This adaptation of SAO was horrible. So horrible to the point where I fear anime to manga adaptations now.
The art was lousy. The faces were drawn strangely, Klein was aged like 5-10 years, and the art lacked detail. The only thing that was OK were the backgrounds, and even then I recall them only being basic.
The story was.. well, unfortunately, totally butchered. The plot was rushed, and character development was thrown out the window in favor of getting the story done in two volumes. We don't get to see Kirito go from Mr. Loner into someone who readily joins in with parties and realizes it's more fun to be with others than by yourself. He's just instantly Mr. Nice Guy who likes being in a group. I think the Beater thing was only brushed on in here, and I don't recall the battle with Kuradeel being there (though it may have been, but I forgot). It may have been, but if it was, it was rushed. Actually, I think Laughing Coffin as a whole was almost ditched. Additionally, Lisbeth and Silica do not appear at all here. Kirito just pulls his second sword from thin air here. Finally, Asuna and Kirito's relationship is almost nonexistent here. I think they just instantly know each other, like each other after the cooking thing, meet Yui, and fight at the end. They skip all of the early Kirito/Asuna scenes, which leaves their relationship feeling even more rushed than usual.
Overall, this was a horrible adaptation of a good anime. If you've seen the anime and want to revisit the world of Aincrad, read the light novel, or the Progressive series. If you are interested in SAO, but want to start with a manga (I do recommend just streaming the anime through Crunchyroll or Netflix, but if you really want to start with a manga..), read the adaptation of Sword Art Online: Progressive. It doesn't follow the anime exactly (it goes more into Kirito and Asuna as characters and the dungeons, though), but it's at least not rushed feeling.
