The Sword Art Online franchise spans light novels, manga, video games, an original movie, an entire spinoff franchise, and a currently-airing anime series. Most SAO fans are more than familiar with all of the above-mentioned media, but what about the special extra series, Sword Art Offline?

Sword Art Offline was a bonus series that recapped the events of the anime through the form of a talk show run by the show's characters. Stylized in an adorable chibi design, these short episodes ran around 10-12 minutes long and were only available on the physical DVD releases of the first anime series.

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The first batch of episodes, which covered the initial Aincrad arc, always followed the same structure. They began with "News Headlines," in which the host, Asuna, gave an update regarding events in the anime. Next up was the "Playback Corner," in which both Asuna and Kirito played scenes from recent episodes and offered commentary on them. During this time, they were typically visited by a guest character who had been featured in the episodes in question. In between each segment, Yui would take over and host a segment called "Sword Art Trivia," which involved discussion of different factoids about the SAO universe.

Each episode ended with "Klein's Life Counseling" (with the exception of the first episode which was called "Kirito's Life Counseling"). During these closing segments, an "anonymous" speaker (usually the guest from the episode standing behind a curtain) would ask Klein and Kirito for help.

While the extra series offered a refreshing break from the high stakes of Aincrad, Sword Art Offline was, unfortunately, nothing special. The chibi art style, while cute, was only accompanied by simple animations and movements that quickly got repetitive after a few episodes. Same with the show's commentary, which started off relatively strong with Asuna's jealousy peaking through as she called out Kirito's ever-growing harem. It was a side of Asuna that was exclusive to Sword Art Offline, which was initially refreshing to see. Unfortunately, each succeeding episode repeated the same routine: Asuna got jealous upon discovering another girl Kirito was hanging out with, leading to her beating him up off-camera. The schtick got repetitive very quickly.

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In terms of original content, Sword Art Offline did have its own "universe" with its own series of events that happened exclusively in the show. At one point, the show's sponsor Argus -- the corporation behind the NerveGear -- demanded that Asuna be replaced, explaining a host who was married would be less appealing to viewers. This led to Asuna's demotion and Leafa's promotion to her spot from Episodes 6-9, as well as a joint-hosting gig with the two girls during the episode Sword Art Offline: Extra Edition. However, beyond that little bit of "drama" fans weren't missing out on anything much that was exclusive to the bonus series.

Even the show's ending therapy session segments, which might sound interesting on the surface, never really accomplished anything. Most segments featured either male guests commenting on Kirito's extensive harem or female ones asking for advice on how to win Kirito's affection. This usually led to some very awkward interactions between Kirito and the guest. In fact, each segment usually ended with Kirito feeling more distressed than when the episode began. As if Aincrad's legendary beater needed anything else beyond trying to escape a game that was designed to kill him to feel stressed about.

As these episodes are only available as bonuses on the physical DVD releases of Sword Art Online, they're not the most accessible form of media in the SAO franchise. However, because of their repetitive and boring structure, unnecessary storylines that add nothing to the main plot, and Kirito's unproductive therapy sessions, viewers honestly aren't missing out on much. Even hardcore Sword Art Online superfans are probably better off leaving Sword Art Offline both offline, and off of their minds.

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