Sword Art Online (SAO) has always been a franchise that divides anime fans. Praised by some for its imaginative concepts and immersive virtual worlds, and derided by others for its reliance on tropes and perceived storytelling missteps, SAO continues to be a talking point within the anime community. The Alicization arc, a significant portion of the overall SAO narrative, is no exception. This review will delve into the Sword Art Online Alicization arc, examining its strengths and weaknesses, and exploring why, despite its potential, it often feels like it stumbles over its own feet.
Many fans and critics alike point to the original Aincrad arc as a highlight, appreciating its concise narrative and intriguing premise. However, even Aincrad, as acknowledged by its own author Reki Kawahara, was rushed due to its origin as a contest submission. This tendency to prioritize plot progression over nuanced detail is a recurring issue in Sword Art Online, and Alicization unfortunately exemplifies this problem. While the overarching themes and intentions of Kawahara are usually discernible, the anime adaptation often prioritizes a rapid-fire plot, sacrificing the intricate world-building and character development that could elevate the experience. This approach frequently results in a viewing experience that feels like wading through exposition to reach fleeting moments of impactful storytelling.
While criticism of SAO, and Alicization specifically, is prevalent, it’s important to acknowledge the positive aspects of this arc. To dismiss it entirely as “the worst ever,” as some detractors do, is to overlook the elements where Alicization genuinely shines. Therefore, let’s first explore the commendable aspects of Sword Art Online Alicization.
The High Points of Alicization: Production, Characters, and Villains
Despite its narrative shortcomings, Alicization undeniably boasts impressive production values. The animation quality and musical score are consistent strengths that have carried through the SAO franchise, and they remain noteworthy in this arc.
1. Visual and Auditory Excellence
The character designs in Alicization adopt the polished aesthetic introduced in the Ordinal Scale movie, offering a visual upgrade from the earlier seasons. While the sheer volume of animation might not always reach spectacular heights, the visual fidelity remains consistently high across all 24 episodes of the first part of the arc. Comparing it to the initial SAO seasons, the improvement is evident. Although the architecture and world design within the Underworld aren’t groundbreakingly original, they are nonetheless well-realized and visually appealing.
Yuki Kajiura’s musical contributions, a staple of the SAO anime, continue to enhance the atmosphere. While perhaps not her most groundbreaking work, the soundtrack effectively underscores both the quieter, character-driven scenes and the action sequences. A notable highlight is a new remix of the iconic “Swordland” theme, adding a fresh yet familiar touch. The opening moments of Episode 2 and the fight sequence in Episode 16 are particularly effective in their visual and auditory presentation. Furthermore, the first opening theme and the second ending theme stand out as catchy and energetic tracks that complement the overall tone of the arc.
2. The Emergence of Alice Schuberg
Alice Schuberg, the central female character introduced in Alicization, is arguably one of the most compelling female leads in the entire Sword Art Online saga. While her character development takes time to unfold, truly coming into focus around episode 16, the subsequent exploration of Alice is rewarding. Unlike some previous female characters in SAO, Alice is not subjected to gratuitous fanservice, her growth is not artificially stunted by time skips, and her character arc is not solely defined by her relationship to Kirito. Her journey of questioning and rejecting the corrupt system she was indoctrinated into, her yearning to reconnect with her past life, and her gradual emotional awakening are all handled with a degree of nuance that leads to some of the arc’s strongest character moments.
Alice also wields a visually striking and conceptually interesting weapon – a space-bending sword that acts as a mobile shield and weaponizes golden butterflies. This unique weapon design has been effectively utilized in action sequences and holds further potential as the narrative progresses.
3. A More Balanced Kirito
In contrast to arcs like Phantom Bullet, Alicization presents a more tempered version of Kirito. He doesn’t begin the story as an overpowered protagonist; instead, he faces genuine struggles in combat and even experiences defeats. This vulnerability injects a welcome sense of tension into several of the battles, something that has been lacking in previous SAO iterations. The introduction of Eugeo as a partner character also contributes to this balance, allowing the narrative to distribute the spotlight more evenly in combat situations, rather than solely focusing on Kirito’s dominance. While contrived solutions to conflicts still surface, they feel less directly attributable to Kirito’s inherent abilities and more to broader writing choices.
