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Sword Art Online

May 20, 2023

Sword Art Online (Japanese: ソードアート・オンライン, Hepburn: Sōdo Āto Onrain) is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in the then-near future and focuses on protagonists Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG worlds. Kawahara originally wrote the series as a web novel on his website from 2002 to 2008. The light novels began publication on ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint from April 10, 2009, with a spin-off series launching in October 2012. The series has spawned twelve manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. The novels and the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press.

Sword Art Online
Cover of the first light novel, featuring Kirito (left) and Asuna (right)
ソードアート・オンライン
(Sōdo Āto Onrain)
Genre
Novel series
Written byReki Kawahara
Published bySelf-published
Original run2002 – 2008
Light novel
Written byReki Kawahara
Illustrated byabec
Published byASCII Media Works
English publisher
ImprintDengeki Bunko
DemographicMale
Original runApril 10, 2009 – present
Volumes27 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed byTomohiko Itō
Produced by
  • Shinichirō Kashiwada
  • Kazuma Miki
Written by
List
    • Yukie Sugawara
    • Yukito Kizawa
    • Muneo Nakamoto
    • Yoshikazu Mukai
    • Shūji Iriyama
    • Naoki Shōji
Music byYuki Kajiura
StudioA-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Original networkTokyo MX, GTV, GYT, tvk, TVS, TVA, RKB, HBC, MBS, AT-X, Chiba TV, BS11
English network
Original run July 8, 2012 – December 23, 2012
Episodes25 (List of episodes)
Light novel
Sword Art Online: Progressive
Written byReki Kawahara
Illustrated byabec
Published byASCII Media Works
English publisher
ImprintDengeki Bunko
DemographicMale
Original runOctober 10, 2012 – present
Volumes8 (List of volumes)
Anime television film
Sword Art Online: Extra Edition
Directed byTomohiko Itō
Produced by
  • Shinichirō Kashiwada
  • Kazuma Miki
Written by
  • Reki Kawahara
  • Muneo Nakamoto
Music byYuki Kajiura
StudioA-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Madman Entertainment
Aniplex of America
Original networkTokyo MX, BS11
ReleasedDecember 31, 2013
Runtime100 minutes
Anime television series
Sword Art Online II
Directed byTomohiko Itō
Produced by
  • Shinichirō Kashiwada
  • Kazuma Miki
  • Yōsuke Futami
Written by
List
    • Tomohiko Itō
    • Yukie Sugawara
    • Muneo Nakamoto
    • Yukito Kizawa
    • Atsushi Takayama
    • Ryōsuke Suzuki
Music byYuki Kajiura
StudioA-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Madman Entertainment
Aniplex of America
Muse Communication
Original networkTokyo MX, GTV, GYT, tvk, TVS, CTC, TVA, MBS, TVQ, TVh, AT-X, BS11
English network
TV5
Adult Swim (Toonami)
Original run July 5, 2014 – December 20, 2014
Episodes24 (List of episodes)
Light novel
Sword Art Online Alternative Clover's Regret
Written byWatase Souichirou
Illustrated byGinta
Published byASCII Media Works
ImprintDengeki Bunko
DemographicMale
Original runNovember 10, 2016 – August 10, 2018
Volumes3 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
  • Sword Art Online: Alicization (1–24)
  • Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld (25–47)
Directed byManabu Ono
Produced by
  • Masami Niwa
  • Takaaki Yuasa (1–24)
  • Keisuke Hirai (25–47)
  • Yōsuke Futami
  • Misato Aoki (1–24)
  • Kaoru Adachi
  • Ryūtarō Kawakami
Written by
List
    • Yukito Kizawa
    • Muneo Nakamoto
    • Kō Nekoto[a]
    • Kōhei Urushihara[b]
Music byYuki Kajiura
StudioA-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Madman Entertainment
Aniplex of America
Muse Communication
Anime Limited
Original networkTokyo MX, GYT, GTV, BS11, MBS, AT-X, TV Aichi
English network
Adult Swim (Toonami)
Original run October 7, 2018 – September 20, 2020
Episodes47 (List of episodes)
Other
Video games

An anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures, known simply as Sword Art Online, aired in Japan between July and December 2012, with a television film Sword Art Online: Extra Edition airing on December 31, 2013, and a second season, titled Sword Art Online II, airing between July and December 2014. An animated film titled Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, featuring an original story by Kawahara, premiered in Japan and Southeast Asia on February 18, 2017, and was released in the United States on March 9, 2017. A spin-off anime series titled Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online premiered in April 2018, while a third season titled Sword Art Online: Alicization aired from October 2018 to September 2020. An anime film adaptation of Sword Art Online: Progressive titled Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night premiered on October 30, 2021. A second film titled Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night premiered on October 22, 2022. A live-action series based on the light novels is set to be produced by Netflix. Six video games based on the series have been released for multiple consoles.

Sword Art Online has received widespread commercial success, with the light novels having over 30 million copies sold worldwide. The light novel series had good reviews, mainly on later arcs, while other series like Progressive were praised since the beginning. The anime series has received mixed to positive reviews, with praise for its animation, musical score and exploration of the psychological aspects of virtual reality, but criticisms for its pacing and writing.

Synopsis

Setting

The light novel series spans several virtual reality worlds, beginning with the game, Sword Art Online (SAO), which is set in a world known as Aincrad. Each world is built on a game engine called the World Seed, which was initially developed specifically for SAO by Akihiko Kayaba, but was later duplicated for Alfheim Online (ALO), and later willed to Kirito, who had it leaked online with the successful intention of reviving the virtual reality industry. A third world known as Gun Gale Online (GGO) appears in the third arc and is stylized as an FPS game instead of an RPG, and is the main setting of Alternative Gun Gale Online. It was created using the World Seed by an American company. A fourth world appears in the fourth arc known as the Underworld (UW). The world itself was created using the World Seed as a base, but it is as realistic as the real world due to using many powerful government resources to keep it running.

Plot

See also: List of Sword Art Online characters

In 2022, a virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online (SAO) was released. With the NerveGear, a helmet that stimulates the user's five senses via their brain, players can experience and control their in-game characters with their minds. Both the game and the NerveGear were created by Akihiko Kayaba. On November 6, 10,000 players log into SAO's mainframe cyberspace for the first time, only to discover that they are unable to log out. Kayaba appears and tells the players that they must beat all 100 floors of Aincrad, a steel castle which is the setting of SAO, if they wish to be free. He also states that those who suffer in-game deaths or forcibly remove the NerveGear out-of-game will suffer real-life deaths.

A player named Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya is one of 1,000 testers in the game's previous closed beta. With the advantage of previous VR gaming experience and a drive to protect other beta testers from discrimination, he isolates himself from the greater groups and plays the game alone, bearing the mantle of "beater", a portmanteau of "beta tester" and "cheater". As the players progress through the game Kirito eventually befriends a young girl named Asuna Yuuki, forming a relationship with and later marrying her in-game. After the duo discover the identity of Kayaba's secret ID, who was playing as "Heathcliff", the leader of the guild Asuna joined in, they confront and destroy him, freeing themselves and the other players from the game.

In the real world, Kazuto discovers that 300 SAO players, including Asuna, remain trapped in their NerveGear. As he goes to the hospital to see Asuna, he meets Asuna's father Shouzou Yuuki who is asked by an associate of his, Nobuyuki Sugou, to make a decision, which Sugou later reveals to be his marriage with Asuna, angering Kazuto. Several months later, he is informed by Agil, another SAO survivor, that a figure similar to Asuna was spotted on "The World Tree" in another VRMMORPG cyberspace called Alfheim Online (ALO). Assisted in-game by his cousin and adoptive sister Suguha "Leafa" Kirigaya and Yui, a navigation pixie (originally an AI from SAO), he quickly learns that the trapped players in ALO are part of a plan conceived by Sugou to perform illegal experiments on their minds. The goal is to create the perfect mind-control for financial gain and to subjugate Asuna, whom he intends to marry in the real world, to assume control of her family's corporation. Kirito eventually stops the experiment and rescues the remaining 300 SAO players, foiling Sugou's plans. Before leaving ALO to see Asuna, Kayaba, who has uploaded his mind to the Internet using an experimental and destructively high-power version of NerveGear at the cost of his life, entrusts Kirito with The Seed – a package program designed to create virtual worlds. Kazuto eventually reunites with Asuna in the real world after thwarting an attack from Sugou and The Seed is released onto the Internet, reviving Aincrad as other VRMMORPGs begin to thrive.

One year after the events of SAO, at the prompting of a government official investigating strange occurrences in VR, Kazuto takes on a job to investigate a series of murders involving another VRMMORPG called Gun Gale Online (GGO), the AmuSphere (the successor of the NerveGear), and a player called Death Gun. Aided by a female player named Shino "Sinon" Asada, he participates in a gunfight tournament called the Bullet of Bullets (BoB) and discovers the truth behind the murders, which originated with a player who participated in a player-killing guild in SAO. Through his and Sinon's efforts, two suspects are captured, though the third suspect, Johnny Black, escapes.

Kazuto is later recruited to test an experimental FullDive machine, Soul Translator (STL), which has an interface far more realistic and complex than the previous machine he had played, to help RATH, a research and development organization under the Ministry of Defense (MOD), develop an artificial intelligence named A.L.I.C.E. He tests the STL by entering the Underworld (UW), a virtual reality cyberspace created with The Seed package. In the UW, the flow of time proceeds a thousand times faster than in the real world, and Kirito's memories of what happens inside are restricted. However, when Johnny Black ambushes and mortally wounds Kazuto with suxamethonium chloride, RATH recovers Kazuto and places him back into the STL to preserve his mind while attempts are made to save him. During his time in Underworld, Kirito befriends Eugeo, a carver in a small village of Rulid, and helps him on a journey to save Alice Zuberg, his friend who was taken by a group of highly skilled warriors known as the Integrity Knights for accidentally breaking a rule of the Axiom Church, the leaders of the Human Empire. He and Eugeo soon find themselves uncovering the secrets of the Axiom Church, led by a woman only known as "The Administrator", and the true purpose of Underworld itself, while unbeknownst to them, a war against the opposing Dark Territory is brewing on the horizon. They meet Alice, now an Integrity Knight, and though she does not remember them, Kirito helps her remember her true identity: a form of true artificial intelligence known as A.L.I.C.E. In the battle against the Administrator, Kirito manages to slay her, though Eugeo dies in the process, to Kirito's dismay.

Meanwhile, in the real world, conflict escalates as American forces raid RATH's facility in the Ocean Turtle in an effort to take A.L.I.C.E. for purposes unknown. Two of the attackers - Gabriel "Vecta" Miller and Vassago "Prince of Hell" Cassals - take control of two Dark Territory characters as they unite the Dark Territory's inhabitants to aid them. With help from all his friends, Kirito manages to stop the attackers as well as foreign players lured by Vassago, and safely extract A.L.I.C.E. from UW, who gains a physical body - with Gabriel and Vassago being killed both virtually and physically in the process. However, Kirito does not log out in time before the flow of time is restored and spends 200 years in UW (about 2 weeks in the real world) with Asuna, who stayed behind for Kirito. After awakening they have their memories of 200 years in underworld removed under Kirito's request, though RATH employee Takeru Higa secretly keeps a backup consciousness of his 200 year self, who have unknown plans for the Underworld.

One month later, Kirito, Asuna, and the others have their accounts forcibly migrated to Unital Ring, a new VRMMORPG which incorporates locations from all the other environments they previously visited, and investigate the cause while meeting some familiar faces.

