Duel blades, how cool is this?

I’m not really sure how to begin this 文章 – it’s been a long ride and the finale is one that leaves me with some conflicted emotions. It felt both fitting and unfitting as a finale to Sword Art Online. The final few moments before the credits rolled felt like a good way to conclude the series, as did the return of every single character of import from the two arcs and the final showdown between Sugou and Kirito. These were all things worthy of being in what came across as a finale-epilogue combination. Yet at the same time it felt as though a lot of the episode dragged, that it could’ve...