Forum - View topicSword Art Online: Alicization (TV).
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S2 #10
The animators have worked too hard over the last few weeks, so this time they get a break as it's one of the expected talking episodes where the plot can only move forward after everyone's had some time to exchange information. Asuna got the Goddess super account, then she's got a chance against the Dark God Vecta. Problem is, the two have certainly clashed before in Aincrad and in GGO yet there was no definitive conclusion. If it's Kirito and Asuna together, it should be enough to overcome the odds. That of course assumes Asuna finds a way to fix Kirito's catatonic state. The mysterious exploding red eye of the Underworlders is formally explained this episode, which makes Alice the only survivor of the two Fluctlights who have broken the artificial limit imposed on them (the other is the deceased Eugeo). The traitor is probably the staff member who grinned shortly after walking past Asuna in the first half of the adaptation, but viewers won't know his name yet. He's definitely not someone viewers have been introduced to yet based on that scene. The running joke which is Kirito being popular with the ladies gets another outing here. All of the ladies who've spent extended time in some capacity are having their little all-night chit chat to finish the episode with. Whether or not it'll do anything beyond lower the tension between the leading ladies in this adaptation remains to be seen. |
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Harleyquin
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S2 #11
Until this week, this has been a war between the US hit squad and the JSDF Rath personnel. Vecta's decision to use US players as pawns for his objective brings the series to the point where the other regulars of the show can now intervene to save their friends. It's not a decision to be taken lightly, since jacking in to the Underworld (which Shinon and Leafa are about to do) is a huge gamble in terms of the potential loss of time and effort invested into characters created in other worlds. The mysterious figure in purple listening in on the Town hall meeting is unknown, but if he or she is working for the invaders then the plan to get more Japanese reinforcements might be off the table before it even begins. If next week's episode title is any indication, the beleaguered human world defenders are going to have to go through Hell literally before they get help of their own. How much help and what form it takes is the big surprise for the viewers not versed with the source material, since there's nothing to date that indicates the US hit squad having any openings to exploit with their current tactics. |
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indyguy1f8a2
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S2 - #11 Ponytail w/ white haired pixie
I've read the novels and there isn't any mention of such characters. The animators have been dropping Ordinal Scale references here and there and since Ordinal Scale wasn't even an idea when the Alicization novels were first written I'm guessing that they are Eiji and Yuna from OS. Yuna was implied in butterfly form (not to mention having white hair) after she disappeared at the end of OS and Eiji likely still loves to see the SAO "heros" squirm hence the smirk. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S2 #12 end
The ray of light the episode talks about isn't much, but Emperor Vecta's decision to use his pawns as sacrificial fodder might prove his undoing. The pugilist guild champion is very strong in his own right, so having him help the Human Empire buy time for the chase might be a reason for defeat later down the road. It's ironic that the Champion's decision to take out his eye means he has become the first Dark World denizen to have the same free will which Alice has. Vecta won't know that since he's fixated on his blond target, but the Champion's decision makes the decision to lay a bridge across the chasm all the more ironic given what went on last week. Sinon chose the right time to arrive, she's the first of the regulars to take the very real risk of converting her GGO character into the Underworld format. If she screws up, that's a lot of hard work and effort down the drain. Just as well she's down there, once the series resumes airing one of the surviving Laughing Coffin members is going to dive down as well and the regulars will need all the help they can get to stop the raiding party from getting what they want. This story arc was always going to be a long one, so no surprise it's taking a hiatus before the finale. It's been more action than character development this season, but I'm looking forward to seeing what's coming next since the belated showdown between the Assassin's Guild and the ex-Aincrad survivors is going to take centre stage. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S3 #1
3 month delay, but it's finally aired. Viewers are recommended to watch what happened in the last episode of the previous airing to get up to speed. If the OP visuals are any indication, this series is the settling of many an old score. A lot of the Laughing Coffin survivors are around in this arc and Kirito and company finally have the opportunity to face and defeat them once and for all. It looks like they've got their work cut out for them, since Vecta is so strong he treats the strongest Synthesis Knight like a living toy to break and dismember. Looks like enough time passed in the real world for the Japanese players to join the action. If I remember correctly time in the virtual world is now synced with the real, so enough hours can pass for the players to log in and help for however long they can. There's plenty more battles to be had, although I'm curious what the trigger is for Kirito to snap out of his long catatonic slumber. Leafa is an idiot. Even if playing dumb was an attempt to extract information all that needless damage to the avatar doesn't help if she's unable to fight at full strength when it's really needed. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15574 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Really could have done without the sexual harassment boob bit with Leafa.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S3 #2
