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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Sword Art Online was the first anime that I ever watched back in middle school and I’ve been wanting to read the source material for quite some time now. Seeing as there are so many volumes, I decided to start on this one since, in my opinion, the Alicization Arc is the most interesting, besides maybe the Aincrad Arc that started everything.
In general the book is not necessarily amazing. The writing is flawed from time to time and there are occasionally contradiction that made me audibly say, “wait… that’s wrong.” But none of that really matters to me because I am so incredibly blinded by nostalgia and my stupid love for everything SAO that the small inconsistencies mean nothing to me. The small blunders are more than made up for by the elaboration on certain aspects of the world that simply can’t be done in the show. You get a better view into who Kazuto/Kirito is, what goes through his head, etc. In fact, you get this for multiple characters like Asuna and Sinon. Reading this was incredibly fulfilling because while expanding my understanding of the world I just felt so comfortable. It whisked me back to simpler days and my own fantasies of living life in a medieval world. Would highly recommend giving the series a read and this is just the beginning of my adventure reading through the rest SAO.
In general the book is not necessarily amazing. The writing is flawed from time to time and there are occasionally contradiction that made me audibly say, “wait… that’s wrong.” But none of that really matters to me because I am so incredibly blinded by nostalgia and my stupid love for everything SAO that the small inconsistencies mean nothing to me. The small blunders are more than made up for by the elaboration on certain aspects of the world that simply can’t be done in the show. You get a better view into who Kazuto/Kirito is, what goes through his head, etc. In fact, you get this for multiple characters like Asuna and Sinon. Reading this was incredibly fulfilling because while expanding my understanding of the world I just felt so comfortable. It whisked me back to simpler days and my own fantasies of living life in a medieval world. Would highly recommend giving the series a read and this is just the beginning of my adventure reading through the rest SAO.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this arc is very upsetting, and it's going to go on for years. IRL. ten novels long, and this is just the first. the first sao novel to follow the alicization arc is coming out - in Japan - next month. so here's to five actual years of stressing out over this because
ASUNA
this poor girl.
ASUNA
this poor girl.
Sped through in almost one day {had to stop to eat, shower and sleep}. Wish I hadn't finished it that fast because this new narrative arc is a blast! XD I want to read the next one NOW! The other novels in the main narrative series left me a bit "meh" with the exception of the GGO/Phantom Bullet arc. This one's powerful narrative, mind-boggling technology and new interesting characters and story captured my undivided attention. I wish I could read Japanese to get on to the next novel right away. Uhm yes, just in case you hadn't noticed, I'm a SAO fan. :P
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I give this 3.5 stars. It took me awhile to read through, mostly because of how the story started out. No spoilers, but fir anyone that feels the same way while reading this, keep reading. The story picks up, explains what's happening and why, slows down briefly, then pick up again. I'll probably give Vol. 10 a try, but it was hard getting into this one. Hopefully the story moves more after this book.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Despite jumping in part way through this series, I really enjoyed this book. Simple sentence structure but engaging characters and enough detail and backstory to catch me up on the story so far, without it being too boring. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated