They are a good reimagining of the original series.
Summary:
Sword Art Online: Progressive is a rewrite of the first arc of the original series, which goes into detailed floor-by-floor progress in the game.
It was adapted into two movies, which fans of SAO liked quite a bit.
There isn’t much content, but we might see more of it in the future.
Sword Art Online has its share of both fans and haters. While it is definitely entertaining, it has a lot of ups and downs, and some of its arcs are widely considered not good (just like the Alfheim Online arc, the second half of S1).
Some otaku also criticize it for being generic and for spawning endless game-like isekai series. While SAO isn’t an isekai itself, it definitely feels like one.
That said, if you do like Sword Art Online — especially its first arc — you should probably watch the Progressive movies. Even if you don’t particularly care about the series, some fans feel like they actually improve upon the issues of the early anime.
What is SAO Progressive?
Initially, Sword Art Online: Progressive started as a rewrite of the light novels, following the events of the first arc in more detail. After all, the characters were going through many floors, and the initial web novel, LN and anime all skipped over most of them, keeping only the ones with actual plot development.
One might wonder why such a thing was even needed in the first place. After all, most of the characters’ adventures in the world of SAO had no impact on the plot. That said, the Progressive rewrite exists to give the readers a more natural sense of, well, progression, as well as to focus on adventure over the plot — which most readers find pretty basic by now.
Why is it good?
A lot of fans found Progressive to be actually more interesting and well-written than the original novel — and no wonder, considering the original was written years ago. Reki Kawahara improved as a writer over the years. As such, the anime adaptation made fans happy — and if you like SAO, you should probably watch it.
The adaptation gives more importance to Asuna and minimizes the role of Kirito in the series. It’s not particularly how the actual Progressive LN works, but as an anime, it is a new take on SAO we haven’t seen before.
Besides, early Kirito isn’t that interesting of a protagonist anyway. The anime has beautiful animation, and consists of just two movies — both of which you can stream on Crunchyroll.
We want more content
One gripe fans have with SAO Progressive movies is the fact that the story is obviously not finished. By the end of the second movie, the characters are still on the fifth floor. That said, the Progressive light novels are still ongoing, so it’s possible we will see more of this reimagining of the series in the future.
They are a good reimagining of the original series.
Summary:
Sword Art Online: Progressive is a rewrite of the first arc of the original series, which goes into detailed floor-by-floor progress in the game.
It was adapted into two movies, which fans of SAO liked quite a bit.
There isn’t much content, but we might see more of it in the future.
Sword Art Online has its share of both fans and haters. While it is definitely entertaining, it has a lot of ups and downs, and some of its arcs are widely considered not good (just like the Alfheim Online arc, the second half of S1).
Some otaku also criticize it for being generic and for spawning endless game-like isekai series. While SAO isn’t an isekai itself, it definitely feels like one.
That said, if you do like Sword Art Online — especially its first arc — you should probably watch the Progressive movies. Even if you don’t particularly care about the series, some fans feel like they actually improve upon the issues of the early anime.
What is SAO Progressive?
Initially, Sword Art Online: Progressive started as a rewrite of the light novels, following the events of the first arc in more detail. After all, the characters were going through many floors, and the initial web novel, LN and anime all skipped over most of them, keeping only the ones with actual plot development.
One might wonder why such a thing was even needed in the first place. After all, most of the characters’ adventures in the world of SAO had no impact on the plot. That said, the Progressive rewrite exists to give the readers a more natural sense of, well, progression, as well as to focus on adventure over the plot — which most readers find pretty basic by now.
Why is it good?
A lot of fans found Progressive to be actually more interesting and well-written than the original novel — and no wonder, considering the original was written years ago. Reki Kawahara improved as a writer over the years. As such, the anime adaptation made fans happy — and if you like SAO, you should probably watch it.
The adaptation gives more importance to Asuna and minimizes the role of Kirito in the series. It’s not particularly how the actual Progressive LN works, but as an anime, it is a new take on SAO we haven’t seen before.
Besides, early Kirito isn’t that interesting of a protagonist anyway. The anime has beautiful animation, and consists of just two movies — both of which you can stream on Crunchyroll.
We want more content
One gripe fans have with SAO Progressive movies is the fact that the story is obviously not finished. By the end of the second movie, the characters are still on the fifth floor. That said, the Progressive light novels are still ongoing, so it’s possible we will see more of this reimagining of the series in the future.
