Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld

The world of SAO's lit is already so jam-packed with Kirito and Asuna providing enjoyable moments that it's unimaginable we'd need any more of them. How many of the anime fans hate SAO and its story? The weird surprise of Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld it gives the possibility to a more creative story and to other characters to shine, leaving zombie Kirito as a secondary character. I know this already happened on the "Mother's Rosario" arc when other characters were allowed to take the lead. However, this time I think the author handled it better, and for that reason, Alice's growth ... is delightful, and the story is more enjoyable than the usual SAO's plot. Without any fear of mistake, SAO Alicization is the best arc of the series so far, and I hope to see the sequel in a few months because I am eager for more SAO.

The story is a prelude of the war that we will see in the sequel, and it has a nice pace. The plot introduce the characters and the reasons behind the fight. However, from my perspective, the villains are not appropriately developed, and some characters need a bit more details that I hope to see in the next sequel. We do not have the usual information about them, and that could be seen as a terrible outcome. Also, at the begging, following the events from Alacization, we have a Kirito that ended in a catatonic state. I thought that without him, the story would fail. Still, now I can say it is better. The other characters are now the protagonists, such as Alice. Her will to fight or all the conflicts surrounding her and the need to see all to possibilities and her reasons to wear the armor again. Furthermore, she proved that she could be the main lead of SAO's series. I liked the part when she decided to fight again in the first episodes. Also, if we notice, Kiriko is used as a motivational character, as we can see in some events. Even if he does not fight or talk, he stills as an essential character of the whole series. Additionally, the entrance of Asuna is excellent. Still, she looked vastly overpowered. The ending was interesting if you ask me.

I am not giving any further details about the plot; I want to avoid any spoiler that could destroy the readers' enjoyment. Even if you hate SAO or find it annoying, I am sure you can enjoy this arc. The bad part is that you need to know the characters or the previous arc to understand the whole plot.

The art and sound impressed me. It is excellent and gorgeous. I was not expecting that quality, and it helped the story to be entertaining. All the fights and the camera movements combined with a good score and sound mix made a great series that hope it continues with the same level in the sequel.

Finally, SAO is not a loved series. However, the LN is now the best LN of the decade in Japan; we need to give the series some credit and stop burying it because we cannot stand the plot in some parts. The fans loved it, and I love it. I know there are some silly parts that we want to avoid, but Alicization is the best arc from those novels. I am thrilled that they animated it.

At the beginning if you are the one who hate SAO for no reason , don't waste your time reading my review ..
i'm someone who watched more than 700 series for over than 15 year, so i will give my impression on this season without personal effect , Read it with a calm mind ,,

I'm reading many negative reviews about this series from many ppls here but they missed many important points the gives this show its enjoyment ..
Let's go down to the details , at first i will give my ratings:
*Summary*
Story 8/10
Art 9/10
Sound 8/10
Character 9/10
... Enjoyment 10/10
Overall 9/10
...........................................

Story 8/10 :
*Story* the story is going on in order of the timeline while focus on giving details on all the parties and sides of the story (kirito & alice - underworld in human and dark realm - real world ), in my opinion this is giving the story a very big positive factor instead of being negative to it ..distribution of the screen time and sides of story comparing to the no of episodes are fair but we need more episodes to cover more details .
and with each episode pass, the story get more integrated and more interesting while completing its all fragments .

Art 9/10
Art is amazing and the scenes are highly detailed which make this anime more realistic using simple yet wonderful drawings, scenes of fighting are interesting and beautiful but we need more battle screen time .

Sound 8/10 :
Op & ED songs are amazing ones among all the songs of this year animes , let the other soundtracks are exactly suitable for the most of the anime but some scenes needed more ost and changed one with other

Character 9/10 :
The characters are interesting while the screentime directed toward develop it could be less than what we all want but we should notice that this season has only 12 ep and much details and events are included in it , the charcters are wonderful at the most points .. u will know it when u complete watching it to the end

Enjoyment 10/10 :
It's SAO, fiction with our heroes and Sci-fi and romance comprised with dark world ..
all the moments of this anime were enjoyable to the extent that i wanted to watch it forever .
SAO Alicization' underworld war is clearly Amazing and deserve watching .. never miss it ^_*

Overall 9/10 :
with pace of the anime , it will deserve higher rating ^_^
my review here is just initial one because the anime didn't finish up-till now ..
Looking forward into the remaining episodes and the second Core ... 3>

"THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER-FREE"

Isekai has always been one of the most iconic genres in terms of popularity among anime. However, and unsurprisingly, not many of its shows are actually held at the same regard as those from other genres.

The question for this truth ahead came into existence long ago, but still, yet to be answered. Is it because Isekai shows are always labelled with concepts of “trashy, childish and impractical series”, or are they too familiar to viewers in recent years and therefore are not capable of differenciating themselves from others?

Several shows are introduced every year, each portrays an aspect of the genre in its ... own way, but still retains the similarity of someone being transferred to another imaginary world with several designated purposes. Of course, this notion is not anomalous by now, but when it comes to the year of 2012, not all of us then had already been informed of “What is anime?” to say nothing of the term “Isekai”.

However, little do we know. Since the advent of SAO in that same year, Isekai genre has started a steady development in all aspects, and then somehow soared recently with SAO itself took a partial role of setting the ball rolling for this. Despite being the most popular and beloved anime in 2012, SAO anyhow gradually received one-upping hatred from its own viewers, which has casted plenty of questions with hardly any reasonable answers related to this incredible 180-degree turn.

I have never been such a fan of SAO, but I do not hate it either. This is partly because of the whole novel notions and ideas Reki Kawahara intending to deliver throughout this franchise. An exceptional VR world of Aincrad that blew us away with its magnificent looks and feels, the creative and innovative concept of introducing future technology (which is yet to be a daydream at the present) right in year 2012 as well as the hidden message that, on behalf of game addicts, expressed their inquiry about “What does real world mean?”. Such hilarious and foolish this type of question is. Howbeit, being dedicated enough to scrutinize this from its core in order to figure out the most reasonable answer is not a simple task. Deprivation of dedication is what thwarting us.

So, what brings about this lack among Isekai genre, or to be more specific, among SAO franchise?

One of the biggest problem SAO presented from its own beginning is that, it just followed one same pattern throughout the whole series, when we see an overpowered protagonist having to save the day and defeat an antagonist, who is unsurprisingly stronger than him. Such simply predictable the plot is, from which a sense of boredom may result, and likewise turn a beloved series into a total disaster just in one episode. I’m not saying that SAO 1 didn’t acquire numerous incredible potentials which were just as promising as it should have been when its first trailer was released. Indeed, this franchise was one of the most invested ones among Isekai genre with fascinating characters, spectacular animations, breathtaking scenes and full epic soundtracks. The pacing was somewhat reasonable and matched the plot fairly precise, thereby grabbed the viewers’ attention and made them follow the path of their hyperactive hero until the very end. Having said that, the show hardly introduced any breakthrough twists and turns with lackluster details, which really blurred the presence of some utmost fight scenes that ever existed in anime. These, together with unnecessary fan-service scenes, possibly served as rationales behind the hatred given to this franchise and turned it into a whole series designated for children thereafter.

Unfortunately, SAO 2 followed that same path of failures.

Numerous arguments have been made around this downturn and the most controversial one is “The fall of Isekai genre”. This is partly due to the rapid explosion of Isekai shows, in number not quality, during the next few years, which caused viewers to suffer a blasé sense about anime as well as their desperate need for a fresh alternative mainstream. This was probably one of the darkest ages among the anime history, but it practically left a huge question mark onto Isekai producers, whether they should reform the whole appearance and comply with the changing majority, or follow the same pattern that once succeeded as to gain back their position in everyone’s eyes?

This Gordian Knot has surrounded the genre for nearly a decade and is yet to be untied, with immediate submergences of almost every Isekai shows released after the year of 2013 till this day. Having said that, several ones which did not suffer from this seemingly inevitable obstacle, “RE: Zero” for instance, have actually proposed a solution for which the whole genre has always wanted, and thereby make the grand escape all away from this contradict reality.

Few have successfully managed to handle this, however.

And it may come even more amiss to many of you that amongst these, SAO is the franchise which I believe to have completed the most compelling transformation.

