sword art online

By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

After fourteen volumes, it has not escaped my attention that the volumes of GGO that I enjoy the most are the ones that do not have the words “Squad Jam” in the title. Possibly it’s because of their one-off nature, possibly it’s due to them being a change of pace, and possibly it’s because the Squad Jams all tend to combine a VRMMO game with the most annoying aspects of reality TV where we’re all watching waiting to see when they figure out who the traitor is. So this volume was always going to be starting off well for me. It finished well, too – this may be my favorite volume of the series to date. There’s some really cool game battles, lots of ludicrous things happen to Llenn, everyone’s reasonably funny, and there’s even a surprise or two. This may be Keiichi Sigsawa’s vanity project, but since we’re never getting his main project (thanks, Tokyopop), I’m cool with seeing him work his chops here.

After the events of the last Squad Jam, our core cast are celebrating in a virtual karaoke room when they get a request from David, the leader of MMTM. Vivi, the leader of the machine gun squad XEMAL, has issued a challenge, and if David wins he’ll get to meet her in real life. The challenge doesn’t say that he can’t invite others, so of course he’s turned to our girls, who are reasonably happy to help him with his live life – after all, this is just a game, so if they lose badly, it doesn’t mean anything. Miyu, aka Fukaziroh, is especially excited for this – she’s lost time and again to Vivi in ALO, and thinks she has a good guess as to who she is in real life. That said, first they have to clear Vivi’s challenge… which ends up being nearly impossible. Fortunately, they have a Llenn.

I’ve always been a fan of Fukaziroh as comedy relief, and we get a lot of that here, but this is a really fantastic volume for her in general. She gets to do clever and explosive things during the challenge, and her guess as to Vivi’s identity is… well, it’s wrong, but it’s only wrong by a very little bit. (There is also the joke that she and one of the machine gun players share a name, and will get married in the future, which makes me wonder if Sigsawa has been sitting on that for ages or if he just realized he used the same last name twice and decided to make it into a joke). As for Vivi, not spoiling too much, but this not only makes for a satisfying reveal, but also ties back into the main series. It can sometimes be hard to remember this takes place in the world of Kirito and company, and that VRMMOs can be used for reasons other than just having fun and shooting each other.

There’s no new volume in Japan yet, and if the author wanted he could probably end it here, but I suspect we’ll get another Squad Jam at some point. In the meantime, this is pretty much the series hitting on all cylinders.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

And here we are, almost two years later. I’ve talked before about how I think the author is trying to do too much with this arc, where they have a perfectly good plotline with Unital Ring (it’s in the title!), but they also can’t resist going back to Underworld for more battles that could actually kill people rather than just log them out. But it’s not just the main series, it’s everything. Right now Reki Kawahara has going on, at the same time, Sword Art Online (last JP volume June 2024), Sword Art Online Progressive (last JP volume March 2025, almost four years after the last one), Accel World (new volume due out next month, but has only had four since 2020), Demons’ Crest (last JP volume November 2024), and The Isolator… wait, did I only imagine The Isolator? Does it really exist? it’s been so long… anyway, my point is, if he tries to juggle any more series I may have to start calling him Ryohgo Narita. As for this volume? It’s good, but needs focus. Surprise!

We pick up with the cliffhanger from the last volume, and it does not go well. Kirito is simply too overstretched, and Eolyne is kidnapped. Meanwhile, the villains are doing their damnedest to destroy Central Cathedral, with only Alice and Fanatio there to try to stop them. In order to fix things… and this sounds sillier than it actually is… Asuna will need to convince her father to drive her to Rath in the dead of night to log in and help them. Meanwhile, in Unital Ring, everyone’s still trying to figure out how to go to the next level without abandoning their beloved cabin. And Kirito, now back from Underworld, has to fight in a mock duel, because everyone still sees him as their leader. As for who’s behind everything in Underworld and Unital Ring… could it be the same person?

I’ve said this before, but a lot of the time in SAO the most interesting parts are what’s happening in the real world. I loved Asuna’s talk with her dad, who has very good reasons not to want her to keep diving into potentially lethal VR all the time, but also understands that she’s pretty much an adult now and she has to rescue those she loves. Then there’s the whole scene with her and Argo/Tomo at the cafe near her old school, which also brings back bittersweet memories, but allows her to reunite with another face from the past. It’s a reminder that not everyone who was in SAO was allowed to go off to the school designed for survivors, and some simply were told to resume their normal life only with FAR MORE PARENTAL CONTROL. Which, again, understandable, especially given the difference between Kawahara’s idealized AI of this world and our current AI woes. And it also allows him to tie things in to his movies as well. Because of course. And hey, Kizmel gets mentioned once!

