Although sometimes controversial, there’s no denying its popularity. Sword Art Online. It spawned a number of shows – namely, isekai titles that tackle virtual worlds and real worlds based on video games, a subgenre that has taken over anime. Even with these rising rivals, their best days SAO may still be ahead.
It cannot be denied that there are some criticisms. Sword Art Online applies, but these are mainly manifested in its previous episodes and seasons. Sword Art Online: Alicization The anime’s best season ever adds to its strengths while dealing with many of its previous weaknesses. These changes also reflected elements from the series’ previous original film, showing how the series could expand beyond its weaker early seasons.
Sword Art Online: What Was Alicization About?
alicization Adapts the story stream of the same name from the original Sword Art Online A series of light novels by Reki Kawahara. The story involves the hero Kirito embarking on a new video game-based adventure for a company called Rath. While this VR simulation seems to be going well, Kirito is attacked by an enemy from the Gun Gale incident. This causes him to get stuck on a new game that he’s hooked on and not sure how to get there. Finding their friend Eugeo, the duo try to find their captured ally Alice. But amid their virtual turmoil, real-life trouble plagues Kirito’s poisoned, paralyzed body.
anime adaptation Sword Art Online: Alicization takes place after the events. Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal ScaleIt runs from 2018 to 2020. While some of this extended airtime is due to delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it also licensing A total of 47 episodes ran. This was nearly double the length of the first two seasons and allowed more time to develop the story. Doing so, in addition to getting elements from the aforementioned movie, alicization much better than its predecessor.
Alicization Improved in Sword Art Online’s Action and Characterization
The biggest problems of the first two seasons Sword Art Online characterization, plot, and fight scenes. Almost none of the characters other than Kirito could focus, with Kirito himself being as boring as can be. World building was similarly lacking, mostly because it was mostly an excuse to make Kirito look cool. Despite this, the action sequences were rarely great due to both the inconsistent animation and the general lack of suspense. Many of these issues were addressed in the movie. Ordinal Scaleand Sword Art Online: Alicization continues this trend.
Given how long the show is, it’s not surprising that it took time to eventually develop the world and the characters, especially Kirito himself. He’s much less of a boring Gary Stu, and that makes his relationship with his allies feel stronger. In fact, at one point, the situation is reversed when a much better-written Asuna saves Kirito once. There is also a new world that is more detailed and advanced than previous arcs in the anime. A-1 Pictures also raised the bar for animation quality, with the show’s production values being better and more consistent than ever before. Combined with other upgraded items, it meant the flashy fight scenes were truly exciting for once. Each character takes their time to shine in these fights, especially in the second half of the season. Underground War.
Underground War The ending may have been a bit long, but ultimately it was an epic tale that felt equivalent to Western writers’ greatest high fantasy. The result was one season. Sword Art Online this finally earned the series popularity and acclaim as even the series’ biggest critics pointed out major improvements in the formula. Hopefully that means the anime adaptation of the light novels will get even better, but for now, licensing this is the best Sword Art Online has been so far.
