The best/worst thing about Sword Art Online is that it is entirely fanservice. Some of it is the ecchi/harem kind, but most of it is the gamer masturbation kind. It’s not gonna challenge you particularly, but SAO definitely deserves credit for being good at what it is. And as a light novel connoisseur and all-round otaku trash, SAO falls squarely in my comfort zone.
You might like to imagine that I consume SAO with an expression like Kirito’s in the above picture. I have not yet gotten to the stage of wearing ladies’ undergarments on my head, however.
The spinoff series Sword Art Online: Progressive follows the time-held SAO tradition of not being the most progressive thing in the world. The world still revolves around Kirito. That said, Progressive is definitely a smoother read than Kawahara’s earlier writing, and the attention to worldbuilding is particularly impressive. The game mechanics play an important role in the plot beyond showcasing how awesome Kirito is. There’s also a heavier focus on the social dynamics of the game, even if most of it is explained to the reader via exposition dumps. So far, I like it better than the main series.
However, today I am not here to talk about the fascinating worldbuilding in SAO: Progressive. Today, I am here to talk about boobies.
This should go without saying, but please don’t read this post if you are allergic to ecchi. Also, NSFW warning.
One thing that’s kind of annoying is the novel’s idea of “fanservice”, which consists of describing how beautiful Asuna is every two sentences, as if that’s her only character trait. I prefer the manga because it expands on the ecchi scenes. The cream scene shown above was almost completely incidental in the novel, but the manga adds a lot of colour by inserting A-tier reaction faces.
It’s a bit surprising how well Asuna manages to carry the ecchi scenes by herself. Even though Asuna is a D-grade girl according to my objective ranking of the SAO girls, she does have a pretty good character design. She might not have Sugu’s bust or Sinon’s bum, but she is pretty okay.
The bad thing about the manga is that it’s not very tasteful with the nudity, though. The humorous ecchi scenes are great, but it’s hard to take Asuna’s meditative musings about life and death seriously when her tits are shoved in your face. Also, her breasts mysteriously inflated to twice their regular size just in time for the bathroom scene.
Compare this to the novel, which depicts the female anatomy quite tastefully and leaves more to the imagination.
I’m not sure if it’s because the English version is different from the novel illustrations uploaded to the internet, but in my copy of the novel there’s less steam in the picture, so you can make out more of Asuna’s figure. You don’t see everything, of course, but you see enough that it plays tricks on your mind. If you look really closely, you can even sorta make out the faint outline of her areola. I’m serious!
You can see them, right? Right?
I’m not just imagining them in my head, am I?
Would a mainstream light novel label like Dengeki Bunko really show the outlines of actual nipples?
I swear I can see them… argh it’s bothering me like hell. I have been losing actual sleep over this. Imaginary or not, I can’t unsee those nipples. They haunt me in my dreams. Now that I’ve convinced myself that they exist, they leap out at me every time I look at the page. My mind constructs evidence that they must exist, thus feeding into my cognitive bias. It’s like one of those darned optical illusions.
In the name of science, I beseech you, my readers. You must help me. This question needs to be solved once and for all.
Here’s a picture taken at closer range:
My fellow ecchi connoisseurs, what do you think? If you observe the image from a distance, the shading does look a little darker right in the middle of her boob, doesn’t it?
Does this pic have the nips?
Or am I just a madfrog and a pervlord?
EDIT: Here is something one of my irl friends said to me on Facebook after seeing this post:
“Here are two points of potential interest. First is the area where the water, boob and hair intercect on the surface. The other is where the hair and boob intercect with the text on the other side of the page. First point just looks like shading gone wrong, and while i am not familiar with the female anatomy, i feel that location to be too high for the location of the nipple, but i am just guessing. Now the second point appears the be the more accurate location of the nipple, but what you are seeing there is most likely the text showing up from the other side, and not an intentional nipple slip by the illustrator.”
Frog-kun's Blog 
I can’t believe you just convinced me to stare at Asuna’s boob for 10 minutes
Frog-kun, there is no nipple
Also, nice tags
Always willing to do God’s work for humanity
I like this quote.
I’m just gonna say it here (please don’t judge me): boobs aren’t as droopy-ish as that. The areola (and nipple) aren’t located at the lowest arc of the chest’s fatty flesh.
大変勉強になりました！
Was having run reading until I got to this obviously wrong statement:
Ok, forced myself to read some more:
A serious case of wishful thinking. Talk about self-insertion, hue. I’d also like to point out that Asuna is a girl I really like the design of but never considered as wank material. I just like her and Kirito too much.
And yeah, guess the manga goes more the route of the anime. Mahouka lingers over the creepy content non-stop in the books, whereas in the original SAO novels it’s mostly an aside that is in the background, but the more visual media of manga and anime keep shoving it in our faces. Oh well.
And you keep looking at the page, eh? :P But seriously, I don’t see them, at all. It’s just you.
It’s just me? Oh, okay.
