Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1

Sword Art Online: Progressive Light Novels #1

by Reki Kawahara

"There's no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die..."

One month has passed since Akihiko Kayaba's deadly game began, and the body count continues to rise. Two thousand players are already dead.

Kirito and Asuna are two very different people, but they both desire to fight alone. Nonetheless, they find themselves drawn together to face challenges from both within and without. Given that the entire virtual world they now live in has been created as a deathtrap, the surviving players of Sword Art Online are starting to get desperate, and desperation makes them dangerous to loners like Kirito and Asuna. As it becomes clear that solitude equals suicide, will the two be able to overcome their differences to find the strength to believe in each other, and in so doing survive?

Sword Art Online: Progressive is a new version of the Sword Art Online tale that starts at the beginning of Kirito and Asuna's epic adventure--on the very first level of the deadly world of Aincrad!

Genres: Light Novel, Manga, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Anime

376 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2012

About the author

Kawahara Reki (川原礫) is the writer of Sword Art Online and Accel World. He also uses the pen name Kunori Fumio. His hobby is cycling.

Reviews

[Viviana Almendra Rehbein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me afecto mucho la puntuación el haber leído una traducción no oficial, sino de un fan que, a pesar que le agradezco mucho su esfuerzo y tiempo, se pudo esforzar en las faltas de ortografías que afectaba mi comprension lectora y tenía que tomarme tiempo en entender lo que decía

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sword Art Online Progressive 001, by Reki Kawahara

The first time I heard about Sword Art Online was from a buddy I play MMOs with. He recommended SAO and the rest is history. I love Sword Art Online – I think the animation is beautiful, I thought the idea was clever, but, especially after reading the original short story, I thought it was lacking in the narrative part. Progressive 001 fixes this. This first book covers floors 1 and 2 – the bossfight with the Kobold Lord and Taurus King (a boss fight not seen in the original series or the anime).

Mechanically this book has a few problems, but most of these can be chocked up to the translation, something that can never be done perfectly. First, there are times where the translation is awkward as if the words are out of place. For a translation, this is something that often can’t be avoided and thus must be forgiven because I can’t read Japanese. Secondly, and this is just a pet peeve of mine. POV is changed from Kirito’s 1st person to Asuna’s 3rd person. I have never liked that kind of transition; I perceive it as sloppy and amateurish. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t great stories out there that are written this way that I don’t enjoy, because I do. In this case, it bothers me, but not enough to take away any enjoyment.

Progressive expands the game of SAO. Kawahara gives us a better picture of what the game is like. The world building is solid and visible in a way it wasn’t in Aincrad 1&2 or the anime. Some of the game mechanics are explained without diving so deeply into them that I get bored. Here, we also get the chance to see how being a beta tester effects Kirito. In the show there are 2-3 episodes where being a “beater” is mentioned, but it quickly becomes and unimportant factor as we get to the higher floors that even the beta testers haven’t seen. In this way, Kawahara is doing a better job of writing a fantasy/sci-fi than any American author I’ve read in the past two years.

Now, let me make this very clear: the Kirito in the show is not as good as the character in the books. In the books, Kirito is a snarky dork. I love this Kirito. This character seems like a closer approximation to what Kawahara originally intended; a gangly teenage nerd whose dominate emotion is sarcasm. While I’m not a gangly Japanese teenager, I am a nerd whose dominate emotion is sarcasm so I identify with him. Kirito’s observations are funny and I found myself smiling and chuckling every few pages. He’s an interesting character trapped in a situation where his only choice is to make the best of it. The dynamic between Kirito and Asuna are a joy to read: there is nothing better than 2 snarky characters being snarky together. As in the anime and the original series, they work well together.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I had this much fun with a book. At the end of the day SAO wins a lot of its point on just how enjoyable it is. However, make no mistake, SAO is a dark story, it’s just hidden behind bright colors and snark. I look forward to the next books. I hope to see some of that darkness come to the forefront. GG, Kawahara. GG.

PS. Kirito makes some of the best eye-rolling, stupid grin worthy puns and they warrant mentioning.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally, I watched the anime when it came out and was fairly blown away by the quality of what I now know to be the LitRPG genre. But even this wasn't my absolute first introduction to it. It just happened to be the Then-Best example of it. And it remained so for many years.

And then I got into the genre for real. And somehow, I just forgot about this.

