Introduction
Volume 5 is the first volume not adapted by the anime. From here on out things start to become much more exciting. Now nearing the end of this 4-part long journey it’s time to look and see what volume 5 has in store for us.
Volume 5
Straight off the bat I’d like to make it clear that Volume 5 is my favourite Accel World story so far because: I love how the cast and characters interact with each other throughout the volume, the idea of a space elevator being something fascinating to me, learning of its mechanics making me giddy for what came next and finally how this volume manages to have an individual self-contained story that sets up major events in future volumes.
To briefly summarise this volume’s story Haruyuki and Chiyuri are in Tokyo’s government office building and Haruyuki mellows in his thoughts, getting the idea that maybe there are unexplored regions in the Accelerated World. Places that are in the social camera’s view, but no one has ever thought to go to in Brain Burst. Something akin to a space elevator, which Haruyuki thought might be implemented into Brain Burst due to it having a social camera within it. And after consulting with Kuroyukihime he goes to Tokyo Skytree to see whether the elevator was actually implemented into Brain Burst. Surely enough it is, and according to Blood Leopard, it’s apparently tradition for players to compete against one another when an area has been added to Brain Burst before it becomes a duel stage. During the race, Rust Jigsaw storms the space race and uses Incarnate to destroy the space elevator. This angers Haruyuki so much that in a fit of rage the disaster overtakes him. Inturn becoming Chrome Disaster as a result. Sky Raker is able to carry Chiyuri near enough to Haruyuki so she is able to use Citron Call to reverse the effects of the enhanced armament putting it back into slumber.
The character interactions really put a smile on my face this time around. I loved learning about Blood Leopard’s relationship with Sky Raker and how glad she is that they can compete against one another again. I adore how Haruyuki and Ash Roller’s relationship continues to get stronger. They’re casually having idle chat with one another before, what’s to them, a very important event and while they’ll never openly admit it they enjoy each other’s company. There’s a healthy mix of action and worldbuilding layered throughout the story. Arguably the most focused character this time around being Sky Raker, and as we discussed earlier, Haruyuki desperately wanted to take her atop the space elevator to realise her purpose as a Burst Linker.
Kuroyukihime gets her own development in this volume when she and Haruyuki have to stay the night with each other after a coincidentally intense storm during the night. She floods Haruyuki with her long-term guilt of not feeling as she’s good enough to be a Legion Master after killing the Red King. And it was entertaining to see Haruyuki try to cheer her up through a duel showcasing how she’s helped him grow so much. Also, deliciously entertaining how she blows him to bits after regaining some confidence.
Kuroyukihime: Thanks, Haruyuki you’re the best.
Haruyuki: No problem Kuroyukihime I really appreciate yo-
Kuroyukihime: Now die!
Haruyuki: Huh?
(Explosion sound effect and gif)
Jokes aside, Haruyuki becoming Chrome Disaster shocked the hell out of me, but strangely made me super hyped for future arcs throughout the narrative. I didn’t expect for it to be so integral to the narrative later on and I felt like a kid again when I first began watching anime waiting to see what I can learn from the story. Yes, stories are a good way to learn life lessons fight me if you think otherwise!
As we keep going throughout these stories as well Haruyuki is slowly becoming more comfortable with himself and confident in his abilities. The Haruyuki of volume 1 would have been silent at Kuroyukihime’s guilt but this Haruyuki is actively trying to cheer her up. While he isn’t fully there with words yet he’s slowly climbing up that ladder.
Not to mention how Haruyuki became Chrome Disaster out of hatred that those of the Acceleration society ruined the space race. He wasn’t anger for himself but instead for others and while I find that very amicable, I also think it displays that Haruyuki still doesn’t value himself that much. Not being able to be angry for himself but instead other people.
Conclusion
Well, would you look at that! We’ve arrived at the end of this series of videos regarding Accel World’s first 5 light novels. I know today we’ve covered a lot of ground in this series of videos. I hope this has come to help you understand why Accel World to me is such a great series so far. And for those who’ve read these light novels already, I hope this gives you some perspective on why the story is so great. Make sure to comment, like, and subscribe and I hope you tune in for my upcoming videos in the future. Sensei out!
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