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Rating: 4.75 out of 5
Sword Art Online is one of those anime series that you either love or hate. You might be in between with your emotions. I love Sword Art Online. Sword Art Online has a habit of having two storylines in one season. I might get my seasons mixed up, but the first season was great. I was not too fond of the second half of it with making Asuna some damsel in distress. The second season was cool, with the whole use of guns and fighting Death Gun in the virtual world, but I wasn’t too fond of the second half. The season’s second half was the team retrieving the holy sword Excalibur and Asuna befriending a girl named Yuuki Konno, who has a terminal disease but lives within the game and is probably the strongest character in the entire series.
Right before the third season came out, which I have watched and am currently reviewing, you know the studio had to drop a movie. The world was introduced to the Ordinal Scale. The film events occur between the second and third seasons of the anime series. In 2026, a new machine has dropped on the world called the Augma and instantly becomes a director competitor of the NerveGear. The Augma uses the Amusphere, which has revolutionized the Augmented Reality game. The Augma is a next-gen wearable device where players don’t have to go full drive. It lets users play while they are conscious. Think of the old-school Google Glasses, but a billion times better, and you can do anything anywhere. The Augma’s most popular game is “Ordinal Scale,” or OS, as the young whipper snappers call it. Players compete against each other and missions to gain points while ordinal numbers rank their abilities. Asuna and most of the gang have welcomed Ordinal Scale with open arms while Kirito still likes the old school way. Kirito has been a little skeptical of the new system but eventually joins when he hears that bosses from the old game have been appearing. While the game first appears to be harmless, behind the scenes, Professor Tetsuhiro Shigemura, the developer of the Augma, and Eiji, the number-two ranked player, have other plans with the goal of bringing back someone special to them. Kirito soon becomes involved in a plot to stop the pair and save everyone.
I have mixed feelings about this movie, as with most anime movies. Does it propel the story in any way, shape, or form? Nope, but most anime movies don’t really progress the anime series. It is almost used as filler. The story is entertaining, and you will definitely enjoy watching it. The premise of the whole event is that Professor Tetsuhiro Shigemura and Eiji want to bring back Yuna. Professor Shigemura created a virtual hologram of Yuna within the Augma. Things turn bad for players who survived SAO when they are fighting against bosses who cause extreme stress and fear within them. When Asuna loses most of her memories, Kirito does the aww hell naw and learns from Eiji that he was part of SAO along with Yuna. Eiji reveals that Shigemura’s plan is to harvest memories of SAO players to reconstruct his lost daughter’s soul and resurrect her as an AI. Eiji also reveals that he is unstoppable as the number two player, and the only way to stop him is to become the number one player.
90% of the entire film is Kirito trying to figure out what is going on, but when Asuna loses her memory, Kirito goes in full god mode to stop anyone. The ending where Kirito fights against Eiji was a nice fight. It wasn’t over the top, and it didn’t thrill you. When Kirito and everyone dive into the game to fight in the Ruby Palace of Floor 100 of SAO, that is when shit goes HAM and wild. The boss on Floor 100 is insane and pretty much DOMINATES everyone. When you think all is lost, Yui rolls up and brings EVERYONE from the old game to fight. The scene is insane and fun to watch. Everyone had to do their special moves to add some added flavor.
The ending was okay with Kirito going straight up GOD mode. I like the change with his eyes becoming golden, and the animators wanted to give a little hint of what is to come in the third season. Even though Shigemura and Eiji’s plan was unethical, it did make you have a few tears. The scene where Shigemura and Eiji remember Yuna is touching. Yuna was a sweet girl who got trapped in the game and died within it. She was known for her singing, which prompted Shigemura to make her a singer to bring her back.
The animation of this film is meh. It could be better, but it goes wild in the fight scenes. The animators were like, we will go about 65% with the overall quality of the animation, but when it comes to the fight scenes, we will go to a new level because that is what we care about and what everyone wants to see. The movie did that. Kirito vs. Eiji was done beautifully, along with the final boss scene.
Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale is a great anime film that bridges the seasons. Even though you don’t need to watch it between each season, it is a great watch. It has a new spin on the series and will make you want to watch the following seasons. Keep diving into the world of SAO.
BONUS CLIP!!!
