Sword Art Online 9 Alicization Beginning Manga
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...but the book is somewhat boring. Or I should specify that it's really boring at the start. This book is 2/3 a "Prologue" to a
This book is a total change of pace from the previous books. Like some parts of book #7 "Mother Rosario", Kawahara treats the story in a more classical SI-FI way, going deep into fundamental questions about the implications of the new technological developements, new virtual diving machines, new worlds, the essence of the human conciousness ... that pleased me greatly!...but the book is somewhat boring. Or I should specify that it's really boring at the start. This book is 2/3 a "Prologue" to a plot to be developed in the next 2 or 3 books, so the elements and context to the story are presented really slowly. The action at the end gets a really nice pace, but then... the book ends xD One realizes at the end that the plot is bigger than it seems, and it's related with some big unanswered questions from even the first book, so I expect good things from the next books.
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There are true hardships that take place and the "game" or wherever Kirito is at this point, which is more realistic than Kirito could even imnagine, and takes on several aspects of
This is the first part of the Alicization saga and so there is a bit of a back story explaning the technology involved and sort of goes a little bit overboard on explanations, but I felt they it was pretty interesting. This story takes place in a new world called underworld and this place really reinvents the series.There are true hardships that take place and the "game" or wherever Kirito is at this point, which is more realistic than Kirito could even imnagine, and takes on several aspects of reality, which by the end of the this book it seems Kirito is just getting acclimated into the alternate reality. With this book as with many first books in series it really leaves you asking yourself many questions like, "how did he get there", or "what is the final goal in this series". This book definitely has a pronounced ending unlike many of Reki Kawahara's other books in the series, but leaves itself open to interpretation on what is going to happen next. I also like how this is formatted from the other books which all seem to be similar where Kirito goes to a new world instantly becomes a "bad-ass" saves the world/game; then the end and then some drawn out explanation/filler." Here Kirito needs to learn the fine tuned nuances in this realistic world and for a while you would think that he may have to settle down for a while to get to where he wants to go or even to explore; and with many twists he is able to complete his task.
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Oh yeah, you read that right: There are two prologues. And then an interlude. Chapter One literally starts just shy the midway point.
It's important—and mostly entertaining—setup.
T
It's taken nine volumes, but I've finally reached a point in the SAO sage that I haven't seen animated. This is aaaaallllllll new to me. I'm not sure how long this arc is going to last—especially since the two prologues that lead this volume actually sets up two distinctly different stories—but I'm buckled up and ready.Oh yeah, you read that right: There are two prologues. And then an interlude. Chapter One literally starts just shy the midway point.
It's important—and mostly entertaining—setup.
The diciest section is actually that first prologue. And it's not so much dicy because of what is said, but rather what isn't. It launches reading like an AU version of Kirito. He's 11 years old, living in an idyllic town where he and his best friend, Eugeo, serve as woodchoppers. They're tasked with felling a massive tree that impedes the town's ability to farm to its ideal level. However, their world turns upside down when they venture beyond the town and break some rules.
If you've read eight preceding volumes of SAO, this is a very befuddling way to start a story. While we've not seen an 11-year-old Kirito before, we're pretty sure he's never moonlighted as a woodcutter before. In fact, the whole vibe of the area is one absent electricity or anything else we might envision as a modern convenience. Like I said above, it's like AU—taking a character we know and love and placing them in a context removed from the norm, something only a fanfic writer could cook up, you know? Of course, within the context of the series, we can try to make some assumptions: This is a VRMMO world because every major SAO arc has taken place in one. Even within this prologue we can see seams that hint at game world constraints in play. And yet, Kirito's day-to-day is trying to chop down a tree. This is NOT the sort of RPG environment that should appeal to someone who has the VRMMO background he does. (Counterpoint: Maybe this is the EXACT sort of gaming experience one craves with the sort of VRMMO background he has, lol.) Nor does he seem cognizant of this being any kind of simulation or game or anything BUT the world he grew up in and knows. If a stranger walked through the woods, to that tree he's chopping, and told him about the Kirito we know and love—Asuna, his sister, all his accomplishments—he'd think that guy bonkers. So maybe this Kirito is, to an extent, not our Kirito. Shared name? Yeah. Shared likeness? Sure. Someone whose paths will cross with the "real" Kirito? Probably. But not Kirito. Something interesting happens, though. By the end of the prologue I had stopped caring. The story author Reki Kawahara was craft was compelling enough that I was willing to accept the weird AU-vibe, the unanswered questions. (Luckily, it doesn't take too much of the second prologue to answer and contextualize a lot of that.)
