Sword Art Online "Land of the Fairies" Review

"Whoever's not afraid of dying, come on. Step up and get some."

FULL EPISODE SPOILERS AHEAD

Kirito is back, baby! After what was primarily a Kazuto-based episode, we finally get to see Kirito back in action. It's not technically the same character as the one from SAO, but, his username is still Kirito.


This episode serves basically as an "episode one" of sorts, as we are introduced to a brand new game that is both the same exact thing yet totally different as SAO. I'll explain when we get there, don't worry. Not only that, but we meet the obligatory female-buddy for the arc's main protagonist this episode, as well as some new comic relief.

And a surprise character returns and it is adorable as ever. That wasn't a give-away, was it?

The episode begins where Kirito goes to Agil's little club to get more info on the pictures of Asuna. Agil looks exactly the same, maybe slightly smaller in real life than in the game (though that may also be because Agil was wearing armor all the time in the game). There, Agil tells Kirito all about ALfheim Online, aka ALO: there are nine different races of fairies all vying to get to the kingdom at the top of the World Tree--which is in the center of the map--to be granted some magic wing voodoo or something like that. Five players all tried to catapult each other up but couldn't get any higher than the lowest branch because of their flight parameters, but were able to snag a picture of a bird cage up there, and upon looking, there was Asuna.

So, yeah, a lot of stuff to buy. The big selling point of the game is that players can fly in game. It's easy to see why that would sell, too. The NerveGear transmits most all nerves that deal with physical movements to the player in the game, which allows them to move. So, they still feel the sensation of running, punching, talking, etc. Being able to fly would be an awesome thing to feel, so it totally makes sense that people are goings nuts over it.

So now we know, fairies have wings and can fly. But do they have tails?

I'm not obsessed with the concept of ALO, but I do admit it sounds slighter cooler than SAO. It isn't necessarily level-based, where you get stronger by simply getting stronger, but is skill based, so you have to work on particular skills to become better at those things, rather than be an overall juggernaut. So, you could have a higher stealth skill than strength skill, things like that. In that, though, isn't there still technically a leveling system since skills have to be leveled up over time? Kinda contradicting yourself there, game.

It's surprising the amount of big, muscly dudes that play this game, too. Most of the time you would think these kinds of guys are the ones that would stray away from games about pixies and fairies and yet we see five or six of them in game dealing with people. I suppose that either 1) because this game does not have the mirror-thing on it's not exactly what they look like or 2) they don't care and want to play a game where player-killing is totally cool.

Oh and another big selling point: players don't die in real life if they die in the game. That's what excites Kazuto the most, pretty much. He borrows the game from Agil to look into the whole Asuna thing, going in for a full-dive when he goes home later that evening. It's the same process as the one for SAO, too. He creates his new Kirito character based off of the "Sprigan" class fairy, who appear to be of the stealth-type. Also: despite his appearance being at random, he looks exactly like the Kirito from SAO, which is confusing at first but luckily it's explained.

Phew.

The game goes to transport him to the Sprigan's territory but something within the game happens and he gets dropped into a brand new area. Kirito checks his skills to see how low on the totem pole he is but finds that all of his skills and stats, all the really high ones, are still there from SAO. Then, he remembers something, and manages to find Yui's Heart. He accesses the item, and OUT POPS YUI YES!

Yui is back!

I love it, it's such a good move on the creator's part to bring Yui back! Her character was not nearly done and now you really, really want Kirito to find Asuna for Yui's sake.

Yui and Kirito talk a little more about the game, finding out that most of the codes, layouts, graphics, and core system, the Cardinal, are all the same as SAO, which Kirito deduces is thanks to RCT Progress, the company Evil Businessman Natsu (Sugou) works for. Yui morphs herself into a pocket-sized pixie, since that's what her program is meant to look like now, and teaches Kirito how to fly. The two decide to head to the nearest town.

The whole reunion with Yui is done in a very well executed manner. It could easily have been the two crying each others arms saying they miss each other, but no. It was very in character for the two of them. Yes, it was a very heartwarming moment for the two when they first reunited, but then they had to get back to business to figure out where they were and why.

While that goes on, we meet Recon and Leafa, two Sylph-class fairies who are fighting off some big men in red armor. Leafa, the girl, sounds an awful lot like another character we know from the show. Who is it? I'm not telling, keep reading my reviews.

They're doing well for a while before Recon, who is supposed to be the new comic relief but is instead really whiny and annoying, gets himself killed and Leafa gets blasted out of the sky. The three big guys in red armor corner but Kirito arrives and takes one of them down, calling out the other two as the episode ends.

I should note that there are a few newer musical tracks here that are, admittedly, not as effective as the main ones from the previous arc. They still play many of the tracks from the previous one, but a few are redone to match the higher-pitched songs of Alfheim. I guess it's meant to elevate the mood since players can't die in real life.

Also I should note: smart move on Kirito's part to check for the log-out button. I was actually pretty tense watching it, wondering if it would show up. If it didn't I would have been pretty mad.

Anyway, this was a good introduction to Alfheim. Full of exposition? Yes. But at least now it leaves room for us to press on with the story as well as figure out what's so special about this game and the characters that are in it. Like: why are the big dudes in red armor attacking the Sylphs? Which is good, TV shows leaving plot-based questions are good so long as they are questioning the plot themselves.

Which, sadly, is something we may eventually come to in SAO. But stay tuned. Will we end up questioning the plot? And who is this mysterious new Leafa girl? Is it who you think it is? Come back tomorrow (or just watch the episode) to find out! See you then.