After successfully untangling themselves from a dangerous encounter with
the Black Poncho Man and clearing the fifth floor of Aincrad, Kirito and Asuna
head to the next challenge, an area filled with…puzzles?
What’s more,
because of the precarious balance of power between two large guilds aiming for
the same item, “The Flag of Valor”, there’s also a murderous PK group to be wary
of. As the problems seem to pile up, Kirito and Asuna face the sixth floor of
Aincrad completely unaware of the malicious trap awaiting them!!

Reki Kawahara’s Sword Art Online series seems to be a divisive topic across the anime fandom, with people either firmly in the hate it or love it category. Putting the whole rape controversy aside, most critics take aim at the wasted potential of the original SAO scenario – thousands of players locked in an RPG of death only to quickly divert into more standard action/harem tones. Progressive is Reki Kawahara’s answer to that – revisiting the original story and fleshing it out in earnest. Each novel is a floor of Aincrad, and he leaves few stones unturned in addressing the players personal feelings about being trapped in the game, the budding societal friction as guilds start to form, the mechanics of the game and, of most interest to me, the PK element.

I’ve really loved this series so far – at this point Kawahara is a far better writer than when he tackled his early sword art stuff and it shows. He has a far better handle of character and the prose is fleshed out and interesting to delve into. The floor boss fights are usually a highlight – Kawahara is a master of ramping up the tension with devious twists and turns in these battles. Unfortunately, this novel splits the current floor into two books, so we won’t get the boss fight until next volume, but this excitement is supplemented by another knife’s edge encounter with the cunning and bloodthirsty PKers.

Kirito and Asuna are ambushed by Morte and a accomplice while they are completely paralised as part of a story quest. How they manage to cheat death and fight their way out of this impossible situation makes for a thrilling chapter. Kirito’s duels with Morte are always so well written, with each and every blow of the battle described with suspense and adrenaline-fueled quick-thinking. This time Asuna is also involved and really saves the day with her fearless wit.

If i had to name a flaw in Progressive it has been in Asuna’s characterisation. It’s fairly clear that Kawahara can’t write female characters overly well, and Asuna’s cute jabs and death stares at Kirito over every social misstep often miss the cute he was aiming for and land squarely in annoying territory. This novel is a big improvement though, striking the right balance between being confident and willful, but also frigid bashful as you might expect from a young maiden. There are some really cute moments with her and Kirito this chapter that give much needed chemistry to their romance.

And of course it wouldn’t be SAO with a touch of fanservice so we get an obligatory bath scene thrown in at the end – not that I’m complaining. Circumstances lead to Kirito wrestling with Asuna naked in the bath and they are joined by the well-endowed Kizmel. An enviable scenario to be in, no doubt.

Story: ▮▮▮▯▯
Fanservice:▮▯▯▯▯