I'm hopeful that he can keep steering things in this direction. Often, he falls on bad tropes and fan service, and what's kept me going are the stretches and glimmers of deeper world building, and I'm glad to see that angle of the franchise now in the spotlight and shining hard as he really pushes himself to enrich the themes and characters. This book shows what Kawahara can accomplish when he really challenges himself. This is a marvelous story about gaming, why we play, and the connections we build through playing together, and I even love how it's bookended by the conflict between Asuna and her controlling mother, who doesn't understand her daughter continuing to take part in a system that almost killed her in the earlier volumes. Yes, I know this is playing on a frequent trope of anime, but Asuna learning the truth about who her friends are, why they have the bond and experience they do, and why they're hesitant to get close to new people is powerfully handled as Kawahara opens things up beyond the game, exploring how this virtual tech can be used in the outside world as treatment and emotional support for those just trying to enjoy what life they have.
That's what our focus is here, where a group of new skilled players catch Asuna's eye as she's recruited to help them on a dungeon quest. I love when SAO sets aside the mysteries and conspiracies and global mind traps, and just lets its characters have fun playing a game. Building on his sidelining in the last arc, Kirito is just a minor supporting player here, allowing Asuna to take the central stage and, instead of further building on their already well established romance, lets that be comfortably settled as we instead follow her on a new adventure with a new cast of characters. Beautiful, fun, moving book that elevates the entire franchise and almost makes up for some of the big fumbles leading up to this point.
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