Sword Art Online: Unital Ring Arc Review
With the 28th volume of Sword Art Online coming out in English on July 8, 2025, many of us are going to need a refresher on what’s occured in the Unital Ring arc leading up to this point. To that end, let’s go over the highs and lows of the Unital Ring arc spanning volumes 21-27 and everything that’s happened to date.
What is Unital Ring?
For starters, you might be wondering what Unital Ring is. It’s a fair question, as for the most part Unital Ring is the Sword Art Online arc that only exists in the light novels, with the earliest chapters getting manga adaptations currently.
Essentially, Unital Ring is the very next arc to follow Alicization, with Moon Cradle being a short story/arc between the two. Moon Cradle, however, covers a few events during the 200 years Asuna and Kirito spent in the underworld, and reads more like a side story than a main, additional arc.
Something else that’s interesting about Unital Ring (and pointed out by SAO author Kawahara himself) is that it’s the first story that takes place apart from the original source material published to the web way back in the 2000s. As such, it’s not only uncharted territory for anime watchers – it’s completely new content never read before in any format by anyone.
Indeed, the themes feel so new and refreshing that it makes sense this would be all new content for Kawahara, as opposed to reworkings of the original web novel. It actually almost feels like a reboot for the series, as we see Kirito and fam in a brand new virtual world that at first glance feels totally different and separate from the fabulous Underworld – a virtual world that was the central setting for all of Alicization.
Is Unital Ring as good as Alicization?
One thing that will undoubtedly be on everyone’s mind going into Unital Ring who hasn’t experienced it before will likely be this: is Unital Ring as good as Alicization?
The answer. Yes. And no.
Before going into that more, I will also say that Unital Ring certainly has thematic tie-ins with the Underworld, and the story of the Underworld certainly continues into Unital Ring.
However, Unital Ring starts off as essentially an entirely new world for Kirito to adjust and adapt to, starting from scratch. In this way, it feels thematically similar to the beginning of the Underworld story, only in a more game-like world. Whereas the Underworld felt like a true alternate world, Unital Ring is clearly a game with rules and things that prevent you from fully forgetting that Kirito and friends are just playing a game.
However, even from the beginning you get the idea that there’s something more sinister afoot here than just another virtual world, and we’ll get into that more as we cover each and every book via the sections below.
So without further ado, let’s get into it.
Of course, as the title for this article suggests, this really is a complete overview of the Unital Ring arc, meaning that anyone who hasn’t read the volumes covered below will be introduced to spoilers.
Unital Ring I (Volume 21) overview
As stated above, Unital Ring feels like a reboot of Sword Art Online, and Unital Ring I starts very much in this vein, with a brief introduction from Kirito himself, narrating info about himself, his background, and the fact that he still needs to find a present for Asuna’s nineteenth birthday.
If you read Moon Cradle following Alicization but previous to diving into Unital Ring, you’ll notice an almost startling difference between the storytelling in this book and the previous one. Getting back to the main story is a welcome change in pace, as is getting back to Kirito as a narrator and a story centered around our core characters rather than side characters the way Moon Cradle’s story was told.
The tension between Alice and Asuna is tangible
One of the first interactions we get in this volume is between Asuna, Alice, and Kirito. Despite the fact that the light novels clearly depict Asuna as Kirito’s soulmate (a relationship that is at times slightly more ambiguous in the anime adaptation), there’s definitely some bad blood between Asuna and Alice. I say bad blood for want of a better word because Asuna can’t actually have bad blood with anyone – it’s not in her “blood” to wish someone ill will.
That being said, I wouldn’t put it beyond Alice to have some pretty nasty feelings for Asuna as she seems like someone capable of much greater pettiness than Kirito’s true girlfriend. Indeed, Alice clearly seems to want Kirito for herself, perhaps thinking fondly back to the Underworld days when Kirito was a veggie fully reliant on her.