Production

Reki Kawahara wrote the first volume in 2001 as a competition entry for the 2002 ASCII Media Works Dengeki Game Novel Prize (電撃ゲーム小説大賞, Dengeki Game Shōsetsu Taishō, now Dengeki Novel Prize), but refrained from submitting it as he had exceeded the page limit; he instead published it as a web novel under the pseudonym Fumio Kunori.[3] Over time, he added three further main arcs and several short stories which, like the first arc "Aincrad", were later adapted into the light novels.[4][5][6] In 2008, he participated in the competition again by writing Accel World, this time winning the Grand Prize. Aside from Accel World, he was requested to get his earlier work, Sword Art Online, published by ASCII Media Works.[3] He agreed and withdrew his web novel versions.[6]

For the protagonist Kirito, Kawahara was asked if Kirito's personality and character were based on his own; he answered that he usually does not put aspects of himself into his characters, and jokingly remarked: "but if I had to say there was a point of similarity between Kirito and myself, it is the fact that neither of us are good at forming parties. We [both] tend to play solo in these games a lot."[7] He also noted that the female characters in the story were not based on anyone he knew in the real world, stating: "I don't usually make a character, setting, or anything before I start writing. As I write the story, the girls become what they are now. So, somehow, I don't know exactly, but somehow, my subliminal idea or some hidden emotion creates the characters to be strong and capable." He added that he wrote the series to demonstrate that he views online gaming not as a social ill or escape from real life, but rather decided to show games in a more positive light in his light novels. Kawahara also noted that the character of Asuna might have been created a little too perfectly.[7]

Publication

See also: List of Sword Art Online light novels

After Kawahara's request for Sword Art Online to be published was approved,[3] he started working with illustrator abec on the light novel series. The first volume was published in print on April 10, 2009,[8] and 27 volumes have been published as of October 7, 2022.[9] The first eight volumes of the light novel series told the story arcs for Sword Art Online, Alfheim Online, and Gun Gale Online. The Alicization story arc was covered by volumes 9 through 18, while volumes 19 and 20 told a side story called Moon Cradle. Kawahara plans on writing "one more big arc" called Unital Ring that will go back to the real world, and it is the first arc not based on the original web novel. The Unital Ring story arc began in volume 21, which was released in Japan on December 7, 2018.[10]

Kawahara also writes the Sword Art Online: Progressive series, which covers Kirito's adventures on the first few floors of Aincrad. The first volume of Progressive was released on October 10, 2012,[11] and eight volumes have been released as of June 10, 2021.[12] The first volume of a light novel series based on Sword Art Online titled Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, written by Keiichi Sigsawa with illustrations by Kouhaku Kuroboshi, was published by ASCII Media Works on December 10, 2014.[13] An original 100-page prequel novel to Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale written by Kawahara, titled Hopeful Chant, was released to people who watched the film in Japan during March 4–10, 2017.[14]

At their Japan Expo USA panel, Yen Press announced the rights to publish the light novels; the first volume was released on April 22, 2014.[15][16] Yen Press later announced their license of the Sword Art Online: Progressive series, which is scheduled for release in 2015.[17] The novels are also published in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam,[18] with future plans for publications in France,[19] Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and others.[18]

There are a number of dōjinshi (fan works) written by Kawahara under the pseudonym Fumio Kunori, titled Sword Art Online Material Edition (ソードアート・オンライン・マテリアル・エディション).[20] An 80-page assemblage of some of the Material Edition volumes was published on February 13, 2011;[21] another, Material Edition: Remix, was published on September 6, 2019. The latest release is Material Edition volume 29 on May 12, 2019. The author has also created some other dōjinshi including Lisbeth Edition, Silica Edition and Pina Edition under cooperation with Kurusu Tatsuya from ponz.info.[22][23] It is reported that these dōjinshi gain traction from the involvement of the original author in its creation process, as well as from supplying more details on characters from the original work.[22]

Media

Manga

See also: List of Sword Art Online manga volumes

There are ten manga adaptations of the series, all written by Reki Kawahara and published by ASCII Media Works. Sword Art Online: Aincrad (ソードアート・オンライン アインクラッド), illustrated by Tamako Nakamura, was serialized in Dengeki Bunko Magazine between the September 2010 and May 2012 issues. Two tankōbon volumes of Aincrad were released on September 27, 2012.[24][25] A comedy four-panel manga, titled Sword Art Online (そーどあーと☆おんらいん。) and illustrated by Jūsei Minami, began serialization in the September 2010 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine. The first volume of Sword Art Online was released on September 27, 2012.[26] A third manga, titled Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance (ソードアート・オンライン フェアリィ・ダンス) and illustrated by Hazuki Tsubasa, began serialization in the May 2012 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine. The first volume of Fairy Dance was released on October 27, 2012;[27] the third volume was released on June 27, 2014.[28] The Aincrad and Fairy Dance manga have been acquired for release in North America by Yen Press.[15] The first volume of Aincrad was published on March 25, 2014.[16]

A spin-off manga starring Lisbeth, Silica, and Leafa, titled Sword Art Online: Girls Ops (ソードアート・オンライン ガールズ・オプス) and illustrated by Neko Nekobyō, began serialization in the July 2013 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine.[29] Following the discontinuation of Dengeki Bunko Magazine in April 2020, the manga was moved to the DenPlay Comic website.[30] Girls Ops was licensed by Yen Press in November 2014, the first volume of which was released on May 19, 2015.[31][32] A manga adaption of Sword Art Online: Progressive, illustrated by Kiseki Himura, began serialization in the August 2013 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine. The manga ended serialization in the magazine's May 2014 issue and was transferred to Dengeki G's Comic starting with the June 2014 issue.[33] The Progressive manga adaption has been licensed by Yen Press, with the first two volumes released in January and April 2015, respectively.[17][34]

A sixth manga, titled Sword Art Online: Phantom Bullet and illustrated by Kōtarō Yamada, had its first chapter serialized in the May 2014 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine, with following chapters being digitally serialized on Kadokawa's Comic Walker website. A seventh manga, titled Sword Art Online: Calibur and illustrated by Shii Kiya, was serialized in Dengeki G's Comic between the September 2014 and July 2015 issues.[35] A single compilation volume was released on August 10, 2015.[36] An eighth manga, titled Sword Art Online: Mother's Rosario and also by Tsubasa, is based on the seventh volume of the novel series and began serialization in the July 2014 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine.[37] A ninth manga, an adaptation of Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, began serialization in the November 2015 issue of Dengeki Maoh.[38]

A tenth manga, titled Sword Art Online: Project Alicization and illustrated by Kōtarō Yamada, based on the Alicization arc of the light novel series, began serialization in the September 2016 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine.[39] It moved to Web DenPlay Comic due to the discontinuation of Dengeki Bunko Magazine.[40]

Anime series

See also: List of Sword Art Online episodes

An anime adaptation of Sword Art Online was announced at Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival 2011, along with Reki Kawahara's other light novel series, Accel World.[41] The anime is produced by Aniplex and Genco, animated by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tomohiko Ito with music by Yuki Kajiura.[42] The anime aired on Tokyo MX, tvk, TVS, TV Aichi, RKB, HBC and MBS between July 7 and December 22, 2012, and on AT-X, Chiba TV and BS11 at later dates.[43] The series was also streamed on Crunchyroll and Hulu.[44] The anime is adapted from the first four novels and parts of volume eight.

The anime has been licensed in North America by Aniplex of America[45] and an English-language dub premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami from July 27, 2013[46] to February 15, 2014. The series was released by Aniplex of America in four DVD and Blu-ray sets, with special extras on the BD sets, between August 13 and November 19, 2013.[47] Manga Entertainment released the first series on BD/DVD in the United Kingdom in December 2013,[48] whilst Madman Entertainment released the series in Australia[49] and the English-language version began airing on ABC Me on June 7, 2014.[50] Sword Art Online has been available on Netflix in North America since March 15, 2014.[51]

A year-end special, titled Sword Art Online Extra Edition, aired on December 31, 2013. The special recapped the previously aired anime series and included some new footage.[52][53] Extra Edition was streamed worldwide a few hours after its airing in Japan.[54] The two-hour-long special was available on Daisuki worldwide except for French-speaking areas, as well as China and Korea.[54] Daisuki offered subtitles in various languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and German.[54] English-speaking countries, Mexico, Central and South America could also watch the stream on Crunchyroll.[55] Extra Edition was also simulcast in Korea on Aniplus cable channel and in China on the LeTV streaming website.[55] French-speaking countries could watch on the Wakanim streaming website.[55] The Blu-ray Disc and DVD of Extra Edition was released on April 23, 2014 in Japan.[56] The limited edition included a Yui character song titled "Heart Sweet Heart" by Kanae Itō and an original side story written by Kawahara titled "Sword Art Online Niji no Hashi" (ソードアート・オンライン 虹の橋, Sword Art Online Rainbow Bridge).[56]

At the end of the special, the anime television series was confirmed for a second season, titled Sword Art Online II, which premiered on July 5, 2014.[57][58] The first 14 episodes of the second season are an adaptation of volumes five and six the light novels that cover the Phantom Bullet arc.[59] Episodes 15 to 17 cover the Calibur arc from volume 8 of the novels, with episodes 18 to 24 covering volume 7 of the novels, the Mother's Rosario arc. Premiere screening events of the second season were held in the United States, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan before the television premiere between June 29 and July 4, 2014.[57][60][61] At Katsucon, it was announced that the English dub of the second season would air on Toonami beginning March 28, 2015.[62]

The third season of Sword Art Online, titled Sword Art Online: Alicization, and a spin-off anime, titled Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, were announced in 2017.[63] Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, animated by 3Hz, premiered in April 2018.[64][65] Sword Art Online: Alicization aired from October 6, 2018 to March 30, 2019,[66] with a one-hour world premiere which aired in Japan, the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Russia and South Korea on September 15, 2018.[67] The English dub of the third season premiered on February 9, 2019 on Toonami.[68] The season was originally announced to air for four cours, and adapt from the novel's ninth volume, Alicization Beginning, to the eighteenth volume, Alicization Lasting.[69] However, the season ended at episode 24 on March 30, 2019 (completing the fourteenth volume of the novel, Alicization Uniting), and continued on October 12, 2019 with a second part titled War of Underworld.[70][71] The second half of the War of Underworld series was originally scheduled to premiere in April 2020,[72] but due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan,[73] it was rescheduled to air from July 11 to September 19, 2020.[73]

Music

Yuki Kajiura composed the soundtrack for the Sword Art Online anime, which was later released in the limited edition of the anime's fourth and seventh Blu-ray and DVD volumes.[74][75] The first volume of the second season's soundtrack was bundled with the limited edition of the season's third and seventh Blu-ray and DVD volumes.[76][77]

For the first 14 episodes of season one, the opening theme song is "Crossing Field" by LiSA,[78] and the ending theme song is "Yume Sekai" (ユメセカイ, Dream World) by Haruka Tomatsu.[79] From episode 15 onward, the opening theme is "Innocence" by Eir Aoi, and the ending theme is "Overfly" by Luna Haruna.[80][81] The main theme for Sword Art Online: Extra Edition is "Niji no Oto" (虹の音, Sound of the Rainbow) by Eir Aoi.[80]

For the second season, the first opening theme is "Ignite" by Eir Aoi, and the first ending theme is "Startear" by Haruna.[82] The second opening theme is "Courage" by Tomatsu,[83] and the second ending theme is "No More Time Machine" by LiSA, with the third ending theme being "Shirushi" (シルシ), also by LiSA.[84] The song "Catch the Moment" by LiSA is used as the theme song to Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale.[85]

For the third season, the first opening theme is "Adamas" by LiSA, and the first ending theme is "Iris" (アイリス) by Eir Aoi.[86] The second opening theme is "Resister" by Asca, and the second ending theme is "Forget-me-not" by ReoNa, with episode 19 featuring "Niji no Kanata ni" (虹の彼方に, Beyond the Rainbow), also sung by ReoNa.[87]

For the second part of the third season, the first opening theme is "Resolution" by Tomatsu, and the first ending theme is "Unlasting" by LiSA.[88][89] The second opening theme is "Anima" by ReoNa, and the second ending theme is "I will..." by Eir Aoi.[90] The song "Yuke" (往け) by LiSA was used as the theme song to Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night,[91] while the song "Shinzō" (心臓, Heart) by Eir Aoi was used as the theme song to Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night.[92]

A number of character songs were included in the Blu-ray and DVD volume releases of the anime. These were collected into two compilation albums: Sword Art Online Song Collection, which included character songs released in the season one volumes, was released on August 27, 2014,[93] while Sword Art Online Song Collection II, which included character songs released in the season two volumes, was released on March 22, 2017.[94]

In celebration of the anime's 10th anniversary, the song "Sо̄kyū no Fanfare" (蒼穹のファンファーレ) was used as the theme song for the commemorative event "Sword Art Online: Full Dive", held on November 6, 2022. The song was composed by Yuki Kajiura and performed by ReoNa, ASCA and Eir Aoi, who were in charge of previous opening and ending themes for the series.[95]

Theatrical films

An animated film titled Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, featuring an original story by Kawahara set after the events of Sword Art Online II, premiered in Japan and Southeast Asia on February 18, 2017, and was released in the United States on March 9, 2017.[96][97][98][99]

After the finale of Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld, an anime adaptation of Sword Art Online: Progressive was announced.[100] It was later revealed to be a new film titled Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night, which premiered on October 30, 2021.[101] Inori Minase is joining the cast as the new character Mito.[102] Ayako Kōno is directing the film, with Kento Toya designing the characters, Yuki Kajiura returning to compose the music, and A-1 Pictures returning for production.[103]

After the premiere of Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night, a sequel film titled Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night was announced.[104] The film was scheduled for September 10, 2022, but was later delayed due to production issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[105][106] It is premiered on October 22, 2022.[107]

During the commemorative event "Sword Art Online: Full Dive", a new film project was announced. The project is described as an original work with stories not used in the light novels.[108]

Video games

A stage event at the Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival 2011 revealed that Reki Kawahara's light novels would get video game adaptations.[109] The first Sword Art Online adaptation, titled Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment (ソードアート・オンライン -インフィニティ・モーメント-, Sōdo Āto Onrain: Infiniti Mōmento), was published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation Portable.[110] The game follows an alternate storyline, in which a glitch causes Kirito and the other players to remain in Sword Art Online despite defeating Heathcliff, and players from other VMMORPGs such as Leafa and Sinon get sucked into the game themselves.[111] The game was released in both regular and limited edition box sets on March 14, 2013.[112]

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is a PlayStation Vita game released in Japan on April 24, 2014.[113][114] Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment takes place in the same alternative storyline as Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment,[115] and it includes all content of "Floor Clearing" from that previous game[116] with the addition of new unexplored "Hollow Area" of Aincrad.[117] The protagonist Kirito will cross swords with a mysterious player who would become one of the key characters in the game.[117] The game sold 145,029 physical retail copies within the first week of release in Japan, topping the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week.[118] The game had also been released in Taiwan by Namco Bandai Games Taiwan with Chinese and English subtitles.[119] A digital-only North American, European and Australian release was released in August 2014.