Before we enter the main part of this review, I just want to make out some point. I was first intended to encapsulate this latest season of SAO in a short and concise review, but the further and deeper look I gave onto the story, the more I realised the injustice of criticising it without touching on the whole journey it took to get to this very momment. SAO: War of Underworld (WoU), without a doubt, is one of the best long-lasting Isekai series in the anime world by far and the anticipation given keeps one-upping day by day, which is unexpected for a franchise exposed to that amount of love and hatred. And, believe or not, the time has come for SAO to rise from the ashes, stronger than ever.

The storyline, perharps, is the aspect should be introductorily considered for this. It is quite straightfoward with decent amount of information and frames displayed on each episode, therefore gives viewers a sense of being captivated with the flow of the show and somehow gets them curious about what is coming next. This, however, hardly appeared in any earlier seasons of the franchise. SAO 1 and 2 did have some great storytelling at first but then declined slowly afterwards due to the appearance of some “filler” episodes and fan-service scenes, which had no point to make with the entire story.

Another point worthed noting is that, the show has incredibly expanded from the very beginning, no matter how many new ideas and concepts coming out each season, it still manages to retain its unique “VR world versus real world”. The whole franchise has heavily relied on this premise, with the introduction of future technologies, from the Nerve Gear to The Seed, to its prequel AmuSphere and lastly SoulTranslator, which was the basis for the whole Underworld to operate. The way they are presented plainly matched the storyline, and therefore did not make viewers feel overwhelmed for such a lot of novel concepts to adhere to.

The pacing of this season is what also gain it a plus mark. 12 episodes, when they end, just feel like that same amount, no more no less, but are stil able to convey the whole meaning of the story with scarcely misunderstandable details. Additionally, the season is far less dependent on random and meaningless comedic moments, none in fact, which offers a more fluent and cohesive plot ever than what used to exist in two first seasons.

Animations and visuals are still astonishing as always, breathtaking sceneries of the Underworld together with the absolute contrast of ones belong to Dark Territory somehow stuck into my mind the scenerio of our real world future if we continue to destroy our planet. Aside from these, SAO WoU undoubtedly possesses winsome original soundtracks which are highly memerable and play an immense role on inculcating the series itself into its viewers. What’s more, alluring character designs as well as highly genuine expressions on their faces absolutely got viewers interested further into their development, but we will get to that in a bit.

Let us take a deeper look into the content. The main story is still surrounding our protagoinst Kirito as he entered the Underworld created by RATH in order to seek for an AI named Alice and take her with him to the end point of Underworld then log two of them out. This has contrastly grown however, with Kirito having his Fluctlight damaged and is now incapable of moving or communicating with others. Several altercations have been made around this twist, but mostly emphasizes on the incentive this will give to other characters of the show to take the spotlight, and the studio incredibly make use of this.

We have Alice now having to make a difficult decision of proceeding to protect Underworld and its inhabitants as an Integrity Knight or to take a step down and protect Kirito as a more-than-close friend. The dilemma given to such a special AI like her initially seems to be overwhelmed, but as her own character has been strikingly well-established, she somehow manages to equally contribute to both side of the coin.

Furthermore, we get to see our supportive characters having been exposed to us for a decent amount of time throughout the season, and when it ends, they really leave an impression on us of not ceasing as “supporting” but really being an essential part of the entire story as well as making it lively and captivating. This absolutely reminded me on the second season of AoT where we got to see some important characters later on (Krista, Reiner, Bertold, Ymir) being put to more than enough amount of screen times and secure their spot throughout the story. The improvement in this aspect really shines as a spotlight itself of the whole season, which assures that the show is now independent on the only one protagonist to carry it along, because the rests all can.

Whilst the story plus the character design of this season simply outweighed its former in many facets, one of the biggest issues with it, and surprisingly has not changed since the first one, is the world building. I’m not saying this season’s world building has partly surpassed the prequels, but we need to concentrate deeper on the actual premise of it. What I mean by that is Underwold, unlike orther VR worlds introduced throughout the franchise, is created and operated on the basis of what is inside its designer’s mind. Trees, mountains, fields and rivers all exsist in the same way their creators want them to be, or in other words, they somehow mimic that exact same trees or mountains appeared in the creators’ memory. As for its inhabitants, they depict real world’s people but in another point in history, around the mid 15th, 16th century. The dwellers live the lives of humankind and are obligated to obey the rules given, and consequently pave the way for a whole society to flourish.

However, can this exact same scenerio applied to those come from the Dark Territory? This is one real big issue that SAO so far has not given any clues. The Underwold’s inhabitants must follow the given rules notwithstanding any contexts and in fact are utterly unable to break them. As a result, this raises more questions about the existence of Dark Territory. Who constructed it, why would ones do that and especially how could it be done if RATH had taken control of Underworld since its very first beginning? Another question that should be raised during the season but it has somewhat to do with our real world is that why wouldn’t an AI question the fact that they are the production of human’s hands and are roaming in an imaginary world but just simply accepted it in the same way that Bercouli did? Or, if that’s on the table, why are they being created, what purposes do their creators want them to serve? Or something else to those effects.

Furthermore, the origin of this region was succintly mentioned in the light novel, which should have also been presented in the anime from the very first. This actually cast a doubt onto the reliability of the show’s world building in the eyes of viewers, and even though A-1 Picture actually completed a great job on giving viewers insights into SoulTranslator, the basis technology behind the operation of Underworld, this is just superficial in comparison to the urgency of comprehending what is truly happening at the momment.

Taking everything into consideration, SAO WoU has fully evolved into something entirely new which we have never predicted when we first watched it, and thereby changes its name from a whole childish Isekai show to one that deserves to be celebrated by all walks of anime fans and manages to distinguish itself from other series among the genre. The show is not flawless technically, but as it dares to stand out right in front of the viewers and affirmes its position in the anime world line, we should probably give it another shot. SAO now is no more a long-lasting series that we all want it to end as soon as possible, but the one that worthed our time waiting every week with definite hype, excitement and anticipation, which may be a bit uncommon among Isekai genre. However, because it has somehow been able to not only overcome the challenges given to the entire genre but also keep itself up a notch, this may be the case.

It’s unsurprising by now that SAO is truely worth watching and deserves the wait for an epic finale.

Remember when Kirito, the main protagonist of Sword Art Online jumped into the virtual world and made a name for himself as the ‘Black Swordsman’? Since 2012, his name would become iconic in the SAO anime series' franchise. Anyone who have heard of Sword Art Online would be able to name him as a character, even those has never seen the series before. Now, we are in a timeline, an arc detailing events that doesn’t have Kirito carrying the season. Instead, meet Alice Zuberg.

Anyone already familiar with SAO should know the franchise has no shortage of powerful female main characters. From Asuna to Yuki, they ... are able to hold their own against skilled opponents and often times coming out dominant in a fight. In the case of Alice, she is also in a league of her own in particular with her swordsmanship. With unique talents such as Sacred Arts and Incarnation, Alice is more than capable of taking care of herself. The real question remains of who would take care of Kirito? This season puts him in a role that audience may not be accustomed to. Seeing Kirito in a vegetable state creates a situation where another character has to carry the season. Alice would be the main protagonist to take this task and it doesn’t come without risks. In fact, she even faces troubles of her own when trying to discover her purpose in the world.

And to take on the world is no easy task. The antagonists this season introduces a new level of challenge such as Gabriel Miller, the chief tactical officer of the Glowgen Defense Systems. SAO has been a subject of controversy with its rogue gallery. The addition of Gabriel further adds context with the character being portrayed as an intellectual psychopath. Gabriel himself is somewhat of a complex character known for crimes involving genocide, experimentation, and abuse of power. Tyrant is a suitable word to describe such a character as he is a man filled with sins. As what he stands for, Gabriel is a testament of the worst side of humanity. On a lesser scale, we are also introduced to members of the Order of the Dark Knights. Some of its more prominent members such as Vixur and Lipia displays impressive abilities but are generally lackluster characters that makes little impact in the main story. War of the Underworld seems to be driven by not just survival but conquest in a virtual world for supremacy. On the technical front, episode 6 serves as a good old fashioned battle covered with the brutality of what humans are capable of. A main problem with that episode does make less of an impact revolving around the death of certain characters. Compared to the first season, War of the Underworld feels lacks emotional connection outside of Alice and Kirito. Even for Asuna, who is in the real world, still holds the same feelings we’ve seen so many towards to the black swordsman. Keeping things back, we do get a unique episode about a young Integrity Knight named Renly in episode 7. It’s strange that sometimes in the SAO world, we get a character that isn’t prominent to a story arc but plays a role to show the themes of the franchise. In Renly, we witness a character who is able to overcome some of his fear in a moment of desperation. It’s one of the more human moments I recall this season.

