Please note
This review is all subjective and my own personal opinion. You do not have to agree with it, nor am I asking you to. I hope that this just helps you get an idea of what the anime I am talking about is like and form a basic and general consensus on it. The ratings I give anime and manga are mostly my personal overall enjoyment. I have not read the light novels. This review will be spoiler free, with most of the images sourced from the film trailer found on YouTube. TL;DR will be at the bottom.
Sword Art Online is a big series, so I am likely to make some errors on information regarding plot points and so on, especially in the next section of the review. If you see any, please send a message to me so I can fix it.
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Introduction
In 2012, the anime Sword Art Online, an adaptation of the light novel under the same name, was released to the world. From there, Sword Art Online would spawn many sequels, with two more seasons and a movie, as well as a spin off. It is safe to say Sword Art Online has become a pretty big series, gaining a lot of fame and fans, whilst at the same time sparking many debates, as most popular anime do.
In the same year the first season of Sword Art Online came out, the Sword Art Online Progressive light novels series began, setting out to be a more in depth version of the Aincrad arc. From what I have read around on different forums on this website, Progressive adds a lot more content than the original light novels, with the original light novels supposedly skipping the first 40-50 levels of Aincrad, and having Kirito and Asuna's relationship already developed. Progressive instead starts from the very beginning at floor one. In 2021, Progressive received its first anime adaptation, Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night, which covers half of volume one. Generally, the reception of the Sword Art Online Progressive has been quite positive, with some saying that it removed a lot of the bad elements the original series had.
Going into this movie, I recalled my past with Sword Art Online. I was 11 when I first found the series, somehow finding it on Australian television broadcast (it was dubbed). After watching one episode, I got hooked, and stayed up every night to watch it. At the time, I was completely captivated by the series, producing a feeling that I am yet to experience again from watching an anime. A year later or so, I watched season 2 and whilst my enjoyment was not to the scale of the first season, I still found it to be a good watch. Over the years, as I diversified my taste in anime and heard criticisms many people had on Sword Art Online, I began to become more critical on the series. Was it actually good, or did I just enjoy it due to my age at the time? Is Sword Art Online really that bad? I never ended up watching season 1 again, but I still had fond memories watching it. Watching this movie, I went in a little critical, expecting a lot of the bad points the original series had, but also with the thought that Progressive was supposedly better. And so, I sit here, writing this review not long after I saw the movie, perhaps with a little bias at hand, ready to discuss Sword Art Online Progressive.
Is it a better reboot of the series or just a meaningless restart with all of the flaws the original series were known for?
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Plot and SettingI do not think Sword Art Online is known for its strong plot. Thinking back on it, the plot was not really the shining point of the anime, with its other aspects carrying it through. One of my friends stated that Sword Art Online had "braindead storytelling and action" and I can see why.
Sword Art Online's plot (more so in regard to the first arc, Aincrad) is pretty simple most of the time, people are stuck inside a VRMMORPG with death at their doorstep and to escape they must beat the 100 floors of the game. It is quick to tell us that this is pretty much impossible, with many players voicing their loss of hope. It sounds simple, maybe a little uninspired but for me, this made for a pretty interesting setting for a couple of reasons.
Now, just having the concept that when you die in a game you die in real life is not something innovative, but how the characters handle and react to that is what draws more attention. Here is one thing I think Sword Art Online did well, which was showcasing the loss of hope, and the nature of people when they know they could die so easily at any moment in a virtual world, which leads to real life consequences. Over the course of Sword Art Online (this is not fully explored in the movie though, since it has not gone though much, so this
could be some minor spoilers in regards to the entire Aincrad arc, as according to the
original series), we see players taking different paths. Many give up entirely and try to maintain a relatively peaceful and normal life. Some take to killing others. And then there are those who are committed in clearing the game, going through each floor and its boss. It is straightforward but seeing the contrast as to the path different people walked down was quite fascinating. However, this point is not really existent in this movie in particular, as it only explores a small portion of the Aincrad arc and it has not progressed far enough to see that develop yet, but I do see it becoming a point of focus later on.
