Sword Art Online: Alicization Spanish dub episodes 12-14 review

 Sword Art Online: Alicization

Spanish dub episodes 12-14 review

    ¡Bienvenido! Welcome back to Learning Spanish With Anime! We've reached the halfway point of the Alicization arc, and at long last, Kirito and Eugeo are about to face the Integrity Knights standing between them and their goal of rescuing Alice. 

    Their first opponent, awaiting their arrival on Alice's orders, is the knight Eldrie Synthesis Thirty One. It doesn't take long for Eugeo to recognize the young man and realize that he was a champion swordsman who competed in the recent tournament and has a family in the Human Empire, not a divine knight sent down from the heavens - and this revelation shakes Eldrie to his core. This scene had great execution, and Eldrie's voice portrayed his inner turmoil perfectly. 

    One interesting difference in translation here is the fact that all of the system commands used during the battle (and in previous episodes as well) are spoken in Spanish. This may not stand out much to those who watch the English dub, where the commands are also said in the same language the characters are speaking, but in the original Japanese version (and the light novels as well), the system commands are specifically said in English - which the residents of Underworld consider to be their "sacred language", and don't really understand the meaning behind the words aside from the effect they produce. The difference in lore aside, it was cool to hear how each of the commands translated into Spanish.

"Liberación de recuerdo." ("Memory release.") - Eldrie

    After they're interrupted by a dragon mounted knight, Kirito and Eugeo are forced to flee, and the mysterious voice Kirito heard in the garden during episode 8 guides them to a hidden sanctuary, which is where they meet Cardinal. The young sage of the library they now find themselves in possesses a great knowledge of the system and some of the same powers as the Administrator who commands the Integrity Knights and rules over the Human Empire, but the extent of her abilities is limited. When Eugeo leaves the room and Cardinal begins to explain to Kirito in more detail, he arrives at the conclusion that she - just like him - is aware this world is a simulation, and she is in fact a product of that system itself. 

    Cardinal's VA does an excellent job giving her a young voice befitting her appearance, while also sounding wise beyond her years. It was interesting how Kirito first refers to her as "niña" ("girl") then "señora" ("lady", "ma'am", or "mrs." depending on the context), and also switches between informal and formal pronouns when speaking with her ("tú" being the informal "you", and "usted" being the more formal one used to address someone older). 

    Perhaps the reason behind the switch is that Kirito speaks more formally with her when he's asking polite and thoughtful questions, such as "¿Podría decirnos quién es usted?" ("Could you tell us who you are?") On the other hand, he uses informal speech when her revelations cause him to react emotionally and declare, "Tú eres parte del sistema!" ("You are part of the system!") I thought it added a nice layer of complexity to their dialogue that just wasn't possible in the English version. 

"En el corazón de Quinella sólo había oscuridad." ("In the heart of Quinella, there was only darkness.") - Cardinal 

    Cardinal reveals the truth to Kirito how Administrator, originally born into the Human Empire as a child named Quinella, acquired her power and used the knowledge she learned about the system to raise her stats, and then put laws in place that would forbid others from doing the same. Her youthful looks in combination with her impressive abilities in the sacred arts earned her plenty of followers over time, and she was able to put on a very good act of the benevolent ruler while slowly seizing power for herself. 

    Quinella as a child actually has a cute voice in the Spanish dub, but when she laughs, you can tell she's a bit unhinged, which I thought was a great touch. Likewise, the acting for the more aged Quinella was also expertly done, especially in scene where she found the command list. As someone who is not in the best of health myself, I always appreciate it more when a character's ailment is portrayed well in their voice instead of feeling fake or forced, and Quinella's deep coughs as she neared the end of her life sounded very real. 

"Llamada al sistema. Genera el elemento luminoso. En forma de rayo. ¡Descarga!" ("System call. Generate luminous element. Lightning form. Discharge!") - Cardinal

    Cardinal goes on to explain her connection to Administrator and the Cardinal system from old Aincrad that shares her name, the synthesis ritual used to create the Integrity Knights, as well as the series of events that led to her conflict with Administrator and how she ended up in this library separate from the rest of the world, where she has been watching and waiting for a lonely two hundred years without any human contact. This scene also provides an explanation for the mysterious voice Kirito heard in the garden - it was a spider named Charlotte which acts as a partner of sorts to Cardinal. 

    Episodes 12 and 13 reveal a lot of important information about the history of the Human Empire, but I found it easier to follow than the technical details of episode 6. Kirito provides a much shorter summary for Eugeo when he fills him in later on, leaving out anything that might hint at another world beyond the Underworld. 