In respect of Alice being the major protagonist this season, I give a lot of credit for her character presence. She helps Kirito in whatever ways she can from the start and if it wasn’t for her, his circumstances would be much different. Fate would also designate her encounter with Asuna. When you have two incredibly powerful female characters meeting together for the first time (both associated with Kirito), there’s bound to be a conflict. And their meeting is nothing less than bickering and a clash of swords. Mind you, Asuna has the advantage of being in a relationship with Kirito for much longer. On the other hand, Alice is also an important person in Kirito’s life now and shouldn’t be undervalued, even compared to Asuna herself. Luckily, the two are able to form a truce despite their differences. Comparing both characters, it’s not hard to find a common ground about them. But if you’re thinking this season will have them fight over a vegetable, then think again.

Alicization is a complex arc. There’s no doubt about that as we learn the secrets, conspiracies, and dark motives of certain individuals. Kirito isn’t the main protagonist this time and Eugeo is noticeably absent. I’m sure some people wanted to see how him back since he was a breath of fresh air. But now, we have Alice Zuberg, the chivalrous Integrity Knight who is seeking her own purpose in the SAO world while trying to protect what she treasures. This season chose to run a span of 12 episodes because the fact is, there’s much more it needs to show. And when Spring 2020 comes, it’ll have to prove itself if it can carry the torch.

All the negative reviews don't understand what makes a good Anime but only complain and rate all animes 1 star.
I will explain why this is a good anime.

Story: No sjw or "non violance". Animes used to show true Nature and feelings of the humans but modern animes go for "Non violence" or white males war only which makes the show predictable and BORING.
people aren't peaceful so showing 100 episodes of a single fight where the loser only has a sad face and the winner has a smile is called a garbage anime. In SAO True nature where violence and Horror things people in "Real Life" ... do is shown which makes the story very interesting and unpredictable because you cannot predict the characters (which i will explain more in the characthers topic) or the story, there is everything in SAO from romance to full action to adventure. "A good anime makes you want to watch the next episode right away" Sao Delivers it.

Art: i have no words to the art in this anime it's relaxing and just mesmerizing. there is a scene when a pigeon flies through the lake it's just amazing the investment of drawing and details.

Sound: Where do i even start... THAT BASS. do you remember how all the Game Trailers sound is amazing? where the skill is shown or when the gun shoots you hear a nice beautiful Bass? SAO HAS IT.
do you remember listening to chillstep and melodics when you were little?
SAO HAS IT.


Characters: Outstanding!!! You actually can feel them in the Anime (i'll explain). Some animes when you watch you think "He is strong" or "He is the coolest one" so you can start predicting what's the next move or how the episode will end, but in SAO you know it because you feel each one of them, you feel their love, their hate, their personality which reflects about their decisions that's why you can't predict because even if you will try to predict something there is a chance they will do something or worse or better or actually fail without a good outcome like other animes because they act on logic and feelings and personalities which makes the show more interesting and natural while most of modern anime only act on logic and "Outsmarting".

Enjoyment: just Watch it and if you reached episode 10 don't put 1 star because if you weren't enjoying it you wouldn't waste 4 and a half hours straight in 1 star show.

Overall: Watch it

War taking place in the underworld has begin. As we know, Kirito is currently paralyzed by an attack that occurred in the previous season. Now Kirito is cared for and lives with Alice, after they defeated the leader of the axiom church, Quinella, who we know as "administrator". Their lives initially proceeded as usual, but all that changed when residents of the "dark territories" rebelled and attacked the underworld.

At this point Kirito as the main character could not do anything, he was required to accept the bitter truth that what they had protected so far would be destroyed soon. This season ... is full of tensions and dramatic moments, wars that are inevitable, full of bloody battles, the slaughter of a human being, it all happens here and will soon reach the climax.

Witnessing this season, proving that soon Alicization will reach the top of the story. The story goes slowly but all is neatly arranged, starting with the introduction of each character. Alice is a girl who used to be Kirito's childhood friend, but she had to be separated from Kirito because she had broken a rule created by the axiom church. The entry of several characters who act as antagonists and protagonists in this season uses an instant way to get a strength to side with the course of the story that will reach the top. Unlike Kirito who had to start from scratch.

As in previous seasons, you will see many scenes of action and bloody battles this season, but what distinguishes this season from the past is their goal. If in the previous season Kirito entered the underworld with the aim of recovering himself in the real world, because in the real world Kirito is now on the verge of death due to attacks from members of "Laughin Coffin" and to defeat the main senator namely administrator. Whereas in this season, the inhabitants of the dark territory led by Gabriel (They call it the Demon King Vector), he is a US military soldier assigned to take Alice's soul to create an AI (Artificial Intelligence) that can make artificial humans as a source of war military.

Sword Art Online is a series that exists for some reason, a minority of outsiders love to hate it even though it is one of the most successful media franchises in Japan. They only focus on the domestic market even though it is different from foreign market conditions. They do not hesitate to spend a lot of budget for a successful franchise in their market.

With that much budget, it's no wonder, they can make art like that. Explosions, sword friction effects, character designs, etc. seem very realistic and very detailed for a sword fighting effect. OP / ED staying up can help promote artists and help sales of BD versions. It all became the main point of Sword Art Online to become the biggest and most popular franchise in the domestic market.

As a fan of this franchise, I say this season is a season full of action scenes. That made him realize that this season was full of dramatic and tense tragedies. The great seconds of the fight over their respective goals have now begin.

To be honest I've always been a fan of SAO. The amount of hate the series receives always annoyed me but I'm happy to see this season getting more positive reviews.

Story (9) - The story follows the progression of technology, more specifically virtual reality. One thing I enjoy about this is how in depth it goes especially in this season. It feels more like another world than a game with the main character now being Alice in a position where all she knew was a lie yet decides to fight alongside the other integrity knights from the forces of the Dark Territory to protect the ... things she still cares for as well as our main character Kirito who fought to help free the integrity knights from the pontifex who had them under control. The story follows an advanced AI nearly identical to a human thought process fighting the enemies of the dark territory from threatening what she now holds dear and demonstrates an amazing concept of how an AI that has a soul becomes more like a human beginning to think for itself.

Art (10) - Well you can tell they went all out with the art this season. The CGI is done great and while making this arc fairly dark and grim, the colors are vibrant and beautiful which gives you stunning fight scenes.

Sound (10) - The OP and the ED are simply amazing. They fit the anime perfectly to me and its LiSa, I mean she doesn't seem to make a bad song.

Character (9) - We get a pretty good backstory to most our characters this season which is nice. I find myself liking almost all the integrity knights now knowing their backstory compared to Alicization where they are trying to kill our main characters so if you can flop my opinion on them like that I believe that's a positive. With the focus of the story and this season being 12 episodes, character development is done fairly well, Alice especially for obvious reasons as she is the MC. The characters express emotion well so it makes situations feel more serious or tense. My only complaint would our main villain this season. Not enough backstory for me to really understand his actions besides the fact that he's just insane, I'd like something more creative.

Enjoyment (9) - As I said Iv'e always enjoyed SAO but this season as many have already said, is the best season of all the previous ones imo.

Overall (9) - SAO has always appealed to me in a way other animes don't. So my ratings obviously wont be accurate for those who never cared for the show in the first place. I truly believe the anime gets more hate than it deserves but I'm glad that SAO is getting more positive reviews this time around. Overall this anime isn't for those who critically analyze everything looking for something to dislike because its popular. Its simply an all around great series that can appeal to a variety of people for its interesting concept and its variety of genre exposure that it delivers very well.

As 2019 comes to an end and we prepare ourselves to welcome in a new decade, I write this review as a testament to where I feel one of my favorite anime franchises of this decade now stands.

