WARNING: The following contains minor spoilers for Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night, coming to theaters on Dec. 3, as well as brief discussion of suicide and thoughts of self-harm.
Sword Art Online sets out to tell a different version of a familiar story with its new Progressive film series. Fans eagerly await the first movie's release, Aria of a Starless Night, in less than a week. The anticipation is both palpable and well-deserved.
Sword Art Online: Progressive functions as a retelling of the anime's Aincrad arc, the first and one of the most highly praised arcs in the series. This time, the entrapment in a VR death game is told from Asuna's point of view instead of Kirito's. From here, there are all kinds of changes and additions to the story that turn Aria of a Starless Night into a unique and worthwhile watch for any SAO fan.
For the reboot to work, superficial changes wouldn't be enough. A-1 Pictures can't simply recap the original anime's, which was already done through Sword Art Online: Extra Edition. Reanimating scenes from the ground up or updating the computer graphics wouldn't suffice, either. In order to make Sword Art Online: Progressive truly worth the price of admission, the studio had to take the changes much further. Thankfully, it succeeds.
One of the biggest changes in Aria of a Starless Night is making Asuna the main character. When introduced in the virtual reality game world of Aincrad, she's kind, amicable and outgoing. Everything about her runs in contrast to the loner Kirito from the start of the anime. However, Asuna here has no real sense of direction in life. She aims for academic excellence at her mother's behest, but has no idea what to do with it. She's not even that into video games, only entering Sword Art Online on a whim. All of this new information surrounding the now-main-character Asuna informs her decisions and contextualizes her actions. Her unique perspective and personality reframe the Aincrad arc into a whole new story.
Asuna's inexperience with gaming is especially central to her story in Aria of a Starless Night. When the death game begins, she immediately finds herself in mortal danger because she has no idea how to defend herself. It's only through the help of others that she's given a chance to improve her abilities and stay alive.
The general sense of danger is also enhanced with Asuna as the lead. With a pro gamer like Kirito as the protagonist in the original series, death didn't feel far away, but it didn't feel close, either. For Asuna, an amateur, it's much harder to tell what she can and can't survive because even she isn't sure what she's capable of. The unknowable nature of Asuna's potential adds greater tension whenever she's put in a dangerous situation.
Asuna's need for help from the beginning creates a catalyst to introduce a completely new character to the franchise: Mito. As a hardcore gamer, Mito becomes integral to aiding Asuna when she's starting off and learning new skills. She serves as both a close friend and an instructor to Asuna for most of the movie's runtime.
Watching Asuna steadily improve is a fun part of Aria of a Starless Night. When she defeats her first enemy on her own, not only is it a cool-looking scene but her excitement is easy to understand and relate to. It also lets the audience breathe a sigh of relief to see their main character finally improve to a point where the danger isn't immediate against whatever low-level enemy she encounters. Seeing this glimmer of hope in a relatively bleak scenario is a welcome form of reassurance.
Unfortunately, feelings of hope can seem few and far between in this movie. It becomes readily apparent that Asuna does not have what it takes to survive on her own in the harsh, unforgiving world of Sword Art Online. It doesn't help when she overhears people talking about how they've all been trapped in the game for weeks, nearly 2,000 have already died and nobody has even cleared the death game's first floor -- and there are 100 in total that must be cleared to survive and exit the game. All these negative thoughts -- combined with her own lack of direction in life -- lead Asuna to the borderline-suicidal tendencies and thoughts alluded to in the early anime.
These despairing moments, however, are what make the positive ones more of an enjoyable relief. Sometimes, it's little pleasures like eating cream-covered rye bread or taking a warm bath. Then there are bigger triumphs like defeating a powerful enemy or, as mentioned earlier, learning how to fight from a close friend. Aria of a Starless Night does a good job of making the overarching situation seem hopeless so these moments can shine more brightly through the darkness.
Naturally, some of Asuna's happiest moments come from her interactions with Kirito, who assists her on multiple occasions and provides important moral support when she desperately needs it. He also happens to be responsible for the cream-covered bread and the bath. Having Kirito in this incredibly dangerous virtual world fills Asuna with hope and lets her believe that clearing the game is possible again, and gradually lays the initial points for a potential romance to bloom.
With the new-story requirements fulfilled for the reboot, the nostalgic appeal of Aria of a Starless Night becomes welcome and gratifying. Seeing certain scenes from the anime recreated faithfully from the ground up is an impressive feat, especially by anime standards. Some of these are even shown with different camerawork, or just generally improved upon. There are some shots, for instance, that are still frames in the anime but get fully animated for the movie. Little touches like these will make any diehard SAO fan giddy while also thrilling newcomers.
It's also fun for longtime fans to seek out cameos in the movie. There are obvious, not-really-hidden cameos like Asuna's parents and Silica, but there are some slightly trickier characters to find as well.
Generally speaking, Aria of a Starless Night is visually spectacular. The action scenes are beautifully animated, the colors are vibrant, the linework is smooth and the camerawork makes everything clear and cinematic. The updates to the computer graphics also make those from the anime seem almost dated by comparison. It's truly a viewing experience worthy of the big screen.
Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night is a good movie to see in theaters for any fan of the franchise. Since it's a reboot, even those who haven't seen Sword Art Online before can enjoy this film as a standalone work. The characters are well-developed, the story is engaging and the presentation is stunning. If the rest of the Progressive film series is anything like Aria of a Starless Night, the future of Sword Art Online remains bright.
Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night
Original title: Gekijôban Sword Art Online Progressive Hoshi naki yoru no Aria.
High school student Asuna struggles to survive with a young swordsman after its revealed that she is trapped inside the game of Sword Art Online, where if your HP drops to zero, your brain will be destroyed in real life.
- Release Date
- October 30, 2021
- Cast
- Yoshitsugu Matsuoka , Haruka Tomatsu , Inori Minase
- Runtime
- 1 hour 37 minutes
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Writers
- Reki Kawahara
- Production Company
- A-1 Pictures, Aniplex, Bandai Namco Entertainment
For more information on the warning signs and prevention of suicide, click here. If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If you live outside the U.S., click here for a list of international hotlines.