SAO: Alicization First Impressions: Wow. Just Wow.

Anyone who has been following BAYOG knows none of the staff here are fans of this franchise aside from the spin-off. But because it’s a major franchise and absolutely everyone, even those that hate it, talks about it in some shape or form, I picked this season up just so we can have coverage. After 4 (5 really, the first episode was a double) episodes, I am fully convinced this season will be good and leaps and bounds ahead of all the previous seasons.

So I didn’t know episode one was a double episode. I went into it basically 100% blind, so blind I didn’t even look at the length of the episode. I was chatting with friends about it and one mentioned it being 40 minutes long. I immediately was shocked wondering how I didn’t realize it was 40 minutes while I was watching it.

Initial impressions of the first look into the game made me think, “This game is weird.” Especially with their higher order spells being a “system call.” The Taboo Index needs a little more explaining in my opinion. So far it sounds like the terms of service you agree too when you play an MMO; however, it also governs what zones you can and cannot go into and what specific actions you are not allowed to do, so it seems more like the bounds a developer puts into the game, like invisible walls to gate you and level gating quests and professions. Parts of the new game are interesting while some are not, we will just have to wait and see how it progresses from here on now that Eugeo’s calling original calling is complete and he and Kirito are now off on an adventure to save Alice.

Seriously, what?

The new technology Kirito is beta testing to play this game went full Science Fantasy with the whole soul translation. Previous full dive machines in the SAO universe made some sense technologically but the soul translator and “fluctlights” throw almost all realism out the window. I’m hoping the other real-world happenings will get some light. Shino had a lot of screen time in episode one and was talking about the next BoB, but as far as the show has gotten, there’s no telling if we’ll see what’s going there considering the end of episode one has Kirito gets injected with something by the last surviving laughing coffin member. I feel he was put into the Soul Translation machine as a way to save him from whatever it was laughing coffin injected him with.

So far, the story has gotten interesting. It may have gone full isekai with the new game, but I am 100% okay with that because the writing is definitely a lot better than the previous arcs. While the unexplainable mechanics detract from the overall story for me, the raw emotion Kirito and Eugeo express in all their tense moments and their moments of glory have much more of an impact than previously. Moreover, the extra characters are not useless. Shino has had some great character development, she’s more independent and no longer just a nice butt to stare at anymore. Selka is a very independent and headstrong and is very capable at being a Sister for her town. The enemy goblins in episode 5 were threatening too. Kirito is no longer the ultimate bad-ass, he’s taking hits and they are causing significant pain to him until the shonen-adrenaline kicks in. The franchise has improved, and you can tell.

Overall, I will definitely say watch this. Highly recommend catching up with the first 2 seasons first though just in case, but even then you’ll see how much the show has evolved since it first premiered 6 years ago. I have high hopes for this season. Much higher than before the season started and I actually am excited for the next episode to air next week. Sword Art Online: Alicization airs on Crunchyroll on Saturdays at 12:30 PM. Let me know what you think in the comments? Should @blackandyellowog and @rokutsu pick up the series?