A third video game developed by Artdink[120] and titled Sword Art Online: Lost Song was released in Japan on March 26, 2015[121] on the PlayStation 3 and Vita platforms,[122][123] with an English version being released in Asia.[124] The game's producer revealed in October 2014 that the game is an open-world action RPG featuring an original storyline, set within Alfheim Online, where characters are able to fly.[125] The game sold 139,298 physical retail copies on the PlayStation Vita in addition to another 55,090 units on the PlayStation 3 within its first week of release in Japan, ranking second and sixth place respectively within the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week, narrowly behind Bloodborne taking the top spot.[126]

A fourth game titled Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization was released in Japan for the PS4, Vita, and Windows on October 27, 2016[127] and worldwide on November 8, 2016 for the PS4 and Vita.[128]

A social network game called Sword Art Online: End World was released for Japanese feature phones and smartphones on February 28, 2013[129][130] with more than 1 million registered users.[131] It was discontinued in September 2017. Another freemium game for Android and iOS titled Sword Art Online: Code Register launched in 2014, and over 3,000,000 users have downloaded the game.[132] Another game called Sword Art Online: Progress Link designed for the Mobage browser game platform on smartphones was released on February 10, 2015.[133] The game was terminated on July 29, 2016.

Kirito, Asuna, Leafa, Yuuki and SAO Alternative: Gun Gale Online protagonist LLENN appear in Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax, a fighting game by Sega featuring various characters from works published under the Dengeki Bunko imprint.[134][135][136] A browser game titled Sword Art Quest and its sequel smartphone game, Sword Art Quest II[137] provide challenges to users to upgrade their characters to receive rewards.[138] There is also a paid Android game titled SAO -Log Out- that users can download and play with characters from the series and obtain wallpapers from it.[139]

A virtual reality massive multiplayer online game was in development by Kadokawa and IBM Japan,[140] but was only a demo and will not be released as a full game.

An action role-playing game titled Accel World vs. Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight was announced in October 2016. The game is a crossover with Accel World, published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita,[141] and Windows via Steam,[142] and was released to western audiences on July 7, 2017.[143]

The Black Swordsman (黒衣剣士, 黑衣剑士) is a Chinese 3D role-playing game where the player can control 3D characters and experience Sword Art Online, Alfheim Online, and Gun Gale Online. It is developed by Yun Chang Game under Bandai Namco's supervision.[144] The game is being distributed and is operating under Bandai Namco Shanghai, Bandai Namco Entertainment and Qihoo 360 on Chinese platforms.[145][146] The game was launched on Android on May 26, 2016 and on iOS on June 9, 2016 after a brief period of closed beta,[144] though it is officially still in an "open beta" phase.[147]

Bandai Namco released Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag RPG for Android and iOS[148] in August 2016. It was released outside of Japan on January 24, 2017.[149] Featuring content from the anime series, Ordinal Scale, and some original shorts written for event characters, players are allowed to play solo and progress through the story, or join up with others online to farm special items, equipment, and materials.[150] Common events include ranked challenges against other players, floor clearing, character introductions and seasonal events. Players have the choice of spending real money to speed-up their progress.[151] However, the game was discontinued in August 30, 2021.[152] While Memory Defrag is delisted from the app stores, the game is still available to play via offline version of the app if the person downloaded the game before the termination date.

Bandai Namco released the Sword Art Online: Integral Factor free-to-play MMORPG for Android and iOS in December 2017, created in conjunction with prolific mobile MMO developer Asobimo [ja]. The English version was released in March 2018. It adapts the Aincrad arc starting from Floor 1 and gradually exploring every floor one-by-one. It allows playing as a player-created avatar.

A game based on Gun Gale Online, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet, was released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows on February 23, 2018.[153]

Bandai Namco Entertainment released the Sword Art Online VR: Lovely Honey Days mobile game for iOS and Android devices in Japan in October 2018. The game's first episode is free-to-play, while the second episode and so on can be purchased as additional content.[154]

Bandai Namco released Sword Art Online Arcade: Deep Explorer in Japanese arcades on March 19, 2019. It is an exploration action RPG that supports up to three players in online co-op and it is the first arcade game in the Sword Art Online series.[155][156]

A video game based in the Underworld of Project Alicization, Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, was announced by Bandai Namco for release on the PS4, Xbox One, and Windows.[157] The game is also the first game in the franchise to faithfully follow the canon storyline in the initial stage, adapting from Alicization Beginning, volume 9, to Alicization Uniting, volume 14. Following that, the game features a different arc focusing on Medina Orthinanos. Originally, the game was going to be released in May 2020, but it was delayed to July 10, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[158]

A China-exclusive mobile MMO, Sword Art Online: Black Swordsman Ace, was released in 2021.

In 2022, the mobile game Sword Art Online: Variant Showdown was released to coincide with the anime's 10th anniversary. In the future it will feature a battle royale mode, a first for an SAO game.[159][160]

Bandai Namco has announced the video game Sword Art Online: Last Recollection, set to be released worldwide on October 6, 2023.[161] ReoNa will perform the game's theme song, "VITA".[162]

Live-action series

Skydance Television announced on August 2, 2016 that they had acquired the global rights to produce a live-action television adaptation of Sword Art Online light novel series.[163] Laeta Kalogridis has been attached to write a script for the pilot, and will also serve as executive producer for the series alongside Skydance CEO David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Marcy Ross.[163] Skydance has stated their intent to "fast-track" the launch of the series,[163] along with plans to follow the TV series with the release of a Sword Art Online virtual reality experience.[164][165] In February 2018, it was reported that the live-action series had been sold to Netflix.[166]

Reception

Sales

According to Oricon, Sword Art Online was the top selling light novel series of 2012, with eight volumes figuring among the top selling light novels.[167][168] It was ranked first in the 2012 and 2013 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! rankings, as well as top five placement in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and top 10 in 2019.[169][170][171][172][173] It was also the second best selling light novel series in the first half of 2016 in Japan, selling 489,374 copies.[174] Sword Art Online: Progressive sold 321,535 copies in the same time period.[174] As of 2017, the series has an estimated 20 million copies in print worldwide.[175] As of 2021, the series has 26 million copies in print.[176] The number of sales have reached 30 million in 2022.[177]

Critical response

Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku hails Sword Art Online as the smartest series in recent years, praising its deep insight on the psychological aspects of virtual reality on the human psyche, its sociological views on creating a realistic economy and society in a massively multiplayer online game setting, and the writing staff's ability to juggle a wide variety of genres within the series.[178] Eisenbeis particularly noted how the romance between Kirito and Asuna is explored bringing "definition to exactly what love is like in a virtual world."[178] However, at the time of this preliminary review, he had only watched the first 12 episodes of the series.[178] He has since gone on to review the second half of the series, lauding its excellent use of plot twists and praising its well-written and believable villain. However, he felt that some of the initial positive aspects of the series were lost in the second half, such as the focus on psychological repercussions and social interactions that could be realistically seen in an online game. Criticism was also levied towards the aspect of turning Asuna into a damsel in distress, stating that a female lead as strong as her was "reduced to nothing but the quest item the male lead is hunting for." Eisenbeis closes his review of the series by stating in regards to the two halves, "Both, however, are enjoyable for what they are."[179]

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network has criticized the series as having pacing problems, logical gaps and "sloppy writing".[180] Theron Martin of the same website criticized the story as struggling "to achieve and maintain the level of gravitas that life-or-death danger should have", while calling it unwilling to commit to Kirito's "lone wolf" image.[181] DeviceCritique explained that Sword Art Online influences the virtual reality market to grow, and referenced the Oculus Rift as a prime example of the starting point of virtual reality. It also praised Sword Art Online for exploring the psychological and social aspects of virtual reality gaming.[182]

While the anime received criticism in western media, the later light novel arcs, such as Mother's Rosario and Alicization, received praise. Anime News Network reviewer Theron Martin praised many of the volumes of the Alicization arc, saying that the author's writing had improved.[183] Martin also praised the anime adaptation of the Alicization arc, describing the opening episode as "about the best adaptation that could be hoped for of the relevant source material".[184]

Cultural impact

Kirito makes a cameo appearance in the eighth episode of the anime series Eromanga Sensei, with Yoshitsugu Matsuoka reprising his role.[185]

Sword Art Online is sometimes considered to be part of the isekai genre,[186] although Kawahara himself does not agree.[187] The 2012 anime adaptation of Sword Art Online popularized the isekai genre in anime, which led to more isekai web novels being published on the website Shōsetsuka ni Narō ("Let's Become Novelists") and a number of Narō isekai novels being adapted into anime.[188]

Ernest Cline, the writer of 2011 novel Ready Player One, discussed Sword Art Online in an interview, noting how he met its writer Reki Kawahara at an event in Japan where they discussed how they independently developed similar ideas related to virtual reality.[189] It has also been noted that the Phantom Bullet (Gun Gale Online) arc released in print in 2010 depicts an early fictional battle royale game called Bullet of Bullets.[190]

On June 12, 2015, the now-inactive Chinese Ministry of Culture listed Sword Art Online II among 38 anime and manga titles banned in China.[191] In July 2020, Sword Art Online became one of seven manga titles to be removed from Books Kinokuniya in Australia for claims of promoting child pornography.[192]

In the 2020 edition of Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!, Sword Art Online was voted by the public in an online poll and by a jury (critics, influencers, and other people related to the light novel industry) as the best light novel series of the 2010s, being the first in the ranking with 1,728.95 points.[193]

Notes

  1. ^ Alicization
  2. ^ Alicization – War of Underworld

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External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sword Art Online.
  • Official anime website - Asia (in English)
  • Official anime website (in Japanese)
  • Official North American website
  • Sword Art Online (light novel) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
  • Sword Art Online at IMDb

