Back to PPGN_DM_Exia's Profile PPGN_DM_Exia's Profile

Compared to the original, I feel like this one lived up to its predecessor. Overall, if you enjoyed the original, you'll be satisfied.

I would argue that Sekai aside, Fumina and Yuuma are both far more interesting than either of the original leads. They both have rivalries built into their back stories, rivalries that are established early and resolved in a satisfying if predictable way. This is done by having the protagonists often interact with their rivals well before they meet in battle, something that wasn't usually the case in the original.

Story wise, this follows the typical anime tournament structure like the original. The ... obligatory training episodes were a lot more engrossing then in other shows, especially with the Meijins around. There really isn't an antagonist (unlike the original), so the story does lean on personal rivalries to add weight to the battles, which I believe was a good decision.

Battle animation hasn't missed a beat, though like the original, but the over-reliance on Sekai using some new DBZ-esque attack gets rather tiresome. I guess if you liked G Gundam, this might be a positive.

Overall, a solid series that maintains the quality of the original, while providing protagonists with more interesting back stories.

Well your favorite gals Leafa, Silica and Liz get the spotlight with Kirito/Asuna somewhat mysteriously absent. There's a quest, and they meet a Kirito look-alike who turns out to be a girl named Hiyori (opposite of SAOII?) who is also a SAO survivor. Their (Leafa/Silica/Liz) determination to help her overcome some of her own SAO trauma appears to be the heart of the story going forward.

It's nice to see these girls get some more characterization. Within the group, Leafa is the over-excited one, Liz is the joker, Silica is the kind but occasionally jealous one. Hiyori (aka Kuro/Lux) is a loner who plays to ... strengthen herself and lessen her reliance on others (which apparently caused her friend's death in SAO). Of course she ends up joining the trio when they bail her out of a boss fight. This character development seemed rather premature in my opinion.

It does strike a lighter tone, not unlike the Caliber arc of SAO 2. They briefly discuss the crazy fact that they survived the horrors of SAO and still came back to play more games like it. This bit of retrospect is welcome and is something that the anime needed more of.

Overall, if you like the characters (minus Kirito) of SAO and don't mind some occasional fanservice, you should check this out. Just don't expect it to change your fundamental impressions of the franchise as a whole.