Sword Art Online: Alicization - Episode 10 Discussion (Anime Only)
Episode 10: Taboo Index
禁忌目録
THIS IS AN ANIME-ONLY THREAD. LIGHT NOVEL READERS SHOULD DISCUSS HERE.
All spoilers regarding events not yet shown in the anime MUST be tagged. There is a zero-tolerance policy for any and all untagged light novel spoilers posted here - violators will be banned for 7 days and repeat offenses will be banned for longer, depending on spoiler severity.
Knowledge of the main series anime up to and including Ordinal Scale is assumed in this thread. Spoilers for SAO, SAO II, and Ordinal Scale can be untagged.
Streaming Sources
Hulu
Please note that no English dub has been announced at this time. For countries other than the US, check your local distributor!
Show Information
Previous Discussions
Episode 9 - Nobleman's Responsibilities
Episode 7 - Swordcraft Academy
338 comments · 99% upvoted · other discussions
Holy shit, when I saw the disclaimer at the start I knew some shit was going to go down, but I was not expecting that!
Eugeo breaking the taboo index was incredible, it was so clear how much he had to be pushed to the limit, watching someone he cared deeply about being treated like that and it still took so much of his effort and pain of his fucking eyeball exploding to swing his sword, the animation and voice acting was perfect, there was so much visceral strength in that moment.
Kirito coming back just in time was great, he’s always strongest when he’s protecting somebody, and that was so clear, I love the way that the sword fighting is animated this season, and the OST is perfect every time, the sheer power that’s translated through the screen is amazing.
I would say that those noble pricks got what was coming to them, but I mean, that was a gruesome way to go, it’s sickening that if it had been anyone but Eugeo and Kirito then they would have gotten away with it, but, like, holy fuck. Also interesting to note that the blonde one broke the taboo index, after seeing how far Eugeo had to be pushed for the same effect he must have been in some serious pain.
I loved how Kirito calmed Eugeo and treated him exactly like a human, and even telling him as such, that was a really nice moment between the two of them
The teacher seemingly praising Eugeo for breaking the taboo index was a curious moment, and she seemed to notice that Kirito was different, I wonder if she’s been altered by the real world people to spot things like that and to notify them, since they are looking for Alice type AIs
And speaking of Alice type AIs…. ALICE!!!!!!!! I was expecting a much longer quest before Eugeo, Kirito and Alice were reunited, so I’m interested to see where this goes from now, also, I wonder if Alice will recognise Kirito? It would make some kind of sense for Eugeo’s memories to be altered after Alice was taken and Kirito logged out, but I would have thought that they’d want to keep Alice as the same Alice that broke the taboo index, so, she might recognise both Eugeo and Kirito.
But also, Alice synthesis 30?
Great episode, can’t wait until next week
NAPOLEON039 101 points · Dec 2018
The way Alice looked at them both, it seems her memories are erased. But Eugeo seemed to recognize her just fine.
[deleted] 38 points · Dec 2018
True, it did seem that way, maybe she didn't recognise them at first, it's been a long time since they saw each other after all!
It would be really heartbreaking for Eugeo if she'd forgotten about him, especially since finding her is the reason he set himself down the path of becoming a swordsman
fl3rian 36 points · Dec 2018
Maybe a clone/duplicate using the sacred arts?
And I wonder if Kirito recognizes her.
[deleted] 23 points · Dec 2018
A clone would be the simplest explanation of the name
I doubt Kirito would recognise her, he didn't recognise Eugeo
[deleted] 14 points · Dec 2018
[removed]
[deleted] 9 points · Dec 2018
It might depend on the translation since I'm only working off English subtitles, but synthesis is like creation, so if you read it as "Alice creation 30" then it sounds a lot like a reproduced clone
load 3 more replies →
load 1 more replies →
fl3rian 4 points · Dec 2018
iirc he felt somewhat familiar with Eugeo. So maybe seeing Alice will trigger some memories?
