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Sword Art Online: Progressive Manga #4
Sword Art Online Progressive Manga, Vol. 4
While Nezha attempts to atone for his misdeeds, the battle against Sword Art Online's second-floor boss begins! Kirito's uneasy alliance with the other front-runners seems to be holding, but what will happen when the floor boss corners them? Can Nezha rise to the occasion and seize a hero's prize?
196 pages, Paperback
First published August 7, 2015
21 people are currently reading
275 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 1, 2022
Fight scenes were chef's kiss
July 23, 2016
Wow, really enjoyed this volume! am really enjoying the SAO anime and manga series! Love Kirito and Asuna & definitely recommend watching the anime on Hulu, crunchyroll or Netflix and reading the Aincrad manga volumes first if you want to get into the series : )
July 24, 2018
This fourth book took a slight dive in quality for me. There were noticeably more awkward dialogue scenes and less clarity with action panels. Some plot twists were still interesting, and the overall theme wasn't bad. I simply had a tougher time paying attention to the story straying so far off the characters I cared about. Not awful, but likely the last I'll pick up for a while.
September 26, 2019
I'm confused... why did Asuna and Nezha do the martial arts quest in the manga, but not the light novel? Nevertheless, this was INCREDIBLE.
November 26, 2022
Mi favoritoooo hasta ahora AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, ame <3
November 20, 2016
Another good series. Love the art style, story and characters.
November 8, 2020
With this ends the manga version of the first SAO Progressive light novel. Really enjoyed reading the four mangas that cover the novel. Some things were changed, in favour of more detail to Asuna's wereabouts, as the manga is from her perspective, meanwhile the novel is from Kirito's.
Rhe anime for SAO Progressive has already been announced for 2021 and I hope it will be based on the manga, as it is funnier and we all know that Asuna has a higher fan base than Kirito...!!!
Rhe anime for SAO Progressive has already been announced for 2021 and I hope it will be based on the manga, as it is funnier and we all know that Asuna has a higher fan base than Kirito...!!!
December 30, 2025
Review to come!
January 28, 2017
Maybe the LightNovel version is better, but the manga is just not working. Especially since for a loner SOLO PLAYER Kirito sure is present for freakin everything!
The artwork is very uneven, the action scenes are terribly laid-out AND the slippage on "this is not how games work dammit!!" keeps really getting annoying.
Or maybe that's just a very Japan thing? The whole "oh look, this RPG has NPCs full-out sexually harassing the female avatars for the Quest"
The artwork is very uneven, the action scenes are terribly laid-out AND the slippage on "this is not how games work dammit!!" keeps really getting annoying.
Or maybe that's just a very Japan thing? The whole "oh look, this RPG has NPCs full-out sexually harassing the female avatars for the Quest"
April 27, 2016
In Summary
I am truly impressed with how the creators wrap up the Level 2 arc in this volume. Great action, solid plot, excellent character development, and several surprises to keep things exciting. If the rest of the floors in SAO: Progressive are like this, then I’m in for the whole journey.
The Review
Asuna has been the star of Progressive, but in Volume 004, she leaves the stage for nearly two chapters as the story shifts to the fighters on the front line. While Kirito plays a big part in this section, it’s as much about Agil, Lind, and Kibaou as it is about our black swordsman.This is still early in SAO so the players are still figuring one another out, and it’s amusing to watch egos clash as they collaborate toward the common goal of defeating the Second Floor Boss.
Fortunately, lessons were learned in the previous boss fight, and it’s a very interesting moment when Kibaou, of all people, suggests to the entire raid party that they hear what Kirito has to say about the beta test version. Kirito does have the ”beater” stigma hovering over him, but he’s not the ostracized lone-wolf he was in the anime. Instead, most players realize what he has to offer and would rather have those skills working alongside them. As such, Kirito’s pretty much part of the team as the raid party opens the Boss’ door.
Unlike the first boss fight, this is new material, and the battle completely sucked me in. I don’t often categorize battles as “epic,” but I wouldn’t hesitate to call this one as such. It’s got several unexpected twists along the way, including Asuna’s grand return to the front line. The panels sometimes get a bit squished because so much is happening, but the illustrations do an excellent job of conveying action and emotion. And although heroics and desperation dominate in heat of battle, the creators manage to fit in appropriately funny bits and a romantic moment as well. While I could personally do without the gratuitous Asuna panty shots, this boss fight and its aftermath made me want to stand up and cheer.