The Japanese reinforcements will stem the tide temporarily, but it's still 2000 vs. 50000 from the American side. The Japanese players have more to lose since getting killed in this virtual world means all the hours and effort invested previously is lost permanently (American players are treating this as a super-real virtual trial, so they lose nothing). Now that the ex-coffin players are converting their own accounts, there WILL be losses on both sides if they were to clash. The Bercouli vs. Vecta duel ended up in a draw with both sides killing each other. I'm not sure what Bercouli saw when he was waiting for his ability to recharge, but the image in his mind certainly worked. Although both of the official factions have lost their most powerful military assets, the advantage still lies with the mercenary team and the Underworld invaders because of their sheer numbers. First time this season the "real world" is brought in. The staff members maintaining the cable connectors; if it's the same person Asuna saw in the last season with the smirk on his face then Higa is in trouble. One theme emphasised a lot in this episode: interpersonal connections. Even if you lose your sense of self (quite literally), having others around who remember who you are means you haven't lost it all. Of course, it's not going to be a perfect copy. But the series seems to emphasise that someone who is popular with enough people can probably be "fixed" with the approximate images held within others. Even if they do "fix" the catatonic one, it remains to be seen how much of the "real" him will be retained from the "new reconstruction" that will be him if the operation succeeds. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S3 #3
So that's what the instigator title is about. Turns out the second in command of the hijackers is the infamous leader of the Laughing Coffin Assassins Guild from the original series. Not sure how as a non-Japanese he managed to survive the experience when his day job is hired gun, but he's in the game with his powerful converted persona and is cleverly using the historical hatred of the Japanese in North-East Asia to full advantage. The leader of the mercenaries is the powerful GGO player who has haunted Sinon's dreams since the start of this big story arc. If Sinon is overpowered here despite being gifted one of the goddess supercharacters, she has one more chance if she converts her GGO/Alfheim character and returns to the fray. I guessed the technician following Higa was a mole, but I'd like to know how and why he's the double agent. Like the previous season before it, this series is going to alternate between overwhelming despair for the protagonists to temporary highs as relief in some form is provided. Even if the end result is not in doubt, the process in which viewers get to the end and the losses to be incurred along the way remain a draw nonetheless. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S3 #4
When it comes to this series, my favourite type of episode is one which blends action with a few revelatory character expositions thrown in. This is one of them. Unsurprisingly the horde is too much for even the elite Alfheim players to hold out against, but even in defeat the Alfheim players might have convinced a few of the invaders that all is not what it seems. Whether or not that will pay dividends for the losses incurred remains to be seen. Yanai as the one responsible for 871 came out of the blue. The series had hinted that someone was responsible for influencing the human Underworld into the oppressive caste system which allowed rapes behind the cover of hierarchical privilege, but for Yanai to be responsible for the code which takes out an eye wasn't something I expected. To be fair, the extra obstacle does make any breakthroughs all the more precious. The blob Kikuoka is looking at is the orc leader fighting with Leafa, so inferior as he is to Alice he's no longer just an enemy NPC. The other revelation is PoH. The mercenary vice-captain is a weird one; why betray your own guild just to watch regular people agonize over murder? Like his captain who's obsessed with souls, he's got a screw lose of his own. Unless something drastic happens, Kirito is going to die and his companions are going to be butchered. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S3 #5
