Sword Art Online: Alicization Spanish dub episodes 15-18 review

 Sword Art Online: Alicization

Spanish dub episodes 15-18 review

    ¡Bienvenido! Welcome back to Learning Spanish With Anime! Picking up right where the previous episode left off, as Kirito and Eugeo continue to climb the floors of Central Cathedral following their victory against Deusolbert, they encounter two suspicious girls.

Linel and Fizel playing innocent

    The young girls claim to just be curious about the "intruders" in the cathedral, but their innocence was only an act, as Kirito and Eugeo soon find out when the girls stab them with poisoned daggers and introduce themselves as Linel Synthesis Twenty-Eight and Fizel Synthesis Twenty-Nine. My first impression was that Linel and Fizel sounded older in the Spanish dub, but it's probably a more realistic tone of voice for girls around eleven years old than the traditionally high-pitched voices we're used to hearing in anime. 

    As they drag the paralyzed Kirito and Eugeo up the stairs, Linel and Fizel explain the sordid story of their past, how they were the sole survivors of Administrator's experiments in the art of resurrection. The way they recount the tale with little emotion matches their portrayal in the English and Japanese voice acting, and so does Linel's cheerful attitude when she assures Eugeo, "Pero no se preocupen. Nosotras somos muy buenas matando gente." ("But don't worry. We're very good at killing people.")

    Linel and Fizel's plan to claim credit for taking down the intruders themselves backfired when Kirito turns the tables on them, and tells them to watch his battle with the Integrity Knight they mocked - Fanatio Synthesis Two.

    I was surprised to hear how deep Fanatio's voice sounded when she was wearing her helmet. Personally, I think it would have worked better for the reveal if it was simply difficult to determine the gender of the voice behind the mask, because I felt a voice change to that degree (with their lack of modification tech) was unrealistic, but that's the only criticism I have of the dub. Once the helmet comes off, Fanatio's voice fits her perfectly. 

    Fanatio's internal struggle was never as compelling to me as the stories of the other main Integrity Knights, but I enjoyed Kirito's clever realization that there must be someone Fanatio loves and hearing him say he was fighting so that she, and everyone including the Knights, could express her love ("expresar tu amor"). His admission that the best swordsmen he knows are women was great too.

"Quiero protegera todos en este mundo. A ti, Alice, y a ella también." ("I want to protect everyone in this world. You, Alice, and her too.") - Kirito

    When Fanatio was wounded by their battle, the absolute anguish in Kirito's voice at the knowledge that his sacred arts would not be enough to save her felt very real. So was Eugeo's surprise at Kirito's concern for his enemy as he reminds him, "Ella intentó matarte" ("She tried to kill you"), and his quiet reflection on Kirito's words that even the Integrity Knights are just fighting for what they believe in. Kirito ends up using one of the special daggers given to them by Cardinal to transport Fanatio for life-saving healing arts, but that's one less that they have to use for Alice and Administrator.

    The next person they come across following the battle is not another Integrity Knight, but a girl who operates an elevating platform which can take them to higher floors. Kirito's laid-back tone of voice when he speaks with her is an amusing contrast to Eugeo, who is curious but much more cautious at first, warning that it could be a trap ("Podría ser una trampa").

    Kirito asks the girl who operates the lift, "¿Podrías decirnos tu nombre?" ("Can you tell us your name?") However, she surprises both of them when she answers, "No recuerdo tener nombre." ("I don't remember having a name.") She sounds somewhat robotic in her speech at first, and there's a quality to her voice that's almost haunting, but when Eugeo brings up the topic of dreams, she shows genuine emotion when she tells them, "Me gustaría poder voler cómo los aves." ("I would like to be able to fly like the birds.") 

    On their way to the next room, as the two of them consider the fate of those who had their memories stolen by Administrator, Eugeo asks, "¿Cardinal se encarga restaurar la todo, verdad?" ("Cardinal is in charge of restoring everything, right?") But Kirito dodges the question, knowing that's not exactly Cardinal's plan even if they were to defeat Administrator.

    The elevating platform allowed them to speed up their journey and bypass a number of floors. When they arrive at the 80th floor of the Central Cathedral, they find Alice at last, seemingly resting without her sword. However, they realize they were mistaken when the beautiful flowering tree behind Alice transforms back into her divine weapon, the Osmanthus Blade, a sword which she proudly proclaims can split rock in two ("partir la roca en dos"). 

    The resulting duel was short but sweet with an impressive strategy team strategy by Kirito and Eugeo, and an even more impressive counter move by Alice. The clash between their blades did in fact split rock in two, blowing a hole straight through the cathedral wall. Kirito and Alice fall from the building, while Eugeo watched in shock as the stone wall repairs itself, leaving them separated. 

"¡No, basta! ¿Qué haces, idiota? ¿Cómo eres tan inconsciente?" ("No, stop! What are you doing, idiot? How are you so oblivious?") - Kirito

    Kirito managed to catch himself and Alice, hanging from the outer wall of the cathedral by his sword, but she was not happy to be saved by a criminal. The exchange between them in this scene is hilarious as Kirito repeatedly calls her "idiota" in frustration that she seems to be working against his attempts to save her life. The combination of fury and embarrassment in Alice's voice is perfect when she shouts back, "Cómo te atreves a insultarme?" ("How dare you insult me?") And of course, Kirito's response is to tell her to shut up. ("Callate!") 

