By Soitiro Watase and Ginta, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

So, I’m still enjoying this spinoff, but I will admit that I’m enjoying it despite one of its subplots. Actually, more accurately despite its main plot. When the series is showing off the Asuka Online game, its horror events and the cast debugging things, it’s great. When it’s got them solving mysteries of absent fathers and mysterious support dolls who are not named Yotsugi, it’s also great. When it has its real life subplot about Nayuta gradually moving in with Kurei, making him food, and acting like a wife, while blowing off the fact that she’s been spotted with him and that people at her school are asking questions about it, that’s less fine. Now Kurei spends most of the book insisting he hasn’t done anything improper, which is true, but that’s not the point. The point is that Nayuta is underage and Kurei is in a position of power and we’re both supposed to be rooting for these two to admit their love and get married. Which, eh.

The book is divided into two short stories and one novella. The first story has Nayuta and Koyomi join Klever as he tests a vacation resort that will be used for events, meaning it’s an excuse for the cast to fool around in a luxury hotel. But what’s with the staff… or lack thereof? The second story has them participate in a fun event where you get to snuggle cabyparas, and find the wombat hidden among all of them. This is mostly pure fluff, but also has them discovering an AI android that appears to be part of a part of the game still being argued about, named Onihime. In the final story, they meet a young girl named Mahiro, who is searching for her missing father, who might have gotten called up in something criminal. What’s more, the girl looks a LOT like the android AI they just found…

Koyomi continues to have the depth of a sheet of paper, but she’s fun, and she’s also a necessary ingredient in a cast that otherwise consists of two very serious people. She also has Nayuta’s best interests at heart, and he constant battering of Klever about his “intentions” towards Nauyta masks a very real worry that she could be taken advantage of. Nayuta has an abnormal trust of Klever/Kurei, and while the reader is, I think, meant to assume it’s because they’re destined, it’s still uncomfortable. The other thing about this book is its examination of AI – it seems to be mostly pro-AI, but in the world of SAO I can see why that makes more sense – we already have Yui, for example.

This has one more volume to go, but doesn’t really have any plot points to resolve besides “when Nayuta turns 18 she will simply propose”. Let’s home it’s a little more complicated than that. For SAO fans.

By Soitiro Watase and Ginta, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

So, just like the Re: Zero SS collection, we’re getting this one a bit late. The first volume of Clover’s Regret, the second in the “Alternative” spinoff series, came out in 2016, after the 5th volume of the Gun Gale Online books. But we had to wait till we’re caught up with both the main series, its Progressive rewrite, *and* the GGO series before we get this spinoff. Part of that is because, unlike GGO, this never got an anime, and it features none of the main SAO cast. It doesn’t have an obvious hook to pull in Kirito casuals. The other reason, I think, is that unlike other Yen On light novel series from hell with extensive spinoffs, SAO has always been Stephen Paul’s baby, and I think we may have waited for this one just so that he can translate it properly rather than try to get someone new in. In any case, you’re not “missing” anything like we were with Re: Zero SS. This is pretty standalone.

Asuka Empire may not have the #1 ranking of ALfheim Online, but it tries harder. A far more Japanese-based MMORPH, it’s been struggling to keep its high ranking now that everyone has access to the Seed. As such, it has a new event that’s horror-based, and it’s also allowing users to submit their own game ideas to the event. Meanwhile, our heroines, matter of fact, somewhat emotionless Nayuta and genki, lovable scamp Koyomi are trying to clear one of the quests, which involves a mysterious ghost orchestra. While doing this, they meet a rarity in games like this – an old man, who has never gamed before but is really desperate to solve the ghost orchestra game for some reason. He was told about an in-game detective named Klever who might be able to help him. Why is he so interested in this quest? And what’s with that fox-faced detective?

This is another slow burner. About halfway through, I wondered, as I sometimes do with other spinoffs of popular franchises, why this could not have been a book on its own with no ties to Sword Art Online at all. But that’s just because the book saves all its twists for the second half, piling them on one after another. Not only do half the cast have a personal connection to the original Aincrad SAO game, but the ghost orchestra quest itself is written by a member of the Sleeping Knights… a member who, like so many other members of that party, has now died. (We’re told in this volume that Yuuki died “a few days ago”, which nails down the timeline.) The cast are excellent, particularly Nayuta and Klever… I’d argue that Koyomi is mere comic relief, but the author agrees with me, and states that her part was supposed to be smaller but she kept butting in. I hope she gains more depth next time.

Sorry not to go into my usual spoilers, but this book has good spoilers, so I recommend experiencing them yourself. Also, unlike GGO, this is a limited series of 3 books, so should not take up too much of your time. Go check it out.

By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

This is the 13th volume of the SAO:GGO series, and I’m pretty sure it has probably gone on longer than Keiichi Sigsawa originally planned it for. The nature of the series, after all, is basically “death game” only for once it really IS a game so we don’t need to worry about death. Which actually helps with the longevity. The cast here is large, and except for our main group we may not remember everyone all that well, but Llenn is not the only one who’s gotten famous, she’s just the poster child. We’ve also grown to see David’s seriousness as he tries his hardest to finally achieve something in a Squad Jam and always seems to not quite get there. There’s Vera, who took the series’ funniest running gag (the machine gun bros) and made them into the most dangerous team out there, taking out more of our main characters than anyone. And there’s SHINC, of course, who still don’t get to face off against Llenn. Alas.

The last volume ended with the shock of Shirley sniping Pitohui and removing her from the game. But there’s no time to dwell on that, as Llenn still has a bounty on her head and everyone wants the money associated with it. M, Fukaziroh, Boss, and Anna are trying to protect her while also getting to the center of the castle that is their final battlefield… because they’ve been told that the rest of the castle except that battlefield will soon ALSO drop off and doom everyone still in it to death by extreme falling. Clarence is holed up in a tower with good defense, but can’t really move. And Shirley has had her fondest wish granted, but is finding that “Sniper” is not really a good choice for the REST of this game. And wait, are those… ghosts?

Usually there’s one part of each book in this series that I am surprised, and here it was Pitohui returning as a ghost. I thought for sure she’d be back sooner, and torment Shirley, but no – the ghosts don’t show up till the climax, and she and Shirley never interact. Instead, the series does one of the things it does best, with is provide some ridiculous death, badass deaths, and badass AND ridiculous deaths in one book. The climax of the book is hilarious, exciting, and thrilling – I was not actually sure if Llenn really would get killed off by someone else or not till the last few pages, and everything about the rivalry between Fukaziroh and Anna – and, let’s face it, Fukaziroh in general – makes me giggle. There is even a smidge of depth here, as Karen/Llenn starts to realize, and later is told point blank by Fukaziroh, that she’s not the same shy wallflower she was at the start of the series – the game has been good for her in real life as well. It’s therapeutic.

We’ve caught up with Japan, so I’m not sure when we’ll get another of these. It’s a satisfying finish for fans of the series, though.