The progressive series is the best. I have enjoyed every one of them. Once again the world of Aincrad is brought to life by Reki Kawahara.
Asuna's character is fleshed out more. She is scared of certain enemies to the point of being unable to move. Her relationship to Kirito is already strong on the 5th floor.
The boss battle was intense. It was exciting and stressful. The supporting characters were interesting enough that I was hoping nobody died.
Overall it was a great book and I cannot wait to read about floor 6.
I've been enjoying the story so much. In the progressive novels Asuna and Kirito's relationship grows more clearly. I thought the anime love story was excellent but the novels are giving a richer and deeper bond between the two characters.
The threat of the PK'ers starts to grow. We come across our first traditional dungeon in this book. I love that we get to read about the boss battle this time. I love the details and the concepts the author is creating. I just finished this book, and I want to read the next one!
It just keeps getting better. I loved how there was Asuna's POV in the first half of the book and we got to see a glimpse of her thoughts finally. To say I was on the edge of the seat through the entirety of the novella would be an understatement. The setting of the fifth floor was eerie enough, but the story got quite a lot darker and circumstances more dangerous than before. I'm really, really exited to see what comes next.
I've really enjoyed this book series and this continues on into volume 4. We finally get to see how "Laughing Coffin" has been working behind the scenes to push the guilds to fight each other.
Most importantly, I enjoyed that the first half of the book was from Asuna's viewpoint. I really hope that the author continues to do this in the future.
Now to the important question, was that part about the Harassment Prevention Code in chapter 8 a reference to the infamous (and unpublished) chapter 16.5?
Some spoiler-free words about SAO Progressive 004:
This time, the story begins from Asuna's perspective, something that hasn't been done since the first novel, treating her character. In volume 3, we saw Kirito's reaction to Asuna's feelings, while in volume 4, we see how Asuna reacts to her own emotions. Simultaneously, the plot regarding the PKers (PlayerKillers) is picked up again and continued. Overall, this volume feels very personal, as it shows how Asuna and Kirito deal with their emotinal state, this emerging threat and what they think of these individuals.
The second half is once again narrated from Kirito's perspective and mainly deals with the theme of the fourth-floor boss battle. His thoughts on the game and his role in the world, which are further explained in this second half, make Kirito a compelling protagonist who has his own desires but also questions his own behavior and goals.
Additionally, side characters are given more depth and are well connected into the story with the front guilds, the boss battle, and the PKer topic and thus building up tension for future volumes.
Overall, it's another great novel with a very personal touch.
This fourth volume of the progressive clearing adventures of Kirito and Asuna is my favorite so far, and a close contender for my favorite entry of all (including the original SAO!). It has everything: half of the book is covered from Asuna's POV, which is always a treat; we get glimpses of what with eventually become one of the main adversaries residing in Aincrad, the infamous Laughing Coffin; we get a respite from Kizmel (who is amazing, but we were reaching a point of over saturation with our favorite elvish extraordinaire NPC); we get an incredible gambit from our main chars to prevent war erupting between the two main Guilds; we get great moments of emotional catharsis between Kirito and Asuna; and last but not least we get an amazing floor boss fight, both original and nail-biting to the end.
Dunno what else I could possibly ask for, though I'm really intrigued on how the author can manage to keep upping the game with each subsequent entry (and how will he manage to do so for the unforeseeable future as well...)
The progressive series are really interesting they add more layers of depth to the story told through the main volumes.
This Volume is all about the fifth floor and in particular the Beginning of what later becomes the laughing coffin guild (A big player in later installments) To read just a little about their beginnings makes them seem more believable and really raises your interest. Argo also gets a little more time to shine. Which is in my eyes totally deserved Argo is quite interesting if you think about why she decided to do what she does (Information dealer not exactly the first thing that jumps to my mind)
Just as in the previous volumes, the world building/floor building is amazing! You really get a beautiful picture of the fifth floor. action wise it is just as packed as the previous ones. The boss in particular is very unique!
So the ONLY reason that I picked this series back up was because of something that PoH (the leader of the Laughing Coffins) tells Kirito in one of the recent episodes of the Anime. That is that he has been interested in him since he almost killed him on the 5th floor. Well... he didn't ALMOST do anything :/ AND this scene literally happens on the last page of the book...
Also the boss fight was aweful. The second floor boss was better. The author either needs to focus on the story or do better research on bosses. Although, from the beginning I've always thought that 100 bosses seems a bit excessive. Then come to find out EACH floor also has a sub boss xD
That aside I did enjoy the half of the book that was in Asuna's perspective. That's were the 2 stars came from.
There is not much else to say other than how incredibly adorable! Kirito and Asuna are getting closer! They are developing a relationship! They are each becoming more important to the other and it's so cute!
Anyway.