If you have to read all things SAO to keep up, this is a quick, easy read, even if I did have to google some names to remind myself. As for what’s next? Probably Progressive sometime next year, but for the franchise, we’re back to GGO in the fall, so Swords Down, Guns Up.

By Soitiro Watase and Ginta, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

So, I’m still enjoying this spinoff, but I will admit that I’m enjoying it despite one of its subplots. Actually, more accurately despite its main plot. When the series is showing off the Asuka Online game, its horror events and the cast debugging things, it’s great. When it’s got them solving mysteries of absent fathers and mysterious support dolls who are not named Yotsugi, it’s also great. When it has its real life subplot about Nayuta gradually moving in with Kurei, making him food, and acting like a wife, while blowing off the fact that she’s been spotted with him and that people at her school are asking questions about it, that’s less fine. Now Kurei spends most of the book insisting he hasn’t done anything improper, which is true, but that’s not the point. The point is that Nayuta is underage and Kurei is in a position of power and we’re both supposed to be rooting for these two to admit their love and get married. Which, eh.

The book is divided into two short stories and one novella. The first story has Nayuta and Koyomi join Klever as he tests a vacation resort that will be used for events, meaning it’s an excuse for the cast to fool around in a luxury hotel. But what’s with the staff… or lack thereof? The second story has them participate in a fun event where you get to snuggle cabyparas, and find the wombat hidden among all of them. This is mostly pure fluff, but also has them discovering an AI android that appears to be part of a part of the game still being argued about, named Onihime. In the final story, they meet a young girl named Mahiro, who is searching for her missing father, who might have gotten called up in something criminal. What’s more, the girl looks a LOT like the android AI they just found…

Koyomi continues to have the depth of a sheet of paper, but she’s fun, and she’s also a necessary ingredient in a cast that otherwise consists of two very serious people. She also has Nayuta’s best interests at heart, and he constant battering of Klever about his “intentions” towards Nauyta masks a very real worry that she could be taken advantage of. Nayuta has an abnormal trust of Klever/Kurei, and while the reader is, I think, meant to assume it’s because they’re destined, it’s still uncomfortable. The other thing about this book is its examination of AI – it seems to be mostly pro-AI, but in the world of SAO I can see why that makes more sense – we already have Yui, for example.

This has one more volume to go, but doesn’t really have any plot points to resolve besides “when Nayuta turns 18 she will simply propose”. Let’s home it’s a little more complicated than that. For SAO fans.

By Soitiro Watase and Ginta, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

So, just like the Re: Zero SS collection, we’re getting this one a bit late. The first volume of Clover’s Regret, the second in the “Alternative” spinoff series, came out in 2016, after the 5th volume of the Gun Gale Online books. But we had to wait till we’re caught up with both the main series, its Progressive rewrite, *and* the GGO series before we get this spinoff. Part of that is because, unlike GGO, this never got an anime, and it features none of the main SAO cast. It doesn’t have an obvious hook to pull in Kirito casuals. The other reason, I think, is that unlike other Yen On light novel series from hell with extensive spinoffs, SAO has always been Stephen Paul’s baby, and I think we may have waited for this one just so that he can translate it properly rather than try to get someone new in. In any case, you’re not “missing” anything like we were with Re: Zero SS. This is pretty standalone.

Asuka Empire may not have the #1 ranking of ALfheim Online, but it tries harder. A far more Japanese-based MMORPH, it’s been struggling to keep its high ranking now that everyone has access to the Seed. As such, it has a new event that’s horror-based, and it’s also allowing users to submit their own game ideas to the event. Meanwhile, our heroines, matter of fact, somewhat emotionless Nayuta and genki, lovable scamp Koyomi are trying to clear one of the quests, which involves a mysterious ghost orchestra. While doing this, they meet a rarity in games like this – an old man, who has never gamed before but is really desperate to solve the ghost orchestra game for some reason. He was told about an in-game detective named Klever who might be able to help him. Why is he so interested in this quest? And what’s with that fox-faced detective?

