roof.

Episode 17
Vassago looks disappointed that Kirito is a vegetable. He abuses the kid and no reaction. So who has the balls to drop in and stop Vassago’s brutality? Who the f*ck this Eiji dude? Apparently he was from Knights of Blood from SAO. Don’t remember (because I didn’t watch Ordinal Scale). He fights on par with Vassago before the mean bastard gets the better of him. But don’t worry, Eiji has this popular idol, Yuna who has also dived into the game to sing and heal his wounds (as well as breaking free the hypnotic spell Vassago casted on the Americans). Now for some Vassago flashback. Looks like he was born on the wrong side of life. Mother blamed him for being a devil’s spawn and regretted giving birth to him. During his teen years, his missing father suddenly showed up. Looks like he needed Vassago to do a kidney transplant to his Japanese son and Vassago’s half-brother. Otherwise he will stop sending support money to his mom. After the successful transplant, that is when he hated Japanese. So when he heard about that SAO incident, he stole a NerveGear to dive in because this is where he can slaughter Japanese as much as he wants. He chose the nickname Prince of Hell but shortened it to PoH. Vassago manages to defeat Eiji. So he logs out. Yuna too? Is she linked to him or something? Anyway, Eiji’s efforts helped reveal Vassago’s identity from Laughing Coffin. The players are now wary but Vassago’s madness continue to hypnotize many of them as they start killing each other. We return to see Sinon losing her fight with Miller because her gun holds less bullets than him. Likewise, Leafa getting brutally owned that it just hurts watching her getting hurt. But of course. Don’t give up! Miller’s last bullet hits Sinon’s Kirito’s charm. With that, she manages to shoot out another powerful blast. It didn’t kill Miller but she did a lot of damage to him. Likewise, Leafa keeps thinking about her onii-chan and after regenerating so many times, she finally wins over her adversaries. Back on Ocean Turtle, Rinko drops a spanner. This startles Yanai so a misstep, he falls to his doom. Higa then does his stuff to connect the STLs. Time for Kirito to wake up.

Episode 18
We see Kirito in a dream of reality. His daily life. Like he is forgetting something. Guess who the first person he recognizes? Sachi! Man, still can’t let go of her, huh? When Vassago tries to kill a soldier to wake up Kirito, the spirit of Yuuki powers up Asuna to fight him. Trying to find out why he hates Kirito, in fact Vassago loves him. I believe that is not in the gayest sense, no? He ‘loves’ Kirito because no matter how much he tormented him, he never broke down. He is his hope. That’s why he was so disappointed seeing him in this vegetative state. Knowing how this world works, the souls of the dead are flooding the battlefield. Hence he will kill everyone and their Fluctlight in Underworld just to wake him up. Of course he won’t kill Asuna. He needs her to witness Kirito’s awakening and only to die by his hands. Time for Asuna’s comeback because Yuuki’s ghost now turns her into an angel to fight back. Double the power up as her friends cheer on her to beat the carp out of him. And don’t you just love it the way she beats him up and sends him flying? But don’t rest on your laurels yet. He isn’t dead and using his sword to absorb more sacred resources. Now he turns the battlefield crazy and brainwashes the Americans to kill all Japanese! We return to Kirito’s trauma as he watches Sachi’s death again. Not only this but other torments in past SAO seasons to add to his trauma. Believing he is the one who should have died, he feels guilty and cannot take it all anymore so he tries to rip his own heart. Not even the vision of Asuna, Sinon and Suguha could help him? As Higa said, only need 1 more person with deep bonds. Who could have guessed it is Eugeo! Damn, don’t let me believe that gay theory was real! It took Eugeo to point out the memories they had and that everyone will always be with him. Yes, we’re connected. Yes, we believe in you! And with that, you know Kirito is coming back in grand style. He freezes all the enemies on the battlefield! Vassago is so happy he is back that he starts attacking his friends first? I guess this is to show how some godly powers Kirito has to protect them and that the saviour has returned. Okaerinasai. Tadaima. Man, even Jesus wasn’t this dramatic in his return. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! Oops…

Episode 19
We can say for sure now that KIRITO’S BACK!!! He goes head to head with Vassago but you know fighting him with his own power isn’t going to do anything. That’s why the ghost of Eugeo is here to help him give strength! Technically, 2 guys are better than 1. Now Kirito has got the strength and more so, ungodly powers! Wow! You mean Kirito manages to resurrect Eugeo’s broken sword, log out those foreign players for their own safety and upgrade himself to SAO version?! Whatever. It’s Kirito we’re talking about. After a lot of clashing and manly scream, Kirito wins his fight. You can tell with a big hole in Vassago. Vassago threatens he’ll continue to target him as long as he lives but Kirito is unfazed. Using his ungodly powers again, he makes Vassago unable to logout and that is by turning him into that cedar tree. When settlers build a village around here and cut him down 200 years later, yeah, only then he’ll be free! More ungodly Kirito powers as his shower of light heals all survivors! Oh man. No wonder all his friends are crying and glad for him to be back. Save the best for last. Because the emotional reunion with Asuna. However, public display of affection have to put on hold as they need to get Alice. Kirito flies there carrying Asuna. Oh man, Kirito is so godly, can he just end all this damn farce with his verbal command? As Kikuoka updates Higa on what is happening, the alert sounds. Critter is trying to accelerate the Fluctlight. I don’t understand the technicalities but I know it’s bad. Real bad. This means Higa has to go back down there to disconnect it but this time Kikuoka will come with him. Before that, Higa mentions he managed to hook up Kirito’s communicator. How convenient because Kikuoka connects to Kirito and warns him about the time acceleration in Underworld. They have 10 minutes to fix this sh*t. Otherwise 200 years will accelerate and in real time this means a human’s soul will be 200 years old! Can you survive that! I think God Kirito could but oh well… Alice reaches the Altar. Too bad Miller has caught up and before she could make Alice cry by annihilating her dragons who are protecting her, guess who comes in between? WHO ELSE, DAMN IT! GOD KIRITO!!! Oh yeah. Another set of tears for Alice.

Episode 20
While Asuna takes Alice to the Altar, Kirito fights off Miller to stall for time. Kirito gets hypnotized?! Oh damn, but don’t worry. Voice of Eugeo has him break free! More power fight as Miller transform into his hideous powerful form. Is this his final form? I guess it is powerful enough to freak Kirito out that he starts thinking that he really wanted to spend 200 years here and never thought about the feelings of others. But then… Voice of Eugeo! Time to dismiss that thought. On the contrary, it’s not Kirito doesn’t understand the feelings of others, he doesn’t want to leave this world is because he was thinking about others. He is unlike Miller who only knows how to steal and destroy. He is the one who doesn’t think about others because he fears the human heart. As Miller tries to kill Kirito, I guess Kirito pulls off some move that turns the sky into night. All his waifus can tell this is a reflection of Kirito’s heart and send their prayers to him. Not just them but the other players. This soon expands to the human civilization and even all those other monsters?! Really?! This is going to be a very powerful prayer. Even more so when Alice and Asuna send theirs. Kirito is powered up and ready to strike Miller. Oh yeah. Hear more voices from the dead characters as motivation. For the umpteenth time they troll us again that Kirito fails. But then… EUGEO!!! Eugeo backs him up and supports Kirito by helping him to strike his sword. Miller so hysterical that he gets the extreme version of Team Rocket, blasting off and exploding into the sky!!! All just in time as Asuna manages to have all the players log out. So Kirito is the last one left in Underworld? I guess time to say goodbye to Eugeo. Then he heads to the Altar. Can he not log himself out? Oh well. 200 years here. I can understand why he starts crying. But surprise! He won’t be alone. Because… Nope. Not Eugeo this time. Because it is Asuna who stayed back!

Episode 21
After Rinko has secured Alice’s Lightcube, it seems Asuna tells her intention to stay back with Kirito. Kikuoka carries Higa down to the room to expedite their logout. With the hatch opening, Critter is puzzled that they are trying to do something instead of waiting for JSDF. With Brigg, they head to that room to investigate. Was it dangerous of Kikuoka to just shoot like that?! What if they damaged the computers?! Thank goodness no computers were damaged. Just Kikuoka taking a hit and Brigg dead. Critter retreats and decides to wake up Miller for their next move. Meanwhile Miller wakes up but is horrified of seeing a shrivelled corpse of himself next to him. Then the ghostly vision of Alicia drags him into this watery grave. They’ll be together forever. When Critter arrives, he is shocked to see the shrivelled corpse of Critter as well as Vassago. Letting the rest of the men know, it seems they have no more reason to fight. However Hans still believes they have a mission. With the terrorists retreating, it seems they have also planted a bomb at the base of the shaft of the water reactor. No prizes to guess what that will do if I goes off. Nakanishi volunteers to go dispose the bomb himself (hinting a suicide mission) and at the same time Kikuoka leaves Higa to do his thing and goes to check things out himself. When Nakanishi arrives, he gets shot (but not fatal) by Hans who surprisingly stayed back. Then walks in this discount Robocop, Niemon?! Taking all the bullets Hans throws at him, he then contacts with Rinko and it is revealed this is where Kayaba’s conscious has been. Thanking her as such, he hopes she can link both divided worlds. After Kikuoka comes in like a Hollywood action hero, shooting and killing Hans, Nakanishi drags him out to safety as Niemon goes to diffuse the bomb. However with too much damage, he goes offline. Rinko then screams for a miracle and because this is anime, you get your miracle! It’s like discount Robocop repairs itself to move itself enough to tear out the bomb! Boom it goes! So the only thing that the explosion got was its hand?! Okay. Whatever. As Critter and the rest escape via submarine, he finds it odd that only the corpses of Miller and Brigg were retrieved. His men recalled they didn’t see Vassago’s body anywhere. More haunting mystery because the team tasked to retrieve discount Robocop’s body, the scrap metal is missing too! Before we forget all about Kirito and Asuna, we see them finally spending some quality time together. I mean, hey, they’ve got all the (digital) time in the (digital) world, right? Okay, hope they log out fast if they don’t want to end up like Miller’s case…

Episode 22
Rinko is now the head of Rath as she holds a press conference and introduces Alice to the world! Apparently Alice is a robot but not exactly a robot. There’s an explanation why she is different than one but you know, I don’t really get it. When a reporter asks for her brains to be open up to prove so, Alice replies back to prove himself as a human. Yeah, just open your brains too! Brutal. Another reporter asks about using robots like Alice in the industry in which Rinko declines. In short, she hopes such AIs will have the same human rights recognized. As for their existence too different than humans, time for Alice to brutally rip her apart with this thought about humans having their own creators suddenly before them and then demanding subservience. Would you like that? I rest my case. Of course she has to go on talking about the many interactions she had with real worlders and yeah, hint about the single guy whom she can’t see right now. On other news report, it seems Kikuoka has died but it is just a fake death. He knows he’ll be blamed and targeted eventually so this is for the best. While this proved Japan’s vice minister was taking money from the American side, the press conference also derailed Rath’s ultimate goal to develop some autonomous weapons loading project. This means with the public knowing about this, the weapon manufacturers cannot force them to go public under the pretext of joint development. Alice leaves the press conference because she feels something awakening. Well… It’s Kirito awakening!!! HOW?! Don’t know. But aren’t we all glad that he’s back?! Kirito tells Alice that Selka is now in slumber awaiting for her return. He also wants Higa to erase his memories of their last 200 years in Underworld as his role as king is over.

Asuna visits Kirito in hospital. Very short clips how they become king and queen of Underworld after everyone logged out. He still can’t help cry since he still remembers them. Kikuoka visits them and updates them on the situation. The government is still trying to find someone to blame and eventually, all the related technology will be absorbed by major conglomerates and the Lightcubes can’t be saved and Alice seized. Kikuoka’s ‘plan’ is to have many people from the real world interact with artificial Fluctlights while the government is still negotiating. It’s probably the purpose of Seed Nexus. For that to happen, very high speed connections are needed to connect to Ocean Turtle, which is not possible since the government has cut off the satellite connection. Hence the press conference was to buy some time to try and reconnect it back. Meanwhile Higa is back home as he is talking to a copy of Kirito’s Fluctlight. It seems he couldn’t delete him since he is the first human who survived 200 years. This Kirito has thought about this and the various scenarios that could happen. In this case since Kirito’s Fluctlight is only copied, he’ll stay back and protect Underworld since he is their saviour. He knows Underworld’s existence is unstable since people in the real world is needed to keep its infrastructure operating. Kirito believes Underworld can continue operating for a longer time if there are no outside interferences. The only connection to Ocean Turtle is Kayaba. Higa is interested what will happen if these 2 copies meet. He’ll use his connection to open this Pandora’s Box. Kirito returns home. He can’t help cry over Eugeo and laments he should’ve had his entire memories of that purged too. Oh well, Suguha is here to hear him out. Let’s start from the beginning…

Episode 23
The much needed Kirito x Alice episode? Oh well, they both weren’t together since the start of the Underworld arc. Anyway, Kirito gets a call that Alice is missing. Before he could go over there, he receives a huge package. Why, it’s Alice inside?! How the f*ck does this even happen?! Anyway, Alice is mad he bade farewell to her at the Altar the other day. Because it meant like he didn’t trust her. So what is he to her? She is their hope. And with so Kirito-like words, you bet Alice will calm down. Then he gives her a tour of his place. Ah, the dojo. Time for a rematch. Typically it’s to force this scene so that they could almost fall on each other. Don’t worry they didn’t kiss. Alice claiming she won because of her new head butt move. Oh Alice, no wonder she is now confident she can live in this world. Alice is then introduced to the family. But father is not pleased with Kirito causing the stress to the family during his disappearance. Reminding him of his duty as a student, Kirito apologizes and then mentions he wants to change his intended course. Sounds like he wants to study in some electrical engineering department and work at Rath. Alice, you mean to sound so happy? She even voices her support to father (she’s calling Kirito’s dad so?!) about Kirito’s choice. But don’t worry. Dad’s not a strict stuck up. As long as Kirito makes the choices he doesn’t regret, it’s okay. Later in 3am, Alice goes to Kirito’s room to wake him up. You mean nobody came to pick up Alice?! Anyway, she receives some strange coded message. Kirito wakes up Yui (she needs to sleep?!) to help decipher it. Taking the floors from the cathedral and putting them together, it looks like an IP address. Could it be a link to Underworld? Alice is happy she can return but when Kirito mentions he wants to bring Asuna along, oh boy, can you just feel that womanly annoyance?! So the trio log into this IP address at Rath. So we’re back at… Oh my, outer space?! They’re overlooking the planet that is Underworld? Alice proclaims her return. Can they hear? But Star Wars! Integrity Pilots trying to fight off this space horror and Mythic Spacebeast known as the Abyssal Horror! If lasers can’t defeat it, you think Kirito’s swords can? OF COURSE!!! It’s Kirito we’re talking about!!! Before its remnants could get away, Alice finishes it off. The pilots recognize the heroes. Yeah, it’s bringing them to tears. Oh sh*t, ghost of Eugeo next to Kirito too?!

Binary Lives Matter!
So looks like there is going to be more. Uh huh. More battles for Kirito and his waifus to fight in the future. Yeah, you bet Kirito will be back. After missing 1.5 seasons, you bet he’ll be! And with ungodly powers too! There’s nothing that Kirito can’t do! At least in the virtual world. With a couple of final episodes setting tantalizing things up for the next (I have this feeling that Kirito will have to face off with his other cloned Fluctlight Kirito), it is very much expected and inevitable there’s going to be more of it. We can’t get enough of Kirito-sama eventually. So Sword Art Online Progressive, huh? Oh well, now that we’re done with the ancient land of sorcery, sword and magic, time to move on to futuristic space and technology! That’s what they mean by Progressive, right?! Oh… What’s that about retelling of the Aincrad arc… Oh damn…

Sorry folks, but I’m not really a big fan of the SAO franchise despite the irony that I have been following the TV series since its inception back in 2012. Of course I missed the 2017 movie and not played a single of its endless video game titles so I blame me if I’m missing out on a lot of things here as I continue to not understand what the heck is going on. At least on a deeper level kind of understanding. You know, the kind of deep level of fandom knowledge when one considers himself or herself as knowing every single damn thing in the series like Star Wars or Star Trek or even the Fate series. So for casual viewers like me, this entire Alicization arc feels just okay. You get your story, drama, fights and the likes and by my standards it’s already good enough (I guess to others it will never be enough). So yeah, this season is passable in the sense I’ll rate it above mediocrity but below good. Hah. You hardcore SAO fans can scream your heads off with this passable score but I’m done with this series. Until they adapt the next arc or chapter into a TV series then I’ll be back.

So the story has been within expectations. The good guys making a triumphant victory over the evil ones at the end of the day. The series’ greatest lovebirds are finally reunited and back in reality together. Yeah, feels like a long time in anime timeline. Those who have read the novels would have known what to expect. I’m not sure if they deviate anything but my guts tell me that even if there are, many of the things here are followed quite closely to the source material. Till the end of this series, I am still struggling and grasping with some of the terms that one should be familiar with such as STLs and Lightcubes. I generally get the idea but if you ask me to write a paragraph to describe it, I definitely would be lost. So this terminology thingy has been a thorn at my side not only since the Alicization arc began but going way back to where the entire SAO series started. It’s all that digital and technology mumbo-jumbo stuff and it is probably those jargons in which some have their deep explanation that put me off. It might sound simple for the characters to explain them (like as though pulling it out from the air) but like I said, I’m a casual viewer so I’m too dumb to understand those technicalities even if they simplify it for me already here, which I’m not even aware of. Am I even paying attention???!!! After all, if you can’t understand something, how are you going to enjoy what is going on and proceed further? Yeah, somebody should open my head and see if my brain is of a human!

Of all the technical mumbo-jumbo and possibilities, what strikes me most interesting is when Alice was brought into the real world. No, not the weird forced plot convenience that we need to have Alice appear in the real world so she could reunite with Kirito. But rather the food for thought if ever artificial intelligence like Alice would one day walk the same earth as us organic humans. Hence that very short press conference with Alice giving those racist uneducated reporters her fiery tongue is the other and only interesting thing that I find other than the fight and battle scenes. I thought they would dedicate that entire penultimate episode about this but looks like we still need to be reminded that Kirito is the star and what needs to be done in the aftermath. The subject of artificial intelligence having the same and equal rights as us humans will definitely cause ripples and divides in the opinionated world. It is a good debate because it also allows us to take a look at ourselves as artificial intelligence is actually somewhat a mirror and representation of ourselves. Imagine if the real world is just a VR game like Underworld. Wouldn’t that be shocking and unbelievable? Yeah, I’m having doubts whether I can even accept something like that even as I write this. Maybe I’ll just sleep on it for now… Because I don’t ever want to think about playing hentai games now may even constitute to actual rape… I hope it won’t get to this!!!

Well, there’s nothing really much for me to say here. Maybe a thing or two about the main characters. Like Kirito, it is very expected of him to bounce back this season and return to his heroic ways because, Kirito-sama as always. After all, he has been vegetable in the first part of the Underworld and even in this second part, he only came back to life halfway! But I guess for all his girls and friends, the wait is worthwhile because now they can cry and scream their beloved Kirito-sama all they want. It’s a compliment, FYI! Asuna was in danger into turning into a character who has lost faith. What do I mean? During the battle with the hordes of Americans, the way they portrayed Asuna, it feels like as though she is about to break and lose it anytime. I don’t know, is this supposed to help build some emotion in her character to us? I don’t think she would snap and give up but the way they show us it’s like she’s on the verge and could actually give up. Thank goodness Kirito-sama returned in time, eh?

I suppose the same can be said about Kirito in his vegetative state seeing he feels so guilty that a lot of those he knew died except him (oh no, not that Sachi trauma again) and that it is the best seasoning and plot device to remind him and us all that the bonds of the living he made are equally, if not more valuable and worth his existence. So are you glad you’re alive right now? A minor question I have always wanted to know: Since Kirito and Asuna were stuck in Underworld for 200 years, had they try out that pseudo sex they tried to troll us back in season 1 of SAO?! It must have crossed their minds, haven’t it?! Oh well, I guess it’s not for us to know then… But we do know how true their love is, right? Always by each other’s physical side even when the other is stuck in VR. Not to mention being king and queen of Underworld for 200 years, man that’s the longest lasting reign and love, a record that no living humans could ever break! Yeah, true love transcends time! And now he’s got Alice to ‘deal’ with but that’s another battle story for another time… Real waifu wars when?

And for the rest of the Kirito harem-cum-friends… It’s part and parcel of the formula to show Kirito’s friendship with these people are so strong that they are willing to erase their avatar stats just to dive in to this world and save their friend. That’s at least how I feel their roles in this season are. I know they didn’t do much in the previous seasons of this arc so the only way to slot them in here is via this chaotic battle. Some of the Underworld tribes like Lilpilin and Iskahn, I suppose it’s to show that not all the dark tribes from the Dark Territory are really bad people. Somehow I can’t help but think it’s to also showcase diversity and inclusivity because that weird Iskahn-Scheta romance feels really out of place. It’s not like this is a prominent plot in the series to begin with either. And then some screams plot convenience because they briefly bring characters from the movie and also a certain dead girl from Mother’s Rosario arc. Like, WTF?! Shows how deep these people’s bonds are, huh? In the end, they don’t really matter to the plot. Alice just needs to get her ass to the Altar and voila! Game over.

One of my biggest personal gripes is how Miller is killed off. I don’t understand how his soul accelerated. I’m definitely missing something here because I thought if he was defeated or even killed in Underworld by Kirito, shouldn’t he just get logged out? Unless he Super Saiyan too much and he can’t log out normally and had to die. I understand Vassago because he was cursed to be stuck in a tree so yeah, time accelerated for him. The weirdest part is how Miller is unceremoniously killed off by the ghost of his past. Like as though they didn’t want Kirito to dirty his hands so little ghost girl Alicia had to bring just desserts for him. Hi Miller lover boy. Remember me? It’s time for me to drag your soul into the pits of hell. Weird. But this is also somewhat reasonable since Kirito and Miller’s rivalry only exists in the digital side, the virtual world. It wouldn’t be fair for real world Kirito to face off and fight real world Miller. Then they’ll open Pandora’s Box of the dilemma of needing something to put this guy down forever because if I know a thing about villains like Miller and Vassago, they’ll never stop being evil. Hence this weird way of Miller being killed off is justified in this sense. Though, I don’t understand why Kirito and Asuna’s soul didn’t age and affect their real life bodies. Is it because they are main characters and the heroes? Okay. Good enough reason. After all that we’ve seen in this epic godly fantasy comeback, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. And the other gripe of mine is Kayaba’s artificial life inside discount Robocop. Plot. Convenience. Enough said. And because Vassago’s body is somewhat missing, I am counting they’ll bring his ghost back to haunt our heroes. It’s not surprising. He is the Prince of Hell anyway. Because at this point I won’t be surprise if they bring in the concept of digital ghosts. Just saying…

The action bits remain the biggest attraction of this franchise. They don’t disappoint with all the big epic power blasts and explosions, be sure to turn down your volume speaker or the bass subwoofer is really going to hit the roof! I’m not sure if this season is more violent than the previous one but I can safely say that this season’s violence is quite brutal. Especially when Kirito’s girls dived in to help stave off the bloodthirsty Americans. I’m sure we all don’t like overpowered characters at this point. So to see them swooping down and taking out waves and waves of endless enemies, that’s not going to cut it, right? So to show how ‘human’ these characters are, they are not totally invincible and are also prone of taking damage. Because I clearly remember (and this scene is still stuck in my mind after the season ended) the horrifying screaming face of Leafa when weapons were pierced through her f*cking face!!! OMFG!!! This is horror fuel nightmare!!! You thought Sinon getting her limbs cut off was bad enough, Leafa’s gruesome facial expression of pain takes the cake! Yikes. Don’t want to see that one again. All for the sake of her onii-chan. As for Alice, I guess she had her fair share of fighting last season so she didn’t do any fighting here as she was focused mostly on getting to the Altar. Fans of kickass Alice must be disappointed…

Just like last season, the art and animation are quite good and of high quality standards. Last time I said the CGI was lame but somehow I didn’t feel it so this time around. Maybe I didn’t really care this time. Especially with all those American players looking the same, at least it answered my question from last season why they all picked the same avatar and weapons and not have any f*cking variety. All Americans look the same to the Japs, huh? I bet lots of Americans are going to be dissatisfied with this game and give lowly game review scores and some would even sue! Well, hopefully there won’t be a story arc that arose from that. This season’s opener, Anima by Reona is your usual fast paced rock outfit that fits the genre. However, personally I don’t really like it. The ending theme is also another rock outfit, I Will by Eir Aoi. Didn’t like this one either.

Overall, this season brings a closure to the long Alicization arc. Just like the AI dilemma, the series itself is going to divide fans and non-fans of the series. Those diehards who love the works will defend how good it is to the end while those who aren’t won’t find anything special. Since I’m a fence sitter, I’m going to say that it has its flaws (those seemingly confusing technical terms) but not entirely bad either (can’t say I didn’t enjoy the action sequences).While the Alicization arc is over, SAO as a series is far by over and there are more story arcs from the main story that come after Alicization (Alicization’s novel works ran from 2012-2016). I’m sure they would. It’s too good of a chance to pass up right now but I’ll wait and see if those arcs will get adapted. After all, so many digital and artificial lives have died for our entertainment so what’s a few hundred, thousands, millions and perhaps billions more, right?! Relax, people! It’s just binary, 0s and 1s!!! No wonder digital girls don’t even like me… :’(.

Sword Art Online: Alicization – War Of The Underworld

Okay guys. It’s time to resume the war. Sword Art Online: Alicization – War Of The Underworld continues where it all left all. That weird cliff-hanger of Kirito being hit by the surge and that very weird Asuna coming down to save him as an angel. Sheesh. I suppose that Kirito has defeated the God of this (VMMORPG) world, he now has to face the demon. Sure, ‘God’ was the demon but now it is the real demon’s turn to wreak havoc since Administrator is gone. I guess restarting the game from an earlier save point is out of the question. Oh wait. Did Kirito even save his game somewhere?

Episode 0
Sometimes dubbed as Sword Art Online: Alicization episode 24.5, if you have a lousy memory, don’t worry, we have this recap episode just to refresh all the important moments in this long running arc.

Episode 1
Big shock! We see Alice living back in her hometown with Selka. The shock? Kirito is now a wheelchair ridden vegetable!!! OMFG!!! Somehow he is so attached to his sword and Eugeo’s that it’s like his bolster? Alice takes him out for a walk. Flashback shows after Kirito was struck with the certain power outage, he became a vegetable. Alice just regained consciousness and with Bercouli arriving, she told him what happened. In turn, he told the other Integrity Knights about the imminent threat from Dark Territory. Hence they started training and recruiting but with Alice hearing some of them badmouthing Kirito (after all, he killed the Pontifex which led to this problem), Alice took him back to Rulid Village. So everybody just let her go like that? Arriving at the village, her father of course is shocked to see her returned. Because she was still a criminal, they can’t let her live here and hence a nearby cabin in the outskirts of this already remote village. Could have been sex-with-Asuna-but-Alice-this-time-v2 only if Kirito is not a vegetable! Alice makes some money by helping villagers cutting down tough trees. Like this cocky greedy Nigel Barbossa who is shaming his men for not being able to take down this oak tree. Damn those sexist men think Alice can’t cut it down too. We’ll see who has the last laugh when Alice slices it down with a strike after getting ‘permission’ to borrow Kirito’s sword. Barbossa wants to hire her for other jobs but she is sufficient just doing this. To make things worse, other men knock off Kirito so as to take a look at his sword. Luckily Alice tells them off. Don’t mess with her. They leave but you can tell they aren’t too happy about it. Alice starts to think if this is the kind of world they are fighting for. Back home, they are visited by Eldrie. This guy has finally found them and hopes Alice would come back to help the Integrity Knights. So she took off by herself, eh? And were so busy preparing that they didn’t even notice she was gone for a while? Eldrie mentions they have taken steps to stop the invasion (like bombing the cave entrances) but they still want her back. Thinking Kirito is the reason her heart is astray, he wants to eliminate him but Alice digresses. Kirito fought with his own justice. Otherwise how could all the Integrity Knights lose to him one by one? With that, Eldrie leaves. That night, Kirito starts to act strange. Fire over the horizon. Dark Territory attacking?

Episode 2
Alice drops in on the villagers who are thinking of protecting the village instead of running. All because Barbossa wants to protect his property. Hence Alice reveals casts away her shoddy robe to reveal her Integrity Knight armour, shocking everybody. Using her authority, she dismisses Zink’s orders and to have everyone evacuated. Alice then singlehandedly fights off the goblins and orcs with her powerful move, sending many of them fleeing. As the village is being rebuilt, Alice takes Kirito and flies back to the capital to fulfil her duty and hopes to return here when all this is over. Now we return to the siege on Ocean Turtle. Kikuoka and co have escaped and are minimally controlling things in this sub-control room. Other staffs have also taken refuge in other rooms. They realize the terrorists won’t aggressively use bombs to blow up the place because of the proximity of the Lightcube clusters. Even though the baddies got control of the main room and STL room, at least the silver lining is that their intention isn’t to destroy it. Judging from their gear, they aren’t with any official army and it is safe to know they know about this Project Alicization. Hence their goal is to seize ALICE. The good news is that they can’t interfere or eject Alice’s Fluctlight but Kikuoka’s side also can’t do the same. Noticing the destroyer is not doing anything, it is believed that the terrorists have ties with the top brass in SDF. They can’t attack not at least until Alice’s Lightcube is secured. Hence everything now relies on Kirito as he is the only one who can retrieve Alice’s Fluctlight. However, some mumbo jumbo sci-fi talk reveals that he might not be in the best position to do it. After that attack, his neural network was severely damaged. Placing him here was to treat him but diving into Underworld somehow didn’t block his memories. He has been living in this simulation for 2 years and hence he managed to contact the outside world via reaching Axiom Church. Something about him attacking himself and his own Fluctlight, this causes his self-destruction and ego deactivated when the outage hit him. Thus there is this black hole in his brain scan image that shows he has lost the ability to make some self-image decisions. His Fluctlight is unscathed but is only reduced to reflexive actions triggered by deeply ingrained memories. In short, a vegetable. Oh Asuna, your worried face so worried.

Episode 3
Remember those mysterious guys whom Kirito and his harem fought way back in the first episode of that GGO spinoff? Yup. They are the terrorists. Led by Gabriel Miller, he was approached by a couple of MIBs from NSA who hired him to steal Rath’s technology. Apparently, the damn Americans can’t have the Japanese gain such technology and destroy the military balance in the pacific. So how? Steal their technology first! Hence the raid on Ocean Turtle. Because they made some backdoor deal with the SDF, the Japanese military will not act for 24 hours. Also, say America is not involved! Damn Americans… Now in the main control him, his men, Critter and Vassago Casals are pointing fingers at each other for being locked out. Miller puts his foot down to order them to start thinking of a way to hack in. From what I understand, they have this idea to dive in to smoke out Alice. But all the high ranking accounts have been locked out and they can only dive in as a normal citizen. However they noticed the Dark Territory has the positions of Dark Knight and some Emperor available. Hence Vassago and Miller are going to dive in as these roles respectively. But Critter can’t put his mind around this warning about some final load test that keeps popping up. After Higa finishes explains about Kirito’s self-image thingy and perhaps all that he needs to turn him back on his feet is somebody to forgive him, you bet it is Asuna’s turn to dive in. After all, she has some great sword skills and need somebody to escort and protect Alice to the altar and eject her Lightcube. They have no time because that final load test is when Dark Territory invades the human empire. Thanks to Kirito destroying Axiom Church, who knows what will happen. And what convenience, Yui updates Kirito’s harem and friends about Asuna diving in. Be on standby… You don’t know when help is going to be needed. We now return to Underworld whereby in the Obsidia Palace inside Dark Territory, Dark Knight Lipia Zancale reports to her commander, Vixur Ul Shasta that the Pontifex is dead. Shocking as it sounds, he believes it is time to make peace. He believes Bercouli now in charge, they have a chance. The problem would be the Council Ten. Worse come to worse, he may have to eliminate some of them, especially the chancellor of the Dark Mages as she harbours desires to become emperor. All this bad news, Vixur suddenly proposes to Lipia to be his wife?! But more bad news. Some seal to the throne room is broken. Because Miller and Vassago have revived as Emperor Dark God Vecta and Dark Knight respectively.

Episode 4
When Miller was a kid, he was told insects can live without a head for a while because they have no brain and thus their entire body acts as their brain. This has him thought where would their soul be. In that case, for a human who cannot live without a head, where is their soul? It must be in the brain. And so he was interested in the soul of Alicia, his childhood friend. When he dived in, he saw a vision of her. Now that he has revived as the Emperor, all the tribes and guilds rush to assemble and serve before him. Vixur asks his intentions so Vecta did not hesitate he wants death and destruction. He only wants the Priestess of Light and therefore gives permission to everyone else to kill all other humans. Everybody rejoices that it’s war time. Vecta retires to his room as he makes contact with Critter. It has already been a day here but in the real world just merely minutes. He warns that he must not die or he’ll lose access to this super account and the next login will just be a grunt. When he goes to bed, Lipia offers her body to him. However Vecta could see it coming she was going to assassinate him. Swiftly he pins her down and demands her goal. She claims she is doing this for herself and that this war must stop or else history will be set back by a few hundred years. Vecta kills her. Then it’s like her soul exits from her head. Something Vecta had seen before. The time he killed Alicia, the same thing happened. He absorbed her soul and saw her memories. He loved it. Now he also sees Lipia’s memories. He loves it. Imagine the soul of Alice. He wants that sweet soul. Next day as all tribes and guilds gather before the launch of their attack, Vecta makes it known about that assassination attempt. He dares anyone to do so but must be ready to face the consequences. Then he shows the decapitated head of Lipia. This sends Vixur into rage. A Dark Mage poisons him. Before he dies, Vixur turns Super Saiyan but his tornado mode cannot put a dent on Vecta. He realizes too late that because this man knows nothing about life or love, he cannot be killed with a murderous intent or sword. Vecta orders the assault will go on as planned as all the tribes and guilds praise their awesome supreme commander. Meanwhile Alice has reached the eastern gate. It is breaking down. She sees an invading horde from beyond the horizon. Out of time, huh?

Episode 5
Alice returns to Eldrie. He’s happy to see her. But not so for vegetable Kirito. She thinks he will be a liability impeding her ability to fight against Dark Territory. She reasons otherwise. Then Bercouli comes by. Is he going to kill Kirito? Then some lightning flash attack that is being deflected. Bercouli’s attack was towards Kirito. Kirito deflected it proves he stopped it with his own willpower. He is alive but his mind is somewhere else. Bercouli believes he’ll be back someday. In the tent, Alice thinks of kissing Kirito to wake him up? Oh, somebody outside the tent. Tiese and Ronie. They heard about Kirito being here. Alice shows them Kirito’s current state and believes they will accept this reality. Of course they are overcome with emotions. Tiese even hearing Eugeo’s voice comforting her he will always be with her. Alice asks if they love Kirito. Some excuse why they can’t because of the sin they’ve committed. Alice disagrees and somewhat shows her original Alice form that would had been had she not become an Integrity Knight. All in all, thanks to Kirito, right? Conveniently, the duo will look after Kirito and take the burden off Alice’s hands. Next day, skip whatever Alice talk with Bercouli on Kirito. Also skip her talk with Fanatio who is grateful to Kirito for fighting with her as a true swordsman. Also skip whatever catfight they almost got into… In the strategy meeting, the battle will start once the eastern gate is destroyed. Something about this long narrow dark ravine means lack of resources for both sides and hence unable to launch powerful art techniques. They also have to spare some for healing. Alice theorizes there could be vast resources built up in the ravine over the years and there should be someone who can harvest it in that short amount of time. Fanatio points out only Alice can do it as she has surpassed the skills of an Integrity Knight. After the meeting, Alice says her goodbye to Kirito. It’s like she’s signalling some death flag of her own. She hopes her death might wake him up and bring a miracle to save the land once more. After all, he was the one who defeated Administrator. And then she goes to say her goodbye to Eldrie too. I guess we need to make this guy forget about Kirito and feel his gratitude for his mentor. Whatever. And now both sides of the divide wait for the moment when the eastern gate collapses.

