Sword Art Online: Progressive

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In a nutshell, this light novel scratches an itch that had been bothering me since I watched the main SAO anime… Mostly good ideas that weren't developed enough (like a balanced battle couple or long-term survival inside an MMO), or drowned in… not as good ideas (like harem characters or other, less interesting video games).

So far it's a been a tremendous read (8 volumes published and read as I write this).

First, a very important point: it isn't necessary to know the original light novel or anime to get into this one (in short, it's because it's an expanded re-telling of the beginning).


What is the original ... story about?

Let's make a quick, spoiler-free summary of the pitch. The NerveGear is some highly advanced version of a Virtual Reality headset, except that it encompasses all five senses. Sword Art Online is a new MMO video game that uses the NerveGear, and the story starts with the opening of the retail version. Roughly 10000 players connect to the game and make their first steps inside with full immersion.

At first it's all fun and games, but soon the logout button vanishes, and players are told that they're stuck inside the game until the final boss on the 100th floor is cleared. The problem is that the NerveGear, being connected to the nervous system, will kill any player that is disconnected from the outside, or that has their character killed. It takes a few weeks for the surviving players to organize themselves properly and start progressing through the game.

The story focuses on two such players: veteran player Kirito, who is already familiar with the game because he played the beta, and beginner Asuna, who knows nothing about video games and simply borrowed her brother's NerveGear out of curiosity.


What is the Progressive novel about?

In the original story, the storyarc that actually covers Sword Art Online (the game) is quite short: 1 volume in the light novel, 14 episodes in the anime, due to a time-skip that glosses over the first year and a half. Unfortunately, the following arcs have, in my opinion, never been as powerful as this first one.

So the author's decision to "soft reboot" the story with Progressive was a welcomed one. In theory, he's simply telling the details that happened in the first year and a half. In practice, he adds a large amount of new things, and includes plot points that he came up with only later on in the original story.

Please note that you shouldn't base your opinion on the two movies that were released with the moniker "Sword Art Online Progressive". They don't follow the story properly and the narration is quite bland compared to the novel (mostly because they removed important elements to make room for the Mito character that doesn't exist in the novels).


What's the tone of the story?

The world of Sword Art Online is a classic European medieval world, and there's no magic. So you can expect the usual style of adventure that you'd get in a Dungeons & Dragons story.

However, it's also an MMO, and that comes with its share of quirks: characters have levels, they are capable of moves that the humain players wouldn't be able to pull, places and non player characters can be instantiated (different versions for different players), weapons and armors can be upgraded, dungeon monsters can drop loot, and so on.

I found that the narration did great introducing those intricate notions to the reader that wouldn't be familiar with MMO games. The trick is that Kirito knows all about it and he gets to explain everything to Asuna. But exposition is kept to a minimum and Asuna is quick-witted, so those explanations are always brief.

Finally, the tone is rather serious. There's a bit of comedy here and there, but it's very limited and the novel favors consistent storytelling instead. Since the players are going through the levels of an MMO game, there's a lot of "carefree adventuring", with recurring characters. Asuna and Kirito are lone wolves but they get involved in a bit of political scheming:
- They don't join any guild but try to influence the two dominant guilds from the outside, in order to maintain the balance between them and keep toxic behaviors under control (some players don't handle the "game of death" well).
- There's a long quest chain called the "Elven Wars" that Asuna and Kirito follow, that comes with its share of intrigue.


What's specific to the Progressive novels?

The most striking new thing is the importance of female lead Asuna and the relationship between both protagonists.

- In the original story, they team-up at the beginning, but it's implied that they went their separate ways soon after, because when they meet again a year and a half later, they don't know each other that well. The story focused heavily on Kirito. Also, I don't think that the author intended Asuna to become such an important character at first (she doesn't really becomes important until later on).
- In the Progressive story, Kirito and Asuna remain teamed-up after the beginning. So the story gives them an equal share of importance, and their relationship is much, much more developed (although the famous romance between them isn't in place yet by volume 8).

This is especially good news for Asuna fans, or simply people that like a balanced battle couple. So if you like your battle shounen with a small main cast and well-developed relationships among them, this is really, really good.

The second important addition is AI.

- In the original story, the author decided to include NPC capable of self-consciousness and emotion only later on. The current arc, Unital Ring, seems to indicate that he wants this to become a crucial plot point.
- In tne Progressive story, NPCs that undergo such a transformation appear almost from the start, one of them nearly becoming a third main character.

This opens a new Pandora box: Kirito and Asuna, by interacting with self-conscious NPCs, get to circumvent the game developer's intentions. This shakes up the formula nicely.

Third important change: no harem!

- In the original story, the SAO arc was (almost) free of harem vibes, but things took a turn for the worse in later arcs. It was all the more stupid that the ML was already in a stable romantic relationship by that point, so the harem was pointless story-wise. It was clearly just an after-thought dictacted for marketing reasons.
- In the Progressive story, while several female characters come and go around Kirito and Asuna, the author seems to take into account that those two are destined to be together. So there can be a bit of innuendo for comedic purposes, but mercifully no harem.