I'm back. I wanted to see if it really WAS as good as I remember. I'm doing it as a light novel this time, however, and it really WAS as good as I remembered. :)


Classic storyline, told well.

[atmatos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It's fleshing out a bunch of the first time skip from the first novel.
I hope book two gets delivered today so I can see what's going to happen on the third floor.

[Khari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like an idiot.

Ha.

I was wondering why there was so much happening in this novel that I didn't remember. Because this is a spinoff of the main series!!!

Well, not quite a spinoff, more like a backdrop. Side stories. Embellishments. Hard to believe a 300+ page book is just the embellishments of the first two episodes of the main series.

You know what the worst part is? I don't think my library has the main series!!! GAH! Must go do some research.

But yeah. Awesome book. Great for fans and non fans alike.

[Araceli Schlosser · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The image of Asuna racing, hair rippling in the wind, was like a shooting star in the midst of the dungeon.... ...she could have one day led an enormous guild and been a leader to the player population. Like a shooting star, endlessly lighting up the sky of this dark, hopeless game of death."

I first got into SAO at my husband's suggestion. He explained the premise: the players of a virtual reality game get imprisoned inside the game. Their lives are tied to their avatars. If they die in the game, they truly die. The only road to freedom, is to complete the game; 100 floors of a world sized dungeon.

I was instantly intrigued. I watched the anime series for the story of a VR death game, and I was riveted by the love story.

Kirito is a lone wolf and a gamer. He avoids personal connections. However he has a very innocent sense of humor and tries to be a gentleman. He is determined to make himself strong enough to survive this game of death, even if that means leaving all others behind him. Asuna has never been defeated, by either school or life. Here in SAO, she is out of her element and she feels like all her scholarly knowledge is useless to her. She fights because she wants to control how she dies. When they meet, Asuna begins understand that her life does have meaning and there are ideas worth fighting for, while Kirito learns that there are people to fight for and protect.

This novel (as admitted by the author) is slightly different from the anime and manga. The progressive novels are her opportunity to write the story she wanted from the beginning.

Kirito is more adorable and honorable than he is shown to be in the anime, and Asuna with all her sorrow is one of the strongest feminine heroes I've read about in a long time.

Kirito and Asuna are becoming my favorite anime romance... and at this rate, with the novels, they will be my favorite literary romance as well.

I definitely suggest this story. Especially to those that love the romance plots in RPGs. Gamers of all sorts: console, PC, table top: will all appreciate this story. I strongly suggest this book to teen readers and anyone else that love stories of inspiration and the strength of the human spirit.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking at this book, chances are you have already read or watched SAO. If you haven't, you will want to read through the first light novels before venturing here. Otherwise you won't know what is going on! The first Progressive novel starts after the first month in the game (the original series starts at the very beginning and then explains the situation, which is why you should read it first). The first volume goes through the first and second floors.

If you have seen the anime, the first part of the book will be no great shock. Events unfold almost exactly as the anime with only minor differences. The second part deals with the second floor, and was all new to me!

The characters are the same with some new additions thrown in and we get a little bit more story with some of the side characters we already know. As the author mentions in his afterword, there will be some obvious deviations from the main first novels because of the way the first novels were originally written. The biggest of which is Asuna and Kirito are around each other much more earlier in the game. I wouldn't have this any other way as Asuna is a great character and needs to be there!

SAO continues to be one of my favorite light novels to read, and I have many more to dive into.

[Zoe]

I couldn't after 3 chapters.
This is the re-edited version and it feels like it's still in the drafting process. Sentences just have too many adjectives, like bro, why are you giving me fuckin square meter measurements of the world. You want me to draw a map?

[Sean O'Hara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The original SAO is such a frustrating series. The premise is golden: 10,000 people trapped inside a virtual reality MMORPG with no way out but to defeat the game's final boss -- but if their character dies along the way, their brain gets fried in real life as well. The initial set of characters kick ass -- Klein the elite guildmaster who leads his men through countless battles without any casualties, Agil the trader who keeps the front lines supplied with the best weapons, and Asuna an amazing female warrior who inspires loyalty in all who follow her.

