FULL EPISODE SPOILERS AHEAD
Serving as a segue between last episode and the final arc of this season, this episode does a good job of keeping us intrigued as to what it going on by playing on all of our heartstrings and trying to make us all cry in its first half. Does it work?
Do you have a soul?
The episode does become dialogue heavy, and even a bit expository, but it's all very interesting and sets up the next big opponent (er, sort of opponent) for our heroes. There is also a bigger focus on Asuna, who is going to be taking the reigns as our main character. This too is something that we've all been waiting for and it's exciting to see where an arc centered around Asuna can go. It is at the cost of some newer and older characters, such as Agil, Klein, and Sinon, but it's fine as we do get to learn way more about Asuna and see more of her character, reminding us of why we loved her in the first place. Or hated. But if you hate her you probably hate the show and aren't watching it.
This episode in particular stuck out to me from an animation standpoint. The studio is the same, the artwork hasn't really changed, but, it's got that same SAO nostalgic sunset animation as well as a boss fight that is not comprised of CGI. Yay.
This is probably the most fan-service-y of the episodes (not in a womanizing way, but more of in a "hey, throwback Thursday"--and it's also a Thursday imagine that) because we are finally back on Aincrad. New Aincrad, but everything looks the same. I've been waiting for the return to Aincrad since we saw it appear in Episode 25 of last season, so finally getting there is well worth it.
The episode begins five days after New Years where our main female leads minus Sinon are all doing homework in a rather familiar looking cabin. *gasp* could it be...?
It is! It's the house on Floor 22! :D
Getting to see the house again is very heartwarming, very nostalgic, and wicked cool. But, how did they get there, you ask?
Well, after an opening that features some new visuals (new characters is all), we see that Asuna and Kazuto are hanging in Agil's bar, where we finally learn Agil's backstory: he and his wife met online over a game and decided to open up the restaurant. They were both supposed to go into SAO but Agil only had on NerveGear, so he put it on that fateful day, and is glad that he was the one that did. There's another cute moment where Asuna says Kirito was the way she found strength in SAO, yeah we've seen it before but it's still adorable.
Agil lets them know that the new update is coming for New Aincrad, which is going to open up Floors 21-30. They're unsure if things are going to be the same, but Asuna has faith that it will be the same, and instantly, they've amassed their greatest forces to take on the Floor 21 boss, comprised of Klein, Kirito, Leafa, Agil, Silica, Asuna, Chrysheight, Sinon, and various other players to try and take down the boss.
There's a definite vibe of nostalgia in the fight not only because it uses old SAO music but because it's a calculated battle against a boss, with a major party and methodology to it all. Heck, to end the fight, Kirito and Asuna implore the "switch" technique, just to cap it off for your viewing pleasure. Asuna deals the final blow after Sinon saves her from total annihilation (Sinon's freaking awesome) and the group makes it out the dungeon save and sound.
With permission from the group, Asuna, Kirito, and Yui all fly away and almost literally take a trip down memory lane, as they fly over the boardwalk that leads to their house. We even see that the King of Fish is back in the lake, what fun! They arrive at the house, and it's a very touching and well-executed moment where the three of them buy the house and step inside for the first time.
It's the scene I was mentioning earlier where the sunset animation is brought back. I mean, it's just beautiful. The backgrounds look great, the cabin looks exactly the same, the colors are used perfectly in the scene. It's just a very well done scene. The portrayal of the characters is done well. Not only does Yui revert back to her bigger form, but it's just seeing those three back in that house after all they've been through, after a year of waiting, is so emotionally impactful. It's a very simple moment that really highlights their family value.
We jump back to the present time, where Lis asks Asuna if she's heard about a new player named Zekken, who apparently has a powerful Original Sword Skill. Around New Years, while Asuna was back home in Kyoto for familial purposes (we'll see more of that tomorrow), Zekken announced that he will challenge anyone at exactly 3 PM under a tree on Floor 24. Lots of players went out to fight him, and all of them were defeated, with few players able to lower his health past 30%.
Kaiyaba?
Silica didn't dare take him on, and both Leafa and Lis lost against him, though Leafa was able to put in some good damage against Zekken. Apparently, people keep going at him to fight for the Original Sword Skill, one with an eleven-hit combo. The only one that closest to that is owned by General Eugene of the Salamanders (hey, remember him?) that is eight hits. Sheesh. Zekken's skill is pretty busted. How busted?
Well apparently Zekken defeated Kirito when the latter challenged him. Hmm. Though, Kirito was probably giving Zekken a handicap: he didn't use his dual-wielding skill, he wasn't fighting with as much vigor as he does when he enters God-mode, and Zekken used some smoke-screen ability to defeat Kirito after the two had a small, secret chat.
Kaiyaba?
Asuna, though, doesn't care about that, and decides that she's going to take on this Zekken to find out what Kirito talked to him about as well as see where she stands against him. Thus, the episode ends with Lis claiming that Zekken is not an SAO survivor, but says Kirito believes had Zekken been an SAO survivor, Zekken would have been given the Dual Wielding skill instead of Kirito because of how much quicker he is.
Whoa.
Kaiyaba?
The mystery of Zekken is definitely an intriguing one, painting him as a very powerful player in such a short amount of time. Asuna's battle against him feels hopeless, but you also know in the back of your mind that they wouldn't have her be the final one to fight Zekken if it were for no purpose. A few other things that worked well toward the end of the episode was the comic relief Silica and Leafa provided in the background, that was a fun distraction from the main conversation.
Also, there's a new closing. It takes a bit of getting used to and its emotional impact won't come until later on, but heavily features a new girl in purple playing around with Asuna. Who is she? And who is Zekken?
Tomorrow, we find out just how powerful this Zekken is, and if he can be defeated! See you then.
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