Review: #539
Title: Sword Art Online: Girls' Ops Vol. 1
Series: Sword Art Online: Girls' Ops - 1st volume
Author: Neko Nekobyou / Reki Kawahara
Read Before: no
Comments: Riding on the popularity of Sword Art Online comes this spin-off manga starring the three heroines: Silica, Lisbeth and Leafa. It is set sometime after the events of Fairy Dance and has the trio doing quests in ALO. This first volume manages to set up and closes off the first story arc nicely so that it doesn’t get chopped between two volumes. However, the storyline isn’t the most original or clever. They meet a person who dresses and fights somewhat like Kirito and the way that Kirito is portrayed to be the most likeable, most awesome character ever can get too much (while Kirito is a cool character, we don’t need characters shoving praise down our throats every few pages). The new character has a predictable tragic backstory which ties back to SAO but because it has been done before already, it doesn’t hook you. The art can be inconsistent, with the ALO characters having good proportions and details while the real-life counterparts not as slick looking, especially Suguha. Treading way too heavily on a clichéd path, Girls’ Ops is only for die-hard Sword Art Online fans.
Rating: 6/10