The first problem with the series was that none of those guys were the hero. Instead we were given Kirito, who, despite the author's attempts to make him a dark and brooding character with a troubled pass, was overpowered almost to the point of being a Mary Sue. Worse still, as the story wore on all the cool characters fell by the wayside. Klein pretty much disappeared after the first book, Agil after the fourth, and though Asuna stuck around she was depowered and turned into a damsel in distress (complete with threats of rape, both by a skeevy villain and a VR tentacle monster). In their place, Kirito was introduced to a series of other female characters (even when we're flat out told the game is like 90% dudes) all of whom fall in love with him, which, combined with his ever increasing skillset, pushed him over into the realm of pure Mary Sue.

But even that wasn't the worst part of the series. No, the worst part was that the series abandoned it's premise after the second book. The first volume was written for a literary contest which required the story to stand on it's own, so the author skipped straight from the set-up to the climax. He hinted at all sorts of cool adventures that took place in the intervening period, but they didn't appear in the first volume. The second book was a bunch of short stories that filled in some of the gaps (though not all -- we've still never had a proper account of the Laughing Coffin Crusade), but then the story moves on with Kirito entering other VR games. But with the threat of death removed, the story lost everything that made the first book interesting. The writer came up with new threats to make up for this, but none of them ever equaled the initial concept.

Which brings us to Progressive, the author's attempt to reboot SAO and retell the story of the original death game from beginning to end. (Well, almost. He skips straight to the end of the first level, so if you want to understand the setup, you still need to read the first book. Or at least watch the first episode of the anime.)

Does he succeed?

In parts. The tension's definitely back. There are hints of things to come, including what looks like a hint about the origin of The Laughing Coffins, a secret society that murders other players later in the series. And instead of the frontline players being a unified front, there are fractious relations between various cliques which threaten to destabilize everything. (There are also a lot fewer frontliners since most players are still working to level-up to a point where they have a chance of surviving.)

But Kirito's over-poweredness is still present, and the author never acknowledges that some of the people who don't like him have good reason. His attitude, while it makes some sense in context, is pretty assholish. Klein is one of the players still leveling up, so he only gets a couple passing mentions, and Agil's presence is little more than a cameo, though he does demonstrate bits of awesomeness. We do get a few new characters who look like they're going to be long runners, and although Argo the Rat flirts with becoming a founding member of Kirito's harem, she manages to remain an independent female character.

And then there's Asuna. Because this is a reboot her character isn't yet a fantastic warrior queen. In fact, at the start of the story she's a newb who needs basic game concepts explained to her. She's not weak, though, and proves herself capable of fighting on the frontlines through her sheer willpower, and there are already hints of her eventual development. Frustratingly, though the author's turned her into a tsundere. Thankfully she's the kind who's mostly nice and only occasionally goes into tsun-tsun mode, but those occasions are still too many, especially when it's presented as, "Oh, she's mad at Kirito! Isn't that endearing?"

The translation of this volume is a big step up from the original SAO's first volume. I recently came across an interview with the translator where he says he started out in manga, which is of course 90% dialogue and internal monologue, so when he moved to prose fiction he faced a learning curve with descriptive passage. He's also the translator on Durarara!!, and the first volume of that also had a nice, smooth translation.

[Brian Wilkerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Progressive series goes back to the beginning. This is the first floor of Aincrad, and we see the details of Kirito's life there, how he met Asuna and the start of the march through the floating castle. This is SAO the way it was meant to be.

The original volume had to end with the game being cleared due to real life context i.e. a contest's deadline. So Reki Kawahara didn't have space or time for really digging into the mechanics of the game or the relationships of the players. This volume does both.

For instance, there is the distinction between safe zones in a dungeon and inns within the town limits. While both are clear of monsters and allow players to rest, the former is still an area within a dungeon. It is dimly light, the surfaces are stone-hard and the monsters can still be heard prowling and growling. So while a player can technically rest they won't be truly rested. This tidbit is used to develop the character of our leading couple.

Kirito, the VR nerd, fully buys into the reality of Aincrad. He considers it to be reality as far as day-to-day living and surviving go, and so he is surprised when Asuna tells him that she is camping out in the dungeon. As the academic achiever who has never touched a game before using her brother's copy of SAO on a whim, she fully rejects the reality of Aincrad. She considers everything to be fake except for sleeping, which she isn't doing much of anyway because of the camping-in-a-dungeon thing.

Thus the stage is set for the beginning of their relationship. Despite being from vastly different backgrounds, Reki Kawahara quickly draws a parallel between them. Whether it is competitive gamers or ambitious students, both want to reach the highest score and neither wants to fall behind their peers. There is also mutual admiration of each other's skills. Kirito immediately compares Asuna's agility and grace to that of a shooting star while Asuna is amazed by the finesse and efficiency of Kirito's combat maneuvers.

But this book is not solely about Kirito and Asuna. Reki Kawahara has other nicely developed characters to interact with them and push the plot forward.

Diavel is a set up as a counterpart to Kirito, a beta-tester who is focused on surviving and scoring L.A. bonuses but there is a key difference. Diavel presents as a knight, a classic knight in shining armor, while Kirito is totally into his solo selfish swordsman identity. By his confidence and charisma, Diavel pulls together and leads the first floor-boss raiding party. In contrast, Kirito totally freezes up in any social situation that is not pure game based (the first thing he says to Asuna is about monster-overkill).

Then, of course, there is Argo, the information broker with a teasing sense of humor. Also a beta-tester, she contrasts the two boys with her different approach to the game, sneaking and spying instead of slaying monsters. She contrasts the aloof-and-proper Asuna in a similar way in their interactions with others.

Back to the game mechanics now, only one of which is the focus of the third "arc" of this volume. It is the weapon upgrading system. I didn't know anyone could make reading about two people grinding for monster drops exciting, nor create so much suspense rooted in manipulation of a player's menu window.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Sword Art Online Progressive volume 1" an A+

[Russell Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Sword Art Online. While the anime was very scattered and rather quickly shifted gears into areas I was less interested in, I couldn't help but fall in love with the Aincrad arc. Despite how over half of the 15 or so episodes in the arc were side stories, the initial couple episodes did such a great job setting the hooks in me that I couldn't help but still enjoy things.

That being said, the SAO: Progressive light novels to me represent the story as it was meant to be told. Starting at the beginning, working its way through the Aincrad arc, and putting more focus on the mechanics of the game, the characters, and the daily tribulations.

Finer points of characterization and prose aside, I think this series represents the pinnacle of the litrpg genre for me in that the game itself takes center stage and there is rarely a decision or a plot point that isn't directly impacted by game mechanics that are described to the reader. All of the things that nearly every other litrpg doesn't do are done here. What level is the character and what are his skills? These things are mentioned but not detracting from the story by bloating the book with tables and character sheets constantly. How much health does the character or enemy have at various points during the battle? This is mentioned by way of a simple green, yellow, or red health bar. Nothing overly complicated, but to me kinda vital information so when the opponent dies from a particular blow you are expecting it versus author shenanigans happening.

Very few of my litrpg gripes are present and nearly everything I want is present. What more can I ask for?

[Red · Rating 1 out of 5]

its crap

[Bree Hatfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If I was going to just hide back in the first city in waste away, I’d rather be myself until the very last moment, even if it means dying at the hands of a monster. I don’t want to let this game beat me. I won’t let it happen.”

3.5 stars. This was a really fun novel that I would have devoured in middle or high school. I loved the anime when I watched it in middle school, but I just wasn’t aware of the light novels.

I wanted to check out Progressive because I was interested in the time spent in Aincrad instead of skimming over a large chunk of time like the anime and the first light novel (apparently). And this was a good decision, I think, because it was really great to see the characters relationships grow slowly. One of the biggest faults I had with the anime was how fast Kirito and Asuna fell in love, but this series gives some much needed context. I also loved the character of Argo, I thought she was a very interesting and intriguing figure in this world.

I’m not sure if I’ll be going on with it, but I’m glad I checked it out!

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Я від початку знала, що це точно не мій тип книг, але купила, бо аніме відіграло важливу роль у формуванні моєї особистості. Загалом було непогано, але теж було достатньо речей, які мене нервували. Наприклад те, що Кіріто 14 років. Я до сих пір вважає, що у 14 років людина не може ще приймати життєво важливі рішення, а він у книзі воїн, стратег, мислитель... Багато деталей на рахунок гри, мало персонажів, детективний мотив — непогано, але не моє. А те, що Кіріто всю книгу думав, що його всі ненавидять і вважають за ворога — звичайне накручування себе і трохи навіть его-центризм. Так ніби у інших немає додаткових проблем, окрім того, що хтось був на бета-тестах🙃

В усьому іншому книга цікава, відносини з Асуною розвиваються повільно, але мене це задовільняє більше, ніж в аніме.

