Geek of Oz

Before reading on, don't forget to have a look at our review of volumes 1 and 2 of Sword Art Online .  Sword Art Online Volumes 3 and 4 encompass the second arc of the series seeing Kirito released from the cyber-prison that is Sword Art Online. Unfortunately, not everyone shares his fate. Still stuck in an RPG induced coma is his new love, the hot headed Asuna. So, of course like any good hero, he dives straight back in to save his fair maiden. Welcome to the world of ALfheim Online, the land of fairies and spiritual successor to the much maligned and seriously deadly Sword Art Online. The first thing that strikes you about Sword Art Online on Blu Ray is the gorgeous animation. Not only are the colours vibrant and vivid, but the line work is super crisp and pops off the screen. A-1 Pictures are very quickly establishing themselves as my favourite and most trusted animation studio. With Birdy The Mighty: Decode , Black Butler and Blue Exorcist under their belt...

Sword Art Online, SAO for short, is something of a phenomenon. Following its inception in 2009 as a light novel series, it has spawned manga releases, a swathe of merchandise, an anime series and even an art exhibition which is being brought to Australia by Madman. But does this necessarily mean that the anime series will be good? Thankfully in this case, yes it does. Set in the near future, Sword Art Online is a MMORPG with a twist. Instead of being played with a keyboard and mouse it uses a virtual reality helmet which effectively connects the player with the game directly. In a cruel twist of human induced fate, players find themselves stuck in the game with the threat that if they die in the game world, so too will there mind in the real world unless the final level is cleared. All the while, their bodies remain in the real world, unable to be removed from the system. The first thing that strikes you about SAO is the sheer beauty of it. The animation quality of A-1 Pict...

Usually when events such as these are announced they're met by a song of "what about Queensland?" or "Perth never gets anything!" but this time SYDNEY misses out. Granted, so do a couple of other states as well but this is still a fantastic opportunity for QLD, WA and VIC otaku to get their fill at the Sword Art Online 2014 Exhibition Tour. Following on from the hugely successful Evangelion exhibition, Madman are delivering Sword Art Online to our shores with art, storyboards, character designs, photo opportunities and MERCH available at each event.