I knew this would happen, but I just didn't want to accept it. After the Alicization season finally delivered an acceptable level of quality, I was hoping the anime would continue to improve. But unfortunately, I wasn't aware that there would be 2 consecutive seasons that would present nothing but endless fights.
I liked the fact that the war between the two worlds was depicted quite cruelly, however, all the hype from the first season of the arc has been ruined. Wasn't it said that the Dark Continent was incredibly powerful? Why does it present itself as an absurd ridiculous spectacle? Half the force of the human empire is already absolute overkill. If the current main antagonists didn't interfere from the outside world, there would be no danger at all in this supposedly "Last War." Thus, Kirito's entire argument with the Knights and the Administrator is completely meaningless. If no one had come to this world, the human kingdom would have won this war WITHOUT any difficulty.
As for the visual presentation and aesthetics, I must say that this is one of the best war arcs I have ever seen in an anime. You can see the ambitions and motivations of both sides, as well as their losses. It's not a simple good and evil which I expected. At least the first part of it, the second develops into a ... theater.
I still think that this anime is well worth watching. Of course, one's expectations should not be set too high, it is very simple and does not offer any twists. Likewise, the quality of the author leaves much to be desired, especially in the War of Underworld arc, which has very little content. And despite that, they manage to create one questionable and illogical scene after another. Especially concerning Alice, is not only a living plot armor but makes the war escalate more and more.
Unfortunately, it's also the better season, Part 2 of War of Underworld being massively worse than this one.
Regarding all of this, SAO would have been significantly better off if this anime had been a true isekai. But since the humans in this world are merely AI, this whole war is shown to be all the more meaningless.
[Conclusion 4]
Thank God the majority of the season was kept afloat by very dynamic combat, animation, and music. I finished watching it very quickly as it impressed me visually. That being said, it turned out to be an underwhelming result. I'm disappointed, but you couldn't have seen it coming any other way.
