Sword Art Online the Movie Progessive - Scherzo of the Deep Night

Here's that anime film I promised ....

As with That Time I Got Reincarnated as A Slime, Sword Art Online also began as a series of novels before it hit it big as an anime. That TV show got its own movies, two of which adapt the franchise's Progressive sub-series. The first of them, Aria of a Starless Night, didn't play close enough to me in late 2021. I had better luck with the second, Scherzo of the Deep Night, which is out now. Let's see how it is.

As Aria established, highschooler Asuna Yuki and her best friend, Misumi "Mito" Tozawa, found themselves stuck with around 10,000 players in the titular virtual RPG. It's one of those "you die in the game, you die for real " affairs, so they can't mess around. They apparently fell out, but Asuna found herself with a new partner - Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya - the franchise's actual protagonist. As the film opens, Asuna, Kirito and their new friend, the impish broker Argo, co-ordinate a cross guild takedown of the game's fourth boss. There's just ninety-six to go.

The two big guilds plan a big New Year's Eve party (the film's set in 2022). Meanwhile, Argo tells our heroes that whoever slays the next boss will get a special MacGuffin that makes their guild all-powerful. Naturally, the guilds might want to fight for first dibs on the item rather than fight for their lives. So, our heroes and a few allies join forces to take down the boss themselves. Asuna wants Mito to join the raid, but they'll have to fight things out first. Meanwhile, Asuna and Kirito become privy to the Laughing Coffin Guild, who want to kill players for the lols. What are they to do?

For those playing at home, director Ayako Kouno and writer Yukito Kizawa skip directly to creator Reki Kawahara's fourth novel in the sub-series. I bring this up because Asuna and Kirito already know Argo when the film opens. Not only that, but Kirito is quite chummy with the guilds despite being ostracized as a "Beater" (Beta-Tester and Cheater, long story) in the last film. Kibaou, one of Kirito's biggest detractors, is a lot friendlier to him here. This may certainly strike those familiar with the franchise (like me) as odd. What happened between those films? It does bring newcomers up to speed with the previous film, though. So, that's good.

What's better is Argo - who barely appeared in the TV anime at all - in a leading role. Her impish personality livens up whatever scene she's in. She gets some nice character moments with Asuna, including a fight with produce in a hot spring. I did get a kick out of her retort to Kirito's astonishment that the climactic boss - a giant golem - has two arms. She's a likable friend to our heroes even if she's a case of remember the new guy. Mito, a character created for these films, is a good character. She gets her best moments with her duel with Asuna and in the climactic battle, where her chain skills help them win the day. One can sympathize with her aloofness even if they haven't seen the first film.

Asuna and Kirito's relationship is fine. They get some nice bonding moments, especially when they confront some Laughing Coffin goons while treasure hunting. The fight scenes look great, and with series composer Yuki Kaijura at the helm, they sound great too. The climactic fight against the Golem is its standout moment, as our heroes have to strategize to claw at the monster's hit points bit by bit. It was quite tense to see Asuna come close to death in the fight. But only the fact that it's this early in the anime's story detracts from the tension. It was quite a standout that our heroes' first encounter with the Laughing Coffins' leader feels like a letdown.

Sword Art Online the Movie Progessive - Scherzo of the Deep Night is surprisingly not boring. There's a nice mix of action and character moments. Argo is sure to be a fan favorite if she isn't already. Oddly, most theaters are showing this once a day, mostly at night. My screening was a subtitled version in the afternoon. The dubbed version will screen later this week. At nights.  It might not win over any new fans, but it's still a decent way to spend 101 minutes. See it at your earliest convenience.