[Capt. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A palate cleanser. It’s nice to go back and reread Kirito and Asuna’s journey completely rewritten in a, dare I say, better structure and pacing and character development?

Reki really did improve from his original SAO novels in terms of writing and world building and specially adding more dimensions to this character. Kirito and Asuna will always have a place in my heart for introducing me to light novels.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was twice the size of a normal light novel but goddam it is worth it. The book felt like if Tolkien wrote SAO in his extreme decompressed style but it never feels like a drag. At this pace though it makes me wonder if this series will ever have an ending since it would need around 30 volumes.

[Wint · Rating 5 out of 5]

SHIP ASUNA X KIRITO

[Emily Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this because it's my brother's favourite book but it just isn't for me. Terrible writing, and pages wasted for minor scenes that do nothing for the plot. I don't see why asunas bath scene should have taken up 3 pages just to tell us that Kirito has a boner. Pathetic

[Javi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gusta mucho más que el normal porque aquí se centra en como fue el ascenso en profundidad por aincrad. (Aunque más que nada lo leo porque práctico inglés jajaja)

[youna · Rating 4 out of 5]

i want to give it 4 star arf...
just enjoy it for fun :)

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reki was in his rekussy with this series. So much better than the original with fully-realised characters, better character relationships and overall pacing of story and plot elements. Plus Argo.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second Read-through: March 2019
THIS WAS STILL SUPER DUPER AWESOME! xP

I really do love all of the little details and game mechanics we get in this light novel series, compared to the original. The new characters are super interesting as well. Also - the food! I don't know why but it really stood out to me this time around. I want to try all of it! *grabby hands*

First Read-through: July 2015
THIS WAS AWESOME! :D

I loved this even more than the original series! (Though that may very well be because of how many times I've experienced the main storyline now... Which is about 5 or 6.) It was awesome getting to see Kirito and Asuna from pretty much the very beginning of the game (in this series, Asuna reeeeeally reminds me of Taiga from the manga/anime Toradora... >>), and I really love how much detail Reki puts into his light novels. I'm a pretty big video game lover, so I eat all the "gamer talk" and descriptions of the SAO mechanics right up. And you get SO much more of them in this series! ;P

I didn't realize that Reki was actually planning/hoping to write a story for every floor when I first started reading this though... I only thought there was going to be three or four volumes for some reason?! But I will read and love ALL of those volumes, if he actually decides to do all 70+ floors. *__*

It's going to suck having to wait for all of them though... Luckily the second volume's out already! ;P

[John The Mage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a really awesome book. This book sends me into that world where the story takes place. This book's is genre is probably Sci-Fi, Romance and Adventure. The book is about a 16 year old (about) teenager called "Kirito"who was trapped in a game called "Sword Art Online" eith other 10,000 players. He has to survive, clear the game up to the 100th floor and if a player dies in the game, well no respawn for you in game and you die in real life.

The story takes place in the world of Aincrad (The name of the world of Sword art online) where all the 10,000 players were trapped when the game was released. Kirito was also trapped and as he was a beta tester he knew most of the game but he hasn't cleared it. He is a solo-player meaning he plays alone with no friends whatsoever. Soon, he meets a girl like him called "Asuna". She also is a solo-player and only cared about clearing the ame. They make a party and go on their quest to clear all 100 floors. Will they make it? Or not? Well, read the series and find out! This a must-read for people who like Romance and Action genres. There's also an anime series which is slightly different but most of it is the same. So you could go watch that too!

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the relationship between Kirito and Asuna is developed a bit more quickly than it is in the original SAO novel, I really love that Kawahara is retelling the story of SAO floor by floor. I felt like both in the novel and in the anime it was a bit rushed, that there was more to this story then what we were reading/seeing. I mean to be trapped for two years in a virtual world I couldn't help but feel like there were more moments that could have been revealed to us to really give us a larger perspective on what it was like in there. Fighting every day to try and clear each level but also eating, sleeping and just practically starting a new life in another world. We don't have the nerve gear that they use but I still tried to imagine what it would be like if I had found myself in their position and I'd like to say that I'd feel a bit like Asuna but who knows. I can't wait to buy the next volume and continue reading about each level of Aincrad.

