This Week in Anime
Does Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Save the Franchise?
by Nicholas Dupree & Steve Jones,
Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night is now streaming on Crunchyroll. Two Sword Art Online-averse reviewers start from scratch and...actually really liked the movie?
This movie is streaming on Crunchyroll
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.
Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
@Lossthief
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@BeeDubsProwl
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@NickyEnchilada
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Nick
Steve, it's easy to get caught up in the seasonal grind of the anime industry, but sometimes it's worth taking a step back and appreciating some older anime from decades past. And I've got just the ticket!
That's right, assholes, SAO is a decade old now. Go look in the mirror and notice all the grey hairs and face wrinkles you've been insisting weren't there every morning.
Steve, it's easy to get caught up in the seasonal grind of the anime industry, but sometimes it's worth taking a step back and appreciating some older anime from decades past. And I've got just the ticket!
That's right, assholes, SAO is a decade old now. Go look in the mirror and notice all the grey hairs and face wrinkles you've been insisting weren't there every morning.
Steve
And if you ask me, in the intervening ten years, we've had enough SAO derivatives, imitators, and progeny to last the industry several decades. But you're right: this is as good an opportunity as any for us to reflect. Perhaps we can look back on what got us here with virgin eyes, open to both the good and the bad. And maybe, most importantly, Crunchyroll added the first SAO Progressive movie for streaming.
And if you ask me, in the intervening ten years, we've had enough SAO derivatives, imitators, and progeny to last the industry several decades. But you're right: this is as good an opportunity as any for us to reflect. Perhaps we can look back on what got us here with virgin eyes, open to both the good and the bad. And maybe, most importantly, Crunchyroll added the first SAO Progressive movie for streaming.
Y'know, looking back, it's wild to me that SA-fuckin-O somehow populated anime discourse for as long as it did. There was the initial surge of popularity, followed by the backlash, then the backlash to that backlash, the imitators and trends chasers which only fueled more of the first and third backlashes. Then somewhere in the middle of all that, the imitators of the imitators started having some questionable opinions on slavery. Suddenly, Kirito having two swords didn't seem like that big a deal anymore. Such is the magic of time and perspective.
Perspective's a good word because that inspired the creation of Progressive. Lots of the original SAO's skeevier elements fall into place when you consider it a product of a dude in his 20s self-publishing a serial web novel. Fast forward to all the success and acclaim, and it's only suitable to come out of the other side with an expanded perspective. So I have to commend Reki Kawahara for that, although the specific decision to rewrite your story better and subtitle it "progressive" remains extremely funny to me.
While, in hindsight, the sheer venom surrounding this franchise was a bit much, I'll say frankly that I don't have many kind words for the original SAO. At its best, it was a well-produced action fare to which you could shut your brain off. At worst, it had a 1:1 Attempted Rape Scene to TV Season ratio. So I was doubtful about how this ongoing film adaptation would hold up. But, for a first film, Progressive is pretty good. I know; I'm as shocked as anybody.
I like it too! We are comrades in cringe. But honestly, I don't think I ever considered myself an SAO hater. Just SAO averse. Based on what I heard about the original anime, it didn't seem like my bag, and all my experiences with anime inspired by it (primarily by way of writing this column) didn't do SAO any favors either. So this film is my first real foray into Aincrad, and I was surprised yet pleased I had a reasonably pleasant time. Thanks in large part, I suspect, to reframing the story from Asuna's perspective.
While it's not the first time the series has had a story from its lead waifu's perspective, it works shockingly well as a reimagining and reframing of the early story beats of SAO. If you walked into this film blind, you'd never think that 90% of the actual franchise is about Asuna's nerdy gamer husband. That's just good writing right there.
After finishing the movie, I watched the first two episodes of the 2012 anime to compare (which is all this film covers, story-wise), and narratively, the film is leagues better. In practically every conceivable way. Just take the first ten minutes, which give us some valuable background and perspective on Asuna's character pre-VR entrapment. It gives us reasons to like and sympathize with the protagonist, and there's nothing like that in the TV anime.
That is the core difference here. There are a million other changes and purposeful callbacks, but the fundamental change here is this film feels like the work of a much more seasoned and thoughtful creator. Asuna wasn't a terrible character in the show, but it was apparent the creative inspiration for her started and ended with "Ideal Action Girlfriend." Here, she feels much more rounded with a life outside her eventual beau. It even reveals she's a Panda main in Tekken, so she's legally my favorite SAO character now.
And who's that she's fighting? No, not Heihachi. It's a brand-new character created for the movie series! That's right, Kawahara is rewriting his rewrite. He seems determined to keep adding three-dimensional female characters to SAO until he finally fixes it. As far as creative philosophies go, this could be a lot worse.
Truly the dude must have gone on an intense spiritual journey to eventually arrive at the idea of giving his perfect anime girl a gamer girlfriend of her own.
The film barely plays coy about it too. You've got the rest of the class oohing and ahhing about the two smartest girls in school spending time together discussing politics and the like. Smash cut to the roof, and they're just gaming, braiding, and staring into each other's eyes. Unhinged lesbian behavior.
It's not at all subtle, and in any other context, Misumi could feel like some bait-and-switch bullshit, considering we know where Asuna will end up. But their relationship works well to sell the drama of the whole "trapped in a game" premise and flesh out Asuna as a person. It's way less eye-rolling that she falls for Kirito now that we know she is just as A Type, and that type is antisocial nerds who get way too into roleplaying their chuuni OCs.
God, Misumi is so real. Everyone else in Aincrad is roleplaying hot anime babes and bros, and she's living her truth as a nasty-faced scythe hermit. It's so real.
I mean, she is a Heihachi main. I'd be disappointed if she weren't some weirdo.
Bless her.
Sadly the asshole who trapped a bunch of people in his video game also decided that having cool and expressive avatars was too much fun, so gangly freak Misumi is short-lived.
This motherfucker went on to design the Metaverse, I swear.
This motherfucker went on to design the Metaverse, I swear.
Without a doubt. Whereas Misumi is the ideal kind of chuuni freak, SAO's creator is the worst kind: a techbro.
The dude's not even that good of a game dev. The game itself has tons of huge bugs!
Not a novel observation or anything, but it is very amusing to watch SAO now, in 2022, the year it takes place. A more realistic version would have floating torsos and a VR headset rigged with explosive charges.
And also, it wouldn't work because the system for checking if somebody logged out would have broken three days after they fired the only engineer who knew how it functioned.
In that respect, I need to find out if Misumi and Asuna have it better or worse than the real 2022. At least their evil tech billionaire villain is competent enough that they can go on monster-hunting dates.
I suppose that's the shining silver lining of idealism in SAO: functionality. If you die in the game, you die in real life, but it can render Big Spaghetti like nobody's business.
Our VR tech is decades away from allowing you to sensually braid your girlfriend's hair in bed. A tragedy.
Another thing I appreciate about the movie is its excellent eye for body language and tactile detail. The flashiest stuff is obviously saved for fight scenes, but much characterization is delivered via small but acutely rendered details. Just look at the folds on this fabric:
Another thing I appreciate about the movie is its excellent eye for body language and tactile detail. The flashiest stuff is obviously saved for fight scenes, but much characterization is delivered via small but acutely rendered details. Just look at the folds on this fabric:
Yeah, it's a pretty good-looking film, all told. It handles the quieter, more intimate material best. The climactic fight scene, for instance, had a lot more personality in the TV series, in my amateur eyes anyway. But there are so many good incidental details. Like Kirito instantly deflating his big heroic entrance with incessant awkwardness, culminating in a hilarious cut of him trying and failing to coolly sheathe his sword. Multiple times. It's so endearing.
I genuinely groaned when Kirito finally made his appearance in this - especially since it was, of course, in a scene where he saves Asuna from a threat. But seeing him do the conversational equivalent of Hover Handing because he was talking to a cute girl made this lump of oatmeal charming.
I think where many isekai series go wrong (besides all the slavery stuff) is the amateur writer's wish to make their characters the coolest, most infallible people ever. And you certainly see a lot of that in old SAO too. But here, Kawahara is a lot more comfortable showing us Asuna and Kirito's flaws and weaknesses and dumbassery, and—surprise, surprise—it makes them better, more likable characters.
Though not everything with them is wholly improved. The original's fairly innocuous bread and cream scene has a decidedly more...gloppy texture to it this time.
I humbly ask you to refrain from using "gloppy" and all related terms when discussing SAO; thank you.
Just saying, don't let that stuff get in your hair, Asuna.
Besides, it's not my fault they follow up this scene with the movie's one real indulgence of fanservice.
Ah yes, when we learn that SAO has a submenu that lets you set underwear to "No."
Fun/awkward fact: the version of this film that's on Crunchyroll is slightly edited, presumably to encourage people to buy the eventual Blu-ray release if they couldn't watch it in theaters. So unless you're a feet guy, you'll need to save up for those discs.
Free feet? In THIS economy? I'm shocked.
Look, SAO has always lagged behind the real world of the internet and gaming. It still needs to catch up to the OnlyFans meta.
However, it still has its fingers on the MMORPG pulse, i.e., every quest is named after a movie title pun.
Though, let it be known I'm not complaining about the obligatory bath scene. That whole thing is positively chaste by even this franchise's standards, and there's no perverted elf licking tears off Asuna's face, so by all counts, this is incredible progress.
Yeah, the film's stumbles have nothing to do with its content. The writing tends to remain clumsy in certain spots. All of the film's foreshadowing, for instance, sounds exactly like this:
I'll give you one guess at what happens when the one with the fruit shows up.
I'll give you one guess at what happens when the one with the fruit shows up.
Poor Misumi made the classic mistake of seeing a weird little guy and following it into danger. It's like me seeing a dog in Elden Ring.
But honestly, while there's some clunkiness and shortcuts, the work with the characters is more than enough to overshadow it. Hell, they even take the time to let Kirito and Asuna have actual conversations and share some moments of vulnerability before jumping into the big climactic fight.
But honestly, while there's some clunkiness and shortcuts, the work with the characters is more than enough to overshadow it. Hell, they even take the time to let Kirito and Asuna have actual conversations and share some moments of vulnerability before jumping into the big climactic fight.
Basic stuff, but it's great to see in action, and I've learned not to take these character-building scenes for granted when it comes to these anime. Asuna's pain, frustration, and confusion help drive the film's second half as she forges her bond with Kirito and eventually reunites and reconciles with Misumi. There's actual nuance and pathos! I was so happy to see it.
There's also a bunch of cool effects animation, which is nice.
It's a big, flashy, bass-boosted boss battle, and the film earns it.
I especially like that Kirito and Asuna feel like partners here. There are quite a few moments in the original series (coughalfheimcough) where Asuna's job is to sit and call for help from her bae, so it's just refreshing to see them fight in a way where neither feels like the sole contributor.
Are they proclaiming their favorite gaming console or their commitment to fluid roles in the bedroom? You decide!
Are they proclaiming their favorite gaming console or their commitment to fluid roles in the bedroom? You decide!
I'm also beyond tickled to have learned that this line of dialogue has survived every rewrite and revision of SAO to date. Kawahara practically ripped this out of Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, and no editor has stopped Kirito from calling himself a proficient masturbator. This is what actual authorial integrity looks like.
Look, sometimes you come up with a cool-sounding name when you're a teenager, and nothing can ever convince you to give up on it. For Kawahara, that means every version of this story has Kirito trying to recreate the ending of The Dark Knight in the cringiest way possible.
You can tell all the other characters are nerds because they don't immediately bust out laughing at this scrawny chump punctuating his monologue by dramatically pressing "Equip Matrix Coat" from his options menu.
You can tell all the other characters are nerds because they don't immediately bust out laughing at this scrawny chump punctuating his monologue by dramatically pressing "Equip Matrix Coat" from his options menu.
It's soooo good. Legitimately freed from the stifling constraints of his perspective, Kirito becomes a very familiar and dorky teen boy; that's one of the best things Progressive does both for his character and the overall story.
It is deeply surreal to honestly, earnestly say - in the year of our lord 2022 - that I fully enjoyed a Sword Art Online thing. Let alone that I'm looking forward to the next one! Truly, anything is possible in anime.
I mean, it's still no Gun Gale Online, but color me converted as well. I'll watch the next film. Heck, maybe I'll watch or read some more of the original, at least for the context. I'm not too proud. It might have taken ten years, and my entire tenure on Anitwitter, but SAO finally got me. Bravo.
We, too, have stepped into a brave new world, my friend. Let's do our best to survive.
But if you see anybody named Suguha, log out immediately.
But if you see anybody named Suguha, log out immediately.
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