Extras include the title page and table of contents in color and bonus illustration.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
I am truly impressed with how the creators wrap up the Level 2 arc in this volume. Great action, solid plot, excellent character development, and several surprises to keep things exciting. If the rest of the floors in SAO: Progressive are like this, then I’m in for the whole journey.
The Review
Asuna has been the star of Progressive, but in Volume 004, she leaves the stage for nearly two chapters as the story shifts to the fighters on the front line. While Kirito plays a big part in this section, it’s as much about Agil, Lind, and Kibaou as it is about our black swordsman.This is still early in SAO so the players are still figuring one another out, and it’s amusing to watch egos clash as they collaborate toward the common goal of defeating the Second Floor Boss.
Fortunately, lessons were learned in the previous boss fight, and it’s a very interesting moment when Kibaou, of all people, suggests to the entire raid party that they hear what Kirito has to say about the beta test version. Kirito does have the ”beater” stigma hovering over him, but he’s not the ostracized lone-wolf he was in the anime. Instead, most players realize what he has to offer and would rather have those skills working alongside them. As such, Kirito’s pretty much part of the team as the raid party opens the Boss’ door.
Unlike the first boss fight, this is new material, and the battle completely sucked me in. I don’t often categorize battles as “epic,” but I wouldn’t hesitate to call this one as such. It’s got several unexpected twists along the way, including Asuna’s grand return to the front line. The panels sometimes get a bit squished because so much is happening, but the illustrations do an excellent job of conveying action and emotion. And although heroics and desperation dominate in heat of battle, the creators manage to fit in appropriately funny bits and a romantic moment as well. While I could personally do without the gratuitous Asuna panty shots, this boss fight and its aftermath made me want to stand up and cheer.
Extras include the title page and table of contents in color and bonus illustration.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2023
This wraps up the adaptation of Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1, I think the school stuff with Asuna was ok but it never really went anywhere. Speaking of which we also have the second dungeon and a blacksmith arc, which went nowhere.
The blacksmith was stealing peoples gear and Kirito and Asunaa helped him become an adventurer, whilst it's a nice premise there was really no redemption for him. So you couldn't really get behind him, he said sorry but his actions got people killed, it just wasn't enough. Also this was supposed to be Asuna's story and for the most part Kirito is the lead, it's not that way in the first two volumes but it becomes very clear from Sword Art Online Progressive Manga, Vol. 3. I love Kirito but we don't get to learn a whole lot about Asuna, which is a shame.
The blacksmith was stealing peoples gear and Kirito and Asunaa helped him become an adventurer, whilst it's a nice premise there was really no redemption for him. So you couldn't really get behind him, he said sorry but his actions got people killed, it just wasn't enough. Also this was supposed to be Asuna's story and for the most part Kirito is the lead, it's not that way in the first two volumes but it becomes very clear from Sword Art Online Progressive Manga, Vol. 3. I love Kirito but we don't get to learn a whole lot about Asuna, which is a shame.
June 4, 2016
Looks like I'll be dropping the manga version of SAO Progressive and keeping to the original light novel series. This latest volume did not hold my attention like previous books, and I greatly disliked the artwork (facial expressions? what are those?) and the action sequences. I also found the usage of flashbacks to be choppy and distracting; the training scenes did not fit well into the main narrative. So far, I've dropped the manga adaptations of both SAO and the Progressive remix/redux/whatever. I wonder if I'll ever find a SAO manga I actually like? Girls' Op, maybe?
April 9, 2016
Awesome reboot
I really like this series. I so believe in buying the manga if comes to my area. The greatest part is I wonder how what they are going to do next.
I really like this series. I so believe in buying the manga if comes to my area. The greatest part is I wonder how what they are going to do next.
May 22, 2016
Loved this anime, and the redux manga is even better, delving into the lives of the side characters, while keeping true to the original. How can you not fanboy for Asuna?
September 12, 2020
My full review of the first four volumes appears on No Flying No Tights.
August 21, 2016
the progressive series is the best in this franchise
April 2, 2017
A beautiful chance to see how much Asuna and Kirito need each other and how well they work together.
September 5, 2017
They made it cartoony and dropped the death
The horror of 2000 dead people has faded from the feeling of the story. Things either have to start getting something like better or worse in ways.
The horror of 2000 dead people has faded from the feeling of the story. Things either have to start getting something like better or worse in ways.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews