Sword Art Online: Alicization WoU Part 2 Episodes 13 to END

[azenable]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Much as I love Kirito...how the heck is he supposed to turn the tides here? He's not that OP. At least I hope he isn't.

One word...Bankai!!!

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kakurin

Well, the situation in which Kirito comes in and saves the day has to be created right. .

To be honest, I think it's kind of impressive they've kept him off the board for 16 episodes .

[GDB]

He hasn't really been off the board though. He's been the driving motivator for Alice, while constantly showing up for other characters to talk about. He's been a heavy drive for multiple characters getting past their insecurities such as Renly and Sinon.

Sure, he might not be fighting, but they still act like nothing could happen without him.

[bakato]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Much as I love Kirito...how the heck is he supposed to turn the tides here? He's not that OP. At least I hope he isn't.

He's in a virtual reality where will power translates into actual power.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by GDB

He hasn't really been off the board though. He's been the driving motivator for Alice, while constantly showing up for other characters to talk about. He's been a heavy drive for multiple characters getting past their insecurities such as Renly and Sinon.

Sure, he might not be fighting, but they still act like nothing could happen without him.

I don't think being a motivator takes away from the accomplishments of the other characters or what they've done on there own. I don't think that is acting like nothing could be done without him since plenty is happening without him even if he's spurring certain characters on to some extent, but they're still actively involved and doing stuff without him being there.

And, at the end of the day, he's still the main character.

[magnuskn]

Originally Posted by Kakurin

Americans, South Koreans and Chinese massacring Japanese players and the AI characters they protect... that's uh... let's just stop here.

Yeah, the author really is painting with a pretty broad rush here. Feels more than a bit jingoistic, to be honest.

Originally Posted by Kakurin

Also, smells like a Deus Ex Machina Kirito-saving-the-day-again development is incoming. How very original.

It says something that the best SAO ever was when Kirito was basically in a coma for a long stretch of time.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

It says something that the best SAO ever was when Kirito was basically in a coma for a long stretch of time.

I dunno, SAO Progressive is super fun. So is Girls Ops.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

Yeah, the author really is painting with a pretty broad rush here. Feels more than a bit jingoistic, to be honest.

Again, it's apparently reflective of the actual national tension between the nations, particularly at the time the story was written.

It says something that the best SAO ever was when Kirito was basically in a coma for a long stretch of time.

I think the Alicization saga has been pretty consistently good from the start, but of course I like Kirito so I'm kind of biased .

[GDB]

I felt like it was good up until they entered the tower. When they weren't BS OP and power scaling was low. Then it became even more outlandish and Bleach-like than anything previously done in SAO.

Maybe that's why I like Progressive so much too. Power scaling is low, there isn't much BS power ups, etc.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by GDB

I felt like it was good up until they entered the tower. When they weren't BS OP and power scaling was low. Then it became even more outlandish and Bleach-like than anything previously done in SAO.

Maybe that's why I like Progressive so much too. Power scaling is low, there isn't much BS power ups, etc.

I thought the Integrity Knight fights were fun, especially the Alice/Fanatio/Bercouli fights.

They got a little more flashy than past SAO fights, but it didn't feel like power ups so much as new weapon abilities and using them correctly. It was part of developing the world of the Underworld which came into even more focus during the second half of Alicization.

[GDB]

They were fun, but they were everything wrong with shounen power scaling BS. It literally just became Bleach for a bit there.

Kirito and Eugeo had to level normally, even if they had the advanced Aincrad techniques at their disposal. Yet they were able to fight on par with or above the Knights who had had decades or centuries of training, and were chosen because of either their talents or free wills. And they did this with about 2 years of training. The only one that makes sense for them to beat was Alice's apprentice, as he'd had only a few months of training as a knight after winning the tournament against Kirito's senpai.

These special sword techniques mattered for the initial wave to show off the other knights, and for Bercoulli's fight against Vecta, but otherwise everything seems to just be about Incarnate or numbers.

[magnuskn]

The epicness in the second half of Alicization, without Kirito's presence, is great part of what makes the show so good for me. The other part being the writer being very effective in making you care about characters (the Integrity Knights) which you know little about and even being pretty even-handed with the opposing sides characters.

The Japanese jingoism... not so good. I was already put off by GATE's colonialist themes and this, while being far less egregious, also was a bad taste on the tongue.

[rladls2121]

Gate, Mahouka, no i don't really mind it anymore.

So sad scene about Siune scene though, talking about how the Red Knights's anger and frustration are misplaced. I mean what are the worse timing than dealing with the sensitive topics in a place where those topics are rather nothing to do with what is happening inside Underworld.
In a way, the Red Knights seems like they are the closest to being an actual NPC than the Underworld people as Kirito's relations with them are never like any video games in the first place.

How can these people there hold in their anger and pain, and then focus on stopping US military and RATH?

I swear people will never see VR as fun and games ever again. VR helmets, they are becoming more dangerous every year. Someday these stolen technologies may be sold to the highest bidder and potentially being used as some sort of mental torture device.

[GDB]

Who needs mental torture, when arc 2 (Fairy Dance) already had people working on mind control/brainwashing with them?

