Sword Art Online, Vol. 01: Aincrad

I've watched the Sword Art Online anime and really enjoyed the series, so when I saw an English translation of the original novel, I decided to take a gamble. The translation is about what I expected, not the worst I've ever read but pretty far from the best. “Frail?” You describe Asuna as “frail?” Lots of better synonyms, methinks. I think I might enjoy it more if I tried the Japanese where simple sentences make me very happy instead of frustrated. I wish that translators could use some Japanese words with a few footnotes. Ittadakimasu and Otsukaresama deshita just sound weird in English.

To the actual story, though, I was surprised at how much the anime added. I picked up the book wondering what the anime left out, but the opposite turned out to be true. This book is much more Kirito/Asuna-centric and most of the other storylines are completely absent. Asuna's part too starts out much less interesting than her anime counterpart maybe because her story isn't told chronologically. It takes forever to get to the point where she has any reason to be interested in Kirito, even though she pretty much is focused on him from the second we see them. Still, eventually the author starts showing what she can do instead of giving her a nickname and expecting the audience to believe she's a badass.

The thing I love about the anime and the best thing about the novel is Kirito and Asuna's relationship. So many stories go the will they/won't they route, dragging a romance around, throwing implausible misunderstandings and various rivals at the couple. It's boring. There is never any question that Kirito and Asuna won't, we just watch them develop and kick major ass as a team. They are a power couple who never lose faith in each other, even when the world is literally crumbling around them. I'm also a sucker for the “stuck in a game” story. I think it dates back to an Are You Afraid of the Dark episode I watched as a kid... it has always been a terrifying and fascinating concept for me.

The writing is very simple, but for a light read, it was better than expected. There's some typical Japanese misogyny and stereotyping, but I still treat Asuna as a step forward. My only real gripe is the edition. We start out with full color splashes of the major characters and each one gets a quote emblazoned by them. Most are central character ideas or at least full sentences. Asuna's is just “Kirito.” That's doesn't count as a quote, guys. That is lame. She has some really good lines. Why didn't we use those?

Oh wait, she gets another full splash page... in her underwear. And her quote is “Just ... don't stare... okay?” Grr! I don't know what the Japanese edition is but come on, America! SAO is a great series to appeal to everyone, but they gotta go the otaku fanservice route. Frustrating.

In the end, it isn't a bad YA read especially for anime fans, but you have to go into it with an internal translator... and maybe an x-acto knife.