There's no denying that shows such as Dragon Ball Z: The Abridged Series are classics, but so are the shows they're based on. In this way, it truly is the distilled version of the franchise, cutting away the fat and improving everything by looking at it from another angle. Most importantly, it feels like a genuine exploration of being trapped in an MMO, whereas the traditional Sword Art Online only paid lip service to this concept, largely falling more on fantasy novel tropes than games. Their one-upmanship drives the plot several times instead of trying to make them both out to be noble heroes. Asuna and Kirito's relationship feels more organic, primarily because they share a somewhat misanthropic worldview. Everything is played for laughs and called out, be it story threads being unnecessarily extended or a variety of plot contrivances that simply throw victories Kirito's way. The same goes for other smaller plot issues, with SAO Abridged using comedy to explain things such as why Kirito survives monstrous assaults that slay all those around him. This is a good inversion of the "power fantasy" isekai trope, and it showcases how someone might not want to go back to their old life. Compared to how the true version of the character is utterly boring and yet constantly praised, it's a step in the right direction. The parody's version of Kirito is far smarmier and much more of an antisocial jerk - something the Abridged series constantly points out. Sword Art Online Abridged rectifies this by outright laughing at the series' flaws, in doing so actually correcting them. Sword Art Online is emblematic of the issues plaguing the isekai genre, as it features the typical MMORPG reincarnation world as well as an overpowered protagonist with a lot to be desired in the personality department.
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