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REVIEW: Sword Art Online: Progressive Novel 1




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CaRoss



Joined: 11 Nov 2014
Posts: 457
PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2015 9:15 pm Reply with quote
Great review. I personally think the book was better than what it was rated here, but differing opinions are always more than welcome.

I'm personally glad that the book didn't spend too much time on Asuna's point of view. I'm not a fan of her, personally, and find that there are other female characters that Kawahara has in his universe that I enjoy more and find better written (particularly Liz, her short story in the second volume of the main series is astounding and she maintains her engaging character in the Girls Ops manga), but I also understand why people want more of Asuna.

Anyway, what I really liked about this book is that, much like Log Horizon, it remembers that it's a MMO that they're trapped in. Unlike the main series, where the first two volumes don't touch on game mechanics as much as they could, this one really does blend it in quite well. I liked the usage of the information to explain the struggles involved in the game and specifically the first floor boss battle.

As I said before, great review, there are some points that I definitely agree with, such as Yen Press definitely touching up on the prose, and some that I disagree with. However, it's always nice seeing other opinions on these releases.
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trilaan



Joined: 17 Jan 2009
Posts: 1053
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 8:14 am Reply with quote
So what is the proper order to collect and read this series now?
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2599
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 11:15 am Reply with quote
Hmm, that's a tough question. I think that while you can technically start with SAOP, it's probably still best to start with plain ol' SAO, possibly just for expediency, since it'll move you through the series faster. On the other hand, the writing really is better in SAOP, so if you don't care about post-Aincrad stories, I might just read SAOP and skip regular SAO.

I'd love to hear other peoples' opinions on this.

@CaRoss

I'm glad you liked the review!

To be honest, I don't really like Asuna as a character all that much, but I still think she needs to be understandable and believable, and I don't see that happening very often. But I agree, Liz is a much better character, and I admit that I'm partial to Sugu as well, just because she has so much determination and tries to find her way out of her problem(s). Asuna? Not so much.
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midori kou



Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 469
PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 12:54 pm Reply with quote
The original SAO series is hardly sequential. In fact, it's a bit of a cluster*** when it comes to the Aincard universe.

Volume 1 is essentially the abridged version of 2 years. Volume 2 are a bunch of short stories that occurred in those 2 years. Same goes for Volume 8.

Plus there's mountains of short stories published in Dengeki Bunko and the Limited Blu-Ray/DVDs, all have yet to be sorted in an official volume of its own... Not to mention the material collections that Reki Kawahara sells at Comiket under the alias of "WordGear".

For the most part, if you are interested in an expanded Aincard arc, read the Chapter 1 from Volume 1 of the original SAO series and then continue starting SAOP Volume 1. That's the easiest way to go about it.
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CaRoss



Joined: 11 Nov 2014
Posts: 457
PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 11:40 pm Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:


@CaRoss

I'm glad you liked the review!

To be honest, I don't really like Asuna as a character all that much, but I still think she needs to be understandable and believable, and I don't see that happening very often. But I agree, Liz is a much better character, and I admit that I'm partial to Sugu as well, just because she has so much determination and tries to find her way out of her problem(s). Asuna? Not so much.


Yeah, Asuna seems to come across as a wet blanket that doesn't do much. It's too bad, she could have been a very interesting character, but instead I find her to be too flat (and even though Progressive makes me dislike her a little less) and mostly unlikable.

As to your comment about Sugu, I agree. People get so hooked on the "Sugu loves Kirito" thing that they ignore the rest of her character. She's got a lot of good points to her personality, and is another character who benefits from Girls Ops. However, I do tend to blame the anime for this negativity as its portrayal of her tended to focus on a certain part of her, rather than rounding her out. Something I think they learned from for SAO II with Sinon.
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