Review of Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld Part 2

Sword Art Online aka SAO is a staple of the isekai genre. I've been a fan of this series since the beginning of my anime fandom. The premise, the art, and the characters appeal to all types of people and its fourth major arc, Alicization. I'll be touching on some elements of the stories, so light spoilers ahead. Story - 6 In War of the Underworld part 2, we have Kirito in a coma and the story continues in the middle of a conflict between literal gamers and the military. The story itself is simple and easy to follow, but the writing makes it "messy." The plotof the story is defending Alice from foreign entities who seek to use her artificial intelligence, simple enough, but no. The writing and the overall intention of the writers make this simple plot to a level where it takes itself too seriously. Remember this is about foreign entities who play a game to try and take an AI intelligence and Kirito & company must defend Alice from these hands. For a story about gamers defending AI from the military, the themes, the mood, and the story itself are too serious for my taste. The writing messes its own story morphing it to something it isn't, to something which is complicated and overall something it isn't. This isn't some world crisis or some military conflict, maybe it is, but in its core, it is about a group of gamers defending AI Intelligence from groups of other gamers manipulated by foreign entities. Overall, the story's core is a simple theme, but the writing and direction of the story morph are it to something that takes itself too seriously.

Art - 8
As expected, A1 knowing the weight and popularity of the SAO Franchise resulting in some good production values resulting in beautiful animation, art, and fights. The fight effects were filled with fluid art styles which truly made each impact hit the audience. The recollections, effects, and details were refined to its greatest point.

Sound - 8
Same with the sound the production values were on point. Every hit had an impact and the art style and sound allowed the fights to feel more fluid (though I must say the fight direction was a little disappointing). The sound was precise and dynamic and really showed the depth of each attack. The Voice actor did an incredible job of portraying their character's feelings and their performance added to those moments of passion and heartache.

Characters - 6
We have Kirito and the gang as usual. Asuna, Kirito, Alice, and even Liz were characters I enjoyed to see as I saw them develop as characters. Kirito especially was in a more vulnerable state that ever before and I enjoyed seeing the show explore Kirito's thoughts, vulnerabilities, and relationships. War of the Underworld part 1 saw us focusing more on the side characters rather than Jesus-kun, Kirito himself. It allowed us to explore the side characters more rather than focusing on the Black Swordman's himself. Part 2 is the exact opposite. During the first half we see more development of Asuna, Bercouli, and others but once we approach Kirito's revival that all goes down the drain. It just feels like their development as characters is sidelined to make way for Kirito's return and the spotlight is just focused on the main cast. I'd also like to touch on the antagonists, PoH & Gabriel. PoH as a antagonist lacks actual drive and depth to his story, his background is this; He hates Japanese people because his dad was Japanese. I kid you not, that legit is his drive as an antagonist. Simply put, he's racist and to me this is just another result of lazy writing. In the small amount of time taken to build up his character, pure racism towards Japanese people is the only motivation for PoH. Gabriel, main villain, received some backstory and development in part 1 but in part 2 his role is cut short by Bercouli. We do get to see more of his sadistic, villainous side but it is nothing special. To me his personality as a villain is pretty plain and cliche, again due to the lazy writing of part 2.

Final Thoughts & Overall Impressions -
Overall, this series was another addition to the SAO Franchise. Nothing about to me was special. It's story was good, but nothing special, characters were decent, but failed to really develop as characters which we could relate to, and the ending itself was satisfactory to say the least. I find myself still attached to this series, after 8 years of its debut it still manages to leave an impression on the anime community and I still plan to watch more of it. Though War of the Underworld pt 2 was disappointing in my eyes, I was satisfied with my experience.