Episode 6
Okay it’s here. The bloody massacre and mayhem of the war. Deusolbert who is manning the front line of the right flank fires away with his flaming arrows. Damn, he took out a bunch of goblins! But there’s more. Manning the front line of the left flank is Fanatio who is dealing with the giants. The Integrity Knights isn’t all doing well. Eldrie’s unit got smoke bombed, allowing goblins to run through since the Integrity Knights cannot simply swing their swords or risk striking their own. And there’s an Integrity Knight, Renly who has already cowardly abandoned his post and hiding in the storage room. When Fanatio unleashes a powerful attack, the hit missed the giant boss. He got so scared that it caused some programming bug whatever. This turns him into some berserker and as he is about to kill Fanatio (somehow her STL got jammed whatever, rendering her unable to move), an Integrity Knight, Dakira protects her. Using all her power until she is bleeding in every orifice to push the giant boss back. With her death, Fanatio powers up like mad and unleashes a powerful attack that slices the giant boss in half. Deusolbert has finally run out of arrows. The flatland goblin boss and his henchmen try to sneakily pin him down and clobber him. A soldier protects him and as the goblin boss is about to kill him, Deusolbert powers up and uses his own sword as a flaming arrow to strike through and burn not only the goblin boss but the rest of his waves behind! Alice is hovering in the skies. Did she just accumulated the souls of the dead into one big ball cluster?

Episode 7
Flashback shows Administrator viewed Renly as broken and deemed a failure. Renly thinks he would only be in the way. Tiese and Ronie then come in to hide Kirito. I guess that’s enough hiding for Renly. And then a goblin comes in. Yeah, everybody’s f*cked. Renly sees Kirito’s shaking hands. He thinks he wants to protect everybody despite being unable to move. More flashback as he was sparring with a friend in some tournament. But Renly broke his sword and slashed through him, killing him. Now he moves as he throws his spinning blades to decapitate the goblin. With his renewed confidence, he goes out and slice all of the goblins. Then he faces off with the mountain goblin boss who tries to get psychological with him, taunting him as a coward for being stationed this far back. Renly admits he is a failure. But not his weapons. And with that, the green boss got split in half. I guess Renly’s ready to go back to his unit now. The dark mages use some flying beasts for aerial assault but were swiftly taken down by Bercouli’s defence. Then they try some wide range incineration projectile thingy. However when they start chanting, nothing comes of it. They are stumped because with so many casualties in the battlefield, the souls of the dead would have been enough. I guess they’re too late since Alice already gathered them all in her ball. Then she uses it to unleash a devastating hellfire blast. Wow. It takes lives to take lives. Literally. So more dead souls, bigger ball, deadlier firepower next time?

Episode 8
Now what? Eldrie in depression because his unit failed to protect the frontlines and the enemy got as far back to the supplies section and luckily Renly took care of it? And that’s shameful? Oh dear. Alice needs to waste time assuring otherwise. They are then confronted by the ogre boss. He was caught in Alice’s hellfire but somehow survived. Observing that power came from her, he knows she is the Priestess of Light and wants to take her to Vecta. Then the war will end and the ogres can return to the grassland. So shouldn’t he take her with him since she sounds willing to go? Instead he attacks her and gets killed. Dark mage boss reports to Vecta about the unexpected art used by the Integrity Knights. He learns that lives and blood were used for this and since 3000 lives are all that she needs, he gives her permission to sacrifice the orcs. Orc boss doesn’t agree to this when dark mage boss tells him to gather his men for the sacrificial ritual. But his men are willing to die for Vecta and so that’s that. Alice tells Bercouli what she has learnt. She intends to head to the Dark Territory herself since the Altar is located there. Bercouli agrees on a condition 1/3 of the men accompany her and he will be part of that group. Alice prepares to head into the Dark Territory, the same time the dark mages begin their ritual. Orc boss can only watch in pain and hatred as his men die before his eyes. Now that a huge dark ball is summoned, it is directed towards Alice. Nothing can stop it, right? Oh well, time for Eldrie to be a hero, using himself as distraction to let the dark ball eat him. Even when he is dead, somebody gave him a push so that he could use his final push to absorb it all. Yup, his life going into negative! I wonder why he still isn’t dead at this point. Oh, it’s to have that final reconciliation and goodbye with Alice. After he dies, Alice gets mad and charges into the enemy lines. She’s like a villain burning them all down. Dark mage boss fears to be killed so she kills her own comrades just to stay alive. Alice then announces herself and this catches Vecta’s attention.

Episode 9
Vecta orders the next group to advance and take Alice in unscathed. This means the pugilist guild is now rushing into combat. Strangely, Integrity Knight Scheta wants to handle this one. Meanwhile Vecta allows Vassago to go sneak up on the enemy’s supply. Sneaky Vassago kills the unsuspecting guards as they patrol around the dark woods. A bulk of this episode focuses on Scheta fighting off the pugilist boss. Because of her poker face and lack of emotions, nobody can read what is on her mind. There is more than meets the eye to her. She has this very thin and flexible sword that can slash through anything bestowed by Administrator. She detected Scheta’s deep passion to slash anything and hence made her this sword. Gee, if she could slice up anything with ease like how she did to many of the pugilist members, shouldn’t she be fighting in the frontlines from the start? So the pugilist boss is the only one who is hard enough whom she can’t easily slash. Sword versus fist. See who is harder. You can say that both enjoyed fighting each other but had to abandon this fight since the main forces have caught up. Vassago thinks Ronie is her next victim but she’s smart enough to use not her sight to sense him. She calls out for reinforcements. So does Vassago. With the supply side compromised, Bercouli calls off whatever ambushed he had intended and request Alice and Renly to support the supply side. He will deal with the incoming enemy forces himself. Well, something will work out. Just before Vassago could kill Ronie, then this goddess Stacia pops up and opens a chasm to swallow up the enemies. Wait a minute. Doesn’t Stacia look like Asuna?!

Episode 10
Before Asuna dived in, she was told that this Stacia’s powers include altering the land. Because it puts a heavy load on her Fluctlight, she has to stop once she feels pain. Ronie and Tiese praise the aid of the goddess but Asuna denies and that she is just human who wants to see Kirito. What convenience. She is shocked to see him in his vegetable state and when she hugs him, damn, some movements and reaction from Kirito. Judging from this little reaction, I think he moved more than he did than the entirety of this season! When Asuna leaves the tent, Alice attacks her, thinking she is the enemy spy. Woah, ladies fighting over Kirito?! Did this turn into waifu wars?! They are stopped by Bercouli who believes Asuna isn’t the enemy because her ground opening move saved him from death at the hands of the enemy. Bercouli then has everyone gather to let Asuna explain. It’s a bit hard to explain what the outside world is. Nope, it’s not the divine realm either. She adds her mission is to extract Alice from this place. Once that happens, the war will stop. Alice is after all targeted by the Underworld who wants nothing more than to destroy this world. They deduce that Alice is wanted because she broke the seal on her right eye. When Alice remembers Administrator quoting the code 871 on it, Asuna realizes there is a mole among the Rath staffs. Asuna believes because Alice was able to go against the rules and broke the seal, the enemies could find her valuable in the other world. But Bercouli doesn’t understand. If this is the case, doesn’t this put Alice on the same level as humans in the other world? Asuna can’t say that for now and wants to take Alice to see the other world for herself. It is not utopia and it is far worse than here but there are still many who want to protect it. Like Kirito. There’s your buzzword. But for now, they will focus on defeating the enemies at hand. Asuna will join in and hopes to leave Vecta in her hands. Later that night, the waifu wars continue. Oh God… Asuna and Alice trying to outdo each other who spent more time with Kirito. Oh my God, Ronie! You want to join in this waifu wars too?! Liena too?! F*ck. The more the merrier. Thank goodness they decide to be more civil and talk and trade info about Kirito.

Episode 11
Administrator once talked to Bercouli how she felt death every day even in her dreams. Because she doesn’t have control over everything yet. Now Bercouli understands what she meant. Kirito time interrupted when Bercouli sounds the alarm. It seems the enemies are trying to cross the chasm with a flimsy rope? Apparently Vecta told them to do it and he doesn’t care if there are casualties. Of course this makes some mad but they can’t disobey their emperor. Of course it gets worse when the Integrity Knights come by to take them all out. Critter has synced the Underworld time with reality. Then he sends a tantalizing invitation to players in America to join this battle. Real blood. Real slaughtering. Oh yeah! Sign me up! Damn bloodthirsty violent Americans! Yui detects this and makes an emergency call to Shino and Sugu to take a taxi now and head to this address. Taxis are available at this time in Japan? That’s Japanese service for you! Kikuoka then gets a call from Rath’s Roppongi branch. A couple of ladies came knocking on their door asking to contact Kikuoka. They warn about the time synchronization and it seems they are going to dive in too. Meanwhile Yui is telling the rest of Kirito’s friends of what is happening. I don’t know about this Alice thingy who has existed since the first SAO and hence linking everybody together. Sounds complicated. Whatever the reason, they’re all going to save Kirito, right? However the problem is the time difference in reality. Right now it is the wee hours of morning in Japan and in America it is noon time so you bet there are going to be a lot more active players right now in America. Also, instead of starting from scratch, Yui suggests they can convert their current character data with all the cool stats to Underworld. Of course there’ll be problems… Lisbeth speaks to all the ALO players and pleads for their help. But when she relays the issues that they cannot log out, will feel real pain, will die and no guarantee they can convert back their character data, she is met with brickbats and scorn. They have no love lost for those SAO survivors. Lisbeth doesn’t give up and continues talking about their reality, truth and connections. Hope those tears did the trick. Back in Underworld, those damn bloodthirsty American players have arrived!

Episode 12
Those Americans attack the Dark Territory side. I guess as long as they can kill, anybody is fair game. Asuna alters the landscape to prevent further havoc. When pugilist boss sees Vecta flying over, he gets mad. Knowing he did not tell them about the other enemies, he does what Alice did last season as he gorges out his right eye. In his rage, he jumps over the chasm and saves Asuna from being slaughtered by the Americans. He then offers a deal. If she can create a sturdy bridge to let his men cross over, he will fight with them against the Americans. Meanwhile, Alice wanting to get to higher ground to incinerate more enemies, this proves fatal as she gets snatched by Vecta. So when everyone else receives this news, pugilist boss finds out from Asuna that it is the end of this world if Vecta gets Alice to the Altar. Pugilist boss wants the Integrity Knights to go after them. Because Dark Territory clans cannot go against the emperor, they might be given orders to fight against them. With Vecta already achieving his goal, it means the Dark Territory clan can do whatever they want. Hence their only choice is to stay back to fight the Americans and buy them time. He also has Asuna give Vecta a message once she catches up to him: That they are not his damned puppets! Vassago has awakened back in reality. He learns what happened and looks like Miller is now taking his solo action, proving that he has gotten the Priestess of Light. However it is detected the Integrity Knights are coming after him and it is going to be troublesome if they do so. Hence Critter is waiting for a second wave of Americans to log in and crush them. Vassago then remembers he lost to Asuna. This means Kirito is here. He wants to go back but with no more Dark Knight super account left, Vassago seems to have a special account for another express pass. Asuna and the Integrity Knight are now surrounded by the next wave of Americans. Renly going to sacrifice himself to make a path? Don’t be. Because here comes another angel to wipe out a bunch of those players. Is that you Shino?! Yes it is.

Kirito, So Thou Art Offline: Waifu Wars
Sighs… They really know how to extend the drama. Instead of making this a continuous double cour, they took a season break before airing the big finale. Hey, it’s all just a game, right? Sure, not for these people putting their lives on the line. I guess we too have to wait with baited breath for the liberation of Underworld. But I am guessing how things will turn out and it shouldn’t surprise me. Unless… And yeah, I find it that this season’s final ending scene to be similarly weird as last season. Because last time we had angelic Asuna extending his hand to save Kirito. Now we have Shino doing the same for Asuna. Is this going to be a trend as slowly Kirito’s other friends and harem join in the battle?

One of the weirdest expects in this season is Kirito being a vegetable. Yes, it was really bizarre to see the best swordsman in all virtual games to turn into some vegetable retard. So much so you could say that the recap episode at the beginning was the most that we will ever get to see him in action or acting normally. But this isn’t the first time that this series has done without Kirito as its main star. Remember that GGO spinoff title? The one where some little pink munchkin was running about and blazing away her opponents? Yup. That. However that was a spinoff but this is the real SAO main series. So to see Kirito being wheelchair ridden like as though he has turned into some grandpa waiting for the day he will kick the bucket, sometimes it also feels unsettling. Sometimes it feels like they are disrespecting the main character but I suppose this is all part of the plot and that at this point it is all too early to jump to conclusions. The great Kirito who defeated Administrator is now reduced to this? Hmm… Not very nice indeed… And he doesn’t even make any sort of appearance in this season’s final episode. Like as though he went missing. Not very nice indeed…

Hence some of the characters from last season won’t come back, namely Eugeo and Cardinal. Of course Administrator and Chudelkin too but they do appear in flashbacks. An excuse for never seen before scenes of them. So for Eugeo, I guess no BL yaoi for you fujoshi out there! He is happy living with the original loli Alice. In some alternate timeline. Hopefully. No wonder Kirito is so vegetable this season… Cardinal got her best hug last season. Yeah, she really needed it. All up to you now, Kirito. Oh wait. Make that next season.

With Kirito out of the main picture, this give rise to Alice as she temporarily takes Kirito’s place as the main character. Alice to the fore. It is most probably her indebt to him that makes her look out for him as much as he can. After all, we’ve seen what Kirito had done for her last season. I’m sure the feelings of the heart had something to do with it too (remember those few trolling scenes of her trying to take advantage of his vegetable state and kiss him?) but with Alice being more of a poker face and the imminent threat of Dark Territory getting in the way, I suppose no time for some disabled romance. Hah. Even AIs got feelings, you know. Yeah, virtual technology is this advanced. At least in this series. We got a little taste of the waifu wars although it started a bit late after Asuna dived in. Better late than never. Now we just need the rest of his harem to jump in and complete Kirito’s harem. The more the merrier. The stronger this team will be. Then we can get along fighting for his attention once the war is over. Real 3D girls and 2D girls fighting for his attention. Damn Kirito, you lucky bastard!!!! You better break out of that vegetable state soon or else there will be another kind of war that will be even more devastating!!!! HAHAHA!!!!! Oops…

Alice doesn’t take 100% of the spotlight as there are some episodes that are dedicated in focusing on a few new Integrity Knights like Renly and Scheta. While they have an interesting background, but it still feels short and like some sort of diversion. I mean, there are 30 over Integrity Knights and it would be a shame that we can count all of the known ones with just our fingers. I’m sure a good number is missing but adding a couple of them makes it look like they have a few more good Integrity Knights on their side. Still, I find it hard to relate them since their flashback is rather short as it just points out their flaws and then during the fight, they realize what is important and overcome it. There. Now the Integrity Knights can look like they have more reliable men on their side instead of just showing the usual ones that we already know and introduced from last season. Oh right. RIP Eldrie. In a way it is a good thing so we won’t have this dude get in the way of b*tching Alice x Kirito romance. Heh. If that ever is a possibility but with Eldrie out of the way, definitely no Alice x Eldrie possibility.

Strangely, I find myself to be more fascinated with the dark factions of Dark Territory. I noticed I was more glued and interested in watching them whenever they appear rather than the Integrity Knights or the recent waifu wars. Perhaps it is because there was not much data and info given about the Dark Territory in last season. So it seems that there are a bunch of lives on the other side outside of the human empire too. It’s a shame that they are being casted as the bad guys because some of them really seemed to have potential and interesting back story. But with Vecta being the cruel ultimate emperor, whatever he says is divine. Hence some dark tribes like the orcs and pugilists could have had better characterization if at least their side were fleshed out more. In some ways, I think I would side and sympathize with them rather than the Integrity Knights! Really.

Action wise, this season doesn’t disappoint as the war between both sides get brutal and bloody. But just as to show how powerful a single Integrity Knight is, that is why the Dark Territory side has the numbers and hence the cliché moment of taking a whole bunch of them out with their single powerful move. Don’t mind if we rake up the body count. Yeah, it feels like all those initially like the goblins and the giants exist in great numbers just to die in the battlefield. Some lesser human soldiers also die but we don’t see much of it. After all, a few Integrity Knights can take out a huge horde. Sometimes the impact of the powerful move is so great that the sound effect also affected my speaker and I have to tone it down so as not to turn my entire room into some sonic boom shockwave or something. And when those bloodthirsty Americans joined the fray, I guess they’re only there to add to the body count. Wow. So many online American players at the same given point in time? I’m sure those players who jumped right in only to be instantly killed by the powerful Integrity Knights are going to have some rage quit issues.

I still never understood all the technical terms and jargons. While the war of the Underworld is the main focus, there are still some scenes back at Ocean Turtle. Safe to say that I am still in the blur of all those jargons and that is the main reason impeding me from appreciating and enjoying this season to its fullest. I guess only the blood and gore speak to me, something a simpleton like me can understand. So whatever linking and synching all those virtual technological stuffs, nah, not really interested even if it is part of the plot. Like when they show certain characters going berserk and then their STL Lightcube being affected or something, like WTF is going on? Is this some excuse to tell us why they power up and could do more than their usual? Yeah, everything is just pixels and codes, right?

It is interesting to see and note that there is a possibility that humans may create AIs that are on par with real human beings, complete with their own independent set of thinking and emotions. As always, there is always debate and up in the air for discussion its pros and cons. When AI becomes too life-like and intelligent for us, probably that is when the nightmare begins. Or in today’s era, perhaps we’ll make more memes and jokes about AIs having rights and feelings! Hahaha! Oops… It is also interesting to see how many people will actually sacrifice what they have achieved just for others or the greater good. It’s a good opportunity to see their real character. So would I exchange my stats and put my life on the line for Kirito? Uhm… Erm… Uh… Let’s move on to the next topic, shall we?

This season’s art and animation is on par with last season. Superb stuff to say the least. You bet they can’t skimp on the quality as this series is such an important and popular name. But there are some CGI moments that are weak. Especially those that are of the battlefield and in the background. You won’t notice the first time round when the focus is on the main battle in front. But if you look closely to all the grunts and foot soldiers fighting each other, you can see the CGI animation is somewhat lame. This season’s opener is sung by Haruka Tomatsu. Resolution is your typical rock outfit that fits the pace of this season. But it is the ending theme, Unlasting by Lisa that attracts me. It is a slow ballad and despite its sad and gloomy outlook, it is also somewhat sounds beautiful and dramatically powerful.

Overall, this season isn’t all that bad but my only pet peeve is that they had to split this second half into 2 cours. I suppose we are heading into the final stretch of the longest arc in the series and they want to make the finale as epic as it is acclaimed to be in its original works. There is some great action this season but depending on your preference, that could be bad or good. And that factor is Kirito. Non Kirito fans will not matter since we can see how other characters are also capable in defending themselves instead of relying on the main character. But Kirito lovers might be crying foul for what they have turned him into this season. Oh well, this is to be expected if you’ve read the light novel. Hopefully when the final of the final comes around, the anime will do justice to its epic awesomeness. A lot of AIs died for our entertainment, you know.

Sword Art Online: Alicization

After that rather tepid and lukewarm alternative spinoff story that was Gun Gale Online, I guess Sword Art Online (SAO) fans can now be happy that the next season of SAO would be continuing and adapting one of the more popular and important arcs of the series, Sword Art Online: Alicization. Yes, having an SAO series without the main character Kirito seems so off and weird. Even weirder for me was that I was having a hard time trying to pronounce or remember Alicization. I don’t know how, but I keep initially remembering and pronouncing it as alkalization. Heh. I thought with all the toxic acidity of online players in VR, maybe some sort of neutralization and alkalization is needed to bring things back to order. Damn, I’m getting side-tracked here…

Episode 1
In this 1 hour special, we start off seeing a young Kirito and Eugeo taking turns trying to chop down a tough cedar tree with their axe. Not making much progress. And this is all the mark that Eugeo’s 6 generations of chopping have left! They take a break when Alice comes by to give them her lunch. Because Kirito suggests getting some ice so their food can last longer, they believe the End Mountains hosts the coolest ice. However there is talk about breaking the Taboo Index in which the Integrity Knight of Axiom Church will whisk you away. Then there’s this legend of this hero, Bercouli who entered the End Mountains and faced off with a huge white dragon guarding treasures in the cave. He defeated it with a sword. Next day, the trio make their way into End Mountains. They stumble into a cave and find that the legend was indeed true. Dragon bones, treasures and a sword too heavy for the kids to lift. They aren’t here to steal loots and got the ice they want but realize they forgot which exit they came from. I guess it’s not down to guts, huh? Too bad it’s wrong as it leads them to Dark Territory. They see an Integrity Knight defeating a Dark Knight. The latter somewhat hypnotizes Alice to cross over to the Dark Territory. Although her fingers only touched the Dark Territory, this violation is detected. The trio return home without realizing the consequences they will be facing. Because tomorrow, an Integrity Knight flies into town and arrests Alice. She will be questioned before being executed. Kirito wants to save her but is of course no match. Eugeo is paralyzed in fear while the villagers hold down Kirito and they can only helplessly see Alice being whisked away. Kirito wakes up from this simulation world but doesn’t know why he is crying.

We now see Kirito and his harem trying to take down a group of formidable PK players in GGO. They manage to give our heroes the slip and escape with minimal casualties. Later Asada talks to Kirito about entering the next BoB tournament so they can face off with the legendary Subtilizer. With Asuna joining them, the topic changes to Kirito’s part time job as a tester of some virtual game. Asuna is worried because it is taking a toll on his health. This job that Kirito is doing is a new next generation full dive system developed by Rath. The thing is, to keep the secrecy and anonymity, any memories created in the VR world will be erased. Though he is certain it doesn’t put the stress on the brain like previous models. Then they talk about where the soul of a human’s body resides. Not really getting into all these terms now but that’s what Fluctlight sounds like. Hence the Soul Translator (STL) from Rath supposedly reads that Fluctlight. Yeah, it’s getting heavy so I’ll skip this. Anyway, Kirito’s experience was that he couldn’t tell he was in the VR world. Like as though it is a realistic dream. The only thing Kirito was told that the project is called Underworld. Like the one from Alice In Wonderland? As they part, Kirito tells Asuna he plans to go to America where the technology for full dive is more advanced. He wants her to come with him. But of course. And yes she will. Oddly, they kiss in the streets. Nobody watching? Soon they are confronted with a guy who is the last surviving member of Laughing Coffin. The guys go at each other and both are struck down. However Kirito was injected with a strange serum.

Episode 2
Kirito wakes up in this familiar VR world. Strange. Can’t log out. He also retains his memories of the real world. He then sees Eugeo trying to chop down the tree. Kirito makes up a story that he has amnesia so Eugeo thinks he is a Vecta, those who got abducted as a prank by demons and then released. Whatever. Kirito tries to test if Eugeo is an NPC but nothing conclusive as he might be a test player with restricted memories. Eugeo will accompany him to town but he needs to finish his job of chopping this tree. Kirito hangs out with him and learns he has a childhood friend named Alice taken away for stepping into the Dark Territory. He believes she is still alive in the central city. With the other terms like Taboo Index, Kirito can’t help feel they sound familiar. After learning how to draw out the interface, he also learns Eugeo’s Calling (fate) to chop down this demonic tree because as long as it stands, they can never expand their wheat fields. And they’ve been doing it for 300 years and 7 generations! Chipping it bit by bit every day! Kirito tries to help out with his sword skill but as expected, no significant impact. At the end of the day, Eugeo brings him back but is confronted by this arrogant Zink who thinks he is going to be the best swordsman as per his Calling. Because he badmouths Eugeo’s pathetic Calling, Kirito shows his swordsman skills to shut him up. Kirito temporarily lives in a church run by Sister Azalia and he gets acquainted with one of the young nuns, Selka. Kirito ponders about the people of this world. Like as though they were born and raised here from the start. Are they copies of souls of newborns who were raised in virtual worlds? The only explanation is that they could be artificial Fluctlights.

Episode 3
Kirito’s goal is to go to central city but with no money, he believes he needs Eugeo’s help. So he hangs out with him and learns Selka is Alice’s younger sister and some high level sacred art that could stop life from decreasing. Of course this means you have to be a lot powerful like those high priests in Axiom Church. Eugeo then drags this heavy Blue Rose Sword from the legend to show it to Kirito. That Bercouli legend again. It is believed this sword is made from divine intervention. With Eugeo still regretting he couldn’t save Alice, Kirito tries to help using this sword to strike the tree. Will it make a difference? Just lost 1 HP… Maybe he strike at the wrong place so Eugeo believes if he masters this sword, he can cut down this tree faster. But for now, back to the old fashion axe chopping. Later Kirito talks to Selka since she is now learning the sacred arts in place of her sister. He thinks she likes Eugeo as she is sad he hardly smiles ever since Alice was taken away. Selka was never told the reason Alice was taken away so Kirito tells her. Next day, Azalia wonders if Kirito has seen Selka since it is unusual for her not to be around. Then when talking to Eugeo about this, it dawned to him she might have gone to End Mountains since Kirito said too much. They have to bring her back before Integrity Knight does. Kirito will take responsibility and take Selka to run away from the town since Integrity Knight will only fly in the next day. Then they hear Selka’s scream. In that cave, they see unconscious Selka being kidnapped by goblins. Sure they’re not going to rape her?! Eugeo was so worried he gave away their position. Now the goblins notice them, their big boss tell them to kill those white boys because they cannot be sold. So do they rape young girls first before selling them? Eugeo is paralyzed with fear.

Episode 4
Kirito quickly devices a plan to fight the goblins. He gets the big boss while Eugeo gets the small fries. Thank goodness for his grass light that keeps them at bay. Kirito heavily damages the boss but takes some serious damage too. This makes Eugeo feel the need to save him or it will be just like Alice’s case. So he recklessly swings his sword and gets a fatal strike in his guts. Ouch. Oddly, Eugeo somewhat remembers the promise made with Alice and Kirito during their younger days about dying together. Mad Kirito now turns into Goblin Slayer to decapitate the boss. The other goblins flee. Kirito frees Selka and wants her to heal Eugeo. She is unconfident and comparing herself she isn’t Alice. Can we just try? Selka and Kirito transfer some of their life force to save him. Kirito then hears Alice voice telling him she will be waiting for them at the central cathedral. In the aftermath, Eugeo felt strange about that promise since Kirito only just came, right? But it felt like he was there before with them. Kirito uses Blue Rose Sword on the tree since his skill levelled up after defeating the goblin boss. Damn, the tree takes a massive damage!!! Eugeo pleads to Kirito to teach him swordsmanship as he wants to go to central city to save Alice. He has been regretting that for every day that he didn’t do anything. He wants to be strong so as not to repeat those mistakes again. Under Kirito’s guidance, Eugeo finally cuts down the tree! The village holds a party and because Eugeo completed his task, he has the right to choose a new Calling. Without a doubt, he wants to become a swordsman. Later he talks to Selka about his goal to bring back Alice with Kirito. She wishes him well but promises all of them must come back alive. Kirito and Eugeo soon leave the village. It’s going to be a long walk…

Episode 5
Before we forget this simulation is real, we return to reality. After Kirito was attacked, Asuna sent him to hospital and he has been in comatose state ever since. Although his condition stabilized, he might have suffered brain damage when his heart stopped for a few minutes. He needs to be transferred to a facility with better equipment. That was also when Kikuoka popped up to suggest this facility where Kirito could get the proper treatment. However when Asuna visited, they were told Kirito was to have no visitors and the supposed ambulance that brought him here never actually arrived. Asuna and the girls discuss about Rath and STL and Asuna with Yui’s help detect the last known location of Kirito’s heart monitor. The trace stopped at a port warehouse. Heading there, Yui even checked the security cameras that a helicopter took off on that day. There is a possibility that Kirito was taken overseas. Remember how Kirito went all out to save her? Now it’s her turn to save him. Trying to remember what Kirito said that may have been related to his job. Hmm… Medicuboid… Rinko… Shigemura Lab… University in California… Speaking of Rinko, she receives an email from Kikuoka that needs her participation in a project. She also receives email from Asuna. Rinko and her assistant, Mayumi Reynolds arrive on a pyramid-cum-oil-rig platform dubbed Ocean Turtle. Heading inside the command centre, here is Kikuoka. He welcomes them to Rath and is happy the last of the 3 indispensable people for this project has arrived. The other being Takeru Higa of Shigemura Lab who is devoted to continue Kayaba’s work. When Kikuoka refuses to disclose the other indispensable person, that is when Reynolds reveals herself to be Asuka! Surprise! Did Kikuoka not feel suspicious why Rinko accepted his invitation so easily? Asuna found her email on Kirito’s PC and sought her help. She has a friend who could hack things and that’s why she easily passed all the background checks. Asuna demands to know where Kirito is now.

Episode 6
Kikuoka claims Rath is the only place with the technology to heal Kirito. Something about using STL and Fluctlight and generate new neural network. The purpose of this experiment is to create a bottom-up multi-purpose AI. All AI are created via top-down approach. You programme it and it learns from there. However its drawback is that they are unable to handle situations that they have not learnt. So by using bottom-up approach, they try to copy a human soul and store into this Lightcube as medium for a human brain. Despite successfully copying a human soul, it seems they missed something. He has Higa show them a clone of himself. The clone is panicking and thinking he is the real Higa and wants out of this dark space. In the end, the programme crashes. They have tried copying 10 souls but none of them could bear the thought they are just a copy. Hence the next answer is to raise them from the start. Thanks to virtual worlds and the Seed, they managed to create a small world and start out a small civilization using Rath staffs. Using acceleration, in 3 weeks, 300 years passed in the virtual world and its inhabitants grew to a massive 80,000 population. A governing body called Axiom Church created laws known as Taboo Index. All inhabitants obey the laws without question. This is when Asuna realizes the project is to create AI designed to kill. Asuna knows Kikuoka didn’t say this to Kirito because he wouldn’t have participated in this project. Even AI have rights? Sure, they lack physical bodies but they are the same as living things. Kikuoka understands her concerns but to him, 100,000 AI lives are worth far less than an actual soldier’s.

As for why he needed Kirito, he needed someone who has years of experience in moving in virtual worlds. There was a girl influenced by Kirito who broke the Taboo Index. Ironically she is named Alice, the same name as this project. She is a highly adaptive AI known as Artificial Labile Intelligence Cybernated Existence AKA ALICE. Their goal is to convert a Fluctlight into Alice. Welcome to Project Alicization. Asuna manages to see Kirito lying in the machine. She is surprised he has a personal nurse: Natsuki. Unlike Kikuoka who ‘deceives’, Natsuki is a real nurse. Just that she graduated from the SDF nursing school. Later Rinko confesses to Asuna about the atrocities she did to all former SAO players. Although Kayaba planted a bomb in her chest to force her to collaborate with that project, it was fake. If Rinko was ever caught, she would not be implicated. Flashback shows Rinko started liking this nerdy and scrawny Kayaba. Oddly they dated and it’s not like he was ever interested in her but never pushed her away either. When Kayaba became a murder suspect for that SAO incident, she went to his lodge to kill him but couldn’t. Asuna doesn’t bear any grudges towards Kayaba or her. She is grateful that she managed to spend time living with Kirito in that world. It’s one of her best days of her life. Even though Kayaba’s crimes are unforgiveable nor if amends could be made, they have to continue to face what they’ve done.

Episode 7
Back to the virtual world. 2 years have passed since Kirito and Eugeo entered the city of Zakkaria. They honed their sword skills, entered a sword tournament, won and are now part of the garrison. Under the tutelage of Sortiliena “Liena” Serlut, their skills are further honed. Kirito narrates he has learnt the mechanisms of this world. In short, if you are filled with confidence, this could be enough to give you some power boost enough to rewrite the laws of the world. Kirito spars with Liena and loses. He has never won against her. Even if she is this good, she has never won against the top student, Volo Levantein. She also believes Kirito couldn’t beat her is because he is hiding some sword techniques. As she will be graduating soon, Kirito promises to show her his greatest skill as her graduation gift. Later Eugeo feels worried because if Kirito’s memories returns, he might return to his world. Kirito assures him he will not go home even if that happens because they made a vow to become an Integrity Knight. They are only here now because of each other. Kirito sees a blacksmith, Sadore to get some special sword done. It is going to be costly but will give it to free if he could swing it. Of course he flawlessly wields it and gets it FOC. While he is practising with it, he falters and attracts the attention of Volo. Normally it is forbidden to train on rest days but he will overlook this because he too is guilty of doing that. But he won’t let him go because somehow he got a puny dirt on his shirt. So they’re going to settle this via duel with real swords. Stop-short matches aren’t Volo’s style but he gives Kirito the choice. In turn, he throws that decision back to him because he is the one being punished.

Episode 8
Liena warns Kirito that Volo’s family tradition means his sword absorbs the blood of his enemies. He plans to convert Kirito’s sword strength into his and feed on it. Kirito believes Volo also has the power of imagination. As they fight, Kirito sees his entire family giving him strength. Sure, Kirito has his too. His friends and harem. But the killer support is the cedar tree! Yeah, his imagination must be so strong that his sword grows bigger! Enough to withstand Volo’s strike. Kirito could have faltered had not Azurika (the dorm supervisor) stopped the match. Liena holds a mini celebration for Kirito in her room. She reveals that Volo’s family sword skills originally belonged to her family. But a distant family displeased the emperor and they were forbidden to pass it down. So they develop other weird sword styles but Liena is nonetheless proud to master them. She believes Kirito’s style is different because he doesn’t feel inferior compared to those trained in traditional styles. That night, a couple of noble bullies who aren’t fond with Kirito’s win, Raios Antinous and Humbert Zizek destroyed his little garden. Kirito is sad because those flowers don’t bloom here and he is trying hard to bloom them in foreign soil via his imagination. The flowers are also a great significance to him as it symbolizes Kirito trying hard in a foreign land, not knowing if he could ever return. Then a mysterious voice gives him hope to ‘feel’ the meaning of magic. What do you know? They revive! Wow. Truly the power of imagination. On the final exam day, Liena faces off with Volo in the finals and beats him. Did the power of imagination do its tricks again? She graduates as the officially top ranked student of the academy. Kirito and Eugeo became ranked 5 and 6 respectively after their advancement exam and are promoted to elite disciples. Yeah, they’ve got a couple of cute trainees of their own, Tiese Shtolienen and Ronie Arabel.

