"My strength in this game is a lie. Nothing more than skills and stats."
FULL EPISODE SPOILERS AHEAD
And we've reached the breaking point! For both Kirito and Leafa. Ah, man, what a mess of awkward this episode turned into. Never would have gotten that based on how the episode started, but, hey, that's why we watch the show.
I suppose you could call the big reveals at the end a "twist" but it's all pretty much information we already knew so it was all just a matter of time until the characters found out about all of this. So, it was a twist for them, and just sort of a train wreck of information for us. The episode also goes from pretty good to pretty average and uncomfortable in almost the blink of an eye.
It's great seeing Kirito's character shine once again as he did two episodes prior where he took on Eugene and was constantly thinking, coming up with a solution to a major problem. Not only that, but we got to see his resilience in battle once again.
The episode starts with Kirito and Yui desperately trying to bust through the impenetrable barrier set by the Game Masters so players cannot continue flying. Yui calls out for her mother and Asuna hears her, becoming aware that Kirito and Yui aren't just a dream, but that they really are coming to rescue her. To let them know she is aware of their presence, Asuna wisely drops the console's key-card she obtained last episode, and Kirito catches it.
Knowing that there is only one way to Asuna, Kirito lets Leafa go, saying that is going to take on the Guardians and climb the World Tree himself, so as to keep Leafa out of trouble. He doesn't really give her much say in the matter. Truth be told, it really wouldn't make much of a difference if she were to go or not anyway, but does turn out helpful that she didn't go anyway.
As it turns out, because why wouldn't it be this way, the Guardians are probably over a thousand strong and their little nests that they pop out of reach all the way to the top. So, yeah. Rough stuff.
Uncaring, Kirito charges into battle, and it seems he has the upper hand on them despite their great number. They are weak individually, but in great number, yeah. That's a bit of a different story.
The art-style here is also similar to the one seen in the battle against Eugene, but it's actually a little better here as it will sometimes retain the original battle style where the faces and eyes don't look so monstrous or weird.
Kirito actually looks like a supremely better fighter here than he does against Eugene, as he is flying through Guardian numbers like clock-work. Here, we also see the old Kirito who loved the thrill of battle, as pointed out to us in Episode 12. He pretty much has a smile in the early-goings of taking on Guardians. All the while, though, images of Asuna flash through his mind, a reminder of what is pushing him so hard and what he is fighting for.
I really like this scene as it really envelopes not only the reason he is in ALO but the reason he fought to survive in SAO. He has to protect and save Asuna, he has a promise to keep. No force, no game, is going to stop him, and we get to see that come alive here.
Mortality, though, sucks. In a rather 300-esque moment, all of the Guardians turn to archers and release a deluge of arrows down upon him. Kirito tries to power through it, but some of the Guardians then throw their swords at him, impaling him meters before he can reach the top, and killing him.
Yup, Kirito died.
In another great character scene, Kirito laments on how he thought he was invincible, that the game didn't apply to him and he could do anything. Since he pretty much could, it's interesting to see him admit the flaw in that and how dangerous a game it was really playing. Thus, this is sort of punishment for thinking he could do this task on his own, as well as almost all the other fights he's been a part of.
Leafa, though, suddenly appears to rescue Kirito. She also shows great prowess as she uses her flying abilities to dodge the initial strikes of the Guardians and reach the little flame that is Kirito. Having secured that, she makes a break for the exit, unable to dodge some arrows but still able to make it out in time to heal Kirito. It's cool to finally see Leafa in some decent time-frame of action, as we know she's capable of fighting but haven't seen in it in a very long time.
When Kirito is revived, he tells Leafa to leave as he has to do this on his own, and he knows he has the power to do so. Leafa urges him to wait, and he says that he has to save Asuna before it's too late to stop anything (yes, he uses her real name).
And here we...go.
Leafa's mindset: Kazuto is looking for Asuna. Kirito is looking for Asuna. Kazuto + Kirigaya = Kirito. Thus, Kirito = Kazuto.
Having realized this, she asks for confirmation, and Kirito realizes that Leafa is actually Suguha.
Because you couldn't tell by the same freaking voices guys, hello!
Leafa logs out, completely in shock, and in the real world, Suguha wakes up crying that Kirito, who she was falling for, is Kazuto, the person she had just gotten over.
Kazuto goes over to talk to Leafa, who then spills it all: she really loved Kazuto and then when she finally got over him because he loves Asuna she fell in love with Kirito but now Kirito is Kazuto and hey what's Agil up to?
Kazuto, wonders if Suguha means love or love-love, only to find out that she means the latter since they aren't really siblings. Now that their worlds are shattered, Suguha goes back to her room to cry some more and Kirito, who is officially having a rough day, slumps against the door, ending the episode.
Oh. Boy. Talk about a maelstrom of trouble.
But, again, it all feels so forced. It was all inevitable, yeah, but I just have trouble caring about this subplot at all. Maybe it's because I live in a culture where this is deemed weird and if I lived in Japan it wouldn't be that way, maybe it's because I ship Kirito and Asuna so hard that I don't want to buy it, or maybe it's because it's a ridiculous little subplot taking away from the story about a girl's life hanging by a thread. Argh.
The whole Suguha thing comes completely out of left-field when Kazuto wakes up from SAO and I wish they just didn't mess with it at all. It's a can of worms that could easily have stayed shut. They could have had an interesting story where we don't know Leafa and Suguha are the same person, sort of like how we didn't know Heathcliff was Kaiyaba but there were subtle hints. All the while Suguha worries for her brother's health in the game and Leafa helps out Kirito in the game. Then, we find out their real identities and it's a cool twist, not necessarily a shocking one, and we can have an episode dedicated to Kazuto explaining his feelings for Asuna to Suguha in a way for him to convince her to help him out, since playing the game might still be bad for his health.
Instead, we have a love...square. I think. I don't even know.
This episode was really good to start off with, but fell into a romance trap that seriously hurt it and now we have to spend some time with repercussions on that and it will feel forced and hopefully whatever comes afterward will help out. Or, if anything can alleviate the awkward tension between Kazuto/ Kirito and Suguha/ Leafa.
See you then!
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