Vol. 9 tackles some big, interesting questions, not just about the implications of highly detailed virtual worlds, but about what it is that makes a human truly human. It does this in a way that we see the questions through the worlds, the characters, the decisions. It gets too didactic at times, using dialogue to bruskly serve as a thesis, and sometimes our protagonist lags behind the reader's understanding—someone who should be smarter than we on on these kinds of topics—to a degree that's frustrating. Yet basking in the aftermath, I remember the way the narrative nudges these things, not so much the bluntness.
And good god is there some great prose in here. I'm not sure how much of that to attribute to Kawahara, and how much to the translator, Stephen Paul, but there's some goddamn wonderful turns of phrases and well-conveyed ideas in v.9. Here's some of my favorites:
"The thought that I'm seeing your heart beating just…sends me on a little trip, I guess…" (Asuna, explaining why she has a widget on her phone that displays Kirito's vitals. But how perfectly is "just sends me on a little trip" phrased? Simple, yes, but we innately connect to it because we understand that sometimes, in matters of love, it's the little things that get us through the day.)
'"I'm sorry for losing control."
"N-no…it's fine. I think you should cry when you need to," I said, a pretty weak excuse at consolation, but as Selka wasn't spoiled by the ever-present entertainment media of twenty-first-century Japan, she smiled and took it to heart.' (Dialogue between Kirito and Selka which highlights something surprisingly profound about how, in all likelihood, being bombarded with narrative media has made honest, simple reactions feel trite or cliche. It makes us cynical of anything that doesn't sound fresh, unique, new. But we're just fucking people, you know? We can't be on-the-spot verbal Shakespeares.)
"With the pain-absorbing functions of the NerveGear and AmuSphere, I lived such a sheltered experience that wounds in battle meant nothing more than a loss of abstract HP. If pain like this existed in Aincrad, I would never have left the Town of Beginnings." (Kirito doing self-reflection. Wow, ok, so this does something so perfect at this point in the narrative. It's one thing for him to talk about "pain absorbing" features and his relatively pain-free real life, it's another to so acutely delineate that into such an intense analogy that makes perfect sense within his history and so vividly shows how different his life would have been with the pain factor.)
"In fact, it produced the illusion that the tree was not falling on top of us but that the ground was tilting forward. Such was the unreality of the sight of a thirteen-foot-wide tree giving in to gravity and toppling over." (What a fucking mental image, holy shit.)
I'll stop there. Honestly, I waffled between 4 and 5 stars. There are some really key flaws here (not all of which I even outlined above), yet so stellar are the high points that I can't convince myself that the flaws matter at all.
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ASUNA
this poor girl.
this arc is very upsetting, and it's going to go on for years. IRL. ten novels long, and this is just the first. the first sao novel to follow the alicization arc is coming out - in Japan - next month. so here's to five actual years of stressing out over this becauseASUNA
this poor girl.
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PLOT
What I like about this arc, and this volume in particular, is the three layers of plots. On one hand is
I finished reading Sword Art Online Volume 9 recently. This is the start of the Alicization Arc, which, as of this posting, has not been adapted for an anime (although one is in the making). This was a novel experience for me as I watched the first four arcs before reading them (technically, I've only read the first two). I will examine Plot, Character, and Polish before assigning a grade.PLOT
What I like about this arc, and this volume in particular, is the three layers of plots. On one hand is the immediate plot about Kirito investigating the new world, Underworld. There's also the in-universe storyline which he himself is a part of; the history of the Human Empire within the End Mountains. The third is the most far-reaching, the ongoing conflict with Laughing Coffin. It began when he clashed with them in Aincard and continued in confronting Death Gun and now there's a conflict in real life. There are hints of something more going on in real life with Rath and the Soul Translator, but I'm not that far yet.