Episode 9
As Kirito mentions, you can infuse your sword with some sort of pride of feelings to make it stronger. So what goes for Eugeo? Alice. But of course. Eugeo continues his training and his mocked by Raios and Humbert. They offer him to teach him and Eugeo shocks them by accepting a lesson from Humbert. Eugeo uses his unconventional skills to dodge his attacks and Raios is forced to end the match with a draw. Raios offers his lesson next time but gets irked when Eugeo replies he doesn’t mind it now. Eugeo tells this to Kirito who thinks that they may be acting arrogantly because they are reluctantly obeying the laws of Axiom Church. As long as the Taboo Index is not violated, you can do anything you want. When Tiese and Ronie complain to their mentors about their friend, Frenica Cesky being made to do inappropriate chores by her mentor, damn it’s that Humbert name again. Then they talk about noble’s pride in which nobles must use the power and privilege they have to protect the weak. That pride is more important than any law or regulation. So the guys confront Raios and Humbert. Of course they play dumb over Eugeo’s accusations. So it seems Humbert who was reeling from the draw tried to train more. This means having his muscles sore and hence having Frenica to massage him during bath. Eugeo is so mad he wanted to strike them but thankfully he didn’t bring his sword. He manages to keep his cool but warns them if there is no improvement, they’ll consider asking the instructors to investigate. Raios dares him to do as he please. Later Kirito warns Eugeo that they may be targeting him. Because had he lost his cool and done something wrong, they may use it as an excuse as impropriety and punish him with maximum penalty. So stay cool always. Then Eugeo tells Tiese the actions he has taken. He also wants to apologize to Frenica since this incident stems from that duel. However Tiese isn’t in favour in setting them up to meet. Instead, she tells how she will take over as head of her family after she graduates. Then she will marry to a guy with similar rank or a rank above her. She fears her future husband will be cruel. Can we see where this is going when she asks Eugeo for a favour while being THIS close to him? She is confident he will represent their academy at the Swordsmanship Tournament and compete in the Four Empires Unification Tournament and get a high ranking. She didn’t say it but I’m guessing she wants him to marry her when he achieves that tall order. I hope he didn’t get the wrong idea by accepting this.

Episode 10
Kirito realizes their disciples are late for cleaning. Suspecting something amiss, he goes to check on them. As Eugeo waits, Frenica comes in to tell that she confided in Tiese and Ronie about yet another inappropriate order. They went to talk to him on her behalf and have never returned. Eugeo realizes they were the target and not him. He rushes to their room and demands their whereabouts. They lead him to their room in which they are tied up on their bed. Raios claims because they have acted inappropriately, something they can use the higher Taboo Index judiciary to punish them as their family noble rank ranks higher than theirs. Hence they are going to rape them before Eugeo’s eyes! Eugeo is paralysed due to the Taboo Index he is bound to. But seeing the poor girls scream and pleading for help, I guess something activated in his eye that ultimately explodes? This allows Eugeo to move enough to cut off Humbert’s arm. Raios now uses this excuse to execute Eugeo. Before he can decapitate him, here comes our Kirito to clash swords with him. So great their clash that the windows shatter! Eventually Kirito cuts off both Raios’ arms. The scumbag panics as he loses blood. Strangely, he experiences some weird digital glitch before dying. Our heroes rescue their disciples but some strange system admin detects, traces and reports this incident. Next day, Azurica heals Eugeo’s eye (you mean he didn’t get treatment after that?). However she is here to hand them over to the Integrity Knight. In a way, she gives them encouragement because Eugeo was able to break a seal that she was never able to break. Now he is able to go where she was unable to go. The duo are shocked to see the Integrity Knight picking them up. Alice?! Alice Synthesis Thirty to be precise.

Episode 11
When Eugeo tries to touch her, she beats him up! Do that again and you’ll die! With Eugeo very certain she is Alice, Kirito suggests playing along so they can get into the central cathedral. Before they depart, Tiese and Ronie are kind enough to give them their swords? Of course confiscated by Alice. She is kind enough to let them speak for a minute? At least they say their final goodbyes. We take a break and return to Ocean Turtle. Asuna is surprised a robot is moving around on its own. Ichiemon is created by Higa and fine-tuned by Rinko. From what I understand, they are trying to make an AI robot auto-balance like a human’s body to create a near perfect humanoid body. We return to the central cathedral. Kirito and Eugeo are imprisoned in an underground cell. Kirito wonders if this Alice was the real one, what was that cave incident Alice spirit whisper thingy all about? Could there be a spell that manipulates memories? They use the chains to destroy each other because they’re both the same high level, using them against each other is like wearing down the other’s life! It works! Video game logic! I guess they can escape easily because nobody escapes here before so no guards or even if there are, they’re sleeping. Making their way through the labyrinth garden, Eugeo who is still bent and determined on bringing Alice back hopes that bringing her back to their hometown would blow away the fake memories. This gives Kirito an idea on how he could retrieve his lost memories. They are confronted by an Integrity Knight, Eldrie Synthesis Thirty One who claims Alice is her mentor. She had foresight that they would escape and had him stationed here for the night. He will send them back to their prison but first he is going to exact punishment.

Episode 12
Eldrie is formidable with his whip as Kirito and Eugeo cooperate to fight on the same footing. When Eugeo finally recognizes him as Eldrie Woolsburg, the winner of the Four Empires Unification Tournament, Eldrie panics and denies it all. He believes he was summoned by Administrator from the heavens as an Integrity Knight. As Eugeo discloses more info about him to revive his memories, Eldrie then ‘stops working’. This funny prism in his forehead must be impeding his memories. Before they can do anything further, an archer Integrity Knight starts sniping at them. The duo make a run for it. A voice in Kirito guides them safely into a portal. She is Cardinal and the sole librarian of this great library. There are records of everything here from the start of this world’s creation. But the records here are all fabricated by the pontifex of Axiom Church. All to preserve their rule over the people. This makes Kirito realize that Cardinal is a system supervisor and that she is actually the Cardinal System. She might be the system supervisor but the one who holds all the admin privileges is no other than Administrator who is also her elder twin sister. Otherwise she would not be stuck in here. Time for some history. When this world was created 450 years ago when humans descended on this world (employees of Rath), these Gods taught their children how to live before logging out. But one of them was filled with malice and selfishness that gave rise to nobles and Axiom Church. When the first political marriage was done centuries ago, Quinella was born. She tinkered with the sacred arts that include killing cute forest critters and healing the people’s wounds. With the people awed by her godly powers, Quinella started to rule over them and as time as the city grow, so did the tower they built to worship her that she resided. To continue her rule so that no one would be above her, she wrote laws that became the Taboo Index. However she grew older and fragile but just before her death, she somehow managed to open a list that contains every command (it is rumoured she may have help from outside admins). This allowed her to restore her youth and be ageless. Quinella went a step further as she doesn’t want the Cardinal System to have equal authority with her. However she ended up fusing her soul with it. That is the reason for the existence of this system as if there is any slight irregularities that skews the balance, it will be soon detected. Hence the constant observation of ‘players’. Now that Quinella is no longer human, she seeks to continue ruling and preserving this real forever as both supervisor and rule, the pontifex of Axiom Church.

Episode 13
After 70 years of rule, Quinella realizes her soul’s capacity to preserve her memories had reached its limit. She thought of copying hers onto by overwriting a child’s Fluctlight. That child is Cardinal. But doing so means Quinella had made a mistake. Now there are 2 Gods wielding same level of authority. Both started fighting (more like redefining object structures). But with Quinella holding the upper hand, Cardinal fled. Only 2 places were beyond the reach of the Administrator: Dark Territory and this great library. She isolated herself and has been waiting for a chance to strike back. Quinella anticipated her ambush and assembled loyal and powerful followers known as Integrity Knights. The first one being Bercouli. Cardinal continued to observe the world but couldn’t figure things out and that’s why she wanted a human collaborator. She has pondered why would the real Gods (Rath) let this fake God (Administrator) rule? Her conclusion is that Rath doesn’t wish for people of this world to lead happy lives. They are observing how people will resist them and slowly tightening their load. Eventually the greatest trial will arrive. In short, the monsters in Dark Territory will come slaughter all humans and that day isn’t too far off. Quinella has underestimated them and thinks she and her Integrity Knights would be enough to stop them. Cardinal has resigned to the fact that Dark Territory will besiege this world. Hence her conclusion is that since she doesn’t accept Rath, her only way is to turn everything in this world into nothingness. She needs Kirito’s help to eliminate Administrator and regain all her authority. In exchange, he gets to name a few Fluctlights he wants to save and she will archive them before he returns to his own world.

Kirito wonders if she is a copy of Quinella, shouldn’t she have that selfish and greedy trait? In her senses, eliminating Administrator and normalizing the world is her desire. But there is something she has wanted to know for the last 200 years. So she just wants a hug? Oh yeah. She feels so satisfied that she’s crying. Weird. Kirito accepts to cooperate but will still find a way to save this world. Cardinal doesn’t know if this Integrity Knight Alice is the same as Eugeo’s childhood friend but she knows a way to stop this Synthesis Ritual. Just take out that prism, Piety Module. As you have guessed, it seals their original memories and makes you obedient to Administrator. Of course this means you need to get the original memories back to fill that void. It won’t be easy as it is locked in the highest tower of central cathedral. Eugeo worries to fight Alice because killing her would defeat the purpose of his goal. Hence Cardinal gives them a mini dagger. When stabbed, it links an irremovable connection to her and she will use her sacred arts to put her into sleep mode to buy them time to remove the Synthesis Ritual. She can also help get their swords back in the armoury but that won’t be enough to stop the Integrity Knights’ terrifying amplifying technique. She has them think of their sword and then comes up with a list of commands to remember? Whatever. Now she has told and given them everything she could, it’s time to step back into the real virtual world.

Episode 14
After getting their weapons, Kirito realizes Administrator doesn’t intend to create an army but kept all their weapons here. It could be the pontifex is the one with the least faith in the church’s authority. They are attacked by that archer Integrity Knight. Kirito uses all the defence he’s got to defend against his flames. Once Kirito is out, Eugeo strikes a couple of lethal blows to defeat him. After archer dude learns about their excellent skills, he tells them there are other Integrity Knights waiting for them with orders to kill him. He knows he will be stripped of his knighthood and frozen for failing his mission. To avoid that humiliation, he wants them to kill him. However when Eugeo learns his name as Deusolbert Synthesis Seven, the Integrity Knight who took Alice away, he becomes engulfed in rage. He would’ve killed him had Kirito not stopped him. Let’s not be ugly in killing a man who doesn’t resist. Kirito believes Deusolbert doesn’t even have memories of taking Alice away. He theorizes he got promoted for bringing Alice. But to maintain his fealty as an Integrity Knight, those memories are also sealed because it would be weird if the sinner he brought in showed up as an Integrity Knight. Kirito has him remember if there is a memory that no sacred arts could manipulate. There is one but he can’t really remember much. They let him be as they make their way up and plan how to counter the other Integrity Knights. Then they spot a couple of cute loli chicks watching at them. Hello girls. Want to come out and say hi?

Episode 15
Fizel and Linel are sisters in training. Since Kirito isn’t good with kids, he lets Eugeo handle this. They’re quite nice and cute until they get up close and stab them with their poison daggers! Damn, they’re Integrity Knights?! As they drag them up the stairs, they explain that they are born inside here and their mission was to help Administrator in an experiment with resurrection sacred art. Hence they kill each other. However many other experiment candidates either explode or become monsters after being resurrected. After many failed attempts, the experiment is called off and since the duo are the only survivors, they were promoted to Integrity Knights. But they are confined to only studying sacred arts so they got bored and wanted their own dragons and Divine Objects. They heard about the escapees and thought it would be a good idea to prove themselves. In the top floor consists of top Integrity Knights and their vice commander, Fanatio Synthesis Two. They plan to decapitate the boys so the witnesses can report to Administrator of their great feat. Suddenly Kirito stands up and stabs them with their own dagger. He was suspicious the moment they popped up and knew they couldn’t be just sisters in training due to their dagger gear. Hence he recited some poison dissolving art while Eugeo was attending to them. He won’t kill them but will let them see how strong real Integrity Knights are. Kirito faces off with Fanatio and while the latter brags about her sword made from sunlight, Kirito strikes off her helmet, revealing her female face. She gets agitated thinking Kirito is shocked to discover that she is a woman and won’t fight at his full strength. Just like many others. However Kirito mocks her that she is the one being conscious of being a woman. He had his fair share of losing to female fighters and won’t hold back. Fanatio gets desperate as she summons some dangerous sacrificing move. Cue for Eugeo freed from his poison to summon his sacred art to frozenly bind her. But will it be enough? As he gets pessimistic about his chances, Kirito reminds him that hate will not defeat her. It is love! His love for Alice and those feelings aren’t in any way inferior to her justice.

Episode 16
In short, Kirito defeats Fanatio. After Eugeo uses some of his life force to heal him, Kirito still wants to save Fanatio. If she is erased, everything is for naught. Kirito gets desperate to scream for help. When no one replies, he uses the dagger on her. Cardinal takes Fanatio into her care. Now that they are free to make their way up, damn this cathedral even has a lift operator? She has been operating it for 107 years?! Oh Eugeo, it puts your previous Calling to shame. At the highest floor the operator could go, in this garden, Alice is seen resting. WTF she wants them to give her some time to bask in the sunlight? Probably an excuse so the boys could plot how to take her down. So when she is ready to fight, they have to improvise quick because her sword seems to be in perfect condition. They get blown away and even this is just a warning strike from her. Kirito challenges her to a duel as he asks her about her immense power that originates from a small tree. Something about how her sword was grown from a single Osmanthus tree when the Gods were building this nation. Hence as the oldest creation, its attribute is everlasting eternity. Kirito plays a little cheat as he restrains her so that Eugeo can freeze her. Unfortunately that is not enough as she manages to break out from it. Kirito tries to give another chance to Eugeo and strikes back. However the force is too great that the wall is blown open. The vacuum sucks out Kirito and Alice. Before Eugeo can go after them, the wall builds itself back.

Episode 17
Don’t worry. Kirito and Alice are hanging by their swords. Alice wants him to let go so he lectures her about Eugeo is going to go up and kill Administrator. Isn’t it her job to protect the pontifex? That’s why she must survive. In that case, why don’t Kirito let go? He mentions his mission is not to destroy Axiom Church but protect human territory from Dark Territory’s invasion. They talk about the arbitrary rules and laws set. For now they call a truce but once they enter the tower, she will slay him. As the walls are created with infinite regenerative abilities, looks like they’re going up. Using a chain to chain themselves together, Kirito then uses his skill to create wedges to climb up. Damn, this guy must be real strong and have a really good balance. Because Alice feels ashamed to do the same, WTF she has Kirito pull her from underneath. Is this her pride as an Integrity Knight?! Their goal is to make it to the 95th floor since there will be an open garden. Looks like this is going to take a while. We take a brief detour to Ocean Turtle. Asuna and Rinko notice a destroyer moving further. An agent is perplexed because it’s supposed to escort them. He calls Kikuoka about it. Back to the VR world, looks like they’re still a long way to go and it is going to be night fall. Noticing a ledge a few metres above, they can rest there. However, statues turn into monsters and start attacking them. Can they fight with their balance on the edge? Worse, Alice is scared?! WTF?! Mind boggling moment when Kirito uses all his strength to swing Alice up to the ledge. She then does the same to him. Now they can fight the monsters and easily slay them. Alice is baffled because these monsters are from Dark Territory and created by evil dark art users as soulless familiars called minions. How are these lined up on the most sacred walls of the human empire and how did they get past the detection of Integrity Knights? Could it be someone of high authority within the church placed them here? Because minion blood brings you sickness, Alice lends her handkerchief to wipe it off Kirito’s face. Have it clean and return to her before she slays him. Gee, how kind. Another excuse to delay slaying him immediately? Meanwhile Eugeo has reached the hot bath level. Don’t worry. Not sexy hot naked chicks. But a burly muscular guy with scars. Have fun…

Episode 18
It is no surprise he is the leader of the Integrity Knights and that legendary hero, Bercouli. Eugeo tries to take him on is blown away by his mysterious slash. Don’t worry. Bercouli won’t kill him since he didn’t kill Fanatio or any of the other Integrity Knights. He reveals his sword didn’t slash air but slashed the future! WTF?! Okay, more explanation how it was made by the Divine Object of a clock that existed since the start of this world. Eugeo prepares for his next attack as Bercouli guesses he is going for long distance attacks now. That’s what all his opponents think after seeing that move. Of course Eugeo thinks out of the box. He freezes everything and throws away his sword. This shock stuns Bercouli as Eugeo physically tackles him before getting his sword back to checkmate him. With everything slowly freezing, Eugeo’s plan is also to take themselves out because his blooming ice roses are sucking their life force. Eugeo then gets upset because Integrity Knights like him don’t remember their past and serve blindly to Axiom Church. Hey, you want to blame an amnesiac person for not remembering? Well, before Bercouli starts having a feeling those stories about him, then comes in this clown. Chudelkin the prime senator accuses Bercouli for treason because he did not use his other time ability that would have instantly killed Eugeo. Bercouli denies this and claims he has given everything he’s got while accusing the jester back he has deceived him. Chudelkin deep freezes him so that he would be reprocessed. However he feels Bercouli will not be needed anymore as Eugeo will be a better pawn. We take a detour to the awkward moment of Kirito and Alice spending the night together on the ledge. Kirito tells her about her sister. Starting to remember something? Yeah, keep denying. Despite he assures her everything he said is true, of course she doubles down and will slay him if there is a hint of deceit. She’s a really good tsundere, isn’t she?

Episode 18.5
Recap episode! What a better way to spend the night on the ledge and let time pass as Kirito tells Alice everything from start to finish. Although the visuals are 100% copy and paste (no new scenes, sadly) but at least there are some parts that Kirito narrates like a more summarized version of what has happened so far in their quest to bring back Alice. So now you believe? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Episode 19
Wait. Kirito narrating a quick recap on what happened to Alice? Yeah, I guess it’s for those who skipped that recap episode. Alice wonders why he is doing this and of course as we know, it is to protect this world from Dark Territory. He asks her back about the Integrity Knights’ chance in defeating Dark Territory and she remembers even Bercouli has his doubts but Chudelkin admonished him to think of a way. Despite nobles being corrupted, Kirito has an idea for the people to protect this world. With the large stash of weapons in the armoury, the Integrity Knights can help dispense their knowledge and skill to the people to have a fighting chance. They can at least be ready in a year. And it looks like Alice seems to have been taken in by Kirito’s words because she wants to see Selka and Kirito even promising to let her see her sister back at her village before she regains her memories. I guess she somewhat remembers since she is crying. When she decides to forsake her role as an Integrity Knight, her right eye starts to act up. She is in pain as Kirito finds a barcode in it. He believes if she tries to think differently and defy the church, this barrier will be activated. Empty your mind! Or your eye will explode! However there are things she needs to do and continues to defy. Meanwhile Eugeo finds himself possibly at the top floor of the cathedral. Who this sleeping beauty? A voice tells him to run away but too late, Administrator wakes up. She claims Eugeo wants to be loved and although he denies, the way she words everything makes him start to doubt. Like his mother who didn’t truly love him alone because she shared her love among her brothers. That’s why he hates them. Then there is that Tiese’s case where she was almost raped. He killed Raios because he hates him, right? But does Tiese loves only him? Alice? Yeah, she shows a past clip whereby Kirito and Alice are seemingly close to each other behind Eugeo’s back. With Eugeo in shock, Administrator goes in for the kill. She is willing to love only him. So… Sex = love? The deeper your love, the more she’ll bring him ultimate pleasure. Confused Eugeo hears to voice of Tiese, Alice and Kirito but are all soon blocked out. With Eugeo fully enchanted by her, she goes down on her. That’s right. Come into me! Deep inside me! Into eternal stasis! Damn, this could be good hentai dialogue!

Episode 20
Kirito and Alice manage to climb up to the balcony. Because Eugeo is not around, Kirito uses his System Call to locate Eugeo’s sword. Still below them. Entering the bath level, Kirito can tell the frozenness is Eugeo’s doing. Alice is sad to see Bercouli turned into stone but he is strong enough to break free at least his eyes and mouth to speak to her about some conspiracy and Eugeo being taken away by Chudelkin. As they move to the next level, Kirito asks about the senators’ role. Apparently they oversee the Taboo Index. If anybody breaks them, they send an Integrity Knight to deal with it. Kirito finds it odd since Administrator is giving lots of power to them to act as her proxy. Then they enter the room where all the senators are. Them inside chambers and monitoring everything. This is sure some freaky sci-fi. Then they hear Chudelkin screaming in agony in his room. Something didn’t go as planned? Alice confronts him and after he runs his mouth about her going to betray Axiom Church, he continues to reveal the sweet moment before Alice was synthesized. She was begging and crying and all. He revels just thinking about that. Alice then stabs him but it didn’t kill this fatty and instead he explodes into some red smoke to escape. Trying to chase him to the next floor, shockingly an Integrity Knight arrives to face them. Eugeo?! Alice finds it odd that the ritual can be done so quickly. Kirito is close to losing himself seeing his best friend in this state and ironically it is Alice reminding him that they need to stay calm and find another way to restore him or they will forever lose him. Kirito asks Eugeo if he remembers him. Nope. He doesn’t even want Alice or want to know anything about it. Administrator gave him what he wants and nothing else matters. I guess talk time is over. Time to see if the student can defeat the master.

Episode 21
Kirito and Eugeo clash with all they’ve got. No harm trying to awaken Eugeo’s memories by mentioning the important people in his lives. But did it work? Because Eugeo got a little sloppy. But then again, he could be trolling because after Kirito lets his guard down, he freezes them. He returns to Administrator who wants to give him his reward but first, she tries to adjust his Piety Module. Because she allows him to freely move, this chance allows Eugeo to completely break free and tries to stab her with the dagger. Too bad Administrator’s barrier is thick. She gives him a chance to redeem himself and forgive his sins if he destroys the dagger. Because her view of eternal love means eternal control, he mocks her as the pity one who has never been loved. Because Eugeo’s view of love isn’t something like a transaction or reward but something given continuously. With that, Administrator finds it a shame she’ll have to do force Synthesis on him just like how she it to Alice many years ago. Hearing that makes Eugeo mad. He charges at her and of course her protection is still intact. This is interrupted when Chudelkin comes running in for help. He thought of finishing off Kirito and Alice but he realized Eugeo fooled him and now they’re after his ass! Yeah, dumb joker just brought them back to this room. Eugeo is happy to see Kirito and Alice again but apologizes for giving in to Administrator’s temptation. Hence he thought he tried to atone for this himself. Don’t be silly. Kirito knew what he was thinking all along. Yeah, you sure had us all fooled. Maybe. Because Administrator senses something wrong with Alice’s logic circuits, she gives her a chance to say anything without any risk of reprimand. Alice explains how she has been disillusioned by everything, especially Administrator’s conflicting actions that would eventually bring harm to the human empire. This has Administrator thinking there is no error in the logic circuit and her Piety Module is still functioning. Could it mean she disabled Code 871 (the seal in her right eye) on her own? She then gives Chudelkin to redeem his honour by disposing off them. Chudelkin will gladly do it but pleads, to put it bluntly and crudely, he wants to f*ck her! Administrator agrees for a one night stand offer if he fulfils his mission. And we can see the power of boners makes a horny guy power up as Chudelkin summons a fire genie to burn them all!

Episode 22
While Alice distracts the genie, Kirito powers up and pierces Chudelkin. Well, that’s that. Easy. This spectacled allowed Administrator to collect some data and realizes that Kirito is a human from the other world. Kirito warns her about the impending invasion from Dark Territory while Alice derides her for planting false memories. Administrator knew of all the pain and suffering her Integrity Knights went through. That’s why she erased them all. It doesn’t matter what Alice feels, once she is synthesized, she will no longer remember or feel. Kirito then warns her about the other humans on the other side who holds absolute authority and they can eliminate everything just by the push of a button. But that is that same reason that Administrator reasons why Kirito has no reason to criticise the methods she uses. As she will not grovel before them or beg for her existence to continue, the only proof she needs is the control she exerts. Her feet exists to trample upon others. Hence she is going to show them the ultimate weapon that she needs to fight Dark Territory. One that is not even human. She combines all the divine weapons and turns into a killing machine named Sword Golem. All it needs to do is endlessly massacre its enemies. And it will taste its first blood as it stabs Alice. Being mad won’t do you any good because Kirito also gets stabbed. A voice tells Eugeo to stab the floating platform while Cardinal’s spider tries to hold it off. The spider dies but holds it off in time for Cardinal to pop out from her library and blast Sword Golem away. Damn, she has time to heal the wounded and even mourn the death of her favourite pet? Administrator must be real confident… So is Cardinal going to lecture this hollow fool about love?

Episode 23
Administrator claims Sword Golem isn’t just made out of weapons, they are actually humans. Hence Cardinal can’t technically kill them since they aren’t monsters. Administrator claims this is just a prototype. Once completed, she’ll use about 800,000 human lives to complete a perfect one and thinks it is enough to repel Dark Territory’s invasion. The source is the Piety Modules and all those crystals on the ceiling’s mural are actually it. Cardinal agrees to be defeated by her in exchange the lives of the trio is spared. Administrator blasts her several times. Gotta have some fun first, right? And then she is so kind so as to let them say their final goodbyes. Because Eugeo realizes what needs to be done. What he needs to do. From what I can see, he wants to be turned into a sword to fight Administrator because he realizes that she is resistant to metal weapons, the reason why his dagger cannot pierce through. Somehow Eugeo takes Alice’s Piety Module and then begins his transformation process. See, Administrator? Had you taken action earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. Too late as Alice staves her off until the process is complete. Eugeo the sword is able to destroy Sword Golem and gravely wound Administrator (because of the sword’s silver properties). But it comes with a price. Eugeo is left broken. Yes, his real body is split in half! Kirito falls into depression as Administrator heals herself. Fun time is over. Time to kill the last remaining brat. As she is about to slay him, suddenly Alice jumps in front to protect him. Damn, this awakens Kirito that he might repeat the same mistake so he gets even faster to draw his sword and protect Alice. Was Administrator that slow? With Alice passing out from exhaustion, it’s time for the final boss fight.

Episode 24
So for nostalgia’s sake, Kirito transforms into his trademark SAO uniform to fight. But Administrator knows how to counter all his sword techniques. Then time out. Because conveniently time for Kirito and Eugeo to talk things out and give the former motivation. Damn, do they have to make it look yaoi? Anyway, Kirito is now dual wielding with Eugeo’s sword. The fight continues. Administrator still b*tching she is the ruler of this world and how control = love. That’s why she loves everything. Can’t argue with that. Their swords are glowing red so this might as well turn into a lightsabre duel. In the end, they cut an arm of each other. Kirito still has an arm but Administrator no arms left! So how? Why, she uses her hair to strangle him! Damn, why didn’t she use this for multiple weapons? Was covering her modesty more important?! Anyway, Kirito dealt a fatal damage to her core. She’s all cracking up. Literally. She tries a tactical escape and hints she is bringing the fight to his world. But as she escapes, Chudelkin clings onto her, hoping to take her with him. She tries to shoo him away but he turns into a flaming ghost and burns everything. Damn! Is this how Administrator is taken down?! It’s like saying porn virus destroyed the main super computer!!! HAHAHA!!! With Administrator gone, Eugeo still isn’t dead. You mean he is still alive after being cut in half for so long? I guess this is good excuse so as to why Kirito can cry hard. Friendship talk thingy, blah, blah, blah. That scene whereby Kirito and Alice are supposed to be flirting behind Eugeo’s back? Actually they made a wooden sword for his birthday. See the power of context? Final goodbye. Time to walk their own path. Eugeo’s dead for good. You can tell when his body disappears. Kirito hacks into the PC and calls out to Kikuoka. Before he could blame the scientist, he hears a commotion in the back. Looks like military men are trying to storm into the place! With no time, Kikuoka tells Kirito to find Alice, take her to the World’s End Altar. Unfortunately the soldiers are trying to cut the power line. The Lightcube may be protected but the surge will hit Kirito’s STL. He’ll be fried. Kirito is confused when he hears Asuna’s name. Why is she here? Too late. The power cut. Kirito dying? WTF is this angel Asuna floating down to rescue him?! What a dramatic and confusing end…

Debugging Art Online
As we all can see and already know beforehand, there is going to be another season. Hence the final episode that ended in such a chaotic and dramatic way didn’t come off as surprising or disappointing. Well, maybe when the last episode suddenly ends. But after all, this arc is so far the longest arc and story in the original light novel series and since the anime is going to fully adapt its entire arc and being faithful to it, they are going to need a lot of cours. I suppose it is good that they decided to take a break after back to back twin cours since if they continued (it is rumoured that the total episodes for this Alicization arc itself is to be around 50 episodes), it could feel like a one long draggy affair. I mean, I have to say that the SAO series isn’t just for everyone. Not even for yours truly. Even if you’re a masochist and can binge watch the entire series, it is still good to go outside and stretch your legs, take a breather before resuming. Heh. Now I can see and understand why a few animes employ this tactic although sometimes my guts tell me it is for economic reasons.

Anyway, I’m not saying that this Alicization story is really interesting because you know like I’ve said, the SAO franchise isn’t for every Tom, Dick and Harry. For those who have reached this far into the original light novels, you have got to already be some sort of elevated status of a fan. I have been watching SAO since it was first adapted back in 2012 and I continued to watch all its TV series (but somehow skipped the movie, Ordinal Scale) in hopes I could understand something. But you know me. I didn’t really get a lot of the technical terms. This season’s Fluctlight and other technical terms I am still struggling to understand even as I type this blog. I feel that artificial soul is the best I could understand for what it means for Fluctlight but I am also pretty sure that isn’t as accurate as what the producers intended its definition to be. Then there are other commands inside the VR game like System Call and the likes which I am still blur in and going “What the heck are those again?”. Every time a character says those commands to open or change some options, it feels more like some sort of magical spell. You know, those charm lines you say when magicians and wizards cast a spell but only this time they sound like programming terms. The story for this season might seem long and dragging out but the way they flesh out the characters and other development, it is all not a waste of time.

Sometimes when I think about this whole Alicization story, it could have been actually another spinoff or an entirely different story not related to SAO whatsoever. It could have been a totally new story, make and change Kirito to another new character and voila, we’ve got ourselves a totally new series and anime. It doesn’t feel so much like an SAO series as the plot delves around 2 young boys trying to rescue a long lost childhood friend and at the same time trying to rid of the big ruler who rules over everything before the ultimate tragedy of the other side invades and destroys everything for good. And add some programming terms into their lingua. So if we substitute those programming jargons with classic magical ones, this could again be passed off as entirely another series. But of course it can’t be a totally new story altogether since Reki Kawahara, the creator of this series wrote this arc. But I guess it is better than those isekai animes of the main character being killed in the real world and reborn again as an overpowered one in another magical fantasy world! Uhm, can VR be considered isekai?

Just like how I said SAO felt weird without Kirito, it also feels weird without Asuna. Naturally as we can see from the flow of the story, Asuna is now reduced to a very concerned girlfriend waiting for Kirito outside while Kirito himself is probably having an adventure of a lifetime as he lays in coma. Hence the dynamic relationship now isn’t Kirito x Asuna but that of Kirito x Eugeo. It is a good thing that the series didn’t really show it in a way that makes it look like their friendship is going beyond just good friends and potential to be gay partners (f*ck the PC culture!). But just pure and hardcore friendship among the boys as swordsman. Perhaps the final episode was the closest into seeing that suggestive yaoi scene but it might just be our dirty minds. Kirito doesn’t feel so much as the sole star of this series as Eugeo too has his fair share of the limelight. Hence both of them being given enough time to develop and being fleshed out, by the end of this season, you’ll come to at least want to support them as a team instead of one over the other. Perhaps to a point that it would be weird if Kirito is without Eugeo and vice versa. Yeah, f*ck Asuna! At least for this season. So hardcore and amazing their friendship that you can see them in sync during the opening credits animation. Especially they have this weird sync of hand gestures. So weird but so cool.

With Kirito and Eugeo developing their (virtual) friendship, so much so that I never once think that they would end up in some weird romantic love triangle with Alice. Hah. It’s not that kind of series but you know me, I’m inclined to somehow think of that. I never thought of this until the series ended and it only makes Alice looks like as though she is a third wheel! Alice despite being the boys’ main reason and motivation to do what they do, she feels mostly like a side character and not really doing much. Partly because she has been brainwashed for most of the part as an Integrity Knight and even when she somewhat started to question her loyalty and then witnessed Administrator’s hypocritical actions, it’s not like there is a whole lot that she could do, right? After all, Kirito and Eugeo still continue to dominate as stars of this story. So sorry folks, no Kirito’s cheesy harem moments to get in the way of hardcore male bonding friendship here. Not sure if the next season will feature Eugeo since he is seen riding off into the sunset with loli Alice. Eugeo turning himself into a shota so that it won’t look like some pedo thingy might be the ending Eugeo and Alice need. Because that Integrity Knight Alice has may just be a vessel and several hints she may be a separate manner than the original loli Alice. But we’ll see when the next season rolls in.

The thought of Administrator playing God although she is just some programming entity, maybe her character doesn’t get me thinking a lot about her twisted thinking and personality but rather about the sentient life called reality. What if this simulation is actually what is happening in our lives in reality too? There have been debates about whether or not this reality is just a simulation and the things that occur after death that are beyond our imaginations. And what if there are higher beings than the one and only Almighty God we know? A lot of things about this simulated VR game can be drawn parallel to reality. Like God could just be another being because He has more access to shortcuts and other debugging stuffs that the rest of us don’t. Hence, administrator privileges. And God bringing Revelation and Doomsday to the world? That’s like you delete this game forever! Coming back to Administrator’s character, but think about it, can you blame her twisted thinking and definition of love because she is programmed that way? In a sense, it’s like as though she is written and setup to be an antagonist, don’t you think? And it was pretty ironic that a pervert took her down completely…

I wouldn’t say the action and sword fighting scenes are a masterpiece but the action bits are enough to satiate those who want to see some sword clashing battles. It feels like Kirito doesn’t have a lot of options what he can do here despite his Aincrad style somehow being carried into this world. His and Eugeo’s sword have their own unique properties and sometimes they seem like they pull off all the stops for that one exaggerated over the top moves but I guess it’s necessary just to show us how far they have come along and improved on their skills. And if you can’t hack your way through via programming, just hack and slash your way with a sword! I never expected to use both meanings of hacking here…

One of the superior elements in this season is that the art and animation are very good. If I should say, it is comparable to the standard that we see in Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works TV series. There are lots of high quality put into the visuals and it doesn’t disappoint. After all, A-1 Pictures have animated all its previous adaptations (except that alternate GGO spinoff) and it pays off here with an important arc like this one. Can’t disappoint fans of the series, can they? With a lot of hype that went about, it’s too big to fail! Thank goodness. So if the story is hard to follow, at least the high quality visuals may be something to give you the wow factor. There is also some CGI employed and it doesn’t feel disjointed. It feels seamlessly woven into the superior quality of the animation.

The first time when I laid eyes on Alice as an Integrity Knight, I thought she looked familiar. Isn’t that a more serious and zero perverted version of KonoSuba’s Darkness? Well, almost. Must be the golden armour. And more suspiciously, same seiyuu… Anyway, Administrator being a character who is mostly in the nude, I wonder if it is a lazy way out so as not to design some sort of fancy garb for her. After all, all of the Integrity Knights have their armour so shining and colourful that you wonder if they are a liability in battle. But as we’ve seen, they’re not so it looks like they look as good and nice as they are in their skills. But Administrator being naked all the time especially in the final stretch makes me feel weird. Imagine battling a naked last boss. Isn’t that distracting? Yeah, no backlash since Administrator is a smoking hot babe. Because remember that video game uproar for a naked final boss fight in Bioshock? Yeah, nobody wants to see a naked macho man monster boss… Isn’t it no wonder why Chudelkin brought Administrator down with him? Who could’ve resisted such beautiful pure naked body? Something to literally die for… And so it goes to show that something she deemed perfect became her undoing.