Now, however, Asuna and Kirito are back together in full force. Indeed, one of my favorite things about Unital Ring I is that for the first time since before Alicization (excluding Moon Cradle) we get to see Asuna and Kirito back together in the virtual world again. That’s a great thing as the story is strongest when the two are working together.
Asuna and Kirito’s log cabin falls to the earth
One of the things I also like best about the Sword Art Online series in general is its ability to traverse new locations, worlds and themes while keeping the overall story unified. Putting Kirito and Asuna’s log cabin at the center of this book serves a unifying purpose here, bringing the past into the present. Indeed, most of this book is simply about Asuna and Kirito’s struggle to protect their log cabin and even rebuild it in the face of the destruction of ALO as they know it.
Kirito starts from zero
Of course, the story wouldn’t be a proper reboot without forcing Kirito to start from scratch as well. We see him drop so low that he can’t even carry the weight of his own clothes, and he’s forced to duke it out in the wilderness wearing nothing but his underpants and wielding a stone knife.
Of course, Kirito’s greatest asset as always isn’t his weaponry or high stats – it’s his brain. And thanks to his adaptability he’s quickly able to help get him and his crew in a much better space. Still, seeing this all happen has a compelling Man vs Wild vibe befitting of the survival game world that Unital Ring essentially is, and this volume is non-stop action from start to finish.
Unital Ring is weaker when it pivots away from the core drama
That being said, there’s a lot of peripheral setup needed to explain what happens to all of the other characters revolving around Kirito. This is where the story struggles the most. When we are with Kirito, the story is absolutely engrossing. And while following Lisbeth and Silica does bring up vital aspects of the plot, I found myself far less intrigued with these chapters and instead just waiting until we got back to the central group.
With that being said, one character development that happens in the side story following Lisbeth, Silica and Yui is that Yui finally gets to be her own character and not just an AI. She gets to carry items, and essentially is just another one of the players. This affords her an opportunity to really grow and turn into a character in her own right.
Kirito fights a bear
Fans of “The Revenant” staring Leonardo Dicaprio might really enjoy this book because like Leo in that movie, Kirito also gets to fight a bear. Again, whereas dealing with a bear would be an easy task in just about any other point in time in the series, here Kirito is really outmatched by this guy, forcing him to think outside the box in order to deal with it.
This brings to mind one of the strongest elements of choosing to tell Unital Ring in this way – instead of other Shonen stories that tend to lean into power creep, by refreshing Kirito’s character back to zero, we can enjoy the thrill and terror of what he’s going through facing down a bear in nothing but his undies.
The girls put on some dresses
I mentioned that Kirito is so low level in the Unital Ring world that he’s reduced to running around in the wild in nothing but his undies. So you might be wondering what becomes of the girls? Luckily, once the grace period is up for the players, Asuna, Alice, and Leafa (who joined their party) manage to weave together some basic dresses, thereby avoiding this particular humiliation.
Kirito gets targeted by PKers
As I’m writing this overview it’s again recurring to me how jam packed this first part of the story is. As if plummeting into a new world, battling a bear, and more wasn’t enough, the finale is actually the most epic part of this book, where Kirito must do battle against a crew of player killers who want to take him out before he is able to become as strong as he was in ALO.
Luckily, Yui and crew show up just in time and give Kirito some basic armor and iron. But that’s all Kirito needs to totally overwhelm his main opponent who he “kills.” Altough this is still just the virtual world we are talking about so his enemy doesn’t actually die in the real world (sort of important).
While this battle is the climax of the story (and what a relief it is for Kirito to be reunited with some iron), we do get a few more reveals that feel pretty important (and slightly fishy) in the form of a new classmate named Kamura Shikimi and a returning character named Argo “The Rat.”
