Ill be honest with you right now the only reason why I started watching SAO was because I saw that Underworld was coming out and it looked pretty amazing. Never even thought of giving SAO a chance because of all the hate it received and the prejudice that came with it if you were a fan of the series. This anime though convinced me to give it a shot and see for MYSELF what SAO really was. Thus began my binge of the entire series to catch up in time for the first episode of Underworld. I will admit the previous season had some really good parts....and just some godawful parts that were cliche really cut and cringe. Overall my impressions of the series have been more positive than negative and I learned that SAO in itself wasnt NEARLY as bad as people made it to be. After finishing Alicization my hype for Underworld couldnt be contained. The beautiful art style satisfying and crisp sound effects decent storyline and AMAZING soundtrack made me look forward to the release of Underworld even more. It started to break away from the original environment and feel of the previous SAO entries and Alicization carried a different air to itself. While the beginning of Underworld was somewhat on the slower side it didnt last for very long. The one thing I appreciated most about Underworld was how much effort A1 was putting into making this a wellpaced wellanimated adaptation that strived to do this cour of Underworld justice. I rarely felt like things were being skipped over or rushed and the art/animation quality is some of the best and most visually stunning Ive seen in a while since the Fate Series. Underworld really turned out in my opinion to be the most fulfilled and anticipated season of SAO for me and each episode that came out somehow managed to top the last. Honestly I really dont see how people still manage to get stuck on the fact that this is SAO. Remove the name and what do you get? No one can deny the fact that it had some of the best art/animation to be seen in 2019 and also one of the best and most popular soundtracks. The numbers speak for themselves SAO is still going strong despite all the unnecessary dramatic criticism. And heres why: Art and Animation: 9.8/10 A highlight of Underworld throughout the season that undeniably delivered the most. A1 went into this anime with everything they had and it was most apparent with all the attention to detail they put into it. The environment and world detail was an even more upgraded and polished version of Alicization with action scenes being given more effort to in order to give a satisfying experience to viewers. The armament enhancement animations featured were unique and stood out amongst the rest of the other Integrity Knights. These moments were some of the most exciting parts of the season and I always looked forward to seeing what was next. Even without armament enhancements being thrown in our faces every episode the other action scenes had great choreography and fluid movements. The lighting and shading in Underworld was very apparent and the details of sunlight filtering through the forest floor solidified its quality. All the colors used were effective in conveying the proper mood of the atmosphere and even daytoday moments were given proper attention. The only real weak point I could see in this season was the implementation of CGI and the CGI used wasnt really bad at all. The CGI was very minimal and wasnt the main point in any of the episodes so I didnt mind it too much. Storyline and Character Progression: 9.2/10 Heres where things get spicy and controversial. The reason why you see a 9.6/10 is because how GOOD A1 did with sticking to the source material. In the end thats what matters most right? Because a good adaptation not only effects all the haters but ultimately affects the fans as well. And its an undeniable fact that SAO fans themselves are very pleased with how well A1 did at adapting the Underworld arc so far. If you got a problem with Underworld and the storyline so far heres a simple solution I found that works for everyone: Just dont watch it. If you dont even like the source material of the Underworld storyline then dont watch any further. Overall though the storyline is some of the deepest and most impactful in the SAO series due to the weight of the events occurring and cour 2 of these events are gonna be even more hype than now. A1 kept the pacing of the storyline very comfortable despite the onslaught of people asking Wheres Asuna? Wheres Kirito? There were almost no plot holes to be seen and fans of the source material can agree that this was a worthy adaptation that did this cour justice. The character progression wasnt anything crazy deep or emotional but Underworld still had its emotional moments. The character interactions were both meaningful and helped to progress the storyline and give it more weight. No one has any reason to complain about the pace of Undeworld because at the end of the day they stuck with the source material as closely as possible and delivered something that many people could enjoy. Lets be real wouldnt you rather have an anime with slower pacing rather than one that feels rushed and cut beyond recognition? Looks at Tokyo Ghoul: Re. Soundtrack and Audio: 9.6/10 LiSA does it again with this season and it comes as no surprise. Underworlds ED is one of the most popular songs in Japan to date and is undeniably one of the best Ive seen in quite a long time. I feel like a lot of anime dont really care too much about the quality of their ED so Im glad A1 had paid such great attention to even this part of the anime in both the musicality and animation. While the OP wasnt LiSA it didnt matter one bit. Its become one of my top OPs to listen to and for more than one reason. The musicality itself represented what to expect from this season and increased the hype of each coming episode. The art/animation used in the OP was both dynamic and appealing and the symbolic meaning throughout it all was much appreciated. So many little details in the OP made it quite impressive and readers of the LN could definitely pinpoint the spoilers shown. If you couldnt tell by now SAO Alicization: War of Underworld is one of my top anime of 2019. I enjoy quality anime and I like to give credit where it is due. Underworld is not just another SAO thats meant to be just eye candy its an adaptation that did the series justice for once. You could clearly see just how much A1 wants Underworld to succeed because of how much attention and care theyre putting into breaking the boundaries of what we know of SAO. One thing is for sure though SAO isnt the same as it used to be. Moving forward expect to see even greater things coming from A1 in the 2020 year because they definitely have their hands full. For those who finished Underworld: Didnt care for the abrupt ending? Well this is because A1 didnt want to start the next cour just yet. The reason why they stopped a little into Volume 17 of the LN is because they wanted to take their time with whats coming next. If they went on ahead and adapted more of Volume 17 chances were quite high that a lot of things wouldve been cut in order to fit it into episode 12. So dont worry too much just be grateful that A1 still cared all the way down even to the end of the season to not end it with a crappy and cut adaptation. Just know that the next cour might be too much to handle because the events yet to unfold are going to be nonstop and packed with the beautiful and stunning action we saw with this season. And before I go a word to the haters: You and me both know that even though you dont like SAO and think its mediocre and shallow youre still gonna come back and watch the next season of it. Why? I honestly dont know maybe because it peaks your interest enough or maybe because theres nothing else better to do. Just know that A1 has come out with one of the best SAO adaptations to date and if fans are happy then Im happy. Because when it comes down to it the real thing that matters is whether a studio correctly adapts the source material or not and theres no denying the fact that A1 passed with flying colors. Anyways thats all for now and I truly believe that Underworld deserves the score of 9.4/10. Its one of the best shounen Ive seen in a LONG while and definitely a highlight of 2019 to close the anime year. Thank you all so much for reading eventhough it was pretty biased but lets be real: all the haters out there are being even more biased than me and half of them havent even gotten through Season 1 of SAO. See yall in the next one :