Sword Art Online, Vol. 8: Early And Late

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

This is the second of two short-story collections in the SAO series, though two of the three stories aren’t so short. The Safe Haven Incident was written early enough to actually be used in the first season of the anime, though they sadly cut the funniest scene. Calibur (as in Excalibur) is more recent, and was adapted into the 2nd season. The final story here, The Day of Beginnings, was written specially for this book, and is also the darkest story in the book, showing off a scared, desperate Kirito and why he’s so insistent on being a solo player. All of the works are good, fleshing out this world further and giving fans a bit of a treat before we jump headlong into the next arc, which is ten whole volumes long.

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The Safe Haven Incident is a murder mystery, though the murder and its investigation are probably the least interesting part of it. What is good is seeing Kirito and Asuna bond with each other immediately, almost despite themselves, and showing off the two of them seamlessly working together before they became a couple. (Kawahara apologizes to the reader for the continuity not matching the first two books precisely. Given that SAO: Progressive has kicked continuity in the groin and stolen its stuff, I think that’s the least he has to worry about.) We also see Laughing Coffin here, including some retroactive setup for the Phantom Bullet arc that we get as readers even if Kirito doesn’t. As always, a group of players who kill for fun are chilling. The best part of the story, though, bar none, is Kirito and Asuna’s talk with Heathcliff in a ramen restaurant. From Heathcliff’s deadpan hatred of the ramen (his asking “why is this restaurant even here?” is twice as funny after you know his secrets) to Asuna saying the ramen “felt lonely” and determined to figure out how to make soy sauce in Aincrad, it’s pure comedy gold, and it’s a crime the anime had to cut it.

Calibur is more lighthearted, even with a sort of apocalyptic deadline forced on the story. It takes place in Aflheim, so there’s no danger of actual player death, but there is a very real chance the game might ruin itself by starting Ragnarok. But mostly it’s an excuse to see the full cast all reunited one last time and working towards a common goal as a unit. Even Klein gets in on the action, and in fact it’s his samurai desire to help a lady in distress that accidentally ends up winning the day, though of course Klein does not get the girl. Oh, and more comedy cold, as Kirito’s immature pulling of Sinon’s tail (Kawahara tries not to state outright that the tail pull’s effect on its characters is arousing, but it’s somewhat obvious) results in her getting epic revenge later by taking advantage of the fact that every girl in the group is in love with Kirito.

The new story is last, but in terms of continuity it’s first, as it shows what Kirito did immediately after leaving Klein when the game first began. For all the times we’ve seen players complain about “beaters”, here we see they had a point – Kirito absolutely it trying to level up as fast as possible using knowledge only the beta players have, and that will adversely affect the area for other players. We also meet another player, Kopel, who contrasts with Kirito by trying to kill him to save his own skin, though Kirito is not as far from Kopel as he might like. As I said, this is a dark and sad story showing us how a somewhat antisocial young man becomes even more so in a game of death.

This isn’t a book to get if you haven’t read any of SAO before – there’s too much continuity, broken or otherwise, going on – but it’s a nice little addition to the series, and a bit of a breather after the drama of Mother’s Rosary. In the meantime, there’s another Progressive in October, and then in December SAO begins its epic arc: Alicization. Be afraid.

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?, Vol. 6

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By Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by Softbank Creative. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Gaippe.

I spent a lot of time in my last review complaining about Book 5’s use of Hestia as a character, so it feels especially good to see how well she fares here. In a volume where her entire life with Bell is destroyed and then offered up as sacrifice to an arrogant God, she shines, not in terms of being a badass but in terms of doing what she’s meant to do best – unite people who care about each other and get *them* to fight. After spending most of the last volume jealous of various women’s dealings with Bell, especially Lily, she doesn’t even think twice about rescuing her from Soma Familia’s clutches. And then there’s her confession to Bell, which sadly takes place during a deadly escape so she can’t press more. That said, once again, Bell just doesn’t see you that way, Hestia.

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The girl he does have romantic chemistry with is of course Aiz, though it’s arguable whether that’s only on his end – I remain convinced that Aiz is not so much confused about her love for him as confused about her jealousy of him. Still, their dance at the Gods’ ball is a highlight of the book, and we get another round of training the only way Aiz knows how – beat Bell up till he learns. There’s also some new additions to Hestia Familia, taking it over the count of ‘two’ we’ve had for the first five books. No, not Aiz, but Lily, Welf, and Mikoto (remember her? From the last book?) all join up in order to help Bell and Hestia, though Welf and Mikoto may only be there temporarily. When they all combine, and with the aid of Lyr from the bar once again showing off how badass she is while trying not to reveal her true identity, they’re unstoppable.

They are perhaps a little too unstoppable, and yes, there’s elements of male power fantasy here. Speaking of which, the main villain this time around is Apollo, whose followers are all basically picked up by him because he wants to sleep with them, but are nevertheless very competent – and arrogant, as Bell finds in the first of the book’s four extended fights, which in page count take up nearly 3/4 of the book itself. I was a little irritated at the ‘depraved bisexual’ trope being played completely straight, especially when we’ve seen Freya’s desire for Bell played with a lot less creepiness in previous books. The other flaw in the book is during the battle for Lily at Soma Familia – Lily overcoming the power of the wine/drug to beg that she be able to help Bell is a powerful scene, but Soma is *such* a cipher that it’s not as big as it can be.

So now, at the end of Book Six, the cat is out of the bag as far as Bell Cranel being a badass. Everyone in the entire city watched him and the Familia stomp Apollo’s people, and Hestia’s secret isn’t anymore. I suspect that will affect the next book greatly. Before that, though, we have a spinoff coming in October, which will deal with Aiz and her adventures in the Loki Familia. Usually we get spinoff manga, not novels, so I’m looking forward to this. As for the main series, this volume is absolutely worth your time.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer!, Vol. 5

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By Satoshi Wagahara and 029. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Kevin Gifford.

As the series has gone on, the astute reader may have realized that Enta Isla is not simply a place where fantasy devils and angels lived, but a place where an actual War in Heaven broke out and humans were caught in the middle. In other words, where I’d mentioned before that the series was a bit like A Certain Magical Index in the way that it used religious themes for its own ends, I apparently didn’t know the half of it. Here we see Angels descending to Japan to try to discipline one of their own, and Maou gets caught in the middle because a) it’s his series, and b) Chiho ends up hospitalized due to a series of unfortunate coincidences extending back to the start of the series.

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Of course, the main people who get character building here are not Maou and Chiho, but rather Emi and Suzuno. Emi is forced to deal with the fact that her mother is in Japan, her father may be alive, and her very EXISTENCE is an affront to Heaven. And Suzuno, who had already had a bit of a crisis of faith in the second book, is now having to deal with the fact that the Angels who inhabit Heaven may not be all that angelic, and in fact may simply be equivalent to just another gang. Again, using Western religious imagery as the impetus for fantasy plotting is not unique to Japan, but it works particularly well here as we come to realize that there really aren’t good and bad guys here, just a bunch of people struggling for power and worship. That said, I do still want to find out one day why Maou was so horrible pre-series.

To be honest, though, the real joy of this book isn’t really the plot revelations or the depth of character. It’s not even the action sequences, or the sight of a busty teenage girl in pink pyjamas flying though the air and firing beams of energy. No, it’s the entire cast spending the first third of the book discussing digital TV and what makes really good udon. Devil Is a Part-Timer has good backstory, don’t get me wrong, but the best reason to read it is still the tiny minutiae of life in Japan as being lived by a bunch of fantasy heroes. Rika’s stunned reaction when none of her companions know who Toshiba is; Maou’s middle management skills saving the day once again and coming up even in the oddest situations and possibly best of all, Suzuno’s obsession with the delicious cheap udon they get at once shop. It’s simply fun to read.

I could say that about the series as a whole. Everyone’s likeable by now – Emi gets less tsundere by the book, though she’s still got a ways to go – and the prose is smooth and clear, one of the best of Yen On’s light novel efforts. It’s still in the top tier of light novels currently being released.