May 20, 2023
sword, online, japanese, ソードアート, オンライン, hepburn, sōdo, Āto, onrain, japanese, light, novel, series, written, reki, kawahara, illustrated, abec, series, takes, place, then, near, future, focuses, protagonists, kazuto, kirito, kirigaya, asuna, yuuki, they, play,. Sword Art Online Japanese ソードアート オンライン Hepburn Sōdo Ato Onrain is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec The series takes place in the then near future and focuses on protagonists Kazuto Kirito Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG worlds Kawahara originally wrote the series as a web novel on his website from 2002 to 2008 The light novels began publication on ASCII Media Works Dengeki Bunko imprint from April 10 2009 with a spin off series launching in October 2012 The series has spawned twelve manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa The novels and the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press Sword Art OnlineCover of the first light novel featuring Kirito left and Asuna right ソードアート オンライン Sōdo Ato Onrain GenreAdventure 1 Science fiction 2 Novel seriesWritten byReki KawaharaPublished bySelf publishedOriginal run2002 2008Light novelWritten byReki KawaharaIllustrated byabecPublished byASCII Media WorksEnglish publisherNA Yen PressImprintDengeki BunkoDemographicMaleOriginal runApril 10 2009 presentVolumes27 List of volumes Anime television seriesDirected byTomohiko ItōProduced byShinichirō KashiwadaKazuma MikiWritten byList Yukie SugawaraYukito KizawaMuneo NakamotoYoshikazu MukaiShuji IriyamaNaoki ShōjiMusic byYuki KajiuraStudioA 1 PicturesLicensed byAUS Madman EntertainmentNA Aniplex of AmericaSEA Muse CommunicationUK Manga EntertainmentOriginal networkTokyo MX GTV GYT tvk TVS TVA RKB HBC MBS AT X Chiba TV BS11English networkAU ABC MeNA Aniplex ChannelPH TV5US Adult Swim Toonami Original runJuly 8 2012 December 23 2012Episodes25 List of episodes Light novelSword Art Online ProgressiveWritten byReki KawaharaIllustrated byabecPublished byASCII Media WorksEnglish publisherNA Yen PressImprintDengeki BunkoDemographicMaleOriginal runOctober 10 2012 presentVolumes8 List of volumes Anime television filmSword Art Online Extra EditionDirected byTomohiko ItōProduced byShinichirō KashiwadaKazuma MikiWritten byReki KawaharaMuneo NakamotoMusic byYuki KajiuraStudioA 1 PicturesLicensed byAUS Madman EntertainmentNA Aniplex of AmericaOriginal networkTokyo MX BS11ReleasedDecember 31 2013Runtime100 minutesAnime television seriesSword Art Online IIDirected byTomohiko ItōProduced byShinichirō KashiwadaKazuma MikiYōsuke FutamiWritten byList Tomohiko ItōYukie SugawaraMuneo NakamotoYukito KizawaAtsushi TakayamaRyōsuke SuzukiMusic byYuki KajiuraStudioA 1 PicturesLicensed byAUS Madman EntertainmentNA Aniplex of AmericaSEA Muse CommunicationUK Anime LimitedOriginal networkTokyo MX GTV GYT tvk TVS CTC TVA MBS TVQ TVh AT X BS11English networkPH TV5US Adult Swim Toonami Original runJuly 5 2014 December 20 2014Episodes24 List of episodes Light novelSword Art Online Alternative Clover s RegretWritten byWatase SouichirouIllustrated byGintaPublished byASCII Media WorksImprintDengeki BunkoDemographicMaleOriginal runNovember 10 2016 August 10 2018Volumes3 List of volumes Anime television seriesSword Art Online Alicization 1 24 Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld 25 47 Directed byManabu OnoProduced byMasami NiwaTakaaki Yuasa 1 24 Keisuke Hirai 25 47 Yōsuke FutamiMisato Aoki 1 24 Kaoru AdachiRyutarō KawakamiWritten byList Yukito KizawaMuneo NakamotoKō Nekoto a Kōhei Urushihara b Music byYuki KajiuraStudioA 1 PicturesLicensed byAUS Madman EntertainmentNA Aniplex of AmericaSEA Muse CommunicationUK Anime LimitedOriginal networkTokyo MX GYT GTV BS11 MBS AT X TV AichiEnglish networkUS Adult Swim Toonami Original runOctober 7 2018 September 20 2020Episodes47 List of episodes OtherSword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online spin off Sword Art Online The Movie Ordinal Scale film Sword Art Online Progressive Aria of a Starless Night film Sword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of Deep Night film Sword Art Online manga volumesVideo gamesSword Art Online End World 2013 Sword Art Online Infinity Moment 2013 Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment 2014 Sword Art Online Code Register 2014 Sword Art Online Progress Link 2015 Sword Art Online Lost Song 2015 The Black Swordsman 2016 Sword Art Online Memory Defrag 2016 Sword Art Online Hollow Realization 2016 Accel World vs Sword Art Online Millennium Twilight 2017 Sword Art Online Integral Factor 2017 Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet 2018 Sword Art Online VR Lovely Honey Days 2018 Sword Art Online Arcade Deep Explorer 2019 Sword Art Online Alicization Rising Steel 2019 Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris 2020 Sword Art Online Black Swordsman Ace 2021 Sword Art Online Variant Showdown 2022 Sword Art Online Last Recollection 2023 An anime television series produced by A 1 Pictures known simply as Sword Art Online aired in Japan between July and December 2012 with a television film Sword Art Online Extra Edition airing on December 31 2013 and a second season titled Sword Art Online II airing between July and December 2014 An animated film titled Sword Art Online The Movie Ordinal Scale featuring an original story by Kawahara premiered in Japan and Southeast Asia on February 18 2017 and was released in the United States on March 9 2017 A spin off anime series titled Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online premiered in April 2018 while a third season titled Sword Art Online Alicization aired from October 2018 to September 2020 An anime film adaptation of Sword Art Online Progressive titled Sword Art Online Progressive Aria of a Starless Night premiered on October 30 2021 A second film titled Sword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of Deep Night premiered on October 22 2022 A live action series based on the light novels is set to be produced by Netflix Six video games based on the series have been released for multiple consoles Sword Art Online has received widespread commercial success with the light novels having over 30 million copies sold worldwide The light novel series had good reviews mainly on later arcs while other series like Progressive were praised since the beginning The anime series has received mixed to positive reviews with praise for its animation musical score and exploration of the psychological aspects of virtual reality but criticisms for its pacing and writing Contents 1 Synopsis 1 1 Setting 1 2 Plot 2 Production 3 Publication 4 Media 4 1 Manga 4 2 Anime series 4 2 1 Music 4 3 Theatrical films 4 4 Video games 4 5 Live action series 5 Reception 5 1 Sales 5 2 Critical response 6 Cultural impact 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksSynopsis EditSetting Edit The light novel series spans several virtual reality worlds beginning with the game Sword Art Online SAO which is set in a world known as Aincrad Each world is built on a game engine called the World Seed which was initially developed specifically for SAO by Akihiko Kayaba but was later duplicated for Alfheim Online ALO and later willed to Kirito who had it leaked online with the successful intention of reviving the virtual reality industry A third world known as Gun Gale Online GGO appears in the third arc and is stylized as an FPS game instead of an RPG and is the main setting of Alternative Gun Gale Online It was created using the World Seed by an American company A fourth world appears in the fourth arc known as the Underworld UW The world itself was created using the World Seed as a base but it is as realistic as the real world due to using many powerful government resources to keep it running Plot Edit See also List of Sword Art Online characters In 2022 a virtual reality massively multiplayer online role playing game VRMMORPG called Sword Art Online SAO was released With the NerveGear a helmet that stimulates the user s five senses via their brain players can experience and control their in game characters with their minds Both the game and the NerveGear were created by Akihiko Kayaba On November 6 10 000 players log into SAO s mainframe cyberspace for the first time only to discover that they are unable to log out Kayaba appears and tells the players that they must beat all 100 floors of Aincrad a steel castle which is the setting of SAO if they wish to be free He also states that those who suffer in game deaths or forcibly remove the NerveGear out of game will suffer real life deaths A player named Kazuto Kirito Kirigaya is one of 1 000 testers in the game s previous closed beta With the advantage of previous VR gaming experience and a drive to protect other beta testers from discrimination he isolates himself from the greater groups and plays the game alone bearing the mantle of beater a portmanteau of beta tester and cheater As the players progress through the game Kirito eventually befriends a young girl named Asuna Yuuki forming a relationship with and later marrying her in game After the duo discover the identity of Kayaba s secret ID who was playing as Heathcliff the leader of the guild Asuna joined in they confront and destroy him freeing themselves and the other players from the game In the real world Kazuto discovers that 300 SAO players including Asuna remain trapped in their NerveGear As he goes to the hospital to see Asuna he meets Asuna s father Shouzou Yuuki who is asked by an associate of his Nobuyuki Sugou to make a decision which Sugou later reveals to be his marriage with Asuna angering Kazuto Several months later he is informed by Agil another SAO survivor that a figure similar to Asuna was spotted on The World Tree in another VRMMORPG cyberspace called Alfheim Online ALO Assisted in game by his cousin and adoptive sister Suguha Leafa Kirigaya and Yui a navigation pixie originally an AI from SAO he quickly learns that the trapped players in ALO are part of a plan conceived by Sugou to perform illegal experiments on their minds The goal is to create the perfect mind control for financial gain and to subjugate Asuna whom he intends to marry in the real world to assume control of her family s corporation Kirito eventually stops the experiment and rescues the remaining 300 SAO players foiling Sugou s plans Before leaving ALO to see Asuna Kayaba who has uploaded his mind to the Internet using an experimental and destructively high power version of NerveGear at the cost of his life entrusts Kirito with The Seed a package program designed to create virtual worlds Kazuto eventually reunites with Asuna in the real world after thwarting an attack from Sugou and The Seed is released onto the Internet reviving Aincrad as other VRMMORPGs begin to thrive One year after the events of SAO at the prompting of a government official investigating strange occurrences in VR Kazuto takes on a job to investigate a series of murders involving another VRMMORPG called Gun Gale Online GGO the AmuSphere the successor of the NerveGear and a player called Death Gun Aided by a female player named Shino Sinon Asada he participates in a gunfight tournament called the Bullet of Bullets BoB and discovers the truth behind the murders which originated with a player who participated in a player killing guild in SAO Through his and Sinon s efforts two suspects are captured though the third suspect Johnny Black escapes Kazuto is later recruited to test an experimental FullDive machine Soul Translator STL which has an interface far more realistic and complex than the previous machine he had played to help RATH a research and development organization under the Ministry of Defense MOD develop an artificial intelligence named A L I C E He tests the STL by entering the Underworld UW a virtual reality cyberspace created with The Seed package In the UW the flow of time proceeds a thousand times faster than in the real world and Kirito s memories of what happens inside are restricted However when Johnny Black ambushes and mortally wounds Kazuto with suxamethonium chloride RATH recovers Kazuto and places him back into the STL to preserve his mind while attempts are made to save him During his time in Underworld Kirito befriends Eugeo a carver in a small village of Rulid and helps him on a journey to save Alice Zuberg his friend who was taken by a group of highly skilled warriors known as the Integrity Knights for accidentally breaking a rule of the Axiom Church the leaders of the Human Empire He and Eugeo soon find themselves uncovering the secrets of the Axiom Church led by a woman only known as The Administrator and the true purpose of Underworld itself while unbeknownst to them a war against the opposing Dark Territory is brewing on the horizon They meet Alice now an Integrity Knight and though she does not remember them Kirito helps her remember her true identity a form of true artificial intelligence known as A L I C E In the battle against the Administrator Kirito manages to slay her though Eugeo dies in the process to Kirito s dismay Meanwhile in the real world conflict escalates as American forces raid RATH s facility in the Ocean Turtle in an effort to take A L I C E for purposes unknown Two of the attackers Gabriel Vecta Miller and Vassago Prince of Hell Cassals take control of two Dark Territory characters as they unite the Dark Territory s inhabitants to aid them With help from all his friends Kirito manages to stop the attackers as well as foreign players lured by Vassago and safely extract A L I C E from UW who gains a physical body with Gabriel and Vassago being killed both virtually and physically in the process However Kirito does not log out in time before the flow of time is restored and spends 200 years in UW about 2 weeks in the real world with Asuna who stayed behind for Kirito After awakening they have their memories of 200 years in underworld removed under Kirito s request though RATH employee Takeru Higa secretly keeps a backup consciousness of his 200 year self who have unknown plans for the Underworld One month later Kirito Asuna and the others have their accounts forcibly migrated to Unital Ring a new VRMMORPG which incorporates locations from all the other environments they previously visited and investigate the cause while meeting some familiar faces Production EditReki Kawahara