Voice acting is pretty fine too with new casts joining the line-up including Nobunaga Shimazaki as Eugeo (Yuno in Black Clover), Ai Kayano as Alice (Darkness in KonoSuba), Maaya Sakamoto as Administrator/Quinella (Ciel in Kuroshitsuji), Sakura Tange as Cardinal (Angela in Melty Lancer), Hitomi Nabatame as Fanatio (Reina in Circlet Princess), Kaori Ishihara as Tiese (Azusa in Hentai Ouji To Warawanai Neko), Reina Kondou as Ronie (Hana in Slow Start), Wataru Takagi as Chudelkin (Alaindelon in Beelzebub), Megumi Han as Liena (titular character in Mushibugyou), Hikaru Hanada as Deusolbert (Akihiko in Junjou Romantica), Ryuuichi Kijima as Humbert (Lenka in God Eater), Shuuhei Iwase as Raios (Yasutaka in Sankarea), Takeaki Masuyama as Eldrie (Ida in Nora To Oujo To Noraneko Heart) and Kaori Maeda as Selka (Mari in Back Street Girls: Gokudolls). The only new cast I recognized is Junichi Suwabe as Bercouli.

The first opening theme, Adamas by Lisa feels a bit chaotic. The frenzied pace of this rock piece tries to sound epic but to me it comes off as noisy. Except for the last bit which has a funky bass solo. That’s the only part I like. The second ending theme, Resister by Asca is also a rock outfit but it is toned down I think this one suits the pacing of the series better. The ending themes are slow rock with Iris by Eir Aoi being the first one and Forget Me Not by Reona as the second. I still prefer the former, though. There is a special ending theme for episode 19, Niji No Kanata Ni by Reona and this is quite a slow lovely ballad. Feels a bit disjointed from the series but I think this song is the one I like the most. I want to note that some of the sound effects are, how do I put it, deafening. Like when there is an epic magic sword clash or something, it’s like the bass and effect goes really loud and one kind. Are they trying to test my sound system or something?

Overall, not a bad season. An SAO series that isn’t your typical SAO, it feels both weird and refreshing at the same time. Infusing sword fighting with some computer programming setting? Strange indeed. After all, my experience with the first 2 seasons of SAO had this similar pattern in which the first big chunk of the series started off great but towards the end with its lesser arc, it disappoints. Remember that mediocre ALO that reduced Asuna into a damsel in distress for the first season and then the WTF Calibur and trying-to-prop-up-the-feels Mother’s Rosario in the second season? Yeah… Thankfully for this season, it is Alicization all the way and no disappointing small side stories to be distracted with. So huzzah for long story arcs? I promise I won’t complain about this story being draggy! Unfortunately no System Call or any delete button to erase those disappointing arcs. That’s why here’s to hoping the next continuation of this story would be a lot better to erase those dissatisfying ones. You can’t change the past but at least we can programme and create the future to be better. And no, delete and format everything isn’t the answer!

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

Hmm… I guess with the recent popularity and success of online multiplayer battle royale games like PUBG and Fortnite that took the gaming world by storm, I began to wonder if this was Japan’s answer to that (seeing shooting games are not that popular in Japan). Hence it was a bit suspicious when they decided to use and go under the Sword Art Online’s name and franchise. Yeah, they had that gun shooting Gun Gale Online (GGO) variety too but now they totally made it into a shooting spinoff of its own, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online. However don’t expect to see the usual Kirito-sama and Asuna-chan here. Totally a new bunch of characters and story in this spinoff but in the same universe of SAO, or more accurately GGO. So if PUBG is too dead serious while Fortnite is too cartoonish for you, perhaps watching kawaii little anime girls run and shoot around should be more ideal for you. I guess we’re getting tired of magical girls already…

Episode 1
LLENN and M get ready to enter the battle royale of Squad Jam (SJ). Both are randomly dropped in the forest area of the map. Though this might give them disadvantage, we hear M’s strategy in dealing with the situation. They hear gunshots near the city area and M can identify the kind of guns used. He lets LLENN be the bait to identify some of their current enemies before them. They start firing at her but thanks to her petite size, she is able to hide from the hail of bullets. M is waiting for the right moment for other teams to sniff out those enemies and take them out. True enough, it happened. M guesses that the way these pros fight, they could be veterans or part of the army. They could be using this game to train and test their skills. LLENN considers herself a lucky girl so M is going to bet on that luck. As that gunfire would have attracted other teams, he plans to hide in the central residential area than the edge of the forest. They will use 3 other teams to buy them some time as LLENN sprints across. During this period, all other 3 teams got eliminated by the pros. At this point, many teams are already eliminated and those remaining continue to stay put in a futile standoff that might never end. M has a strategy to take out the pros and this would rely heavily on LLENN’s agility. The pros are trying to smoke out the duo. Based on the tracker, they should be ahead of them but no target in visual sight. Could they be under the sewer? But no manhole either. As they slowly look around, they realize too late that LLENN is hiding in the suitcase. She jumps out in perfect timing to shoot most of them. Thanks to her quick speed, she is able to not give them enough time to aim. With most the team members out, the team leader is satisfied with the training exercise and resigns. This entire match and epic victory is watched by the awed friends of Karen Kohiruimaki.

Episode 2
Karen is a very tall girl and because of her height, she believes this is the reason she hasn’t made any new friends since moving to Tokyo. That’s why she loves things small and cute. She heard about that VR scandal involving NerveGear and despite that, that was when she became interested in trying out VR games. With the help of her nerdy friend, Miyu Shinohara she tries out ALO first. I don’t know why you aren’t allowed customization of your characters since it is a basic in games today. Anyway, Karen’s avatars are tall ones. The shock and increased heart rate has her being ejected from the game. She tries various games but all the same tall types. Finally after the 37th game, she has got a cute and small little girl avatar in GGO. Ecstatic with her desired looks, she takes an online tutorial to learn more about handling guns. Hey, if training isn’t this Spartan, it would have given you a false impression of how tough this game is going to be, right? LLENN starts small by hunting monsters and levels up slowly. She finds a hunting ground she likes since other players rarely converge here. But one day a human team decides to enter her playground. Fearing they would kill her, she decides to strike and kills them first! With that agility, they don’t even know what hit them! Soon, LLENN becomes a legend as rumour spreads about a little pink munchkin sneaking up and killing you suddenly. LLENN meets her match in Pitohui AKA Pito. She is only interested to know LLENN’s identity after hearing the rumours. They soon become friends as LLENN often hang out with her and hear her stories and advices. She even takes LLENN shopping to buy a mini submachine gun that suits her size and style. She names it P-chan and is told to rack up more kills with it because a gun will never betray you. They both team up for missions. Pito believes they will have to fight each other one day and suggests should she win, they will meet in real life. Soon SJ is introduced.

Episode 3
Pito once participated in BoB but lost in one of the early rounds. SJ came about when some Japanese guy watching BoB got inspired to make a team battle royale out of it. With Zaskar approving, he became SJ’s sponsor. LLENN has low self-confidence, thinking she wouldn’t fit in PvP games. Pito knows LLENN is here to escape reality. Pito is the same. That’s why they should go all out to the extreme here. With some basic explanations on SJ, it seems Pito cannot join LLENN in SJ since she has to attend her friend’s wedding. She’ll die in real life if her friend found out she went playing a game instead of attending her wedding! Don’t worry, Pito has the perfect guy to cover for her. It’s awkward at first when LLENN meets this criminal-looking M. To test her proficiency, he has her undergo several shooting tests. He notes the kind of guns suitable for her and himself and will be the one in charge of creating strategies. Karen writes a fan letter to a pop idol, Elsa Kanzaki. She talks about her tall complex and recent problems, even to her LLENN avatar. Uhm, is this what you’re supposed to write to your idol? Oh well, her songs are what she listens to when she fights in the virtual battlefield. Her hope is to change herself and also request holding her next concert in a larger venue. Before SJ begins, M teaches LLENN how to efficiently use knives and kill off her opponents. It seems the reason LLENN is here in SJ is because she couldn’t get a ticket to Elsa’s concert. With that kind of letter that sounded like a nerdy lunatic, maybe that’s the reason.

Episode 4
Continuing from LLENN and M’s victory over the pros, there are 3 teams left. But one team seems closing in fast on them as M realizes they have got a vehicle. A hovercraft. M uses his shield barrier and has LLENN be the bait. Drop and roll over whenever she is targeted. In the end, M snipes all of them except for the last one he bombs him out and lets LLENN overkill him by spraying bullets. LLENN wonders how M could shoot without any bullet line assistance. She remembers Pito’s guidance how in games, such assistances makes the game easier for players to go in and have fun. It won’t be fun if it’s all realistic. However with this, player’s skill will get rusty as they rely on the assistances too much. Hence M has some real skills in using a gun without relying on them. With one more team left for them to defeat to win SJ, the next scan suddenly reveals them to be very close. Before they can react, LLENN takes a hit (but not lethal) and M gets injured too while taking LLENN to run. They manage to escape in a hovercraft. As they heal and use medkits, they talk about their remaining opponent being pros at sniping and hiding. He claims LLENN to really be a lucky girl since she didn’t die from that shot. They head to shore and make the next hill as their sniping base. M is supposed to read a certain letter at a certain time. That time is now. As LLENN stays on guard, suddenly M points his gun at her! What gives?! He fires but thanks to her agility and his limited rounds, she has him at point blank. Now she demands answers. If he cannot say, she’ll go on by herself. Suddenly M stars crying like a baby and begging for his life! Shocking…

Episode 5
It seems M will be killed in real life by Pito if he loses! You don’t know how scary that woman is. Well, the letter did warn him about losing or he is dead meat. So she wasn’t speaking figuratively? LLENN tells him to hide and she’ll go on by herself. LLENN stumbles into one of the enemies and her agility once more plays a crucial hand in evading bullets and even eliminating her. The rest of the members go all out to avenge their comrade’s death. LLENN remembers Pito’s lessons about not firing randomly to give away your location. So she thought the enemy is doing so but realizes too late when she takes a great damage as it was just a decoy to lure her out. More running and hiding until she realizes what is she going to achieve by running away. All her kills have been up close and personal. Suddenly P-chan talks to motivate her! Is she going crazy?! Anyway, LLENN confronts the enemy but this time putting a little mischief in her play. Although she has a tough time, thankfully M has decided to come back to the game and help her via sniping. LLENN confronts the enemy leader, Eva AKA Boss. LLENN must be so lucky that several shots to her chest cannot kill her despite being pinned down! Oh, something in her pocket. LLENN’s head moves faster than her bullets?! Out of bullets. Her comrade throws her a chamber before being taken out by M. Unbelievable timing of reloading her gun while the chamber is still in the air… Boss fires away but LLENN STILL LIVES!!! Apparently P-chan became her shield. LLENN is so mad that P-chan is destroyed she is faster and deadlier in her angry state! She whips out her knife and slashes Boss’ vitals! M takes out the final sniper and lives. Yeah, LLENN and M win SJ!!! In the aftermath if you’re wondering why Karen is meeting up with petite Saki Nitobe and her group of equally petite rhythm gymnastic club members, it is because Saki is Boss! Damn, she was that bloodthirsty violent Amazon woman? Indeed still waters run deep…

Episode 6
LLENN finally buys her P-chan replacement. Karen entertains Saki and her friends who are here to celebrate her SJ victory. We see their avatars and damn they look so different than their real life counterpart. The girls hope they can train together but it seems Karen has other plans, disappointing the lolis. That plan is to go karaoke with Miyu? There is an announcement that there will be another Squad Jam, SJ2. There are some tweaks to the rules so those interested can register before the deadline. A strange suddenly creeps up to Karen. He is Goushi Asougi and knows she is LLENN. She is forced to listen to his story otherwise 2 people will die! This guy is of course M and he wants her help to participate in SJ2 or people will die. One of them is him and the other is Pito. Apparently Pito is obsessed with death and if she doesn’t win, she will commit suicide! Oh, Goushi will die first, then she’ll kill herself. She was one of the beta players for SAO. During that scandal where players got locked in and some died, Pito was away doing other things. She regretted she couldn’t join in that ‘fun’. She also heard of PK players and also lament that had she been in that game, she would have kicked their asses serving justice or be killed by them. Goushi doesn’t report this madness to the police because he respects her decision. Also, he is in love with her. Yes, this guy is also that twisted. So twisted that he is not afraid of dying after Pito but before her since he is afraid of leaving her alone. He hopes Karen can face her and kill her without mercy so she doesn’t have to commit suicide (and spare him too). Karen agrees to participate after remembering some of Pito’s words. But Goushi won’t help her since that would be like cheating? Hence Karen enlists the help of her friend, Miyu.

Episode 7
Miyu’s avatar is also a cute loli! She goes by the name Fukaziroh or Fuka for short. Because M previously agreed to lend some financial support, Fuka goes on a gun buying spree. She buys the most expensive and powerful grenade guns. Two of them! Wow, she really thinks she has a sugar daddy. She practises with it to get a feel of them. The duo register as a team, LF. It sounds like a big deal that they have registered because Saki and co cannot wait to get their revenge. We hear among the new rules include the scan will now display the team’s name, making it easier to know which team is where. Hence LF has got to look out for PM4, Pito and M’s team. LLENN’s strategy is to fight them first before focusing on SHINC (Saki’s team). On the day of SJ2, Miyu has a bad case of stomach ache and hence the nerve wrecking wait for LLENN as she waits for her to finish her business. It is amazing Miyu could update so fast. Can she wipe her ass with one hand and text about it at the same time? Yeah, that’s really an awesome skill. Meanwhile in the waiting lounge, SHINC and Memento Mori (MMTM) are the favourite teams. Both sides exchange ‘pleasantries’. Also the team to watch is PM4. The leader of MMTM once teamed up with Pito and although she is a strong woman, she doesn’t views her comrades as comrades. She uses them as shields and laughs at their deaths, even her own. He cannot deal with anyone with a death wish and left. He believes her name is taken from a poisonous bird found only in New Guinea. So lethal its poison that a mere touch from it could kill a human. Like all heroes making their late entrance, the crowd cheers when LF enters. Looks like Miyu did her business in time. Everyone prepares to be teleported to the battlefield. Don’t overthink. Just kill!

Episode 8
With the first scan, it looks like all the favourite teams are placed far apart from each other. I guess there’s an excuse to go do some killing in between. Fuka got careless and stepped on a wire trap and blew both her legs off! She survives, though. LLENN shows why she is a champion of the first SJ by singlehandedly massacring the entire team! Meanwhile PM4 continues to not engage and wait around. As M is the leader, this is part of his plan and not engage in meaningless skirmishes. For the next ambush, Fuka wants to try using her grenades via angle attacks. She has practised a hell lot and can do so with her eyes close. All she needs is LLENN to relay accurate info of the enemies’ whereabouts. Once more we see LF as the top favourite team as Fuka bombs the hell out of her hapless opponents who can’t even see where their enemies are. In the next scan, PM4 is still camping. However a group of teams have gathered near them. It is easily deduced that these teams have agreed a ceasefire and to band together to take out PM4. No surprises to guess how the massacre is going to turn out. But LLENN rushes her way there. I guess nobody gets to kill Pito except her.

Episode 9
M hides behind a waterfall as a distraction for the enemy to take pot shots at him. Because they’re so busy doing that, they didn’t realize Pito ambushing them from the back with the rest of PM4 backing her up. Yeah, she massacred the hell out of them! She even toyed around with the last couple of guys. When they ask if she enjoyed tormenting the defenceless like them, she throws it back to them if they enjoyed ganging up on a few. And yes, she enjoys it and would do it to if she was in their shoes. Then she bombs the hell out of them! As for the leaders of the group, Pito snipes them from afar. They have no time to react! Could have been perfect if not for the last dude quickly resigning. Now we shift to LF. They are in the savannah dome and notice 3 other teams are in. They thought they are fighting each other but LLENN from experience can tell something is strange from their gunshots. She knows it is a distraction and all those teams are cooperating to take them out. With Fuka shooting pink smokescreen, LLENN is able to run around and shoot everybody! How can she see? Everyone is using the bullet line. Then there’s a guy who stumbled into Fuka but Fuka unloads all her bullets on him. Guess what? SHE MISSED!!! HOW THE F*CK CAN SHE MISS AT THIS RANGE???!!! Because we see his rape face, Fuka bludgeons him to death with her rifle! ALO experience? The duo do a body count and realize a body short. They smoke out a guy, Clarence who is trying to play dead. He surrenders but the girls continue to be vigilant. He did try to pull a fast one by reaching his gun but LLENN is faster to shoot a hole in his hand. Because he is a sick lolicon, Fuka would have blown his brains out but LLENN is running low on ammo so she wants him to unload all his magazines. He agrees but in exchange wants a kiss from LLENN. A small price to pay for their survival and victory? LLENN sums up her courage and gives him a peck on the cheek. But hey, she’s got all his ammo. He goes on to reveal that he is actually a girl in real life and is a bi. Uhm, I don’t think we want to hear such stories. Suddenly they are ambushed. Too much time talking, huh? Clarence is shot dead and LLENN realizes it is team MMTM.

Episode 10
Thanks to SHINC interfering, MMTM withdraws. It’s not like Boss is helping LLENN but she viewed it as a good opportunity to take out MMTM. Boss wants to square off with LLENN but it looks like she needs to attend to business. Boss wants to hear the story. Meanwhile, a team tries to team up with PM4 but Pito rejects. As they part, Pito breaks the promise of not shooting each other till the next scan by shooting them in the back. The team is annihilated, leaving only the lone female to run for her life. She vows to exterminate that vermin. SHINC is inching closer to PM4 as M prepares to fire at them. When they enter their firing range, SHINC is able to dodge their bullets. Part of the strategy is for one of SHINC’s members to die on purpose so that she could become a pedestal for another member to fire her powerful anti-tank gun! OMG! M’s shield is destroyed in no time! Thanks to this method, M is more vulnerable although his sniping is still tops. As SHINC charges, looks like it’s time. Flashback shows Boss discussing with LLENN about their pincher attack. SHINC will be the bait to distract and take out M’s shields. Fuka then fires her smokescreen so that LLENN could rush in to pincher them. However LLENN spots somebody sniping at Pito. It’s that lone female survivor. She hit a direct shot in her head before LLENN sprayed bullets into her. Pito is on the verge of dying as M desperately tries to save her. The more damage she takes, the more insane Pito becomes. It’s like she loves the idea of dying but is too scared to die. Eventually she survives. Like 0.0001% of her health. She is so crazy that she passes out. However her avatar doesn’t log out and this has the rest suspect she is using NerveGear. As PM4 retreat into the cabin, LLENN is unsure what to do. But since she has to decide, she remembers her mission. Everybody go in for the kill! Except for Pito. That’s her kill. Too bad MMTM arrive into the cabin first. While the other PM4 members sacrifice their lives in vain to stop MMTM’s onslaught, does M have time to even kiss Sleeping Beauty Pito?! Finally MMTM is just a room away when they are all shot and killed. Yeah, Pito is back and she is wielding a lightsaber?!

Episode 11
Pito mercilessly slaughters what’s left of MMTM. So LLENN, are you glad now that MMTM became guinea pigs and died so you could so how crazy this woman is? Now that she is hesitating and thinking of a plan to kill her, SHINC won’t wait and charges straight. Fuka also has the same idea. LLENN would have stopped her had not Fuka tied her laces to her gun! I know this is silly but SHINC taking pot shots at the cabin seems futile because ultimately M snipes them all out. Pito doesn’t kill Fuka and just shoots off her limbs in order to lure out LLENN but the pipsqueak isn’t coming out. So when LLENN has untied herself and decides to not do anything but vow to somehow kill Pito, she comes out of her hiding. But wait. LLENN is running away! And so Pito and M drive a vehicle to chase after her. LLENN uses her petite size to her advantage like ducking under the vehicle and even jumping over to spray bullets from the top (although amazingly she missed them all). It makes those crazy duo look like imbeciles. When LLENN takes a near fatal shot, she seems like about to quit but here comes Fuka to the rescue. I guess that is what happens when you don’t take somebody out. Enough time to recover. And so begins a mad vehicle chase with both sides trying to outdo each other. Eventually when both vehicles run out of gas, it is showdown between LLENN and Pito. Run out of bullets? Time for close quarter combat.

Episode 12
When LLENN badmouths SAO, this riles up Pito. This allows LLENN to get up close and do some damage although Pito fights back. Pito picks up P-chan and readies to kill her with it. However LLENN hears P-chan’s voice to believe and guess what? The moment Pito pulls the trigger, P-chan explodes! WTF?! Does her gun have this feature? Pito still has enough energy to grab LLENN, though. M has captured Fuka. Why didn’t he just shoot her? So Pito tells him to hand over his gun. Gonna shoot Fuka? Nope. She shoots him! She calls him a traitor and knows he has been secretly helping these girls and eliminated SHINC to let them be the only ones left. Any last words? I love you. She knows but you can’t bring love into this game. Bang! Right between the eyes. As Pito starts singing, Fuka frees herself and charges straight. Pito thought of using LLENN as a shield but Fuka cuts off LLENN’s hands. In shock, LLENN then bites Pito’s neck! Wow. This feature is also available?! So they reconcile and remember their fulfilled promise. LLENN bites her to death. Yeah, it’s really possible. Before you can say LF wins SJ2, suddenly both of them are shot to death! Ah, I see that’s why previously they reminded us there was another team left. But who the heck are these cyborg guys?! Team T-S?! Total Savage? This Sucks? The Sh*t? Who the f*ck are they?! Oh well, I guess this takes the focus off our heroines so they could tie up some loose strings.

In reality, Saki and her friends give Karen a necklace as a birthday gift. Perhaps it’s also to celebrate what a great game they had. Next, Karen and Miyu meet up with Goushi as he brings them to a secret live concert of Elsa. On the way, he lets them know how he fell in love with Pito. He shows his old photo. Damn, he’s a fat guy! He saw the real Pito and fell in love with her at first sight. He followed her around. Basically, a stalker. One day she turned around and invited him to her apartment. Dream come true? Actually, she tied and beat him up! She knew about his stalking and she was also a violent sadist who loves destroying things. If he doesn’t want to be handed to the police, he became her servant. He did all her whims and fancies and loved it. Karen realizes M stands for masochist. Also, because he is her slave, he lost weight. Yeah, not because he wanted to be attractive to her. They live their own happily twisted life until the day SAO launched. Pito felt frustrated on missing out on that ‘death game’ and sought a variety of games to die. They finally arrive at a mini club to watch Elsa perform. They are allowed to meet her at the backstage. At first it seemed that the club owner, Rei Satou is Pito. But Karen goes up to Elsa and congratulates. Not for her performance on stage but in SJ2! Elsa is Pito! Elsa laughs like mad and wants to know how she knew. She explains about Goushi bringing them here right when her concert starts so as not to expose this ruse. Also, having Rei stand in as Pito would be amusing for Elsa to watch. Another reason is that when M first met LLENN, he knew her very well. The only person who knew about it is Elsa as she wrote it in her fan letters. Elsa might not have read them but Goushi did. With the revelation exposed, Karen hugs Elsa and is glad she didn’t die. Payback time because Elsa takes a look at Karen’s face and finds her cute. So? She kisses her on the lips!!! And then on the cheek! Now she wants to come visit her place. Better get out while you can. LLENN and Pito continue to play GGO as Pito assures she won’t pull such stunt again and will enjoy life.

Trigger Happy Havoc
So I guess we’re done having our side dish, huh? Because now we can go on to watch the third season of SAO!!!! But let’s not get ahead for ourselves yet. So uhm, I guess I’m glad that all the deaths that happened were only confined to the game. Nobody died in real life and thus stirring up another hornet’s nest of another tragedy like SAO. Therefore the moral of the story is that it is better to be alive because you can then log on to your online games like GGO and die as many times you want. Better to die in games than in real life. Because hey, it’s just a game. But dying too many times online, you might want to start contemplating if you really suck. But for our main girls who aren’t even hardcore online gamers especially in the battle royale shooting category, they’re really killing it. Good for them.

While the gun fights are rather okay (more on that later), thanks to that, I find that the plot is somewhat close to non-existent. I mean, what kind of plot do you need for an online game? You play a game just to have fun, right? Hence with LLENN being a newbie in this shooting game, the first half concentrates on her being a rising star while the second half’s plot of trying to save Pito from suicide feels ridiculous and bizarre. It felt like a strange way to serve as a motivation for LLENN to somewhat ‘rescue’ Pito. A strange way for Pito to be ‘saved’ and find ‘salvation’ if she gets ‘killed’ by LLENN. Sounds like nonsense to me. Sure, the thrill of life and death may be something that Pito is looking for but even if they didn’t incorporate this into the plot, the story will work out fine. Because I bet that viewers who watched the series will not think much about why LLENN or any other players in SJ would be fighting so hard to win. I mean, the whole goal of the game is to be the last one standing and win the damn thing, right?!

That is why we don’t really question LLENN why and what the heck she is doing all this for because essentially this is just a game and the ultimate goal of SJ or SJ2 or whatever other events in GGO or other online multiplayer battle royale is to be the last one left standing. That’s it. No complicated plot needed. That’s why in a way this spinoff feels a lot lacking in this department and that you are just watching an anime version of a shooting game instead of watching it on Twitch. To say it brings down the name and reputation of the SAO franchise isn’t accurate either since this spinoff can actually stand on its own without being compared to any of the original SAO elements. Then you might ask why not create a new world with new themes and terms instead of relying on GGO. Sure, some terms can be slightly tweaked to make it look different but then we’ll eventually see some sort of familiarity and blame it was trying to copy GGO. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

As for the gunfights, well, personally they are okay and just averagely satisfying. I’m not saying it is boring but it isn’t anything exciting that it gets your adrenaline pumping too. At least it did not for me. Watching real people play PUBG or Fortnite seems more ‘exciting’ because of the unknown and unpredictable factor. Because this is a series, you’ll have an idea how gunfights would turn out especially LLENN as the main character. And yeah, it’s like that movie logic cliché too when hundreds of bullets are fired but none really hit the intended target unless the plot commands it. Like LLENN’s P-chan who seems to be lacking firepower but is able to spray much more bullets, it feels like she can fire away trigger happy without having to worry about reloading. For her character to be amazingly this fast and skilled despite being a noob, in reality many would have called her a cheat. I mean, nobody else in this game could run as fast as her? Did nobody try to branch into this unique skillset? The odd thing about LLENN’s hallucination of P-chan, I wonder if this is some sort of reference to a cliché trope of a magical girl. You know, talking sidekick. Yeah, it seems only LLENN’s gun is able to talk to her. Not even gun crazy maniacs talk to their guns like that. Is LLENN on drugs?

Sniping action is also okay but with certain characters being such pros in sniping, it hardly feels exciting because again you get to expect and predict the outcome. Fuka’s grenade curve looks interesting although the more she does it, the more unbelievable you think it is because it’s like she has 100% accuracy on where she wants to hit. It’s like she has her homing device on them. While the series is mainly shooting action, they mix in a few others like close quarter combats, inclusion of vehicles and some incredulous dodging moments just to spice up the action. You won’t feel bored but it’s not anything that would even surpass the few action anime series like Shingeki No Kyojin, Dragonball or Naruto. Ultimately, this spinoff at least provided what it is supposed to do and that is lots of gun shooting action and no convoluted storyline.

There are some explanations about some of the guns if you are interested but I feel that if you are a gun enthusiasts, you would have known such guns and their traits. What is explained here are just probably the basics to get casual viewers like me to be awed. Because we know nothing about guns and to hear them spew such specifications is of course indeed sound amazing.

Having said all that, the characters themselves aren’t exciting and possibly one of the worst elements. They have their intrigue but nothing interesting. Avatars are avatars but their real life counterparts feel so different that it is as good as thinking that all this could happen in some fantasy world instead of a VR world. What I’m saying is that if you’re looking for good character development in this spinoff, don’t get your hopes up. After all, Karen who just moved to Tokyo somewhat found a game to blow off some steam to quell her loneliness. That’s it. But now that she has made friends with SHINC, will they be able to hang out more often in real life? Or maybe they’ll play more shooting games online and bond there.

As mentioned, Pito is a crazy woman but her suicidal thinking not only feels twisted but also incomprehensible. Unless you’re a sadist or a person who doesn’t care, it is of course only naturally that one would try and help the suicidal person out of suicide. But with Pito having so much crazy fun killing people in GGO and SJ2, it just doesn’t feel that she is going to end her life soon whether win or lose. If she really wanted to feel the thrill of life and death in a game, maybe she should have tried Russian roulette! Damn. But get what I mean? Also, if Pito really wanted to die, she would have done so by playing the first SJ and missed her friend’s wedding. Now that would have killed her! Oh right. Newly wedded bride don’t want to be a killer so maybe they will just end up breaking their friendship and not talking forever. However Goushi may have just exaggerated the story because of his twisted crush on Pito. Afraid of dying before her and not after her, huh? Well, we have seen her crazy skills. I think it’s safe to say that she would be fine on her own. At least in the online gaming world. It doesn’t make sense thinking about Pito would kill him in real life if he fails to live up to certain standards. Assuming he didn’t and she killed him. So what? She’s now a real life murderer. That’s all. And I seriously don’t think Pito would even if she sounds serious and threatening that she would. Because she knows Goushi’s crush on her so she’s just taking advantage of him. Like I said, if she did kill him, she’ll just be a murderer and she’ll be sent to prison. Just to check, prisoners aren’t entitled to play online games, right?

Some of the other minor characters also feel a bit disappointing but that could be just me over thinking that they might play some sort of role later. For example those very skilled military pros in SJ whom LLENN faced off and defeated never returned at all. From the way they said things, they are a force to be reckon with but eventually disappeared after that single ‘practice’. I believe they are not that T-S team. Too convenient had that happen. Clarence feels more like a distraction as well as that lone female survivor of a team that Pito betrayed and slaughtered. It looked like she had some potential but it ultimately fizzled out and was there just as a stepping stone for Pito to turn into psycho Pito in rage mode. I also wonder about Elsa. At first I was thinking if she was just a red herring. You know, somebody’s name being associated with the main character being brought up early. May or may not have some sort of relation. I didn’t read any spoilers while watching the show but in the penultimate episode my guts suddenly were telling me that Elsa could be Pito. I mean, who else is there, right? I guess it’s for the shock factor for those who didn’t read the light novels. True enough it turned out like that.

While the issue of avatars being vastly different from their real life counterparts is not anything shocking or new these days, the mind boggling thing is why Karen was unable to choose her own avatar when she first played her first online game. I mean, to customize your own avatar is the basic of the most basic of basic things, right? I know this gives a silly reason for her to jump games until she finds the right one and for some reason GGO was it because perhaps the online servers were probably tired of watching her switch so many games and just decided to give her what she wants. But still, to no to have that option to be able to customize your own avatar for a game is rather silly. Especially in today’s modern times. If that is the case, there will be so many unused avatars that are dumped and there will be so many unused accounts (assuming 1 avatar per account) lying dormant around. Just plain silly. So it must be real lucky for SHINC for many of them to get that Amazon avatar, huh?

Hence the one with the biggest difference has got to be Elsa as Pito. It makes you wonder if she has time to spend playing such online games, does she have enough time to even perform on stage? If she somehow manages to do both, she must be greatly talented. She has to be. Look at how successful she is in both vastly different fields. It is safe to say that fans of Elsa does not know this dark side of hers and I can only imagine if they do. Unless they are all masochists like Goushi but this guy was the one who got lucky. Oh well, perhaps some idols seem nice on the outside until you really get close to them. I mean, being an idol is still a job, right? Therefore it is also mind boggling to think that she could put up such a cute innocent face but behind the scenes especially online, she is a cold blooded sadistic killer. Like as though she has split personalities. So if Elsa really wanted to die, why be an idol? Need money to buy those VR games to play? But Elsa and Pito is a very good example of what most of us are offline and online thanks to online anonymity. But I still can’t imagine that an idol really has so much time on her hands to play online games. Like as though if her idol career fell through, this could be her backup career. It’s not far-fetched at all.

I sometimes wonder that if this anime is targeted for male audiences because the main characters are all females except for M. This had me wonder if GGO should have been called Gamer Girls Online. Haha. But it is not surprising in this era because even though men are still majority of video gamers, women’s gaming community is rising and is almost half of the male’s gaming population. But somehow in GGO the females fare much better than the males, many who are of course nameless and just there for the body count. And on the topic of avatars being vastly different from your real life counterpart, it goes to show you not to believe everything you see at face value on the internet. Tall busty girl Karen becomes a short cute LLENN, cutie Miyu also equally becomes a short cute Fuka. Lolicon harem and paradise. SHINC members who are tough Amazon women are cute lolicons from the rhythm gymnastics. How can such cute little girls turn into blood thirsty killers online?! True meaning of still waters run deep. I bet boys who don’t know about them would really have a way off perception of them doing very harmless girly things like knitting. Heh. Who knits these days? And Goushi looks like a wuss instead of his stout M. And look at cute little Elsa who is just a slender sexy Pito. Talk about really being opposites from your real self. And so the stereotype misconception that expert online shooters are 12 year olds…

Art and animation feel okay and a few CGI were employed too but nothing that jarring. Thankfully action scenes like shooting between players are still in 2D because if it was obviously in 3D, might as well go watch PUBG or Fortnite. I know it is done for differentiation but many other characters especially those expandable players look almost the same. Just put them in different outfits to signify they are from a different team. Yeah, the other ‘unimportant’ members of PM4 look the same, don’t you think? Just slap on those headgear and mask, don’t have to show us their faces. Problem solved. Lucky for LLENN and Fuka, they stand out so much because they are the smallest avatars while Pito is such smoking hot and curvaceous at the hips in that catsuit. This series wasn’t done by A-1 Pictures who did the Sword Art Online series. Instead it was Studio 3Hz who did Dimension W, Flip Flappers and Princess Principal.

For the voice acting, I want to point out about Youko Hikasa as Pito. She really sounds crazy in her part to perfectly portray her character. But sometimes I feel that she went to some crazy lengths to sound this crazy. Like say, she went out drinking and recorded her lines while she was almost drunk? Hope not. Although I could be wrong and that she is just a great voice actress who can act and sound to this extent. Because she really sounds different and crazy when Pito does her trademark crazy laugh. Truly different. Other casts are Tomori Kusunoki as LLENN/Karen (Hazuki in Marchen Madchen), Kazuyuki Akasaki as M/Goushi (Hisui in K), Chinatsu Akasaki as Fuka/Miyu (Alice in Shokugeki No Souma), Ayaka Asai as Boss/Saki (Hazuki in Hibike! Euphonium) and Mikako Komatsu as Clarence (Rose in Tales Of Zestiria The X).

I have a feeling that the opening theme, Ryuusei by Eir Aoi tries to sound similar to the openings in the other SAO series but it feels generic. The ending theme is To See The Future by Tomori Kusunoki. Sounds okay as a generic anime pop. There are also a few insert songs although they are sung by Elsa (her singing voice is credited to Reona) but they aren’t really my type. Maybe it’s just me since I find her voice to sound a little bit raw.

