LN: Sword Art Online

[Dark Dragon]

When i was reading volume 1 of SAO, there was a constant feeling or urgency and oppression up until Kirito and Asuna marriage. That somehow made the event feel even more special because there is sudden relief and a change of pace. They're really disrupting the flow of the story right now with this order of episodes. Another thing is what I've already said in the anime thread and that is the author clearly wrote these side stories for audience who already had extensive knowledge of how SAO works. The ramen scene is very tongue in cheek because everyone already knows Heathcliff true identity and it just gives some extra depth to his character. All this is nice, but when you put it in this order, it just feels very messy as a whole. The story becomes episodic and the episodes feels very disconnect from each other (which they were, because they all take place in different volumes).