wrote the first volume in 2001 as a competition entry for the 2002 ASCII Media Works Dengeki Game Novel Prize 電撃ゲーム小説大賞 Dengeki Game Shōsetsu Taishō now Dengeki Novel Prize but refrained from submitting it as he had exceeded the page limit he instead published it as a web novel under the pseudonym Fumio Kunori 3 Over time he added three further main arcs and several short stories which like the first arc Aincrad were later adapted into the light novels 4 5 6 In 2008 he participated in the competition again by writing Accel World this time winning the Grand Prize Aside from Accel World he was requested to get his earlier work Sword Art Online published by ASCII Media Works 3 He agreed and withdrew his web novel versions 6 For the protagonist Kirito Kawahara was asked if Kirito s personality and character were based on his own he answered that he usually does not put aspects of himself into his characters and jokingly remarked but if I had to say there was a point of similarity between Kirito and myself it is the fact that neither of us are good at forming parties We both tend to play solo in these games a lot 7 He also noted that the female characters in the story were not based on anyone he knew in the real world stating I don t usually make a character setting or anything before I start writing As I write the story the girls become what they are now So somehow I don t know exactly but somehow my subliminal idea or some hidden emotion creates the characters to be strong and capable He added that he wrote the series to demonstrate that he views online gaming not as a social ill or escape from real life but rather decided to show games in a more positive light in his light novels Kawahara also noted that the character of Asuna might have been created a little too perfectly 7 Publication EditSee also List of Sword Art Online light novels After Kawahara s request for Sword Art Online to be published was approved 3 he started working with illustrator abec on the light novel series The first volume was published in print on April 10 2009 8 and 27 volumes have been published as of October 7 2022 9 The first eight volumes of the light novel series told the story arcs for Sword Art Online Alfheim Online and Gun Gale Online The Alicization story arc was covered by volumes 9 through 18 while volumes 19 and 20 told a side story called Moon Cradle Kawahara plans on writing one more big arc called Unital Ring that will go back to the real world and it is the first arc not based on the original web novel The Unital Ring story arc began in volume 21 which was released in Japan on December 7 2018 10 Kawahara also writes the Sword Art Online Progressive series which covers Kirito s adventures on the first few floors of Aincrad The first volume of Progressive was released on October 10 2012 11 and eight volumes have been released as of June 10 2021 12 The first volume of a light novel series based on Sword Art Online titled Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online written by Keiichi Sigsawa with illustrations by Kouhaku Kuroboshi was published by ASCII Media Works on December 10 2014 13 An original 100 page prequel novel to Sword Art Online The Movie Ordinal Scale written by Kawahara titled Hopeful Chant was released to people who watched the film in Japan during March 4 10 2017 14 At their Japan Expo USA panel Yen Press announced the rights to publish the light novels the first volume was released on April 22 2014 15 16 Yen Press later announced their license of the Sword Art Online Progressive series which is scheduled for release in 2015 17 The novels are also published in China Taiwan South Korea Thailand and Vietnam 18 with future plans for publications in France 19 Germany Italy Austria Switzerland and others 18 There are a number of dōjinshi fan works written by Kawahara under the pseudonym Fumio Kunori titled Sword Art Online Material Edition ソードアート オンライン マテリアル エディション 20 An 80 page assemblage of some of the Material Edition volumes was published on February 13 2011 21 another Material Edition Remix was published on September 6 2019 The latest release is Material Edition volume 29 on May 12 2019 The author has also created some other dōjinshi including Lisbeth Edition Silica Edition and Pina Edition under cooperation with Kurusu Tatsuya from ponz info 22 23 It is reported that these dōjinshi gain traction from the involvement of the original author in its creation process as well as from supplying more details on characters from the original work 22 Media EditManga Edit See also List of Sword Art Online manga volumes There are ten manga adaptations of the series all written by Reki Kawahara and published by ASCII Media Works Sword Art Online Aincrad ソードアート オンライン アインクラッド illustrated by Tamako Nakamura was serialized in Dengeki Bunko Magazine between the September 2010 and May 2012 issues Two tankōbon volumes of Aincrad were released on September 27 2012 24 25 A comedy four panel manga titled Sword Art Online そーどあーと おんらいん and illustrated by Jusei Minami began serialization in the September 2010 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine The first volume of Sword Art Online was released on September 27 2012 26 A third manga titled Sword Art Online Fairy Dance ソードアート オンライン フェアリィ ダンス and illustrated by Hazuki Tsubasa began serialization in the May 2012 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine The first volume of Fairy Dance was released on October 27 2012 27 the third volume was released on June 27 2014 28 The Aincrad and Fairy Dance manga have been acquired for release in North America by Yen Press 15 The first volume of Aincrad was published on March 25 2014 16 A spin off manga starring Lisbeth Silica and Leafa titled Sword Art Online Girls Ops ソードアート オンライン ガールズ オプス and illustrated by Neko Nekobyō began serialization in the July 2013 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine 29 Following the discontinuation of Dengeki Bunko Magazine in April 2020 the manga was moved to the DenPlay Comic website 30 Girls Ops was licensed by Yen Press in November 2014 the first volume of which was released on May 19 2015 31 32 A manga adaption of Sword Art Online Progressive illustrated by Kiseki Himura began serialization in the August 2013 issue of Dengeki G s Magazine The manga ended serialization in the magazine s May 2014 issue and was transferred to Dengeki G s Comic starting with the June 2014 issue 33 The Progressive manga adaption has been licensed by Yen Press with the first two volumes released in January and April 2015 respectively 17 34 A sixth manga titled Sword Art Online Phantom Bullet and illustrated by Kōtarō Yamada had its first chapter serialized in the May 2014 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine with following chapters being digitally serialized on Kadokawa s Comic Walker website A seventh manga titled Sword Art Online Calibur and illustrated by Shii Kiya was serialized in Dengeki G s Comic between the September 2014 and July 2015 issues 35 A single compilation volume was released on August 10 2015 36 An eighth manga titled Sword Art Online Mother s Rosario and also by Tsubasa is based on the seventh volume of the novel series and began serialization in the July 2014 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine 37 A ninth manga an adaptation of Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online began serialization in the November 2015 issue of Dengeki Maoh 38 A tenth manga titled Sword Art Online Project Alicization and illustrated by Kōtarō Yamada based on the Alicization arc of the light novel series began serialization in the September 2016 issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine 39 It moved to Web DenPlay Comic due to the discontinuation of Dengeki Bunko Magazine 40 Anime series Edit See also List of Sword Art Online episodes An anime adaptation of Sword Art Online was announced at Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival 2011 along with Reki Kawahara s other light novel series Accel World 41 The anime is produced by Aniplex and Genco animated by A 1 Pictures and directed by Tomohiko Ito with music by Yuki Kajiura 42 The anime aired on Tokyo MX tvk TVS TV Aichi RKB HBC and MBS between July 7 and December 22 2012 and on AT X Chiba TV and BS11 at later dates 43 The series was also streamed on Crunchyroll and Hulu 44 The anime is adapted from the first four novels and parts of volume eight The anime has been licensed in North America by Aniplex of America 45 and an English language dub premiered on Adult Swim s Toonami from July 27 2013 46 to February 15 2014 The series was released by Aniplex of America in four DVD and Blu ray sets with special extras on the BD sets between August 13 and November 19 2013 47 Manga Entertainment released the first series on BD DVD in the United Kingdom in December 2013 48 whilst Madman Entertainment released the series in Australia 49 and the English language version began airing on ABC Me on June 7 2014 50 Sword Art Online has been available on Netflix in North America since March 15 2014 51 A year end special titled Sword Art Online Extra Edition aired on December 31 2013 The special recapped the previously aired anime series and included some new footage 52 53 Extra Edition was streamed worldwide a few hours after its airing in Japan 54 The two hour long special was available on Daisuki worldwide except for French speaking areas as well as China and Korea 54 Daisuki offered subtitles in various languages such as English Spanish Portuguese Italian and German 54 English speaking countries Mexico Central and South America could also watch the stream on Crunchyroll 55 Extra Edition was also simulcast in Korea on Aniplus cable channel and in China on the LeTV streaming website 55 French speaking countries could watch on the Wakanim streaming website 55 The Blu ray Disc and DVD of Extra Edition was released on April 23 2014 in Japan 56 The limited edition included a Yui character song titled Heart Sweet Heart by Kanae Itō and an original side story written by Kawahara titled Sword Art Online Niji no Hashi ソードアート オンライン 虹の橋 Sword Art Online Rainbow Bridge 56 At the end of the special the anime television series was confirmed for a second season titled Sword Art Online II which premiered on July 5 2014 57 58 The first 14 episodes of the second season are an adaptation of volumes five and six the light novels that cover the Phantom Bullet arc 59 Episodes 15 to 17 cover the Calibur arc from volume 8 of the novels with episodes 18 to 24 covering volume 7 of the novels the Mother s Rosario arc Premiere screening events of the second season were held in the United States France Germany Hong Kong Taiwan Korea and Japan before the television premiere between June 29 and July 4 2014 57 60 61 At Katsucon it was announced that the English dub of the second season would air on Toonami beginning March 28 2015 62 The third season of Sword Art Online titled Sword Art Online Alicization and a spin off anime titled Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online were announced in 2017 63 Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online animated by 3Hz premiered in April 2018 64 65 Sword Art Online Alicization aired from October 6 2018 to March 30 2019 66 with a one hour world premiere which aired in Japan the United States Australia France Germany Russia and South Korea on September 15 2018 67 The English dub of the third season premiered on February 9 2019 on Toonami 68 The season was originally announced to air for four cours and adapt from the novel s ninth volume Alicization Beginning to the eighteenth volume Alicization Lasting 69 However the season ended at episode 24 on March 30 2019 completing the fourteenth volume of the novel Alicization Uniting and continued on October 12 2019 with a second part titled War of Underworld 70 71 The second half of the War of Underworld series was originally scheduled to premiere in April 2020 72 but due to the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic in Japan 73 it was rescheduled to air from July 11 to September 19 2020 73 Music Edit Yuki Kajiura composed the soundtrack for the Sword Art Online anime which was later released in the limited edition of the anime s fourth and seventh Blu ray and DVD volumes 74 75 The first volume of the second season s soundtrack was bundled with the limited edition of the season s third and seventh Blu ray and DVD volumes 76 77 For the first 14 episodes of season one the opening theme song is Crossing Field by LiSA 78 and the ending theme song is Yume Sekai ユメセカイ Dream World by Haruka Tomatsu 79 From episode 15 onward the opening theme is Innocence by Eir Aoi and the ending theme is Overfly by Luna Haruna 80 81 The main theme for Sword Art Online Extra Edition is Niji no Oto 虹の音 Sound of the Rainbow by Eir Aoi 80 For the second season the first opening theme is Ignite by Eir Aoi and the first ending theme is Startear by Haruna 82 The second opening theme is Courage by Tomatsu 83 and the second ending theme is No More Time Machine by LiSA with the third ending theme being Shirushi シルシ also by LiSA 84 The song Catch the Moment by LiSA is used as the theme song to Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale 85 For the third season the first opening theme is Adamas by LiSA and the first ending theme is Iris アイリス by Eir Aoi 86 The second opening theme is Resister by Asca and the second ending theme is Forget me not by ReoNa with episode 19 featuring Niji no Kanata ni 虹の彼方に Beyond the Rainbow also sung by ReoNa 87 For the second part of the third season the first opening theme is Resolution by Tomatsu and the first ending theme is Unlasting by LiSA 88 89 The second opening theme is Anima by ReoNa and the second ending theme is I will by Eir Aoi 90 The song Yuke 往け by LiSA was used as the theme song to Sword Art Online Progressive Aria of a Starless Night 91 while the song Shinzō 心臓 Heart by Eir Aoi was used as the theme song to Sword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of Deep Night 92 A number of character songs were included in the Blu ray and DVD volume releases of the anime These were collected into two compilation albums Sword Art Online Song Collection which included character songs released in the season one volumes was released on August 27 2014 93 while Sword Art Online Song