Overall, this spinoff itself is fairly decent and entertaining even though it is most likely not to cause any big stir in the online multiplayer battle royale category for now. Basically it is mainly lolis with guns (SHINC might be Amazon women avatars but their real life counterparts are still lolis so it still somewhat counts). The opinions are split if this series gave SAO a bad name but I feel that it is still much better than the second half arcs of both the SAO seasons. Maybe that is why this spinoff has only 1 cour and a dozen episodes. Because the curse of the SAO series is that the first starting story arc is interesting but then starts to falter and definitely not so good. I’m having the same fearful sentiments for the third season… But one having not watch the original SAO seasons can still watch this without fear of missing out on any details. Unless they decide to do a crossover sequel in the future, that would be another story. Otherwise it is your choice to join the online community and be slaughtered by 12 year olds or watch a pink munchkin mow down others like nobody’s business. Or we can just go back to watch more magical girls stuffs if you’re tired of bullets already.

Sword Art Online II

Although this came out a couple of years ago, I purposely delayed watching Sword Online II because I read a few less than impressive reviews about it. And since there were more interesting animes to watch at that time, I put this on my back burner and hopes I would one day return to watch this sequel. Well, thankfully I did instead of procrastinating till kingdom come. Because the more I delay, not only the more I will forget (not to say that I remember many things by the time I started watching this) but I will be bogged down with so much negativity thanks to all those comments I have read and when I lose interest, I fear that I might even dropped something that I never watched and based off the opinions of people whom I will never know. And so it was that time again to clear my busy anime schedule to make time for this sequel. Whether for good or for worse, only I myself can determine that. Do I sound cool? Okay, never mind…

Episode 1
A famous Gun Gale Online (GGO) player, XeXeed is boasting what he knows best to be the top player in the game. His interview is being aired live all over the GGO in-game screens. This mysterious mask and cape character, Death Gun perhaps didn’t like how he was being so arrogant so he is going to judge him by real power. Other players laugh when he fires his gun at the screen. Can he kill him that way? But when XeXeed soon starts choking before instantly logging out, everybody starts wondering if this mere coincidence. It has been a year since the events of the last season so we see Kirito and Asuna still going strong in their relationship (jealousy rage!). He tells her what happened 4 hours earlier. He was reluctant to meet this government bureau guy of the virtual division, Seijurou Kikuoka. Also the first person who visited him when Kirito woke up from his virtual trap. Probably he was treating to him to anything he wants was part of the motivation. Kikuoka explains about the popular gun game with pro players only in Japan, GGO. A player was found dead in his apartment after the landlord smelled some foul stench. He was probably dead for a few days. Autopsy revealed he died of heart failure. Coincidentally, this guy who is XeXeed also ‘died’ during the same time in-game interview. There are other players recounting the events of XeXeed’s death with this Death Gun’s actions. Kirito brushes it off as coincidence. However there is another similar case. Another player named Lightly Salted Tarako was also found dead in very similar circumstances. Kikuoka is asking Kirito’s opinion if it is possible to die in the game and in reality this way. Based on their technical arguments, of course not. The bottom line of this meeting is that Kikuoka hopes Kirito can log into GGO and make contact Death Gun in person. Well, Kirito already brushed aside the possibility of such deaths and yet he feels scared and thinks Kikuoka is asking him to go get shot? Aside money and compensation as the motivation, Kikuoka believes Death Gun has a certain criteria in choosing his victims like being a pro. So don’t worry, Kirito won’t get killed off. But wouldn’t it be faster to contact the game administrators? Unfortunately Zaskar guarantees player anonymity and will not release information so easily. Plus, their servers are in America and with their emails and contacts all confidential, yeah, sending Kirito in seems a much easier option. Going back to Kirito and Asuna, they reminisce about things during Aincrad in SAO and the possibilities it gave birth to. Not that I can remember.

Episode 2
Sinon is a top sniper in GGO. She teams up with a group to do an ambush. When the targets are in sight, they analyze whom they want to take out. Sinon is suspicious of the large cloaked guy in the back but the leader brushes it off as him being a transporter carrying goods. The team takes their position and the ambush proceeds well as planned. Till the cloaked guy, Behemoth reveals he is carrying a huge devastating minigun! Despite its name, it really packs a punch and sends Sinon’s team into hiding after a few of their men is taken out almost instantly. They realize he is a hired bodyguard. Sinon warns about continuing to hide because this way they will all be wiped out. The leader is scared sh*t of attacking all at once and get owned by his minigun. He rather log out than handing him a victory. Sinon blows her top about being a coward and not even be brave enough to die by the gun. Better to go out this way, right? They follow her command and wait for the right timing to ambush. The coordinated effort, some sacrifices and Sinon’s daring move eventually gets the best of Behemoth as she nails him at point blank range. After that she logs out and Sinon’s real life alter ego is a high school girl, Shino Asada. Meanwhile in ALO, we see Kirito’s harem girls, Leafa, Liz and Silica working together to cut down a monster plant. Even more insulting, Kirito and Asuna are just sitting around doing nothing! Oh yeah. Like a lion and his pride. What better way than to spend a lovely day online with your girlfriend and let the rest of your harem do the work. Jealousy rage! I think after all that thinking, Kirito has finally decided to tell Asuna something important.

Episode 3
A group of bullies demand Asada lend her money. She won’t this time. When the leader makes her hand like a gun and threatens to shoot her (because her brother has got new firearms), this sends Asada reeling in some sort of trauma. Thankfully her friend, Kyouji Shinkawa rescued here by faking he called the police. At a café, they talk about Behemoth and some other GGO stuffs. Although he introduced her to GGO, he felt she improved a lot and he was left behind. Asada goes home. She picks up a gun model in her drawer. Her trauma starts. It all began when her father died in a car accident when she was small. She moved away with her mom to live with her parents. One day at a post office, there was a lone robber but he was mad and bold. He shot a teller when he pressed the emergency button. He threatened to shoot Asada’s mom next. That is when she got up and bit his hand. They struggle for the gun. She fired 3 shots into him to kill him off! Asada realized too late what she had done despite it was self defence. Blood all over her. Even her mother was shocked. You think she would at least be grateful for saving her ass… And that has been her trauma ever since. Asada’s trauma is so great that she became sick and vomited. She pleads for somebody to help her. Kirito tells Asuna he will be temporarily leaving ALO for a while to help Kikuoka in an investigation in GGO. He goes to see Natsuki Aki, the nurse who helped rehabilitate him after SAO. She will also watch over him when he dives into GGO. Why do anime nurses have to be flirty (or otherwise grumpy)? Because she loves touching his muscles and wants him to get naked! So she can hook up electrodes for the diving, that is. Don’t worry. She has seen everything during his rehab. Yeah… Maybe that is why she ‘likes’ him… I wonder what Asuna thinks. Asada also dives into GGO as she further explains her traumatic condition never improves. Every time she touches a gun, she goes into trauma mode. Shinkawa introduced GGO to her as some sort of immersion therapy. To her surprise, holding a gun in virtual reality doesn’t trigger her trauma. If her avatar grows stronger, she hopes her physical self would too. She hopes to win the next Bullets of Bullets (BoB) contest. Meanwhile on the internet, rumours of the deaths link to Death Gun are rife. Some even joked about getting shot by him. The real Death Gun seems to be having Sinon as his next target.

Episode 4
Kirito is now in GGO. OMG! He looks like a girl?! Who the hell f*cked up his avatar?! He is sure getting all the wrong attention with the guys howling at him. Naturally he gets lost so he asks from help from Sinon who is passing by. She too thinks he is a girl. Kirito’s goal is to join BoB (so he could attract Death Gun’s attention). She goes out her way to introduce some guns for him to buy but with his limited credit, there is not much money. She can lend him but he would rather work his share. Is there a faster way to earn money? Well, there is this gambling game. One needs to run 10 metres and dodge the NPC cowboys’ bullets. Do that and you get the entire pool of funds from failed players. It is virtually impossible since the closer you get, the more the cowboy ‘cheats’. So they watch a player going great guns at first but fails when he gets closer. Apparently genius Kirito has observed everything and knows what to do and enters. Despite everyone has no faith in him, we see Kirito easily dodging the bullets and even at point blank range, he manages to dodge them all and tag the cowboy to win it! How does he do it? Simple. The point of this game is to anticipate the prediction lines of the bullets. Say what?! With tons of credits, he can get better weapons but it seems he is interested in this photon sword (light saber?). Naturally. Sinon mentions nobody uses this because damage is dealt only in close range and in a world of guns by the time you get close, you’ll be blown away. Good enough for Kirito as he buys it. As you need a gun to enter BoB, Sinon recommends some pistol for him. He practises with it and of course being the beginner, he didn’t handle it well. They had so much fun that they realize the closing time for BoB registration is in 10 minutes! GGO has no teleportation. That only happens when you die and respawn. Good luck getting there. Kirito sees a buggy and rents it. If you are wondering how he knows how to drive this bike, it is because he played a lot of racing games too. Good for him. Now step the pedal to the metal!

Episode 5
Of course they make it in time to register. Guess what? Despite being in the same block, they’ll only get to meet in the finals. As expected… When it is time to change clothes, Sinon undresses before him. Surely he is surprised and reveals his true identity. Yup. Kirito is male. Her disgusted face… I wonder how many life points you lose with a slap. Because of this, she gives him the cold shoulder. But since they’ve been together for ‘a while’, I guess she is ‘kind’ enough to dispense some very basic rules of BoB. Lucky her friend Spiegel is here to make the situation less awkward. He isn’t participating but he is as shocked to learn Kirito is a guy. I knew this girly avatar would cause such problems. I don’t know what her problem is. Kirito has tried his best to be polite as always when she became a b*tch. Now that it is time to do gun battle and he becomes a little confident, she becomes b*tchier, unbelievable of his attitude?! WTF?! Not even a handshake. While waiting in transition for his match to begin, Kirito can’t help wonder if Sinon is Death Gun because he heard her say she will kill all the strong ones. He wonders which side of Sinon is the real one. Kirito is left running for cover since his opponent is raining down bullets on him. Then he thinks about using that prediction lines and his sword to deflect the bullets. Yeah well, I’m sure he can because he is the main character! So after deflecting a few bullets and surprising the enemy, he thrusts his sword into his rival. Man, that looks painful. Kirito wins. He returns to the lobby trying to find if Sinon is still in the game. That is when Death Gun pops up next to him and asks if he is the real thing. It is when Kirito realizes they must have met before somewhere. Because Death Gun wants to know if his name and sword skills are of that person, Kirito is convinced he is an SAO survivor like him. Which one? Damn it, I don’t want to remember all those unimportant extra characters! But here’s a big hint. Kirito sees a familiar mark on his hand. Does Laughing Coffin ring any bell?

Episode 6
Whether or not if Kirito is an alias or real name, Death Gun will kill him another day. This leaves Kirito very traumatized. He remembers in SAO, he was with Knights of Blood fighting against Laughing Coffin. Knights of Blood were in a pinch because it was as though their formation was leaked by an insider. The brutal and bloody battle ended in many deaths. Some Laughing Coffin members committed suicide rather than surrender and Kirito killed a couple with his sword. He starts going crazy if he could be a surviving member or even the deceased. He is snapped out by Sinon. It’s hard to be a b*tch when his trauma seems so real. Over the next few matches, Kirito becomes a crazy reckless guy in defeating his opponents! So crazy I think we even skipped some matches. The expected final is of course Kirito and Sinon. Thoughts of his traumatic face cause her to hesitate. Even more so when she sees him walking confidently towards her, like as though he has a death wish. Because of that, she missed her shot. Then she comes out of her hiding just to confront him about his attitude. Does he not care about their promise to fight their best? Seeing her tears makes Kirito realizes he is wrong. So he suggests a duel between her gun and his sword. When Sinon fires her bullet, Kirito is able to cut it. This takes her by surprise as she tries to regain her footing but then he is already holding his sword at her neck. Though Kirito claims this is just skill, upset Sinon thinks it is more than just skill for him to dodge her bullet like that. She has been trying to learn that kind of strength. So he tells her if this bullet can kill in real life and if she doesn’t shoot them, she or someone she loved would be killed, will she still be able to pull the trigger? Sinon feels he had a similar past to her. Kirito laments he never knew the names of those he killed back then. All he did was deny them and ran away, trying to forget it all. Since it is Kirito’s win and not his policy to kill girls, he requests she surrender. Realizing his hand around her waist, I guess b*tch mode is back. Yeah, yeah. She’ll beat him the next time.

Episode 7
Suguha shows a BoB article in which Kirito’s name appears on. He brushes it off as coincidence. He isn’t a good liar… Suguha knows he has been playing GGO lately as he has dropped off her friend list in ALO. She knows?! Plus, she also asked Asuna about it. Although she sounded confident, she also sounded worried. Apparently Asuna did offer her help but Kirito didn’t want her involved in this problem of his. All Suguha can tell him is not to do anything dangerous. Meanwhile Asada is complaining to Shinkawa about the sexual harasser Kirito is. Nonstop… I guess it makes this guy worry. She has always been calm and collected but now she lets this guy rile her up. Shinkawa sounds desperate in wanting to help her. What do you know? He hugs her! She pushes him away and whatever reasons she gave, all I understand that he is being friend zoned. But she gives him hope that she’ll think about it once everything settles. Kirito has some sort of counselling therapy with Natsuki. He is disturbed he has forgotten those he killed. Cue for her to hug him and apologize she can’t carry his burden as she has never played SAO and doesn’t know what it is like to kill. She knows he at least has the right to save himself. Before Kirito’s trauma can blow up emotionally, more big hugging from her to calm him down and have him remember that he did it to protect someone. We take a detour watching Kirito’s harem girls fighting a lizard monster in ALO. Is Klein temporarily in charge of them while he is gone? Because Asuna is so worried and spacing out not paying attention, Klein almost lost all his HP. The main BoB round is here. Apparently losing finalists qualify too so you bet Sinon is going to pay back the favour twice. Before it begins, Spiegel (Shinkawa) talks to her to give his support. I suppose he is still desperate because he starts confessing he loves her. At this crucial time?! Okay, okay. She’ll think about it after the battle. Don’t want her distracted, right? Lover boy believes in her and agrees to wait.

Episode 8
I guess we still have time before the start so Kirito continues to bug Sinon about the battle royale rules. Can’t blame her this time if she really feels pissed off. Yeah, does he ever read the rules? He then asks from the final list of 30 players, which names she has not heard before. There are 3 of them. She wants an explanation so Kirito explains about his life and death battle in SAO. The main BoB tournament begins. We are distracted with weaker ones being taken out. Sinon positions herself to snipe an enemy but Kirito stops her because he wants to watch this battle. He promises not to kill her. You can trust Kirito… They watch this Pale Rider move like an acrobat to dodge all bullets and easily defeat his enemy. Kirito is certain he is Death Gun but surprise! He is shortly taken out! They observe his character is paralyzed by a stun bullet and sniped from very far. Kirito is shocked when Death Gun appears. Sinon is even surprised he has a very high profile sniper rifle with silencer. Such a gun is only rumoured to exist in GGO. Death Gun takes out a handgun and prays as he is about to finish his opponent. That is when Kirito gets desperate and calls Sinon to shoot him now before he fires.

Episode 9
Kirito’s harem are watching BoB. They see how Pale Rider was taken out. When Sinon fires, Death Gun dodges. When Death Gun shoots Pale Rider, he didn’t die. His paralysis is over but soon Pale Rider starts going into convulsions before disconnecting suddenly. When Death Gun makes his speech about bringing true death, it brings back fearful memories for Kirito’s harem. Klein especially remembers him and knows he is a former member of Laughing Coffin. Asuna decides to log out and talk to Kirito’s employer about this. Kirito and Sinon try to trace Death Gun but he is undetectable by radar. Most probably he went underwater. Although it leaves him vulnerable because the rules has one unequipped when doing so, Kirito still it is dangerous for Sinon to follow him alone because he knows he can really kill. They agree to a truce to take him out. Sinon believes as a sniper, he would be hiding at the abandoned city to his advantage. They try to deduce who he really is. Out of the 3 names Sinon mentioned, since it wasn’t Pale Rider, he could either be Gunner X or Sterben. They believe Gunner X since it echoes with his Death Gun name. They plan their strategy to take him out and true enough they locate Gunner X’s signal in the area and going after another player in the vicinity. Kirito goes ahead and will signal to Sinon to as his backup to fire. As she waits, suddenly she is hit with a stun bullet. Her worst fears come true when Death Gun emerges from his invincible cloak. He then mentions about killing Sinon to see whether if this Kirito is real. Because if she dies and he goes berserk with his sword like the last time, it is the real Kirito. He wants to see Kirito’s rage again. As Death Gun takes out his handgun, Sinon recognizes it. It belongs to the robber she shot and killed. How could this be? Time for the trauma to resurface again.

Episode 10
Before Death Gun could shoot, Kirito fires back and sends him into defence. Kirito then throws a smoke bomb and takes Sinon to escape. They ride a buggy and Sinon realizes she cannot even pull the trigger. Get this. Death Gun is chasing them via horse. Can a horse run faster than a buggy? I know it is a mechanical horse but… With Death Gun breathing down their neck, Sinon is reduced into a cowering hopeless. She tries to aim again but she still can’t. She wants to give up. Kirito shows how freaking cool by doing the impossible. One hand he guides her rifle and the other he is on the accelerator! OMFG! How can they even keep their balance at that speed!!! Although Sinon manages to fire, she misses. Luckily it hit a nearby truck and it explodes. Death Gun seems to get caught in it. But don’t count on being him dead because Kirito saw him leap off although he will still sustain damage. Hiding in a cave, Kirito explains how he came to her rescue. When he went to face Gunner X, he knew that wasn’t Death Gun because she was female. Kirito defeated her and that is when he saw Sinon down. He borrowed Gunner X’s arsenal to rescue her. Kirito doesn’t want to drag her into this fight anymore but she insists because it sounds like she wants to die. I mean, the person she considers her rival is now consoling her broken and pathetic self. Kirito disagrees about her dying alone since she is now part of his life. See what you done? You turn her into an emotional wreck. Yeah, we know how much you hate him but that doesn’t change a thing. Cue to explain how she killed that robber 5 years ago although the media reported it his gun misfired. But she still had to live with the trauma of people accusing her as a murderer. Also about her phobia on guns but she thought GGO would make her stronger. However facing Death Gun regressed her back to her real self. She is scared to die but living in fear is much worse. Cue for Kirito to talk about his killing experience in SAO. Yeah, yeah. We know. That’s why you have to settle things here, right?

Episode 11
Sinon wants to know how he overcame his memories. He didn’t. He still gets those nightmares and needed to accept it to know what killing them meant. They discuss how Death Gun can kill players in real life when it is impossible to do so from the game. He senses something amiss because when Kirito came to rescue Sinon, Death Gun didn’t use his handgun to shoot him. Is there a reason why he couldn’t use it? On the question why Death Gun knows who you are, when one registers into BoB’s terminal, you enter your real name and address. But even so, how can he kill? Then it hit Kirito. Perhaps there are 2 Death Guns. The one in the real world will kill the player after being given the signal by injecting some kind of drug that stops the heart. Because XeXeed and Tarako lived alone in old apartments with low security, their deaths are only found out much later, after the body has rotted and thus doctors couldn’t trace the drug. Besides, it is not uncommon for MMORPG players to die from playing a game straight without rest. As for how the deaths in the game and reality coincide, perhaps Death Gun’s cross gesture is some kind of signal. Kirito then asks Sinon if she lives alone. She does. Despite having some security, she remembers the door chain is not locked. Kirito thinks there is a possibility the perpetrator is now in her room waiting for the signal since Death Gun has been targeting her. Sinon’s heart rate starts to increase as she panics. Kirito calms her down that she cannot log out now as it would make it more dangerous for her to face the killer. Meanwhile Kikuoka logs into ALO as Chrysheight to speak to Kirito’s girls. He explains but nothing that would amount to any revelation. It is basically what we already know. The girls would love to help had Kirito only told them but they know his character of not wanting them to be put in danger. Asuna learns where Kirito is diving from and will go to him. Kirito and Sinon devise their strategy to defeat Death Gun. In short, Kirito will be the bait (like always). When Death Gun fires, Sinon will use his shot to find his location and then snipe at him. By elimination, Death Gun should go by the name Sterben and Kirito plans to ask him the meaning of this chosen name if he gets close.

Episode 12
Kirito senses something amiss because with the counter that shows how many players left, it looks like there is one missing. Sure you didn’t forget to count yourself? One of the other survivors is Dark Wind and Sinon knows how fast and deadly this dude is. He came in second place last time. They discuss about using Dark Wind as decoy to lure Death Gun and talk about the possibility that there might be more accomplices Death Gun has. The plan now is for Kirito to be the bait. He will relay the enemies’ position and Sinon will take them out. Kirito stands in open sight. He barely dodges a bullet that could bring down a structure! Sinon then takes out Dark Wind. As Death Gun has already sniped, this allows Kirito to know his position as he rushes there. Sinon also detects Death Gun’s position and fires. Death Gun also spots Sinon and does the same. Their bullets destroy each other’s rifle. When Kirito is about to slash Death Gun, he got slashed by him instead. Don’t worry. It’s just a little wound. Asuna has entered Kirito’s room and is shocked to see his heart rate climbing. Conveniently with Yui’s help, they put on the monitor to see how Kirito is doing. Asuna recognizes the estoc weapon Death Gun is having. He is part of Laughing Coffin but can’t remember his name. She wonders if Sterben is a misspelling of Steven but Natsuki explains it is a German medical word for death at the hospital. Death Gun mocks Kirito for being a coward because he kills to survive. Kirito then reveals his dirty trick of how he is able to kill players in reality. But Death Gun says he isn’t quite there yet because he doesn’t know his real name. Flashback reveals he wanted to after that bloody battle with Knights of Blood. However Kirito refused to listen, believing they will never meet again. Death Gun begins his relentless assault on Kirito.

Episode 13
How can Asuna stop Kirito’s dehydrating body? Hold his hand and pray real hard! Yeah, it should work… Kirito remembers hard that he might have seen Death Gun before. In a briefing with Knights of Blood, there is a Laughing Coffin member with red eyes… Kirito calls out his name, Xaxa. Death Gun is stunned for a while. Death Gun senses Sinon aiming at him and as he tries to avoid he loses balance. That is when Kirito goes in for the kill and cuts his body in half! Death Gun’s last words are that it isn’t over yet till it is found out… Kirito and Sinon meet up. With the threat gone, he believes she can safely log out and take precautions. She reveals her real name and address, which is pretty close to where Kirito is diving from. And it seems they will finish their battle in another time. Can BoB have 2 winners? Sinon lets Kirito hold her grenade. And then she hugs him while smiling before they both go boom! And there you have it. Double winners Kirito and Sinon! As Kirito awaits logging out, he sees the names of Pale Rider and Garrett as victims and this confirms Death Gun had more than 2 partners. Asada wakes up and confirms her room. Nothing suspicious. Everything is safe. Shinkawa then comes by to congratulate her of her victory. Then he becomes that desperate idiot to remind her and all of us about her answer. He promises to protect her from now on. It gets creepier when he hugs her but when she fights back, he sticks a syringe at her body. Asada’s fears come true when Shinkawa admits he is Death Gun’s accomplice. Guess what? They’re brothers! At the last tournament, Shinkawa was playing as Sterben in GGO so this time he wanted to switch places. Shinkawa goes on to complain about how he tossed away everything in the real world and GGO is all that he has till XeXeed started boasting about those lies and that is why he killed him. Crazy Shinkawa continues to suggest abandoning reality and living in some fantasy world and start their own family. So crazy this guy that he acknowledges her as the only girl in Japan to kill a real bad guy with a gun. That is why he chose that gun as Death Gun’s weapon to leave behind a legend. Shinkawa’s rape face is getting scarier and Asada has resigned to her fate in giving in. Till her Sinon counterpart tells her to fight for a certain someone. She breaks out of Shinkawa’s hold and escapes but he catches up. Rape is inevitable till Kirito barges in to beat him up.

Episode 14
Shinkawa fights back like a mad man and stabs Kirito with the syringe! Asada knocks him out with a radio over his head. Asada is frantic that Kirito will die but Kirito is one damn lucky guy. Of all the places Shinkawa could have stabbed, he stabbed near the heart and Kirito’s electrode from a heart monitor saved him. Phew. Could have died from a heart attack too. Shinkawa confronts those b*tch bullies who want to borrow money. Since she won’t, one of them pulls out a gun. Asada holds in her trauma. The b*tch actually wanted to pull the trigger but because it was on safety mode, Asada coolly unlocks it and shows her sharp shooting skill. Better think twice about messing with her again. Kirito picks up Asada to meet Kikuoka. He explains about Shinkawa and his older brother, Shouichi’s conspiracy in the Death Gun’s case. They have been arrested although the third accomplice, Atsushi Kanamoto escaped but in no time he will be caught. Kikuoka details how Death Gun started when Shinkawa was jealous about XeXeed and told Shouichi about it. They planned how to take him and though it started out as a joke, they realize they can seriously pull this off and used a master key to steal dangerous drugs from their father’s hospital. They carefully research their victims’ background and carry out the murders in synchronized timing. However GGO players treated their deaths as a joke so the mad brothers decided to get serious by making a triple kill at BoB. That is when Kanamoto was roped in as he was Shouichi’s friend. They were in Laughing Coffin in SAO. As Shouichi was one of the prisoners during the SAO incident, when he came back and told his brother, he was so fascinated and believed every word he said. That is why he believed this was also a game. Asada notes the brothers don’t have a reality because Shinkawa threw away this world to level up in GGO. GGO was his reality. Like any other players, he wanted to become the strongest and stress got to him and that is where he got both worlds mixed up. Asada would like to visit Shinkawa and tell him her thoughts. Before they depart, Kikuoka reads to Kirito a message left by Shouichi for him. It states that everything isn’t over yet.

Kirito brings Asada to meet Asuna and Liz. Better not get too friendly because you know what is going to happen when a new girl enters the harem. On a serious note, the girls get to know each other first before they reveal why they bring her here in the first place. First, Kirito apologizes to Asada because he told his girls about her problem and they went back to her hometown to do some research. Asada is not very happy about this but Kirito asserts he needed to do this as she has not met the people she is supposed to meet and hear the words she needed to hear. The girls usher in Sachie Oosawa and her 4 year old daughter, Mizue. She was a clerk at that post office. She regrets not stepping out to help her and never got around to apologize or thank her. Sachie was pregnant with Mizue during the robbery. Because of Asada’s bravery, she saved both their lives. She is very grateful. Kirito adds Asada tried to always punish and blame herself but she has the right to think about the lives she saved. Mizue hands Asada a (hideous) drawing as thanks. Please don’t ruin the (hideous) drawing with your tears.

Episode 14.5
Flashback episode of Sinon and Asada and everything that has happened so far about her life. No new scenes. Just recycled footage with Asada’s narration and point of view. From that traumatic robbery event at the post office to meeting Shinkawa to playing GGO to meeting Kirito, fighting at the BoB qualifiers, taking on Death Gun in the finals, fending off crazy-in-love Shinkawa and finally overcoming it all after meeting Sachie and Mizue. She finally realizes the need to move forward and that this real world isn’t so bad after all. It is kind and warm.

Episode 15
Kirito learns that somebody discovered the legendary sword Excalibur in ALO. Though, nobody has claimed it yet. A few months ago when Kirito and Leafa ventured into the underground world of Jotunheimr, they witnessed and helped this elephant jellyfish whom they named Tokii defeat a Tyrant giant. To show its gratitude, it brought them up high enough to a floating labyrinth just hanging beneath Yggdrasil and that is where they saw Excalibur at its base. So looks like Kirito needs to organize his party to go claim it. They need 7 members. Let’s see… Kirito, Leafa, Asuna, Klein, Silica and Liz. One more room… Aha! Sinon. In this world she is a cat girl? So they descend to the icy world of Jotunheimr and ride on Tonkii. Along the way, they see a party being assisted by Tyrants. Did they tame it because they believe it is impossible. Popping up before them is Uror, Queen of the Lake. She wants them to save this land from the frost giants. Once Jotunheimr was like Alfhiem, filled with greeneries and peace but Nilfheim, the frosty land below it invaded and Thrym the king threw Excalibur into the lake, cutting off Jotunheimr from Yggdrasil’s bounties. Thrym and his army attacked Jotunheimr en masse and built many fortresses and castles, enslaving her servants and animals. Now they rule the land via the main castle, Thrymheim. Though Uror and her 2 sisters escaped, they lack the power they once had. The frost giants were unsatisfied and decided to kill the servants and animals. Doing so, their powers will completely vanish and Thrymheim will be elevated to Alfheim’s surface as it is Thrym’s wish to cover the land in snow. And there is some golden apple at the top of Yggdrasil he desires too. Because of their inability to slay the servants, Thrym has resorted to recruiting fairies (the players) in helping them in exchange for Excalibur. However it is just a ploy as Thrym will never hand over Excalibur. That you see is just an exact duplicate, Caliburn. But Thrym made one mistake. By sending his army below to assist fairies, Thrymheim is left unguarded and its defence weak. So you know what you’re supposed to do here, right? Infiltrate Thrymheim and draw Excalibur out from the keystone dial. She gives them an amulet that indicates all her servants will be dead when it turns dark. I guess this quest is too big a deal to turn down.

Episode 16
Yui explains how ALO is different from other worlds. Something about the system than can make independent quests and since it is based on Norse mythology, there will be that ultimate battle that involves Ragnarok and flame giants from even lower grounds destroying the world. After all, remember what happened at Aincrad? Even if the system had backup, only player data will be saved and not field data. No time to waste as we see Kirito and his team using all they’ve got to take down bull giants and other monsters. They reach a room whereby Freyja is imprisoned. Klein’s love meter must be tingling and wants to save her although the rest knows better it could be a trap since she has HP and deduce they have to fight her. But you know Klein, his code of honour won’t let him leave her alone even if it destroys this world. So he thought with his wrong head? After freeing her, Freyja can’t leave this place. Not until she retrieves her family’s treasure from Thrym. Against the rest’s better judgment, they allow Freyja to join their party. They are now faced with the final boss who is no other than Thrym. He offers them to take as much gold as they want but of course they are not here for that. He thinks Freyja has escaped her cage means that she is here to marry him. Of course she refuses him and will retrieve her family treasure after these warriors defeat him. (Apparently she was locked because she was caught sneaking around in his treasure room). Since talking isn’t going to get anyone anywhere, time for the final boss fight.

Episode 17
Thrym is no pushover. The team takes heavy damage if not for Asuna’s healing power. Kirito tries to find the golden hammer and when he does, he tosses it to Freyja. When she touches it, she powers up and becomes… OMG! Isn’t that a giant bearded man, Thor?! Oh, Klein you must be so disappointed. So if Freyja was a guy and Thrym was going to marry her, was he about to marry a guy?! I CAN’T IMAGINE THIS GAY SCENE!!!!!!!!!!! With Thor’s might, he crushes Thrym in no time with the rest helping out to add to the damage. Hit him with all you’ve got! With Thrym destroyed, as a reward, at least Klein gets to keep Thor’s hammer. Yeah, I bet he wanted the girl… The quest is not over yet as they have to pull out Excalibur. Kirito tries his might while the rest give vocal support. When he does so, the Thrymheim falls apart. Tonkii rescues them. Kirito feels Excalibur is too heavy for him and throws it away. But Sinon uses her whip to get it back to give it to him. Her only condition is that whenever he draws the sword, please think of her. Those suspicious eyes from his harem… WTF. You mean this mind boggling scene is for this cheesy moment?! Jotunheimr reverts back to its original beautiful state. They get a personal thanks from Uror and her personal sisters, Verdandi and Skuld. They officially let Kirito keep Excalibur. Wait a minute. Klein now wants to hit on Skuld and get her contacts? Did he get rejected?! He handles it well and Liz respects him for that. Back in reality, everyone celebrates their victory and since Liz hints about somebody being paid handsomely on his last job, Kirito has no choice but to announce he is treating all of them. Cheers, everybody.

Episode 18
Agil talks to Kirito and Asuna how he met his wife. They were both playing SAO. They were also in competition to get the NerveGear. Agil was glad he won because it could have been her who would be trapped during that SAO incident. His will to return to his family made him persevere. He thinks everyone in SAO had that same sentiment but Asuna begs to differ. She didn’t quite like her family that much and sometimes forgot the reason she fought. She loved their cabin at level 22 and feared if SAO was cleared, it would disappear. Yeah, all I remember was the virtual sex they tried… Agil relays the good news that New Aincrad will have another updated that includes this level. They don’t know if the place is still the same but they’re keeping the faith. We see the parties hacking and slashing an uninspiring rock boss monster to clear the level. And here it is. Level 22 like it was before. Even their cabin is still there. A simple click of the button is all they need to do to buy it. There. Let the good times like before roll. And so Kirito and the girls are having a fun time in their new summer cabin. So while Asuna spaces out over her real marriage arrangements (potential candidates with faces that look like they want to rape her?), the other girls talk to her about this new player, Zekken who stands by at some lone tree awaiting challenges. Nobody has been able to defeat Zekken because of some original sword skill and 11 hit combo! Leafa also challenged Zekken but lost out to default skills. Kirito also fought Zekken. They talked about something before Kirito lost. When asked what it was, he refused to tell them. Looks like Asuna will have to ask Zekken herself. This means she is going to fight him. Wondering if Zekken was a former SAO player, Liz denies it because Kirito told her if it was so, the two-sword skill would have gone to Zekken.

Episode 19
It’s such a gloomy reality for Asuna. You know sh*t is going to happen when her mom warns her about spending too much time playing that game. Although Asuna has shown proof that she has done well academically, mother is not impressed because results from that kind of school mean nothing. Mother has arranged for Asuna to be privately tutored and using the credit system she can enrol in a real high school and graduate to college. Is she trying to speed up her life? Mother claims that makeshift school for children trapped during the SAO incident is just for the government to keep a close watch on them. She continues reminding Asuna about her future and possible careers and all they want is for her to be happy instead of regretting it. Why do always parents who sound like this act like as though as they know everything about their child’s future? And since when marrying is part of her career? Asuna argues she will pick her own partner. Mother agrees if that person is worthy but as long as he is not a child of that facility. I guess she investigated about Kirito. That’s the last straw for Asuna. She leaves and tells mom this: Mom might be angry and holding a grudge towards late grandpa and grandma because she wasn’t born into a rich and important family. Nailed it. Asuna can only cry in her bedroom as she laments how powerless she is in reality unlike in those games. Asuna talks to Kirito about Zekken before she leaves for her fight. She asks what they talked about. He asked if Zekken totally lives in this world (like as though a product of this world). Zekken never answered by only smiled back. When Asuna goes to face Zekken, she is shocked that Zekken is a girl! Oops. Liz might have forgotten to tell her that. And this might be the reason why Kirito lost… The intense fight begins with Asuna inches from defeat. She can’t go out like that and when she remembers her harsh reality, she fiercely fights back, making Zekken fight even more serious. Asuna thought she is defeated by her 11 hit combo but Zekken stops. She is satisfied with the fight and was just looking for someone who is right. Now that she has picked Asuna, she takes her high above into the clouds where nobody could hear or follow. Zekken pleads for Asuna’s help.

