Anime Review: Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 2

Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 2

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Genre: Action, Fantasy

Stream: Crunchyroll

Following a fine debut for the new series, episode two of Alicization picks up where the previous episode left off. After the Laughing Coffin attack, Kirito wakes up in a fantasy world, unable to understand the world around him. Is he even in a game? Is Sword Art Online an isekai now?

Kirito works out that he is in some kind of virtual world with its own set of rules, but doesn’t quite understand his surroundings or how to “Log out.” My favorite part of the previous episode was the time spent in this world, and while the entirety of this episode is once again there, I wasn’t as captivated as I was a week ago. Most of the episode simply establishes the new characters and settings, and it drags on for the majority of it. With how long this series is set to be, it is not surprising that it is looking like a slow burn, but it feels like its missing something to make the episode interesting. The intrigue surrounding Kirito’s memories is somewhat compelling but doesn’t shine in any way.

While the setting is new, Kirito certainly isn’t. It was refreshing to see him struggling to perform Eugeo’s daily activities, but once again annoying to see Kirito overperform with a sword once more, especially when he uses skills that he doesn’t even know exists in this world. Eugeo is somewhat interesting, acting as a guide for this new world.

Production wise, this episode looks and sounds as great as the first. It has a calming OST to go with the peaceful new fantasy world. The animation is fine with clean art and decent character designs. The voice acting is standard fare, with nothing quite standing out.

Episode 2 doesn’t really do anything to stand out and is just about as average as an anime episode can be. While it doesn’t necessarily do anything wrong, it simply uses all of its time to familiarize the viewer with the world, rather than try to pull the viewer in.