Collection II which included character songs released in the season two volumes was released on March 22 2017 94 In celebration of the anime s 10th anniversary the song So kyu no Fanfare 蒼穹のファンファーレ was used as the theme song for the commemorative event Sword Art Online Full Dive held on November 6 2022 The song was composed by Yuki Kajiura and performed by ReoNa ASCA and Eir Aoi who were in charge of previous opening and ending themes for the series 95 Theatrical films Edit An animated film titled Sword Art Online The Movie Ordinal Scale featuring an original story by Kawahara set after the events of Sword Art Online II premiered in Japan and Southeast Asia on February 18 2017 and was released in the United States on March 9 2017 96 97 98 99 After the finale of Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld an anime adaptation of Sword Art Online Progressive was announced 100 It was later revealed to be a new film titled Sword Art Online Progressive Aria of a Starless Night which premiered on October 30 2021 101 Inori Minase is joining the cast as the new character Mito 102 Ayako Kōno is directing the film with Kento Toya designing the characters Yuki Kajiura returning to compose the music and A 1 Pictures returning for production 103 After the premiere of Sword Art Online Progressive Aria of a Starless Night a sequel film titled Sword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of Deep Night was announced 104 The film was scheduled for September 10 2022 but was later delayed due to production issues caused by the COVID 19 pandemic 105 106 It is premiered on October 22 2022 107 During the commemorative event Sword Art Online Full Dive a new film project was announced The project is described as an original work with stories not used in the light novels 108 Video games Edit A stage event at the Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival 2011 revealed that Reki Kawahara s light novels would get video game adaptations 109 The first Sword Art Online adaptation titled Sword Art Online Infinity Moment ソードアート オンライン インフィニティ モーメント Sōdo Ato Onrain Infiniti Mōmento was published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation Portable 110 The game follows an alternate storyline in which a glitch causes Kirito and the other players to remain in Sword Art Online despite defeating Heathcliff and players from other VMMORPGs such as Leafa and Sinon get sucked into the game themselves 111 The game was released in both regular and limited edition box sets on March 14 2013 112 Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment is a PlayStation Vita game released in Japan on April 24 2014 113 114 Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment takes place in the same alternative storyline as Sword Art Online Infinity Moment 115 and it includes all content of Floor Clearing from that previous game 116 with the addition of new unexplored Hollow Area of Aincrad 117 The protagonist Kirito will cross swords with a mysterious player who would become one of the key characters in the game 117 The game sold 145 029 physical retail copies within the first week of release in Japan topping the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week 118 The game had also been released in Taiwan by Namco Bandai Games Taiwan with Chinese and English subtitles 119 A digital only North American European and Australian release was released in August 2014 A third video game developed by Artdink 120 and titled Sword Art Online Lost Song was released in Japan on March 26 2015 121 on the PlayStation 3 and Vita platforms 122 123 with an English version being released in Asia 124 The game s producer revealed in October 2014 that the game is an open world action RPG featuring an original storyline set within Alfheim Online where characters are able to fly 125 The game sold 139 298 physical retail copies on the PlayStation Vita in addition to another 55 090 units on the PlayStation 3 within its first week of release in Japan ranking second and sixth place respectively within the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week narrowly behind Bloodborne taking the top spot 126 A fourth game titled Sword Art Online Hollow Realization was released in Japan for the PS4 Vita and Windows on October 27 2016 127 and worldwide on November 8 2016 for the PS4 and Vita 128 A social network game called Sword Art Online End World was released for Japanese feature phones and smartphones on February 28 2013 129 130 with more than 1 million registered users 131 It was discontinued in September 2017 Another freemium game for Android and iOS titled Sword Art Online Code Register launched in 2014 and over 3 000 000 users have downloaded the game 132 Another game called Sword Art Online Progress Link designed for the Mobage browser game platform on smartphones was released on February 10 2015 133 The game was terminated on July 29 2016 Kirito Asuna Leafa Yuuki and SAO Alternative Gun Gale Online protagonist LLENN appear in Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax a fighting game by Sega featuring various characters from works published under the Dengeki Bunko imprint 134 135 136 A browser game titled Sword Art Quest and its sequel smartphone game Sword Art Quest II 137 provide challenges to users to upgrade their characters to receive rewards 138 There is also a paid Android game titled SAO Log Out that users can download and play with characters from the series and obtain wallpapers from it 139 A virtual reality massive multiplayer online game was in development by Kadokawa and IBM Japan 140 but was only a demo and will not be released as a full game An action role playing game titled Accel World vs Sword Art Online Millennium Twilight was announced in October 2016 The game is a crossover with Accel World published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 4 PlayStation Vita 141 and Windows via Steam 142 and was released to western audiences on July 7 2017 143 The Black Swordsman 黒衣剣士 黑衣剑士 is a Chinese 3D role playing game where the player can control 3D characters and experience Sword Art Online Alfheim Online and Gun Gale Online It is developed by Yun Chang Game under Bandai Namco s supervision 144 The game is being distributed and is operating under Bandai Namco Shanghai Bandai Namco Entertainment and Qihoo 360 on Chinese platforms 145 146 The game was launched on Android on May 26 2016 and on iOS on June 9 2016 after a brief period of closed beta 144 though it is officially still in an open beta phase 147 Bandai Namco released Sword Art Online Memory Defrag RPG for Android and iOS 148 in August 2016 It was released outside of Japan on January 24 2017 149 Featuring content from the anime series Ordinal Scale and some original shorts written for event characters players are allowed to play solo and progress through the story or join up with others online to farm special items equipment and materials 150 Common events include ranked challenges against other players floor clearing character introductions and seasonal events Players have the choice of spending real money to speed up their progress 151 However the game was discontinued in August 30 2021 152 While Memory Defrag is delisted from the app stores the game is still available to play via offline version of the app if the person downloaded the game before the termination date Bandai Namco released the Sword Art Online Integral Factor free to play MMORPG for Android and iOS in December 2017 created in conjunction with prolific mobile MMO developer Asobimo ja The English version was released in March 2018 It adapts the Aincrad arc starting from Floor 1 and gradually exploring every floor one by one It allows playing as a player created avatar A game based on Gun Gale Online Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet was released for the PlayStation 4 Xbox One and Windows on February 23 2018 153 Bandai Namco Entertainment released the Sword Art Online VR Lovely Honey Days mobile game for iOS and Android devices in Japan in October 2018 The game s first episode is free to play while the second episode and so on can be purchased as additional content 154 Bandai Namco released Sword Art Online Arcade Deep Explorer in Japanese arcades on March 19 2019 It is an exploration action RPG that supports up to three players in online co op and it is the first arcade game in the Sword Art Online series 155 156 A video game based in the Underworld of Project Alicization Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris was announced by Bandai Namco for release on the PS4 Xbox One and Windows 157 The game is also the first game in the franchise to faithfully follow the canon storyline in the initial stage adapting from Alicization Beginning volume 9 to Alicization Uniting volume 14 Following that the game features a different arc focusing on Medina Orthinanos Originally the game was going to be released in May 2020 but it was delayed to July 10 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic 158 A China exclusive mobile MMO Sword Art Online Black Swordsman Ace was released in 2021 In 2022 the mobile game Sword Art Online Variant Showdown was released to coincide with the anime s 10th anniversary In the future it will feature a battle royale mode a first for an SAO game 159 160 Bandai Namco has announced the video game Sword Art Online Last Recollection set to be released worldwide on October 6 2023 161 ReoNa will perform the game s theme song VITA 162 Live action series Edit Skydance Television announced on August 2 2016 that they had acquired the global rights to produce a live action television adaptation of Sword Art Online light novel series 163 Laeta Kalogridis has been attached to write a script for the pilot and will also serve as executive producer for the series alongside Skydance CEO David Ellison Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross 163 Skydance has stated their intent to fast track the launch of the series 163 along with plans to follow the TV series with the release of a Sword Art Online virtual reality experience 164 165 In February 2018 it was reported that the live action series had been sold to Netflix 166 Reception EditSales Edit According to Oricon Sword Art Online was the top selling light novel series of 2012 with eight volumes figuring among the top selling light novels 167 168 It was ranked first in the 2012 and 2013 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi rankings as well as top five placement in 2011 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 and top 10 in 2019 169 170 171 172 173 It was also the second best selling light novel series in the first half of 2016 in Japan selling 489 374 copies 174 Sword Art Online Progressive sold 321 535 copies in the same time period 174 As of 2017 the series has an estimated 20 million copies in print worldwide 175 As of 2021 the series has 26 million copies in print 176 The number of sales have reached 30 million in 2022 177 Critical response Edit Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku hails Sword Art Online as the smartest series in recent years praising its deep insight on the psychological aspects of virtual reality on the human psyche its sociological views on creating a realistic economy and society in a massively multiplayer online game setting and the writing staff s ability to juggle a wide variety of genres within the series 178 Eisenbeis particularly noted how the romance between Kirito and Asuna is explored bringing definition to exactly what love is like in a virtual world 178 However at the time of this preliminary review he had only watched the first 12 episodes of the series 178 He has since gone on to review the second half of the series lauding its excellent use of plot twists and praising its well written and believable villain However he felt that some of the initial positive aspects of the series were lost in the second half such as the focus on psychological repercussions and social interactions that could be realistically seen in an online game Criticism was also levied towards the aspect of turning Asuna into a damsel in distress stating that a female lead as strong as her was reduced to nothing but the quest item the male lead is hunting for Eisenbeis closes his review of the series by stating in regards to the two halves Both however are enjoyable for what they are 179 Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network has criticized the series as having pacing problems logical gaps and sloppy writing 180 Theron Martin of the same website criticized the story as struggling to achieve and maintain the level of gravitas that life or death danger should have while calling it unwilling to commit to Kirito s lone wolf image 181 DeviceCritique explained that Sword Art Online influences the virtual reality market to grow and referenced the Oculus Rift as a prime example of the starting point of virtual reality It also praised Sword Art Online for exploring the psychological and social aspects of virtual reality gaming 182 While the anime received criticism in western media the later light novel arcs such as Mother s Rosario and Alicization received praise Anime News Network reviewer Theron Martin praised many of the volumes of the Alicization arc saying that the author s writing had improved 183 Martin also praised the anime adaptation of the Alicization arc describing the opening episode as about the best adaptation that could be hoped for of the relevant source material 184 Cultural impact EditKirito makes a cameo appearance in the eighth episode of the anime series Eromanga Sensei with Yoshitsugu Matsuoka reprising his role 185 Sword Art Online is sometimes considered to be part of the isekai genre 186 although Kawahara himself does not agree 187 The 2012 anime adaptation of Sword Art Online popularized the isekai genre in anime which led to more isekai web novels being published on the website Shōsetsuka ni Narō Let s Become Novelists and a number of Narō isekai novels being adapted into anime 188 Ernest Cline the writer of 2011 novel Ready Player One discussed Sword Art Online in an interview noting how he met its writer Reki Kawahara at an event in Japan where they discussed how they independently developed similar ideas related to virtual reality 189 It has also been noted that the Phantom Bullet Gun Gale Online