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Sword Art Online: Girls' Ops #1
Sword Art Online: Girls' Ops, Vol. 1
The virtual world of ALfheim Online might not be literally deadly, but there's still plenty of tough adventuring to be had.
The trio of Liz, Silica, and Leafa set out on a quest for a magical ring but immediately run into monsters tougher than they expected. A certain black-clothed swordsman comes to their rescue—but it's not Kirito?!
It seems the "game of death" has had lingering emotional effects on everyone, and even the survivors bear scars. But the trio have gotten through tough times before, and they're not gonna let a buffed boss stand between them and their goal!
Even if they succeed in finishing the quest, though, will they be able to heal the mysterious sword-wielder's broken heart...? Join Liz, Silica, and Leafa on a new adventure that's all their own!
The trio of Liz, Silica, and Leafa set out on a quest for a magical ring but immediately run into monsters tougher than they expected. A certain black-clothed swordsman comes to their rescue—but it's not Kirito?!
It seems the "game of death" has had lingering emotional effects on everyone, and even the survivors bear scars. But the trio have gotten through tough times before, and they're not gonna let a buffed boss stand between them and their goal!
Even if they succeed in finishing the quest, though, will they be able to heal the mysterious sword-wielder's broken heart...? Join Liz, Silica, and Leafa on a new adventure that's all their own!
240 pages, Paperback
First published July 10, 2014
23 people are currently reading
466 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 10, 2018
I loved this. So different from SAO we know. Some parts are also funny as when they discover Kuro is a girl and they are shocked.
I loved also the part of slimes who spat acid on their clothes. Probably boys will love also more that part since slimes melt their clothes. I can't wait to read the number two. 💕
I loved also the part of slimes who spat acid on their clothes. Probably boys will love also more that part since slimes melt their clothes. I can't wait to read the number two. 💕
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2018
Maybe it was a "You have to read the main series first" thing, or a "You have to have at least watch the anime" thing, but this felt a bit hollow to me. It's evident that I've missed a lot of important backstories, especially since I went in knowing nothing about the series other than my daughter likes the anime version.
That being said, my daughter felt these books would be great "mental breaks" between all of my academic reading, and I think she's right. The story is interesting, and I am looking forward to following the girls on their adventures. Thankfully, my library had all four of the books (I don't think book 5 is out yet, at least not in English), and I was able to borrow the whole set at one time.
That being said, my daughter felt these books would be great "mental breaks" between all of my academic reading, and I think she's right. The story is interesting, and I am looking forward to following the girls on their adventures. Thankfully, my library had all four of the books (I don't think book 5 is out yet, at least not in English), and I was able to borrow the whole set at one time.
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January 31, 2017The storyline was pretty thin, but it is the first manga I've ever read...are they all like this. It was cute though. I especially enjoyed the illustrations that were thrown in of the girls in each others costumes, that was pretty funny. Time to read volume 2...
June 29, 2015
This book is rated Teen for Violence, some mature themes related to the original SAO story, and a little bit of fanservice but nothing to graphic. If you want to be safe by all means flip through this book before allowing someone younger from reading it. :)
I personally enjoyed this tale of friendship between Liz, Silicia, and Leafa as they quest for a magical ring and end up meeting someone that looks like Kirito on the quest who was also a survivor of the original Sword Art Online conflict. It was nice to see a tale where Kirito and Asuna are not involved and some of the other girls got a chance to have fun on their own as well as get to meet a new friend while they over come difficult challenges. Gonna avoid spoilers by avoiding any further mention of the quest or the new character so if you are curious then you will just have to read the book yourself. :)
If I had to chose a favorite part of this book it would have to be when Silicia accidentally crashed int o the new player after losing her footing when the ground shakes. It's real cute and we find something out that is important about the new player. :)
I personally enjoyed this tale of friendship between Liz, Silicia, and Leafa as they quest for a magical ring and end up meeting someone that looks like Kirito on the quest who was also a survivor of the original Sword Art Online conflict. It was nice to see a tale where Kirito and Asuna are not involved and some of the other girls got a chance to have fun on their own as well as get to meet a new friend while they over come difficult challenges. Gonna avoid spoilers by avoiding any further mention of the quest or the new character so if you are curious then you will just have to read the book yourself. :)
If I had to chose a favorite part of this book it would have to be when Silicia accidentally crashed int o the new player after losing her footing when the ground shakes. It's real cute and we find something out that is important about the new player. :)
June 25, 2015
It's fun to have a book without Kirito once in a while. The girls aren't much different from the way they are around him, but it's nice see how capable they are on their own. Looking forward to more adventures, especially with the new character that was introduced.