Sword Art Online has always been a popular light novel and anime franchise that dominated the 2010's. However, despite its success and long-standing popularity, there's no denying that there's always been that certain vocal minority that always feels the need to criticize Sword Art Online on a 24/7 basis. Whether it be normal viewers who have or haven't watched the series or some anime reviewers that always feel ... the need to make their opinions feel like fact, Sword Art Online could never catch a break.

Despite all this, there's a reason Sword Art Online has never faded into obscurity and oblivion and has always managed to stand strong as one of the defining anime franchises of the 2010's. And Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld is arguably the biggest season yet, encompassing how Sword Art Online has continued to grow not only as a successful franchise, but one that still retains legions of millions of fans that are growing to this day for what it has to offer.

Story: 10/10

For some people, they either say SAO in terms of story hits it out of the ball park or misses and gets a strike. But for this season, I believe SAO hit a home run. At the very least, I can argue it's been improving its swing and shows no signs of stopping. Comparing the first half of Alicization to its second half (aka War of Underworld in this context), I would say the second half not only builds upon what the first half introduced, but also manages to conceive an engaging and consistent story that goes above all other previous seasons. If one were to say the first half of Alicization faltered in its later episodes, I could only hope they stayed around for War of Underworld to see how actually great it is. When Alicization transitioned to War of Underworld, SAO essentially went from being the standard shonen fantasy adventure that Kirito embarks on to a story of tragedy that does not pull back on the deaths and grief war brings even in a virtual world.

Basically, I would say War of Underworld's story is a vast improvement on SAO's storytelling. I would even go as far as to say it's like experiencing the story of a Fate series anime. The ufotable adaptations, mind you. Not a lot of people might say that, but I know I did.

It also helps that War of Underworld has some of the best action in SAO yet, featuring tons of battles that keep the viewer invested while also giving development to much of the Integrity Knights and even some depth to the inhabitants of the Dark Territory.

I will delve into the characters of War of Underworld later, but overall, the story of War of Underworld is perhaps the best of SAO yet.

Art: 10/10

No matter what you think about SAO, one cannot deny that SAO has always performed well visually. While the first half of Alicization was good in animation too, I have to admit the Blu-ray/DVD version of the first half of Alicization has better animation quality compared to the TV version. But come War of Underworld, I believe the animators won't have to do much editing for the Blu-ray/DVD version of War of Underworld. Because War of Underworld's art and animation is already great to begin with. And we're talking about the TV version!

I always felt SAO had revolutionized its art and animation ever since Ordinal Scale, and War of Underworld manages to present nigh-flawless art and animation that leaves little to no room for error. From eye-astonishing fight scenes to the always gorgeous backgrounds, SAO always delivers on the art and animation while also improving on it as each installment releases.

On a side note, the occasional CGI rendering of background characters fighting in the war may be off-putting to those used to traditional animation, but at this point, I don't mind it, because a lot of other anime use it too and the CGI here doesn't take away from the splendid art and animation of SAO.

Sound: 10/10

Yuki Kajiura is a composer legend and no one can tell me otherwise. While there's mostly some carryover of soundtracks from previous seasons including the first half of Alicization, there is still some new soundtracks to listen to that are just splendid for the ears to experience.

But the biggest appeal in sound are the opening and ending songs. Haruka Tomatsu, the Japanese voice actress of Asuna, sings an opening song for SAO once again with Resolution, which not only is awesome to listen to on its own, but also fits the ambitious resolve the Human Empire has to protect their homeland from the Dark Territory and the latest antagonist yet.

As for the ending song, just when it seemed LiSA was done for the year with Gurenge, the opening of Demon Slayer, LiSA sings her last SAO song of the 2010's with Unlasting. While Unlasting may not be enough to make me shed a tear like Shirushi from the Mother's Rosario arc did, Unlasting is absolutely heavenly to listen to, as its melancholic and somber tone suits the grief and despair that Alice Zuberg is going through now that she's in a scenario where the Kirito she fought with is out of commission and longs for him to fight alongside her again for the world he saved alongside her and Eugeo.

Character: 10/10

And now I shall talk about the characters. First things first, it's important to repeat that Kirito is in a coma. So for those who think he's still going to be an overpowered protagonist in War of Underworld, you thought wrong. While his consciousness still desires to protect those he loves, he is absolutely unable to move or fight, at most only being able to react to those close with him. It's just heartbreaking that no matter how one viewed Kirito, he's essentially been reduced to a vegetable on a wheelchair.

That said, I've always felt the greatest aspect of Kirito's character was not what actions he took to help others, but how his actions inspired others close to him and allowed them to help back in his time of need. This is most exhibited in Alice Zuberg. With Eugeo tragically out of the picture and Kirito in a comatose status, Alice takes the spotlight as the main heroine of this season. In War of Underworld, I truly got to see the strength of Alice's resolve. How she wanted to protect the world that Kirito and Eugeo saved was presented well in the anime in my eyes.

But other than Alice, the Human Empire and even the Dark Territory got plenty of character development too. Bercouli finally takes the stand as the highest authority in the Human Empire and absolutely shows why he's a force to be reckoned with. In addition, Fanatio manages to overcome her self-consciousness over her gender and finally embraces it while also proving she's a capable solider on the battlefield, male or female. Even Deusolbert gets some time to shine as a noble warrior going all out Archer of Inferno from Fate/Grand Order (except that he's on the good side) on the Dark Territory soldiers. However, the most notable of them all would have to be Eldrie, who made a most selfless and meaningful sacrifice that would forever set the tone for what was to come in War of Underworld.

But what's even better than the Integrity Knights introduced from the first half of Alicization are the new ones introduced in War of Underworld: Renly and Scheta. When I was first introduced to Renly, I didn't really like him at first since he was a coward. Regardless, I held onto the hope that he would grow out of his cowardice and learn to overcome his fears. Not only did he manage to do so, but in just less than half of an episode, he gets a flashback that explains in full detail why he became fearful of his fighting abilities. To get that kind of treatment even though he was just introduced in this season is amazing. It's even more amazing how despite that, it still gave Renly a ton of character development that you wouldn't expect from one who was just introduced in the latest season. Scheta is no slouch in that department either, as not only does she get the flashback treatment, but her distinct stoic and aloof personality makes her stand out from all the other Integrity Knights and female characters. Not to mention her interactions with arguably one of the best Dark Territory characters: Iskahn, Champion of the Pugilists.

The Dark Territory was already a setting filled with a diverse cast of people and armies. But what really makes the Dark Territory interesting is how the people there aren't all generic evil villains. Some, if not, all of them have a human side to them, proving that they're just as human as the Human Empire. In fact, two of the leading members of the Dark Knights weren't evil at all and only wanted peace with the Human Empire.

Sure, the goblins don't have enough intelligence to have a truly human side to them, but the rest of them aren't fighting out of pure bloodlust or for the fun of it. They're doing it because they're being forced to and are helpless to defy their Emperor Vector. They wanted to invade the Human Empire, but come Emperor Vector, he twists that goal and forces them to die in vain just for his own personal gain. These events form the backbone for why one feels sorry for an anthropomorphic pig whose entire ogre army is being sacrificed for an attack that fails in vain, an anthropomorphic wolf that just wants his people to return to the abundant grasslands where they can live in peace and harmony again, and the leader of a tribe of pugilists who are being treated like puppets by the hands of Emperor Vector. Which is why Iskahn stands out so much as a Dark Territory character.

Practically SAO's answer to Fire Force (and arguably Zuko and Azula packed into one feisty redhead), Iskahn is perhaps the most human of the Dark Territory inhabitants, wanting to fight honorably with Scheta and even questioning the authority of Emperor Vector. Seriously, I want more characters like Iskahn.

As for the Glowgen Defense System, they're pretty decent. They may not be as interesting as Quinella, but they're miles better than Sugou. The banter between Critter and Vassago made for some of the most witty and amusing villain conversations I had ever seen in SAO. And me personally, while Gabriel Miller may not dethrone Quinella as my favorite SAO villain, I feel Gabriel Miller is essentially a better Sugou. Here, while he does sport the occasional creepy face, it's more tolerable in my eyes and his villain motives aren't defined by generic sexual pleasure or wanting to take over the world. To sum up, his philosophy can be defined as a consistent lust for soul-eating. One that goes all the way back to his childhood. For better or worse, it's clear Gabriel Miller is not messing around. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it.

