Sword Art Online: Extra Edition (2013)

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Sword Art Online: Extra Edition (2013)

Director: Tomohiko Ito
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Starring: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Haruka Tomatsu, Ayana Taketatsu

Synopsis:
Asuna and the girls try to teach Suguha how to swim while Kirito is debriefed by a government agent regarding the SAO incident.

Impressions:
This TV special is broken up into two parts. The main part, which takes up most of the runtime, is just a clip show to rehash the events of the first season. However, unlike most clip show episodes, there's almost as much original footage for the frame story as there are clips from the series. Besides introducing the character of Kikuoka ahead of the second season, the frame story is mostly an excuse to have the girls cavort around in swimsuits and fail the Bechdel test. If you want an abbreviated recap of the highlights of the first season with some fanservice on the side, it isn't bad for that.

The second is about an episode-length side story involving a quest in ALO, basically a shorter equivalent to the Caliber Arc of the second season. It's nothing all that consequential but still a decent watch. The fact that you essentially get a proper episode is enough to bump this up from a take it or leave it to a solid watch for any fan of the series.

Rating:
Watch It