The beginning is kind of disorienting since it starts in what does not appear to be a virtual world or the real world but a more typical medieval fantasy setting and has a boy named "Kirito" who acts as though he is a native of this world. This is thoroughly explained after the prologue and I found it interesting regardless. It was intriguing even, whether or not this was a role play.
This arc is quite different from previous ones in that it is an ontological mystery. When the story proper starts, Kirito has to figure out where he is and what he's doing there before he can do anything else. He even considers the possibility that he's been transported to another dimension, before dismissing it as ridiculous. He has no idea what's going or what's happening so he has to figure it out as he goes. For a guy once derided as a "beater", this is indeed a new experience.
In every way, he's starting out at level 1; not even his meta knowledge about VRMMORPG in general is useful because this game features real pain, no predictable spawning points, and no level-grinding (at least, nothing that he can track; I think stat increases are based on feats rather than grinding). Criticism about how Kirito is "uber-broken" or whatever has no place here.
There's also humor here, such as jokes about Kazuto being a henpecked husband and some self-deprecation to the general shonen genre and even previous arcs of SAO itself such as Kirito trying to predict the storyline he's been flung into.
There's more focus on Kirito and Asuna's relationship as well, which I think is nice given the perception about the franchise being in the harem genre. It's an understandable misconception that stuff like this volume clears up. An exemplary moment is when, shortly after being stranded in Underworld, Kirito considers himself a "CPU that's missing half its cores" because Asuna isn't around; endearing nerdy for the VR-addict.
There is an excellent split ending - the series' conflict is set up and ongoing but the specific conflict in this volume (centered on the Gigas Cedar) is closed.
CHARACTERS
Kazuto/Kirito continues to be introspective in this volume. As in Volume 4, where he contemplates the difference between physical reality and virtual reality, in this one he thinks about the nature of existence and life itself. Part of this is that Yui, his beloved A.I. daughter, is not fully "alive" in the way he himself and Asuna are because she is mimicking human behavior based on watching the 3,000 SAO players for two years. However, Fluctlight based programs, like the natives of Underworld, are just as alive as he is because they are clearly not limited in knowledge/behavior/expressions/etc. to a limited pre-programed database. This leads to pondering if he is a Tomato in the Mirror, i.e. one of those Fluctlight based programs based on the real Kazuto.
Incidentally, he considers faithfulness to Asuna to be fundamental to his personality and identity.
Several new characters are introduced, such as Euego, Alice and Selka (though I imagine readers will see far more of the first two than the third). Euego is this Beware The Nice Ones kind of character - friendly, helpful, understanding, and also brave, solid and has a lot of practice swinging an axe. Alice strikes me as an Iron Lady in-the-making because of her determination and bossiness, but also has a mischievous streak via Loophole Abuse and some cute traits like asking her friends' opinion of her cooking (and "secretly" getting her mom's help with it).
POLISH
I don't recall any technical errors.
Trickster Eric Novels gives "Sword Art Online Volume 9" an A+
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A refreshing change of pace lies within the ninth volume of Sword Art Online. Finally we are stepping away from the virtual worlds and the harems that have been the pillars on which the series have stood for so long. I'll address the problems first: the setup of the new
Properly written and on the whole profoundly better than any of the volumes that have come before, despite some glaring issues in its setup, Kawahara provides the first truly good piece of SAO literature in Alicization Beginning.A refreshing change of pace lies within the ninth volume of Sword Art Online. Finally we are stepping away from the virtual worlds and the harems that have been the pillars on which the series have stood for so long. I'll address the problems first: the setup of the new systems makes absolutely zero sense. Sword Art Online has always required readers to suspend their disbelief but this time it's just not possible to do so: the very idea of the Soul Transfer is so blatantly science fiction that it's practically unsalable. For all of the good points of Volume Nine, the idea of fluctlights and the new method by which characters will access the 'virtual-but-not-virtual' world is just, for lack of a better phrase, plain bullshit.
But where this volume truly shines is when it finally steps away from the real world for good and relies solely upon the narrative being told in the Underworld. For the first time ever in the Sword Art Online franchise, Kawahara delivers an intense, interesting story that keeps readers invested in the mystery that is being told. What is the Underworld truly? What are the intentions of the shadowy organisation Rath? Why is the land beyond the End Mountains allowed to exist where it does? Kawahara does not answer these questions and it is a blessing; he gives readers just enough answers to allow them to understand the basis of the new story whilst keeping them hooked for more information in the coming volumes.
I truly went into this volume with the lowest of expectations and it all came from the basis of my friend, a complete Sword Art Online worshipper, telling me to stick with the narrative as Alicization is where it picks up quality. I certainly think it's early days to call the later volumes of the franchise 'great', but I'll grace this volume with the word 'good'. Kawahara, for the first time, has got me invested to see where this goes. Pray that the investment remains.
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This book can be divided in three parts. First part is Kirito testing the new full dive technology, which is so advanced that the difference bet
A new story arc had started from this book. And most fans consider this arc as the best storyline in the Sword Art Online series. Do I agree? Yes. The writing style of Kawahara has improved. The characters are decently written. The story was immersive and fast paced. This book was just a prologue to this massive Alicization Saga and I am already hooked.This book can be divided in three parts. First part is Kirito testing the new full dive technology, which is so advanced that the difference between VR and reality is very hard to distinguish. In the first part, Kirito is in the company of two new characters, Eugeo and Alice and they try to get in trouble which results in a tragic incident. The second part is Kirito's interaction with Asuna and Shino. Where he reveals about him being paid for testing a new technology and explains the technology in detail. The info dump here wasn't bad, it was mostly interesting to read. Then bidding goodbye to Shino, Kirito and Asuna set out for a romantic walk. This part is one of my favourites. I just love this scene. I don't know why I love this couple so much. Their love story isn't that unique or anything but I just couldn't stop myself from smiling whenever they interact.
She'd played it cool at the time, but underneath, her heart was swirling with disappointment in herself for hesitating, and guilt for having forced that burden onto Kirito. Just as she was feeling that she didn't have the right to be considered a member of the elite front line or to walk at Kirito's side, she heard his voice telling her that he would do whatever it took to get her back to her old world.
In that instant, a powerful drive overtook her. The next time, she would protect him. Not just that time, but every time. In any world.
The third part is where the action starts. The plot after the accident which will keep Kirito away from Asuna for years. Kirito is dropped back in the underworld, the VR world.
Overall, an enjoyable read and an improvement from the previous books.
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Because it's a hole new world and story. If the previous volumes was telling you about SAO, ALO and GGO, now in this volume, it's not. And if i can describe about what i really like the most from this volume is, the harem part of Kirito is not that much, even almost nothing, lol :D . I love it
Actually i'm not really like harem story (even tho SAO is not harem novel, and yeah I know it, but it's like harem in some part for m Ok, so this volume is soooo different from the previous volumes (1 to 8).
Because it's a hole new world and story. If the previous volumes was telling you about SAO, ALO and GGO, now in this volume, it's not. And if i can describe about what i really like the most from this volume is, the harem part of Kirito is not that much, even almost nothing, lol :D . I love it
Actually i'm not really like harem story (even tho SAO is not harem novel, and yeah I know it, but it's like harem in some part for me, *Cmiiw), but i really like fantasy with sci-fi or technology, and Reki Kawahara succeed to make me impress. That's why i really like reading SAO.