I haven’t read Mahouka, but light novels do tend to linger on the creepy stuff. Sometimes, they start using weird purple prose just for those bits. They also spend heaps more time describing female characters while barely describing the male characters at all. SAO has those tendencies as well, but it’s not as bad or distracting or whatever. I like how in Kawahara’s stories, he usually gets to the point.
It seems I can’t reply to Guy’s comment, but I think he’s absolutely right on all counts. So there, you’re wrong, Asuna is cool and good now stop staring at her boobs geez.
(Love ya ;P)
In my first draft of this post, I had an extra paragraph about how cute Asuna’s personality is in the manga but for some reason I deleted it. But yeah! There WAS a greater meaning to this post even if I did get rid of it
I thought I was here for quality post.
(Also the supposed nipples are located too low.)
Ohhh I feel like I’ve been learning a lot about the female anatomy today. Thanks for the observations lol
Also, you didn’t get the quality you wanted? :'(
For your “surely a mainstream company wouldn’t” point, Shounen Jump has allowed nipples. Then again, it’s Shounen Jump, so who can say, really. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Light novels seem to follow a different policy than manga since there seems to be no full-frontal nudity. Even High School DxD doesn’t show nipples directly.
It does seem to depend on the label, though.
Hmmmmmmmmm. If you are wondering if you are crazy, then you are not Froggy-kun. I seem to make it out as well. It’s probably not the actual nipple but just coincidental shading probably.
“If you are wondering if you are crazy, then you are not Froggy-kun.”
Thanks to the unfortunate lack of comma in this sentence, you’ve made it sound like an essential part of being Froggy-kun is never questioning one’s own sanity. Sounds about right.
It seems like you’re the only person so far to agree with me about the nipples though
oh yeah one more question, what exactly is Sword Art Online Progressive? I looked it up online and the only info I could find without being spoiled is that it’s a reboot. Then the other part of my question is, if it is a reboot, would it appeal to those who personally loved the first season but then afterwards thought it became something else? (In other words, for someone on Team Asuna)
Yeah, Progressive is a reboot that’s supposed to cover every single floor in Aincrad. It’s definitely for people who wanted to see more of Aincrad, seeing as the entire storyline was resolved in one volume.
Froggy you are ridiculous, but thank you for giving me a reason to stare at Asuna’s boobs. The shadows do form a circular pattern, but I am sorry to say they are only shadows. Intentional? I doubt it. Part of the circle looks like it’s bleeding through from the page behind.
I kind of want the manga now… Personally I like the artwork in both though I like the LN art more. Any excuse for more Sword Art might be a good excuse though. Hrmm…
On life and death musings by naked people: I always find it kind of funny when people talk about how distracting that kind of thing is or how hard it is to take seriously. For my part the whole reason ecchi anime stuff ever caught my attention in the first place is because anime tends to show boobs and talk about the meaning of life at the same time. If fan service isn’t going to tell me the meaning of life what’s the point!?(mostly kidding… mostly)
I remember the show that converted my opinion away from “this is all sick filth.” In the end of that show the characters with boobs hugged the bad people in order to bring about world peace and it worked. The male character tried it too… His hug didn’t work. It was funny because it was both incredibly stupid and logically flawless in the context of the show all at the same time. I find that kind of thing works both when it’s comedic and when it’s intimate. Anime fans tend to act like fan service is always mindless, but imo the stuff that is actually popular rarely is. So yeah, I don’t know. Considering it seriously is fun. I would say it’s half the fun, but it might be the whole fun… Just like this blog post! >_> Maybe I’m ridiculous too?
Yessss let’s all be ridiculous together!
I think when it comes to serious scenes and nudity, it mostly depends on what the camera is doing in the scene. If it treats nudity like it’s just a natural part of the scenery, then it’s fine. It does get distracting when the camera is ogling the characters, though,
Kill la Kill did the whole nudity thing really well, imo. Doesn’t the final episode involve EVERYONE being naked? It was great.
The Progressive series is better than the main series because it has Argo, whereas Argo was practically forgotten in the anime and never mentioned again after the second volume.
Argo is amazing. Praise Argo.
More importantly, KIRITO IS WEARING FUCKING JEANS WHAT JEANS IN MEDIEVAL FANTASY GAME THOSE ARE SOME TAILORED-ASS JEANS IN SWORD ART ONLINE
ASS POCKETS AND ALL
JEANS ART ONLINE
When will Asuna get to wear
apple bottomskin-tight jeans!?boots with the fur, teenage dreamI DEMAND FANSERVICE EQUALITY(Psh this is Japan. Waifu can’t wear no pants. We’ll never see Asuna in jeans. Sob.)
MORE KIRITO FANSERVICE, FOR THOSE SO INCLINED
I’m sorry but I must agree with Guy, it’s probably just you.I don’t see it. Also I know its likely your just making a joke but I’m fairly certain that the definition of progressive is going for is: “happening or developing gradually or in stages; proceeding step by step.”