Unital Ring II (Volume 23) highlights
In between the first volume of the Unital Ring Arc and the second, there’s a filler arc called Kiss and Fly. While worth checking out, it’s not part of the Unital Ring arc and is instead a collection of short stories from earlier parts in the story. So if you are more interested in going deeper into all things Unital Ring, you can skip right into Volume 23 for more UR action.
I won’t dive as deep into this particular volume as it’s not as monumental as Unital Ring I was. However, Sinon fans should enjoy this book as a good deal of time is devoted to her. Indeed, she does pull of a few very impressive feats, including taking down a massive dinosaur – something that instantly boosts her level to even higher than Kirito’s.
Argo “The Rat” plays a fairly prominent role in this book, tying the arc further in with the old Aincrad days, and we also witness a fairly epic battle to protect Kirito Town, and eventually reunite with Kikuoka who sets up what will essentially be the plot for Unital Ring III.
While not being the single best entry in the Unital Ring arc, it’s an important book nonetheless that serves to pull us deeper into the new survival VRMMORPG, while also hinting at Kirito’s inevitable return to the Underworld.
Unital Ring III is where things start to pick up pace
Unital Ring III (or SAO Volume 24) is where the Unital Ring Arc really starts to pick up speed, and we get a fuller picture of what this arc is all about outside of the quirky new survival world that is Unital Ring.
The biggest thing that happens in Unital Ring III? Kirito returns to the Underworld, finding it inalterably changed since the time he was last there (that he remembers). In addition to getting to explore the Underworld, Unital Ring III is the Volume that introduces what becomes the norm for SAO novels from this point onwards – that being split between two primary worlds: the survival world of Unital Ring, and the Underworld.
According to the author’s notes in the “Afterword,” these two worlds are supposed to connect at some point. Although as of the latest book published in English (SAO Volume 27), this hasn’t yet happened, and the two remain distinct.
However, given the Underworld is related to the Seed Nexus, and the Unital Ring is supposedly the convergence of all worlds built from that seed, I suppose it makes sense they would all “unite” at some point.
We get introduced to two mysterious new characters
Although this volume is jam-packed with important and interesting stuff, the two biggest moments are when we get introduced to two characters who are going to have a huge impact on the plot.
We’ll start with the character who is arguably the more important and also the more mysterious of the two: Eolyne Herlentz. He’s the guy with the Venetian Mask on the cover of the book, and if you were paying close enough attention you might catch a passing resemblance to Eugeo – Kirito’s deceased friend from the Alicization arc. This is not lost on Kirito at all who feels that Eoylne must be somehow related to Eugeo. However, Eolyne doesn’t let much on, other than the fact he is the new commander of the Integrity Pilots – the order that replaced the Integrity Knights many years previously.
Apart from the mystery and intrigue surrounding this guy, I have to say I really like Eolyne. He’s a welcome character to the SAO universe and serves as a pretty solid foil for Kirito throughout this arc.
I won’t say more about him for now because we only get to meet him briefly before Kirito is whisked away back into the Real World. But we’ll get into him more later.
Mutasina is one scary witch
Now for the other character that gets introduced in this book: Mutasina. Mutasina is a fantastic character and the first real villain we get introduced to in the Unital Ring arc. For reference, the character she most resembles from past arcs would have to be The Administrator. Kirito himself points out the similarity in their approach to violence – neither taking enjoyment nor displeasure from it.
There’s another character Mutasina brings to mind and that’s the new student to Asuna’s “Returnee" school I briefly mentioned above named Kamura Shikimi. While not confirmed that these two are the same character, they bear a pretty big resemblance to one another.
Leaving that aside, Mutasina is a very powerful character, especially within the context of Unital Ring. Indeed, she is powerful enough to cast a massive spell on 100 players in the area that essentially turns them into her slaves. It’s the kind of thing that’s pretty incredible to consider even being possible given she’s only been in the world of Unital Ring for a relatively brief time.