arc released in print in 2010 depicts an early fictional battle royale game called Bullet of Bullets 190 On June 12 2015 the now inactive Chinese Ministry of Culture listed Sword Art Online II among 38 anime and manga titles banned in China 191 In July 2020 Sword Art Online became one of seven manga titles to be removed from Books Kinokuniya in Australia for claims of promoting child pornography 192 In the 2020 edition of Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi Sword Art Online was voted by the public in an online poll and by a jury critics influencers and other people related to the light novel industry as the best light novel series of the 2010s being the first in the ranking with 1 728 95 points 193 Notes Edit Alicization Alicization War of UnderworldReferences Edit Sword Art Online Vol 1 Aincrad Part 1 Eps 1 7 Madman Entertainment Archived from the original on January 21 2018 Retrieved January 20 2018 Sword Art Online 1 Aincrad light novel Yen Press Archived from the original on January 1 2023 Retrieved April 10 2023 a b c Afterword of the first light novel volume Understanding Sword Art Online Anime News Network March 1 2017 Archived from the original on January 24 2019 Retrieved January 24 2019 Afterword of the sixth light novel volume a b Fumio Kunori Reki Kawahara web novel WordGear in Japanese Archived from the original on February 17 2013 Retrieved July 7 2012 a b Interview with Kawahara Reki Sakura Con 2013 figure fm Archived from the original on August 26 2016 Retrieved August 14 2016 ソードアート オンライン 1 アインクラッド 電撃文庫 in Japanese Amazon co jp April 2009 ISBN 978 4048677608 ASIN 4048677608 ソードアート オンライン27 ユナイタル リングVI in Japanese Archived from the original on September 30 2022 Retrieved October 8 2022 Hodgkins Crystalyn December 10 2017 Sword Art Online Novels Enter Unital Ring Arc Anime News Network Archived from the original on January 13 2021 Retrieved January 5 2021 ソードアート オンライン プログレッシブ 1 Sword Art Online Progressive 1 in Japanese Amazon co jp ASIN 4048869779 川原礫 June 2021 ソードアート オンライン プログレッシブ8 電撃文庫 in Japanese ISBN 9784049138184 Kino s Journey s Sigsawa Writes Sword Art Online Novel Anime News Network September 19 2014 Archived from the original on September 20 2014 Retrieved September 19 2014 1 billion Yen and Hopeful Chant announced Crunchyroll March 2 2017 Archived from the original on March 5 2017 Retrieved March 4 2017 a b Yen Press Adds Sword Art Online Accel World Light Novels More Madoka Magica Manga Anime News Network August 23 2013 Archived from the original on August 23 2013 Retrieved August 23 2013 a b Sword Art Online Light Novel and Manga Release Details Listed Crunchyroll September 16 2013 Archived from the original on September 19 2013 Retrieved September 17 2013 a b Yen Press Licenses Akame Ga Kill Sword Art Online Progressive Kagerou Daze Anime News Network June 13 2014 Archived from the original on June 30 2014 Retrieved June 26 2014 a b Sword Art Online Light Novels Have More Than 16 7 Million Copies in Print Worldwide Anime News Network December 19 2014 Archived from the original on December 19 2014 Retrieved December 19 2014 Ofelbe Editions Facebook March 13 2014 Archived from the original on January 31 2015 Retrieved April 2 2014 なんば店A 全年齢向け同人誌 九里史生先生のサークル WordGear 様による ソードアート オンライン マテリアル エディション11 とらのあな専売で好評発売中 in Japanese Toranoana Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved June 20 2014 大人気ライトノベル作者による同人誌が遂にとらのあなに登場 サークル WordGear の ソードアート オンライン マテリアル エディション総集編 をご紹介 in Japanese Toranoana Archived from the original on July 25 2020 Retrieved June 20 2014 a b 原作者执笔同人志 lt 刀剑神域 西莉卡篇 gt 发售 图 in Chinese Ce cn Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved June 20 2014 ソードアート オンライン ピナ エディション in Japanese Toranoana Retrieved June 20 2014 ソードアート オンライン アインクラッド 1 Sword Art Online Aincrad 1 in Japanese ASCII Media Works Archived from the original on January 16 2014 Retrieved March 26 2014 ソードアート オンライン アインクラッド 2 Sword Art Online Aincrad 2 in Japanese ASCII Media Works Archived from the original on January 16 2014 Retrieved March 26 2014 そーどあーと おんらいん 1 Sword Art Online 1 in Japanese ASCII Media Works Archived from the original on April 13 2014 Retrieved March 26 2014 ソードアート オンライン フェアリィ ダンス1 Sword Art Online Fairy Dance 1 in Japanese ASCII Media Works Archived from the original on April 13 2014 Retrieved March 26 2014 ソードアート オンライン フェアリィ ダンス3 Sword Art Online Fairy Dance 3 in Japanese ASCII Media Works Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved June 30 2014 Sword Art Online Inspires Girls Ops Manga Anime News Network April 9 2013 Archived from the original on September 28 2014 Retrieved May 2 2014 Sword Art Online Girls Ops Manga Moves to DenPlay Comic Website Anime News Network April 26 2020 Archived from the original on May 14 2020 Retrieved May 24 2020 Yen Press Adds Kingdom Hearts Light Novel Series Anime News Network November 21 2014 Archived from the original on November 25 2014 Retrieved November 28 2014 Kawahara Reki May 19 2015 Sword Art Online Girls Ops Vol 1 ISBN 978 0316342056 電撃G sコミックVol 1 Dengeki G s Comic Vol 1 in Japanese ASCII Media Works Archived from the original on April 30 2014 Retrieved May 17 2014 Sword Art Online Progressive Vol 1 manga Hachette Book Group USA archived from the original on November 9 2014 retrieved June 26 2014 電撃G sコミックVol 3 Dengeki G s Comic Vol 3 in Japanese ASCII Media Works Archived from the original on July 28 2014 Retrieved July 22 2014 ソードアート オンライン キャリバー in Japanese Dengeki Comics Archived from the original on March 10 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 Tsubasa Hazuki s Sword Art Online Mother s Rosary Manga Ends Anime News Network April 11 2016 Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 マオウ10周年の読み切り祭りに田中久仁彦 武田すんら 新連載も一挙開始 Natalie in Japanese October 27 2015 Archived from the original on February 4 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 Sword Art Online Gets Project Alicization Manga Anime News Network June 18 2016 Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 Sword Art Online Project Alicization Manga Moves Online Anime News Network April 10 2020 Archived from the original on October 22 2021 Retrieved April 10 2020 Sword Art Online Light Novels About Virtual MMO Get Anime Anime News Network October 1 2011 Archived from the original on June 3 2012 Retrieved June 19 2012 Madoka Magica amp hack s Kajiura Scores Sword Art Online Anime News Network March 31 2011 Archived from the original on June 6 2012 Retrieved June 19 2012 Sword Art Online official air dates in Japanese Archived from the original on October 21 2013 Retrieved June 19 2012 Sword Art Online Crunchyroll Archived from the original on January 3 2013 Retrieved October 12 2014 Aniplex USA Adds Sword Art Online Blast of Tempest Magi Anime Anime News Network October 12 2012 Archived from the original on October 4 2013 Retrieved September 28 2013 Toonami Sword Art Online Premiere Scheduled Crunchyroll June 27 2013 Archived from the original on June 30 2013 Retrieved June 27 2013 Sword Art Online to Air on Toonami Starting in August Anime News Network May 24 2013 Archived from the original on June 7 2013 Retrieved May 24 2013 Manga To Release Sword Art Online Blu ray and DVD in December Anime News Network August 3 2013 Archived from the original on October 4 2013 Retrieved September 28 2013 Madman Entertainment Loads Up On New Anime Acquisitions Madman Entertainment November 12 2012 Archived from the original on December 19 2012 Retrieved September 28 2013 More Anime for your TV screen Sword Art Online coming to ABC3 Madman Entertainment May 29 2014 Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved June 7 2014 Sword Art Online on Netflix Aniplex USA March 12 2014 Archived from the original on April 11 2014 Retrieved April 2 2014 Sword Art Online Extra Edition to Air With New Footage Anime News Network August 12 2013 Archived from the original on October 4 2013 Retrieved September 28 2013 Sword Art Online Extra Edition Anime Review The Fandom Post January 8 2014 Archived from the original on July 25 2020 Retrieved January 9 2020 a b c Sword Art Online Extra Edition to Stream Worldwide on Daisuki net Anime News Network December 27 2013 Archived from the original on February 2 2014 Retrieved April 2 2014 a b c Sword Art Online Extra Edition Set to Stream Worldwide Anime News Network November 11 2013 Archived from the original on February 8 2014 Retrieved April 2 2014 a b Blu ray amp DVD Aniplex Archived from the original on April 7 2014 Retrieved April 2 2014 a b Anime Expo to Host Sword Art Online II Premiere Event with Reki Kawahara abec Anime News Network May 17 2014 Archived from the original on May 18 2014 Retrieved May 17 2014 VIDEO Sword Art Online II Anime Activated Crunchyroll December 31 2013 Archived from the original on January 1 2014 Retrieved December 31 2013 Sword Art Online II s July Premiere New Visual Unveiled Anime News Network March 16 2014 Archived from the original on April 9 2014 Retrieved April 2 2014 Green Scott April 20 2014 Sword Art Online II Worldwide Simulcast Confirmed Crunchyroll Archived from the original on May 5 2014 Retrieved May 5 2014 WORLD PREMIERE ソードアート オンライン in Japanese Aniplex Archived from the original on May 18 2014 Retrieved May 17 2014 Sword Art Online II English Dub to Run on Toonami Anime News Network March 14 2015 Archived from the original on April 18 2015 Retrieved April 15 2015 Sword Art Online Season 3 confirm in Japan Twitter October 1 2017 Archived from the original on March 23 2018 Retrieved October 1 2017 Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online Anime Premieres in April Anime News Network January 3 2018 Archived from the original on January 4 2018 Retrieved January 3 2018 Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online Reveals Visual Studio 3Hz Anime News Network January 31 2018 Archived from the original on January 31 2018 Retrieved January 13 2018 Sword Art Online Alicization Anime s 1st Video Reveals Staff October Premiere Anime News Network March 23 2018 Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 23 2018 Antonio Pineda Rafael August 9 2018 Sword Art Online Alicization Anime Gets 1 Hour World Premiere in 7 Countries Anime News Network Archived from the original on August 10 2018 Retrieved August 10 2018 Sword Art Online Alicization Premieres on Toonami on February 9 Anime News Network January 24 2019 Archived from the original on January 25 2019 Retrieved January 24 2019 TV Anime Sword Art Online Alicization Set to Be Aired for Four Cours Crunchyroll September 10 2018 Archived from the original on September 10 2018 Retrieved September 10 2018 Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld Anime s Teaser Reveals October Premiere Anime News Network March 30 2019 Archived from the original on December 3 2021 Retrieved March 30 2019 Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld Anime Premieres on October 12 Anime News Network September 10 2019 Archived from the original on September 29 2022 Retrieved September 10 2019 Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld s Second Half Confirmed for April Anime News Network December 28 2019 Archived from the original on May 14 2020 Retrieved December 28 2019 a b Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld Anime s 2nd Part Delayed to July Anime News Network April 10 2020 Archived from the original on April 17 2020 Retrieved April 10 2020 ソードアート オンライン 第4巻 Sword Art Online official website in Japanese Aniplex Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 2013年4月24日発売Blu ray DVD完全生産限定版第7巻 特典CD Original Soundtrack vol 2 に関してのお詫び Sword Art Online official website in Japanese Aniplex Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 ソードアート オンラインII 第３巻 Sword Art Online official website in Japanese Aniplex Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 ソードアート オンラインII 第7巻 Sword Art Online official website in Japanese Aniplex Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 LiSA to Sing Sword Art Online Anime s Opening Anime News Network June 7 2011 Archived from the original on October 4 2013 Retrieved June 19 2012 Haruka Tomatsu to Perform Sword Art Online Ending Theme Song Anime News Network May 27 2011 Archived from the original on October 4 2013 Retrieved June 19 2012 a b Eir Aoi Sings Sword Art Online Extra Edition s Theme Song Anime News Network November 12 2013 Archived from the original on April 7 2014 Retrieved November 13 2013 Sword Art Online s 2nd Season Ending Sung by Luna Haruna Anime News Network August 26 2012 Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 THEME SONG PhantomBullet ソードアート オンライン in Japanese Aniplex Archived from the original on May 22 2014 Retrieved May 22 2014 Sword Art Online II s The Next Chapter Trailer Posted in English Anime News Network October 12 2014 Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 LiSA Releases Sword Art Online ED Single SHIRUSHI Anime News Network December 11 2014 Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 LiSA Performs Theme Song For Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale Film Anime News Network November 27 2016 Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 LiSA Eir Aoi Perform Sword Art Online Alicization Anime s Theme Songs Anime News Network August 16 2018 Archived from the original on August 16 2018 Retrieved August 16 2018 ASCA ReoNa Perform New Theme Songs for Sword Art Online Alicization Anime Anime News Network December 8 2018 Archived from the original on December 9 2018 Retrieved December 8 2018 Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld Anime s New Promo Video Reveals Haruka Tomatsu s Opening Theme Anime News Network September 21 2019 Archived from the original on September 21 2019 Retrieved September 21 2019 LiSA Performs Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld Anime s Ending Theme Anime News Network October 6 2019 Archived from the original on June 24 2022 Retrieved October 6 2019 ReoNA Sings Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld Anime s New Opening February 10 2020 Archived from the original on February 13 2020 Retrieved February 13 2020 劇場版 ソードアート オンライン プログレッシブ 星なき夜のアリア オフィシャルサイト in Japanese Aniplex Archived from the original on November 3 2021 Retrieved November 5 2021 Mateo Alex August 2 2022 2nd Sword Art Online Progressive Anime Film Reveals New Trailer Theme Song by Eir Aoi Anime