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A review by twilliamson
Sword Art Online 1: Aincrad by Reki Kawahara
2.0
Likely considered the gold standard for video-game isekai light novels, Sword Art Online presents an interesting premise buried under heaps of cliché. At its core is a question of the meaning of human lives in virtual realities, and while it isn't anything that cyberpunk hasn't already tackled, the light novel makes a faithful attempt to inspect human emotion--and especially human needs for an emotional connection to friends and partners in life--through virtual reality.
The conclusion, for example, is one of the best representations of the virtual world bleeding into our consciousness about the real world, as the protagonist agonizes over the loss of his VR partner and goes to seek her out in the real world. Its depiction of his emaciated body, the neglect suffered through a sadistic trick central to the novel's plot, is also one I haven't seen in too many other similar novels. It hits some beats that manage to stick the emotional core of the book, and also delivers some interesting twists along the way in what would certainly make for a compelling plot-driven anime.
Unfortunately, the book is ultimately held back by its rather unfortunate sexual politics. Like most other light novels, it just can't help but fall into cliché regarding its one female character. It's not likely as egregious as Ernest Cline's unfortunate sexual politics, but it does grow tiresome that the one female character depicted in the story is often relegated to being the sole motivation of the male protagonist, or largely defined by her sexual appeal or her abilities in traditional homemaking.
Mileage will vary as to whether or not the sexist problems of the novel are a dealbreaker, and while I don't think the problems are nearly as bad as in other light novels I've read or encountered, I still resent that these stories can't be a bit more progressive in their sexual politics than they are. I know it is more an issue with the culture of Japan than anything else, but the clichés that continue to resonate throughout much of Japanese popular literature are still a distasteful burden that drag down what should otherwise be a lot more enjoyable.
The conclusion, for example, is one of the best representations of the virtual world bleeding into our consciousness about the real world, as the protagonist agonizes over the loss of his VR partner and goes to seek her out in the real world. Its depiction of his emaciated body, the neglect suffered through a sadistic trick central to the novel's plot, is also one I haven't seen in too many other similar novels. It hits some beats that manage to stick the emotional core of the book, and also delivers some interesting twists along the way in what would certainly make for a compelling plot-driven anime.
Unfortunately, the book is ultimately held back by its rather unfortunate sexual politics. Like most other light novels, it just can't help but fall into cliché regarding its one female character. It's not likely as egregious as Ernest Cline's unfortunate sexual politics, but it does grow tiresome that the one female character depicted in the story is often relegated to being the sole motivation of the male protagonist, or largely defined by her sexual appeal or her abilities in traditional homemaking.
Mileage will vary as to whether or not the sexist problems of the novel are a dealbreaker, and while I don't think the problems are nearly as bad as in other light novels I've read or encountered, I still resent that these stories can't be a bit more progressive in their sexual politics than they are. I know it is more an issue with the culture of Japan than anything else, but the clichés that continue to resonate throughout much of Japanese popular literature are still a distasteful burden that drag down what should otherwise be a lot more enjoyable.