Another thing this setting adds is the depiction of the loss of hope. Losing all hope is quite dire, it is not common that we lose it completely. Hope is sometimes the only thing that keeps us going, but when we lose it all, what drives us forward? After
Kayaba Akihiko announces that dying in the game means dying in real life, what soon follows is a scene where many people fall into disbelief, despair, and loss of hope. This scene for me was interesting to see, as it put more of an emphasis on the dire situation all of these players have been put in. Furthermore, later on in the movie we see the beginnings of those who give up, with many stating the death count being so high even though they are on the first floor. In later scenes, we see
Spoiler, click to view
a group of players fall mercy to a trap, mercilessly beaten by a horde of enemies. Their guttural screams echo through the caverns, and all Asuna and Mito can do is watch and run away as they soon reach their death. Scenes like that are not common throughout the movie, but it depicted the brutality of the game, once again reminding the viewers the dangers the players face, as well as the brutal reality of the world. You cannot always save everyone.
Moving back onto the plot, in this movie it is not something I can say it is a strength of. It keeps things going, but ultimately it is not something to call home about. Basic you could say, similar to the original series. That said, basic plots are not bad in itself, as they are typically easier to understand and get into. You could argue that Sword Art Online is better aimed towards a younger audience, and so having an easy to understand plot makes it easier for that demographic to enjoy the series. The overarching plot is that they are stuck in virtual world, and they need to progress through the game's floors in order to escape. This movie in particular did not detract far from that, but later on in the original anime series the plot does diversify a bit. This may be the case in future Progressive movies. At one point in the movie, I realised there were only 30 minutes left, and I felt much more time was needed. Within 1 hour and 37 minutes, it did not feel like that much happened at all. It is a consequence of adapting a big series into movies, I think it would have done better as a television series so that it could be more fleshed out and not have to skip so much, but it being a movie does have an added benefit of a higher production value. There were not many plot twists in the movie, but there were some which I will discuss later on in the character section of the review.
In many isekai, the mechanics of the world are another point given attention to. The movie does not have much time to explain the intricacies of the world and its system, but the basic stuff is presented to the viewer, such as skills and tactics such as 'switching'. These are not exactly explained to the viewer in great detail, with 'switching' just being used without prior discussion or explanation. It is pretty easy to figure out what 'switching' is and how it works, but I do recall the original series explaining it, but I could be wrong. I think that was ultimately a result of it being a movie and not having enough time to do such things. If you are a big fan of RPG mechanics in anime, you may be disappointed as the movie does not go into great detail on them, most likely due to a lack of time. From what I have seen though, the light novel does explain those mechanics in greater detail.
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CharactersSword Art Online Progressive takes place in a world with many players, but in reality only a select few are focused on. Progressive also introduces one new character that was not present in the original series.
Asuna is the main protagonist of Progressive, taking her perspective of the series instead of Kirito's in this film.
Unlike the original Sword Art Online anime, this anime begins with Asuna. In the original series, Kirito first meets her later on in the anime, but in Progressive it is essentially switched. This allows for Asuna to get a bit more development than she did previously, which was a change that was certainly welcome. She was a decent character already, but this sets up her character to become even better. Progressive gives us more of an insight of how Asuna got into Sword Art Online, and that she did not start out as a powerful swordswoman as the original series shows. Instead, at the beginning she is illustrated as someone completely unfamiliar to the game, easily taken down by the weakest enemies. With the guidance of
Mito, her skills improve, and she soon becomes the skilful rapier wielder most know her as. This small addition made her more of an entertaining character to watch, as well as adding much needed character development in the movie.
Mito, a new character in Progressive, serves as Asuna's friend and guide at the beginning.
I am not actually sure if Mito appeared in the Progressive light novels, as she is not listed as a character on its page.
Adding a new character into the series naturally got a lot of people sceptical, myself included. How would they insert a new character in an already existing story? Would they heavily alter it to fit her in, or instead just place her in with the same plot of the original series? This movie did both, in some ways.
The film is quick to establish the two are friends in real life in school. Unsurprisingly, they formed their friendship through video games. There is not much set up for it, but then again there was not much time to do that. Viewers of the original series may just see that and think "who is that?" or think of it as a weak addition. This however, opened up more avenues for Asuna's character to develop.
Seeing Asuna having a close friend at the beginning was nice to see, just her simply enjoying herself with someone else. It showed more of her personality and further built upon her character. As the film moved into the game, Mito opened up Asuna's development even more, with Mito serving as her jumping board, guiding her to become stronger. This helps make Asuna less of a bland character who is just powerful from the very beginning, albeit her path to strength was quite short.
