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Review
by Rebecca Silverman,Sword Art Online: Alicization
BR Limited Edition
Kirito has taken on a special job testing a new VR environment based on the idea of evolving AIs, which binds him to secrecy, even from girlfriend Asuna and his family. It proves to be something of a godsend, however, when he'due south attacked and rendered braindead by an old foe from his SAO days, and the experimental (and ethically questionable) nature of his job turns out to be the only thing that tin save him. Every bit Asuna searches for answers, Kirito lives an entirely different life in a fantasy globe, where he befriends a young human named Eugeo and the two set off to rescue Eugeo'south lost friend Alice, who was taken away for breaking the Taboo Index, laws governing the virtual world…that were created past the AIs themselves. Are there unforeseen consequences for the project, codenamed A.L.I.C.E., that Kirito'south authorities contact is spearheading? And how will the entry of a retentivity-damaged Kirito affect things? | ||||||||
| Review: | ||||||||
| Synopsis: |  | ||
| Kirito has taken on a special job testing a new VR environment based on the thought of evolving AIs, which binds him to secrecy, even from girlfriend Asuna and his family. It proves to exist something of a godsend, nevertheless, when he'due south attacked and rendered braindead by an old foe from his SAO days, and the experimental (and ethically questionable) nature of his job turns out to be the only thing that tin can save him. As Asuna searches for answers, Kirito lives an entirely dissimilar life in a fantasy earth, where he befriends a young human being named Eugeo and the 2 set off to rescue Eugeo'south lost friend Alice, who was taken away for breaking the Taboo Index, laws governing the virtual earth…that were created past the AIs themselves. Are there unforeseen consequences for the project, codenamed A.L.I.C.Eastward., that Kirito's government contact is spearheading? And how will the entry of a memory-damaged Kirito affect things? | |||
| Review: | |||
| At that place's always been a slightly nagging sense that Sword Fine art Online bit off a bit more than it could chew. While information technology was present in the original series (both anime and light novels), it's grown over the course of the franchise, and at present in this season, Sword Art Online: Alicization, it'southward starting to look every bit if it might come up dorsum to bite u.s.a.. Not in the sense that the story is doing itself any harm, merely rather that it's skating on increasingly thin ice equally far as its feasibility even in science fiction terms, sort of similar how Vivian Vande Velde's original 1990 trapped-in-a-VR-game novel User Unfriendly was hampered by the technology of the fourth dimension. The issues hither circumduct around the ideals of the piece – Kikuoka, the JSDF contact who has been hanging around since the SAO incident, is involved in a project to create artificial intelligences that tin not only retrieve for themselves, but also ignore the rules set for them. He's trying to create actual digital life, in essence, merely without actually thinking about the fact that if he and his team pull this off, the people in the virtual realm will exist, for lack of a better term, real people, and thus merit human rights. On one level, Kikuoka is aware of the danger of what he's doing – the name of the project is Alicization, which references the fact that they're going down a major rabbit pigsty. He's besides enlightened that the potential to weaponize the project exists, and all of this may very well go more treatment in the second flavour. Merely hither information technology feels like something that the testify is basically ignoring, although we could make the statement that the human relationship between Kirito and Eugeo explores the ideals of the projection past living through them. There's definitely something to be said for that. Eugeo is a resident of the VR world, i built-in of AI parents who has no idea that he isn't a "real" person inhabiting a realm meant for play. He and Kirito initially met when Kirito was playtesting for Kikuoka; afterward Kirito's accident, Kikuoka pulls strings to have Kirito transported to the turtle-shaped artificial island (a mock turtle, like in Lewis Carroll'due south Alice novels) so that the advanced system can regenerate Kirito'due south brain while he lives in the game world. Due to the speed at which fourth dimension moves inside the game, years have passed and the boys have forgotten each other, although they over again class a firm friendship when Kirito returns. Kirito comes to represent human will while Eugeo is someone bound past the rules of his world, and a big part of his development as a character relies upon him learning to have free volition of his own. At first he simply follows every bit Kirito guides him off his predestined path, merely by the end of these twenty-four episodes, Eugeo has learned to stand upward for himself and what he believes in, arguably making him both the best-developed character (to the point where at times Kirito feels like the NPC) and a lesson in the consequences of freedom – there'south no safety net when you are in accuse of your own choices. This is rather a mixed bag in terms of storytelling and presentation. The scene where Eugeo (who has several times experienced "glitches" when he's at risk of going off course per the Taboo Index) comes into his own is an case of sexual brutality, and it is important to annotation that the BR version is uncensored. That makes it incredibly difficult to watch, and while the thought backside it – that decadent nobles can exploit the Taboo Index without breaking information technology while Eugeo and Kirito can't end them because their actions would pause the Index – is sound, the execution feels like it takes things several steps too far. While it could be argued that the brutality was necessary in order to drive Eugeo to suspension the rules, the fact of the thing is that he's come close to doing so several times before, which means that this could take been achieved with less sexual violence. Equally it stands, information technology renders two female person characters as props for Eugeo's awakening, and while other seasons haven't been to a higher place using the threat of rape equally a motivating factor (see Fairy Dance), it's hardly the marking of good or nuanced writing. It also lays bare the fact that this is not a franchise that has done hugely well by its female characters; even Alice is largely reduced (in this season) to the motivation for Eugeo'south journey rather than being a grapheme in her own right. Of course, it looks by the end of this set up of episodes as if that's going to be flipped, with Eugeo becoming the reason for Alice'due south alter, so do conduct in heed that this is non a argument on the entirety of the Alicization arc. The two abusers in Eugeo'south pivotal scene are too indicative of some of the issues with Kikuoka'due south scheme, as they, like Administrator, the ostensible big bad of the flavor, have learned to warp the organisation for their own do good. All of this goes dorsum to the upstanding dilemmas present in the entire plan to create human being-like AIs – namely, what their rights are and if Kikuoka and his team are violating them in using them to fulfill their goals. Subsequently all, if animals accept rights, shouldn't democratic beings who can call back for themselves have them besides? And isn't this a instance of a military organization co-opting and corrupting human souls? This isn't necessarily a question that this flavor is interested in, or capable of, answering, and the fact that there's a second one largely excuses that fact, although information technology tin exist a distracting slice of the overall puzzle. Other issues include a very slow start and some wonky pacing in full general, the fact that Eugeo's name sounds similar Yu-Gi-Oh! in the English dub, and some very tired tropes, amongst them a spider named Charlotte (who "dies" when her job is done) and a status window being Kirito's indication that he's in a game world, which perhaps is just more of a sign that this story predates a phase of the isekai boom. Both song casts do a very good task with what they have to work with, although the extras are a little thin for the exorbitant price of the set – a booklet, a soundtrack CD, Japanese audio commentary, and web trailers. Even with twenty-four episodes, that doesn't quite feel like enough, although the box the whole affair comes in is cute. At the end of the day, Sword Art Online: Alicization doesn't quite use its premise or story equally well as information technology could. It has its high points, but largely dodges the bigger problems and doesn't always treat its characters well. While it's still good plenty to watch if you're a franchise fan, if y'all were beginning to sour on it, this might exist the moment where you decide that perchance it'south not quite worthwhile after all. |
| Grade: | |||
| Overall (dub) : B- Overall (sub) : B- Story : B- Animation : B Fine art : B+ Music : B+ + Nice art and music, Eugeo's character evolution is interesting and works within the story. Bonus points for relatively obscure Lewis Carroll references. | |||
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