This book did something slightly different in that the first half was written from Asuna's viewpoint instead of Kirito's. That threw me for a loop. The funny thing about it was that the author commented on it himself and said it was hard for him to do that because then Kirito came off as being too cool. Which kind of reminds me of the anime, Kirito is way cooler in the anime than he is in the books. In the books he's quite awkward. That is also adorable.
Anyway. Yep. This volume is perfectly summed up in D'awwwwww!
I have to admit a personal bias toward SAO to begin with, that being said, I really did not want to stop reading this book. I have very much enjoyed the Progressive series. This one sees us on floor 5 of Aincrad. We get a section from Asuna's POV which was a nice change. We see the PKers [who if you hadn't guessed are Laughing Coffin] doing more than just making an appearance, they are trying to mess with what is going on between other players. Surprise, surprise.
Verdict: Kirito and friends pull it off again. If you want a much more detailed alternative take on SAO, Progressive is for you!
Cant continue with these series after reading this book, sick of the man-bashing, mary sue non-sense. Previous review. I like the artwork, story is not to bad as well. I like the new characters, boss fights, quests and floor outline. It's the constant man-bashing Kirito and making Asuna a mary sue I cant stand. Kirito is treated like her servant or her lesser and for no reason at all Kirito worships the ground that Asuna walks on. Asuna Constanly belittles, threats and attacks Kirito through out this novel. They have change the dynamics of the two main character way to much. Makes reading this series not so enjoyable.
This book amazingly illustrates the beginning of Kirito and Asuna romance and we also got the glimpse of Laughing Coffins and there nefarious plot to thwart the game progress and their sinister attempt to lure the Player in PKing each other. Let see what ingredients will they bring in other volumes to channelise their plan, how Kirito and Asuna will vindicate it and most importantly the further development of Kirito and Asuna relationship. In fact, I literally enjoyed reading this book as well & as a matter of fact it was by far the best volume and hopefully story will continue to get better and better with every forthcoming volumes.
Another great book in one of my favorite series. I'm really enjoying the intro to what will become the Laughing Coffin guild. I felt like this was one of if not the most under-utilized plot threads in the anime series. It was pretty much the only thing that made the GGO arc interesting to me.
It was interesting to get part of the book from Asuna's pov and it was nice to get a bit more familiar with her inner workings.
I've enjoyed every book in the series so far immensely and am looking forward to the next one.
Another impactful continuation of SAO-Progressive. Just like the ones before it, it’s an amazing series. However, unlike the rest, reading through this one felt like a slow crawl—especially within the perspective of Asuna, our female lead. I may be biased to faster paced novels, but that’s my opinion nonetheless.
The romance has been developing much more heavily in this volume and I could really see the duo, Kirito and Asuna, becoming closer together.
Like the previous volumes, the action, mystery, and suspense in this book is still at the top of the usual light novels you’d find.
Now this feels like SAO should feel! One of the best in the series! The boss battle is particularly well written. First half is written from Asuna's point of view without it being a sob drama story like Mother Rosario and that's great. Second half is written from Kirito's point of view and mostly covers the team assembly, boss battle and repercussions! Now it's time to wait for Yen to translate the freshly come out in Japan volumes 5 and 6.
Started this on new year's as my first book in 2023, and now I'm crying my eyes out because it's literally ending on 2023 new year's celebration 🥺🥺🥺 currently living my SAO simp life at fullest 💖 Also foreshadowing Lisbeth early, and even earlier Death Gun introduction in the end made me so happy that Reki decided to keep this series going, as it's literal guiltiest pleasure of an AU any fan could ever get 🥺🤤
Because the summary is in Japanese, I'll do my best to give a spoiler-free summary.
Kirito and Asuna made it to the fith floor. The beginnings of the laughing coffin are becoming obvious. There is a plot that can cleave the frontrunner group in two. And that's the best case scenario. Kirito, Asana, and other friends have to band together to beat the laughing coffin at the deadly game they've set up.
Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 4 is without a doubt the best vol. out of the current 4 vol. I've read. The book has a bunch of new interesting scenarios and an amazing boss battle wish is by far the best so far in my opinion. Reki Kawaharas writing keeps getting better and so does the books.
I can definitely recommend this volume if you enjoyed the other volumes.
Ainda estou desejoso de ver um romance bem fofinho e não ganhei esse presente do autor, infelizmente. As aventuras estão sendo interessantes e está havendo uma melhora acerca do modo como o autor faz os eventos terem ao menos uma profundidade.
This is the best SAOP book of the series (so far) the book continues exploring the relationship between Asuna and Kirito, we also see fighting in the boss battle a character that we know but that we haven’t seen before in those battles and we also know more about the main antagonists of the frontline guilds.
This book convinced me to continue reading in the series. I liked the both the intense and chill situations that Asuna finds herself in. Wasn’t a big fan of chapter 4 but the rest was enjoyable
Asuna and Kirito progress to the next floor, an archaeological area. Little do they know, however, but the situation with the guild rivalries is coming to a head, and they’ll have to put together a team to beat the floor boss or blood could be shed.