I have just been talking about Asuna, so what about Mito herself? Mito does not get much time to fully establish her character, but for the first half of the movie I would say she is a good addition. There is not really much to her character, in fact you could so far as to say she just another version of Kirito. Someone good at games, strong in Sword Art Online and has an overall 'cool' vibe. Personally though, I found her more interesting than Kirito, especially in this film. At the beginning of the film, Mito serves to be Asuna's guide and assists her way throughout the game. They quickly form a party and go adventuring together, a lot of which is shown through a montage. Montages are a common technique used in films, to depict a significant amount of time and development in a short amount of time, allowing the creators to use more time in more important things.
There is however, a major turning point in the relationship between the two. This is a pretty big spoiler,
Spoiler, click to view
to put it broadly, Asuna and Mito are put in a disastrous battle, with them eventually becoming separated. With both characters nearing death and Mito unable to reach Asuna, she leaves the party and ditches Asuna. Both of them are expectedly distraught, Mito running away in tears. Asuna is about to die, but of course Kirito appears and saves her. This moment had me a bit disappointed, as it felt that the separation of the two was only for Kirito to make his way into the story. Initially I was a bit displeased that the two separated, as I liked seeing the two together and it made Progressive more unique to its predecessor. However, as I gave it more thought as I saw the effect it had on Asuna, I saw that there was potential to make things engrossing. Asuna began to become more isolated, becoming a solo player which is how we first see her in the original series. This gave a little more backstory as to why she plays alone at first, which was a nice addition. Alas, on Mito's side of things, it was not handled as well. It does show her regret of leaving Asuna and breaking her promise initially, but then her role is just taken over by Kirito.This leads to Mito's quality taking a downfall in the latter half of the film. Initially, I posed the question as to whether the story was altered to fit her in, or she was just placed into the original plot. If the first half of the film does the former, then the second half of the film does the latter.
Spoiler, click to view
Kirito then essentially replaces Mito, becoming Asuna's partner and Mito then disappears, only for her to reappear not too long after in the boss raid meeting, making the separation feel quite meaningless. They do not talk until the actual boss battle, but they are quick to reconcile. Sure, it was in the heat of the battle, and they needed to cooperate in order to defeat the boss, but it felt too easy. After they defeat the boss, it felt as though the creators had a hard time fitting her into the scene, as it appeared they wanted to copy the 'beater' scene quite faithfully, so she just is left out. Furthermore, as Asuna and Kirito are heading up, they have a few words and then they go their separate ways, with Asuna going up to the next floor and Mito going back. It was as if all of the previous development the two had together was just gone and she just decides to go with Kirito, who arguably she had a weaker bond with. She does say her reason as to why she goes with him, but for me it was not very satisfactory. I would have much preferred for Mito to go up with her. I cannot say things are looking good for her for the future movies. I am not sure as to whether she will play a minor role in the future movies, with the previously established Kirito and Asuna pair taking the lead, or whether she will find herself back in a main role.In the end, do I find Mito to be a good addition to Sword Art Online? For the first half of the movie, I would definitely say so. She added more development to Asuna and she was a decent character on her own. Later on in the movie however, she may as well not been there. I hope she plays a better role in the future movies. She definitely has potential.
Of course, Kirito, the icon of Sword Art Online, makes a return.
I must admit, when I first watched Sword Art Online, I really liked Kirito. He was really cool, powerful and most of all, he always wore black. Now however, it is harder for me to like him, especially in Progressive where he only appears later in the movie essentially taking over Mito. In the original series, as he was the protagonist and had more screen time, so he was a bit better from what little I can remember. In Progressive however, he was just a bland protagonist who was not as interesting to watch, especially when I had been exposed to Mito beforehand. It would be pretty hard to drop him from the series entirely, as that would likely lead to backlash, but I personally would have liked to see the direction it could have taken where Kirito becomes a supporting character with Asuna and Mito as the two leads. There is not really much to say about him, he is quite a simple character that should be very familiar with viewers of the original series. He is pretty much the same.
Character development wise Asuna had the most and best character development in my opinion, with the other main characters Mito and Kirito receiving very little. I felt that Asuna's character development was one of the stronger parts of the film, something that it holds over the original anime. Seeing her grow from someone who struggled to deal with the weakest mobs, to someone who could hold her own was pleasing to see.
