By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

As I was reading this volume of Progressive, I wondered why I was having so much trouble remembering what had happened in the previous book, then it hit me that it’s been two and a half years since the previous book. That said, it did not take long to get back into the swing of things, because as much as I sometimes can’t remember which ones are the two main rival guilds or which player killer we saw last time, as long as I remember Kirito, Asuna, Argo and Kizmel I’m good. This book deals with the seventh floor, a summer weather floor that also boasts a beach, some lovely restaurants, and a casino where you can win big… or lose your shirt. Asuna is not all that happy about having to get involved with the casino’s machinations, but when it turns out that this will also involve the dark elves, she and Kirito are quick to help. Unfortunately, after the events of the last book, they may not get a warm welcome from the elves.

The author mentions in the afterword that the main series has Kirito and Asuna separated in the current arc (Unital Ring), so he’s very happy to have them spend the entire book together like this. Indeed, it’s the bread and butter of the series, whose fans are reading it mostly to see the two be cute and romantic. We definitely get some of that here, as despite the death game aspects of the plot the start of the book could easily be a date by the seaside. We also see that when Asuna has trouble sleeping she goes to Kirito, and being next to him knocks her right out. She may not be verbally admitting anything, but her actions speak pretty loud. As for Kirito, he reminds us again and again that he’s 14, and it feels like it. For the most part he’s still thinking that Asuna needs a larger stage to shine on (i.e. one away from him), but he also feels the need to keep her at his side. It’s cute. Argo agrees with me.

As for the non-shippers plotline, we get more of the other purpose of this series, which is the idea that this is a real world that people have lived in for centuries, rather than a game populated by NPCs. This is not to say that the NPCs can’t be cliches also, as we meet the casino’s manager (a cool collected 12-year-old girl) and her battle maid. As for Kizmel, yeah, things not going so well. Not only is there a prison br3eak sequence, but they’ve got to find a way to get the keys back while at the same time dealing with the quests they have at the casino. There’s so much going on that it’s a surprise it gets fit into one book… OK, no, it doesn’t. There’s a cliffhanger, and we’ll have to wait for Book 8 to resolve it.

Fortunately, Book 8 is on sale this spring, so we will not be waiting another two and a half years. Till then, there’s lots to read about here, but mostly what we want is the cute not-yet romance. There’s plenty of that here.

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.

Gotta admit, this book was an absolute treat for me. After so many volumes of everyone having to fight each other, It really is fantastic seeing all the main characters team up, NOT fight each other, and work towards a united goal. There’s still lots of enemies to defeat, of course, and trust me when I say Shirley is still looking for any opportunity she can to snipe Pitohui, but for the most part this is the most relaxed and fun a SAO Alternative volume has ever been. There’s even a cute dog! That said, while I was very happy, it’s worth noting that this book is about a cast of young women who really, really, REALLY like to shoot at each other. They’re not SAO survivors, there’s no worry of real death, they just like the adrenaline rush, it excites them. As such, the ending of this book should have really been obvious. And yes, it also revolves around the cute dog.

After wrapping up Karen’s karaoke party of sad, with Elza telling everyone her life story (all lies, M gives us her true life story, though she tells him that may ALSO be lies), We hear about a new team event involving “five ordeals”. This will finally allow Llenn’s group to team up with SHINC (it’s made clear that Llenn really does regard the 4th squad jam as achieving her fight with them, despite the interruptions) as well as perpetual hangers-ons Clarence and Shirley. The ordeals themselves are introduces to us by a cute talking NPC dog (a Schipperke), who tells them it’s basically five tasks, all with different rules, different areas, and ascending levels of difficulty. Can they battle zombies, fight robots, ascend snow-buried buildings, and take on CYBER-DRAGONS?

So I feel it’s OK to mention this, as the website Does the Dog Die? is literally namechecked in the book: the dog doesn’t die. This is despite the entire final chapter revolving around the dog dying – it’s a very self-aware book, and allows us to actually get some depth to Miyu, who is allowed to be more than just the wacky comic relief here (though she’s that too, no worries). As for the rest, it’s what you expect from this series: the fights are awesome, the banter is fun, there’s a few betrayals, and the author cannot stop dragging his self-insert around like a corpse. It’s also fun seeing Llenn finally come to terms with the fact that just because she is a cute pink tyke doesn’t mean that she’s not just as scary or even scarier than Pitohui is. Seeing her wonder “wait, is this why everyone is wary of me?” may be the best joke in the book. And again, the entire relationship between Fukaziroh and the NPC dog was fantastic and even heartwarming, which is not really a beat this series is good at.

I suspect we get a Squad Jam next, but for a change of pace this was excellent. Enjoy our heroes working together in peace… even if they don’t want to really.

By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

Definitely enjoying seeing this series now that Kawahara, a good 20 years older than his SAO Vol. 1 self, knowing his strengths and weaknesses and using them to good effect. There are heroines in peril here, but there is very little of the fanservicey “hero saves the girl from the predator” that we used to see constantly in this series. The humor is mostly character-based, and rarely feels forced. Kirito is powerful and tends to still get the “last boss kill”, but the nature of Unital Ring means he’s struggling a lot more, and he also has the grace to pass on some of his rewards to more deserving people. And we get, for the first time in the main series, Argo becoming a supporting player. Created for the Progressive novels and then put in the anime, manga and games, she’s always been a ghost presence in the main series itself. Now she gets a name – Tomo – and an agenda, which is more than just “tease Kirito constantly”. Though, well, she does that too, of course.

The plot is mostly a ‘rescue arc’ of sorts – everyone else in Kirito’s group was playing ALO when the Unital Ring changeover happened, but Sinon was in GGO, so she ends up being a long ways away from any of her allies. She’s confused, mistakenly branded as a PKer, caught dying of thirst in a desert, and forced to fight a massive dinosaur with the help of some bird people who don’t even speak Japanese. It is awesome, easily the best part of the book, and benefits greatly from the lack of Kirito’s POV. Elsewhere, Kirito’s party ad their log cabin are being reinforced, but a lot of players keep trying to attack him. Why? And Argo’s back (yes, she’s Tomo, but Kirito does not really make the switch so I won’t either), and is (unsurprisingly) now a crack reporter, here to rip open one of the more closemouthed folks in the cast – Kikuoka.

I’ve made no secret about my love of Argo, and though she doesn’t get much to do here, there’s a promise of more. I enjoyed the fact that her response to Kirito’s “where have you been all this time” was a polite “none of your business”, and also intrigued that (sorry, game continuity) she hasn’t been in ALO or GGO or even back in a game at all since the SAO disaster ended, though she hints that may change. In the meantime, it’s nice to see the cast work as a core cast, as opposed to being Kirito and his harem. Everyone apart from Alice and Asuna (who are minding the fort) gets something to do, with Yui being the most impressive. Now that she’s a physical part of Unital Ring (and could theoretically die if she’s killed, sorry, Shirou) she’s busy learning sowrds, learning magic, and basically becoming Little Miss Badass. Kirito is, needless to say, both proud and fretful.

So yes, this was a good solid volume, and I’m glad SAO has finally seemed to have matured, after several false alarms. Can’t wait for more.