What's next?

By the time I'm writing this (2024), the last published volume is from 2021, and the author has to juggle between several series in parallel. He said that he wants to write more about the Elven Wars, so hopefully more volumes are coming. I sincerely hope that the wait won't be much longer, because SAO Progressive is, in my opinion, the best part of the SAO franchise.

Even in its unfinished state so far, I strongly recommend it: after all, thanks to the existing main series, we already know where things are going in the long run.

My enjoyment for SAOP volume 1 was just ineffable. The premise, characters, and pacing of the story was an upgrade from the original SAO itself; the latter substantiated by the fact that this novel published after Reki Kawahara, the author of this magnificent series, has palpably improved his writings. Furthermore, the myriad details which dawn the more auspicious personalities for our protagonists: Kirito & Asuna. Albeit taken aback by the notion of revitalizing the Aincrad series, there is gain from doing so; Reki Kawahara has improved his writings from the dozens of novels he had written in the past, and took those experiences, thus exploiting ... his eloquence in a much mature and fluid manner. Another virtue of this book is its translations. I envisage the translator putting in effort and consideration in choosing the words, and I rarely see any typos nor awkward sentences. In conclusion, it's a must-read if you enjoyed SAO, though felt like there were flaws. Then SAOP may perhaps be the key to change your perspective and enjoy what the premise of SAO in a better experience.

Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 8
(continuation of volume 7, Casino Floor, Published in English on June 7th. 2022.).

This is the 10th. Anniversary of the Sword Art Online franchise. It actually turns out that this year 2022, 10,000 players will get stuck into a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), called Sword Art Online, SAO, (on Nov. 4th. 2022). It is called a Death-Game by its author because the players must finish it or die trying…Without any pomp or circumstance, the author and his team (publisher, anime producer, etc.) have not really prepared anything special to celebrate the date in which the ... alternate reality world game started. They just have a second film (Scherzo of a Deep Night) launch scheduled for Japan and the U.S. For the rest of the World, the 10 year anniversary celebration will probably occur in 2023, if at all…
This Volume 8, was finished together with Volume 7 in 2020, the author and the Japanese publisher chose January 2021, for Volume 7 and March 2021 for Volume 8, Fifteen months later, the fans and readers of the SAO franchise in the rest of the World, get to read for the first time, Volume 8, which was delayed from it’s 31 of May original date, to the 7th of June, 2022.
Author is not launching or publishing any SAO volumes on the 10th. Anniversary of the Death Game. Anime producers did create a 10th. Anniversary logo (black and white) with half a face (that could be anyone and it is meant to be Kirito) and 10th. Anniversary, Animation Sword Art Online written at the bottom (from Kadokawa).
For me, Sword Art Online, was my first anime-light novel series. It had strong ethical values, a constant fight versus right and wrong, good versus evil. It was also the first time, venturing into the VRMMORPG/LitRPG genre that is so widespread today.

Changes point of view of narrator at the drop of a hat, without warning or direction.
ABEC’s illustrations of Asuna and Kirito, almost make them become other people, they look younger and different, almost as if his style of drawing changed in the middle of the Progressive series…
Volumes 7-8 were a two part volume, called Rhapsody of
Crimson Heat by the author. He uses “song” synonyms and styles in his SAO Light novel series since the beginning, he explained that he played with the idea of following a musical pace, style, etc. to tell his story. Author wrote in the “Afterword”: “to address the subtitle of the seventh-floor story, “Rhapsody” is a word that refers (among other things) to a free-flowing musical composition that is unbound by most traditional forms. My initial plan was for the seventh floor to consist of a number of independent events happening in succession, but the casino plot turned out to carry most of the weight on its own.”

Casino Floor was part of the 2 month Beta Test, according to the Progressive Series, but was not reached in the original SAO Light novel series or the anime series. (Because Beta-Testers only reached the sixth floor in the two month-time).
Author talks about the “Dark Elves - Keys Quest” will be present on Volume 9, but says that the Dark Elves arc started on Floor 3, on Volume 2 of the Progressive Series.
Volume 8, writes about foul play/ fraud, by one of the two families that are trying to gain control of the main Casino. The Progressive series deals with Asuna’s Hot-Bath fetish, and the fancy eating around the different floors that the game designers added to the SAO game. In part it was a way to change it up for the author, or to fill up the new Progressive series with bath and eating anecdotes.
Then there is a desperate quest to save a noble damsel, with vampires, poisonous snakes and even Dragons.
Knowing the author, another volume will probably be turned in, in December/January. So in English we will see it, by mid 2024. Because Volume 5-6 were a one floor, two part volume, and Volume 7-8 were also a one floor, two part volume, most probably this style of writing will continue.

If author/publisher weren't so lazy/greedy/bad to their fans/readers, this series could have been published in 4 Volumes, costing them half, and saving them 2-3 years in wait-time...I think author will abandon this series for lack of time at around volume 10-15.