Sword Art Online Teases Kirito's War of Underworld Return

08/10/2020 05:58 pm EDT

Sword Art Online: Alicization's War of Underworld arc continued with the newest episode featuring the bloodiest battles in the series to date, and thankfully it seems like Kirito is on the way back as the cliffhanger teased the hero's imminent return. Kirito fell into a sort of double coma after defeating Administrator at the end of the first half of the Alicization arc, and now both his body in the real world and mind in the virtual world is left in a sort of limbo. But now there's hope that he'll have a way back to action thanks to Asuna, Sinon, and Leafa acting as anchors to the Underworld.

Episode 17 of Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld brings humanity's side to the brink as both Vassago and Gabriel continue to terrorize Asuna and the others with their overwhelming power and influence in Underworld now that they have transferred their previously used accounts to this new virtual space. This makes Kirito's return all the more necessary, and luckily Higa is on the case.

As revealed in a previous episode, Higa figured out that with Asuna, Sinon, and Leafa all in the Underworld Kirito's brain was active more then than it has been through the rest of the War of Underworld arc so far. While he has been able to mumble and has some motor functions, this was the first real time that his old self seemed to break through. Using the three of them, Higa wants to exploit their memories (and files) with Kirito as a base to rebuild Kirito's broken sense of self in the Underworld.

As Episode 17 comes to an end, we begin to see this in action as Higa is able to work his way into a backdoor and taps into Asuna, Sinon, and Leafa's virtual selves. We see Kirito's body begin to shine with a golden glow, and soon he awakes in a strange dream where he finds himself in a classroom. Hearing what is most likely Eugeo calling out for him, Kirito then wonders what is going on with his first real speaking line in the arc so far.

With this, now the official set up for Kirito's grand return (as first teased through the new opening theme) is in place and we can expect the hero to return to action soon! What do you think? Are you hoping to see Kirito in action again soon? Do you think one fighter is going to be enough to turn the entire war around? When do you think Kirito will actually make his big return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

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