SWORD ART ONLINE: PROGRESSIVE - KURAKI YUUYAMI NO SCHERZO

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ActionSword Art Online: Progressive - Kuraki Yuuyami no Scherzo
NOVEL ActionSword Art Online: Progressive
MOVIE ActionSword Art Online: Progressive - Hoshinaki Yoru no Aria

REVIEWS

• 

  Covaxe

  60/100
  I've been tricked into watching filler

  
  >"Tricked" might not be the correct word as I was under the impression that Progressive was supposed to "__fill__" in the gaps and I suppose it delivered in that. 
  
  In the original, episode 2 ends with clearing floor 1 and in episode 3 we already see floor 49. As a fan of SAO, this wasn't a pacing issue, it was advancing the story to the point that it matters and SoDN is a perfect example of something that was rightfully skipped. 
  
  The tone changes drastically with this movie, coming off of the AoaSN things are going well for the players, more so even because it seems as though the loss of Diavel and death in general are in the past. With the original SAO we didn't get a break from the death game until halfway through the Aincrad arc. The movie opens with a victory over a floor boss and celebratory food and drinks, a reality check showing how they've become complacent never comes. The game has gotten easy and continues to get easier, the players talk about how fast they are clearing floors and their hopes for the future. Floor bosses weren't something to be taken lightly but even by the climax that is still the case as a small party takes down the big bad with no losses. And then there are the changes to Asuna and Kirito. 
  
  __Asuna__
  <span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>Asuna enjoys her dessert and visits an onsen with Argo. In the original, a big part of Asuna is that she believes "every day we spend here is one we've lost in the real world" but here she is enjoying trivial things. It was a great motivation and explanation for why she was a strong player on the frontlines and her desire to escape the game. Here she is eating dessert not even realizing it had practical effects in the form of buffs where as 50+ floors later she criticized Kirito for enjoying the wind and sunlight in the original 
  <img width='660' src='https://i.imgur.com/BXbEoW1.png'>
  
  </span></span>
  
  __Kirito__
  <span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>Less of a tragic hero as even Argo points out that he isn't much of a "solo player". Even while shouldering the hatred towards beta testers, taking on the "beater" nickname, Kirito hasn't had trouble making friends and working with the frontlines. Kibaou who blamed Kirito for Diavel's death and was his biggest critic accepts Kirito's plan to take the prize out from under him which doesn't make sense or feel earned at all. The greatest affront is that with this change in direction for Kirito there is no excuse for best boy Klein to be absent and yet he doesn't make an appearance. Kirito's choice to be solo was believable and made him a more complicated character. When he ditched Klein originally he considered the limited resources of the world which showed he wasn't perfect, a big criticism of SAO originally.
  <img width='660' src='https://i.imgur.com/mpYsgBH.png'></span></span>
  
  __Mito__
  <span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>When reconnecting with Asuna she said all the right things and Asuna losing their duel was the cherry on top. Unfortunately but understandably, Mito ends up helping the party in the end. If Mito continued to seclude herself it would have shown the impact abandoning Asuna to die had on her. I'll let it slide though as Asuna forgave her, it has been a year and accepting Asuna's request could be a step towards making amends. I wish the original characters were handled this well.</span></span>
  
  __Plot__
  <span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>The plan Kibaou accepted could have made sense if it was done differently. Sending Kirito to his death would have been warranted because of Diavel and would have shown how Kirito was ostracized by the players. It wouldn't have changed the plot, though it would add gravitas to prior events while being more believable. The plan, especially as it is presented in the beginning, is unbelievable as well. A small party is going to take on the current biggest threat the world has to offer and their reason? To take possession of an extremely powerful item that they have no intention of using in a death game. You'd think when the stakes are so high you'd want every advantage you could get and if the item was so powerful that it was worth betraying the top guild it might save lives. Perhaps that speaks to the current mentality of players, the game is so easy and is seen as that, a game. But even then if that was the case then preserving the relationship between the top guilds wouldn't have been so important. </span></span>
  
  __Still SAO__
  One of the original's strengths was creating a believable MMO by showing or explaining game systems and Progressive doesn't stray here. The food gives buffs, towns are shown as being safe zones, fireworks are unable to be used in combat,  Asuna's sidequest to retrieve her stolen rapier. These and more are all great for fleshing out the world which is what Progressive does right, it expands on the world. Even the final boss encounter has relatable mechanics that you'd see in a modern MMO. ~~~
  
  >The changes to the original continue to be Progressive's shortcomings. The other notable things I haven't touched on are Argo, who exists to be a waifu who sells merchandise, and the appearance of laughing coffin and PoH, which was essentially just fanservice/foreshadowing

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• 

  Henway

  70/100
  It captures the excitement of SAO but time constraints sacrifice much depth and substance from the source material.

  There's something about a VRMMO focusing only on melee combat that has remained as novel and fun of an idea to me in my early twenties as it was to me as a twelve year old. Despite how much flack the Sword Art Online franchise gets, I'm not afraid to say how much I like the Progressive spin-off series, particularly the novels. So, I am always looking forward to watching the movie adaptations, even if I'll constantly lament it not being a high-quality television series. I watched the Aria of a Starless Night when it came to theaters, and have just come back from watching Scherzo of the Deep Night.

  This sequel doesn't pick up directly after the events of the first movie. Instead, it focuses on an arguably more important story arc that occurs a few novel volumes ahead. On one hand, I understand the decision go in this direction because let's be real there's no way every single floor's arc will be adapted (nor will the volumes ever be completed in Reki Kawahara's lifetime, for that matter). But on the other hand, I'm disappointed that the earlier stories aren't covered because they contained my favorite aspects of Progressive, which I'll get into later. Since the movie skips ahead in the story, the beginning of the movie is a bit jarring because it jumps right into a floor boss fight and afterwards quickly introduces the audience to a new character, Argo. Argo is a character whose importance is greatly understated in the movie as a consequence of going ahead in the story.

  The rest of the movie is pretty good for what it is. There is no lack of spectacle in the action and visuals are all high end. Though in my opinion none of the fights are as well choreographed or satisfying as the last fight from the first movie. Matsuoka yelling "ASUNA!" and "SWITCH!" are as iconic as ever, Tomatsu Haruka is still wonderful, and I'm glad that Izawa Shiori's voice as Argo is really close to what I had imagined when reading. Kajiura Yuki is once again responsible for the absolutely banging music. She's done the rest of SAO as well as the Type Moon stuff - what else is there to say? If you enjoyed the first Progressive movie and want more, then this is a treat. Looking at the movie by itself, it is a fun action-packed hour and forty minutes of well spent time. It's hard to shake off the infamous reputation of the original series, but if you're already at the second movie then you should already have your expectations properly set. However, as a fan of the source material, I should take a moment to talk about the things the movie lacked not because of poor execution but because of the movie format.

  As I had said earlier, what I love most about Progressive takes a backseat in this arc. The best part of Progressive is its detailed floor-by-floor world building, lore, and exploration that breathe much life into the world of Aincrad. Much of the source material involves Kirito and Asuna exploring the floors for the first time and encountering in-game side quests or other conflicts along the way. Their constant dialogue with each other leads to insanely cute banter and the time spent together helps justify how strongly they depend on each other. Many of these stories may not be directly important to the main quest of beating the game, but they're just plain fun and help strengthen Kirito's and Asuna's relationship. This important characterization is unfortunately lost in the movies due to obvious time constraints and this particular arc focusing more on the broader SAO story with more side characters involved. Kirito's character suffers as a result because the audience doesn't get to see just how dorky he can be when he's alone with Asuna (though he's not as bland as he is in the original). The tender moments between Kirito and Asuna in the movie are still undeniably nice, but if I were a first timer of the series, I wouldn't find it super impactful and would need to see more of them together to be convinced. The world building isn't the Lord of the Rings knock-your-socks off kind of level of deep, but it's still a shame that such a level of detail couldn't be included. All of this is just me saying I'm sad to not see all the fun lighthearted aspects of Progressive that lead to the absolutely intoxicatingly adorable romantic moments they share together.

  Overall, I enjoyed Scherzo of the Deep. It for the most part delivers the SAO experience without all of the garbage that once weighed it down. I'm excited for the next movie, and hopefully it'll fulfill what I personally want most out of it.

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