4. Building a Believable Antagonist
Quinella, the primary antagonist of the Alicization arc, stands out due to her well-defined backstory and motivations for her tyrannical rule. The narrative establishes clear reasons for her villainy and demonstrates the tangible consequences of her actions on the Underworld. Unlike antagonists like Sugou from the Alfheim arc, Quinella is presented as a credible and serious threat. While her origins are tied to an as-yet-unspecified malevolent source, her character is effectively established as a formidable and imposing force. However, certain visual choices, such as the gratuitous depiction of her nudity, feel tonally inconsistent with the series, particularly given the past use of nudity for fanservice in SAO. Despite this, Quinella provides moments of genuine intensity in the climax of the arc, even if the final confrontation feels somewhat brief.
The Downfalls of Alicization: Exposition Overload and Narrative Disconnects
Unfortunately, despite these positive aspects, Sword Art Online Alicization is significantly hampered by persistent issues that undermine its overall potential. The most prominent of these is an overwhelming emphasis on exposition, overshadowing crucial elements like character development and world-building.
1. The Exposition Barrage
The most pervasive problem throughout Alicization is the relentless focus on exposition at the expense of nearly every other narrative element. Character development, meaningful dialogue, immersive world-building, and even action sequences frequently take a backseat to lengthy explanations of technical concepts. Characters often abandon opportunities for organic interaction and growth in favor of delivering dense, jargon-heavy monologues about topics that, while tangentially relevant, are not as compelling as the human elements of the story. Eugeo’s personal struggles, for example, are often sidelined to make way for extended discussions about the villain’s plans or the intricacies of “Fluctlights” – the series’ convoluted term for digital souls, used in a somewhat muddled exploration of AI and human consciousness. The mechanics of this digital world often take precedence over the emotional core of the narrative, creating a jarring imbalance.
This exposition deluge often grinds the narrative momentum to a halt. Scenes are frequently interrupted by characters pausing mid-action to engage in lengthy explanations, while antagonists conveniently wait for them to finish. While exposition is a necessary tool for establishing context and plot, Alicization’s implementation is excessive, tedious, and devoid of character. Episode 1, for instance, dedicates a significant ten minutes to vague, jargon-filled exposition about the setting, while entire episodes, like half of Episode 12 and nearly all of Episode 13, are almost entirely composed of flat, undramatic plot dumps. Even action sequences are often dwarfed by surrounding exposition, with five to ten minutes of explanation preceding and following brief moments of combat.
Compounding this issue is the direction. While the previous SAO director was not without flaws, they demonstrated a better understanding of how to make fight scenes visually dynamic and engaging. In Alicization, despite Yuki Kajiura’s efforts to create exciting musical scores, the new director, known for directing poorly received light novel adaptations like Mahouka and The Asterisk War, struggles to translate that energy visually. The result is a disconnect between the epic scale promised by the opening themes and the often underwhelming and exposition-laden action sequences.
2. The Disconnecting Framing Device
The framing device of Alicization, where Kirito’s journey in the Underworld occurs while his physical body is comatose in the real world, presents several narrative problems. While this setup could potentially create tension, the connection between Kirito’s virtual and real-world experiences is poorly established and ultimately undermines the stakes. The audience is aware that Kirito’s presence in the Underworld is essentially a waiting game until his real body recovers. Until the very end of this part of the arc, his actions in Rath have no discernible consequences in the real world, lacking the “die in the game, die in real life” stakes of earlier arcs. While Kirito sustains injuries in the Underworld, the impact on his real body remains vague and unexplored. Furthermore, a two-year time skip occurs within the Underworld, but the temporal relationship between the virtual and real world is unclear, diminishing the sense of connection to the overarching narrative.
This framing device also isolates Kirito from his established relationships. While a reduced role for his supporting cast might be acceptable, the near-total absence of any reflection on his real-world connections feels jarring. Asuna, a character who should be central to Kirito’s thoughts and motivations, is essentially absent from this arc. Kirito’s infrequent and fleeting thoughts of his real-world life are overshadowed by less significant emotional triggers, such as mourning destroyed flowers within the game world – flowers that are, ironically, later conveniently restored. The framing device, intended to add depth, instead creates a sense of detachment and undermines the emotional investment in the story.