This is another slow burner. About halfway through, I wondered, as I sometimes do with other spinoffs of popular franchises, why this could not have been a book on its own with no ties to Sword Art Online at all. But that’s just because the book saves all its twists for the second half, piling them on one after another. Not only do half the cast have a personal connection to the original Aincrad SAO game, but the ghost orchestra quest itself is written by a member of the Sleeping Knights… a member who, like so many other members of that party, has now died. (We’re told in this volume that Yuuki died “a few days ago”, which nails down the timeline.) The cast are excellent, particularly Nayuta and Klever… I’d argue that Koyomi is mere comic relief, but the author agrees with me, and states that her part was supposed to be smaller but she kept butting in. I hope she gains more depth next time.

Sorry not to go into my usual spoilers, but this book has good spoilers, so I recommend experiencing them yourself. Also, unlike GGO, this is a limited series of 3 books, so should not take up too much of your time. Go check it out.

By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

This is the 13th volume of the SAO:GGO series, and I’m pretty sure it has probably gone on longer than Keiichi Sigsawa originally planned it for. The nature of the series, after all, is basically “death game” only for once it really IS a game so we don’t need to worry about death. Which actually helps with the longevity. The cast here is large, and except for our main group we may not remember everyone all that well, but Llenn is not the only one who’s gotten famous, she’s just the poster child. We’ve also grown to see David’s seriousness as he tries his hardest to finally achieve something in a Squad Jam and always seems to not quite get there. There’s Vera, who took the series’ funniest running gag (the machine gun bros) and made them into the most dangerous team out there, taking out more of our main characters than anyone. And there’s SHINC, of course, who still don’t get to face off against Llenn. Alas.

The last volume ended with the shock of Shirley sniping Pitohui and removing her from the game. But there’s no time to dwell on that, as Llenn still has a bounty on her head and everyone wants the money associated with it. M, Fukaziroh, Boss, and Anna are trying to protect her while also getting to the center of the castle that is their final battlefield… because they’ve been told that the rest of the castle except that battlefield will soon ALSO drop off and doom everyone still in it to death by extreme falling. Clarence is holed up in a tower with good defense, but can’t really move. And Shirley has had her fondest wish granted, but is finding that “Sniper” is not really a good choice for the REST of this game. And wait, are those… ghosts?

Usually there’s one part of each book in this series that I am surprised, and here it was Pitohui returning as a ghost. I thought for sure she’d be back sooner, and torment Shirley, but no – the ghosts don’t show up till the climax, and she and Shirley never interact. Instead, the series does one of the things it does best, with is provide some ridiculous death, badass deaths, and badass AND ridiculous deaths in one book. The climax of the book is hilarious, exciting, and thrilling – I was not actually sure if Llenn really would get killed off by someone else or not till the last few pages, and everything about the rivalry between Fukaziroh and Anna – and, let’s face it, Fukaziroh in general – makes me giggle. There is even a smidge of depth here, as Karen/Llenn starts to realize, and later is told point blank by Fukaziroh, that she’s not the same shy wallflower she was at the start of the series – the game has been good for her in real life as well. It’s therapeutic.

We’ve caught up with Japan, so I’m not sure when we’ll get another of these. It’s a satisfying finish for fans of the series, though.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Last time I said that it was a good book but the plot progression was minimal, and I’d say that the plot progression is even more minimal here. It’s also not quite as good a book. Stuff happens, don’t get me wrong. Lives are put in danger, especially in the Underworld, and there is a return there of a villain that I really didn’t care about when they were around in the main Underworld arc and care less about now that their descendants have returned. On the Unital Ring side, we’re headed up to a new level, and we’re interacting more with players from different games, but I sort of feel like Kirito is a metaphor for what Kawahara is trying to do with the series. He’s trying to juggle 3-4 plots at once and can’t devote all his attention to any of them. Frankly, I’d rather that he and Asuna try to figure out if Kizmel has been magically brought back to life (clearly implied near the end) than anything with dragon spaceships.

We pick up where we left off, with Ronie and Tiese staring at Eolyne and wondering if he’s just Eugeo wearing a mask, but the answer to that is still – so far – that he is not. They all then bond in a big bath scene, but then Kirito and Asuna are dragged back to Japan while Alice gets to stay and bond with her sister some more. They head back to Unital Ring to find that everyone else is tacking the floor boss, with Lizbeth staying behind so that someone can bring them up to speed. They then arrive on the new floor… the third “game” to do so, after Asuka Empire (which Yuuki and her friends played) and Apocalyptic Date (where the players are anthro). Unfortunately, these new gamers know Kirito’s reputation, and they’re also desperate because of some poor decision making, so they decide to kidnap Yui. Also a poor decision. And back in Underworld, Alice’s reunion is interrupted by a full-blown invasion.