BleedingUranium 7 points · Dec 2018 · Argo's Guide
That's already been happening, even just hearing the name "Alice" in the real world, back in Ep1.
load 1 more replies →
Firnin 12 points · Dec 2018
if you recall, the knight that took alice away in the first episode introduced himself as "Deusolbert Synthesis Seven", so there's a pattern there
load 2 more replies →
Smokemantra 29 points · Dec 2018
Raios didn't break it, in fact he was incapable of doing so. In his last moments he wanted to take Humbert's arm string so Raios would live, but then Humbert would die and it would be Raios' fault, which goes against the index, so his fluctlight fried itself because of the loop it generated: break the taboo index to live or follow the rules and die. Also, his cause of death was his fluctlight losing stability and tearing itself apart and not his wounds or the blood loss.
Azurika is a very interesting character but I've rarely seen people talking about her (or other characters that don't have that much focus and I find interesting). As we know, she's represented the Norlangarth empire in the unity tournament, which means she's really strong and smart. What's interesting is how perceptive she is, enough to figure out Kirito was not a regular person (sadly their interactions were not all adapted into the anime). She also knows about the seal but says she didn't break it (she's actually not the only one to ever say this, but I won't spoil), which is intriguing too. I can tell you this much though, it's not like she was altered by Rath, they didn't alter anyone actually, their way to check for Alice-like fluctlights is different.
load 9 more replies →
ZeHaffen 17 points · Dec 2018 · Master Debater
He actually didn't break the Taboo Index, which is what caused his little meltdown. He was given a paradox: either take Humbert's rope to save himself, a violation of the Taboo Index because it would cause Humbert's life to decrease, or let himself, a third-rank noble who cared about himself more than anything else, die. He couldn't make a decision between his life and the Taboo Index, thus causing him to "short-circuit" and die.
BleedingUranium 16 points · Dec 2018 · Argo's Guide
You may remember that the Integrity Knight who took away Alice Zuberg was Deusolbert Synthesis Seven.
Vindicare605 13 points · Dec 2018 · Klein
So here's my question.
Would Kirito have acted how he did if he had not known that he was in a virtual world and that who he was striking wasn't actually alive?
We saw already how much the Laughing Coffin incident tore him up and here he is making the same call again only this time he can be sure that who he his attacking isn't actually a real person.
That's what I'm wondering right now.
[deleted] 20 points · Dec 2018
Here he chopped off the arms to make sure that everyone was as safe as possible, he didn't intend to kill in the way he did in the laughing coffin incident
Kirito has always fought to protect his friends first, and himself second, so I think he would fight like this even in the real world, chopping off his opponents arms was the safest, quickest way to make sure that he wasn't a threat anymore. The only thing I think Kirito might change in the future is to be quicker getting the tourniquet
BleedingUranium 9 points · Dec 2018 · Argo's Guide
To be honest, that was entirely in character. It might bother him later, like the LC members he killed did (or potentially less, through handling that and with maturity), but in the moment? Raios was scum that deserved what he got; Kirito wasn't trying to outright kill him, but he didn't have to be enthusiastic about saving him after.
Also, given Humbert didn't die, it's a safe assumption that had Kirito managed to tie off his wounds, Raios would have been fine too, even with Kirito taking his time.
[deleted] 9 points · Dec 2018
Yeah, I mean it's quite clear from the viewers perspective, and I don't think Eugeo, Tiesse, or Ronnie would think of Kirito as a killer or murderer after Raios died, but Kirito holds himself to a high standard
Vindicare605 5 points · Dec 2018 · Klein
Yet I know all that and still I wonder what the Kirito that was plugged into the Underworld without his memories of the real world would have done.
Seeing how hard it was for Eugeo to break the Taboo Index and Kirito felt the same way about as he did in the first episode, but this Kirito is different because of his difference of perspective. Remember that Eugeo needed Kirito's influence to break free of his programming, influence that may not have come from the underworld only Kirito.
Obviously Kirito views AIs differently, that's been obvious since Episode 4 of Season 1 (field boss and NPCs) but yet he acted with such unflinching conviction in this episode that makes me think he was acting with a different perspective than he was when he was in Aincrad.
Not necessarily the protecting Eugeo part, Kirito would have always done that, but he would have also tried to disarm his opponent without actually striking him too which is what he did in Aincrad the first time he encountered Laughing Coffin or when he encountered Titan's Hand.
The evolution of his character I guess, the added conviction I'm wondering, is that a new part of who Kirito is or is that a product of his knowledge of where he is. I'm not sure.
ZeHaffen 11 points · Dec 2018 · Master Debater
The difference here is that Kirito did destroy Raios' sword first, Raios simply continued to fight. Kirito also had zero intent to kill; Raios' death was the result of a paradoxical choice between his own life and adherence to the Taboo Index causing him to "malfunction."
[deleted] 6 points · Dec 2018
I think the conviction comes from wanting to protect the people close to him, in the examples you listed he was either at a huge advantage, Titans Hand couldn't deal enough damage between them to meaningfully hurt him, or in the case of Laughing Coffin he got lucky, Laughing Coffin were warded off with a threat, something that definitely wouldn't have worked here.
Kirito got really rapid character development in Aincrad and the unflinching conviction to protect others comes from watching his guild being killed in front of him, in Alfheim he tells Suguha "I won't let a party member die, not while I'm alive, I won't let that happen again", and that's really been the guiding force in how Kirito fights, Gleam Eyes, Kayaba (75th floor), and Death Gun come to mind as the best examples.
Since then, and I don't really have anything to back this up, but I think that Kirito's character development has focused much more on bringing his virtual self and real life self closer together, which is why I say that he would have acted exactly the same way if a situation similar to this had happened irl.
As for putting Kirito into the Underworld with no memories, I'm not really sure what you mean, other than his fast reaction time there isn't really anything physical that sets Kirito apart from anyone else, and character is built from life experiences, so without his past experiences he'd be a completely different person.
load 3 more replies →
load 9 more replies →
Virato913 6 points · Dec 2018
To Kirito AI is as much of a person as he is. Asuna knows that, and shares that philosophy, which is why she mentioned to Kikuoka that if Kirito had known they were trying to create AI to fight wars he wouldn't have accepted.
niytfox 6 points · Dec 2018
Well, Kirito knew that who he struck was actually alive and an actual human, that's the whole point of this arc. Everyone in Underworld, including the goblins he fought in the cave, have real human souls. He fought because it was the right thing to do to protect his friend from a dick. Also, Kirito didn't mean to kill him, he went to give him the ribbon to bind his arms but his Fluctlight collapsed first and he went insane.
load 1 more replies →
eliar99 7 points · Dec 2018
in episode 5, the real world people mentioned that alice was taken by the axiom church and her memories were altered/program was corrected. so i doubt she will remember them at all, at least, on a conscious level. someone has been speaking to kirito in spirit though. Someone in teh axiom church must have a sense of humor to send alice for them.
gsimenas 14 points · Dec 2018
For the record, the Axiom Church got to her before Kikuoka and Higa could even notice due to the whole time acceleration thing. The fact that Alice was already arrested is why the project wasn't stopped by now.
[deleted] 7 points · Dec 2018
The way I interpreted that was Kikuoka and Higa would have to change some of the rules of the underworld to release her from prison, which could have unforeseen effects which ruin the project, that doesn't mean that they can't run tests and alter Alice's AI in prison though
After all, Kikuoka and Higa do have full access and control of the world, as far as we know
gsimenas 6 points · Dec 2018
They don't really know what exactly was done to her. As far as they know, the Axiom Church modified her somehow to "fix" her.
load 1 more replies →
load 7 more replies →