Sword Art Online: Alicization - Episode 12 Discussion (Anime Only)

Episode 12: The Sage of the Library

図書室の賢者


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

Crunchyroll

Funimation

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

MyAnimeList

AniList

AniDB

Kitsu

Official Website (Japan)

Official Website (USA)


Previous Discussions

Episode 11 - Central Cathedral

Episode 10 - Taboo Index

Episode 9 - Nobleman's Responsibilities

Episode 8 - Swordsman's Pride

Episode 7 - Swordcraft Academy

Episode 6 - Project Alicization

Episode 5 - Ocean Turtle

Episode 4 - Departure

Episode 3 - The End Mountains

Episode 2 - The Demon Tree

Episode 1 - Underworld

Sword Art Online: Alicization - Episode 12 Discussion (Anime Only)

140 comments · 96% upvoted · other discussions

comments

[deleted]

Damn, Kirito has really learned a lot about the system call things already, that thing with the thermal element and using it at a smoke screen was dead clever!

Eugeo and Kirito having each others backs and fighting for each other was great to see! They fight well together, Kirito trained my man Eugeo up well

I guess the end of that fight shows more about Integrity knights though, confirming that they have their memories wiped when they are "summoned"

Huh? His hair talked?? The fuck

Cardinal? Remanents of the SAO system maybe? That could explain why they helped Kirito, Kayaba did always have a bit of a soft spot for him.

I guess it all comes back to Kayaba at the end doesn't it, kinda cool to see since a lot of people brushed him off as just the villain from season 1, but the more you watch the more it seems that maybe he's not a villain after all

I wonder just how far Laughing Coffin goes too, like it was a guild in Aincrad, but it seems like members have some sway in other aspects of VR too, the way the visual showed it seems like a Laughing Coffin member was one of the original 4 rath employees setting up the Underworld, I wonder if Laughing Coffin was a thing before SAO, and how big it stayed after SAO

The administrator is insane, and I guess that explains the clear gaps in the taboo index, it was purely meant to further her rule, nothing more.

Interesting episode, I guess the story didn't progress much, but there was a lot of background stuff that was explained and the next steps are set out more clearly.

To get Alice to get her memories back Kirito and Eugeo are going to have to do better than the Integrity knight at the start of the episode, whether that's coming up with a way to fight the red dude or if it's stopping him from ever turning up I'm not sure, but they can't afford to mess that up.

As for Kirito getting back to the real world he'll probably have to surpass the power of the administrator, since him and Eugeo will probably fight a bunch as they climb the tower, and with a whole library of cool spell knowledge at their disposal that seems a lot more doable though, should be fun! I can't wait to see the interesting spell combinations that Kirito can come up with, he's shown in the past that he's incredible when it comes to bending the rules of virtual worlds to his benefit

WGPRaSo

Cardinal? Remanents of the SAO system maybe?

Cardinal is included in the Seed, which they probably used to create Underworld.

[deleted]

Yeah that's a good point, it's clearly built in the same system since the sword skills are the same, I'm thinking that Cardinal is the personification of the Cardinal system, similar to Yui

And in that case how far back does Cardinal remember? Does she remember Aincrad, for example

ThunderChaser

Does she remember Aincrad, for example

I doubt that.

This isn't the same Cardinal that ran SAO, it's a new instance of the Cardinal program.

monkeymacman

When discussing the cardinal system's directive to Kirito, she had told him to think back to when he lived in a VR world, so it seems that she at least knows what happened, but who knows if its an actual continuation or what

[deleted]

At some point off screen Kirito and Cardinal got to the table and sat down, so it's possible that he filled her in on his time in SAO off screen.

[deleted]

[deleted]

I_Love_Alice

I agree with your evaluation of Kayaba.

He's a bad guy, but I don't really think he's a bad guy, if you catch my drift. Kayaba just wanted to make the floating castle of his dreams into reality, and share it with others. Naturally, making death a factor contributes to the realness of his world.

