Sword Art Online: Alicization has been one of the best received seasons by fans so far, even coming close to the response from the series’ debut season, but it’s not without its fair share of glaring issues either.
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One display in Japan for the series shines a hilarious light on one of these big issues, and it’s gotten a ton of attention from fans by highlighting one of the most controversial choices in the season so far.
Before the third season began its current battle heavy Alicization Rising arc, it kicked off in a pretty divisive way as Kirito and Eugeo had to save their juniors from being sexually assaulted by two men. This display highlights the anime’s depiction of these events, and while thankfully it doesn’t include the distressed faces of Tiese and Ronye, the display is littered with different angled looks at Raios and Humbert.
Fans had such a response to this scene, the scene was later censored for its release on streaming services. The creator of the series, Reki Kawahara, even went on to apologize to the actors in the scene for having to perform it, and even went on to explain why he used sexual assault as a plot device in the first place. It’s sparked such a conversation in the series, that Kawahara even explained how he’s no longer going to use it as a device in his plots anymore.
So now this display is just a cheeky look at one of the series’ biggest blights. If you have yet to catch the new season of Sword Art Online yourself, Sword Art Online: Alicization can currently be found streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu. The series is officially described as such:
“Where… am I…?” Before he knows it, Kirito has made a full-dive into an epic, fantasy-like virtual world. With only a murky recollection of what happened right before he logged in, he starts to wander around, searching for clues. He comes upon an enormous, pitch dark tree (the Gigas Cedar), where he encounters a boy. “My name is Eugeo. Nice to meet you, Kirito.” Although he is supposedly a resident of the virtual world – an NPC – the boy shows the same array of emotions as any human being.
As Kirito bonds with Eugeo, he continues to search for a way to log out of this world. Meanwhile, he remembers a certain memory deep down within him. He remembers racing through the mountains with Eugeo as a child… A memory that he should not have in the first place… And in this memory, he sees someone other than Eugeo, a young blond girl. Her name is Alice. And it is a name that must never be forgotten…”