Unital Ring IV (Volume) is another action packed adventure
The previous volume really picks up the pace with the story, and it doesn’t slow down in Unital Ring IV. Indeed, the main action starts out with a battle against an old SAO boss where Kirito and Asuna get to fight side-by-side in a fashion we haven’t seen since Ordinal Scale. It’s one of the better Sword Art Online fights that really bring to mind some of the things we loved about the earlier days of the franchise.
However epic this fight is (and it really is pretty good), it’s just a precursor for what’s to come later in this volume, including an epic battle versus Mutasina and her army.
On the lighter side of things, we finally get to see what it was that Kirito got Asuna for her birthday, and everyone gets together to celebrate Asuna turning 19 inside her and Kirito’s log cabin.
Of course, the peace and quiet isn’t destined to remain as we see our heroes face down one of their toughest foes to date. Yui comes in clutch here, however, saving the group in a moment of great crisis. Mutasina is narrowly defeated, but not destroyed and she will definitely be back to fight another day.
Meanwhile, things on the Underworld side of things pick up momentum, with Kirito, Asuna, and Alice making much bigger waves than before. Alice and Asuna get a fashion upgrade to match the times, and the main gang finally make their way into the sealed levels of the Central Cathedral where old friends await, frozen in time.
Unital Ring V (Volume 26) introduces a new villain
Unital Ring III and IV are pretty much nonstop action, and feel like (if they were in the anime) they could be a mid-season finale. However, in Unital Ring V the story shifts a bit. Instead of diving between two potent stories happening in tandem, the action in Unital Ring clearly slows down. Fans of Silica, however, might appreciate this story as plenty of action happens around her and the other team Kirito members.
However, the action of seeing them attempt to take on a floor boss without Kirito and Asuna is not nearly as gripping as the epic battle against Mutasina was.
Meanwhile, things really get cooking on the Underworld side of things, and we witness an epic fight between Eolyne and a brand new character named Istar who also looks vaguely similar to Mutasina and Kamura Shikimi.
The biggest payoff emotionally, however, isn’t the epic fight scenes but instead when we get to be reunited with several of the characters we know and love from the Alicization era of SAO.
Unital Ring VI (Volume 27) prepares us for an epic confrontation
If Unital Ring IV was the midseason finale, then in parts V and VI we seem to be rapidly ramping up to another epic confrontation. Istar is back and up to no good in this volume, as he seems to be behind an attack from Admina.
While not nearly as jam-packed as those earlier entries, plenty of world building happens in this volume. While the storytelling continues in the same vein of being split primarily between Unital Ring and the Underworld, this time Kirito and Asuna are back in Unital Ring, and it’s Alice who gets to explore her original home world with the unfrozen Integrity Knights and characters of old. We learn a lot of interesting tidbits about what’s been going on through the years since the Moon Cradle arc, and the return of a legendary Integrity Knight we know well (and others we have yet to meet) is highly anticipated.
Otherwise, this story is largely building up excitement for an epic conflict that’s about to come between the Underworlders and Istar and his army of monsters.
While the Underworld action is once again great in this story, the Unital Ring action continues its slips in pace. Gone is the anticipation and dread we got in earlier volumes wondering how Kirito will deal with Mutasina, and replaced with conflicts that feel almost like side quests. And while we do have a few moments of intensity – such as when Yui is kidnapped and Kirito saves her – the Unital Ring story feels of much less import than what’s happening down in the Underworld.
It really makes you wonder when these two worlds will connect as promised by the author.
What will happen in Sword Art Online Volume 28?
Volume 28 is next up, and in it we will undoubtedly see more of the epic battle between Istar, the forces from Admina, and Kirito and his Integrity Knights. As if that weren’t enough, we should finally get some answers about who the enigmatic Integrity Pilots commander, Eolyne, actually is, and why he looks so strangely similar to Eugeo.
Stay tuned for the next epic chapter releasing in English on July 8, 2025!
Ps. I have to give a special thinks to SAO Wiki where I got many of the images from the books.
