A First Look
sword art online progressive: scherzo of a dark dusk
Sword Art Online, the anime series that came out about a decade ago, that was based on a light novel that came out a decade before that, just got its second movie adaptation released in the USA this weekend. Talk about a brain workout for that last statement. The story we all know and many love to hate, has gotten its continuation to the retelling of the first season but from the perspective of Asuna rather than Kirito. For myself, I will start off by prefacing that I am not one of those die-hard haters of the series. I actually think that as an intro to anime Sword Art Online shows the breadth of what anime has to offer across the whole spectrum as a jack of all trades. But this movie series gives some nice polish to the series by really refining the themes and diving into the story to flush out many of the details that got lost in the original series.
By following Asuna as the main protagonist rather than Kirito we get a very different perspective on how we interpret the world of Sword Art Online, SAO. We don’t get to see an overly leveled/overpowered character defy all odds time and time again leading to a repetitive narrative. In this movie, we actually get to see a nice progression of character development from Asuna. It feels more natural to how most people would encounter and struggle through the progression and all the horrors of being trapped in a game. Of course, it wouldn’t be SAO without Kirito coming to get the last slash on every boss. Overall this movie does not let the audience down when showing the great visual effects and solid audio production. SAO is of course no stand out in art direction as it follows what has been tried and true for the last decade. While the animation and visual effects are stunning there is no major style change to mention to really make any moment of the film stand out. Of course, not every show has to have a stylized design but it would have been nice to give this perspective just a little bit of a flare to really separate it from the main series. The movie series thus far has been quite enjoyable because narrative wise the new stories that are being told are refreshing and really give you more interest in Asuna than she has been given the last few years in the current series. The pacing in the film did feel a bit drawn out in some moments where it could have been trimmed down for other moments to live more. My biggest gripe is the pacing for some of the moments where we see the group fighting monsters and bosses it held on action for just a tad too long for my liking. This is nothing new though as SAO likes to do it already. Overall this movie is again quite enjoyable to watch and if you have the time to go see it, it is worth the watch. On a quick review, I would give this a solid 8/10.
