Sword Art Online (Volume 2) - Fairy Dance 1

Kirito woke up in the real world, but he soon learnt that others had remained asleep, seemingly locked inside. Then, he was shown a picture from another VRMMORPG and a character looking suspiciously like Asuna.

Sword Art Online (Volume 2) – Fairy Dance 1

What happened?

So, Asuna never woke up. Kazuto Kirigaya, Kirito, tried to rebuild his life after two years trapped in SAO. He visited with Asuna every week in the hope that she would wake. He spent time with his sister, Suguha and tried to live a normal life. But then, while visiting Asuna, he met her father and the man that claimed to be her fiance. As soon as Asuna’s father left the room, Sugou showed Kirito exactly who he was and what he was planning for Asuna.

However, all was not lost. Gil contacted Kirito and showed him a picture from a new VRMMORPG, ALfheim Online. Basically, someone had managed to get a picture of a birdcage high on top of the World Tree. Inside was a person that looked just like Asuna. Kirito had to go in and see for himself. Once inside, he met a girl called Leafa. In this game, the players can fly and it has a magic system. Luckily, Leafa is willing to help Kirito learn the ropes.

When Leafa logs out, she is ecstatic to have a new mission to focus on. She only got into ALfheim Online so that she could understand what her brother went through with SAO. But, how would she tell Kazuto about it? Falling for this new player, Kirito might be a way to vanquish the anguish of her unrequited love of Kazuto…

Sword Art Online Fairy Dance 1 Kirito saves Leafa

What did you think?

I feel like Fairy Dance gets a lot of hate, and I just don’t understand it one bit. If anything, I think the first volume of this arc was stronger than the Aincrad arc. Please understand, I still love Asuna and seeing her try to outsmart Sugou was excellent. However, I absolutely love this version of the game. Being able to fly would be an insane feeling and seems like it would pull in a huge following.

However, the real meat of this part of the story is the dynamic between Kazuto and Suguha. We learn that they are actually cousins and not siblings and that Suguha is in love with Kazuto. Now, before you say anything, remember, these are not real people so just pretend that Suguha was adopted if that helps. Because the thing about this arc is that Suguha meets Kirito online and has no idea it’s Kazuto. Similarly, he has no idea Leafa is Suguha. This is a brilliantly tragic setup.

Suguha realises that Kazuto loves Asuna and there’s no room for her in that relationship. Then, she meets Kirito online and starts to fall for him instead. It seems like it will be just what she needs to take her heart and mind off Kazuto. But, of course, we know better. I still remember how heartbreaking the anime was when she found out that Kirito was Kazuto, and it’s killing me watching her go through it again. Now, Sugou is undoubtedly a ridiculous villain who tells everyone everything, but that’s no doubt because he thinks he’s untouchable. I’m going to enjoy seeing him taken down.