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「剣の学び舎」 (Ken no Manabiya)
“Swordscraft Academy”
And we’re back!
General Impressions
As much as I enjoyed seeing the real world and getting to know a little more about Kayaba, I must admit that I personally enjoy things when we’re in the virtual world. And boy was I happy to see the story go all-out when it finally threw us back into the Underworld. With the story briefly touching on the past two years of Kirito and Eugeo making a mark on the world as they rose up from simple village boys to Pages in the Swordscraft Academy, I was really appreciative that we didn’t have to wade our way through a bunch of slow exposition.
All that said, I think what I might have loved the most about all of this is how the Underworld has managed to keep Kirito in-check. As the one of the most skilled swordsman in the VMMORPG world as well as the hero who ended the SAO incident, it’s been fantastic watching him re-learn things in a world completely foreign to him with limiters that prevent things from going too off the rails. However, it might be specifically those limiters that create an interesting situation since it’s been revealed that these limiters can be modified and in essence allow someone to pull off a miracle. A point that I hope gets touched on further since it sounds like the perfect way for a show like SAO to explain why or how Kirito is able to do something absurd the next time he’s in a pinch.
Luckily it looks like we won’t be waiting for too long since Kirito’s managed to catch the eye of the number one swordsman in the academy, Levantein. The thing is, I’m not sure if this Levantein guy is trying to pick on Kirito for being someone of lower status or if he’s just someone who loves fighting and is itching to go against someone who might be able to put up a good fight. With the way the story was showing off those two lackeys I’m willing to bet it’s the latter, but there’s still a part of me hoping that this Levantein guy isn’t some asshat. Still, even if he ends up being an asshat, I’ll relish every moment as Kirito hopefully knocks him on his ass.
In any case, I’ll catch you guys next week where there’s hopefully an intense battle waiting for us. A battle that, besides knocking a possible asshat on his ass, will hopefully show us just how far Kirito can push things in the Underworld. See you then!
Preview
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One thing this episode made me notice is that I really like Kirito’s laugh.
“Kirito! What did you do this time?” “Hehehe”
Personally I think Levantein is purposely acting borderline asshat as an excuse to fight Kirito.
He was smiling at seeing Kirito trying out the new sword and when the dirt landed on him, he was all but screaming “well now I have an excuse to challenge you”.
Levantein was watching when Kirito used the Vertical Square, so I think it made him want to try Kirito’s hand, when the dirt landed on him it was all that he needed. As we understood in this episode, the laws can be bent a little with the right argument.
And as Kirito couldn’t use 4+ hits with inferior swords it will be nice to see him bonding with the new sword, I think he couldn’t put the “will” to win against his senpai because of his previous sword. Now with his new shiny toy I think it will make his confidence increase a little.
And I laughed when Sortiliena-senpai said that Kirito had never fought with real swords before. He spent two years betting his life in Aincrad, I’m sure he can handle a little bit of pressure.
About the duel, I think it will be a draw. Levantein is the number one in the school so I think he has to have something to back it up.
There’s a chance Kirito would win. His graduation gift to Sortiliena could be upgraded from merely “showing his true skill with the sword” to “beating Levantein to show her that he’s fallible, giving her a boost in confidence as a result”.
https://randomc.net/image/Sword%20Art%20Online/Sword%20Art%20Online%20Alicization%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
I wonder if there are main characters whose main weapon is a pitchfork. Well, when I think about it, most main characters use swords rather than spear-like weapons.
Next episode description:
https://sao-alicization.com/story/