February 25, 2021
This is the first volume of the Sword Art Online spinoff manga, Girls' Ops. It focuses on a trio of main cast members from Sword Art Online, Silicia, Lisbeth and Leafa, and one new character, Lux (real name Hiyori). This is the volume that introduces Lux. I enjoyed reading it but it has its share of flaws. To go into more detail...
The story is framed by the release of a new quest in Alfheim online, Angel Rings. It is one that was present in Aincrad, and the new admins tweaked it to make it work in the world of the fairies. Lisbeth and Silicia invite Leafa to join them, and while on this quest they meet a dual-wielding sword-user wearing a black cloak. They assume it is Kirito, but it is actually "Kuro", an avatar created by Hiyori.
This is one of the reasons that I find the first volume to be lackluster. Creating a copy of Kirito to anchor the plot feels like a narrative crutch. It is as though Reki Kawahara created a new (supporting) protagonist by flipping his main-story protagonist's gender and then justified it with a hero-worshipper angle. Silicia even convinces Lisbeth and Leafa to assist "Kuro" by suggesting they would be abandoning "a Kirito" if they didn't. However, it is more complicated than that.
Hiyori has good reason to be emulating Kirito. This informs her decisions in this volume, gives weight to the plot, and it is funny to see her fangirl over simply meeting Kirito's sister. However, emulating Kirito obscures her actual personality and uniqueness.
One does not see the real Hiyori until she appears before her new friends as "Lux", which was her SAO avatar. The glimpse is in this volume was enough to pique my interest in seeing more of her, now that she was no longer role-playing The Black Swordsman. Indeed, the reader does not see an unobstructed view of Lux until volume 3. Trust me, it is worth the wait!
Anyway, about the other aspects of this volume. There are three or so stages of this quest for the Angel Rings. Each scene has a narrative purpose, and so the story has a nice structure and progression leading up to its climax. That was fun to read.
Another plus for this volume is the running gag about the Tsundere Angel. This is the name given to the NPC who is the quest giver for the Angel Rings quest. She is an angel who acts like a "tsundere", grumpy and rude at the start of the quest but becoming more affectionate and/or flustered to the player(s) at the end. The means of triggering the "dere" side of this Tsundere Angel is a fun little sideplot.
The battle with the boss at the end of the quest was a little difficult to follow. The art style didn't convey action as well as I would have liked. Perhaps that was the fault of the boss itself; he's huge, and the players are human-size. The scale might might have been the problem.
Otherwise it was a fun and meaningful battle. The emotional content of this tough fight makes the fire-forged-friendship at the end feel more earned. Three of the four of them are SAO survivors, after all, so they know what it is like to depend on party members when fighting monsters.
The art is good. It shows the cuteness of the main cast, but also the immensity and threat of the boss and the subordinate monsters. The panel showing what happened to the Tsundere Angel's rose pavilion is a stark image that shouts, "something bad has happened".
Trickster Eric Novels gives Sword Art Online Girls' Ops volume one a B+
The story is framed by the release of a new quest in Alfheim online, Angel Rings. It is one that was present in Aincrad, and the new admins tweaked it to make it work in the world of the fairies. Lisbeth and Silicia invite Leafa to join them, and while on this quest they meet a dual-wielding sword-user wearing a black cloak. They assume it is Kirito, but it is actually "Kuro", an avatar created by Hiyori.