I would go more into detail about Asuna and the other side characters, but I feel Asuna, Sinon, and Leafa will shine more in the second cour. As for the side characters, Lisbeth truly took the spotlight this cour. Klein, Agil, and Silica aside, Lisbeth made her mark in SAO history with her speech. In the midst of the War of the Underworld crisis and difficulty persuading her fellow ALO peers to come help in a time of need, Lisbeth demonstrated why she's just as important a character as the rest of the SAO cast, telling the players of ALO that the lives they live in the virtual world are just as real in the real world and that no matter what world they're in, all humans, real or digital, are undoubtedly real.

For a side character to make a speech like that is powerful. You have my respect, Lisbeth.

Enjoyment: 10/10

It doesn't matter what any anime elitist or snobby YouTube anime reviewer tells me. I've stayed an SAO fan for as long as I can remember. Even though I don't read the light novels, for me, the anime has always been enjoyable. War of Underworld did not disappoint and managed to deliver on all fronts. I won't force anyone to submit to my opinions, but at the very least, I want to express my own opinions. Of all the SAO seasons so far, War of Underworld truly set the bar for what the story of SAO holds. If I could enjoy War of Underworld on all fronts, I wholeheartedly can't wait to see what the final cour holds in store. A-1 Pictures, don't fail me now.

Overall: 10/10

Towards the end of this decade, I know most people wouldn't define SAO as their anime of the decade in the 2010's. While SAO may not enjoy the same unanimous critical acclaim as titles like Attack on Titan, One Punch Man, etc., I'm proud to stake my claim that SAO has managed to stand tall with them even among its polarized reception.

From kickstarting Yoshitsugu Matsuoka's seiyuu career since his star-making role as Kirito to heavily influencing the anime industry to release more light novel anime adaptations and isekai anime like Re: Zero, Konosuba, etc., there's no denying Sword Art Online has always managed to remain an important part of anime in the 2010's no matter what one thinks of it.

And for me personally, compared to other franchises like Tokyo Ghoul that are popular but haven't had as much fortune in succeeding this decade, I would say Sword Art Online truly made its mark on the 2010's and closed it off with a bang with arguably the best season to date.

So Sword Art Online, through all your ups and downs, thank you for all the enjoyment you have brought to me this decade in the 2010's and I look forward to what the final cour of Alicization holds and what the future of the Sword Art Online franchise will be.

Story:

I thought that the story developed quite nicely and is probably one of the better seasons/arcs of the SAO series. If people are put off by the fact that the MC is always overpowered then this will probably be the most enjoyable arc since our MC Kirito is pretty much in a vegetative state the entire time. With our MC is out of the way, we get to focus on the development and growth of Alice. What was nice was that there was no major filler content throughout the entire season and the pacing was actually quite well done and significant events are revealed at ... a pleasant pace. The show wasn’t that predictable either and I was honestly hype for the last few episodes. One thing I disliked about the ending was that it was quite ambiguous and such a cliffhanger that if I didn’t know that there was a second season coming then I would have been quite disappointed with how things ended.

Art:

As expected from the SAO series produced by A-1 Pictures, the art does not disappoint at all. The art is on par with the previous SAO seasons as well and the animation is great in the fight scenes. In particular, I really enjoy the fluidity of the animation by A-1 Pictures and SAO is the few series that I seem to actually notice the high quality of animation and actually appreciate them during the fight scenes. Character designs were good as well and you will have no problem differentiating between characters. I did notice that they used CGI here and there but they are not distracting and are only used when necessary such as when there are hundreds of soldiers on the battlefield. Overall, the art was satisfactory and the animation was great.

Sound:

Gosh, the soundtrack in this anime was so awesome and I was so hyped just from hearing the soundtracks. I have to commend the sounds in this anime, and although I didn’t vibe with the OP I freaking LOVE the ED and the soundtracks. The music sets the perfect tone and ambiance and even if the battle scene was not great, the music will give you the illusion of a great majestic battle taking place. The sound effects were great too, and I especially loved the effect when Asuna appeared like an angel. After I finished the show I found myself repeatedly listening to the soundtracks because they were that good. If anything, I would say that the music and sound effects were one of the highlights of the show.

Character:

The main focus of this season is Alice and personally I thought that they did a great job with character development and incorporating Kirito’s part even when he was in the state that he was and without him being overwhelmingly OP. We can see that Alice has clearly changed from the previous season, we see her pain from the “loss” of Kirito and as well as her resolve and determination to move on and protect her comrades. It was great to see her thinking and making decisions on her own for her own sake and also for the sake of others. Other characters were great too and there are quite a few instances where I was touched by the character’s backstory and sacrifices. There were even moments where the enemy also showed a humane side and made it quite emotional. Even though at some parts I felt that it was a bit too rushed and forced, I was still touched and emotional which makes me think that the directors did a pretty good job with the other character’s portrayal. In the end, I quite enjoyed the characters of this season.

Enjoyment:

With all technicalities aside, I have to say that I quite enjoyed this season of SAO. I didn’t really like the previous season leading up to this one but I really did enjoy this one. While watching this show I was able to feel a variety of different emotions and it was a really nice experience overall. I probably won’t be rewatching but that’s just because I typically don’t like to rewatch shows anyways, but I’m definitely hooked from this season and looking forward to next. I think anyone can find some type of enjoyment/entertainment from this season so give this show a shot!

This is my first review about anime, pardon me for my bad English
I choose this one to be my first because i followed this series from the beginning

First, let's start from the story. We can see from the first episode the continue of the series. Truly when i watched it, i think that i'm going to cry because i remember Eugeo's death. I'm so touched and sad with the Kirito's condition. So, i give 8,5 to 9 for the story because it's almost completely same with the novel, but still there is a lot scene that has been skip.

Second, the art. I think that A-1 ... improved the art quality. It can be proved from the ending song's art. It's so realistic. But still the fighting scene is too short and some scene that can support the story development are cut off. So, it's 8 from 10.

Third, sound. I think this is the best part of this series. The opening and ending song completely match with the new pov of this series. We can feel the struggle, sad, and dark side from this series. Not only that, i think the backsound it's more detail than before. 9 from me.

Fourth, character. I think we can see many character development, especially Alice. If you watch SAO Alicization before, in this series we can see many of her expression. The new villain character (especially Gabriel) is less introduced in detail, like the background, his family, or maybe his current life (his job, connection). So, it's 8.

Fifth, i think that i enjoy this series. Until the fifth episode, i was like rollercoaster when i watch it. I feel sad, a little bit creepy, sometime i got the goosebumps and curious about what's next episode is. So, it's 9.

Overall, i think this anime is really good and can be better because it still has 7 episodes and one split cour. Please watch it after you watch SAO Alicization and please watch it with your heart inside it. You can feel all the emotions from this anime if you are positioned as someone who sees it directly.

That's all for me. I hope it can be helpful for you.

SAO review 4/4

This season’s very battle heavy while still continuing the psycological aspect explored in season 3, introducing us to some of the most psychotic and sadistic villains, and showing how constant battles and death can break a you, but also how having the right people around you supporting you can put you back toghether stronger than ever, i think what i like most about SAO is how they used these virtual settings to show such real emotions and life experiances, not one moment ever felt fake or forced no matter how fantastical the world or powers got 🗡

(this review is for both part 1 ... and part 2 of SAO War Of Underworld)

Favorite OP: ANIMA
Favorite ED: Unlasting

another season (or rather the completion of the current season) of SAO .. more of the same old story .. and by that i don't even mean SAO but rather the people .. wake up .. hating on SAO for the sake of hating and feeling popular is as cliched and overused as low effort isekai are right now.just be fair for once towards it instead of going to pure clear hate (like certain people giving it 1) or blind fanboying (like giving it 10)

this being a review i think it's only fair to start with the obvious ..
this is the best season of ... SAO yet.

with the first half we hit the reset and are going almost fresh in this world .. that lead to new characters (some of the best characters of SAO strictly speaking) that lead us into a conflict .. together with what was happening in the real world lead into certain consequences .. which we start up this half of the story with.

with avoiding as much spoiler as i humainly can .. we start with kirito taking a major hit and is being taken care of by alice ..doing so out of sense of responsability and gratitude .. knight alice facing the consequences of her lost memories .. and the church knights lead by berculi are facing the consequences of quintella's mistakes along with basically their world's creators setting a trial for them.