There were a few scenes in this book I enjoyed. The entire sequence with the robot kitten was not only adorable but also showed off the issues that AI is running into – I loved it when we were told that, if it ran on AI, the kitten would start walking around on two legs like a human. I also liked Asuna and Kirito’s brief panic on returning to Unital Ring, which was sort of darkly funny – was everyone killed off while they were gone? But honestly, the main issue with this book was that there was simply too much going on, and it didn’t give me enough depth to really care about one thing over the other. This is especially true on the Underworld side, where we still don’t quite know who the main villain is, but the ones behind the invasion are frankly a group I would have been delighted to never see again. At least it wasn’t the return of Gabriel Miller. Yet.

If you’re still reading SAO, I’d say keep going. Eugeo payoff looks like it will be coming next time, and hopefully we get some dark elves as well. Just… not in this book.

By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

This review spoils the climax of this volume, but only after the cover image, so FYI.

I have had my complaints about this series, too numerous to mention, but the one thing that has always been apparent and appreciated is how much fun Keiichi Sigsawa is clearly having writing it. Leaving aside his annoying author avatar (who comes up with a light novel title parody for the ages in the afterword), all of the gun battles and backstabs and double backstabs in this book make you smile and imagine the author typing away, pausing only to pump his fist and go “Yes!”. It oozes a sort of testosterone, which is interesting given that most of the main cast are all women. It also does not have to deal with any of SAO’s issues. No one is trapped in the game. Death is fake. There are no NPCs, and you don’t need to worry about sentience. It’s a giant sandbox to play in. That’s why everyone is here.

As you’d expect given that this is the middle volume of a Squad Jam, there’s no plot here to deal with except “watch Llenn try not to get shot”. She manages to defuse Fuka and the two of them reveal just what they’re carrying as their alternate, swap out weapon, which is genius and also relies on the two of them being besties. Pitohui gets to simply sit in a tree, shoot the occasional passing enemy, and amuse herself imagining Llenn panicking. M teams up with one of the Russian girls, Anna, in what ends up being a very nasty game of Wacky Races. Shirley is in in her element, sniping in the snow. And Clarence also hooks up with a Russian girl, though mostly their plot is “hide behind a rock”. Eventually, almost everyone meets up, but there’s a new problem: the final climax will take place in a castle, and to make everyone go inside it the ground starts to vanish!

Since the start of this series, the author has delighted in having the character want to do something and then finding ways for it not to happen. The obvious example is Llenn wanting to fight SHINC, something that she’s certainly done a few times, but never in the “fair fight, no weird tricks or rules” way that she desperately wants. (She needs to not do this in a Squad Jam, frankly.) But she’s not the only one with constantly frustrated goals, as we’ve watched Shirley desperately trying to get to the point of “snipe and kill Pitohui” and forever being frustrated, to the point where they’re mostly allies these days. And that’s what makes the end of this volume stunning, as for once one of our characters gets what they want and is satisfied. Imagine! And then there’s the capper, as I was wondering what the next volume would do without Pitohui in it, but it seems that the author has a way around that, so it should be fine.

These volumes tend to wildly swing between “excellent” and “deepl frustrating”, and this one is the former, which pleases me. The next volume wraps up the arc, and also catches up with Japan, as it only came out there three months ago. Mindless fun, in the good way.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

It’s not clear how much ;longer this arc of Sword Art Online is going to go, or if it really is the final arc in the story. I don’t think even the author knows, especially given that his afterword talks about how he gets distracted by side stories and diversions all the time and can’t advance the plot. But I think he’s thinking about it, and we get a little of that with Silica here, who gets to have most of the narration that isn’t Kirito’s when he’s in the Underworld. She’s been one of the original SAO gang for so long it’s sometimes hard to remember that she’s three years younger than most of the others, and she’s noticing that Asuna and Lisbeth aren’t playing games quite as much as they used to. It’s not framed in a “put away childish things” sort of way – indeed, Silica notes one of her friends think she’s the weird one for continuing to game so much after SAO – but hey, adulting is necessary. The real world beckons.