This is one of the reasons that I find the first volume to be lackluster. Creating a copy of Kirito to anchor the plot feels like a narrative crutch. It is as though Reki Kawahara created a new (supporting) protagonist by flipping his main-story protagonist's gender and then justified it with a hero-worshipper angle. Silicia even convinces Lisbeth and Leafa to assist "Kuro" by suggesting they would be abandoning "a Kirito" if they didn't. However, it is more complicated than that.
Hiyori has good reason to be emulating Kirito. This informs her decisions in this volume, gives weight to the plot, and it is funny to see her fangirl over simply meeting Kirito's sister. However, emulating Kirito obscures her actual personality and uniqueness.
One does not see the real Hiyori until she appears before her new friends as "Lux", which was her SAO avatar. The glimpse is in this volume was enough to pique my interest in seeing more of her, now that she was no longer role-playing The Black Swordsman. Indeed, the reader does not see an unobstructed view of Lux until volume 3. Trust me, it is worth the wait!
Anyway, about the other aspects of this volume. There are three or so stages of this quest for the Angel Rings. Each scene has a narrative purpose, and so the story has a nice structure and progression leading up to its climax. That was fun to read.
Another plus for this volume is the running gag about the Tsundere Angel. This is the name given to the NPC who is the quest giver for the Angel Rings quest. She is an angel who acts like a "tsundere", grumpy and rude at the start of the quest but becoming more affectionate and/or flustered to the player(s) at the end. The means of triggering the "dere" side of this Tsundere Angel is a fun little sideplot.
The battle with the boss at the end of the quest was a little difficult to follow. The art style didn't convey action as well as I would have liked. Perhaps that was the fault of the boss itself; he's huge, and the players are human-size. The scale might might have been the problem.
Otherwise it was a fun and meaningful battle. The emotional content of this tough fight makes the fire-forged-friendship at the end feel more earned. Three of the four of them are SAO survivors, after all, so they know what it is like to depend on party members when fighting monsters.
The art is good. It shows the cuteness of the main cast, but also the immensity and threat of the boss and the subordinate monsters. The panel showing what happened to the Tsundere Angel's rose pavilion is a stark image that shouts, "something bad has happened".
Trickster Eric Novels gives Sword Art Online Girls' Ops volume one a B+
February 9, 2025
This series is a spinoff of the Sword Art Online: Aincrad sequel Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance. So be aware that this series will have spoilers.
Liz and Silica (their avatar names) are survivors of the original Sword Art Online (SAO: Aincrad) death game who have overcome their fear of VRMMOs and now play ALfheim Online (the video game setting of SAO: Fairy Dance) together with Leafa (the IRL cousin of SAO’s hero Kirito).
Then they run into a Kirito lookalike while checking out the new ALfheim quest that was just ported over from the Aincrad game. And it turns out that an actual near death hostage situation leaves a lot of PTSD, so our three protagonists decide to help their new friend Kuro with her trauma.
It’s… an understandable plot if you know the backstory and the world has a fantastic setting, though I’m worried that it “power of friendship”-ed as fast as possible through a key point of the drama in favor of becoming a “cute girls doing things” series. Too early to tell from here.
This spinoff has 8 volumes.
Liz and Silica (their avatar names) are survivors of the original Sword Art Online (SAO: Aincrad) death game who have overcome their fear of VRMMOs and now play ALfheim Online (the video game setting of SAO: Fairy Dance) together with Leafa (the IRL cousin of SAO’s hero Kirito).
Then they run into a Kirito lookalike while checking out the new ALfheim quest that was just ported over from the Aincrad game. And it turns out that an actual near death hostage situation leaves a lot of PTSD, so our three protagonists decide to help their new friend Kuro with her trauma.
It’s… an understandable plot if you know the backstory and the world has a fantastic setting, though I’m worried that it “power of friendship”-ed as fast as possible through a key point of the drama in favor of becoming a “cute girls doing things” series. Too early to tell from here.
This spinoff has 8 volumes.
