Kirito duels the sinister Morte!
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Reki Kawahara/Kiseki Himura
Translation/Adaptation: Stephen Paul
What They Say
The mysterious player Morte has manipulated the human guilds into fighting BOTH side of the Elf War! While Kirito challenges him to a duel, Asuna has an important task of her own: steal the battle plans from the Forest Elves so she can end this quest before it turns deadly. They need to stop the war before someone loses their life–permanently!
The Review
Volume 006 was devoted to a lot of complicated set up with the Elf Quest and the newly formed guilds. Volume 007 presents the payoff in the form of three simultaneous fights: the Dragon Knights Brigade vs. the Aincrad Liberation Squad; Asuna/Kizmel vs. the Falconer; and Kirito vs. Morte. If you like action, swordplay comprises most of this volume. If it was animated (which I really wish it was), the entire contents would probably take up only two episodes.
Interestingly, the fight involving the most humans (the guild fight) gets the least attention, and Kirito’s one-on-one with the schemer who pitted the guilds against each other is arguably the most intense. Their duel is thrilling with some really exciting perspectives of the action. In addition to the players’ abilities, the fight also reveals their character. Morte is no doubt a precursor to the PK groups that would later plague Aincrad, and he’s cast in the worst possible light. Not only does he have a twisted personality and use underhanded tricks, he actually possesses reasonably powerful skills—which he prefers to use against other humans rather than game bosses. As for Kirito, Morte’s egging shows just how strongly he feels about Asuna.
Asuna’s fight also shows how strongly she feels—about Kizmel. Her affection for the NPC goes beyond common gamer sense. For Asuna, their battle against the Falconer is as much about helping Kizmel exact retribution for her sister’s death as it is completing the ”Infiltration” quest. And her devotion to the dark elf results in some surprising responses from Kizmel, which drives home the point that SAO is no ordinary game.
After all that fighting, things resolve happily all around, and even though the Elf Quest had nothing to do with beating the Third Floor Boss, the players safely complete the third level in the span of a few pages. This rushed ending is probably because a different artist, Shiomi Miyoshi, is taking over the Progressive manga starting with the fourth floor. Although Himura-sensei’s artwork has been heavy on the fanservice (even the guild members get fanservice in this volume), his depiction of the SAO world has been engaging overall, and I hope Miyoshi-sensei continues in that vein (minus the extraneous panty shots).
Extras include the first page printed in color and messages from various SAO collaborators.
In Summary
Himura-sensei delivers an action-packed conclusion to the Elf Quest. Between the dynamic illustrations and mid-battle surprises, the swordfights are a thrill to behold. Fans of happy endings will also be satisfied at how the arc wraps up. It’s a little rushed toward the end, especially the pace at which third floor gets cleared, but that’s probably because another artist is taking over the series. I don’t know if it will continue as part of this series or launch as a new one, but I look forward to Shiomi Miyoshi-sensei’s version of the Progressive world.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: December 11th, 2018
MSRP: $14.00