[Obvi_itscece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omgs what can I say about this manga , I absolutely adore it , the way Kirito and Asuna are portrayed as characters is really empowering, and they just make the perfect team. They really are a piece in a pot I love the sarcasm in this manga, I for one am fluent in sarcasm lol , I have red and watch the series, and yes manga is way better than the series. One difference I have to point out between the two is the way kirito is in the series and on the manga , in the series he's more of a badass, then in the manga but that's ok because the one thing I love about kirito most as a character is still shown in both , and that is the fact that Kirito is one of the best if not the best SAO player in the game but he doesn't try to show off he is humble about it and is just try to help everyone to get out of this horrible nightmare of being stuck in SAO. I love the story line this is Definitely one of my favorite manga. And of course the love story in it is great. Also really love Yui.

[emily_oriley · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this goes into more details of the early floors that were skipped in the original story line - namely the first two floors. It gives a little more characterization for Kirito and Asuna which the first book desperately needed though it does lose a few points for retconning their relationship. We weren’t told specifically how the two met in the original SAO but it was clear their relationship was way more casual than Progressive makes it appear to be. I get why the author chose to do it that way (I’d have probably done the same) but it’s still a retcon that cant be explained away by saying Bilbo lied to Gandalf.

The beginning of part two is very slow so be ready for that. Otherwise, I liked the twist for the second floor boss. Oh man, if that nonsense actually happened in an RPG I was playing, my controller would be embedded in the wall.

Bottom line, if you like SAO, you’re gonna like this.

[Ricardo Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is divided into 3 parts:
1st floor - 5*
Origin of the Rat - 2*
2nd floor - 3.5*

At first I considered skipping these books as I have read the original SAO books, but to be honest, SAOP adds a lot of world building. Kirito isn't OP at this point, and it's interesting to see what the other players were doing and how they impacted Kirito's progress.
Also, we get some more chapters from Asuna's point of view which is also fresh.

So, is it the BEST SOA book? No
Should you skip them if you read SAO? No
Is it a fun read? Totally! :D

[Raphaël Chantigny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to get a translation of these ATM, glad I read them on baka tsuki when they where there!

[Christopher Campbell]

The newest review will be going over the first Light Novel Volume of Sword Art Online Progressive. Written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by ABEC, this takes place one month after Akihiko Kayaba’s deadly game began and bodies begin to rise as over two thousand players are already dead. Progressive is a new version of Asuna and Kirito’s story in Aincrad, while the two players are different people but they both share the same characteristic of wanting to fight alone. But these two will have to play together to survive this giant death trap, while it may be a beautiful fantasy world, it is clear that solitude equals death. Players have banded together while others are beginning to get desperate, they will have to overcome their differences to find strength and believe in each other to beat the game and survive.

While being a fan of the series both animated, video game, and book-related this was a better way to explain the events of Aincrad, it gives the reader a glimpse to experience the moment through the eyes of Asuna and Kirito, the feeling of your life being on the line with your back against the wall due to what choice you make to survive. At times it was confusing because when you read from Asuna’s point of view it would quickly revert to Kirito whose point of view was in the first person, but overall it didn’t take away the enjoyment of the story. As I have mentioned before, this was a better way to explain the events of Aincrad, it gave it a chance for world-building and diving into game mechanics that are explained where it wouldn’t bore the reader, but make no mistake that being trapped in a virtual world does sound downright scary but the interaction between Kirito and Asuna as always entertaining and a delight. Reading what happened during the first-floor boss battle and venturing into the Second Floor had me on the edge of my seat. The Illustrations in this story were nostalgic, brought back memories of watching Sword Art Online for the first time, the ferocity of Illfang the Kobold Lord, and Asterius the Taurus King practically jumps off the page.

[AbcAstro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like the movie, I had a lot of problems with it but one of the main ones was how Mito was treated and I found out that the movie strayed away from the source material, even going as far as holding Mito off for a while or even cutting her all together. This got me excited so I decided to give it another shot. I might've even gotten too excited because it never occurred to me that maybe the SAO I fell in love with was still out there, just lost in the anime's translation.

And let me tell you, right off the bat, we're greeted with that scene "I'd Rather Stay The Way I Am Until The Last Moment. Even If A Monster Beats Me And I Die, I Won't Lose To This Game Or This World." which is about half way into the movie but really sets up the mood from the get-go. Another big complaint I had about the movie is that it didn't focus enough on Asuna's coldness. But with this, we get to read into her thoughts.