June 25, 2017
I was super excited for this, as Lisbeth if my favorite character in all of SAO (Sinon is my second, and she's not here.. I guess her getting no 'screen time' after episode 18 of season 2 doesn't count, and her barely appearing for 6 episodes before that doesn't, either), and this promises to show a lot of Lisbeth, Silica, and Leafa. This volume, while a lot of fun, and not poorly written, mostly focuses on the girls talking only about Kirito (like he's all they know), or trying to get a girl whose avatar looks like Kirito to join their party. There's nothing new to be learned about them, and honestly, other than Silica, none of them get to shine. Most of the character development involves Kuro, aka the new girl. Which is ok, but for a series that is supposed to focus on Leafa, Silica, and Lisbeth, this is disappointing.
On the plus side, Silica does do something other than look 'cute', and complain about Kirito looking up her skirt. I did like that Silica finally isn't useless here, so that is a plus.
Like I said, this isn't bad. It is a fun read, with Ok art. And it's a new story, not a retelling of existing material, which is a plus. The next volume looks disappointing, though, so I don't look forward to it.
On the plus side, Silica does do something other than look 'cute', and complain about Kirito looking up her skirt. I did like that Silica finally isn't useless here, so that is a plus.
Like I said, this isn't bad. It is a fun read, with Ok art. And it's a new story, not a retelling of existing material, which is a plus. The next volume looks disappointing, though, so I don't look forward to it.
July 1, 2021
I really enjoy the fact that Leafa, Silica and Liz get their own storyline. Meeting and questing with their new friend Lux. I will say if you aren't already familiar with SAO and the characters this is not really a good place to start because the series does expect you to know who they are and their background. But knowing all that, it was a fun entry. It is light and fast, but that doesn't detract from the fact that the girls are doing their own thing.
January 23, 2020
Reki Kawahara nos trae un spin-off en donde las chicas de SAO (Silica, Lis y Leafa) seran las protagonistas. Sin depender de Kirito, me gustaria conocer como lidiaran su aventuran solo entre ellas (y Lux, su nueva amiga).
Para ser el primer volumen, esta bien. Espero esta entrega sea igual de excelente que Mother's Rosary, que para mi es el mejor arco de toda la saga de SAO
Para ser el primer volumen, esta bien. Espero esta entrega sea igual de excelente que Mother's Rosary, que para mi es el mejor arco de toda la saga de SAO
January 9, 2024
I did not enjoy this manga as much as I have others that I've picked up, because it took a while to get into the relationships/friendships portion of the story. The story got better toward the end of the volume, but I'm still not as happy with it as I am with some other series. Still, I will read what the library has of the series, just to see if it gets better.
July 18, 2024
The "power of friendship" storyline was really well done. Only downside to this one, I though I'd be safe from the gratuitous near nakedness bits since this one is more geared toward women, but alas, I was Not. There were both acid-spitting, clothes-melting slimes in the game world and a scene in the gym changing room in the real world. Whyyyyyyy.
October 9, 2017
I liked it can't wait for the next one
April 23, 2018
Not bad.
September 4, 2021
This may be the dullest manga I've ever read. The art is poor as well.
September 9, 2021
I liked the plot, but this arc is too ecchi to me... Unnecessary!
May 19, 2022
Plot - 3
Character - 3
Writing Style - 3
World Building - 5
Art - 5
Cover - 4
Overall - 3.85 / 5
Character - 3
Writing Style - 3
World Building - 5
Art - 5
Cover - 4
Overall - 3.85 / 5
November 10, 2022
It was interesting reading involves Silica, Liz, and Leafa formed a party in ALO to have fun toegther and doing quests.
August 14, 2023
GIRLPOWERRRR GOO QUEENS GIRLIE POPPP
July 29, 2025
very cute! Looking forward to the next one. ^_^
October 6, 2016
Fluff spin-off from SAO series (post ALO dramaz too), the girls head out for side-quest for some special item
Even tho Kirito isn't even IN this one, he still somehow ends up being the central focus (as a sorry excuse to replace their motivation for doin anything. Yes let's all be strong... oh but not because we have any chara development or agency, nope! Let's do it because someone else)
The art is pleasant enuff, but for a story in such an epic MMO-RPG, you'd think someone would have penciled in more backgrounds to give the world more depth
Even tho Kirito isn't even IN this one, he still somehow ends up being the central focus (as a sorry excuse to replace their motivation for doin anything. Yes let's all be strong... oh but not because we have any chara development or agency, nope! Let's do it because someone else)
The art is pleasant enuff, but for a story in such an epic MMO-RPG, you'd think someone would have penciled in more backgrounds to give the world more depth
July 21, 2018
Review by D.B. : "[I liked] how it follows Liz, silica, Leafa. Everyone [would like]." (2015, 5 stars).