Episode 20
Yuuki Konno (Zekken’s real name) brings Asuna to her guild, Sleeping Knights. They request her help to defeat a level boss. The catch is they only want to do it themselves. Normally such boss battles are done with many groups. However if done so and the floor is cleared, only the names of each guild’s leader is etched in the memorial. To have each member’s name, a single party has to defeat the boss. That is why Yuuki was scouting for a strong member. Asuna agrees to join. She asks weren’t there stronger players before her like Kirito. Because he found out her secret, it wasn’t any good. After the meeting is done, Asuna is suddenly disconnected. Seems her mom is not too happy she is late for dinner and as per agreed the last time, she will yank the cord. The next time this happens, she’ll confiscate her machine. Asuna journeys with Sleeping Knights to the boss’ lair. Asuna spots several suspicious players waiting outside the door although they claim they are waiting for their friends. Asuna and co go in to fight the boss. And lost. Quickly after they regenerate back in town, Asuna lets her comrades know about those suspicious players. They are actually scouts for their guild to find the boss’ attack patterns and weaknesses. Although they were fighting in a closed room, Asuna noticed a spy familiar watching. This means all of Sleeping Knights’ hard work will be undone and this guild takes the credit. However Asuna isn’t giving up yet. They can beat them by going back to fight the boss now since gathering other party members at this point takes time. But when they go back, a large group of people are already waiting. They won’t move or let them fight the boss. Yuuki makes a surprise suggestion to fight them. Her words clear Asuna’s hesitation as she calls for backup. As more members of thieving guild arrive, here comes Asuna’s reinforcement. Only Kirito? He is going to stand in their way. I thought she would bring the entire army or at least the other girls. Ah heck, this guy is enough to whoop an entire platoon’s ass.

Episode 21
You are dead wrong if you think you can beat Kirito with numbers. Remember, quality over quantity. Don’t worry. Kirito has a little backup from Klein, though I doubt he won’t be doing much at the back there. Sleeping Knights easily defeat the thieving guild and enter the boss room. Before the fight starts, Yuuki has time to feel guilty Asuna friends are helping them without getting any reward. Asuna says to win this boss fight as their reward. She also hopes she could hear more about Yuuki’s adventures. The intense boss battle begins with them doing the usual attacks and strategy as planned. But when Asuna notices a weak point (really? It was so obvious that they didn’t realize it just because it was high up there?) she lets Yuuki know as she slices and dices her way to do maximum damage till the boss is destroyed. When it is over, Asuna invites them to her cabin to celebrate. Asuna notes that her contract to help them has ended. But she still wants to talk with them and become friends and would like to join Sleeping Guild. Uhm, wasn’t she in one with Kirito and the other girls? Not that I remember. Unfortunately Sleeping Guild is going to be disbanded shortly as many of them cannot be regularly playing this game. Even so, Asuna would like to join until then. Then everyone heads to the memorial where each of their names has been etched. They take a group photo with it. Hmm… Shouldn’t it be a screenshot in this sense? When Asuna notes that Yuuki has been calling her nee-san a few times, Yuuki starts crying and logs out immediately. Did she say something wrong? Touched the wrong nerve?

Episode 22
Yuuki cannot be contacted anyhow. Does she really not want to see Asuna anymore? So what is Asuna to do but to rely on Kirito for information on where she is. All he tells her is a hospital that is using clinical trials for Medicuboid. At the hospital, Yuuki’s doctor is surprised to see her as he begins explaining from the beginning. So what is Medicuboid? To put it simply, it is a full dive system for the medical world just like AmuSphere or NerveGear. One of its pros is that it can act as anaesthesia and reduce pain. However it still cannot treat the underlying disease. Yuuki was born via Caesarean and given blood transplant. However it was contaminated. Asuna sees Yuuki’s true physical form and is devastated. You know how a person with AIDS’ syndrome kicking in looks like, right? With drugs, she was able to delay AIDS but had to put up with the stigma of society as well as the drugs’ side effects. There was one point she wanted to kill herself but decided to fight on. 3 years ago, her immunity system suddenly collapsed and ever since she was placed here. At that point Medicuboid prototype was just completed but with the scandal surrounding NerveGear, nobody was willing to take the risk. Yuuki jumped on that chance in exchange for a clean room that would reduce her risk but what sealed the deal was her longing for the virtual world. She has been living in the virtual world since and logging in 24 hours a day. Although she is safe in there, she is still terminal. Asking if she has a sister, a twin in fact. Aiko was very similar to Asuna. Unfortunately she passed away a year ago and her parents 2 years ago. Time for Asuna to let her tears flow. Yuuki communicates with her but it would be better if they just dive and talk in the virtual world. Asuna finds her and gives her the most emotional hug. Time for some emotional talk too. Yuuki reveals that Sleeping Knights had more members but they died. Thus it is decided when another member is going to bite the dust, they will disband. Thus the real reason the guild disbands is not because nobody has time to play anymore but rather they have been diagnosed to have a few months left to live. They wanted their last mission to have their names on the memorial and thus they searched for a person to help them do so. Asuna asks if there is something she would like to do. How about going to school? Oh, so Asuna is going to arrange that?

Episode 23
With a little help from Kirito’s tweaking, Yuuki gets to experience school. At least she is a surveillance camera on Asuna’s shoulder. She gets to participate in class and is quite popular with the classmates. Or is it because Yuuki’s form is such a novelty? After school, Yuuki requests to visit her family’s house in the area that they only stayed for a short while. As she talks about her family, Yuuki also gives encouragement to Asuna to go talk to her mom like how they usually do. Yuuki did just that but she wants to talk to mom not in the real world but in the virtual world. At first mom disagrees since if she can’t say it right now it isn’t worth listening. But after pleading how much she wants her to see with her own eyes about her world, she relents with a condition that she will still fill up the paper work for her school transfer. In the virtual world of Asuna’s cabin, she takes her mom to look out the window. The snowy woods. So? This scenery reminds Asuna very much of her grandparents’ home in Miyagi she loves so much. When mom was busy making headlines and corporate decisions, appearing all over the media, grandpa once told Asuna that mom might get tired of it all one day. When that happens, grandpa and grandma will always protect and preserve this place so that she will have a home to come back to. Now Asuna has understand some words that were said to her she never did in the beginning. Life isn’t about doing things for yourself. She wants to make others happy and continue doing the things she loves. Mom is so touched that she cries. Wait. They have a programme in this virtual world that you can’t hold back your tears?! Back in reality, Asuna is all smiles that mom isn’t forcing her to transfer but she ups the ante that her grades must be exceptionally well and have to go to university. It’s going to be a very fine day.

Episode 24
Yuuki and Asuna spend the rest of the days having fun online and even in the real world. Asuna is also doing great in her studies. One day Asuna gets a message that Yuuki’s condition has deteriorated. She rushes to the hospital. The doctor says her heart stopped once before but they revived her. The next time won’t be so lucky. She has been fighting the harsh reality for 15 years so it is best to let her rest now. So I suppose the best place to say goodbye is to hook up in the virtual world since we can hear them talk properly. Yuuki transfers her original sword skill to her. Not only the rest of her Sleeping Knights and Kirito’s group come to pay their respects but all the fairy guilds of ALO! Amazing?! They have to respect the strongest swords(wo)man in ALO, right? Yuuki is glad to have lived and experienced as much as she can. Time to let those tears flow freely. Asuna is at Yuuki’s memorial service. She meets one of Sleeping Knights members in the flesh as she talks about her own terminal disease as well as how Yuuki inspired hope in them all. Kirito and the doctor have been exchanging information about the communication probe. Thanks to all the data from Yuuki, Medicuboid is ready for official use around the country. When it is mentioned its external helper was Professor Rinko Koujirou, Kirito recognizes that name as Heathcliff’s body caretaker when he was diving. This means the real person who invented the basic design was Kayaba himself. Kirito and co enjoy a picnic. They talk about how they thought when the gap between the real and virtual world got closer, the world would be a better place but instead it deceived many. But they can take heart it also saved many. They vow to be with each other till the end of the world and forever. As in virtually and reality as well?

Sword Art Offline II

Special 1
With Asuna as your host, Kirito the commentator and special guests from Silica and Liz, they talk about the headline of Sinon taking out Behemoth, reviewing and commenting on selected scenes in the episode (I’m sure the girls want to grill him about Natsuki’s ‘flirting’ but to show how much Asuka loves her man, she doesn’t get mad) and the problem solving corner in which Silica tries to anonymously seek help to defeat a skirt flipping monster. Wait, was she playing the right game? Unfortunately the problem wasn’t solved and Kirito got beaten up. Why oh why.

Special 2
The headline is about Kirito looking like a girl in GGO. Asuna even has her fun laughing so hard at girly Kirito. With Sinon as the special guest, apparently she is still very unforgiving about Kirito’s true gender. She replays several clips that only serve to hammer his cross-dressing fetish and perversion. Kirito can’t even defend himself. Worse, Asuna’s faith in him is wavering… As for the problem solving corner, some GGO guy is having problems getting a certain girly boy out of his mind. More ammo for Sinon to just tell him to date this guy, become gay or send a cute photo of his girl self to him. I wonder how much HP embarrassment can inflict.

Special 3
Because Kirito’s avatar looks like a girl, online rumours surfaced about Kirito and Sinon being a popular girl team. So apparently this special too, Sinon continues her unforgiving nature through the playbacks and even wanting to shoot him a few times to take out her rage. Even Asuna agrees! Because sometimes she feels like stabbing Kirito! Again, the problem solving corner has another GGO guy having problems trying to court a girl he likes. Apparently Sinon knows this guy since he is persistent about her. Another reason for her to complain about Kirito and falsely accuse him of his girly fetish. Not too sure if this special has less abuse or Kirito has gotten the hang of it…

Special 4
This time they are discussing about the final battle between Kirito and Death Gun. Then there are also scenes of Sinon’s weak moments like Kirito saving her and she confiding in him in the cave. It makes her feel humiliating just to think about it. When they discuss about Death Gun’s cloaking ability, Kirito had to open a can of worms that he might use it to peek at girls changing. Much better than being a guy acting like a girl, right? You dug your own grave there. Once again the problem solving corners have those GGO guys who are fans of Kirito and Sinon wondering what their relationship are (remember, they still think he is a girl) because their manly testosterones have never heard of yuri before. Kirito wants to come clean with his identity but Asuna rejects because she doesn’t want him to ruin the dreams of his fans! Sinon is okay with their girl on girl relationship as it will stop pesky advances from other guys. Another loss for Kirito…

Special 5
They talk about Kirito’s win over Death Gun as well as discussing if Death Gun or Asuna is better. Kirito of course vouches for Asuna knowing she has a faster and better skill. Flattered Asuna is quite embarrassed by that so much so she accidentally unleashes that skill on him. And then again but this time due to her anger when Kirito explains a crazy nickname she got during ALO. And that bike scene Kirito was supposed to pick up Asada from school? Asuna envies and would love to experience that. For the problem solving corner, for once it isn’t some love problem. Instead, certain girls from Kirito’s harem complaining about their lack of screen time. This leads to the discussion why Sinon, Kirito and Asuna would prefer not to stand out more be it their sniper position, special skills that make them a target or just plain real life stalkers. Since this is Sinon’s last appearance, she wants a commemoration by shooting at Kirito one more time. Hasn’t this guy taken enough damage already?

The Art Of Living
Initially, I thought they should just call the second season Gun Gale Online seeing more than half of this season is about this. However it is also attached with a couple of other minor ‘non-important’ adventures at the end so I figure it wasn’t appropriate either. Then again, if you remember well that the original SAO world was destroyed at the end of the first arc in the first season. You don’t get to revisit here again except via flashbacks. So why didn’t they just call it ALO or something? Maybe SAO sounds better and less sissy than ALO. You remember the hardships and terror in SAO but ALO was just like child’s play fairy version, right? And probably the same reason why it wasn’t named GGO either. Because it might mislead fans to think this is some sort of new spin-off but it isn’t. But having it as SAO II doesn’t that too feels misleading? Argh! I’m so confused!

Just as I feared, the second season wasn’t really that great either. But now I can be sure of saying it from my own mouth and heart. While the GGO arc is still by far the most interesting arc compared to the mediocre Calibur arc and the emotion filled Mother’s Rosario arc, it still pales in comparison to the first SAO arc. Despite the action and drama in GGO, the only thing that retained my interest was trying to figure out Death Gun’s identity. Yup. That was the only thing that kept me from snoring and falling asleep in front of my monitor. I’m not saying the action is boring or the drama between Kirito and Sinon is uninteresting, but they aren’t just enough to make me feel like I want to immerse myself in this world. Sure, GGO is much different than ALO and SAO but with the arc about trying to catch Death Gun before he commits another crime, the beauty of this dystopian is not really in focus.

Because I had a hunch who was Death Gun and when the true culprit was revealed, the only thing left interested was how he did it. Honestly, I wasn’t quite satisfied with that answer although it seems most plausible. Because I was expecting something SAO-like but that may be part of my fault to expect something like that and thus the disappointment when the arc ends. Even I was thinking there would be some sort of conspiracy involving Natsuki. Nope. How can flirty nurses be baddies? Besides, regarding Death Gun’s identity as an ex-member of Laughing Coffin, I thought it would be an identity from someone we would know. Instead we will be asking, who the f*ck is this guy anyway?! As good as they could have put it as any damn person from any damn guild or just a random guy who hates Kirito for no reason. Maybe this guy did make his cameo in SAO but it was too insignificant for us to remember. With such sentiments now, I don’t really want to go back and rewatch SAO just so that I can point him out and then approve of this that they didn’t pull the rug from under our feet.

The other mind boggling thing was to have double winners for BoB. I mean, is that even allowed in such reputable tournaments? Sure, the circumstances leading up to that may seem that it has no other choice but does this mean there were no other avenues to select a single winner? Isn’t that what being a champion is about? To be the one and only one at the top? And everyone accepted that result? Isn’t it an insult to all those who fought hard and were knocked out of the tournament only to see at the end there were 2 winners? So let me guess if such a ‘broken’ system was really in place, I think everyone can be winners. Everybody just toss a hand grenade and then give each other one big group hug. Oh yeah! Boom! Everybody wins. Everybody’s name turns up on the champion’s list. No need for all those useless gunfights. Get what I mean? And I thought this would be a good timing for Kirito and Sinon to truly settle it GGO style but I guess if she is to become part of his friendly harem, this sort of route has to be taken.

The remaining arcs didn’t fare well either and like I have said they pale in comparison. Because I felt the Calibur arc was just to give Kirito’s girls and Klein some screen time and to remind us that they are a close knit party. Yeah, to show off they can work together and save an entire world. When you have mystic and powerful beings falling from power to another that threatens the very existence of the world, only a bunch of kid players can change things for the better and save the day. Yeah, it was a bit of BS with Kirito even tossing away the Excalibur he wanted to get so much at the start. So can you not believe this arc is probably the shortest in all of SAO series lasting only 3 paltry episodes? Yeah. Maybe it was a good thing it ended quickly. There. Liz, Silica and Leafa. Are you happy now that you got more screen time in this short arc?

At this point, I am sure we are tired of seeing Kirito as the main hero, right? That is why for the sake of feminism, it is Asuna’s turn to hog the limelight in the final Mother’s Rosario arc. Kirito is tossed aside so that Asuna can be in focus because after playing the damsel in distress in last season’s ALO arc and being just secondary in GGO and Calibur arc, it is time to remind us why she is the main heroine of the series in addition to being just Kirito’s pretty girlfriend. Really. And thus Mother’s Rosario is just a long drawn out emotional drama about Asuna and a dying player whom she befriended very closely. It is like to show us that after playing countless hours of online games, people like them still have emotions and that no matter how deep you are in the virtual world, you’re still tied to reality. Because eventually you’ll still die in real life. Sad but true.

So while we don’t get to see any harem battles over Kirito, the new characters in focus based on the arcs are Sinon and Yuuki. Both have their set of issues and troubles dealing with their past or troubled life. It is pretty decent since they have enough episodes to flesh out their character. But I just can’t help that Sinon after her GGO arc is over, she becomes somewhat irrelevant. It is like her character can be done without subsequently. Although she did join Kirito’s group in ALO, it was as if to tell us where she is instead of just scrapping her character for good. You know, if she was totally discarded, you’d be wondering where the heck Sinon is. So with her part of Kirito’s party, you’ll go, “Ah, so there she is”.

All of last season’s casts are retained. New ones added to list include Miyuki Sawashiro as Sinon, Aoi Yuuki as Yuuki/Zekken, Ayako Kawasumi as Natsuki and Hiroshi Kamiya as XeXeed all of whom I recognized instantly. I thought Asuna’s mom sounded familiar but only later I found out it was Megumi Hayashibara behind it. For the rest of those I don’t recognize, I’m too lazy to list them down. For this season, the opening and ending themes didn’t quite appeal to me. I’m not saying they are bad but they don’t come close or as attractive as last season’s Yume Sekai. The first opener is Ignite by Eir Aoi. I don’t know, it feels like the singer is trying to sing at the top of her voice. The second opening theme is Courage by Haruka Tomatsu. Generic pop beat. The first ending theme is Startear by Luna Haruna, a slow rock ballad. The second ending theme is No More Time Machine by Lisa. Another slow rock outfit, the third ending theme, Shirushi also by Lisa.

I have to be fair and give them credit where it is due since the art and animation department are still great. The visual effects from the battle (gun and sword) as well as the magic effects are still a sight to behold. While the character designs in GGO are still looking great because of the brutal dystopian setting, it is mind boggling that Kirito had his avatar then like a female. He stands out so much like a sore thumb that it is so distracting. Like as though he is in the wrong game. Like as though the producers listened to some of the fans who wanted to see a gender bender of Kirito and granted it for that arc.

I’m not sure if I would want to watch a third season if it ever comes out because this series seems to be going strong with its legion of fans. Unfortunately I’m not one of them. There was this special movie lasting almost 2 hours, Sword Art Online: Extra Edition that came out at the end of 2013 that I didn’t see (most probably turned off by the length even though I read in the synopsis there would be some pool fanservice…) and there is another movie coming out in 2017. Don’t even get me started on the numerous video games… While this season isn’t exactly a flop, it all boils down to taste and whether you are a big fan of the series. The plot feels a bit silly, the characters lack in major development but the visuals are good. Like as if you buy a video game for its graphics instead of its game play… Sometimes it makes me want to run away from reality and live a virtual life for the rest of my pitiful existence. Oh wait. There’s already Minecraft…

Accel World VS Sword Art Online

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR 2014! Another fresh start of the year means there will be more and more animes for me to watch! And so just like the previous years before, I hope it will be a good bounty of animes for me to watch. This is the first time a versus blog will be featured as the first blog of the year. What a way to start the year.

Mankind has advanced so much that with technology, we are able to live out our fantasies. And that means you get to live a different and exciting life in another world and alternate universe. Some would even consider the wired world their second home (if not, their first) in addition to reality. However of course in the real world now, that seems to be a pipe dream but it is those dreams that will lead us one step closer in achieving that. But for now, there is no harm in dreaming and thus today’s versus blog will be between animes Accel World and Sword Art Online. Both are light novels written by Reki Kawahara and released as anime adaptation in 2012.

Game genre:
Accel World: VRMMO fighting game.
Sword Art Online: MMO role playing game.

Created by:
Accel World: Anonymously created 7 years ago.
Sword Art Online: Akihiko Kayaba. Released in November 2022.

World type:
Accel World: Futuristic sci-fi.
Sword Art Online: Fantasy adventure.

Battle mechanism:
Accel World: Set of special skills based on the avatar.
Sword Art Online: Swords and shields.

How to log in:
Accel World: A programme called Brain Burst must be installed.
Sword Art Online: A helmet called NerveGear is needed to access the world.

Goal of the game:
Accel World: Obtain Burst Points for real world acceleration abilities.
Sword Art Online: Complete all 100 floors in the game and defeat the final boss.

Life and death matter implications:
Accel World: If a player loses all his/her Burst Points, Brain Burst will automatically uninstall and never to be installed in that person ever again. He/She will also lose all memories pertaining to his/her time and experience playing the game.
Sword Art Online: Ever since the log out button has been discarded, players have no way of escaping the game unless they clear all the floors and defeat the final boss. If their in-game health drops to zero, not only their character will die but their body in real life will also die.

Avatar creation:
Accel World: Players cannot choose their avatar or nickname. They are automatically chosen based on your subconscious of negative emotions. All avatars have some sort of colour in their name.
Sword Art Online: Players can freely choose which class and name they wish for their avatar. However during the shut-out, players lose their avatar appearance and revert to their real life looks.

Other world:
Accel World: Akihabara Battle Grounds is a neutral fighting arena.
Sword Art Online: After SAO has been cleared and destroyed, another company took over and developed another MMORPG called Alfheim Online (ALO) where player assume the appearance of fairies.

The hero:
Accel World: Haruyuki Arita.
Sword Art Online: Kazuto Kirigaya.

His alias/nickname:
Accel World: Silver Crow.
Sword Art Online: Kirito and initially Beater (Beta + Cheater).

Previously he was:
Accel World: A bully victim.
Sword Art Online: A beta tester for SAO before its official release.

His sister:
Accel World: Well, Niko did for a short while pretended to be his lovely sister…
Sword Art Online: Suguha.

The heroine:
Accel World: Black Snow Princess.
Sword Art Online: Asuna Yuuki.

Her alias/nickname:
Accel World: Black Lotus.
Sword Art Online: Asuna. Titania In ALO.

She almost died
Accel World: When Black Snow accelerated and saved Haruyuki from getting into a car accident and she ended up in a coma.
Sword Art Online: Asuna takes a blow from Heathcliff meant for Kirito. I don’t know what happened since the world also ended at the same time, somehow the players logged out and Asuna is somewhat saved.

Allies/Comrades (selected):
Accel World: Takumu Mayuzumi, Chiyuri Kurashima, Yuniko “Niko” Kouzuki AKA Scarlet Rain and Blood Leopard.
Sword Art Online: Klein, Andrew Gilbert Mills AKA Agil, Yui and Suguha Kirigaya AKA Leafa.

Main antagonists:
Accel World: Chrome Disaster and Seiji Noumi AKA Dusk Taker.
Sword Art Online: Kuradeel, Heathcliff and King Oberon.

Moe loli girl:
Accel World: Niko – when she puts on her cute loli act of course.
Sword Art Online: Silica and Yui.

The tsundere:
Accel World: Niko and Black Snow.
Sword Art Online: Asuna and Leafa.

NPC creatures:
Accel World: In the Unlimited Neutral Field, there are randomly spawned beasts called Enemy and defeating them allows Burst Linkers to obtain some Burst Points.
Sword Art Online: There are low level beasts that players can kill to gain experience points and some higher ones that posses some challenge. Other tougher monsters are usually level bosses.

A.I. Tamed:
Accel World: Black Lotus managed to tame the legendary dragon Enemy called Nidhogg.
Sword Art Online: Aincrad’s artificial intelligence, Yui considers Kirito as her father and Asuna her mother.

Skull character:
Accel World: Ash Roller.
Sword Art Online: Skull Reaper.

Megane character:
Accel World: Takumu.
Sword Art Online: Nobuyuki Sugou.
Sighs… No megane female character…?

Groups:
In the game, many players can form groups among themselves.
Accel World: Not necessarily confined by their avatar colours, Burst Linkers can form groups called Legions but ultimately they are led by the 6 Kings of Pure Colour. Our hero and heroine’s Legion is Nega Nebulus also comprising of Takumu, Chiyuri and subsequently Sky Raker.
Sword Art Online: Players are free to join any guilds they create among themselves. The most powerful guild is Knights of the Blood. Our hero and heroine are currently solo players although they form a party together. Asuna was once from Knights of the Blood but left after a near-death incident.

In-game deaths (selected):
Accel World: The previous Red King and Noumi – in the sense he got Brain Burst uninstalled.
Sword Art Online: Sachi, Godfree and Kuradeel.

Training:
Accel World: Haruyuki sees Sky Raker to undergo training on how to use Incarnate System.
Sword Art Online: Kirito secretly trains when nobody is looking so he could perfect his Dual Blades technique, a Unique Skill.

I believe I can fly:
Accel World: Silver Crow develops wings and is the only flying avatar. Though subsequently, Dusk Taker steals this ability before Haruyuki takes it back.
Sword Art Online: In the world of ALO, everyone’s avatar is a fairy but even though they have wings, they only have a limited flight time.

Defection:
Accel World: Chiyuri teams up with Noumi but is just a ploy to increase her special move gauge, which is to rewind time so as to return Haruyuki’s lost wings. The higher the gauge, the longer the length of time she could rewind.
Sword Art Online: In ALO, Sigurd of the Sylphs tries to sell out his own clan to reborn himself as a Salamander. Fortunately it fell through and he was exiled.

Paralysis:
Accel World: Sky Raker is paralyzed from waist downwards.
Sword Art Online: Kuradeel poisons and paralyzes Godfree and Kirito so he could kill them.

Can’t clear the game:
Accel World: When the kings reached level 9 and learnt the harsh rules needed to fulfil to reach the ultimate level 10, they form a non-aggression pact. Instead of fighting among themselves, they divided their territories to rule.
Sword Art Online: In ALO, though the goal of the game is to reach the top of the World Tree and meet the Fairy King and be reborn as a true fairy to have unlimited flight duration, it is discovered the hard way by Kirito when he fought his way through the waves of enemies and reaching the top only to be discovered this game wasn’t meant to be cleared because he can’t open the door to the next level. Total bummer…

Heroine away, out of action:
Accel World: When Black Snow is away at Okinawa for her school field trip, Haruyuki and co try to put a stop to Noumi’s cruelty. Eventually she returns to save the day.
Sword Art Online: In ALO, Asuna lies in coma in a hospital as her mind is being held prisoner. Kirito and Yui join forces with Suguha to save and free her.

Romance between our hero and heroine:
Accel World: Although it is very clear that they like each other very much, they still maintain the master-disciple relationship. Come on, when are you going to say it already… I don’t think they even kissed. Just her black butterfly avatar and his little piggy one…
Sword Art Online: The duo officially become a couple in the game itself and for real after Asuna wakes up from her imprisonment coma. They kissed a few on time of several occasions.

Unrequited love:
Accel World: Chiyuri for Haruyuki.
Sword Art Online: Suguha for Kirito, Lisbeth AKA Liz for Kirito. Silica for Kirito. Man, this guy is popular… Also, Nagata AKA Recon for Suguha.

Number of episodes:
Accel World: 24 TV episodes and 2 extra episodes.
Sword Art Online: 25 TV episodes.

Extra/Specials:
Accel World: 8 short clips called Accel World x (where x is the special episode number).
Sword Art Online: 9 short clips called Sword Art Offline.

Studio:
Accel World: Sunrise.
Sword Art Online: A-1 Pictures.

Music type:
Accel World: Mostly rock and techno.
Sword Art Online: Mainly anime pop.

Conclusion:
Personally, I prefer Sword Art Online to Accel World firstly because of the various beautiful fantasy worlds that were shown. My mind would easily get immersed in those settings and even after finishing watching the episode, I would still linger on and daydream a little if I could explore such realms. Although I love the fighting game genre, somehow there weren’t enough tantalizing fights as I hope there would since the series was more focused on the drama at hand. The fights felt as the last resort to solve everything. Besides, the sci-fi stuffs didn’t really click with me. Besides, Kirito looks more badass compared to wimpy Haruyuki. Heck, the characters in Sword Art Online look much better and prettier compared to their counterparts in Accel World. Both series also had their terms and jargons but I still find those in Accel World to be a little harder to comprehend. And more importantly, Sword Art Online ended with our main battle couple as well, a real couple but it is not clear for the other duo. Since there were many personal online worlds create at the end of Sword Art Online as seen, hopefully they would make one that combines my favourite fighting genre like Accel World. That would probably be my ultimate gaming fantasy. For now, just keep dreaming…

Sword Art Online

If you have a chance to play a real fantasy RPG game, and I mean a real virtual experience of an RPG game, would you do so? You get to fight epic battles against powerful mythical creatures. You get to visit exotic places and explore the mystical lands. You get to meet different characters of different classes and races. You get to purchase and earn rare items. Sell them. Exchange them. You get to increase your skills and other statistics that will increase your overall aptitude. Wow. And you get to do all of it not by just dreaming and confined in your little head. Sounds like a dream too good to be true at least in the real world for now. If Sword Art Online ever existed, I would really like to try my hands at it.

I may not be obsessed with the fantasy genre but it is still one of my favourites because of the hectic and mundane routines of the real world, it is like another world that I can escape to. I would love to spend some time exploring another world or even an alternate universe but let’s not get so deep into this far-fetched dream of mine. Before I start realizing the harsh reality and disappointment start hitting me, let me be thankful that at least an anime is being made about this. At least I get to watch it. And then continue dreaming… Of course there are lots of other fantasy anime genres out there and also those that have RPG elements. But unlike the rest, this one gives the impression that you (at least for the characters in the anime), as an ordinary gamer can delve into such world and setting. All you need to do is have lots of free time and just put on some helmet to take you to this exotic world.

All may seem cool for this experience but there is seems to be a catch. What happens when you suddenly find yourself unable to leave? You are playing this dangerous RPG game with your real life! If you die in this world, you die for real. Well, games are supposed to relieve you from stress and make you feel good but I think people would take things more seriously if they have to put their life on the line. No second chance. Think before you act or death awaits you. That is what Sword Art Online has become and has caught many by surprise when it is first released. The unfortunate gamers will have to fight their way through several floors and defeat the big bosses if they want to free themselves. Otherwise, you are either stuck in here for a very long time till somebody wins the game or you die. Now do you take this game seriously?

Episode 1
A long queue is seen as eager fans are lining up (even to days prior) to buy the internationally renowned SAO game, a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). Kirito isn’t one of those in line but because he was a Beta tester of this game, he hooks up to SAO in the comfort of his home. Many players too have already hooked up in this virtual world. Kirito meets a newbie, Klein who can tell he is a Beta and hopes he could teach him the basics. Despite this game is RPG, there is no magic involved and fights are based on weapons. Klein learns Kirito despite being a Beta only managed to reach the eighth floor (out of hundred) and it took him 2 months to do so. Plus, there are only a thousand people invited to play SAO. When Klein wants to log out, he couldn’t find that button. Could this be a bug? Kirito can’t find his too. Kirito could wait till someone pulls the NerveGear helmet (the helmet that sends them into this virtual world) off. However Klein lives alone… Or they could wait till someone forcibly reboots the system and disconnects everyone. Suddenly everyone is transported to the main square. A cloak figure hovers from above identifying himself as Akihiko Kayaba. He is this game’s creator. He tells them they can’t log out and any forcible removal of the helmet will send some microwave radar to the brain. In short, you die. As proof there has been 200 over players in the real world falling victim to this and news around the world are being spread. From now on, resurrection is no longer possible. When your health points reaches zero, you die for real. They are now at the lowest floor (the first) and can move on to the next once they defeat the floor’s boss. Once they reach the hundredth and defeat the final boss, the game is considered cleared. He then turns everyone’s avatar as their true selves. Holy sh*t! Lots of men impersonating as girls! I guess that’s what MMORPG stands for: Many Men Online Role Playing as Girls! Haha! Now that the tutorial for SAO has been completed, please enjoy the game. Hell no! The crowd starts panicking. Kirito remembers Kayaba the person he admired once announced that SAO’s world won’t be all fun and games and will be a reality. I guess he wasn’t lying. Kirito wants to head to the next town and gather as much resources available. He hopes Klein would come with him as a group. However he is worried about his other friends who stood in line to buy SAO and wants to go look for them. Kirito goes off alone. After a month, the first floor isn’t cleared and 2000 deaths have already occurred.

Episode 2
Kirito attends a conference led by Diabel who claims his party has found the room containing the first floor’s boss. He wants people to gather into groups of six. Kirito makes a pact with a hooded loner, Asuna. A player, Kibaou jumps on stage to accuse Beta players for abandoning players like them by monopolizing stuffs and prioritizing themselves. He won’t trust such people. Andrew Gilbert “Agil” Mills stands up to explain that everybody was given a guidebook on the world. Yet many died. Kibaou takes a backseat. The book also contains information of the first floor’s boss, Kobold. That night Kirito talks to Asuna. She feels joining a party and doing something is better than doing nothing and rotting away at this starting point. The next day everyone marches to Kobold’s lair. As per in their guidebook, the kangaroo boss moves in the way as they expected. Diabel is going in for the kill when Kirito realizes Kobold is making a move not stated in the book. Diabel takes a massive blow. Kirito wanted to heal him but he refuses and hopes he will defeat the boss for everyone. Diabel dies and everyone else is in disarray. Kirito and Asuna team up to fight Kobold and finally finish the big bad boss. Everyone celebrate and praises Kirito. Till Kibaou blames him for letting Diabel die. Had he shared what he knew beforehand, he wouldn’t have died. He accuses Kirito for knowing Kobold’s patterns and yet he didn’t tell them. This means he is a Beta. Fearing this would lead to another discrimination, Kirito starts laughing that he isn’t on that same level with those amateurs who don’t even know how to level up. He claims he has fought lots more enemies in the higher floors and knows a lot more. Kibaou labels him as a cheater. Kirito thinks it’s a nice name for being called a Beater (Beta + cheater). He goes alone to the next floor and dissolves his partnership with Asuna but tells her to join a guild if someone trustworthy invites her.

Episode 3
Several months later, Kirito finds himself joining a group called Black Cats. They are grateful for him for saving them. Kirito bonds with the members as they go hunting and gaining experience points through the floors. Kirito manages to see Klein in a guild but they didn’t say much. One night, a member of Black Cats, Sachi is missing. Kirito finds her sitting alone in the sewer. She is scared of dying. Kirito calms her down and promises to protect her and Black Cats. The group’s leader, Keita decides to go buy house with the amount of money they made. So the rest decide to go earn more money. Trekking through the dungeons, they find a secret door containing a treasure chest. But it is all a trap and they become locked in and surrounded by monsters. Slowly each of them got killed including Sachi. Kirito was the only survivor. When he tells Keita about it, he became so devastated that he committed suicide!!! Kirito becomes withdrawn, guilt-ridden and seeks out a boss called Nicholas the Renegade believed to possess a miracle item that could resurrect others. Had he not lied about his level to Black Cats, it could have been avoided. He could have heard Sachi’s last words. As he is seeking Nicholas, Klein and his guild followed him and he hopes Kirito would join them. They realize the Divine Dragon Alliance guild has followed them as they seek that item too so Klein and co stave them off so Kirito could search for Nicholas. Finally there is this giant Santa dude. Kirito becomes a bloodthirsty berserker in killing him. When Kirito returns to Klein, he seems disappointed. Worse, disillusioned, disheartened and lifeless. Apparently the resurrection item must be used on the dead within the next 10 seconds otherwise it is just another piece of junk. Could you not understand his frustration? As Kirito wallows in guilt on Christmas Eve, a message from Sachi pops up. If he is reading this message it means she has already died. She knows she will die one day but doesn’t want Kirito to lose hope and blame himself for her death. She knew his true level and was glad to know how strong he was. She hopes he would live on to find the meaning of the creation of this game and even perhaps her own weak existence. She sings the Rudolph song as her final present (only tear eyes, no red nose). Her final words were thank you and goodbye.

Episode 4
Rosalia demands Silica to hand over her healing potion. She caves in to her provocation and then leaves her party. But she’s having it tough going solo. She ran out of healing potion and her familiar, Pina died. She was about to meet the same fate too but was saved by Kirito. He tells her a flower in the upper floors that can resurrect Pina. However it must be done within 3 days of the familiar’s death and that the flower only appears before a beast tamer (Silica’s class). Kirito agrees to help her get it. Why? Because he looks like his sister. Don’t laugh… In town, they come across Rosalia and her men. She continues to mock Silica but Kirito snubs her. Kirito later explains that some people in RPG find their thrill in becoming villains. Good players have green indicators, orange for those who committed crimes and red for murder. Back at the inn as they discuss their plan to get the flower, Kirito senses someone eavesdropping on them but the culprit fled before Kirito could take action. Next day as they set out to get the flower, Silica wants to know more about his sister. Apparently they are cousins but lived together. Their grandpa was strict and when Kirito quit kendo, he was beaten up. But his sister vowed to practice hard for his share and advanced through the levels. Kirito felt guilty for taking away her freedom and thought helping her out was like some sort of atonement.