The other thing is, you (maybe) need some more time to re-read some part, cuz it's telling you about some theories and it's really interesting btw. You'll really like how Reki Kawahara write it to the story.
So, so far, if i can compare it to the previous 8 volumes, maybe this volume is the best for me.
Can't wait to continue to read volume 10 :D
The really fun part: seeing Kirito attacked. I seriously can't stand this guy anymore. He's always the 'all-so-powerful' and it annoys me.
And then we're back into the world from the beginning, which was fun again because Kirito seems to be going crazy not knowing if it's real or not, but it took forever for something to happen and it just dragged on. It could've been smaller. It could've had more. I hope the other books are better. ...more
As it moves on there is some explanation for it and for me things picked up around that point. There is an awful lot of techno-babble about some new tech and this experience. You might feel it a bit heavy to have it all dumped on you, but I enjoy seeing Kawahara's ideas for where an
I will admit I had a hard time starting this one. Mostly because it starts in media res in a totally different setting than you are used to for Kirito and without him seemingly knowing where he is and what's going on.As it moves on there is some explanation for it and for me things picked up around that point. There is an awful lot of techno-babble about some new tech and this experience. You might feel it a bit heavy to have it all dumped on you, but I enjoy seeing Kawahara's ideas for where and how the tech might work.
The book ends up on more familiar ground -- not so much because it is Aincrad or Alfheim all over again, but because you know (to a degree) what's going on and it is the beginning of a grand new adventure.
I am curious as to where Kawahara is going to take the story, but more I am curious to see how he will work with the idea of what is real.
Verdict: If you're a fan of SAO -- so far Alicization is okay. If you're considering SAO -- start at the beginning, jumping in here would not be a good idea.
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Another thing that changed is the cast Of course we have our trusted hero Kirito but the rest of the group will not be in the spotlight. fortunately we get some great characters in return
It being the first of an new arc a lot of w
When I started reading this I had to go back and check if I was really reading SAO, In this volume almost everything we have come to expect from SAO is changed. It is not a bad change! I quite liked it once I got used to it. And it reads just as easy as the other ones.Another thing that changed is the cast Of course we have our trusted hero Kirito but the rest of the group will not be in the spotlight. fortunately we get some great characters in return
It being the first of an new arc a lot of world-building is going on. And I for one can't wait for the next one!
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This is my second time reading this book. I actually have the paperback versions, but because I have been reading more and more Kindle, I decided to get it again.
I love this series so much! The characters, detail to writing, and storytelling is amazing. Spoilers for those who haven't read farther (or maybe not?), this story arc ties in all of the other ones. It is by far my favorite of the main arcs. I'm looking forward to rereading it!!!
Focus is back on Kirito, and the setting and story are cool. No harem, also great. No OP Kirito to a certain extent. So, all in all, not bad at all. Looking forward to the next one.
Lots of woodcutting in this one.
I'll be reading the rest of Alicization. Finally, Kirito gets to add a guy to his crew ;) A really interesting new arc. I enjoyed the core of it and the theme of going further into "reality" and "perception". the new technology in this book is cool to read about. The beginning was a bit slow for me but picked up after the exposition.
Lots of woodcutting in this one.
I'll be reading the rest of Alicization. Finally, Kirito gets to add a guy to his crew ;) ...more
(Ugh- just spent over an hour working on a review before accidentally deleting it! Full review to come!)
The first SAO novel with never-before-seen content- this marks the start of the beginning of SAO's official 4th arc: Project "Alicization".(Ugh- just spent over an hour working on a review before accidentally deleting it! Full review to come!)
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It was pretty enjoyable although it may looks similar to the Aincrad but totally different concept of realistic feelings with the bunch of Intellectual AI which Kirito consider that precious he even forgot his real world, family and his girlfriend. Thus 4 ratings.
This book was all normal and lighthearted then the cave. Ouch. Then after the train station. Ouch. Just, just ouch
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Sword Art Online 9 Alicization Beginning Manga
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