diving a bit into it the current villain is basically a 3rd party asked to do a certain job .. the guy is a psychopath .. the bad side is Sao's previous villains were bad and often categorized as psychopaths as well which is kinda off since personally all i see in them is bad written characters forced into that path which might make the current villain feel as such which is quite sad since the good part is the current villain is acutally a decent character .. as we saw he isn't' some horny villain made just to be hated ..and it doesn't seem like he's going that route at all which i really like .. he's drive is clear and his madness is explained and is believable at the very least .. which is a step up in writting villains for this series along with quintella herself.

as for the animation and art, can't say much about it .. SAO alicization is the best that SAO has ever looked ..the fights in cgi are a bit laking with thier 3 hits pre determined pattern of movement that is too obvious to be camouflaged by setting the fights in small groups and setting them to move in different times to create the illusion of them moving independently but oter than that every thing looks stunning

OST and OP/ED: i'm not that much of a fan when it comes to haruka's op especially with the treat that is asca's op last season but the ED is not only SAO's best ED and music in general as well as the best ED of this season .. but it's the best ED of this year to me..OST is as good as exxpected of SAO .. since this was one of the things mostly praised by both extremes of SAO (fans and haters).

my biggest worry i have is how is asuna's arrival would affect the story ... i do want it to be a helping factor for kirito to return .. i don't want it to be the main/the only reason for it tho since that would ruin what was basically buillt .. i'm kinda waiting and wanting a conflict between alice and asuna and i'm expecting it but i'm afraid they follow the regular comical cliched my man cat fight followed by welcome to the not harem club of rejected waifus of kirito .. i want it to be the center of conflict .. to be taken seriously and to be the trigger to explore how ar ethese flauctlights feel about knowing thier world is made up and so are they ..and hw to deal with someone unknown coming from an unknown world that seems t be kirito's world .. i hope that doesn't ruin what alicization built so far but actually enhances it .. sicne one of the biggest flaws of this show is wanting to be serious and try to build a decent 'sometimes solid even) fundation only to laze out at the end and ruin it all so as a token of my hopefullness i'll give this season 8/10 so far in hopes of it keeping that or even going higher instead of ruining it all and going down

*Spoilers ahead*

Actually the best season of SAO as of now. Why? Let me tell you why:

Seeing Kirito as a soggy slowly rotting sack of potatoes. 10/10 

Turning down the exhausting harem complex of the series with just the right amount of "Kirito don't you dare to fucking die (sort of)" between the female characters. 

Extremely fun to watch action scenes on a massive, Lord of the Rings or Narnia like scale.  Animation and Sound are on point. The focus truly lies on action and visually and sound wise impactful scenes which is the main reason this season is actually quite good.

Even though it ain't much but its ... honest work: A little bit of backstory for the side characters that take up most of the actual battle time of this season which is great seeing other characters turn up the heat other than Kirito. 

A somewhat good twist in the story line which is minor but cohesively connected to the characters backstory and development. A rare occurrence in SAO but surely a welcome one. That is  when the monster factions characters slowly realize that they are being exploited and turn their differences aside to fight together with the human faction. 

Imagine a talented handyman, he can raise up a dried-up wasteland into a garden, he can craft all sorts of fun stuff that come in handy in your daily life, he can build houses that eventually dwarf the tallest skyscrapers, now, imagine the skyscraping house gathered a lot of following, becoming way too mainstream and spoken of all over the world, but not every conversation is that of laughs and praise, day by day, controversies are brought, the long-sought masterpiece is mocked, and the talented handyman crumbles.
Sometime later, the handyman sets off on the other project that builds upon the first one, this time, with ... new spins and twist that shuts off every word of hate, this new magnificent craft is related to the other one? Maybe we were too harsh on him, maybe we shouldn't have said all of those negative things about his work, come to think of it, his original work was always good, but this one tops it off and showing his true potential.

That analogy is everything but SAO. The first project is the original series, people decided to hate on it, and to fatten the hate and ignorance, even more, the second season received the same if not a worse treatment, Alicization, in this case, is the second ambitious project that corrects all of the previous entries' faults, that is, until Mr. handyman, Reki Kawahara himself decides to add pieces of pineapples atop for some reason, and everything he built up fell off in an instant like it never even mattered.
Why pineapples? That is very random, yes, just like whatever happened in this season, it's stupid, it's random and very unnecessary.

Here is why...

- Story (6/10):
It's undeniable the effort and dissection thought-out structure that Alicization started off with, very intriguing spin on the whole VR practices that had gone repetitive on the previous entries until it ended off with a satisfying conclusion that's very proud with the cliffhanger it concluded on, leaving us wanting and begging for a continuation, something that really put a lot of pressure on the continuation, it has to be at least as good or else, what does it even matter.

Something I really want to admire this season for bravely doing, and somewhat nailing was the shift from focusing on Kirito as the main motivator for the plot's progression to other lesser characters.
Now, for the frustrating part. What happened to common sense and careful thinking?
Now, SAO has always had some very visible plot holes that honestly do not affect the way the plot runs and is set up as, there are a few things here and there, but this season upped that up a great deal. A great but frustrating example was the whole Soul Translator gear and the exclusivity to the Underworld that makes you wonder if the writer even cares any more. I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't go on more detail of how exactly that hurt the credibility of this story, but man, did that single-handedly drop this plot from an 8/10 to a rediculous 6/10.
Honestly, despicable.

- Art (8.5/10):
Lately, A1-Picture has been stepping up their game with SAO, and it shows clearly in the couple last seasons. You thought the last season was phenomenally animated, this one is straight-up MAD sakuga compilations at this point, big and hype fights every episode, something that really calls out the talent of the animation team.

- Sound (9/10):
I praised the OST for the first time in Alicization. Did they improve even more or what? Maybe because this one relied on a lot of battle and combat to sellout the plot, that is, a lot of impact shocks, piercings and magic chants to compose, they definitely stick out the most.
Unlike the previous entries, the opening was okay, however, the ending though, definitely the best in the series from what goes from visuals and song. LISA is such a talented individual.

- Character (8/10):
Maybe the selling point of this show. The Kirito boycott if you will.
No, but seriously, to take out the main character of the entire franchise and still have a solid plot that's round-out very well (until the last two episodes that is) goes to show how amazing the side supporting characters are. Not only the human knights but also the Dark Territory soldiers. Every fluctlight individual sold his or her role perfectly, having to empathize with both sides can only be explained by the great character development and good personified writing if anything. It goes to question, would be born on the wrong piece of land make you the bad guy? Are the humans the heroes here because we, the viewers are humans ourselves, and though, it's easier to relate to what's familiar?

- Enjoyment (7.5/10):
My journey with SAO started with that of curiosity, why is this series hated so much, and why is it, despite that, so popular. I have come to compose my own relationship with SAO, a hate and love relationship that's primarily driven from my disappointment. I wanted the franchise to be good because it really had the potential to be amazingly good.
When I first watched Alicization I had a great deal of happiness because finally, this series is being set on the perfect track, but then to see the much-awaited for sequel destroy all of that really hurt the experience, it's not that I hated the season from the get-go, I actually enjoyed it, although not as much as I enjoyed Alicization, it wasn't until the last two episodes when I just couldn't deal with the stupid twists, they really ruined the mood and let me in such severe disappointment.

With that out of the way, this season, or war if you will have some great moments for all sorts of characters from both sides of the conflict. We get to see a lot of their abilities, attitudes, aspirations, it was a great shift from a solo character-focused series to a group of people, each with different goals in life.

- Overall (7.8/10):
I mean, if you're considering watching this, you've already made it through the best, the bad, and the stupid of SAO, 12 more episodes to seal off the series (for now) isn't going to be a bad investment, but it's by no means perfect. It leaves out a lot to be desired, doesn't live up to the hype. Definitely the same SAO though, just more action and stripped out politics.

SAO : Alicization - War of Underworld. First review on MAL, so much to review.

Okay this is an incredibly series in my personal & honest option & here's why it is. The evolution from the very first season is noticeable & how it's progressed is wonderful. We have og characters & new characters that are part of the current season.