After they retrieve the flower and return to town, Kirito senses someone following them. Turns out to be Rosalia. She wants Silica to hand over the flower. Kirito knows her as the leader of the orange guild, Titan’s Hand. Her indicator is green because she leads her prey to orange indicator members. It was one of them who eavesdropped on them yesterday. Silica realized Rosalia was accessing her when she partied with her. Kirito’s real mission is to look for Rosalia. Days ago he heard her guild had killed members of another guild but left the leader alive. He overheard the leader pleading to others to avenge his friends. Not by killing them but to throw them into prison. Rosalia doesn’t care and sets her men upon them. When they realize they are up against Kirito, they know him as the Black Swordsman and part of the clearing group. Rosalia doesn’t believe and orders them to attack. However despite all them attacking at once and at full force, they couldn’t leave a scratch on him because his life bar replenishes. Kirito reveals he is level 78, has health regeneration doing battle and HP of 14,500!!! Woah! So their 400 damage per every 10 seconds is nothing. He shows a warp crystal his client bought down to his last penny that will take them all to prison. Rosalia is not cowed but Kirito’s speed ambushes her and points his sword at her neck. As a solo player, he doesn’t mind having an orange indicator for a day or two. Later Kirito apologizes to Silica that he used her as bait to lure Rosalia. He thought she would be scared if he told her. She notes him as a good and amazing person but to him levels are just numbers and strength here is only an illusion. He hopes they can meet in the real world next time. Silica resurrects Pina and hopes to tell her amazing adventure with Kirito to it.

Episode 5
Asuna is part of the strongest guilds Knights of Blood and is the vice commander. I don’t think Kirito is part of the group because he is also in her guild’s meeting for some mission. They share opposing views in taking down NPCs. Kirito still views them of having lives but Asuna doesn’t. Later Kirito relaxes in the meadows seeing it’s a nice weather. Asuna listens to his advice and sleeps next to him. Nice nap she had, didn’t she? She wakes up and feels embarrassed he was watching over her and forces him to make up by treating her to a meal. She thanks him for guarding her because even though they are in safe zones, there are cases where players can be killed. Though players can fight each other through a duel, one can take advantage of the other who is sleeping by using the other’s finger to accept the duel request and then strike them till their life points reach zero. Suddenly they hear a scream. They see a guy being hung through a church window and a spear impaled deep in his chest. Before they can save him, he dies. They look around and couldn’t find the culprit. There is no winner notification and everyone’s indicator is green. They step up to ask if anyone around have any details. Yoruko, the girl who screamed earlier tells them that she was supposed to meet up with the killed guy, Kains. They were once in the same guild and supposed to meet for dinner when they got separated before this happened. She thought she saw someone behind him before his death but didn’t look familiar. Kirito asks if anybody would want Kains dead and she hesitated in answering. Kirito and Asuna lack the Appraisal skill so they go see Agil who runs a merchant sword to analyze the spear. Seems it is made by a player named Grimrock and there is nothing strange about this Guilty Thorn. Kirito wanted to stab his own hand to test but Asuna stops him. Somebody just died with that and feels it is better to leave it in Agil’s hands.

The duo go talk to Yoruko once more and tells her about Guilty Thorn. She decides to explain the possible reason behind this. She didn’t yesterday as she doesn’t want to relive the trauma. She was from a guild called Golden Apple. They defeated a rare boss and earned a ring that could increase their agility. The members were divided in using it or to sell it. In the end, they voted and the outcome was 5-3 in favour of selling. The guild’s leader, Griselda took the ring to town to sell but never returned. It is found out she was killed. Grimrock is her husband. They are only married in-game. Learning that Yoruko and Kains voted against selling, they think if Grimrock is the murder, he must be out to avenge Griselda’s death. The other person who voted against selling is Schmidt who is now part of Divine Dragon Alliance. Soon they bring Schmidt to talk to Yoruko. He is clearly troubled that Griselda’s death happened 6 months ago and it is only now that Kains got murdered. Yoruko had done some thinking. She thinks Griselda is taking revenge. Since killing in a safe area is not possible, she must have returned as a ghost! Is she serious? We can see she’s going mad about it. She feels guilty that they should not have voted. They should have let Griselda made the decision and Grimrock was the only one who thought of that. She feels everyone is responsible for her death and that’s why Grimrock is out to avenge her. Suddenly a dagger stabs Yoruko from behind.

Episode 6
Kirito goes after the caped assassin but he disappears via teleport. When he returns, Schmitt goes crazy thinking Griselda is back as a ghost for revenge. Kirito doesn’t think so because if she was really a ghost, why the need to teleport? Schmitt seeks forgiveness at Griselda’s grave when he is surprised to see Griselda and Grimrock before him. They make him reveal what he did on the day they auctioned the ring. He found a crystal and memo in his pouch with instructions to get access to Griselda’s room. He doesn’t know whom the instructions are from. Griselda and Grimrock reveal their faces and they turn out to be Yoruko and Kains. Kirito talks to Asuna and realizes that deaths in safe areas are not possible. They have been seeing things. He observes that only objects expire. When Kains’ armour was impaled, it was his armour that is fading away. When its durability reaches to zero, he teleport away to make it look like he died. As for Yoruko, she had a dagger stabbed on her back all the time. She never showed them her back. When the dagger is about to expire, she made it as though she was stabbed. The caped assassin was probably Kains. By making rumours of deaths in safe areas, they hope to find the culprit behind the ring incident. Yoruko has recorded Schmitt’s statement when they are attacked by a guild called Laughing Coffin. They are about to kill them but Kirito arrives in time. They retreat when Kirito calls a bluff that reinforcements will arrive. Yoruko apologizes for lying as Kirito explains that Grimrock reluctantly made them weapons not for Griselda’s sake but the thought that if they staged something outrageous and attracted attention of many, someone would eventually figure things out.

He only realized something like that while talking to Asuna about in-game marriages. This allows their storage compartment items to be viewable by both married players. Thus with Griselda’s death, the ring is in Grimrock’s storage instead of the murderer. Grimrock didn’t murder Griselda himself and probably hired a red player to do it. Because Yoruko and Kains explained their plan to him, he used their plan to bury them forever by eliminating them when they’re together. Asuna brings Grimrock to them. He admits he killed her not for the money. They are married in real life. She was an ideal wife. When they entered the game, she changed. While he became panicky and cowardly, she turned the opposite by becoming lively and energetic. He didn’t want his ideal perception of her to shatter and thus killed her to preserve that. Grimrock doesn’t expect Kirito to understand but he will one day when he’s about to lose the love he just obtained. Asuna dismisses that he loves Griselda because he merely treasures her as his possession. This made Grimrock realize his mistake. His friends take him away and they’ll handle it from here. Before Asuna and Kirito leave, they thought they saw Griselda standing by her grave. Asuna suggests that they add each other to their friend’s contact list although this is technically not forming a party with each other.

Episode 7
Lizbeth or Liz for short runs a blacksmith shop. She just finished forging Asuna’s sword and thinks she is off to meet her special someone. She hopes she too will find that special someone of hers. Soon Kirito comes in and wants to request a custom made sword on par with Elucidator, a sword so good that it can be considered as a cursed sword. She gives him her best sword so he tests it out and it broke! This upsets Liz. Furthermore she thinks Kirito insulted her skills when he thought the sword was weak. She has him to go gather a rare metal to build the sword he wants. He wanted to do this himself (because she might slow him down) but she insists on tagging along. On the frozen level with crystals, Kirito fights a dragon while Liz is ordered to stay hidden. She accidentally steps out and the dragon blows her away. She falls into a deep hole. Kirito dives down to save her. Thankfully they are still breathing at the bottom. Teleport crystals won’t work so Kirito runs up the walls! If it wasn’t this slippery, he might have got out. They spend the night down in the hole as Liz holds his hands and notices how warm it is. Next morning, she sees him digging out a metal ingot, the material they’re supposed to get. She realizes the ingot is dragon poo because they eat crystals, which gets processed in its stomach and then comes out as excretion. So which means they’re in a dragon’s den, right? Dragons are nocturnal. Look who is coming back?

Kirito in his superb acrobatic manoeuvres grabs Liz with one hand and rides the dragon till it reaches high up in the sky. Liz is so amazed at this and the beautiful sight that she confesses she loves him. But the wind made it hard for him to hear. A happy hug will do. Liz forges the strongest sword with her heart for him. She hopes she will confess to him when it’s done. Kirito is satisfied with it. Liz wants him to make her his exclusive blacksmith. He should come back here every day to maintain his equipment. I think Kirito gets what she is trying to say. Before the big confession, Asuna leaps in as she was worried about Liz after hearing about her crazy adventure. When Liz learns they both know each other and that Asuna was the one who recommended Kirito her shop, she felt devastated. I guess she can see it. We can see it too. She puts up a strong front and hints she will support Asuna. Then she bolts out of the door. Kirito finds her crying alone by the bridge. He thanks her for making him realize that everyone in this world is trying to live (he commented on her question before on why he saved her: It was better to die together than die alone). Liz hopes Kirito can bring an end to this world, though she wants his warmth to remain just a little longer.

Episode 8
It has been 2 years since people playing SAO are trapped. Kirito finds a rare S-class rabbit meat in the forest. He takes it back to Agil to appraise it and it seems Kirito has got himself a very prized rabbit meat. Care to sell or share it? Kirito needs somebody to cook it. Then comes in Asuna. Chef problem solved. Learning he has this meat, Asuna wants half of it! Sorry, Agil. Kirito will write him an 800-word essay on how good it tastes. The best place to do it is at her home but Asuna’s comrade, Kuradeel doesn’t approve of it and is suspicious. Besides, Asuna notes Kirito’s level is 10 times higher than his. Kuradeel realizes Kirito is the Beater and tries to run him down as untrustworthy and dangerous. However Asuna dismisses him for today. Back at home, Asuna cooks the meat. If only cooking was this easy. It turns out the way you want at just the tip of your fingers. The meat doesn’t disappoint as they talk about the passing years. Everyone has gotten used to this world and probably don’t care about the real one anymore. Lesser and lesser people in the clearing group is proof of this. Still, Asuna wants to return to reality since she has things to do. Asuna worries for Kirito since he is a solo player. Her experience tells her that recently higher level bosses are increasing in irregular behaviour. She invites him to join her. He is forced to since she is pointing the knife at him. Next morning, Kirito waits for her and Asuna comes crashing onto him via portal. She is running away from Kuradeel who seems to have taken the responsibility to watch her outside her home. Like a stalker. He thinks it’s his duty to protect her? Can’t he tell she finds it creepy? He tries to take her back with him to their headquarters but Kirito lays his hands off her and says Asuna will be accompanying him today and will assure her safety. Kuradeel doesn’t trust him and challenges him to a duel to prove his skill. In their first strike, Kirito breaks his sword upon contact. I guess the winner is clear. Kuradeel won’t accept this and chooses another weapon but is stopped by Asuna this time. She uses her position to order him to head back to headquarters alone. Despite not happy about this humiliation, he is forced to do so. The duo then go dungeon hunting and end up before a boss room. Knowing boss monsters don’t leave the room they guard, they are just going to take a peek and get their teleport crystal ready just in case. Upon opening the door, they see the demonic Gleam Eyes.

Episode 9
The duo make a mad dash for the exit. Don’t rush in without proper preparations. They stop and take a break as Kirito tastes her awesome lunch. She must have improved in her cooking a lot. Asuna is suspicious of Kirito’s skill because he only uses a sword in his fight. People have 2 hands, right? Shouldn’t he be using a shield in the other? Besides, he hasn’t been using Liz’s sword either. They are surprised to see Klein and his guild. They are surprised to see a lone player with Asuna. Are they big fans of Asuna? Klein is trying to hint he is looking for a girlfriend, only to be punched in the gut by Kirito. The Aincrad Freedom Army approaches them. They are the reigning guild of the 1st floor but suffered massive losses on the 25th and went on to strengthen the guild instead of clearing floors. The leader Kovats asks them for the floor’s mapping for free since it is their goal to distribute to all resources equally to players. Kirito will not kick up a fuss since he intends to do that later and doesn’t do his profiting from map data. But he warns not to fight this floor’s boss. Numbers will not do and his tired men are in no shape to fight. Hope he listens. As they continue fighting lower floor monsters, they start to hear screams from the boss room. I guess the Army got hasty and went to fight Gleam Eyes. They get pulverized. So when Kovats dies, Asuna couldn’t take it anymore when Gleam Eyes is going to start killing the weakened men. She charges in only to receive a serious blow. Kirito runs in to cover for her. When he realizes the Army can’t escape because they can’t use their teleport crystal, it brings back haunting memories of Sachi and her guild’s death. He hesitates but needs to buck up. So after Klein and Asuna give him the much needed distraction, Kirito unleashes his skill, this time using Liz’s sword to power up greatly and slash Gleam Eyes with great speed. Both sides take enormous damage slashing one another but in the end, Kirito emerges victorious. His life is bloody close to danger that I think the next slight hit, he will die!

When Kirito comes to, emotional Asuna hugs him. Klein asks him about that superb skill. It seems he has this unique skill that nobody has and that is wielding 2 swords at once. He never said a thing because there will be other players who will be jealous. And after a long time, Asuna continues to cling on to him. She was scared he was going to die. She doesn’t know what to do if that happens. She tells him she is taking a temporary leave from her guild to party with him. Can’t say no. Don’t want to put her through another emotional ride. Kirito talks to Agil and he notes how news of his heroic skills has spread. Yeah, he has no more peace because everyone seems to be bugging him for info on it. But there is more bad news. Asuna takes Kirito to her guild’s headquarters. The commander, Heathcliff has high regards of Kirito ever since their boss raid on the 67th floor that nearly caused them to suffer casualties. He doesn’t like the idea that Kirito is ‘stealing’ Asuna who is a vital member away although Kirito points out he should have taken care in selecting better escorts for her. Heathcliff challenges Kirito to a duel and wants him to use his dual wielding. If Kirito wins, they will relinquish Asuna to him. Otherwise he must join Knights of Blood.

Episode 10
Asuna didn’t like how Kirito jump into a duel without thinking. Heathcliff has his own special skill too and some invincibility that breaks the game’s balance. Before the sell-out crowd, Kirito and Heathcliff clash swords at amazing speed. Heathcliff’s shield acts as an offensive too. Just when Kirito thought Heathcliff is wide open, then some accelerated time stopping effect has Heathcliff dodging it and pounce Kirito from the back. Heathcliff wins. So after all this while having Kirito dressed in black, it is odd to see him dress in white. Asuna wants to know why he became a solo player so he explains his experience with Black Cats and how he was responsible for their deaths. Asuna hugs him and promises she won’t die and will protect him. Asuna’s comrade, Godfree takes Kirito on a training stint to assess his skills. The other comrade is Kuradeel who seems to regret what he has done and promise never to do it again. At the canyon as they are taking a break, Kirito suddenly realizes something wrong with the rations. Godfree and Kirito became paralyzed from the water’s poison. Kuradeel reveals his evil façade and starts killing Godfree. Now he turns his attention to kill Kirito. He is a point away from permanent death when Asuna blasts Kuradeel away. Phew. In the nick of time. She was monitoring them when she noticed Godfree’s signal marker vanished and knew was something wrong. Asuna then slices and dices Kuradeel. He begs for his life but it was just a feint. When she lets her guard down, he knocks away her sword and prepares to kill her. Kirito has been freed from his paralysis and blocks the attack at the expense of losing his left hand. Then he stabs Kuradeel to kill him for good. Asuna becomes emotional but he calms her down with a kiss. They promise to be together till the end. After having dinner at Asuna’s place, she turns off the lights and starts stripping!!! Is there a skill for sex too?! Kirito clears up the misunderstanding this is not what he meant when he said he wanted to spend the night with her. Asuna got so embarrassed that she knocks him out. Hope he didn’t lose lots of health points for that. The duo want to stay away from the battle lines for the time being because they’re scared something will happen again if they head straight back. Kirito suggests living in a small picturesque village at the 22nd floor and proposes they get married.

Episode 11
Heathcliff is told what happened so he grants Asuna temporary leave from the guild. But he cautions they can’t stay away from the battle lines for long. The duo live out their dream life. Nice house. Nice scenery. Man, they get to play family in this virtual world. When Kirito wonders if their relationship is limited to this world, Asuna tells him everything they learnt and experienced here were real. Even if they return to their real world, she will come look for him. To prove that, she kisses him. The duo continue to have fun and as Kirito gives her ride on his shoulder, he tries to scare her with a ghost rumour in the woods. So happens Asuna saw that ghostly figure before her (because she is high up)! Upon closer inspection, this isn’t a ghost but a little girl who soon collapses. They bring her back to their home as they ponder her identity. Due to circumstances, she can’t be a NPC and the most possible explanation is that she may be a lost player (unlike other players, she lacks a cursor). Next morning, she opens her eyes. Although amnesiac, she remembers her name as Yui. Since she is having a hard time pronouncing Kirito and Asuna’s name, she calls them papa and mama respectively. Great. Now they are like a real family. And so the trio play family and Asuna is in a dilemma because she wants to protect her till her memories return. The fastest way to do that is to rejoin the battle and clear the floors. They will do what they can for now and head back to the first floor. It is much deserted and only a big chunk of the Army remains. Along the way, they hear a commotion. The Army is harassing Sasha and a group of children to pay up taxes. With Kirito and Asuna jumping in, Asuna slashes the leader to put some fear in him. In safe zones, one’s life points don’t get depleted. They flee like cowards once they realize her superior skills. Just when they thought everything is over, Yui starts spouting something about everybody’s heart. She begins to shiver in fear that this is not where she is supposed to be. She was always alone in a dark place. Some sort of noise disturbance rocks the place temporarily before Yui falls unconscious.

Episode 12
Though Yui is back to normal, Sasha doesn’t recognize Yui as she doesn’t live in this part in town. When SAO first started, there were many traumatized kids so Sasha can’t abandon them and took them in to this church. Yuriel from the Army then comes in looking for them. She’s not here to reprimand them but to seek their help. She explains their leader Thinker never wanted the guild to turn oppressive but it was inevitable as it grew larger. Amidst the internal struggle, Kibaou rose to power and his faction began monopolizing hunting grounds and such. But when people start noticing he was neglecting clearing the floors, he dispatched a group to the front lines (Kovats’ group). The failure causes him to be reprimanded and to be exiled but desperate Kibaou lured Thinker into a trap and is now trapped deep within the dungeons on this floor without any teleport crystal. Yuriel is sad that as Thinker’s aide she couldn’t do anything. She doesn’t have the power to save him. Asking the Army would be impossible due to Kibaou’s influence so when she heard Kirito and Asuna turning up here, she immediately went to seek their help. Yui can tell she is not lying so Kirito and Asuna agree to assist her. But Yui wants to come along despite being told to stay back at the church. Trekking through the underground dungeon that Kirito never knew existed even during his beta testing, it might have become available when higher floors were cleared. When they nearly arrive at a safe zone where Thinker is taking refuge, happy Yuriel rushes to meet him, not noticing calls from all sides to stay back. She was almost beheaded by a monster grim reaper’s scythe. Thank God for Kirito’s swift action. Kirito wants to be a hero and tells everyone else to teleport out but I guess Asuna wants to share the limelight of being the hero. This monster’s power is unknown and so crazily high his power that a single blow sends the duo flying away and taking lots of damage. Yui suddenly gets in front of the monster and her strong barrier makes him unable to cut Yui down. She summons a flaming sword to destroy him in one fell swoop.

Now that her memories have returned, it’s time to explain. SAO is controlled by a massive system that was designed to function without human maintenance. This system is called Cardinal. Everything from AIs to NPCs are managed by Cardinal. Including mental health counselling programme. Yui is the code name for that programme. She’s just an AI. In order to effectively interact with players, she was given the emotion ability. But 2 years ago when the game started, Cardinal ordered her not to interact with any players. She was reduced to just monitoring players’ health. She saw lots of people devastated to the point of being driven to insanity when they learn the game was life and death. This caused Yui to accumulate errors until she broke down. One day she noticed 2 exceptional people with exceptional mental health and wanted to go see them. They are Kirito and Asuna. That’s how she ended up there. Asuna says her actions make her human but Yui insists everything about her is fake. Although her wish is to forever be with them, she can’t now. In this safe zone, there is this console that allows GMs emergency access to the system. She used this to destroy the monster. Since she disobeyed Cardinal’s order, she is considered a foreign object and will be deleted. Asuna becomes emotional trying to cling on to the very last bit of her. Yui accepts her fate and wants them to save everyone in their stead. Yui is gone. Asuna is heartbroken. Kirito is mad. He hacks into the console but was thrown away. He gives Asuna a little tear shaped item. Before Yui’s admin authority was disabled, he managed to free her from the main programme and converted her into an object. That item is Yui’s heart. Asuna wears it as a necklace and is confident she will see Yui again. After all, Yui’s data is stored in Kirito’s NerveGear and although it will be hard to render it properly in the real world, he is sure something will work out.

Episode 13
While fishing, Kirito meets an old guy named Nishida. He is an expert fisher though his real job in the real world is IT security director for this game. Nishida easily makes his catch but laments the lack of soy sauce to cook it the way he wants. Till Kirito tells him they have homemade soy sauce. Seems Kirito has no luck in the lake because it doesn’t have many fish as it houses a king. Nishida has been targeting to catch it and wants Kirito’s help. Next day, a large crowd gathers to support Nishida’s attempt to catch the king. After he casts his bait and it hooks, he switches with Kirito who uses his super strength to reel it out. However everyone starts running away because the king is a monster fish! It’s walking on land too! Asuna easily kills it with a single slash. She is mobbed by the crowd and some of them being her fan. However Kirito gets a message from Heathcliff. The duo are supposed to go see him but Kirito is reluctant but Asuna at least wants to hear him out. Nishida accompanies them to the teleport gate and mentions ever since he is trapped in this world for 2 years, he took up fishing and always wondered if his company would want him even if they got out. In short, he has abandoned reality. But Asuna relates how she felt the same too until she met Kirito who showed her how he enjoyed life here. It made her realize she wasn’t losing her days in the real world because she is living them out here. He is the meaning of her 2 years here and proof why she is alive.

Meeting Heathcliff, he tells them the scouting party he sent was wiped out. The first group entered the boss room. The door locked and they couldn’t get out with teleport crystals. After some time when the door reopened, the room was empty. There was nobody around, not even the boss. Heathcliff’s option is to try again but with a larger force. Kirito agrees to help out but warns if Asuna’s life is in danger, he will abandon the party and save her. Heathcliff view him as strong because he has something to protect. Later Kirito wants Asuna to pull out and wait for him here. She is upset that he is going in alone. If news reaches her that he died, she will kill herself! She will have no more reason to live. Kirito admits he is panicking and wants to run away together now. Asuna also feels the same but has him think about their real bodies in the real world. By now it must be lying in hospital. Can you imagine the deterioration after all these years? Even if they clear this game can they really be together? All they can do now is fight. A large force gathers before the teleport gate. Klein and Agil have also joined to help out. When everyone enters the boss room and the door behind closes, all is quiet on the front. Too quiet. Then Asuna realizes something from above! The bony Skull Reaper swoops down from the ceiling and kills players in a single hit! It is fast, it is ferocious! No chance! You panic, you die! Noting if they intercept it together, they have a chance. The battle intensifies as everyone attacks it from all sides.

Episode 14
Skull Reaper is finally defeated with everyone’s cooperation. The casualty reports at 14 deaths and the tired players wonder if they can fight another 25 floors to clear this game. Kirito notices something odd on Heathcliff’s health bar and launches a surprise attack. A barrier protects him and to everyone’s surprise they see him possess an Immortal Object (something Kirito encountered during his fight with the monster grim reaper with Yui). This means Heathcliff’s health is protected by the system and can never go below the danger zone. Kirito deduces Heathcliff’s true identity as Kayaba because during their first duel of his over quick reflexes in which Kayaba mistakenly activated some quick assist mode. He admits that and also reveals he is supposed to be the last boss they’ll be facing on the final floor. His guild members felt betrayed and try to attack him but he induces paralysis into all of them except Kirito. As reward for discovering his identity, he offers him to fight one on one. Beat him now and the game will be considered cleared and a chance for all players to log out. Or else he’ll be waiting at the final floor. Despite pleas not to take this up, Kirito wants to settle this now. He plans to fight him to the death. However he has a request for Kayaba. In the event if he dies, he must promise that Asuna will not kill herself. The battle begins and Kirito knows he can only rely on his guts as Kayaba the game creator knows every combo there is. Kirito’s sword breaks and he resigns to his death fate.

Suddenly Asuna breaks free from her paralysis to take the slash. It can’t be true?! Asuna?! DEAD?! Distraught Kirito lacks the strength to fight back so Kayaba stabs him. Now he’s dead. But what’s this? His strong determination not to end this yet has him take the form of a spirit? At least that is what I’m seeing. Using his last ounce of strength, Kirito stabs Kayaba and they both killed each other. The game is cleared. Kirito finds himself floating among the clouds. Is this heaven? Well, Asuna is there too. Emotional reunion. They see the world crumbling as Kayaba explains the game will be totally deleted in 10 minutes. All 6,127 surviving players have successfully logged out. Those who died will never return no matter what world they are in. He explains the reason he did all this. Some floating steel castle Aincrad he believes in. He wanted to go to that castle and still believes it exists. Kirito and Asuna wait till their fates are sealed by spending their last moments together. Kirito reveals his real name as Kazuto Kirigaya while Asuna’s is Asuna Yuuki. She is a year older than him. He apologizes for not being able to send her back but she is happy to meet and live together with him. This is the happiest time of her life. The duo hug each other as world disappears. Kirito wakes up to find himself in hospital. Taking off his NerveGear helmet, despite very frail and weak, he limps out of bed to go look for Asuna.

Episode 15
Kirito and Asuna seems to be having a nice time together. Till this dream world rips apart. Another nightmare? Welcome back to reality. Ever since Kirito went into comatose state playing SAO. His sister, Suguha or Sugu for short had been by his side. So she’s quite happy now that he is moving again. Kirito has a demo kendo match with Sugu. They are both equally skilled but eventually Sugu takes the win. Careful not to hit his head too hard. He has just recovered. I guess he is still used to SAO world because he tries to put his sword on his back. Later he pays a visit to the hospital that Asuna is still laying comatose. As revealed, Kirito gave inside info to the government and in exchange they revealed Asuna’s whereabouts. Public outrage was still intense and hasn’t subsided. When the game ended, around 300 players still had not awakened and Asuna is one of them. Also visiting Asuna is her father and Nobuyuki Sugou, the guy in charge of the research institute of Asuna’s father. Mr Yuuki considers Sugou as family since his father is good friends with him. Sugou then has made his decision and plans to go ahead with it. This doesn’t sit well with Kirito. After Mr Yuuki leaves, he makes it clear to Kirito that he is supposed to marry Asuna. Because they can’t file for official marriage so he’ll be the family’s adopted son instead. Sugou knows Asuna has never liked him and will reject it if the subject of marriage is brought up. Of course from his stand this is extremely inconvenient. Sugou puts it that he is not taking advantage of comatose Asuna but rather considers it his legitimate right.

When the company that created SAO went bust after mountains of debts to compensate victims, the maintenance of SAO servers was handed to RCT, the general appliance manufacturer that Mr Yuuki is the CEO of. Sugou is the director of RCT’s Full Drive research department. In short, Asuna’s life is being sustained by him. He thinks he deserves a little compensation. Sugou doesn’t know what Kirito promised with her in the game but hopes he won’t come back and stay away from their family. The wedding ceremony will be held in a week’s time although Sugou invites him to come share their happiness. For one last time. Back home, Kirito is so depressed he sits in his room crying in the dark. Sugu could only hug him and tell him to not give up. Even if Asuna is going far away where his hands can’t reach, he shouldn’t give up so easily on the one he loves. Sugu thought she shouldn’t lie to herself anymore. Flashback reveals that Kirito long knew his parents weren’t his biological parents. More accurately, he is the child of mommy’s older sister and her husband. So this makes Kirito and Sugu cousins. That fact hasn’t sunk into Sugu yet. I guess you know what this means when she laments his heart already belongs to Asuna. Sugu sleeps with Kirito for the night and when morning comes, she runs out with embarrassment after realizing what she had done. But thanks to her company, Kirito feels better. He opens an email from Agil and is shocked to see its content. A picture of Asuna sitting gloomily in a cage! Can it be real?!

Episode 16
Kirito goes to see Agil at the bar. He shows him the latest MMO game craze like SAO: Alfheim Online (ALO). Also the AmuSphere is now the successor for NerveGear. In this land of fairies, players don’t have levels and combat depends very much on a player’s physical capabilities. The rage of this game is that since they are fairies, they have wings and are allowed to freely fly anywhere although it is pretty tough to master. As for the picture with Asuna, there is a World Tree called Yggdrasil in the centre of the island with a legendary castle on top. Players are divided into 9 races and compete who can reach the castle first. However due to a flight duration limit, it is not possible to fly endlessly. Several players got an idea to piggyback ride on each other like a rocket booster. Although it wasn’t successful (they couldn’t even reach the lowest branch), they took pictures and one of them was this. Why is Asuna in a place like this? This game is made by RCT. So now it made sense. Kirito wants to try this game to save her. He can still use NerveGear to dive in since AmuSphere is just its safer version. Back home, Kirito puts on his NerveGear and customizes his player. He chooses one that closely resembles to him: The Spriggans race. He free falls from the sky but drops into some unknown forest. He opens his menu and is relieved there is a logout button. Checking his stats, he realizes many are similar to those in SAO although his duel wielding skill is gone.

He selects one of the items and it materializes to be Yui! She remembers him! She’s back! Using her system to check things, she explains ALO is a copy of SAO but using an older version of Cardinal. As for his character, it is undoubtedly from SAO. As I understand when it was carried over from SAO, it must have overwritten some base stats and his SAO and ALO avatar merged. Yui’s role in this game is an artificial personality programme for player support, a navigation pixie. She has no admin authority and is only capable of referencing and accessing wide area map data. He tells Yui about Asuna’s case and wished they could have ended up closer to Yggdrasil. He landed far away perhaps because of some corrupted data or interference. Kirito is then taught how to fly with wings via controller. It’s hard but he is getting the hang of it. Close by, Undine clan fairies, Leafa and Recon are being hunted by Salamander fairies. Recon is taken out and there is so much Leafa can handle. She is blasted down to the ground and prepares to fight them and will not forfeit her money and items as ordered. Suddenly Kirito drops into the scene. The enemies do not realize who they are dealing with so Kirito shows them whose boss by taking out one of them in the blink of an eye. Didn’t even know what hit him. So who is next?

Episode 17
After slicing another enemy, the last one left, Kagemune makes a wise decision not to engage him and leaves. Leafa and Kirito acquaint with each other and to show her thanks, she wants to buy him a drink. Since he doesn’t know anything about this world, she is willing to tell him after they fly over to a neutral village. However he thought the Sylph village of Sylvain is closer but she warns upon entering the village, Sylph can attack him but he cannot attack back. Leafa then teaches him how to fly without the controller. At first it looked like some comical scene because he finds it hard to control but he learns fast and manages to match her speed. However Leafa makes her advance apologies first. Because she didn’t teach him how to land, Kirito smacks right into the tower! Yeah, really comical! In town, Leafa is reunited with Recon but he remains cautious with Kirito as he is from a different race. She turns down his offer to meet the rest at the usual bar because she wants to buy Kirito a drink. She talks to him about every player’s main dream to reach the floating castle above Yggdrasil. It is said that the fairy successful in doing so will meet the king of fairies, Oberon and will be reborn as a more advanced race called Alf with no flight restrictions whatsoever. However nobody has been successful ever since a year this game started. Either that a quest hasn’t been cleared or as Kirito suspects the game is impossible to overcame at the hands of a single race. Cooperation between races may be a must. Leafa doesn’t think that is possible as only one race will benefit from it. So it would seem that reaching Yggdrasil is impossible. But I guess somehow that sort of romance makes it hard for everyone to give up. Kirito vows to find his way to the top because there is someone he wants to see. Even if he has to fight insane amounts of enemies, he will. Leafa seems reluctant for him to leave and will take him there tomorrow afternoon since she has to logout now. Leafa’s real life personality is… Sugu! No wonder she sounds familiar…

Asuna is sitting in her cage. She is known as Queen Titania in this world. Oberon walks in to chat with her and of course he is Sugou who is also the system administrator. He is freely having his way with her and hopes she could play along in this game. Because she remains spiteful for him, he warns that he may take her by force. He then reveals that despite thousands of players enjoying this game, they remain ignorant of the true value of the Full Dive System. Something about his plan to possibly manipulate thoughts, emotions and even memories. Although research on this has been done in many countries, experimenting on humans would bring about legal and ethical issues. Till he saw Kayaba’s release of SAO. He was a genius but considers him a fool for being satisfied with just the creation of a mere game world. When SAO ended and the players were in the midst of being freed, Sugou used some router to capture around 300 players as test subjects and one of them being Asuna. He views his research making great progress in just 2 months and is nearing complete. He plans to sell this research and system to an American corporation eagerly awaiting its completion at a very expensive price. Asuna knows her dad will not allow such things and will expose him once she gets out. He reminds her she is in the same position like the other test subjects and hopes she will be more docile the next time they meet. After he leaves, Asuna weeps for Kirito to save her.

Episode 18
Sugu narrates she hated virtual reality games because it almost took her brother’s life. But when ALO came out, she curiously tried it out and understood why Kirito was so enchanted with the virtual world. Here, she could fly and soar as far as she wanted. She became addicted to this world. In real life, Sugu has a hard time trying to remind Shinichi Nagata (Recon’s real name) not to use their ALO names here. He is trying to tell her about Sigurd’s group wanting to go hunting this afternoon but she declines as she has other plans. Sugu logs in as Leafa and meets up with Kirito at the appointed time. As they head to the tower for long distance flights, Sigurd approaches Leafa and learns she has left their party. No doubt whether she stays or leaves is up to her, leaving now will reflect badly on the group since Leafa has become well known. Kirito advises him not to treat party members as items and he can’t keep them like his own. He wants to kill him but his members remind him this won’t look good if he slashes a defenceless guy in public. He backs down and warns Leafa of becoming a Renegade. She will regret it if she betrays him. At the top of the tower, Leafa explains to Kirito that a Renegade is a player who ditches his/her territory and is scorned as deserters. She doesn’t mind becoming one because she is baffled why people want to tie down themselves and others like that. Recon comes rushing in and has heard of Leafa’s departure. He too wants to go with her but notes he wants to investigate something and will stay in Sigurd’s group for the time being. He wants Kirito to take care of her and warns if anything happens to his wife lover girlfriend best friend… Anyway Leafa kicks his shin to shut him up. Yui views the complexity of human relations but somewhat understands how Recon feels.