And now we're directly linking souls, with Administrator brainwashing those souls. That's far worse than any sort of torture.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

Yeah, the author really is painting with a pretty broad rush here. Feels more than a bit jingoistic, to be honest.

Normally I'd agree, but it was PoH deliberately stirring the pot.

Originally Posted by GDB

Kirito and Eugeo had to level normally, even if they had the advanced Aincrad techniques at their disposal. Yet they were able to fight on par with or above the Knights who had had decades or centuries of training, and were chosen because of either their talents or free wills. And they did this with about 2 years of training. The only one that makes sense for them to beat was Alice's apprentice, as he'd had only a few months of training as a knight after winning the tournament against Kirito's senpai.

IIRC, the reason Kirito and Eugeo did so well is because the sword techniques in the Underworld weren't really meant for actual combat, but standardized duels.

[scififan]

Originally Posted by Endscape

IIRC, the reason Kirito and Eugeo did so well is because the sword techniques in the Underworld weren't really meant for actual combat, but standardized duels.

Ugo can freeze a large part of area. This technique is more useful against human waves than one on one fighting.

[Frontier]

So Yui's apparently been monitoring everything from afar, but I really wonder what's going on with the old SAO server .

Just when things are at the most dire, who runs in but...Eiji!? Not only does he swoop in and ward off Vassago, but he manages to hold his own against one of the most dangerous killer in SAO. In doing so he restores his honor as a Knight of the Blood Oath and truly becomes Nautilus again. Even if it came at the expense of his arms, he managed to wound PoH, which is a major feat in and of itself compared to the person he used to be. You did good, Eiji .

Even Yuuna showed up, having apparently become Eiji's Yui, backing him up and warding off Vassago's Incarnate-induced hate plague. I wasn't expecting a surprise Yuuna concert, and neither were the other knights, but it sure livened things up .

Y'know, for a second there I thought Eiji and Yuna were going to be wordless cameos since they're not voiced by normal seiyuu, so it was nice to see them back for this. Just as it was neat to see Yuuna revert back to her SAO form through sheer instinct after seeing Eiji get hurt .

We finally learn Vassago's backstory...growing up in a slum in America, hated by his mother, and used and discarded by his father like a tool to save his Japanese half-brother. All that hate and neglect drove Vassago into developing a massive hatred of the Japanese, which spurred him to jump into SAO even after it was revealed to be a death game just so he could kill a bunch of Japanese. He probably also hates Kirito so much because he looks like his brother .

I guess Yuuna is popular enough that even Korean and Chinese players know about her, which is enough to finally wake some people up and realize something strange is going on. Then they see the Laughing Coffin insignia and realize who Vassago is, not that it does much good when Vassago drives them all to start killing each other. Now it's total chaos .

Considering how much of a scumbag Yanai is, falling to his death and making a smear on the floor is the least he deserves .

Look at Higa, trying to ask out Rinko. He had his priorities in order. It totally went over her head, but what's he expecting, she was Akihiko Kayaba's lover of all people .

Just when you think Sinon is about to lose her sniping match against Miller, her willpower and belief in Kirito give her the shot she needs to take out an arm and almost half his face. Not too shabby, but also not enough to stop him from going after Alice while Sinon's lost both legs (although maybe she can still fly) .

Leafa's one-woman stand was as awesome as it was brutal, as she tanks hit after hit, some more gory than others, and keeps getting up because she refuses to be done in. She's the Black Swordsman's sister after all. Of course even having an efficient healing factor doesn't negate all the pain she's probably feeling, but it also doesn't negate all those soldiers she was able to take out in-spite of that pain. Well done Leafa .

Looks like Asuna, Sinon, and Leafa opened the door to Kirito's fluctlight for Eugeo to seemingly enter in to try and finally save Kirito's consciousness. Which is apparently trapped in his middle school life, of all places .

Man, it's been 17 episodes but Yoshitusug Matsuoka finally gets to say an actual sentence as Kirito again. It was cathartic hearing him say the title of the next episode again .

[velvet nightmare]

Kind of confused about vassago here.

He just logged into SAO from his home? who would take care of his physical body? at that point everyone stuck in SAO was shipped off to hospitals.

Sinon's fight was also incredibly stupid. First she has ammo problems, then she doesn't through the use of her bow's mechanics. So why turn the bow into a gun in the first place.

All the fights look visually impressive but everything about them is incredibly forced. Random mechanics being pulled in from every other game to force a plot outcome.

[Friday]

return of Yuna and Eiji shock me abit....so does this means Yuna is only alive on the old SAO Server?

Originally Posted by Friday

I wouldn't be surprise the next episode will be of Kirito trying to wake up and when he does....
to be continue

next week

Spoiler for wondering:

if those 2 will show up.....

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by velvet nightmare

He just logged into SAO from his home? who would take care of his physical body? at that point everyone stuck in SAO was shipped off to hospitals.

I guess he had to have someone taking care of him, whether he paid them or otherwise. Can't think of anyone who would do it willingly like Rinko did for Kayaba .

Sinon's fight was also incredibly stupid. First she has ammo problems, then she doesn't through the use of her bow's mechanics. So why turn the bow into a gun in the first place.

She Incarnated it into Hecate, probably because she felt like she needed her strongest weapon and because she was facing off against someone from GGO.