"Así que esto es. Así se siente un abrazo." ("So this is it. This is how a hug feels.") - Cardinal

    After a brief heartfelt moment where Kirito gives Cardinal her first hug, she switches right back to her "all business" attitude so quickly it's almost comical. Cardinal confronts him with another harsh truth - a predetermined event in which the Dark Territory will invade the Human Empire, set in motion by the creators of the Underworld, and she does not expect the battle to end well. She warns Kirito and Eugeo to prepare themselves to fight the Integrity Knights to the death, but Eugeo insists that he came to save Alice, not to kill her ("para salvarla, no para matarla"), so Cardinal provides an alternative solution in the form of capturing Alice and retrieving the memory crystal stolen from her to undo the synthesis ritual. As a parting gift, she also provides them with special abilities for their swords just like the Integrity Knights, perfect weapon control (which is translated here as "el dominio absoluto", or "absolute domination"). 

    By now, Kirito has dropped all formalities with Cardinal and is back to projecting his usual cool confidence, even in the face of an event which will bring disaster to the Underworld, as he plans against all odds to save everyone. I enjoyed Cardinal's funny little quip, "De verdad, que eres un tonto" ("You really are a fool"), and the nice callback to Kirito's time in Aincrad when his response to Cardinal telling him that the Central Cathedral has one hundred floors ("cien pisos") was a sad groan. 

    Shortly after retrieving their swords from the armory, Kirito and Eugeo encounter the same Integrity Knight who interrupted their duel with Eldrie - Deusolbert Synthesis Seven. The resulting battle is beautiful to behold with stunning special effects, a brilliant display of teamwork by Kirito and Eugeo, and great voice acting all around. 

    Deusolbert's voice is serious and unrelenting at first, but later takes on a more somber tone after speaking with Kirito and Eugeo when he realizes there is truth to their words. It was very similar to the tone of his voice in the English dub, which suits him very well. Another point of interest is that he and Eugeo both used the phrase "un corta doble" ("a double cut") to describe consecutive attacks of Kirito's Aincrad style sword skills, which differs heavily from the one used by Integrity Knights.

"¿En serio no lo recuerda?" ("You really don't remember it?") - Eugeo struggles with the knowledge that Deusolbert has no memory of arresting Alice eight years ago

    The raw emotion in Eugeo's voice was the highlight of this scene, as he is confronted with the harsh truth that the Integrity Knight who took Alice from their village when they were children has no recollection of the event. Kirito's calm, logical words offer a good balance for Eugeo's grief and anger, and he explains his theory - Administrator erased his memory in order to preserve the notion that the Integrity Knights are summoned from the heavens, because knowing Alice was once a young girl from the Human Empire before joining their ranks would conflict with this deeply held belief. 

    With Kirito's encouragement, Eugeo is able to let go of his rage and continue moving forward, leaving Deusolbert alive. As they climb the seemingly endless stairway of the Central Cathedral, they talk about the new sword abilities granted to them by Cardinal, but Kirito is mysteriously quiet on the subject, and only teases, "No, no, tendrás que esperar para ver, mi amigo." ("No, no, you'll have to wait and see, my friend.") 

    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. The next blog post will cover four episodes as Kirito and Eugeo continue to battle the Integrity Knights and search for Alice. ¡Hasta luego! 

Voice Acting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Translated Script: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommended Proficiency: Intermediate 

Key phrases: 

• La espada negra de Kirito - Kirito's black sword (which is still unnamed) 
• El día del creación - The day of creation
• Cuatro dioses - Four gods
• El mundo exterior - The outside world 
• Genera el elemento térmico. En forma de flecha. - Generate thermal element. Arrow shape.
• Genera el elemento criogénico. En forma de ave. - Generate cryogenic element. Bird shape.
• ¡Descarga! - Discharge! (This is the command which releases the element.) 
• Liberación de recuerdo - Memory release
• Llamada al sistema. Inspeccionar lista de comando. - System call. Inspect command list. 
• Llamada al sistema. Genera el elemento lunimoso. Moldear elemento. Forma liquida. - System call. Generate luminous element. Mold element. Liquid form. (The command young Quinella used for healing.) 

Common phrases: 

• Biblioteca - Library 
• Cuidadosa - Careful
• Aquí están - Here they are
• No tenemos tiempo - We don't have time
• Todos estamos bien - We're all okay
• Doscientos años - Two hundred years
• Ahora te explico - I'll explain now
• Conozco se nombre - I know his name 
• Me gustaría continuar - I would like to continue 
• Querido - Dear / Querido padre - Dear father
• ¿Qué hacemos? - What do we do?
• ¡Rapido, entran! - Quick, come in!
• Con su permiso - With your permission 
• Gracias por salvarnos - Thanks for saving us 
• Necesitas comer algo - You need to eat something
• Digame sus nombres - Tell me your names
• No puedo creerlo - I don't believe it
• No puedo recordar nada - I can't remember anything
• ¿Por qué? No entiendo - Why? I don't understand
• ¿Qué más tenemos que hacer? - What more do we have to do?
• ¿Podría decirnos quién es usted? - Could you tell us who you are? 
• Supongo que gracias - Thanks, I suppose (Kirito is sarcastic in response to Eldrie's comment)
• ¿Sabes algo más sobre él? - Do you know something more about him? 

*All images are from Sword Art Online: Alicization, screenshots taken by me