10 Second Anime - Sword Art Online - Alicization - War of Underworld - Episode 1

After the defeat of the pontifex, Alice finds herself with Kirito in exile near her home village. The Dark Territory still looms as an imminent threat. Season premiere.

Episode 1 - "In the Far North"

Hmm.

Well, that's a bummer. Kirito did not come out the other side of that white light in good condition at all. Sword Art Online picks up the story with a 5 month time skip, but there was also some skipping ahead to hundreds of regular knights training. Right now, I don't have a very good idea of how long Kirito has been a stroke victim in Underworld. What was jarring to see after all this time was how fanatical the defeated Integrity Knights were for the Axiom Church, even after learning what the pontifex wanted to do with half the people in the human section of Underworld. Her programming was very strong.

I was also interested in seeing how the rest of people would deal with the pontifex and senate being dissolved. The people didn't need consciences because the senators were always there to keep tabs and send an Integrity Knight after them. Bad Santa was the whole ethical system keeping order. Now what happens? We're already seeing regular people, not just the corrupted nobles, take advantage of the rules being arbitrarily enforced. A commoner straight out lied to Integrity Knight Alice's face about taking Kirito's sword. Would that have happened before Eugeo and Kirito's rebellion? I don't think so.

There's still the matter of the real world attack on the Underworld servers. The opening credits gave us some good hints at who the bad guys are. That's always been my complaint about Sword Art Online anime seasons. They spoil the whole season in the first version of the opening credits. That takes the fun out of trying to figure out if someone's a good guy, a bad guy, or has complicated loyalties. Oh well. They've been doing this for years, so somebody likes making sure the audience has no surprises for whom Kirito eventually defeats.

Heh.

The opening credits for this show is spoiler rich, as usual. I just want to point out that sexy babe Fanatio wakes up in a bed with Bercouli's sword hanging over it. I think we can connect the dots that those two have been connecting more than dots together.

Let's start with a flash forward, followed by a brief flashback, and then we're in the correct timeline. Alice's dragon is just a big dog now. Also, the house has a ramp instead of steps. Somebody's in a wheelchair. Selka is here! Oof. Kirito looks like a stroke victim, and is he still missing his right arm?

Kirito needs his swords. It will be interesting to see how his perception is explained. Perhaps he has some kind of foresight going along with his emotional responses. At least he's moving around a little bit instead of being in a coma.

Flashback to right where the last episode ended. Good. Kirito's interface was caught in a power surge. Youch, his soul got fried. Bercouli explained the pontifex was going to turn half the people into magical weapons.

Bercouli knows he has to train real knights again instead of the few weird Integrity Knights the pontifex thought she needed. Also, without the Senate, people can break laws and cheat with impunity. Alice rightly left with comatose Kirito because the sentiment among the knights was clearly negative.

That's not quite the happy reunion we hoped for at Alice's village, but then it was only Kirito who protested her arrest and detainment. Kirito also is still missing his right arm.

Selka calls out selfish hypocrites of the village. It's only been 5 months or so since she's moved back to the area. Alice is now cutting down trees instead of Kirito and Eugeo. Do these people not remember Eugeo and Kirito cutting down that big tree from a couple of years ago? What has happened in the meantime?

Fun. The dragon Amayori really is a big dog. At least he can forage for himself, but he needs to show some self-restraint.

Eldrie flies Amayori's big brother Takiguri. He found Alice that way. The Integrity Knights need her back. Synthesis 31 is still under the sway of the pontifex. He doesn't seem to understand someone has a brain injury? The dude in the wheelchair put him down like a sick cat and he thinks Kirito is just sitting there because he likes it? That's not a very intelligent reaction to events.

The Eastern Gate is where the action is for the Dark Territory.

But first, let's burn down the village so Alice doesn't have a reason to stay and Kirito wakes up in some bizarre fashion. Next time, probably.