Alicization does a great job on it's production value & it can be seen from season 3. The quality of the animation is beautiful and vibrant, character design is top tier, environment is captivating & the sound oh don't get me started on that, it is ... just great to hear. These are the foundations that set SAO Alicization on it's way.

Okay here is what I appreciate about SAO Alicization. The new characters are incredible & work well with the setting of the project. They have such depth in them, their personalities, sense of life, perspectives & how they interact with one another. Alice, Bercouli, Eldrie(has a boss moment) to name a few. Kirito & Eugeo have a friendship that is worthwhile in anime that I like, I found annoying parts in the season that bother me in regard to the story or setting, you know cause how deep I dive into it. The antagonist really is dry af & not captivating. I have seen many antagonists in anime that bring a point to the anime but not Gabriel, no sir, just a plain psychopath like Quinella(boring & uninspired) they are just the for driving the characters with their self centered ideals & logic.

The fight are amazing & meaningful between both sides and they do an incredible job depicting how some people are just annoying & insufferable from SAO & life & the value of having a conscious.

SAO is worthwhile anime & that is way it is still here, I stan it, even through the oversaturated hate, which is okay alright, you don't like, okay then. Kiritio is among best anime Mc's, he's a vibe. Asuna & Alice are Waifu's af. Peace, I think this is an okay not bad first review, yeah. Peace.

If you are one of SAO haters for no reason, don't bother with this review, not your cup of tea.

[Introduction]
The only thing that I don't understand is "the hate" of SAO series without any valid reason, like seriously? grow up already, I'm an old fan of SAO since first episode released back then on 2012, yes I still remember watching these aired episodes like it was yesterday, back then I was watching Naruto Shippuden only, but what makes me captivated is no other than SAO. I started watching other anime series because of it and learned the true meaning of "Don't judge a book by ... its cover" although SAO haters will always hate it no matter what.

[Summary]
Story 10/10
Art 10/10
Sound 9/10
Character 9/10
Enjoyment 10/10
Overall 9/10

Alicization War of Underworld is the sequel of Alicization and by far the best work of Reki Kawahara (Author) what makes this season really mesmerizing:

[Story 10/10]:
I'm not a fan of LN in general and I didn't read it, but I can say for sure that I didn't expect it to take this turn of events (speaking of Alicization S1 not S2) so after watching first season I expected it to be more action based, but I never expected it to get so thrilling, as kirito get incapacitated at the end of Alicization S1, making Alice left between fighting the dark forces of the the underworld as a knight and staying with kirito protecting him as a woman.

[Art 10/10]:
Art is stunning as well the scenes and terrain are highly detailed which make it more realistic and more enjoyable to watch. A-1 Pictures studio always produce S quality but this time they really go all out, enhancing the art style and movement to the point where you don't know where to look making you pausing video several times to breath and catch on repeating several times magnificent scenes to bury it on your mind (I watched it on big screen with 1080p x265 10bit quality so I was satisfied with the quality)

[Sound 9/10]
Just listening to the OP theme song is getting me excited, and for the ED, Lisa theme song is breathtaking (as expected, new SAO season = new Lisa song) a part of the popular SAO anime is definitely Lisa songs. The Sound system and effects are well produced and synchronized with each character talking, moving, especially the sound effects of activated skills are top notch making the watcher to focus even more on episode.

[Character 9/10]
Introducing new characters of the dark underworld, including generals of the dark empire, and new on screen time human generals knights of order (most of them are charming women lel) each character has it own role, feeling, expression that could even make you attached to it through the development of events.

[Enjoyment 10/10]
Hey it's SAO we are talking about, of course I fully enjoy it, (even though you are probably a hater reading my review, at least give it a try without judging, Anime studio staffs work their ass off to create high quality anime for people to watch and enjoy not to judge and insult) if you are a fan of RPG games you would surely appreciate SAO Anime/Games franchise, totally enjoyable and feel like every episode were like 5 minutes, never get enough from watching new seasons of SAO, truly a bless.

[Overall 9/10]
Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld is the best anime of this season (Fall 2019) so far, and probably the great season of SAO franchise. I strongly recommend it even for SAO haters, peace!


PS: this is my first review, so I might have typos or errors, I watch anime since 2006 and I have watched over than 900 anime series through these years but I felt making this review since I saw a lot of negative reviews and hate for SAO franchise, I know most of western love to hate SAO series but at least give it a try, if not, then don't give it negative reviews in the first place, SAO is not for anyone, I'm sure haters hate it because they don't understand it's greatness.

This is a story about a simple gamer boy who finds himself to be one of the key persons who will heavily influence the future of Virtual Reality.

This anime arc is one of the few series where the spotlight will be swapped to a supporting character because of the plot and I find it very entertaining and great and it's not just some Isekai anime that we currently watch ourselves. If you want to watch this then I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

In this arc, the new villain is sure evil from his backstory to his present goal and ego which makes you kinda admire and hate ... him at the same time because of his intentions to the main characters. While the protagonist on the other hand was swapped from Kirito to Alice because she is the key character of this arc which makes it like a refresh.

P.S. Do not hate this anime because of its reviews, sure it has some bad character writings or arcs but it sure as hell fun especially if you're a gamer yourself.

Now SAO has become that anime that people agree to dislike. It has a generic story, a bland main character, and horrible main villians. Most people either continued out of nostalgia or more ways to poke fun of the story. Each season brought a whole new slew of complaints. However, watching this new season mind was blown by the quality of this season, and I believe that it has maybe redeemed itself altogether.


Story 10/10
Sword art online has always been a story based light novel, as the goals were always concrete and we watched these relatively boring characters follow through these things. Each time the buildup, ... weather it was conquering all 100 levels in a death game, rescuing someone in a ripoff version where they cannot log out, fight a killer in a gun game who had the ability to also kill in real life, or rescue a friend from the god of the universe, was amazing, but the end result always was lackluster. Time and time again they were rushed timeskipped, and cheapened to oblivion, to where it could easily be dismissed as a bad show that was a huge disappointment. However, for the first time, that is not the case.


The story of Alicization: WOU is the 10 episode war that takes place in the world of Alicization. With amazing pacing, great character development, and a constant struggle to protect the life of a single person, the story follows not the Mary sue himself Kirito, but the people of the artificial world, humanizing and crafting an incredibly engaging and flowing story. These people are far more interesting, and combining development on both sides for once, sword art online creates characters that we feel a connection to, no matter how little they are. And while the developments are ones that have been done before in a multitude of characters, they feel personal enough and create a war arc that leaves a long lasting impact on you. With constant stakes and only one SAO deux ex Machina(Near the beginning, not as the ending thank goodness) SAO finally lives up to the hype surrounding the Alicization war arc.


Art 8/10
Now the animation so far has been gorgeous. A1 pictures has done an astounding job with this season, blowing my expectations out of the water. Comparing this to the first season, you see that they have upped their game completely. The bright and diversely coloured world is amazing, and you feel drawn into it.


As this is a adapted from a light novel, the studio has a large creative control with the actual art design. So they mostly decide what the powers will look like, how the world and pictures painted on the page will go. Now normally the product is below the source material as the detail and the design is not replicated in the final product. However, while I have not read the books, I have to say that the abilities, fights and the world was choreographed amazingly. Each ability was unique in its design, and they weren’t constantly using similar visual effects. I have already spoken about the world, but the thing I want to focus on the most is the fights.


Now, with a name of sword art online, you would expect to have some intense sword fights. However, the first couple of seasons did not deliver. Most of the times it was a couple of swords swipes, and then they locked swords pushing most of the time. SAO was also a disappointment in that subject, but this season quickly flipped that on its head. The fight have evolved completely, with amazing swordplay, and strikes. With intermittent sword strikes and sword abilities, it lives up to its name in the animation. Not to mention the hard line contrast. Like FMA did with king bradley, the bright and soft lines would go hard and straight in some of these fights, making the bright and soft ascetic looking hard and tense.


The only thing to complain about is the use of CG. As this is a war, there are hundreds and thousands of people on the screen so there is quite a bit of CG used. However, there are enough people drawn so that it isn’t every single soldier.

Sound 10/10

Never ever has the sounds been so good particularly the unique sounds. The sword sounds are different, and you hear the clanks of metal as they hit. Each recollection release gets its own sound that both fits the actual ability and is unique. Especially Asuna’s full choir she get when she activates her abilities. Paired with the amazing animation, the sound design for the fights could only be described as amazing and hype.