The plot here is neatly divided in half. On the Underworld side, Kirito, Asuna and Alice finally get to see Alice’s sister frozen in time, awaiting her return… along with two other surprise guests! Unfortunately, unfreezing them will involve Kirito and Eolyne becoming astronauts, going to one of the satellites where Kirito, pre-memory wipe, hid the information. But, of course, while there they find bad guys doing terrible things. On the Unital Ring side, the rest of the main cast need to find more ore in order to keep up with the other gamers, and doing so will involve facing off against a giant wasp nest! Can they use a dangerous flower that the SAO players know very well to try and swing the battle a little more their way? can can we really get to see a scene with Silica sitting on top of a giant bear fighting a wasp? Because that sounds pretty awesome, frankly.

This book not only thinks about the future a little bit, but also manages to recall the past. We get more “what measure is an NPC?” philosophy, but this also involves Asuna clearly thinking of Kizmel, and almost having a little breakdown. Those reading the Progressive books will know that Kizmel is hugely popular and I think the author is dragging things out a bit to use her more, but it’s also plainly obvious that she’s not going to stick around till the 75th floor, so we can guess what likely happened. And of course, we get more Underworld stuff, though of all the minor characters from that arc to make an emotional reappearance, the elevator operator was not the first one I would have guessed. It works well, though, and also allows our heroines to have a nice long bath, satisfying both Asuna’s love of bathing and also abec’s love of drawing fanservice.

So yes, the plot progression was minimal here, but this was a solid, fun read. SAO fans should be happy.

By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

It’s been about a year since the last volume of this series, and many might be forgiven for thinking that it ended. Including the author, who admits it was supposed to end about here. I mean, in terms of plot threads to resolve, there aren’t many left. Karen is no longer being forced to get married, though the denouement for that may not appeal to her. Elsa’s issues are, for the moment, somewhat resolved. The real world has never really been a big part of this series, but even so, I would not blame the author for wanting to move on and write a few more Kino’s Journey books. But here we are anyway, with another Squad Jam, and the sense that Dengeki Bunko is asking the author to please keep the series going because it’s selling well and Llenn merch is cute. As a result, we get this new volume, the first of a two-part (?) story which seems to have one purpose: mock the author mercilessly.

OK, technically every single volume of this series has done that, but this one really makes the effort to get nastier. There’s a new squad jam, and the teams are the same (meaning Clarence and Shirley are still part of the squad). There’s complicated new rules which basically amount to “one team member gets to carry alternate gear for another team member”. Oh yes, and there’s one brand-new rule that is sent to everyone BUT one player. Yes, after essentially being the poster child for every single Squad Jam since the start, Llenn has gotten TOO famous, so now the added rule is that she has a bounty on her head, and whoever kills her in this game will get a pile of REAL money. Now she not only has to try to survive, but she has to find the rest of her team – they were all separated as the event began, and there’s mist everywhere!

For all that everyone in the book hates the author for not just letting them fight, this is a fairly clever setup that allows for what people REALLY want to see in each Squad Jam, which is something different. Separating everyone in particular is a great idea, as it allows us to get interaction we would not normally see, as Llenn forms a reluctant alliance with Vivi, the leader of the machine gunner’s squad. Speaking of which, this is just a game, unlike the original SAO, but there’s still a fair amount of violent death or near death. Vivi’s fate towards the end of this book is horrifying, and would likely have to be edited from the anime if one ever gets to this point. There’s a small attempt at plot, showing Vivi and Fuka are rivals in another game, but that just sets up a cliffhanger more than anything else. It’s pretty much pure action scenes and small characterization.

So yeah, as a book it’s light as air, and you’ll be hungry again right after reading it, but it serves its purpose. Maybe wrap it up soon, please, though?

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

The basic premise of Unital Ring is that something has mashed up all the MMORPGs out there, meaning that SAO, ALO, GOO, etc. are all in the same world. This even includes American games where you choose to star as a bug (the spiders side is far more popular than the centipede side, and I don’t really blame them, though I do admit to a bit of surprise that the game is popular in the West at all.) But, as we have also discovered, Unital Ring is not just about uniting the various games our cast has played in, it’s about uniting the various arcs of the series. The first non-web novel arc Kawahara takes on sticks together all of his previous books, plus real life, plus the Underworld, which it turns out is a lot more relevant to the main plot than we’d thought. That said, the series no longer moves as fast as its first volume did, meaning that any chance of the Underworld side meeting up with the Unital Ring side is going to have to wait a bit.

