Sword Art Online: Alicization
Spanish dub episodes 5-8
¡Bienvenido! Welcome back to Learning Spanish With Anime! The last few episodes of the Alicization arc showed the beginning of Kirito's journey in the Underworld after his real life encounter with Johnny Black wounded him. Now, the series switches back to the real world for a bit of focus on how the characters close to Kirito are responding, and what exactly is going on with his sudden appearance in a virtual world.
We get to hear more of the original SAO characters' voices here, after that brief preview during the GGO segment in episode 1. My favorites of the bunch were probably Sinon and Silica. Klein's voice also sounds very natural for him, and gives off the same vibe as the English dub and the original Japanese. Suguha and Liz were played very well too, although there were times when Suguha's voice sounded very similar to Asuna's, which only became obvious during longer scenes that featured the two of them in deep conversation. Yui's voice was absolutely adorable, so this just may be my favorite version of her yet.
"No puedo esperar. Quiero verlo ya." ("I can't wait. I want to see him now.") - Lightning Flash Asuna infiltrating a military vessel to find the man she loves
They find out that Kirito has been transported by Kikuoka to a megafloat called The Ocean Turtle, another reference to Alice in Wonderland, where he has been conducting his latest research. Asuna sneaks on board with the help of Dr. Rinko Koujiro, the scientist who assisted in the creation of the medicuboid from season 2 and was also asked to join the project by Kikuoka himself, giving them the opening they needed. Asuna's delivery was great in the scene where she revealed her true identity, especially the force behind her words when she demanded to know, "¿Dónde está Kirito?" ("Where is Kirito?")
I'm continually impressed by the performances of the Spanish VAs. Kikuoka sounds very similar to his English dub voice (who I will always think of as Captain Levi from Attack on Titan), and even minor character Nurse Aki's voice suits her well. Rinko's VA was also great during the emotional scenes when she later spoke to Asuna about her regrets and her history with Kayaba, the man who created Sword Art Online.
The conversations in episode 6 involving complex technological concepts might be difficult for beginners to follow, but the scene where Higa speaks with his fluctlight copy and they witness its breakdown was extremely well done, easy to understand and showed great emotion. When he said "Mi nombre es Takeru Higa" ("My name is Takeru Higa"), the tone of his fluctlight copy's response grew noticeably more and more frantic as it insisted "No, es imposible! Yo soy Takeru Higa!" ("No, it's impossible! I'm Takeru Higa!") The original Higa's reply - "Yo soy el auténtico. Tú, no." ("I am the authentic/the real one. You, no.") - sounded almost cold and dismissive as the conversation no doubt weighed on him as well.
Another standout moment was the reveal that Kikuoka wants an AI that has the capacity to kill ("una inteligencia artificial capaz de matar"). This line had a clear and chilling delivery, and sets the tone going forward as well as foreshadowing a major event that comes into play later on.
The next two episodes switch back to the Underworld, where two years have passed under the time-accelerated simulation. After leaving Rulid village with the goal of becoming swordsmen, Kirito and Eugeo are now living in the capital as students at Swordcraft Academy. They've made plenty of friends during this time, like their mentors Liena and Golgorosso, and even some enemies in the nobles Raios and Humbert.
Of course, they (mostly Kirito) also got into their fair share of trouble along the way. The branch from the Gigas Cedar tree that Kirito carried with him at the end of episode 4 has finally been transformed into a sword, and he just couldn't resist trying it out on his day of rest - accidentally splashing dirt onto the uniform of Volo, the top ranked student at the academy, in the process and earning himself a duel to settle the score.
One of the things that really stood out to me as I was watching is just how much this duel between Kirito and Volo laid the groundwork for Kirito's battles later on, particularly in its explanation of Incarnation and foreshadowing the abilities of his new sword. Maybe it's because I had to really focus on the meaning of the words this time around, but I actually felt like I picked up on a few things watching this scene in Spanish that I missed during my initial viewing in English.
It also seemed to me that Kirito and Eugeo's voices are just a bit deeper after the two year timeskip, which is a nice touch that shows they're getting older. Liena's voice carries a strength and confidence that suits her well. Even the VAs playing Raios and Humbert did a good job of portraying pompous nobles while managing to sound slightly less obnoxious than their English counterparts.
