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「伝説の英雄」 (Densetsu no Eiyuu)
“The Legendary Hero”
This week’s episode was exactly what I’ve been wanting from the moment Kirito and Eugueo defeated the first Integrity Knight.
General Impressions
After getting a tiny taste of what’s to come, I was blown away with happiness to see Bercouli embody everything I wanted from this “climb the tower” arc. As the strongest (or at least most senior) Integrity Knight, I loved that his honor and way of life took precedence over being an Integrity Knight. Without spouting any sort of nonsense about the honor of the Axiom Church or the integrity of those tasked with protecting it, he went about everything with a very open and understanding attitude. And as if that wasn’t enough, you had to love how he earnestly went against Eugeo and even admitted how Eugeo’s ability to utilize the battlefield effectively overcame their difference in skill. So, even though the battle itself may not have been the flashiest, I don’t think I’ve enjoyed watching a battle this much since the Mother Rosario arc.
That said, it takes more than a good fight to get my blood pumping and the story wasn’t slacking this week either. With the highest Integrity Knight effectively out of the picture, I was real curious just where things would go from here. Kirito and Alice are stuck outside the tower and Eugeo literally froze himself in order to take out Bercouli — both acting as a great example of just how much more our protagonists need to power up in order to take on the Pontifont at the top of the tower. Lo and behold we meet a new character who not only looks evil, but busted out some real low level commands which would lead me to believe he’s someone pretty high up there. However, his comments about Eugeo are what really got me thinking since I never once imagined Eugeo somehow being turned into Kirito’s enemy. At this point it’s been quite some time since Kirito has experienced some sort of big fall (not literally) and can you imagine how crazy it’d be if he somehow got Alice on his side while Eugeo became the enemy?!
What a great episode! Man, I’d been feeling kind of negative toward SAO:A recently since the pacing has felt a little funky, but this week’s episode brought things back up to speed while preparing for whatever’s coming next. In any case, I’ll catch you guys next week. See you then!
Preview
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Well, I figured after Kirito and Alice got launched out of the tower it was only a matter of time before Eugeo got overwhelmed and turned into an Integrity Knight. Never thought it’d be by way of evil midget clown, but the direction they were going in felt pretty obvious. The real question for me is what Alice’s reaction will be if they do succeed in turning Eugeo, assuming Kirito’s oncoming story about her past doesn’t throw her into some sort of fail-safe berserker mode or something.
https://randomc.net/image/Sword%20Art%20Online/Sword%20Art%20Online%20Alicization%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
If they did a basic Kendo stance, I would understand the battle stance, but these type of “flashy” stances look like it is for movies. Meh
https://randomc.net/image/Sword%20Art%20Online/Sword%20Art%20Online%20Alicization%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
Notably, I never understood the logic of hitting a leg can defeat someone so meh, try not to take these battles seriously
Actually, these stances are not so bad. OldDude uses a high kendo-stance, except he does it one-handed. Prolly to show good his body-control is and how bad-ass he is. BlondBoi uses an european stance, except that stance is normally used with a shield in front so its kinda bad the way he uses it.
Legs/footwork is very important in martial combat. 70% of martial prowess is based on footwork, providing both stability to defend and strength to deal damage. Your whole body is used to defend and attack and that all relies first on stable footwork.
I see, thanks. Those stances looked like they had a lot of openings; attack I can imagine but defense is another story unless you have good footwork to help you dodge rather than block. So I didn’t see how they can be used in combat.
In regards to the legwork, I am guessing maybe Johnny Black was “knocked out” when Kirito only used an umbrella to hit his leg and made him immobile. Though I am not sure what part of the leg would you hit in order to do that.
You are right that they show openings as Eugeo doesnt use a shield and the older man uses a highly offensive stance ,which dares the opponent to attack.
The basic kendo stance (middle stance with weapon forward) is not very offensive, but defensive, but its offensive abilities are limited in how fast it can be or how much power it can add to attacks. These two stances show openings but they are already “armed”. If you want to deal a lot of damage, you want to wind your attack up. These two stances are already wound up and ready to smash down. A normal kendo stance would first need to pull back before it can bring forth harder (wider) swings.
I havent seen the anime episode yet (saving till all episodes are out), but to me it seems they are doing a chicken-dare. Who can swing the fastest in a single clash. Kinda like two racers driving toward eachother to see who will be the first to chicken out and steer away.
I see, thank you Carnivac, I have enjoyed talking to you about this. To be frank. if I was Eugueo then, if my enemy is going for an attack, I would take a defensive stance. If RPG logic wasn’t so prevalent, the best move is to dodge (as in slide through while blocking the enemy’s blade so it won’t hit you) the Knight’s straightforward looking downward attack then try to do a quick slice through the neck. However, because Eugueo’s didn’t know enemy’s weapon, I guess the smarter choice is “attack your enemy before he makes an attack.”
https://randomc.net/image/Sword%20Art%20Online/Sword%20Art%20Online%20Alicization%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
Though I guess neither option would be feasible given the “rpg magic”.
Correct. Except dodging by stepping in is very dangerous and risky, especially if your opponent has way more battle experience.
The older person has not only a longer weapon but also bigger body, his reach is way longer then teenage Eugeo. If I was blondie, I would throw my weapon at him from a distance as distraction and go find a long spear or something 😛
:O An SAO character who is manly, big-chinned, rugged and DOESN’T look like a damn moe light novel character!?!? YES!
Next week is a recap episode T_T
I’m super confuse are we focus on a virtual world without technology promblems or from outside world called “reality” or just focus on virtual world itself?