Sword Art Online is one of the most frustrating franchises of all time. This is because the highs and lows are so drastic. You’ll go from watching one of the greatest movies of all time to watching a terrible season of the anime. You’ll play an amazing video game and then read a below average manga. Unfortunately this one is in that side of the camp. I wanted to enjoy it but unfortunately it was clear that this story wasn’t exactly focused on the plot.

This story takes place during the early days of climbing to the top of Aincrad. Kirito and Asuna are still stuck inside the death game that is known as Sword Art Online. The only way to escape is to clear the 100 floors and right now they aren’t even halfway to floor 10. Yeah it’s going to be a long journey and so they try to have fun while they can. They go on adventures ranging from making a boat to visiting an elf friend of theirs. Will they be able to keep their sanity in such a strange situation?

Now if I’m being extremely generous, you could say that a lot of the crazy shenanigans here is because that is how they are coping with this situation. Acting extra silly helps them take their minds off of the danger. That said, even I’m not quite this generous. It’s clear that the series is having fun using fanservice as a tool to move things around all the time. The fanservice within this series is constant and it really does drag the series down quite a bit.

I haven’t seen a series be this obnoxious about it since Fairy Tail. There is a certain amount that you can maybe overlook here and there but when it is this frequent and intense, well there is no escape at that point. There isn’t a single chapter without a little of that and it seems to be the main default for the title when it comes to humor. It’s a shame because there are so many ways to throw in good jokes without relying on fanservice.

Additionally, the series should have an advantage here in that the Kirito and Asuna romance is one of the few really good ones among any anime/manga. So this is really about building chemistry and that’s what the title should have focused on. Not constant excuses for getting to the beach and swimming. At least Kirito tends to stay strong and doesn’t panic as much as Asuna but he’s also portrayed as lightly taking advantage of the situation at times which is not what you’d expect from the hero.

As a result the plot takes a back seat here. It’s not like the story is all that complicated anyway though. It’s really about taking on side quests. The longest one is when the heroes make it back to the elf kingdom and have to help them stop some invaders. It’s not the biggest challenge that Kirito has ever faced but he wants a perfect victory without any NPCs hurt in the process. So he convinces the ruler to help out and then they claim a nice victory. The climax is fairly quick here. There was also a quick action piece for the side mission to build a bridge.

The artwork is pretty solid so the action scenes look really good. Unfortunately the fact that the art is really good also means that the fanservice is worse. It’s a true double edged sword when you really think about it. The pages are easy to read and so you’ll blast through this one quickly. It’s only two volumes long after all so this is very close to actually being a oneshot adventure. This is probably why I had even forgotten that Sword Art Online got so many different manga titles for a while there.

While Kirito is the one who tends to steal the show the whole time, Asuna does well on her own as well. I was glad the manga didn’t overdo it with showing her to be a newbie because by this point she should be experienced enough not to be making the day 1 blunders. Kirito naturally still has more experience all around which makes sense but it’s not like she’s lagging behind. Her combat skills are also really on point here. Her character tends to suffer for most of the fanservice moments but outside of those she is a quality character all around.

There isn’t time for much of the supporting cast to appear otherwise. You still have the two factions fighting each other to clear the floors quickest but Kirito always runs in to steal the last hit bonus anyway. Shows you just how much of a pro Kirito is. Argo is fun enough as she keeps trolling everyone by withholding information. I like that Kirito is able to hold his own with her by this point since he knows how she operates. They have a fun dynamic going on here. I’d even say it’s a great friendship dynamic.

Part of why the supporting characters can’t do much is also because the series just doesn’t have a very strong cast of them by this point. The franchise wouldn’t get better at that for quite a while but it’s fine because Kirito and Asuna are all you really need to lead the adventure. They have a good dynamic as well and I would be able to just appreciate the fun vibes of it. Honestly if you take out the fanservice then you have a very good story here. Of course a what if scenario doesn’t help the actual product. It’s a key example of how just one area can really sink a story.

Overall, I would say to skip this one. The Progressive series is meant to be an ultra extended look at the first arc which means that you can really identify more with the characters. At the same time, that means you can easily skip chunks of it like this one without really missing anything. Technically this could be treated like filler so it’s worth checking out if the story is good. Since it’s not, you’ll want to keep going on your way. The drastic changes in quality for the franchise really continues here. That’s just how it goes sometimes though.

Overall 3/10