Sword Art Online: Box Set III Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Sword Art Online: Box Set III Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 13, 2013

Just when you think everything is finally okay, things start to go haywire again.

The above statement might be the best summation for Sword Art Online’s so-called “Fairy Dance” arc, which gets off to a start in this third box set of episodes, after two devoted to Sword Art Online’s Aincrad arc (Sword Art Online: Box Set I and Sword Art Online: Box Set II). By the end of the Aincrad arc, the series’ hero Kirito had finally managed to emerge from the virtual world where he had been held captive for some time, but he soon finds out that all is not well in the “real” world, necessitating yet another plunge into a Matrix-like environment where virtual reality is the norm.

The Fairy Dance storyline wastes little time in presenting a new problem for Kirito in the guise of issues facing his putative girlfriend Asuna. Asuna’s health is in trouble, and while hints that her actual life is in danger are rampant, the more pressing problem is some corporate intrigue by the huge monolithic entity that controls the virtual world, a company run by a bad guy who has his eyes on Asuna, no matter what shape she’s in. Kirito soon figures out that a trip to a different virtual world may hold the key to solving this dilemma, and so the hunt is on again.

Sword Art Online: Box Set III Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sword Art Online is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Aniplex with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a just slightly soft looking enterprise, especially for an anime of such recent vintage, but this high definition presentation does benefit from beautifully saturated colors and generally very crisp line detail. This third set has the benefit of some photo realistic backgrounds (see screenshot 2).

Sword Art Online: Box Set III Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Perhaps surprisingly, the otherwise decent sounding (in terms of actual voice work) English dub is presented in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0. That may mean that most audiophiles will want to opt for the uncompressed LPCM 2.0 Japanese track, which offers excellent fidelity and really wide dynamic range. The audio score above reflects an average of the two audio options put together.

Sword Art Online: Box Set III Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

On Disc Supplements

• Audio Commentary by Creators and Japanese Cast


• Special Animation Sword Art Online


• Original Web Preview


• 2nd Season Textless Ending

Non Blu-ray Disc Supplements

• Original Soundtrack CD 2


• 16 Page Deluxe Illustration Booklet


• Set of Pin-Up Illustration Postcards


• Exclusive Bushiroad's Weiss Schwarz Collectible Card #3


• Rigid Box Illustrated by abec (Original Character Design)


• Clear BD Cases with Reversible Wraps

Sword Art Online: Box Set III Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sword Art Online is still quite enjoyable as it begins its "Fairy Dance" arc, but there are still probably going to be some fans who ask, "What? This again?" There's just a bit of accrued entropy in this third set since we're once again thrust into a virtual world where Kirito must battle for his life and that of Asuna. Fans will still enjoy this set, which, like the others, is quite pricey but which comes in deluxe packaging with decent supplements and other swag. Recommended.