In preparation for the newest movie “Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night“, the newest review will be going over the first volume Light Novel 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.
Final Grade:
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