To be honest, I barely remember the two cameos from this week. Nautilus wasn't in PoH's league, but he has bought valuable time. Yuna if I remember correctly was a well-known idol/singer in SAO, so her bard skills help other since she can't fight. This week's duel was a very good set piece as well; no wonder the leader of the Coffin guild was feared. PoH = Prince of Hell. No wonder the vice-captain has a grudge against the Japanese. What's surprising is he survived the SAO world (no logout) in a filthy room with no food or drink for a scarcely believable period of time. Not sure what his special ability to rouse the crowd in this new server is, but there's no counter to it short of him getting killed. Leafa is officially a masochist; she's gifted a character which is close to functionally immortal but plenty of pain for all the combat she's going through. I thought the initial tentacle violation earlier in the season was going to cost her, turns out it won't matter so long as she can still use magic. It looks like next week will have less action since Kirito has to fix what's left of his brain and consciousness after being out for over a quarter's worth of episodes. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15574 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Wasn't she the center character of Ordinal Scale? A popular AI idol that does AR concert, thus why she would be recognised by a bunch of gamers from other Asian countries. She was made to piece together data to recreate the real human Yuna that was a bard in the Sword Art Online game and died? I was thanking myself for having watched it, wasn't sure if Ordinal Scale was one of those movies essentially becomes non canon in never being referenced. Man, did this episode go I think more gore than I would have expected, especially with what Leafa had to go through. Kind of wondering if Leafa has been made up for not going through what the SAO survivors did or Sinon. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S3 #6
I like the dream sequence this week. Convincing enough in illustrating just how out of it Kirito was for over a season, it even throws in the flashbacks of all the trauma he's had to endure and dish out over the animated adaptations. As before, Eugeo has to intervene to get the protagonist back on his feet again. Asuna is another who's had help from connections she's made in the past. Nice cameo from Yuuki, no idea how the wings translated over from the other game but it certainly helped. Too bad the opponent has a weapon that absorbs souls and is perfectly suited to the carnage of the battlefield in its current state. Not sure what mechanic Kirito is exploiting to even the odds, but I'm looking forward to next week's duel. It's a matchup which has been in the making since the first season and if Kirito wins it will be pivotal in turning the tide in the real world and in the overarching objective of the Underworld this season. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15574 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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An episode that mentions both Sachi and Yuuki, two characters who passed away and mean a lot to out main characters. Sachi because she was a person Kirito could not save, and Yuuki because Mother's Rosario is fantastic with Asuna.
Also, Kirito finally waking up, it has been like a season and a half. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S3 #7
Another well-done duel to cap off this week's episode. Not sure how the butcher's cleaver ends up with that size and shape, but PoH certainly put everything he had to finish off the Showtime he's been waiting for all these years. I'm impressed with Kirito's solution to all of those frozen bodies; forcibly logging them out and recycling their resources effectively turns the tables by nullifying PoH's special ability. I thought the application of the twin swords background to finish off PoH for good was also a nice touch. If he cannot log out of the Underworld (and if it's true what they're saying about the time acceleration) then PoH is effectively out of the storyline once the time acceleration hits a certain level. With this episode, the tides are finally starting to turn. For the first time this season it is the mercenaries who are on the defensive and pressed for time. If the commandos storm the ship, a battle between two evenly matched military forces usually sees the one with greater resources and territory familiarity come out tops. Captain Miller (Emperor Vecta) is essentially the last card the mercenaries can play to achieve their mission; if he's killed or imprisoned like Vassago was then the mercenaries are out of options. Next (and most probably the final showdown) should be Kirito, Asuna and Alice against Vecta. I don't think Sinon can help, but she's done her part in severely wounding Vecta to make the fight much more even. The rest of the Japanese reinforcements will probably log out automatically once the acceleration goes past a certain threshold anyway. There's still a bit more to go as far as air time is concerned, so hopefully all the loose ends will be cleaned up at the end of the quarter. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2963 |
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S3 #8
Another action set-piece this week, but this one was more over the top than anything else. Although it's a spectacle, it's slightly disappointing most of the conflict with a soul which only knows how to steal was exposited in previous episodes and isn't brought to a full conclusion in the duel. Kirito gets lots of help to beat this particular enemy, but there's little interaction between the two. With this episode, the mercenaries have failed to achieve their aim and the defenders have won, albeit at great cost. Alice has been extracted, but she's just data at the moment and is no different from Yui unless something is prepared for her to occupy in the real world. Asuna is doing the noble thing and is prepared to spend two hundred years with Kirito in the virtual world, so the only way both of them are going to leave with their sanity and souls intact is for the backup crew in the real world to take action, and fast. All of the big battle set pieces are done for now, so I wonder how the series is going to finish as there's roughly a third of the season to go. |
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