If you’re into the age old concept what would be better? Sword or fists, then you easily fell in love with this week’s Sword Art Online Alicization episode! Our episode begins with new plans being made to ensure that Vecta be eliminated by reducing the numbers of his troops and then going straight at him since he seems so focused on Alice. Unfortunately, our Dark God Vecta isn’t sitting around without plans and has his underling Vassago attacking the humans from the supply camp! Meanwhile, Sheyta has begun her assault on the enemy pugilist and at first it seems she seems almost unfazed by their brutal fists and kicks. When the main leader arrives though the episode truly gets going with steel going against pure muscle. Sheyta is forced to go all out as the pugilist leader unleashes attacks that break her armor like its made of glass! The two come to a draw though when Sheyta uses her dragon to fly off and leaves our leader quite agitated that he couldn’t stop this sleepy looking woman. During the chaos, Vassago continues killing and almost attacks Ronie but thanks to Kirito’s training she dodged his attack and was able to yell for help! The problem truly arises when Vassago shows he had an entire unit hiding and the camp looks completely defenseless. The tides turn though when an angel appears in the form of Asuna who has finally entered the Underworld! What surprises await now that the Lightning Flash has appeared?!

After their embarrassing defeat at the wrestling tournament, Misha and Wolfgang exact their revenge against Genzo by kidnapping and selling his beloved dog, Hiroyuki! A wealthy man buys the dog at an outrageously high price for his daughter Maria, and when Genzo and co. track him down, he refuses to sell Hiroyuki back to them unless they can pay the full price. Maria notices how devastated Genzo is at the loss of his friend and begs her father to give Hiroyuki (now renamed Catherine) back to his original owner. Her father relents, but still asks for a small portion of what he paid... which is still more money than the potential pet shop proprietors have to spare.

Genzo wrestles with the question of whether or not Hiroyuki would be happier in a cushy mansion than in his crowded home, agonizing over the thought of leaving his closest companion with a new owner. Then, the normally miserly Shigure surprises him by bringing out an emergency fund that she hoped to use to open the pet shop. But whether it’s used now or in the future, it was always intended to support him – how sweet! With the fee paid, Hiroyuki and Genzo are back together again and all is well (and Maria is allowed to visit whenever she likes). And when Genzo finds out the identities of the kidnappers, he storms into their shop and avenges his friend with ruthless lariats and grapples worthy of a title match! According to him, Misha and Wolfgang aren’t even worth petting anymore!

Aya and her father work out their differences over a nice friendly game of Blokus. Aya's father Kenji, arrives home after two years abroad. Excited to finally spend some time with her dad and introduce him to her friends, Aya plans to invite him to the Christmas party at Emilia's shop. However, Kenji is immediately offered an opportunity to photograph some bears alongside a local hunter. Upset with her father putting his job before his family, Aya runs away and ends up at the game shop. Kenji tracks Aya down and the manager forces the two of them to play a game together along with Midori and Miki. During the game, Aya and Kenji lay their feelings out and despite some harsh said by both of them, they come to understanding and leave the sop arm in arm.

This was an unexpected and somewhat serious moment, but it was absolutely amazing. Aya and Kenji really let each other have it and didn't hold anything back. Despite how tough the conversation was for them, they came out of it much closer than they were before. Even though Kenji says he won't give up his job to spend some time with his family, Aya is able to understand why her father loves his job and accepts it as who he is. It was a little disappointing to see how quickly they resolved this issue, but it was just a nice heartwarming moment that was also a nice change of pace Houkago Saikoro Club's usual formula.