Her motivation to enter the game was actually her brother rather than Mito and rather than being in the middle of the announcement, she hid in an inn room for two weeks, just waiting it out but nobody came to rescue her so she went out to fight. To die. That's a stark contrast but I could see where they might've drawn the conclusion that they needed to give her a motivation because to be honest, she even says "I don't know what compelled me to enter this game." but I think that question could've been easily expanded upon, I mean, that's kind of the point, she's FINDING that reason.

She's still a noob. Kirito is still there. So I'll probably never get a solo Asuna story but I think I understand why it is the way it is. It's meant to flesh out those other floors that Kawahara skipped over in order to meet the word count and deadline for the contest he first entered SAO into rather than an alternative storyline where it focuses on what happened before Asuna met Kirito. I find it a lot more tolerable this way though because it's the same scene just fleshed out and introduced at the beginning rather than him just showing up half way through. In fact, they flip flop from chapter to chapter, one will be in Kirito's pov and the next will be in Asuna, which strikes a good balance because it's not so much Kirito being Kirito, it's how Kirito views Asuna.

In the movie, it seems like she's following Kirito because she's just drawn to him, the plot asks for it or he can protect her but this book makes it out like he's showing her something. Think about the fishing arc in the original SAO, that was there to show that some people didn't want to finish the game, they simply wanted to live their lives and enjoy the game its fullest which is a lesson that is taught to Kirito and Asuna. The way they make Asuna out to be is that she doesn't care for this world and doesn't really care for the real one either, so why bother? But Kirito is showing her how to live. Like the bread thing. She figures out that there can be good food and therefore satisfaction from playing a game, particularly this game. She doesn't feel joy from playing games because she doesn't really play them, and since this is one of her firsts, she must think this must be what games are like. Everything is fake but looks so real. Not to mention she comes from a well-off family financially so to suddenly downgrade to bad food and crappy inns must really take a toll on her.

I actually wanted to take a moment to explain how I started relating to this book by actually reading it when I've seen the scene beforehand, feel free to skip this paragraph if you don't care though. (Asuna says the line "I'm not here to eat good food." that line had no impact on me the first time I've heard it, not even the second time but actually seeing the words written down and the context behind it fleshed out, I feel like I actually relate to Asuna. I have a "disorder" "malfunction" "illness" whatever you want to call it, where I can't eat like others do. I get full easily because my stomach doesn't empty easily and some things upset that so I had to go on a diet to cut out a large majority of the food groups and now I kind of just eat what I'm given, funnily enough, bread is one of the main options I have left and try to incorporate with every meal. So I don't find food "enjoyable", it's just a thing to replenish and I'm okay with that but what Asuna learns is that it's not just the food, that's a symbolism. "I'm not here to eat good food." if you have that mindset for everything then you're just surviving, you're not 'living' or 'thriving' and that warps your perception of the world and the brightness in it so you tend not to like it. So when something comes along that might be slightly good, you lose your mind because on one hand, you're suspicious of it but on the other, you're excited. I have to take some things in bites because of how excited it makes me. I mention this a lot now and days but even something so simple as going to an amusement park, a regular for most, affects me to the greatest because I'm so unused to it that I literally make myself sick. So I could see Kirito kind of proving Asuna wrong and why she might want to jump headfirst into it. If I have good food, I really notice, because it's rare.)

But it conveys these messages a lot better and gives personality to Asuna that I felt like wasn't there in the movie. Even Kirito gets a little bit of subtext. I just hope they mention Sachi and how Kirito failed to save her so that they could use Asuna as a sort of means for his redemption because she mentions about dying and it sticks in his head like he wants to stop it, he wants to prove her wrong and not let that happen. I mean, in the movie she ends up following him and that's it until the next movie which will supposedly tie the knot and catch up with the anime but in this book, she doesn't just simply follow him, she just says she'll see him around and they split. So what this next book holds, I actually have no idea but I look forward to it and that's something that SAO hasn't been able to do for me for a long time.

Now you may have noticed I only gave this a 3/5, well that's because there are still a few problems.
The whole thing still revolves around that one boss that we already saw in the main story but they kind of try to give it more stakes by making it out that everyone is on the brink of losing hope because its been months and nobody's even made it past the first floor yet and to have a party as big as theirs fail will discourage so many others from trying. I actually almost feel bad trying to defend it so much but I have to recognize where there are differences. But I expect this next book to do even better so stay tuned.