Lately, Ive been going over the light novels again, waiting for the translation of Volume 18 to finish, and I got the feeling that Kawahara Reki was kinda milking the plot. The plot frame, in the very least. I believe that the plot goes somewhat according to this general template.
1. The plot always takes place in some virtual reality world.
2. The main character/narrator is always Kirito/Kazuto Kirigaya.
3. There will always be some incident involving a girl, sometimes being the trigger incident and other times being a side incident.
4. There will be some "breaking of the rules"; i.e. Defying the virtual rules and limitations of the said virtual world and defeating the antagonist. Or rebelling against the system, in general.
5. There is always a killer/killing of someone involved.
6. Kirito always kills/defeats the main antagonist.
7. Kirito has a new "girl who's a friend", most likely a very accomplished person in their own right, in maybe, Swordsmanship, Smithing, Magic... etc. etc.
8. Kirito always has an amazing weapon and some amazing skill hidden up his sleeve.
9. Kirito suffers from moral troubles and mentally hates himself, only to be saved by the girls.
10. The girls' support drives Kirito to defeat the main antagonist with his special/an ordinary/a flimsy attack. and break through the limitations of the virtual world.
That's the template that's usually set within a Sword Art Online main series arc. Let's take a few examples!
Ex. Aincrad Arc
1. Sword Art Online
2. Kirito/Kazuto Kirigaya
3. Asuna/Yuuki Asuna(Well, if you're counting side stories than Silica and Lisbeth count as well I guess). And Sachi.
4. Kirito defies the "death" as set by the system in-game.
5. PoH(Vassago) and the Laughing Coffin guild in general. Also Kayaba Akihito, because of the whole "death game" concept in the first place.
6. Kirito kills Kayaba.
7. Asuna(Rapier), Lisbeth(Smithing), Silica(Taming)
8. Kirito's Elucidator and Dark Repulser, as well as his <<Dual Blades>> skill, most namely <<Starburst Stream>> and <<Eclipse>>.
9. Kirito hates himself for letting the guild "Moonlit Black Cats" get destroyed because of his choice to not reveal his level. He's comforted by Asuna.
10. Asuna's death drives Kirito to kill Kayaba with Asuna's rapier Lambent Light, and he temporarily defies death in-game as well.
Another perfect example is the Phantom Bullet Arc.
1. World of Gun Gale Online. (GGO)
2. Kirito/Kazuto Kirigaya
3. Sinon/Asada Shino
4. Kirito uses a sword. A sword! In a game involving guns! And somehow he deflects bullets!!!!
5. Red Eyed XaXa(Shinkawa Shouichi), Shinkawa Kyouji, Johnny Black(Kanamoto Atsushi), and the character they created, Deathgun/Sterben. Deaths: Xexceed, Tarako, Garrett, Pale Rider.
6. Kirito defeats XaXa in the Bullet of Bullets tournament.
7. Sinon(Sniper)
8. Kirito's Photon Sword, the Kagemitsu G4(cooooooool) and his pistol. He can cut bullets in half.
9. Kirito killed three LC members in SAO, and he feels extremely guilty for having taken human lives.
10. Sinon's fake attack drives Kirito to defeat XaXa using a modified version of the Dual Blades skill <<Double Circular>>.
Of course, there are many contradictions to my template, but in general, most of the arcs are set up like this. While it may seem bland and unseemly after a few repititions, for me, it's still pretty entertaining. But I still feel like Reki should make a new template for the series. Then it would get even more entertaining.
Alicization offered some additional variations: The Night Sky Sword, as well as Release Arnament, was a fully enjoyable experience, as well as watching Kirito fight his way up to the head honcho only for Eugeo to try-and get killed. At least the head honcho was killed. (Wait... Quinella was dead, but there's still Gabriel Miller to be reckoned with... and Vassago... )The Fluctlights were also an interesting topic; I liked the way Reki explored this topic. Also, the Alicization arc so far was longer, which let Reki expand more upon the ideas of morality and the concept of the human "consciousness", as well as what was right and wrong. It's a very interesting way that reki has written this series, and I fully enjoy it, but still, it'd be cool to have some extreme variation that deviated from the normal template in a way that still involved the characters. That would truly be awesome, wouldn't it?
Mother's Rosario was an amazing, but sadly a short arc. I would believe that it was meant as a filler, but if it was, then it was an amazing filler nontheless. I especially loved the deviation to a different guild that didn't just involve Kirito. Progressive was also well-liked by me in that regard; it didn't always center around Kirito but also the little squabbles and conflicts around others. I like the way that Reki put these, and hope that something like Progressive would happen in the main plot. (The way it's written, at least.)
Oreo the Cookie