Sword Art Online 2 capitalises on the new real estate of the franchise to bring us a narrative, born from a vastly undersold VRMMO-based world, that is far more integral to the characters we know and love. This sequel ignores countless distractions and presents us with a real narrative that takes advantage of the greater world, characters actual motivations, and brings us a real tear-jerker that hits some really high notes and dedicates time to some real lows.

I expected a lot less from Sword Art Online giving the, while really fun, the shallow exterior of its predecessor. Given its regular criticism since its debut, the world of Gun Gale Online is only as strong as the other VRMMOs we've seen; though actually creating a richer experience. I'd anticipated this interesting mix of faux-Call of Duty and Star Wars iconography to fall flat, yet I appreciate that much to its credit, it never claims to be more than it actually is.

The first thing I have to give this show credit for is the narrative. This show has a plot the writers can be truly proud of - one that covers some really deep topics. There is real pride in the sense that the writers acknowledged Kirito's experience as actually traumatic rather than essentially glossing past it, and witnessing this plot follow through after the previous season gives me greater faith in the writers as I move on to Ordinal Scale. I'm glad they're not just brushing this all off with Kirito screaming into view and suddenly becoming impossible to defeat, and follows a cardinal rule of all storytelling: if you give a character power, you must also give them a limitation. I also enjoy watching Kirito utterly mince any opponent, but the narrative becomes predictable and I see no reason to continue consuming the franchise if I know what deal I'm getting each time. Controversially, this story doesn't even start with Kirito -- a refreshing direction, though one that I feel highlights Kirito's weaknesses and I hope they bring more strength to his character in the future to cement the experiences he's had so far. Sinon is the first character we're introduced to and instantly became a favourite. Her parallel to Kirito is really important to the grander story, and she fit in nicely without really taking any focus away from the direction Kirito was going in, complementing him along the way and becoming a strong character in her own right. Honourable mention for this series too: Asuna gets the focus she deserves and really hit a nerve to end the series, which brings to light how every cour in this series is well worth a watch.

We're still welcomed back to the SAO-verse through Kirito. I feel the writers have done this for familiarity really and to warm us up with a character we love before he becomes secondary. Having survived SAO and ELO, Kirito's experience in the real world with the family he's created from fellow survivors (and his self-established sense of belonging, an important theme in the show) is short-lived when he's dragged into an investigation by an employee of a big technology firm concerned about some suspicious events in Gun Gale Online; asking Kirito to investigate. While I feel they could've done Kirito more justice by dwelling on his anxiety and triggers upon this invitation, they do still identify reluctance to get involved. There are benefits and drawbacks Kirito as a character suffers which as an older become more evident for me. The implication that Kirito has to have a sword everywhere it goes, despite the insanely cool scenes this makes way for, is tiring and makes Kirito feel unadaptable -- this is Gun Gale Online, and the writers failed to even make hand-held weapon load-outs even seem like a respectable choice in the world, and creates a level of disbelief that fortunately doesn't become impossible to suspend but increasingly difficult the more you see Kirito perform unrealistic feats in a completely different world. They make up for it of course, but no spoilers. Furthermore, the insistence to keep Kirito joyful despite the emotional distress he's experiencing rather than establishing some sense of comic relief elsewhere in this vast narrative is disappointing. That aside, Kirito undergoes some real change in this story, coming to terms with some of that trauma over the entire first cour -- a change that is even respected in the further cours -- and seeing him hit a limitation finally was grossly rewarding. Of cours, I don't want to see him in actual danger and his powers not being godlike for a change, but this created room for a challenge Kirito had to think differently about. Running at someone with an angry face won't solve his problems, and I hope the writers continue to challenge Kirito in this way in future seasons.

There's also Sinon, the second most important character and the real star of the first cour, who I have to admit (by the point of growing tired of Asuna and Kirito's magical romance I've grown accustomed to now) is my favourite character on lots of her own merits. We know that SAO has failed female characters so far, with many of them breaking through the Bechdel Test like a train through a tunnel. The writers go to massive effort to show how traumatic experience, mirroring Kirito's own, she goes through, and how it affects on a regular basis. Sinon is utilised by the writers to again return back to this concept of belonging. If we really scrape beneath the surface of the presentation, how society has conditioned us to think that killing in self-defence is incidentally as unforgivable as killing with malicious intent. While they never really dwell on the societal, political or cultural impact of this, they do a great job of showing us how Sinon helps Kirito come to terms with his own experience through her own.

Asuna, the final character I want to talk about, gets her very own cour this season. There was bound to be a tear-jerker somewhere in the series to really send us off with the post-series blues. There's a mysterious swordsman who beats Kirito in a challenge, a shock to the gang, who convince Asuna to challenge too. This leads Asuna on a journey of sellf discovery about her own belonging, and the relationship she shares with the people around you. There's some massively raw and human scenes in Asuna's cour, and I have to admit it's probably the favourite of the whole season; Asuna's change being so relatable but also Konno's place in both worlds is a real compliment to the strength of the writing now. This story was so beautifully woven, and I would place this story somewhere in the middle of the first series instead of one of those distractions.

We also get a fan-service cour of emotional relief after Kirito and Sinon's cour and before Asuna's where the gang are all together and enjoying ELO, and go on an adventure that honestly inspires me into believing that SAO could really do well with a spin-off (if they could keep up the character development along the way) where the gang go on adventures much like this.

This season of SAO is the best one yet, and I'm looking forward to Ordinal Scale. I expected it to live up to criticism, it exceeded all expectations.