The music like usual was amazing, but more importantly the direction and where it was placed. Instead of blasting crossing void or the boss music for the billionth time(Which I still wouldn’t mind) it showcases a large variety of tracts placing them perfectly. It slowly nudges in the quiet parts, and blares in the tense battles. The score is one of the best I have seen, and I can listen to it on repeat.


Character 8/10
Now SAO is notorious for a couple things. The harem situation, and the lack of good written characters are common complaints and I agree. The villains are usually terrible antagonists who don’t have a cent of logic, and it is clear who you should be rooting for. Boy have things changed.


The story focuses on four groups in this arc, The integrity knights, Quinella(the evil queen) the pugilists, and Alice.


Now in the first season the integrity knights seem pretty shallow, and it makes sense. They are mindless puppets controlled by Quinella(administrator),and they are hardly fleshed out. They have unique powers, but they are hardly elaborated on and Based off the Alicization arc you can assume that they won’t return again. They are simply just steps up the tower to the top. But that changes. With the threat of the invasion all the other integrity knights through the kingdom are called on to protect the kingdom. It is through this and the battles that they question their loyalties and are forced to step up and fight the fight.


What is more fascinating is how we learn about them. And this is when the previously bad villian Administrator comes up.


Now based off the first season Quinella seemed like a power hungry fool. She felt like a villain who wanted to be in absolute control. With very little backstory I though that she was a letdown, as I was hoping for a good villain. But the author actually develops her through these crucial flashback conversations.


In these flashback conversations we learn quite a lot. She was close to each of her subjects and fitted each of them individually. Now after watching this, she isn’t a better villain, but our view of her shifts, and she seems more humans and close to her subject. She had picks each sacred weapon due to the person, choosing one that would both suit their style and their personality. These weapons are designed specifically for each character as they reflect each character they are and how she wants them to improve.


Though these conversations are small, combined with the powers of their weapons and their fighting style are many small hints that reflect their characters and who they become. An older knight is given a sword that could reverse time so that even though he is too far ahead, he can still help the younger generation. A emotionally stagnant knight who loves fighting gets her sword sealed and paper thin, changing her style to a minimalistic approach, making her methods more contained. Those two and many other have these mini arcs, creating some great characters, with some an amazing clashes of ideologies.


Now the development is two sided. With many different races that are combined each parallel the other perfectly. And that is why I like the pugilists. Now they have a very unorthodox fighting style which is based of their fighting spirit. Literally. They convert it into both physical enhancements and these fighting flames, that are based on their “spirit” it measure their power. The leader who thinks for himself, is a great character, pushing himself on and on for his group. He has an amazing fight with the previously emotionally stagnant knight that really made me think “this is a 10/10.”


Now of course this doesn’t apply to every moving piece in the war. There are plenty of characters who don’t have any development, but what this does is really chose enough characters to develop, while not wasting out time with the backstories of a million characters.


And by no means I am saying they are my favorite characters, and they probably still aren’t even close. But the season was cast focused and really developed some great characters. Alice, who wasn’t even a viable option, is now a completely viable option (one of the best in fiction). With so many quotable lines, and a special outlook in the war based off her position, she completely develops into a great character. Again not top 5 but she is up there. I feel like the cast has grown completely and has some great characters.


Enjoyment 10/10
Parred with amazing animation, sound, characters, story and fights, this season was what sword art online should have always been. The tension felt real, and it wasn’t obvious that the good guys were going to win. There were times I genuinely thought that the villians would win. And there were plenty of characters who died, and very little plot armor around. The season really redeemed SAO, and It is amazing(aside from one Harem scene).


Overall 9/10
The war really felt like a war, and there were many mind drop moments. The author improved his story telling quite a bit of way, and although there were a couple instances of bad writing, mostly in the first half, they eventually dimmer down, and you can’t help but enjoy the show. (Also Alice is a viable option. Fight me)

Just when we were so tired of the story of this show, it did make an excellent execution this time. The war between the human empire and the dark territory was just a front and a surface to the real war that is happening in the real world. This season brought war between nations into a game in order to attain a goal.

The war of underworld is the best story next to the game of sword art online. It had great impact to us viewers because it should not be taken lightly. Kirito may be out of the action at the moment but it ... is what gave chance for the others to shine in ways that we do not expect them to. Everything that happens inside the game can affect the world, especially U.S. and Japan. Within the span of 12 episodes, the focus really was on the war and the battles that took place in it, so the title really made up for the plot. Like SAO, the dramas and issues are not enclosed to Asuna or Kirito, but to a lot of people and lives that could be greatly affected. All the previous games that were mediocrely done can now be seen as a build-up for this great war.

The characters are also likeable. mostly the integrity knights and some leaders of the dark territory. We thought that the integrity knights are just people who blindly obey the pontifex and people who are put in order for Kirito and Eugeo to have battle with, however, they are noble knights who want peace and security that they may live without being constrained to do what they want. Alice, Bercoulli, Asuna and the gang stepped up this season without Kirito's helping hand, which is a totally magnificent development for all the show's characters.

The animation was superb. It left me in awe and excitement because of how unexpected the wonderful fights scenes came up. Although it was quick, it was also satisfying.

I gave an 8 because the season left us hanging and it should have been longer, although we know that it has a continuation. The harem is still constantly shown and it is one of the things the fans dislike. Asuna and Alice would suffice the harem club but small shot girls are irritatingly joining the bandwagon, and it sucks. A 9 could be possible if the season continued, sadly, I can only review containing the episodes that are included this season and no more than that.

SAO has been blasphemed for years by netizens. Yet my friends a pure watcher regardless of what's the SNS said, he still enjoy and recommend it to me. Their fans suggest to at least try the Alicization arc because it's a fresh start with a better writing & not much related with prev arc. I guess, I should give it a try.
(this is general review of SAO Alicization & War of Underworld, because they all a one package story)

So the story is about MC brain damaged by accident (how come a 1 meter umbrella lose by a 1 cm injector? & he called himself the ... Sword Hero?). To cure it he must dive in a VR game console that can recover his brain in-trade of carrying a mission to stimulate AI there to break a rule by their own, to make a self-aware AI not a robot. Alice the AI did it but then arrested by the God in-game. MC & friends try to save her & success even with a lot drama mid-way. In real-life side, the game facility attacked by terrorist who want to use that AI for war. Half building locked to protect MC progress but enemy can also dive in game and start a big war. Yet MC still win & send Alice to real life but leaving himself there for 200 years worth time because enemy hack the speed setting. Finally in real life Alice got physical body, MC wake up from slump & become normal again (what's the point of that 200y I mention?). The end, happy ending. Oh wait, somehow to make the story continue, they dive to that game again after few decade worth of time there.

A simple general story with many small forced twist trying to make it complex but failed. By that setting, MC supposed to be a 3rd party observing AI growth but no. Writer really love him and all problems solved by MC, all characters love him. Okay, this harem bait is good for shounen viewers (my youth maybe like it too), but this leads to a problem at final part War Underworld. While the good side is at pinch in the war, all women calling the MC in coma (it's so cringy...), zannen it's not working but after just one small push by his friends Eugeo, he woke up with many OP skill out of nowhere and save the day. Again, after things going normal in real life he cried while remembering his friend Eugeo (so gay...). Eugeo supposed to have a big key at final & gave a stronger touching moments but the viewers don't care much about him because he is just additional cast a by-passer at first arc. This general plot hole can be solved if writer gave more role to Eugeo at first arc, if he really intent to make him the wake up call key to MC at final.

One thing hard to be denied by haters is the visual. It's awesome at normal scene thanks to studio A1 Pict. The fighting animation is fine for me, but as time goes I'm getting annoyed by how short a battle can be. Feels like everything is one hit die, one hit win, one hit lose. Even the snippet at the opening song is more entertaining than the actual scene. Also the SFX feels similar between each clash (well at least not as bad as studio JC Staff).

Summary, the story is generic but the visual still enjoyable so I recommend to skip 25eps Alicization by just watching the recap (it's good enough for a recap ep), then go straight to all War Underworld episodes with top notch visual experience you can get, the battle scene is longer & better too, it's so amusing. Well, if you like catching a harem bait then I won't stop you for going to Alicization eps.