The book is divided into two chunks, with a real world interlude between them. The first takes place in Unital Ring, as Kirito and company try to figure out a way to stop Mutasina and her blackmailed players from destroying the new town that’s been raised around their log cabin. This, as you can imagine, involves a lot of fighting, game stats, etc., and should be very familiar to the SAO reader. It’s hard to coordinate, though, meaning that Asuna can’t get a chance to meet up with the mysterious new transfer student who’s been trying to talk with her. As for Underworld, well, we still don’t know if Eolyne is Eugeo reborn, or a clone, or a descendant, or what, but there’s enough to make Kirito and Alice very suspicious. That said, they have a bigger issue to take care of: reuniting Alice with her sister, who has been in cryosleep.

Sword Art Online has generally never been a mystery series, nor has it relied on surprises or last minute swerves. This is good, because at this point I will be a lot more surprised if Kamura, the new transfer student, ISN’T Mutasina. Kawahara can be very straightforward. That said, this is a perfectly fine volume of Sword Art Online, though it’s suffering from being the 4th book in what is probably another 9-book arc. There are hints that Unital Ring’s plot and the Underworld plot will connect in the future, but hints are all they are now, so it does suffer a bit from having to, about 2/3 of the way through the book, shift gears and remind us to start caring about what seems like a completely different story. It will probably read better when the whole arc is out, but for now it feels a bit thin.

Still, the next book is out in Japan, and we should see it in the spring sometime. Till then, enjoy Kirito cutting things with his sword and also acting like a dumb teenage boy.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

(This review spoils the end of the book, but I’ll wait till after the cover art and summary to do so.)

For the most part, Sword Art Online is a cash cow. What this means, especially now that Kawahara is no longer relying on rewriting his webnovel, is that he is free to do what he wants and take all the time he needs without real fear of being cancelled. Now, this can be dangerous, and the series risks becoming a bit TOO meandering. But it also means that he’s happy to set up a bunch of stuff, lead us towards resolving it… and then kick it up to the next floor/book, knowing that he has time to look into it in greater detail then. This is what happens here with the ongoing Dark Elves plot. We get a few more hints about what’s going on, there’s some tantalizing angst as they worry about putting the main casino plot ahead of Kizmel’s (she assures them it’s fine.) And then the confrontation… isn’t. See you in Book 9.

Kirito frequently runs on his instincts, which usually serve him well but also get him in a pile of trouble, as they do here where he essentially decides to rescue the monster dog from where it’s being slowly tortured to death for the casino games. Which is fine, but… that means they’ve got a lot that now needs to happen, including getting Nirrnir to inspect the enemy camp’s monster stables. Unfortunately, that leads to Very Bad Things, so now Kirito and Asuna are in a race against time to try to a) beat the cheating casino, b) beat the floor boss, and c) help Kizmel get un-disgraced. Fortunately, they have each other, they have Argo, and they have the power of delicious Greek food, so it won’t be TOO hard… maybe.

So yeah, I have to admit, I was not particularly surprised at the fact that Nirrnir was a vampire, as all the signs were there in the previous book. It would have been more odd if she WASN’T. No, the surprise was that I expected our heroes to win and be able to cure her poisoning at the last minute. I wasn’t even that surprised at Kirito telling Nirrnir to drink his blood in order to stay alive – this is a classic trope of vampire stories. I was pretty surprised that this caused Kirito to become a vampire himself. And I was VERY VERY surprised that this was not resolved by the end of the book, meaning he’s going to have to take on the next floor only in the evening, as he now has all the traditional vampire weaknesses. It fits with the story in this 2-book arc, but honestly, I hope “Kirito the Vampire” is resolved sooner rather than later in Book 9. And honestly, I kind of want the dark elf plot resolved as well. I love Kizmel, but ell… sometimes Progressive *is* too meandering.

We’re caught up with Japan again, and I’m not sure when Book 9 will come out. In the meantime, please enjoy a Kirito who is probably going to be staring at Asuna’s neck even more than he normally does.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Given that this series has now been running for twenty-four volumes, it’s no surprise that the current arc is seeing a lot more discussion of what has come before. This is especially true now that Kawahara has caught up with himself and no longer has to quietly edit the crappy things he wrote when he was 20 years younger. There’s a lot of interesting stuff that never really got developed in the past that can now be looked into at more leisure. This is the concept behind the Progressive series – which these books pretty much make clear have sort of usurped the original first volume as being canonical – as well as the movie, which also gets referenced here. The line between canon versions of Sword Art Online is blurring. And given that, it’s no surprise that, despite the current death game-esque plot of Unital Ring, complete with a Death Collar of sorts for Kirito, we’re still heading back to the Underworld, which may be 200 or so years into the future but still manages to ask the important question: is *he* REALLY dead?