Yeah, Sword Art Online: Progressive is great though I’l admit I preffer the novel over the manga adaptation. The manga at times feels like it is a more comedic and loose version in comparison with its novel counterpart. Not to say the manga version is bad, it is a treat that is worth sharing especially the expressions which are always wonderful. The begin of Chapter 15 alone is a expression goldmine.
However, I ultimately prefer abec’s artwork for the novels. Which has gotten absolutely beautiful over the years. Her (his? wh even knows) art has gotten really beautiful over the years. Seriously compare this (http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/5/52/Sword_Art_Online_Volume_01.png/revision/latest?cb=20141020145305) to this (http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/2/2f/Progressive_Yen_Press_Vol_3.png/revision/latest?cb=20150912165257). Kirito has gotten so handsome and his hair is so neat.
Thanks for the pics! It seems to me that abec’s art has gotten more ~moe~ over the years, which isn’t necessarily better or worse (I’m a fan of SAO’s first cover) but it definitely looks great to me. Kirito and Asuna just look so huggable on the cover of that third SAO: Progressive volume.
I too like the first cover. I never thought Abec’s art was bad, it is well drawn. Likely just personal preference. That and I feel the coloring is much brighter and more vibrant. Plus, I always like seeing artist grow. Keep drawing or working on something and one’s abilities are bound to improve. I’m definitely a better artist than when I was young, though I still have room to grow. However, there are some things that bug me with some of abec’s earlier art. Not a lot mind you but look at abec’s initial Asuna design: (http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/e/ec/Asuna_ln.png/revision/latest?cb=20120401194107) The hand looks off and a bit too big. Asuna still looks pretty though.
I agree they are very huggable. Really the vast majority of the SAO cast has gotten progressively better looking over the years, compare Kawahara’s initial designs (http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/2/26/Early_Kirito.png/revision/latest?cb=20120814231712) to abec’s initial designs (http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/3/35/Kirigaya_Kazuto_LN.png/revision/latest?cb=20120401192214) to how they are drawn now.
Also, if you ever wanted Kirito service: (http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/swordartonline/images/f/ff/Progressive_Vol_3_-_034.png/revision/latest?cb=20141213171828)
Well, apparently abec’s identity is a big mystery, according to this page: http://swordartonline.wikia.com/wiki/Abec
abec self-identifies as a girl just finishing high school, but others claim that he/she is a man in his twenties or even another artist named BUNBUN, who has a very similar art style.
Very mysterious, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter who abec is, right?
Yeah, that’s something that really drives me up a wall trying to figure out. And while it ultimately doesn’t matter, it still would be nice to know who abec really is.
wait so you shared this boobies post with all your facebook friends? that’s guts man
they’re used to it
Asuna’s breasts look like they’re closer to her neck than her actual chest in that bath scene – it’s like she’s wearing an invisible corset or something – but yes, breasts do indeed float in water. That part of the body is something like 90% fat, and human fat is less dense than water, so natural breasts will always float regardless of their size. You’re welcome.
ty
Okay froggy, I’m in. Let’s get to the bottom of this. Your facebook friend is more or less of the same mind that I am. Though I’m not convinced that that point 2 is quite right for nipple placement. Really we need to take the size and buoyancy of Asunas boobs into account if we’re to figure out exactly where the nipple should be placed.
Slightly above and to the right of point 2 seems like a more logical position for the nip. Obviously anatomy isn’t always an exact science, but point two just seems a little too far in. Imagine how Asunas boobs would look when out of the bath if they were at point two. They’d be like, pointing in towards each other when she’s standing upright. Not accurate at all. So that means they have to be slightly more to the right. I say slightly higher too; Asuna is young and nubile, and thus could be assumed to have generally perky breasts.
So given the assumed location of Asunas nipples, and that that general area lacks the shading which caused this post, we can conclude that Dengeki are probably did not allow nipples to sneak their way into SAO.
Of course this all hinges on the assumption that the SAO artist understands anatomy, which given the quality of the majority of H or ecchi art, is a pretty bold assumption to make. So, we must ask ourselves. Does this artist understand anatomy?
Oh no now we’re back to square one
and it was going so well, too
Don’t worry froggy you’re a madfrog and a pervlord either way.
(But no, I don’t see it)
“…light novel connoisseur… ECCHI Connoisseurs…”
Please define. Aren’t we all like that?
It’s true. We are all Ecchi connoisseurs on the inside.
just talking a bit about the manga artist of progressive. He actually draws +18 things like a certain d-frag doujin
Link? (For science)
nhentai.net/g/71514/
here
his name is himura kiseki btw
You are a gentleman and a scholar.
…..thus concludes this debate.
Didn’t they state in the ending page or whatever its called of the Manga something like “Enlarged? Whatever do you mean?” Isn’t that the artist of the manga literally stating “Hey guys I increased Asuna’s bust size from the light novel” So the statement of “Her breasts mysteriously doubled in size” Is making it sound as though her breast size is inconsistent in the manga and it’s normally smaller when as far as I’ve seen they’re the same size in every shot.
Otherwise, I don’t see the nipple in the image it looks more like its just the colouration of the water and hair mixing