Other than these three characters, there is no one else worth discussing in detail. They are all quite minor and do not have enough to them for me to discuss. Most of them are pretty much the same as they were in the first Sword Art Online anime. They made the world feel more fleshed out but were ultimately weak or disengaging characters especially in comparison to the main cast.
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Animation and action
The action was a part of Sword Art Online that I recall being a stronger part of the series. Fights were captivating and helped me stay engaged in the series. In this movie, there was not a large amount of action so if you were solely looking for that you may be disappointed. For the fights in this movie however, I would say they are satisfactory, to the Sword Art Online standard. The animation was good too, animating most scenes to a good level. The setting was nicely depicted too, which is one of the points I liked about Sword Art Online.
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MusicYuki Kaijura makes a return in composing the music for this film. Not only did she compose the music in the original Sword Art Online anime and its successors, she is also well known for her work in the
Fate series as well as
Madoka Magica. Yuki Kaijura is one of my favourite composers, I have repeatedly enjoyed the music she has crafted for anime as well as her work with the now disbanded
Kalafina. There are a lot of iconic sounds Kaijura uses in her music, and you can most certainly hear them in this film. Her composition for the battle music helped uplift the action, making it all the more engaging and entertaining to take in. The music was one aspect of the film I greatly enjoyed.
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Comparing Progressive to the originalThe beginning half of the film has considerable differences to the original series. Firstly, it is all from Asuna's perspective and it reveals to us how Asuna entered the world of Sword Art Online. Most of the beginning with her and the newly introduced Mito is all original content the previous series never explored, providing more backstory for Asuna. In the second half of the film after Kirito is introduced, the plot is very similar to the original series only with Mito inserted into the background. How they initially meet is different, but things play out in a similar manner.
At the beginning of the review, I posed this question.
Is it a better reboot of the series or just a meaningless restart with all of the flaws the original series were known for?
As the Progressive anime currently stands, it is hard to say. This movie only adapts a very small amount of the light novel, only covering half of volume one. The first half of the movie is mostly original content, but in the later half most of it is very similar to the original series. If I had to answer the question right now, I would have to say I do find this to be a better beginning overall, albeit with some pressing issues. Having Asuna as the lead was a better choice in my opinion, as I prefer her as a character over Kirito. Her development was well handled within the time constraints, and the new character addition handled itself in the beginning. However, it was let down by forcing itself to follow the original story, eventually leading to the two other main characters becoming weaker in the overall plot.
As for the future of Progressive, a sequel was announced at the end of the credits. With how this movie ended, I am not sure what the outlook for this movie is. I am still wondering as to whether Mito will play a significant role in the next movie or not. Supposedly the next movie will skip to volume 4, skipping a lot of content. Regardless, I am looking forward to what the sequel holds.
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Conclusion and TL;DRIn the end despite its flaws, it was a decent film, something I enjoyed. You can watch this film without seeing the original Sword Art Online series, but I believe this film is best suited towards fans of the series, especially at what the Progressive anime stands at right now. It can be a pretty entertaining revisit to the series for those who enjoyed Sword Art Online, and I can see Asuna fans liking her added content. After watching this movie, it has made me feel like watching Sword Art Online again, even if it is just for nostalgia. In summary:
- A basic plot that keeps the film going, but ultimately it does not feel like much happens at all.
- The setting allows for the intriguing depiction of the loss of hope, as well as how people react and deviate from each other when placed in a perilous situation.
- The game elements have potential, but they are not fully explored within this movie.
- With Progressive taking a focus on Asuna instead, she becomes a stronger character with more backstory and character building than the original series.
- Mito, the new character introduced in Progressive, starts off as a good partner to Asuna, but falls off in the later parts of the movie.
- Kirito is the same as usual, but with less screen time and feels more shoved in.
- The animation and action are decent points of the film, helping it become more entertaining.
- The music heavily uplifts the action and helps keep one engaged.
If you read the entire review, you have my thanks. It turned out to be quite long, but as I found out whilst writing this review, I enjoy discussing Sword Art Online. I can see many disagreeing with my points, and that is understandable. If you want to send me feedback on my reviews, please post a comment on this thread. Hopefully you were able to get something out of this review. If you did not like this review, then I apologise for wasting your time.