(Man, covers always spoil, huh? So much for my trying to be ambiguous…)

Kirito is having a bit of a rough time at the moment, though honestly compared to “I am in a coma” it’s going pretty well. In Unital Ring everyone seems to be trying to kill his party. Someone has apparently dived into the Underworld without authorization, which means there needs to be an investigation. And, most importantly, it’s Asuna’s birthday and he has to get just the right present. Frankly, he’s pretty much a dumbass about that, and it’s a good thing that Argo is back in his life to give him enough hints that he can do the right thing. Argo and Alice get to spend time with Kirito in Unital Ring this volume, as Argo has finally given in and ported her character in. Good thing too, as it turns out that it’s not just SAO, or ALO, or GGO, it’s lots of other virtual reality games. Meaning we also get GIANT INSECT BATTLES!

I suspect there may be some fans who are a bit grumpy about the supposed reveal towards the end of this book. That said, “Nobody dies in Bleach” is the phrase, not “nobody dies in SAO”. There have been important characters killed off. So I think we’re allowed to give the author a bit of rope here, especially as there’s no confirmation that it *is* who Kirito thinks it is. That said, I cannot help but be reminded of the separation of Alice Zuberg and Alice Synthesis Thirty and go “Hrrrm”. Aside from that, I continue to be amused, given his reputation as the all-powerful light novel hero, how much of this book shows Kirito being mocked or screwing up. I mean, yes, he does some cool things, but that’s mostly because his human strategy guide is back. Of course, he fares better than Asuna, who has an incredibly cool battle… recapped for us as it’s offscreen. Bleah.

This arc is settling in to be another long one, but at least it has the entire cast this time, so fans should be a bit more happy than Underworld. Till next time: d’awwww. sugar maple tree.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

As I was reading this volume of Progressive, I wondered why I was having so much trouble remembering what had happened in the previous book, then it hit me that it’s been two and a half years since the previous book. That said, it did not take long to get back into the swing of things, because as much as I sometimes can’t remember which ones are the two main rival guilds or which player killer we saw last time, as long as I remember Kirito, Asuna, Argo and Kizmel I’m good. This book deals with the seventh floor, a summer weather floor that also boasts a beach, some lovely restaurants, and a casino where you can win big… or lose your shirt. Asuna is not all that happy about having to get involved with the casino’s machinations, but when it turns out that this will also involve the dark elves, she and Kirito are quick to help. Unfortunately, after the events of the last book, they may not get a warm welcome from the elves.

The author mentions in the afterword that the main series has Kirito and Asuna separated in the current arc (Unital Ring), so he’s very happy to have them spend the entire book together like this. Indeed, it’s the bread and butter of the series, whose fans are reading it mostly to see the two be cute and romantic. We definitely get some of that here, as despite the death game aspects of the plot the start of the book could easily be a date by the seaside. We also see that when Asuna has trouble sleeping she goes to Kirito, and being next to him knocks her right out. She may not be verbally admitting anything, but her actions speak pretty loud. As for Kirito, he reminds us again and again that he’s 14, and it feels like it. For the most part he’s still thinking that Asuna needs a larger stage to shine on (i.e. one away from him), but he also feels the need to keep her at his side. It’s cute. Argo agrees with me.

As for the non-shippers plotline, we get more of the other purpose of this series, which is the idea that this is a real world that people have lived in for centuries, rather than a game populated by NPCs. This is not to say that the NPCs can’t be cliches also, as we meet the casino’s manager (a cool collected 12-year-old girl) and her battle maid. As for Kizmel, yeah, things not going so well. Not only is there a prison br3eak sequence, but they’ve got to find a way to get the keys back while at the same time dealing with the quests they have at the casino. There’s so much going on that it’s a surprise it gets fit into one book… OK, no, it doesn’t. There’s a cliffhanger, and we’ll have to wait for Book 8 to resolve it.

Fortunately, Book 8 is on sale this spring, so we will not be waiting another two and a half years. Till then, there’s lots to read about here, but mostly what we want is the cute not-yet romance. There’s plenty of that here.

By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Gotta admit, this book was an absolute treat for me. After so many volumes of everyone having to fight each other, It really is fantastic seeing all the main characters team up, NOT fight each other, and work towards a united goal. There’s still lots of enemies to defeat, of course, and trust me when I say Shirley is still looking for any opportunity she can to snipe Pitohui, but for the most part this is the most relaxed and fun a SAO Alternative volume has ever been. There’s even a cute dog! That said, while I was very happy, it’s worth noting that this book is about a cast of young women who really, really, REALLY like to shoot at each other. They’re not SAO survivors, there’s no worry of real death, they just like the adrenaline rush, it excites them. As such, the ending of this book should have really been obvious. And yes, it also revolves around the cute dog.

After wrapping up Karen’s karaoke party of sad, with Elza telling everyone her life story (all lies, M gives us her true life story, though she tells him that may ALSO be lies), We hear about a new team event involving “five ordeals”. This will finally allow Llenn’s group to team up with SHINC (it’s made clear that Llenn really does regard the 4th squad jam as achieving her fight with them, despite the interruptions) as well as perpetual hangers-ons Clarence and Shirley. The ordeals themselves are introduces to us by a cute talking NPC dog (a Schipperke), who tells them it’s basically five tasks, all with different rules, different areas, and ascending levels of difficulty. Can they battle zombies, fight robots, ascend snow-buried buildings, and take on CYBER-DRAGONS?

So I feel it’s OK to mention this, as the website Does the Dog Die? is literally namechecked in the book: the dog doesn’t die. This is despite the entire final chapter revolving around the dog dying – it’s a very self-aware book, and allows us to actually get some depth to Miyu, who is allowed to be more than just the wacky comic relief here (though she’s that too, no worries). As for the rest, it’s what you expect from this series: the fights are awesome, the banter is fun, there’s a few betrayals, and the author cannot stop dragging his self-insert around like a corpse. It’s also fun seeing Llenn finally come to terms with the fact that just because she is a cute pink tyke doesn’t mean that she’s not just as scary or even scarier than Pitohui is. Seeing her wonder “wait, is this why everyone is wary of me?” may be the best joke in the book. And again, the entire relationship between Fukaziroh and the NPC dog was fantastic and even heartwarming, which is not really a beat this series is good at.

I suspect we get a Squad Jam next, but for a change of pace this was excellent. Enjoy our heroes working together in peace… even if they don’t want to really.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Definitely enjoying seeing this series now that Kawahara, a good 20 years older than his SAO Vol. 1 self, knowing his strengths and weaknesses and using them to good effect. There are heroines in peril here, but there is very little of the fanservicey “hero saves the girl from the predator” that we used to see constantly in this series. The humor is mostly character-based, and rarely feels forced. Kirito is powerful and tends to still get the “last boss kill”, but the nature of Unital Ring means he’s struggling a lot more, and he also has the grace to pass on some of his rewards to more deserving people. And we get, for the first time in the main series, Argo becoming a supporting player. Created for the Progressive novels and then put in the anime, manga and games, she’s always been a ghost presence in the main series itself. Now she gets a name – Tomo – and an agenda, which is more than just “tease Kirito constantly”. Though, well, she does that too, of course.

The plot is mostly a ‘rescue arc’ of sorts – everyone else in Kirito’s group was playing ALO when the Unital Ring changeover happened, but Sinon was in GGO, so she ends up being a long ways away from any of her allies. She’s confused, mistakenly branded as a PKer, caught dying of thirst in a desert, and forced to fight a massive dinosaur with the help of some bird people who don’t even speak Japanese. It is awesome, easily the best part of the book, and benefits greatly from the lack of Kirito’s POV. Elsewhere, Kirito’s party ad their log cabin are being reinforced, but a lot of players keep trying to attack him. Why? And Argo’s back (yes, she’s Tomo, but Kirito does not really make the switch so I won’t either), and is (unsurprisingly) now a crack reporter, here to rip open one of the more closemouthed folks in the cast – Kikuoka.

I’ve made no secret about my love of Argo, and though she doesn’t get much to do here, there’s a promise of more. I enjoyed the fact that her response to Kirito’s “where have you been all this time” was a polite “none of your business”, and also intrigued that (sorry, game continuity) she hasn’t been in ALO or GGO or even back in a game at all since the SAO disaster ended, though she hints that may change. In the meantime, it’s nice to see the cast work as a core cast, as opposed to being Kirito and his harem. Everyone apart from Alice and Asuna (who are minding the fort) gets something to do, with Yui being the most impressive. Now that she’s a physical part of Unital Ring (and could theoretically die if she’s killed, sorry, Shirou) she’s busy learning sowrds, learning magic, and basically becoming Little Miss Badass. Kirito is, needless to say, both proud and fretful.

So yes, this was a good solid volume, and I’m glad SAO has finally seemed to have matured, after several false alarms. Can’t wait for more.