Meanwhile Oberon continues to have his way with Asuna. She still isn’t opening up to him. He finally gets her attention when he mentions about meeting Kirito in real life right in her hospital room. He mocks about the priceless look on his face when he told her they are getting married next week. He dispels her hope he will come to save her as she wished for since he is confident Kirito is too scared to put on NerveGear again. When he leaves, Asuna sneakily looks at the reflected mirror to see the secret password he keys in to open the cage door. Apparently looking directly at it causes an automatic mosaic blur. Never thought it wouldn’t be reflected in mirrors, eh? Leafa tells Kirito that they need to trek through caves to reach those mountains as its height limit is much taller so flying straight won’t work. It’s going to be a long and rough journey so they decide to take turns advancing to allow the other to logout and rest. Leafa goes out first. She wanted to enter Kirito’s room but the thought of him in depression made her changed her mind. She thinks of leaving him alone. When she logs back, Kirito logs out. She talks to Yui on why she calls Kirito her papa. Leafa is using roundabout words about her feelings for Kirito when Yui asks her (obviously you could have tell that she likes him despite her excuse of feeling excited is to explore a new world, blah, blah, blah). Kirito logs back on faster than usual and this flusters Leafa who was a little close to him. As they’re about to leave, Kirito feels somebody watching them. Yui doesn’t detect players nearby. Leafa thinks it might be Tracers. They are little familiars used by experienced casters as tracking. The higher the skill, the greater the Tracer’s area of effect. Kirito hopes he is just thinking too much. True enough, a little bat is following them and a group of hooded people in the forest are keeping a close watch on the duo.

Episode 19
While trekking through the cave, Leafa receives a message from Recon about not trusting a person named ‘S’. She doesn’t understand. I can guess who that is. Yui detects 12 players approaching so Leafa hides them with her magic. But when Kirito spots a bat in the distance, Leafa realizes it’s a high level Tracing searcher. She jumps out to destroy it and they make a run since destroying the familiar means indicating they’re on to them. As they inch closer to the gates of Lugrue, an earth magic forms a barricade to prevent them from entering. Kirito wants to fight and has Leafa heal him. He considers this an effective way to battle. Leafa realizes the hunting pack has come prepared to hunt Kirito. He gets blasted but she heals him. But when Kirito deals them damage, the mages behind heal their troops. At this rate, Kirito will lose. She wants to surrender but he vows never to let a party member die. Yui then has Leafa use his magic to protect Kirito from the next magic attack. Then she signals to Kirito to use his illusion magic to transform into a giant beast. The Minotaur tears up the troops and the magic unit leader, Jitax prefers to jump into the water and get devoured by the sea monster. That scary, huh? For the last enemy, Leafa wants to interrogate him but he will not say. Kirito uses his negotiation skills to give him some items in his inventory. Jitax told them to get online because they’re hunting a couple of players. He thought it was bullying till he realized it is to hunt the people who defeated Kagemune. Seems Jitax got this from a higher up. He is not sure of the details but he feels something big is happening as he saw a massive army flying north. Leafa wonders if that rampaging Minotaur was him. He thinks so. Sometimes he forgets when he turned into a monster. His sword will disappear so had to use his hands. Yeah, he was eating some of them. They taste like well grilled beef? I think it’s a bad joke that Kirito bite Leafa’s hand just to have her feel what it’s like. He deserves that slap.

In Lugrue, Leafa finds Recon offline so Kirito suggests she contact him in the real world. She logs off to find many miss calls from Nagata (like a stalker). He is relieved when she gets through him. Seems Sigurd is after them and has sold out their leader Sakuya. When Salamanders attacked them that night and Sigurd used himself as a decoy, something he never does, it only makes sense that he was in cohorts with them. Proof? Recon followed Sigurd and his men and found out he met up with some Salamander guys in the sewers. He eavesdropped that they had a Tracer on them. Of course Recon was discovered and captured. Sakuya plans to sign an alliance treaty with Cait Sith race at the neutral place today. Sigurd plans to attack them. Leafa logs back on and tells Kirito about it. Kirito wonders how Salamander will benefit from this. Firstly, the alliance would be prevented. Cait Siths won’t stand having being taken down because Sylphs leaked the information. If they kill the leader, they will receive 30% of her estate and be allowed to occupy the capital for 10 days. Leafa thinks this is an internal problem and no reason for Kirito to get involve. She thinks they won’t even come back alive. She views his best chance of reaching Yggdrasil is to join Salamander as they will hire him as a mercenary. She won’t blame him if he kills her. Kirito says even though this is just a game, he has met people who are willing to go so far to kill. Even though this is a virtual world, there are things to protect. If you let that control you, you’ll even change in the real world. A player and character are the same. He likes her and wants to be her friend. For that, he will never resort to killing others. He takes her hand as they dash out the cave.

Episode 20
Yui detects several Salamander men heading towards the treaty. Leafa thinks they can’t make it and thanks Kirito for his assistance. She wishes him to head on to Yggdrasil. However he won’t abandon her. Kirito makes it in time before Salamander attacks. Claiming himself to be the ambassador of Spriggan-Undine alliance, he orders them to sheathe their swords. Their commander Eugene doesn’t believe him and wants to fight with him. Kirito has a hard time with him as Eugene is the strongest player in this game in terms of fighting ability, he has a demon sword called Gram that only very high level users can use. The sword allows him to phase through any swords or shields when you try to block it. Kirito uses a smoke bomb so that he could borrow Leafa’s sword. Then he dives down from the sky (the sun is blinding Eugene’s eyes) and he slices and dices him with both the swords till he’s a goner. Everyone including the Salamanders are amazed with his skill. Once Eugene is resurrected, he commends Kirito’s skills and learning from Kagemune that he was the one who earlier wiped out some of his men, he orders his army to retreat and vows to duel him another day as he doesn’t want to make enemies out of Spriggans and Undines. Sakuya wants an explanation so they reveal Sigurd’s plan. This has Sakuya confirm that he really thirsts for power. Seeing that he sided with Salamander, she thinks with the upcoming v5.0 update that has some reincarnation system, Sigurd is tired of being a Sylph who is always second fiddle to Salamanders. Salamander’s leader, Mortimer who is Eugene’s brother may have offered him a deal to reincarnate as one of their own.

Sakuya then contacts Sigurd who is surprised to see her still alive. He realizes his plan in ruins when he sees Kirito and Leafa. Sigurd thinks if he goes, Sakuya’s political power will also diminish. She doesn’t think so. She will grant him his wish since he can’t stand being a Sylph. She banishes him from her race and makes him a Renegade to wander the neutral region. Sakuya wants to know if the Spriggan-Undine alliance is true but Kirito proudly admits it was all a lie. Sakuya and Cait Sith’s leader, Alicia take a liking for him and try to seduce-cum-invite him to tea. How can Leafa get out of all this? She is hesitating to say Kirito is her future husband lover boyfriend best friend so Kirito saves her that embarrassment by saying she is someone who is showing him the way to Yggdrasil. Leafa notes that this alliance was also of clearing Yggdrasil. It is their goal so Kirito and Leafa would gladly want to join them. Kirito states his intention to meet somebody at the top of the tree but Sakuya and Alicia feel they need some time to prepare for the raid. Kirito gives them a whopping sack of 100,000 coins to let them equip themselves. He doesn’t need the money now. The kind of money you can build a small castle anywhere. After everyone leaves, Yui chides Kirito for flirting because she could feel his heart beating. However she doesn’t view Leafa as so. Kirito puts it that she doesn’t act like a girl. Whoops. Did he say the wrong thing? He meant she is easy to get along with in a good way. They make their way to the next town, Alne. Meanwhile, when the coast is clear, Asuna keys in the password to set herself free.

Episode 21
As they reach the gates of Alne, the largest city in Alfheim, there is an announcement that the server will undergo maintenance for a certain period so they are advised to logout. Since Kirito gave his all his money to Sakuya, I guess they’ll have to stay in a dirt cheap motel. Meanwhile Asuna makes her way down but stumbles upon a strange tunnel. Inside the long lighted tunnel, she comes across a map. Trying to figure out a way to logout, she sees a room that labelled as experiment hanger. She lots of capsules and hologram brains above it. Remembering Sugou’s words, she sees them all in pain and vows to get them out. A pair of slugs are patrolling and checking on the subjects so Asuna has to hide. Asuna sees a cubic system console and tries to logout with it but the slugs caught her (almost look like tentacle rape?). She knows they are scientists and points out what they’re doing is illegal and inhumane. They seem unrepentant and think they are doing something good by showing those subjects delightful euphoric dreams. One of them logs out to report to Sugou so the other one almost tentacle rape her when she bites back. Sugou is said to be furious and orders them to put her back in her cage, change the password and have 24 hour surveillance. Asuna is back at square one but she hasn’t given up yet. Because she stole the card from the system console. In the real world, Sugu wants to accompany Kirito to the hospital. Along the way, they talk about victims of SAO being put in a similar school. It may sound like a good idea for them who have been isolated from society for a couple of years but in a way it is also to keep an eye on them. Kirito introduces comatose Asuna and Sugu to each other. Sugu starts regretting she shouldn’t have come. She came thinking if she would understand her own feelings better if she met Asuna. When they return home and log back into ALO, Leafa starts crying and reveals she was left broken hearted in the world. Kirito is kind enough to lend her a shoulder to cry on. Real or virtual, she should cry when she needs to. There is no rule in the game to say she can’t express her feelings. Leafa bawls her heart out. She knows she loves Kirito but can never let him know. She needs to bury her feelings deep within her heart in hopes she can forget about them someday. When they’re ready, they walk through Alne. Kirito mentions about the piggyback ride incident. Apparently when the developers found out about it, they did a patch to put barriers above the clouds to stem such incidents. They can’t climb Yggdrasil as the area around the tree is off limits. When they enter the centre district of Alne, Yui suddenly detects Asuna. She is certain this is her player ID and she is right above them. Kirito quickly blasts off into the sky.

Episode 22
Kirito is furious. He tries to break through the barrier and won’t listen to Leafa. Asuna thought she heard Yui’s voice but since she can’t get out, she thinks of dropping something. Kirito catches the system card. Something like this doesn’t always happen. This means it proves that Asuna is up there and has heard Yui’s warning. Although Yui points out this card is like an access code for system administrators, they can’t use it from inside the game without a corresponding console. Kirito asks Leafa the gate to Yggdrasil. It’s inside the dome at the tree base but nobody has gotten past it as it is guarded with insane number of guardians. Even the largest party failed. But Kirito is still going anyway and thanks Leafa for everything. He’ll be going solo from now on. Kirito makes his way to the dome and accepts the challenge. Inside, he is faced with countless winged guardians. Every mirror around the place represents one. You go count them all. Kirito fights his way through them. His thoughts filled with Asuna give him fuel to press forward. If sword guardsmen weren’t bad enough, how about archers? How can he avoid all those arrows? If that doesn’t stop him, how about those who throw broadswords into him! Kirito pushes himself to the limit trying to reach the top but his life is draining away after getting stabbed so much. He eventually ‘dies’. Well, unlike SAO, there is no death penalty, right? Kirito is now a spirit and is waiting for his timer to finish so that he can respawn. He wonders if this is punishment for thinking this is only a game since his strength only amounts to skills and stat points.

Suddenly Leafa enters the dome and fights her way through. But her goal is not to defeat them but to save Kirito and bring him back out. She makes it in time before she shares his fate. Outside, she resurrects him. Kirito thanks her and doesn’t want to cause much trouble. Trouble? He just worried her. He is going back in again but Leafa tries to stop him this time. Hugging his back, she is fine if he goes back to his usual self. However Kirito can’t. If he doesn’t see her, everything won’t end or begin. Till Leafa hears Asuna’s name. Then it dawned to her who Kirito is. Surprised? Kirito also realizes who Leafa is. This is too much to take for Leafa so she instantly logs out followed by Kirito. She starts crying when Kirito knocks on her door to talk. She isn’t mad or sad for him taking up NerveGear again but rather she betrayed her own feelings. In order to forget her brother, she decided to love Kirito instead. She reveals she already knew they weren’t real siblings 2 years ago. She noticed when it when he started avoiding her then (the time when he realized Sugu wasn’t his real sister). She was very happy when he returned from SAO.  She was even happier when he became nicer to her. She thought he finally accepted her. But if this was going to happen, she would rather have him stay distant. Then she wouldn’t have realized her feelings for him or be hurt by those feelings after learning about Asuna. She wouldn’t have to try forgetting about him by falling in love with Kirito. All he could say is sorry. She wants to be left alone. What a lousy day. What lousy feelings.

Episode 23
When Kirito found out about his true blood relations, he was filled with shock. That was probably why he immersed himself with virtual reality games since it is a fabricated world where nobody knows each other. But after getting stuck in SAO for 2 years, he learnt there is no difference between real and virtual. How do you define someone? All you do is believe and accept. Because the way you perceive someone defines their true self. That’s why when he woke up from SAO, he vowed to grow closer to Sugu. Now what can he do for her? He tells he will meet her at Alne’s northern terrace. Sugu logs back on. Recon is surprisingly here. Seems he poisoned the Salamanders and escaped. Recon knows something has happened between her and Kirito. He doesn’t want her to cry because she should be smiling. He assures her he will never let her be alone be it the real world or virtual. He then confesses he likes her. But he must be pushing his luck too far when he tries to kiss her! I guess the punch is a sign of rejection? When Leafa meets Kirito, she wants to fight him to settle things. It seems pretty normal till Leafa drops her sword to allow him to cut her. But he surprises her with a hug. He wanted to apologize but doesn’t know what to say. The only thing he could think of was to let her strike him. He still hasn’t returned from that world yet. Not until Asuna wakes up. Until then, he doesn’t know what to think of Sugu. And so, Kirito requests Leafa and Recon to help him clear Yggdrasil. As Yui analyzes, the guardians are not particularly powerful but their numbers are overwhelming. But with Kirito’ skill, he may be able to break through temporarily. Kirito will take on the guardians alone while the duo will concentrate on healing him. That way, they won’t be targeted.

Kirito slices and dices his way through the endless enemy waves. When Recon and Leafa first heal him, the guardians start targeting them. Recon then goes on the offensive and uses his dark magic of self destruction to blow up a large number of guardians. But that is just like taking a drop of water out from the ocean. Leafa continues to heal Kirito but is now targeted. That’s when Sakuya and Alicia’s army break in with their respective army. They have assembled all the gear they needed and begin their assault. The guardians are still overwhelming but at least with some backup it provides some relief. Leafa goes to help Kirito and they cover each other’s back. In the final push, Leafa throws him her sword so that he can use his dual wielding to thrust throw the final enemy stretch. Sakuya and Alicia order the withdrawal of their troops. Kirito is at the top core now and doesn’t know what to do. I don’t think anybody has reached this stage. Yui analyzes the door and realizes it isn’t locked by a quest flag. Meaning, system administrators can only access it and it was never intended to be accessible to players. Oh no. More guardians materialize when Kirito remembers the system card. He tells Yui to use it so she transfers the codes to allow them access.  They prepare to teleport.

Episode 24
The duo appear inside the tunnel. Yui has no map of this area but can sense where Asuna is. Quickly, she makes holes through the wall and dashes out with Kirito. At the top of Yggdrasil, they see Asuna sitting in the cage and make their way there. It is an emotional reunion for ‘mother and daughter’. Of course with Kirito too. Asuna had always believed in him. But that is short-lived when some gravity spell brings them to their knees. Yui can’t log Asuna out due to some complicated codes and a system console is needed to free her. The scene changes to a dark one and Yui disappears. It is Sugou. He had come to check some bug in the programme and he finds this. Like the typical baddie he is, he rants about his evil plans. Like this gravity thingy is supposed to be in the game for the next update and his plans of manipulating emotions from 300 SAO players is nearing its completion. Yeah. So confident nobody is going to stop him. He then ties Asuna up and plays with her body. After this, he will do it with her real body. Kirito can’t do a thing but Sugou stabs his sword through his body and increases his pain level. Kirito could only helplessly watch as Sugou licks every part of Asuna’s body. He is about to lose consciousness and wonders if this is his punishment. He hears Kayaba’s voice asking if he is giving up. Not really. He is accepting reality because a player can do nothing to a game master. Kayaba feels disappointed because in their battle, he proved human power can overcome his system and orders him to stand back up. Kirito uses all his strength and willpower to stand back up, ignoring the pain of the sword through his stomach. This pain is nothing compared to the one he felt in SAO. He then activates Heathcliff’s ID and becomes the system administrator. He strips Sugou of his administrator privileges. How does it feel to be a low scum now? No more playing God. I think Kirito could activate Heathcliff’s ID because he realized Sugou stole this world. Thus he is not God and just a king of thieves sitting on his plundered throne.

Sugou can’t even summon a weapon so Kirito had to summon Excalibur for him. He wants to have a final battle and sets the pain to maximum. When Sugou hears Kayaba’s name, he becomes crazy that even in death, he is always in his way. Kirito can understand how he feels but unlike him, he never once tried to be like him. Sugou snaps and swings Excalibur like mad. He is no match for Kirito because he cuts him everywhere! Feel the pain! This is nothing compared to the pain Asuna felt. He cuts his body and finishes off by piercing his head. Cool! He deserves that. Kirito frees Asuna. Finally they can return to the real world. Though she’ll wake up in hospital alone, he’ll come to her side soon. They plan to do lots of things together in the real world. After Asuna is logged out, Kirito summons Kayaba. It is not really him and just his consciousness. As payment for helping him, Kayaba hands over The Seed to Kirito. It is the origin of worlds. He’ll understand its nature once it buds. But he can do whatever he wants with it but warns if he should hold any feelings other than hatred for that world. After Kayaba disappears, Kirito returns to the cage and is reunited with Yui. She is happy to learn Asuna is safe. Though they are not sure what is going to happen to this world, Yui will still be around since her core programme is stored in his NerveGear. Kirito logs out to see Sugu by his side. She is glad that things are over and Asuna is rescued. He thanks her but she is happy she could help him in his world. Kirito wants to tell her something but she feels he has to go see Asuna. She’s waiting for him. Kirito braves to freezing cold night and cycles to the hospital.

Episode 25
As Kirito makes his way into the hospital’s car park, he is being slashed in the arm by Sugou. He’s been waiting for him just to get his silly revenge? He is still feeling the painful effects of his defeat so he can’t cut Kirito up properly. Though Kirito gets kicked around, he realizes Sugou never changed and fights back by slamming his head into the car door! He steals his knife but does he have the courage to slit his throat?! Can he become a killer?! Apparently not. But Sugou was so scared he passed out. Finally Kirito meets Asuna. She is up and her first time seeing Kirito in person. Oddly, he is the one getting emotional while she is the cool cat. And yeah. The first real kiss instead of a virtual one we have seen. Kirito and Asuna become closer to each other in a school for SAO victims. It’s like they’re a couple. Are they? Liz and Silica watch over them. Also revealed, Asuna’s dad resigned when he learnt about the whole thing. Sugou was arrested but he tried to blame everything on Kayaba. Till one of his colleagues ratted on him, he confessed everything like the spineless coward he is. Victims of Sugou’s experiment return to normal and though they have no memories of the experiment, they do not develop any personality disorder. But virtual MMORPG took a massive hit after this scandal was revealed. RCT made a public apology and got dissolved. ALO was taken offline followed by other MMORPGs. Kirito knows that Kayaba committed suicide after SAO collapsed and somehow transferred his consciousness onto the internet. What bugs him now is The Seed.

SAO veterans like Klein and the now married couple Thinker and Yuriel, head to Agil’s bar for an offline meeting. Kirito also brings Sugu along. Of course he is the hero of the show. Apparently after Kirito saved Asuna, he handed The Seed to Agil to research. From what I understand, it is a programme package that stimulates full dive virtual MMO environment. That means anybody can create their own MMO world. Agil uploaded it to servers and now it has spread to 50 mirror servers and downloads are numbering to hundreds of thousands. Another feature of The Seed is that it allows one world to be linked with others. With that, virtual MMORPG revives along with ALO that was taken over by a new management. Many more worlds are out there created and run by smaller and private companies or individuals. Leafa flies in ALO with Kirito. She wonders why he hasn’t changed his avatar to SAO since the new management allows such import. Because the role of that world’s Kirito is over. Leafa dances with him in the sky but has this feeling she will not catch up to where he and everyone are. Kirito disagrees and believes she can do it if she puts her mind to it. Since the time is right, he shows her something approaching from the moon. It is Aincrad. What is it doing here? Must be the linking of all the worlds. Kirito is confident he will conquer all 100 floors. Because his stats have been reset and is now a weak avatar, he hopes Leafa could help him. Gladly. But they are not alone because the other supporting characters from SAO and ALO soon join them for this quest.

Sword Art Offline

These are short DVD specials lasting around 11 minutes each. Although I read there are 9 of them, I have only watched the first 2 (read: lack of people subbing them). It is basically like a special corner with Asuna as the anchor host and Kirito the commentator talking and discussing about several topics from the series. Think of it as a mini talk show. Each episode has a special guest, a Playback Corner to replay a handful of scenes from selected episodes, Sword Offline Trivia whereby Yui tells us the little trivia of RPG and even Kirito’s Life Counselling segment where he advices a mysterious guest about their problem. Sword Art Offline 1 has them discussing about why many men pick female avatars, have Klein as their first guest, replaying scenes of Klein getting hit in the crotch by the boar (embarrassing) and Asuna eating bread offered by Kirito like a hungry ghost (scary), and Klein as the mysterious guest in the counselling corner seeking Kirito’s advice on how to hit on girls. However Klein is not pleased with Kirito’s answer since that guy thinks he is not a hit with chicks. Till Klein brings up how friendly he is with Silica and Liz. See Asuna’s jealous and scary face? Because it didn’t end the way he wanted, Klein had to tell them off how to do a proper counselling and in a way it solved his own problem. So why seek advice in the first place? Because knowing them and producing the results are different.

In Sword Offline 2, it starts off with rumours that a mysterious person whom everyone shall dub as Mr K (that’s obviously Kirito, right?) is ‘stalking’ child idol Silica. I’m sure fans of her are screaming for blood. As expected, Silica is the guest of honour and during the Playback Corner because Silica is singing praises of Kirito’s help and all, this made Asuna really jealous that they were very close. It gets worse when Silica wants to call Kirito her big brother. This corner also shows the embarrassing scenes of Asuna waking up from her nice nap. However this segment had to end when everyone misinterpret a playback scene when Silica’s pantsu was nearly visible after a plant monster attacked her. Asuna blames Kirito and beats him up, thinking he was enjoying it. Klein takes over the Life Counselling segment and Kirito kicked out into a box. Silica relays her problem about a certain person she loves whom she first sees as a big brother and wants to deepen that relationship. We can pretty much guess what it is. Klein advises to either increase her sex appeal or wait till he notices her feelings while Asuna prefers she confess now and risk getting rejected rather than keeping it a secret and regret it later. The issue somewhat solved itself so Kirito need not comment at all.

The Thin Line Between Virtual And Reality
I guess it was rather an enjoyable ride through the different fantasy worlds. Who wouldn’t love to experience such? Unless you’re not a fantasy genre kind of person. Personally, I prefer SAO world compared to ALO universe. It is not that I don’t like fairies but in SAO, the players’ avatar seems more down to earth as compared to ALO when they become those mythical little creatures and have the ability to fly. I know this is fantasy and there is nothing with it but the thought of having SAO players as fairies just didn’t feel right. Perhaps my mind has set that this is about the real world with humans playing a fantasy game instead of the setting whereby it is already fantasy itself. Besides, in SAO there is a lot of dynamism and interaction between Kirito and Asuna. Unlike in ALO when they are separated, it feels like they have taken out half the fun from the combo duo because I feel that they both are best when they are together. While they were both clearing floors and spending lots of their later time together in SAO, in ALO it becomes a rescue mission for Kirito with Leafa-cum-Sugu replacing Asuna as the heroine for that arc while I would not say Asuna has been reduced to a damsel in distress, how much could she do if she had everything locked against her? She is still strong willed and tries to do her best to get out but there is little she can do if you are up against the all powerful system administrator.

Through SAO, Kirito and Asuna learn to appreciate what they have and each other. Ironically, reality didn’t teach them that but the virtual world. SAO was the world where they build their bonds and you can see Asuna who was quite distant from Kirito eventually opens up to him. You could say that the bonds they made during SAO have become unbreakable and it would be unthinkable for them to be separate. That’s why when SAO ended and ALO began with them so close but yet a world apart, it just feels out of place. But it is all the more sweet when Kirito is able to get his girl in the end, right? Kirito has something precious to protect and in that sense it makes him stronger. I don’t think he was ever arrogant in the first place of wanting to be a solo player but I figure it’s his style of play. He doesn’t show off his skill when he reaches a certain high level like some players do. At first it was traumatic that the first group he joins, everyone dies an unexpected death. There’s lots of frustration and disappointment when things go wrong. That is enough to traumatize him for the rest of his life. It’s understandable he doesn’t want to have any more ‘casualties’ or friends dying before with eyes. So now that he has Asuna, the desire to protect somebody he loves becomes the source of will to get stronger. I think after a few episodes in, nobody remembered he was a Beater. Did you? I certainly forgot he was labelled as such. His skills are definitely genuine. In the RPG sense. No cheat codes, that is.

Maybe it is because this series is about Kirito and Asuna, I thought some of the characters didn’t make much of an impact. Like Agil and Klein, there were mostly confined to SAO and did not really appear to play in ALO. I thought Silica and Liz would also make future appearances but apparently they become one or two episode characters only. I even thought they would become part of a love triangle with Asuna for Kirito. Sheesh. What was I thinking? This is a fantasy game where players try to get out with their real lives at stake and how did I ever get this idea that they will end up in some love spat? Otherwise, we wouldn’t have seen Kirito and Asuna growing closer as they are now. I just remembered something. What about that mysterious player killing guild, Laughing Coffin? I had a feeling that they would become the main antagonist but somehow after the Grimrock-Griselda case was resolved, we never hear anything from them. They had potential to be the man villains since they look the part. Kibaou? That guy feels like he still had some grudge but what happened? He was just only mentioned in name during Yui-Thinker-Yuriel’s story. So what happened to them? Not important. Like those other side characters in SAO too. Either they are dead or just doing fine trying to adjust back to life in the real world. Instead we have Kayaba playing the hero and villain of this game and becoming the final boss very quickly. I suppose it will take another season if they are going to go through more floors and ‘side quests’ so perhaps the revelation of Heathcliff as Kayaba halfway through was just to end the arc. It still boggles me how Kirito came back to life along with Asuna. I believe that if you die in the game, you also die in the real world. They did, right? Unless you tell me these two are special cases. Or that if you have very strong feelings, you can overcome this virtual death and ultimately real death. At least that was what Kirito did. He’s the only guy who has technically died and came back to life. Oh, Asuna too…

As said, the adventure in ALO seems diminished maybe because I was so used to the world of SAO and then suddenly another different world pops up that we have to enter. Having Kirito and Asuna separated wasn’t what I had in mind but I suppose it was to bring Sugu to the fore. Another world, another heroine. This was important at least to Sugu to sort out her feelings for Kirito once and for all. Otherwise she would still be under some sort of delusion and just lying to herself. I suppose she would give Recon a shot, no? That nerd? I don’t think he is even close in her books. Sorry, Nagata. So the other characters in ALO also don’t feel as much impact as I thought they should since they’re giving the focus to Kirito and Leafa. It would be boring if this ALO arc was entirely about Kirito trying to find a way to reach Asuna so I speculate that they added this Salamander confrontation thingy as a side track to the entire arc. Of course it did play a little minor important role in gathering the army for the final big battle but that role seems so short that I could hardly call it something memorable. Well, at least they serve their purpose to push Kirito to their goal. Sugou is a person everyone loves to hate so when he gets what he deserves in the end, it is divine retribution and no love lost for this unethical sick guy.

Kirito is such a popular guy that I had this false hope that some sort of a harem romance would begin. I know it is as silly as my expectations for the love triangle in SAO. Silica and Liz were long forgotten once SAO ended (come to think of it, how will Liz be Kirito’s exclusive blacksmith from now?) and my hopes of such romance died out. Till I see Sakuya and Alicia in that short tussle over him, did it reignite my hopes. Sadly, that too burnt out as quickly once I realize it wasn’t going to happen. Just a fantasy in my fantasy after all. So in the end it always has to be Asuna. She is the girl for him and no doubt about it. Not even Sugu can go up to that. Just swallow the bitter pill of love and get over with it. And Klein after all this time in the virtual and real world is still having problems picking up chicks… Maybe it’s all in the karma. Kirito you’re one lucky bastard… Does Yui count you ask? Well, I feel that’s a different kind of love. Isn’t it funny that they’ve got a family in the virtual world first? Just like with a snap of a finger, they’ve got a virtual daughter who works as some kind of system monitoring programme.

I know I have sung praises of the fantasy world so let me say them again but this time in the art and drawing department. Because I love the different exotic locations from the pristine forest to the dangerous dark dungeons and the mandatory big towns, each of the scenery looks good to me. Just looking at them would take my mind to travel to such place. I would start imagining that I am adventuring and exploring such locations in my head. Too bad I can only do that after I watch the episode so as not to lose my concentration and focus. So some scenes were breathtaking like the floating islands and idyllic forests to the captivating snow level. Even if you want to argue that the art of those backgrounds are not superbly excellent to be Da Vinci’s masterpiece level, I guess my mind itself has made lots of ‘adjustments’ in seeing such sceneries so they are definitely pleasing to me. The character designs are okay too. You have got to have cool costumes when you are playing RPG, right? You’ve got lots of good looking characters, odd looking characters, and even moe loli characters like Yui and Silica. The monsters too are rather okay since they give out that menacing feel and one look at them it will make you go “Holy sh*t! Can I really beat this thing?!” expression.

For the action part, I won’t really say that they keep you on the edge of the seat but they are sufficient enough to entertain you especially with Kirito and Asuna’s combination as they are both skilled in using their swords. There is slightly more excitement in fighting level bosses in SAO because the monsters are ruthless and the players’ lives are real. Therefore there is this danger in every strike they make or miss. They are walking a very thin line between life and death. You never know what will happen to you in the next second. Slightly careless and you are a sure goner. It wasn’t very much so in ALO especially when you have nothing to lose and can easily respawn after some timed penalty. Besides, I believe besides the insane number of guardians inside the dome, I don’t think there are other monsters that the players will fight except each other. Well, the idea of having different races of fairies fighting against each other isn’t my cup of tea for action in this series.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me because when I first learnt that Haruka Tomatsu is the voice behind Asuna, something inside me refuses to accept it is her. My heart was saying, “No way. It can’t be her”. Not to say I am very familiar with her voice since I didn’t realize it was her even after a few episodes in. Unless she sounds like Shizuku from Tonari No Kaibutsu-kun, maybe I could recognize her but that’s not the point. She has voiced a range of characters from the airhead genius called Lala in To Love-Ru to the cheeky Yuka of Natsuiro Kiseki to the sweet girl of Yuina in Hanasaku Iroha to the arrogant Hitei in Katanagatari and the deadpan Hitoha in Mitsudomoe so sometimes a person like me just couldn’t recognize her. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka is the voice behind Kirito and I thought he sounds like his other sword wielding hero, Godou in Campione. Just without the harem. Well, there is a certain calmness to his voice unless he gets all riled up. Like his role as Sorata in Sakurasou No Pet Na Kanojo. Just that he wasn’t screaming in every episode in this one. Ayana Taketatsu as Leafa/Sugu almost sounded like as she was going to turn into Kirino in OreImo. Kanae Itou exudes lots of moe as Yui. At least she sounds better and less annoying than that perverted squid stalker Sanae in Shinryaku! Ika Musume or the naïve arrogant Sena from Boku Wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai. Takehito Koyasu really makes his character as Sugou/Oberon like a crazy mad man. Imagine him as Yoshida from Bakuman but put in lots of genuine evil in it. And then when he cowers, he screams like a girl!

Other casts in this series include Hiroaki Hirata as Klein (Sanji in One Piece), Hiroki Yasumoto as Agil (Sado in Bleach), Ayahi Takagi as Liz (Mikako in Sora No Otoshimono), Rina Hidaka as Silica (Ririchiyo in Inu x Boku SS), Sayurai Yahagi as Sakuya (Harun in To Love-Ru), Chiwa Saito as Alicia (Kirie in Girls Bravo), Ayumu Murase as Recon (Shun in Shin Sekai Yori), Toru Ookawa as Heathcliff (Taira in BTOOOM), Kouichi Yamadera as Kayaba (Spike in Cowboy Bebop), Takahiro Mizushima as Thinker (Rolo in Code Geass R2), Ryoko Shiraishi as Yuriel (Himeko in Sket Dance), Saori Hayame as Sachi (Sawa in Tari Tari), Koji Yusa as Kuradeel (Ichimaru Gin in Bleach) and Takuya Kirimoto as Sigurd (Gazelle in Eureka 7 Astral Ocean). The rock pace of the first opening theme is Crossing Field by Lisa and it gets viewers in the mood of what to expect in this anime. The second opening theme is also another rock outfit, Innocence by Eir Aoi. As mentioned, since I had problems acknowledging Haruka Tomatsu as Asuna, it was somewhat the same problem for the first ending theme too. I didn’t really think it was her singing the slow and slowly piece of Yume Sekai although I really like find this song and find it appealing. The second ending theme, Overfly by Luna Haruna is also another appealing pop piece but I still prefer the first one.

This series is perhaps trying to tell us that even though the lines between virtual and reality are blurring with each advancement in technology, there are also several issues to deal with. How can you tell what is reality and virtual anymore? Is it morally right if someone chooses to live his/her life in the virtual world and give up the real world? Putting on a helmet to dive into a virtual world could be an exciting experience but what happens when there are legal and moral issues arising from deaths and the after effects on the brain and body for wearing the gear for too long? Just like staring too long at the computer monitor will have devastating effects on your eyes, so I am sure that putting on such helmet for hours every day would be like putting your brain in the microwave oven and slowly zapping all the cells in the nerves since the helmet is connected to your nervous system. The bottom line is, there is not much difference between virtual and reality. The virtual world exists because we try to do what we cannot in reality. Reality is always there because to remind you that you are still human and bring your feet back to earth. So they both complement each other in that sense.

Although the anime has ended and there is no news if there would be another season, I am sure that in view of the many worlds created by The Seed, it will be exciting to see what kind of worlds are creatively created. It would be nice to explore them. As I found out, besides SAO and ALO, there are a number of other MMORPG games and worlds that Kirito has entered. There is one world whereby it involves using of guns and another one through the underworld where the ability accelerating and slowing time down is used. Sounds familiar? Accel World crossover? Well, both series are written by Reki Kawahara so it is no surprise that both works that involves fantasy and technology would one day collide and intersect. Just like how CLAMP used to do with theirs. Yeah. Not only the line between reality and virtual is blurring but also between series. Maybe somebody should come up with a fantasy world for a harem genre… Hey. A guy can dream, right? Maybe they’ll have one on racing cars and another on intergalactic battles and space crafts. The possibility of human creativity is endless. Since this series has quite a big fan base, what are the chances of it getting a sequel? Or we can just continue dreaming of it for now.

As of now, RPG games are not really my number one favourite genre so I know I am missing out a lot on great fantasy worlds that I yearn to dive into (at least in my mind). Sighs… There are lots of Japanese anime style games out there so I think I really am missing out and a hypocrite if I said I loved this genre and yet never played one. But if such technology does come true in my time, I would probably love to give it a shot. It would be great creating your own avatar, the kind of abilities assigned and even coming up with a name. Then forming your own party and going on a big adventure through various worlds, fighting off monsters, saving damsels in distress, finding treasures… Levelling up with high experience points… Mmm…. Sounds good in my head. Already fantasizing about the fantasy. Just short of needing a cheat code to get me out of the fix if I ever find myself facing a big bad boss. Just too bad I can’t enter any cheat codes in real life. Scoring with a girl from a 2D dating simulation seems much easier than in real life. What a downer. I had to remind myself of this boring real life ‘adventure’ of mine…