Review by T.C. : "[I liked] plot & character. Everyone would like." (2015, 5 stars)
Review by T.C. : "[I liked] plot & character. Everyone would like." (2015, 5 stars)
December 30, 2019
The best thing about this manga was that it didn't focus on Kirito and Asuna. Don't get me wrong. I like the two of them to an extent, but sometimes it's awesome to see the other characters who are not VR Superman and Supergirl be the main character. That's what we have here in this manga.
The story begins when Liz and Silica meet up with Leafa to go on a quest to in the VRMMO AlfHeim Online. Once there, they meet a girl who has made herself look just as Kirito, whom she idolizes for saving everyone from the death trap that was Sword Art Online.
At first the girl is standoffish, but realizing how much she is hurting, the girls forge a friendship with her. Thus begins what is a more than one volume story where the other girls are front and center.
What I liked about this was how we saw the girls from the stories in a way that developed them and their characters more so than before. While they still think more of Kirito than I would like, the kids take their own paths and Kirito is not the dominant force in the story by any stretch of the imagination.
I loved the art here. It showed the comedic moments wonderfully, and the characters are beautifully drawn. I also love the bit part of the NPC "tsundere angel". So funny. Great stuff.
Also, there is a sort of cliff-hanger suggesting more is to be revealed in the next volume about our new friend Kuro/Lux. Can't wait to read more in the second volume.
The story begins when Liz and Silica meet up with Leafa to go on a quest to in the VRMMO AlfHeim Online. Once there, they meet a girl who has made herself look just as Kirito, whom she idolizes for saving everyone from the death trap that was Sword Art Online.
At first the girl is standoffish, but realizing how much she is hurting, the girls forge a friendship with her. Thus begins what is a more than one volume story where the other girls are front and center.
What I liked about this was how we saw the girls from the stories in a way that developed them and their characters more so than before. While they still think more of Kirito than I would like, the kids take their own paths and Kirito is not the dominant force in the story by any stretch of the imagination.
I loved the art here. It showed the comedic moments wonderfully, and the characters are beautifully drawn. I also love the bit part of the NPC "tsundere angel". So funny. Great stuff.
Also, there is a sort of cliff-hanger suggesting more is to be revealed in the next volume about our new friend Kuro/Lux. Can't wait to read more in the second volume.
June 18, 2015
I'm really enjoying that SAO is taking advantage of their bevy of wonderful characters. This story focuses on three of the recurring female characters (Liz, Silica, and Leafa) after the events of season 1. Except for a touch of fanservice, this was a wonderfully empowering tale about the bonds of friendship in the face of adversity. I look forward to more volumes in the future!
December 22, 2021
What would happen if Kirito and Asuna were not the main characters? It actually were quite well. The story is stand alone, despite having 3 more volumes. The story revolves around a quest to get a certain item, which may sound boring but is done well.
There is one `newish` character that adds to the story.
There is one `newish` character that adds to the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2015
This was a fun adventure; I enjoyed it more than the mainline SAO manga, I think because it wasn't quite so serious -- people having fun together in a virtual world is more what I'm looking for, right now.
December 5, 2015
I was happy to see a character mention that it's weird for the survivors of sao still play video games that are so similar to sao because it bothered me that it wasn't addressed in the other material after sao.
September 12, 2020
Fun book! Makes me want to read the earlier installments of the Sword Art Online series.
My full review is up on No Flying No Tights.
My full review is up on No Flying No Tights.
May 14, 2015
love a new story with several characters that can be further expanded on, and ended with an intriguing twist
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews