A mixed bag. It started really strong but finished really weak.
I really enjoy the animation style, it’s kind of hard to go back to the earlier seasons without it being incredibly jarring. The animation itself however is all over the place. You can really tell when they decide to cut corners for cost saving.
I really wish several of the light novel plot lines actually made it into the anime. Such as Eugeo’s family, Eugeo’s natural talent, Eugeo’s feelings about Kirito being from another world, Eugeo’s guilt. Pretty much a lot of Eugeo centric things. The Zink fight not being in the anime ended up being pretty important. Pretty much everything that built him up to being Kirito’s equal or stronger.
Pretty much all of Volume 14 was just a plot point to plot point rush. Nothing got enough time to breathe to produce any real weight. The fight between Eugeo and Kirito didn’t feel like a destined fight that we didn’t want. We didn’t get to see Alice absolutely wreck Chudelkin’s shit before the fire Genie. We didn’t get the true feeling of despair most of the fight with Quinella was supposed to invoke. A conversation that she and Kirito even have that didn’t make it in. They didn’t bother make Alice appear damaged so there’s no real reason for her to pass out. Quinella has magic hair powers out of nowhere. Just so much wrong with the last 3-4 episodes.
Not ending with “whose voice was that I wonder?” should have gotten someone fired.
Things I did like:
No Fanservice. I figured if nothing else the change in directors would do this some real good. After the disaster that was the second season’s ass shots it’s nice to know plot was never sacrificed for titillation.
The goblin fight and the Fanatio fight. Aside from some shoddy animation in the later I really liked these fights in the anime. In fact most of the Integrity knight fights prior to volume 14 were executed really well. Eugeo’s Release Recollection was even handled better than I hoped.
The music is as always great. My personal favorite new theme is the Enhance Armament theme. Both OP and ED themes were really good.
Eugeo’s Synthesis and Death scenes were handled really well. Especially the latter. It didn’t save the last 3rd of the show or episode 24 for me, but it definitely hurt. Stay Cool.
The GGO scene. Good way to both add some filler of the whole gang before we went into the underworld and to introduce PoH and Gabriel a little earlier. Also anime only watchers can stop talking about how OP kirito’s lightsaber usage is now.
It was just good to have SAO back weekly. Can’t wait til October and hopefully a better paced second half.
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