English Dub Review: Sword Art Online: Alicization “The End Mountains”

Quick, someone call Goblin Slayer!

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Kirito awakens the next day to his new life, being woken up by a girl named Selka, Alice’s little sister. He slowly gets to know more about Underworld, but knows he needs Eugeo’s help to get to Centoria, and he’s gotta chop down the Gigas Cidar before that can happen. Eugeo happens to have a tool even better than the axe: the Blue Rose Sword they found in the End Mountains all those years ago. He wasn’t nearly strong enough to take it back then, so he dragged the thing for three months to bring it home. Kirito also can’t wield it very well, though that turns out to be because his level isn’t high enough. He does manage to make some considerable chip damage on the tree though, proving it will work better than the ax. With some quick coaching from Kirito, Eugeo also learns to handle it somewhat.

Back at the church, Kirito decides to ask Selka some questions too, namely what happened to Alice beyond the fact she was taken. Apparently Selka wasn’t even aware Eugeo even remembered that and feels bad that she reminds him of Alice. In turn, she also asks why Alice was taken in the first place, so Kirito tells her about her being in the End Mountains. With that, Kirito heads back to bed, but learns the next morning that Selka is missing. He mentions this to Eugeo, who pieces together that she went to the mountains to look for Alice.

They make their way into the mountains, heading to the same spot where Eugeo found the sword. There, they see Selka in the clutches of some goblins.

OUR TAKE

After the last two episodes set the tone and established the setting, there isn’t a ton to say about this one. It’s the middle point of the first novel of this arc and it shows, so it’s basically just adding small things to the previous episode while waiting on next week’s resolution. That’s not to say there’s NOTHING to talk about, but it definitely feels considerably less than last week and probably next week.

We’re learning more tidbits about the Underworld system and Sacred Arts, particularly how they work as this world’s basis for spells and more powerful ones require more energy, but smaller ones like turning plants into lights seem to be ones that anyone can use. We also get some foreshadowing about some super powerful and ancient spell that keeps people from losing life that will likely come into play later on, and wielding the Blue Rose Sword gives Eugeo and Kirito a short term goal to get to while they’re learning the ropes. Also, some hints about Alice, Eugeo, Selka, and others possibly being not A.I., but other human beings brought into the world somehow. Lots of groundwork being laid here for future plots, which I like to see at this early stage.

What else to say…well, Selka gets a lot of focus, so there’s that. She might be getting set up as Eugeo’s love interest based on how Kirito suggests she likes him, is trying to get out of her missing sister’s shadow, and now she’s a damsel in distress. I don’t think we saw her at all in that first episode, which I guess makes sense, but it does make me wonder if she also knew Kirito in the previous iteration of their memories, which is why she was so friendly with him here. We know now that the events of the first episode have been mentally changed somewhat to show it was only Eugeo and Alice, but how much of that is linked to Kirito and how much to Alice? Hard to say anything for sure at this point.

And next week looks like we’ll be getting our first proper Underworld fight scene against some goblins! If I remember the first episode of Goblin Slayer, this is not a situation you want to be in on only your third episode. Luckily they only have two characters who have names and are in the OP, so our boys should be fine…for now. Next time we wrap up the first book, so expect some actual talking points and NOT me padding this thing out like crazy!