"Nos complementamos muy bien." ("We complement each other very well.") - Kirito reassures Eugeo that they will stay on this journey together even if he regains his memories
The banter between Kirito and Eugeo is great, and really gives the impression that they've become close friends during the two years they spent together. I laughed when Eugeo says they're late for dinner and Kirito replied with "Sí, mama." Right before Kirito's duel with Volo, Eugeo asks him "¿Ahora que fue lo hiciste?" ("Now what did you do?"), to which Kirito confidently answers "Sabes cómo soy" ("You know how I am"), portraying their personality quirks so well in both voice acting and the dialogue translation.
Kirito's voice actor also captured his loneliness exceptionally well during the scene in the garden. Kirito sounded very emotional, holding back sobs, when he found the flowers he had been growing as a graduation gift for his mentor were destroyed. His explaination of how he related to the flowers planted in foreign soil - "Yo también estoy tratando vivir en una tierra extraña" ("I too am trying to live in a strange land") - was very heartfelt. The mysterious voice which offers Kirito the encouragement he needs to revive the flowers, which we will later find belongs to a character named Charlotte, was also well played and unexpectedly regal.
"Sientelas. Escuchalas." ("Feel them. Listen to them.")
After Kirito's duel with Volo, he and Eugeo begin their next year of school and both are promoted to the role of elite disciples - which makes them mentors themselves. The voice actresses playing their pages, Ronie and Tiese, were great in their roles, both in portraying their slightly timid and overly formal report upon the completion of their work, as well as their excited chatter after leaving the room with the bag full of fresh honey pies that Kirito gave them. It was nice to watch these innocent, playful scenes again before the story takes a more serious turn in the coming episodes.
These four episodes, especially #6 & 8, explain a great deal about the Underworld, and if your Spanish is not quite at the level to follow all of this rapid-fire dialogue, you might end up missing some key points. The influence of imagination on the Underworld, referred to as "Incarnation" by its inhabitants, is shown both in the garden and during Kirito's battle with Volo. This scene is also the first to hint at the special abilities of Kirito's sword. The real world scenes also discuss the nature of the fluctlight and the reason why Rath created the Underworld. For anyone still learning the language, I highly suggest watching these scenes more than once.
Check out my translation guide below for common and key phrases from this episode, and stay tuned for more weekly episode reviews of Sword Art Online: Alicization's Spanish dub. Next time, I'll be covering episodes 9-11, a major turning point for Kirito and Eugeo in the Underworld. ¡Hasta luego!
Voice Acting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Translated Script: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Recommended Proficiency: Intermediate/Advanced
Key Phrases:
- Esgrima - Fencing (used in place of "Swordcraft")
- Días Libres - Free Days (used in place of "Days of Rest")
- SAO - rather than pronounce each letter that makes up the abbreviation of "Sword Art Online", the Spanish dub pronounced it as if sounding out a word
Common Phrases:
- ¡Corre! - Run!
- Cena - Dinner
- Lamento la tardanza - I'm sorry for being late
- El mismo día - The same day
- Qué extraña - How strange
- Encontrarte - Find you
- Necesitamos algo más - We need something more
- Voy investigar - I'm going to investigate
- Necesito su ayuda - I need your help
- Es mi ultima esperanza - It's my last hope
- Sin embargo - Nevertheless (Kikuoka is quite fond of this phrase)
- ¿Quieres hacerlo otra vez? - You want to do it again?
- Entonces no entiendo. ¿Cuál es tu problema? - Then I don't understand. What is your problem?
- Tengo que ir - I have to go
- Gracias a ti - Thanks to you
- Tú podrías ayudarme - You could help me
- Un viejo amigo - An old friend
- Muy fuerte - Very strong
- Tengo que ser rápido - I have to be fast
- Pero no tú eres como yo - But you are not like me
- ¿Ya ahora qué te pasa? - Now what's with you?
- Un poco más - A little more
- Debo creer es posible - I must believe it is possible
*All images are from Sword Art Online: Alicization episodes 5-8, screenshots taken by me
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