He's an interesting character, and I really like him. It was especially nice to see what he was up to during the SAO incident, when we saw his flashbacks in episodes 5 and 6 of Alicization.

RaggedAngel

He should have just had the players permanently log out on in-game death.

He can keep all the unethical stuff with trapping people in his game, and maybe even have the thing in place that kills people if you take them out early, but there really wasn't a need to kill people rather than just remove them from game.

Welogo-kun

Problem with not making it a death game, everyone’s headsets would have been pulled off.

load 4 more replies →

load 2 more replies →

[deleted]

I think there's going to be more explanation of why Kayaba made SAO a death game.

His work in full dive VR opened the doorway for medical equipment like Medicuboids and for what Rath is trying to do right now which is to make it so human lives aren't lost in wars.

I think it's likely that Kayaba had to make SAL a death game to fully scan people's brains to get the most information, like how in Ordinal Scale when the guy was trying to restore Yuna through memories she warned Asuna that the scans inside the stadium might kill people.

In terms of a huge breakthrough in medical understanding and the proposition of bloodless wars (if you don't believe in AI rights) a sacrifice of ~4,000 people seems like a small payoff. I'd just like to hear Kayaba say it.

[deleted]

load 1 more replies →

[deleted]

[removed]

[deleted]

I was kind of joking with that comment, it's just funny how they did it with Kirito's hair pointing to the left

CIearMind

Huh? His hair talked?? The fuck

/r/BrandNewSentence

ApostleofV8

a less powerful version of cardianal was included in the seed, so all vr games and stuff based on seed should have it to control the game. its basically automated GM (or assist whatever human GM).

TheOriginalSkyZer0

confusing episode to me. in your opinion how would the gaps in the taboo index further the admin's role? also I upvoted your comment to make it the 69th upvote.

load 4 more replies →

OneMillionRoses

Damn the episode was so short for me (o_o)

StratusAsterion

1000% agreed, this episode totally enthralled me and felt like it was over in seconds

motleo95

Fluctlight acceleration? :p but I agree, felt way to short, I was loving it!

monkeybrain3

I really wanted a good fight with the Integrity Knight. They keep gimping out on good fights. First the first chair guy was over quickly now their first big challenge in an actual IK and it's over in like a minute. Disappointing.

BleedingUranium

Just wait until they get their swords back.

emil_jacob_99

Reminder to everyone: There won't be a new episode till January 5th 2019.

Sombraaaaa
leopard_tights

Was this episode the end of the cour? Or should I wait until the 24 are out to start watching?

No_Refrigerator

You should start watching it, at episode 24 there will be so much information around that it'll be easy to be filled with spoilers

leopard_tights

I don't really read stuff about anime so spoilers aren't a concern.

Is episode 12 an end to a cour and a good place to wait for the next?

Nerzana

This episode explained a lot and would make for a good mid season stopping point but there are a lot of story stuff left unresolved. It's not like the mid way point through SAO1 or SAO2 where the following episodes are a completely different arc. The same arc seems to be continued in the next 12 episodes.

jtipt

New OP?

emil_jacob_99

That will be on 12th. The episode on 5th will still have Adamas.

load 1 more replies →

[deleted]

I hope this means another 40 min episode

emil_jacob_99

I personally doubt it.

Coooturtle

It might, the next episode is the 13th, which is the first episode of the second half of the season. It might have a new OP, and might act like the beginning of a "2nd arc". But I havent read the manga, so I dont know.

emil_jacob_99

Here's what I know so far.

Episode 13 is still part of the first cour (and thus will still have Adamas and Iris), while the second cour will debut in January 12th.

Thicshigi

But I havent read the manga,

Light Novel

StornZ

Damn. Don't get to see what happens with administrator until then

load 3 more replies →

Meltedsteelbeam

That Quinella flashback made me feel nostalgic and I don't know why. Maybe it's because of the music. Or just how casually dark it was.

It's really hitting that fantasy itch.

fbiguy22

The music was on point, I love the OST for this season especially.

-Jaymes-

This whole concept of an average person becoming “god” due to selfish advances seriously makes SAO so much more deep and interesting.

Shadow_Storm21

When Cardinal showed and I heard her voice. I thought saber/Nero from Fate Extra. I was unsure until I heard the magic word. Umu. Then I knew it was truly her.

[deleted]

That's where I knew the voice from! I couldn't put my finger on it

Umu! Truly a great choice of voice actress

zerodeath00000000000

All hail Tange Sakura-sama!

BleedingUranium

Nurse Aki is regular Saber too. :)

albertrojas

Quinella is also Jeanne/Jalter.

Delanoye

That moment you watch the episode as soon as it comes out and head to the subReddit to read discussion, only to realize that there are almost no comments, yet.

naeads

Seconded

StratusAsterion

This episode really grabbed me for some reason. The battle with Eldrie was short but also really cool and different, it's nice to see Kirito surviving in battles based off of quick thinking and experience rather than just being OP & over leveled.

Also Cardinal is freaking adorable and I love her :P

[deleted]

[deleted]

StratusAsterion

I a hundred percent agree, I mostly mean in terms of were we are in the arc in terms of how early it still is, compared to Aincrad arc, when he was just basically immune to the yellow players in the silica mini arc or understanding alot of the mechanics and stuff off screen, like knowing about how to save Pina, knowing about the materials Liz needed, and about Nicholas the Renegade, or just being told things by Yui, I mostly mean that here we have really seen him progress to learning how to manipulate things in Underworld, rather than it just happened off screen, he's seen other people's way of doing things and him learning off of that

[deleted]

[deleted]

StratusAsterion

idk i didn't mean it as a negative to the series, I just meant I prefer the way Alicization is handling it more

load 1 more replies →

[deleted]

The battle with eldrie was nice. But that library scene was pretty random and that flashback on Quinella, a character we know nothing about was out of nowhere. Was there any foreshadowing for any of this?

TL;DR New Loli 10/10 episode

aganisnomer

Was there any foreshadowing for any of this?

Yes. Watch episode 3.

Blales

https://i.imgur.com/kmDfZPN.jpg

I gotta say this made me laugh pretty hard when I saw it.

Reborn4122

KIRITO IS AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

Blales

Are we gonna build a wall and make the axiom church pay for it?

emil_jacob_99

Is it just me, or does teen Quinella remind anyone of Kuroyukihime?

I mean appearance-wise, of course.

oblivioninferno3

It was like a white kuroyukihime (more like shiroyukihimel)

Rambam23

Was not expecting an “Umu” from Cardinal, but the VA’s the same as Nero, so I suppose it’s to be expected.

Panophobia_senpai

Well they had to do it. Cause they do not want a full blown riot.

CrimsonKingXIII

This was a good episode. I wonder if it would have been possible to pull out that thing that came out of Eldrie's head when he started to remember things from his past life? It's cool that the Cardinal System now has a human form like Yui and Strea. Quinella comes off as a psycho with all that animal killing just for the fun of it, if she was a real person she would probably join Laughing Coffin.

ZeHaffen [OP]

animal killing just for the fun of it

It wasn't just for the fun of it, though. She noticed that killing them raised her System Control Authority, so she killed a lot of them to get it as high as she could. That's also why she made killing illegal, so that no one else could raise their System Control Authority like she did and she'd remain the highest, basically making her a god.

CrimsonKingXIII

Oh okay, I sometimes miss things in subtitles, but that makes sense.

StornZ

So this basically means that kirito and eugeo can become higher than her, especially for killing humans.

ZeHaffen [OP]

Well, neither of them actually killed a person. That, and even if they had, they are sword-users first and foremost, so their Object Control Authority would rise rather than their System Control Authority.