3. Recurring Unsatisfactory Tropes and Missed Opportunities
Certain problematic habits from previous SAO iterations persist in Alicization, whether due to the source material or the adaptation choices. The inclusion of another gratuitous and uncomfortable sexual assault scene is a regrettable recurrence. Furthermore, a two-year time skip occurs instead of depicting the training and growth of Kirito and Eugeo as swordsmen. The narrative jumps directly from their departure for the capital to a point two years later, with their enhanced skills presented as a fait accompli. This missed opportunity to visually depict their progress and build their relationship is a significant loss. The sword academy setting, seemingly intended to facilitate character development, serves primarily to introduce stereotypical bully antagonists and damsel-in-distress female characters, none of whom are developed beyond these basic archetypes. Even a potential romance arc for Eugeo within the academy setting goes largely unexplored.
The narrative also relies on contrivances to advance the plot. Kirito encountering a “ghost” of Alice to guide him, Cardinal’s convenient introduction as a deus ex machina, and Kirito’s sudden, unexplained powerful attack that briefly reverts him to his “Black Swordsman” persona all contribute to a sense of artificiality and weaken the narrative’s impact. This unnamed, unexplained attack is never referenced again, further highlighting the lack of cohesive world-building.
4. Underdeveloped Supporting Characters
Beyond Alice, the majority of characters in Alicization range from passable to remarkably flat. Kirito, while less overtly overpowered, still exhibits moments of frustratingly convenient abilities and questionable decision-making. Cardinal, despite her deus ex machina role, is a relatively more compelling character. However, the sword academy characters remain underdeveloped, and among the antagonists, only Bercouli and Deusolbert possess any real depth. Fanatio’s defining characteristic is a shallowly explored shame about her gender, which feels incongruous in a world where both the primary villain and Alice are prominent female figures, and where no systemic gender discrimination is depicted. Chudelkin, another antagonist, is reduced to a caricature, primarily serving to disrupt the tone and engage in cartoonishly villainous behavior.
5. The Wasted Potential of Eugeo
Perhaps the most significant disappointment in Alicization is the underutilization of Eugeo. Introduced as a partner character to balance Kirito and provide a fresh perspective, Eugeo had considerable potential. His distinct lack of knowledge about Kirito’s past, his childhood relationship with Alice, his latent fighting abilities, his unawareness of his AI nature, and his budding romance with Tiese all offered rich avenues for character development.
However, the anime adaptation fails to capitalize on almost any of these elements. Eugeo’s potential surpasses Kirito’s is largely ignored, his sword training is presented through time skips rather than depicted, and his relationships with Kirito, Alice, his family, and Tiese are underdeveloped and lack emotional resonance. He and Alice, despite their shared childhood and central roles in the narrative, barely interact in the present timeline. The anime prioritizes exposition over exploring Eugeo’s backstory and inner life, resulting in a tragically wasted character. While the narrative attempts to compensate for this lack of development towards the end, it feels too little, too late.
Conclusion: Alicization’s Unrealized Promise
It’s difficult to definitively categorize the overall feeling towards Alicization as more annoyance or disappointment. While some of the narrative and character issues could potentially be addressed in the later parts of the arc, first impressions are crucial, and the initial portion of Alicization falls short of its promise. The excessive exposition, the disconnecting framing device, and the underdeveloped characters significantly detract from the experience. These flaws are particularly frustrating because the underlying concepts and themes of SAO, and Alicization specifically, hold genuine potential. Had the narrative prioritized character development, world-building, and a more balanced approach to exposition, Alicization could have been a truly compelling arc. Instead, it serves as a reminder of Sword Art Online’s recurring tendency to undermine its own strengths. While there remains hope for future improvement as the story progresses, the initial execution of Alicization suggests that any such improvement will likely come with significant caveats. Sword Art Online continues to be a franchise brimming with ideas, yet often struggling to fully realize its potential, and Alicization, in its current form, unfortunately exemplifies this ongoing struggle.