    I had forgotten how much I love this scene - and really, this whole episode. It's great in every version I've watched so far. Kirito and Alice run the full range of emotions here, from their early frustrations to Kirito's tearful confession about the truth behind their crime, that it was only to save Ronie and Tiese ("Sólo fue para salvarlas"), eventually forming a sort of partnership where Alice even allows herself to be vulnerable and accept help from Kirito. Both VAs did an excellent job portraying that development. 

    The reveal that there are minions (same name in Spanish, but also called "monstruos de la tierra", or "monsters of the earth", by Alice) mounted on the outer wall to guard the upper floors of the cathedral comes as quite a shock to Alice, who begins to question the intentions of Administrator and the Axiom Church for the first time. The fact that Kirito's offhand remark about a festival in the capital seemed to bring back memories that she once attended the event herself, which she shouldn't have if she were truly summoned from the heavens for the sole purpose of carrying out her mission, also gave her pause.  

    Meanwhile, back in the real world, Asuna noticed that a ship which was supposed to be guarding the Ocean Turtle moved out of position, hinting at something ominous to come. And inside the Central Cathedral, Eugeo continued to advance up the tower alone until he found the next Integrity Knight in their path (in the bath) - Bercouli Synthesis One. 

"Te preseno a mi espada, la perforadora del tiempo." ("I introduce you to my sword, the piercer of time.") - Bercouli

    Bercouli's deep voice suits him well, and nicely portrays his relaxed and thoughtful tone. He explains to Eugeo that his divine weapon, a sword created from the system clock ("el reloj del sistema"), has a unique ability - while Alice's sword cuts space ("cortar el espacio"), his sword cuts time ("cortar el tiempo"), which makes for an especially challenging and exciting battle. Eugeo's strategy with the fake sword is one of the most brilliant I've seen in SAO. 

    As Eugeo is trapped inside the ice with his opponent, Bercouli points out that his strategy will kill them both ("matános a los dos"), but Eugeo calmly replies, "No, solamente a ti." ("No, only you.") While the memory release ability of his sword drains both of their life, Eugeo reasons that his overall life values are higher, and would ultimately allow him to outlast Bercouli. 

"Es una historia demasiado fantástica para ser verdad." ("It's a story too fantastic to be true.") - Bercouli 

    After learning Bercouli's name, Eugeo is shocked by the revelation that the Integrity Knight he's fighting now is the same legendary hero from the stories told in his village. Like a child who was crushed to learn a harsh truth about someone they used to idolize, there is such sadness in Eugeo's voice when he asks, "¿Tú mataste al dragon?" ("Did you kill the dragon?") The same dragon from his own legend, which they found in the ice cave near Rulid. 

    It seems Bercouli is giving serious consideraction to his words when their conversation is interrupted by the weird, bouncy little clown named Chudelkin. I've never really cared for this character, but his voice actor does a great job with creating a voice that fits his strange appearance, and the frequent shifts from high pitched to low gives the sense that he's unstable and dangerous more so than the English voice I'm used to hearing. Bercouli calls him out right away for deceiving the Integrity Knights and insists, "Este niño no es ningúna asesino del reino oscuro." ("This boy is no assassin from the dark kingdom.") Chudelkin responds by freezing Bercouli, and Eugeo is left facing an uncertain fate.

Snack time on the outer wall of Central Cathedral

    At the same time, Kirito and Alice are sharing a snack of steamed buns (courtesy of Cardinal) as they plan their next move. When Kirito mentions the name of Alice's sister, Selka, it strikes a chord in her heart that she can't ignore, and finally, Alice agrees to hear him out. 

    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 feature some major turning points in the story, with Kirito and Alice working together towards a common goal. ¡Hasta luego! 

Voice Acting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Translated Script: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommended Proficiency: Intermediate 

Key phrases: 

• Recuerdos - Memories
• Fortalecer Armamento - Strengthen Armament (used in place of "Enhance Armament") 
• Genera el elemento aéreo. En forma de ráfaga. - Generate aerial element. Burst form. (The sacred art which operates the lift.) 
• Llamada al sistema. Redefinir objeto. En forma de cadena. - System call. Redefine object. In the form of a chain. (Alice's command to turn her gauntlet into a chain.)
• Llamada al sistema. Genera elemento metálico. En forma de cuña. - System call. Generate metallic element. Wedge shape. (Kirito's command to create metal wedges for climbing.)

Common phrases: 

• ¿Estás allí? - Are you there?
• Ahora prepárate - Now prepare yourself
• Tienes que vivir - You have to live
• Sí, ya me dijiste - Yes, you already told me
• Disculpa la tardanza - Sorry for the delay
• Esta es la verdad - This is the truth
• Tengo tanta hambre - I am so hungry
• No tengo ningún problema - I have no problem 
• ¿Qué tenemos aquí? - What do we have here?
• No necesitas disculparte por eso - You don't need to apologize for that
• Debe ser algo muy importante - It must be something very important
• Ahora voy levantarte - Now I'm going to lift you up 
• No hay tiempo para discutir - There is no time to argue
• ¿Cómo te lo explico? - How do I explain it to you?
• Yo no tengo ningún maestro - I don't have any teacher
• ¿De qué estás hablando? - What are you talking about?
• ¿Qué demonios estás hablando? - What the hell are you talking about? (this phrase courtesy of Bercouli) 

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