That said, yes, the potential for them to raise their System Control Authority values is there.

StornZ

Ok so kirito basically killed an AI, but it's an AI that is definitely higher than a little fox.

ZeHaffen [OP]

Kirito didn't kill him, his Fluctlight crashed because of a paradox in that he had to choose between himself, the most important thing in his world, and the Taboo Index, which is absolute. He didn't die from loss of his life value or anything like that, it was more akin to what happened to the Higa clone in that his Fluctlight couldn't handle the situation and imploded on itself.

And even if Kirito had reduced his life to zero, he used a sword, meaning his System Control Authority wouldn't move an inch.

StornZ

Oh so that explains the glitching.

dtape467

well, he did kill a couple of Goblins a while back

Hidingo_Kojimba

She's the first power-gamer.

load 1 more replies →

seitaer13

What ZeHaffen said. It's basically the equivalent of killing lvl one enemies in the forest over and over again in a normal game.

IntegrityKnight

Wow what a fantastic episode! Good balance of action, info, "what the fuck?" moments and introduction of new characters!

Also, Cardinal’s voice is cute AF

ApostleofV8

so the big bad's story is essentially trying to learn english through of trial-and-error and guessing then hope for the best.

[deleted]

That was a really good end to the first cour. After the bloody (as in "full of blood") episode and comments that there's only more to come, I considered not watching anymore for a while after the end of the first cour, but this lore fascinates me so much that I think I'll stay around.

[deleted]

[removed]

seitaer13

Rath are the developers and they never programmed in restrictions. They have no idea why the restrictions exist and are actively trying to find a fluctlight that will break them. They didn't program greed into anything. The fluctlights are real human souls, they learned greed and avarice like any other human.

The axiom church is the governing body inside the Underworld. And Quinella is a Artificial Fluctlight just like all the rest. The only difference is that she made all the rules and laws for others to keep her own rule. Nothing in the anime has shown that she herself is capable of breaking rules set upon her.

[deleted]

[deleted]

seitaer13

Cardinal literally stears him right out of the room. The reasoning could have been anything, but she clearly didn't want him there.

ZeHaffen [OP]

He's not really sick, though he did fall into the fountain, so warming himself up to avoid getting sick would be a good move. Beyond that, he wanted to read up on history and whatnot, so he was gonna leave anyway.

[deleted]

[deleted]

Wormsblink

You probably need to have high system control authority to use that command. Quinella has been levelling up for years, while Kirito is probably at level 10+ right now.

Doesn’t matter how OP the spell is if you can’t use it.

[deleted]

But imagine all the skill level up tomes in that library.

ApostleofV8

:p. dunno about UW, but Elder Scrolls games usually have commands to raise your level.

load 6 more replies →

KaiserNazrin

You need to be the Admin to use all commands and Kirito is just a regular player here.

[deleted]

I call hacks!

[deleted]

Once a beater, always a beater.

[deleted]

[deleted]

fatalystic

Your tag's broken dude.

BleedingUranium

You have to hover over it.

Poker1st

Yo Kirito is still cool with Cardinal even after it totally screwed him over in Aincrad with taking Yui.

[deleted]

This Cardinal isn't the same Cardinal as the one that managed SAO. Every game and program that uses The Seed has Cardinal packaged into it. This Cardinal is exclusive to Underworld.

_johnning

This season has blown me away with the quality of plot, music, animation.

UltraWafflez

Sasugadana, neros va is here as well

Hachkuji

Can't wait for the server owner to show up and beat the Admin :P

HeinrichHein

So I thought they put him in the underworld to heal his brain or whatever. So what happens if he gets killed in the VR world? Aren't there people watching him or?

ChartsUI

I think that maybe if he gets killed he will be automatically ejected from the simulation. Since the acceleration is basically what is keeping him alive until he gets completely healed, maybe ejecting him will cause a shock reaction and kill him irl / cause irreversible brain damage

load 23 more replies →