News Network Archived from the original on February 6 2023 Retrieved March 3 2023 ソードアート オンライン ソングコレクション Sword Art Online official website in Japanese Aniplex Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 ソードアート オンライン ソングコレクションII in Japanese Aniplex Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved March 24 2018 Dan Marvic July 2 2022 Eir Aoi ASCA and ReoNa Perform the Theme Song for Sword Art Online Full Dive Event With FictionJunction Anime Corner Archived from the original on July 2 2022 Retrieved July 3 2022 Sword Art Online Anime Film Project Revealed Anime News Network October 4 2015 Archived from the original on October 4 2015 Retrieved October 4 2015 Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale Film to Open in 2017 Anime News Network March 13 2016 Archived from the original on March 14 2016 Retrieved March 13 2016 Sword Art Online Movie s February 18 Date Confirmed in Japan Anime News Network October 2 2016 Archived from the original on October 2 2016 Retrieved October 2 2016 Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale Film Opens in U S on March 9 Anime News Network December 6 2016 Archived from the original on February 22 2017 Retrieved January 22 2017 Sword Art Online Progressive Light Novels Get Anime Anime News Network September 19 2020 Archived from the original on September 20 2020 Retrieved September 19 2020 Sword Art Online Progressive Anime Film Reveals New Poster October 30 Opening Anime News Network July 4 2021 Archived from the original on July 4 2021 Retrieved July 4 2021 Sword Art Online Progressive Anime Film Reveals 2nd Teaser Video New Visual More Cast Anime News Network March 27 2021 Archived from the original on March 27 2021 Retrieved March 27 2021 Sword Art Online Progressive Anime Is Film Opening in 2021 From A 1 Pictures Anime News Network November 8 2020 Archived from the original on November 8 2020 Retrieved November 8 2020 Hodgkins Crystalyn November 1 2021 Sword Art Online Progressive Anime Gets New Film in 2022 Anime News Network Archived from the original on November 1 2021 Retrieved November 1 2021 Loo Egan June 15 2022 2nd Sword Art Online Progressive Anime Film s 1st Key Visual Announces September 10 Opening Anime News Network Archived from the original on June 15 2022 Retrieved June 15 2022 Hodgkins Crystalyn August 22 2022 2nd Sword Art Online Progressive Film Delayed Due to COVID 19 Anime News Network Archived from the original on August 22 2022 Retrieved August 22 2022 Pineda Rafael Antonio September 6 2022 2nd Sword Art Online Progressive Film Opens on October 22 After COVID 19 Delay Anime News Network Archived from the original on September 6 2022 Retrieved September 6 2022 Cayanan Joanna November 6 2022 Sword Art Online Franchise Launches Brand New Original Film Project Anime News Network Archived from the original on November 10 2022 Retrieved November 10 2022 Accel World Sword Art Online Light Novels Get Games Anime News Network October 2 2011 Archived from the original on October 3 2011 Retrieved October 2 2011 Ishaan March 20 2013 This Week In Sales Kingdom Hearts HD Falls To Sword Art Online Siliconera Archived from the original on March 23 2013 Retrieved March 24 2013 Infinity Moment Takes Everything You Know About Sword Art Online and Turns It on Its Head Kotaku April 2 2013 Archived from the original on July 29 2013 Retrieved July 27 2013 Sword Art Online Game to Have 3D Date Movie DVD Anime News Network October 26 2012 Archived from the original on October 27 2012 Retrieved October 27 2012 Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment Hold Hands With A Heroine And Other Tidbits Siliconera October 8 2013 Archived from the original on March 20 2014 Retrieved April 3 2014 Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment Bandai Namco Games Archived from the original on April 7 2014 Retrieved April 2 2014 The Sword Art Online History Chart bundled with the May 2014 edition of Dengeki Bunko Magazine Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment Includes An HD Version Of Sword Art Online Infinity Moment Siliconera May 1 2014 Archived from the original on May 2 2014 Retrieved May 1 2014 a b Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment announced for PS Vita Gematsu October 6 2013 Archived from the original on April 25 2014 Retrieved April 2 2014 Media Create Sales 4 21 14 4 27 14 Gematsu April 30 2014 Archived from the original on May 2 2014 Retrieved April 30 2014 Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment will have English and Traditional Chinese subtitles in Taiwan Gematsu March 22 2014 Archived from the original on March 28 2014 Retrieved April 2 2014 Sword Art Online Lost Song is developed by Artdink Gematsu January 13 2015 Archived from the original on January 13 2015 Retrieved January 13 2015 Sword Art Online Lost Song dated in Japan Gematsu October 28 2014 Archived from the original on October 28 2014 Retrieved October 28 2014 Sword Art Online Lost Song announced for PS3 PS Vita Gematsu October 4 2014 Archived from the original on October 6 2014 Retrieved October 5 2014 Sword Art Online Has 3rd Game in Development Anime News Network September 19 2014 Archived from the original on September 20 2014 Retrieved September 19 2014 Sword Art Online Lost Song screenshots show base city multiplayer more Gematsu November 20 2014 Archived from the original on November 23 2014 Retrieved November 21 2014 ゲーム最新作 ソードアート オンライン ロスト ソング 情報解禁 ALOを舞台にしたアクションRPG ASCII Media Works October 5 2014 Archived from the original on October 5 2014 Retrieved October 5 2014 Media Create Sales 3 23 15 3 29 15 Gematsu April 1 2015 Archived from the original on April 2 2015 Retrieved April 1 2015 てけおん April 25 2016 SAO ホロウ リアリゼーション の発売日が10月27日に決定 Dengeki Online Archived from the original on April 27 2016 Retrieved April 25 2016 Sword Art Online Hollow Realization announced for PS4 PS Vita Gematsu October 4 2015 Archived from the original on October 4 2015 Retrieved October 4 2015 Sword Art Online End World Launches in Japan Crunchyroll March 1 2013 Archived from the original on May 21 2014 Retrieved May 21 2014 SAO Landed on GREE Again on 28th February 2P com March 3 2013 Archived from the original on May 21 2014 Retrieved May 21 2014 Unsupported region GREE 累計登録者数100万人突破大感謝キャンペーン in Japanese GREE Inc Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved July 2 2014 SAO コード レジスタ 300万DL突破キャンペーン開始 15日より無料スカウトに 5キリト追加 in Japanese ASCII Media Works January 8 2015 Archived from the original on January 15 2015 Retrieved January 18 2015 ソードアート オンライン プログレス リンク がサービス開始 in Japanese ASCII Media Works February 10 2015 Archived from the original on February 12 2015 Retrieved February 11 2015 Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax Game Pits SAO Shana Casts Against Each Other Anime News Network September 21 2013 Archived from the original on September 30 2013 Retrieved September 28 2013 Kirito and Tomoka Featured in Latest Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax Trailer Crunchyroll February 13 2014 Archived from the original on March 1 2014 Retrieved March 1 2014 Yuuki And LLENN From SAO Join Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax Ignition Siliconera December 9 2015 Archived from the original on December 11 2015 Retrieved December 9 2015 Sword Art Online II Bus Tour Hits 7 Countries Worldwide Anime News Network June 12 2014 Archived from the original on June 16 2014 Retrieved June 20 2014 ソードアート クエスト とは ソードアート オンライン 第9話先行カットも アニメ アニメ in Japanese Animeanime jp September 1 2012 Archived from the original on July 15 2014 Retrieved June 20 2014 人気作品 ソードアート オンライン のパズルゲーム SAO LOG OUT 電モバ 可愛いミニキャラ達のパズルをクリアして壁紙をゲットするのです in Japanese Moedroid July 17 2012 Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved June 20 2014 ソードアート オンライン ザ ビギニング Sponsored by IBM Sword Art Online The Beginning Sponsored by IBM Kadokawa Corporation Archived from the original on March 2 2016 Retrieved March 2 2016 Accel World VS Sword Art Online Millennium Twilight PS4 PS Vita Game Revealed Anime News Network Archived from the original on October 3 2016 Retrieved October 2 2016 Accel World VS Sword Art Online Deluxe Edition Valve Archived from the original on November 6 2021 Retrieved October 8 2017 Luster Joseph July 9 2017 Accel World VS Sword Art Online Arrives with Launch Trailer Crunchyroll Archived from the original on August 19 2017 Retrieved August 18 2017 a b 就在明天 刀剑神域 黑衣剑士 iOS版大陆上架 in Chinese 17173 com June 8 2016 Archived from the original on March 3 2019 Retrieved March 19 2019 ソードアート オンライン の公式Androidアプリ 黒衣剣士 が中国市場向けに配信 in Japanese 4Gamer May 26 2016 Archived from the original on March 14 2021 Retrieved March 19 2019 ソードアート オンライン の公式スマートフォン向けゲームアプリケーション 黒衣剣士 5月26日に中国で配信開始 PDF in Japanese Bandai Namco Entertainment May 26 2016 Archived PDF from the original on October 20 2020 Retrieved March 19 2019 5月26日激萌公测 超人气动漫 刀剑神域 正版手游来袭 in Chinese Bandai Namco Entertainment Archived from the original on November 12 2019 Retrieved March 19 2019 Romano Sal June 27 2016 Sword Art Online Memory Defrag announced for smartphones Gematsu Archived from the original on June 27 2016 Retrieved June 27 2016 Sword Art Online Memory Defrag IGN Archived from the original on September 25 2017 Retrieved September 24 2017 ソードアート オンライン メモリー デフラグ バンダイナムコエンターテインメント公式サイト in Japanese Bandai Namco Games Archived from the original on March 27 2018 Retrieved March 27 2018 Wright Flyer Studios January 24 2017 Sword Art Online Memory Defrag in Japanese Bandai Namco Games Sword Art Online Memory Defrag to End Service in August Siliconera July 1 2021 Archived from the original on October 12 2022 Retrieved October 12 2022 Romano Sal August 18 2017 Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet announced for PS4 Xbox One and PC Gematsu Archived from the original on August 18 2017 Retrieved August 18 2017 Sword Art Online VR Lovely Honey Days launches in Japan Crunchyroll May 21 2018 Archived from the original on October 6 2018 Retrieved October 5 2018 Sword Art Online Arcade Deep Explorer announced for arcades Gematsu October 7 2018 Archived from the original on October 9 2018 Retrieved October 9 2018 Sword Art Online Arcade Deep Explorer Arcade Game Announced for Spring 2019 Anime News Network October 7 2018 Archived from the original on October 9 2018 Retrieved October 9 2018 Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris Announced for PS4 Xbox One PC Anime News Network March 30 2019 Archived from the original on July 2 2022 Retrieved March 30 2019 Luster Joseph Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris Game Delayed to July 10 Crunchyroll Archived from the original on June 18 2020 Retrieved November 23 2020 Romano Sal March 27 2022 Sword Art Online Variant Showdown announced for iOS Android Gematsu Archived from the original on September 21 2022 Retrieved March 9 2023 Lopez Azario November 21 2022 Sword Art Online Variant Showdown Can Be Pre Downloaded Now Post Launch Modes Detailed Noisy Pixel Archived from the original on March 9 2023 Retrieved March 9 2023 Romano Sal March 8 2023 Sword Art Online Last Recollection launches October 5 in Japan October 6 worldwide Gematsu Archived from the original on March 15 2023 Retrieved March 9 2023 Luster Joseph March 8 2023 Sword Art Online Last Recollection Game Reveals Launch Date ReoNa Theme Song Video Crunchyroll Archived from the original on March 9 2023 Retrieved March 9 2023 a b c Goldberg Lesley August 2 2016 Japanese Novel and Anime Franchise Sword Art Online Being Adapted as Live Action TV Series The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on August 2 2016 Retrieved August 2 2016 Evans Greg August 2 2016 Skydance Media Acquires Global Live Action Rights To Sword Art Online Deadline Hollywood Archived from the original on August 3 2016 Retrieved August 2 2016 Sword Art Online Live Action Series Adds Lara Croft Writers ComicBook September 28 2017 Archived from the original on September 29 2017 Retrieved September 28 2017 Live Action Sword Art Online Producer Series Sold to Netflix Will Have Asian Lead Actors Anime News Network February 13 2018 Archived from the original on February 14 2018 Retrieved February 14 2018 Top Selling Light Novels in Japan by Series 2012 Anime News Network December 3 2012 Archived from the original on December 4 2012 Retrieved December 3 2012 Top Selling Light Novels in Japan by Volume 2012 Anime News Network December 3 2012 Archived from the original on December 4 2012 Retrieved December 3 2012 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi 2011 in Japanese Takarajimasha November 19 2010 ISBN 978 4 7966 7963 3 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi 2012 in Japanese Takarajimasha November 19 2011 ISBN 978 4 7966 8716 4 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi 2013 in Japanese Takarajimasha November 19 2012 ISBN 978 4 8002 0357 1 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi 2014 in Japanese Takarajimasha November 20 2013 ISBN 978 4 8002 1954 1 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi 2015 in Japanese Takarajimasha November 21 2014 ISBN 978 4 8002 3373 8 a b Loo Egan May 29 2016 Top Selling Light Novels in Japan by Series 2016 First Half Anime News Network Archived from the original on July 10 2019 Retrieved July 10 2019 Ressler Karen April 4 2017 Sword Art Online Light Novels Have 20 Million Copies in Print Worldwide Anime News Network Archived from the original on March 27 2018 Retrieved March 26 2018 シリーズ累計発行部数 LN News in Japanese Archived from the original on March 18 2022 Retrieved April 15 2021 The record breaking Sword Art Online novel 30 million copies distributed Anime Sweet June 28 2022 Archived from the original on July 3 2022 Retrieved July 3 2022 a b c Eisenbeis Richard September 28 2012 Sword Art Online Is the Smartest Anime I ve Seen in Years And It s Only Half Done Kotaku Univision Communications Archived from the original on July 10 2019 Retrieved July 10 2019 Eisenbeis Richard December 26 2012 Sword Art Online s Second Half Isn t Quite as Brilliant as Its First Kotaku Univision Communications Archived from the original on July 10 2019 Retrieved July 10 2019 Silverman Rebecca September 9 2013 Sword Art Online Blu Ray 1 Aincrad Part 1 Limited Edition Anime News Network Archived from the original on July 10 2019 Retrieved July 10 2019 Martin Theron August 28 2012 Sword Art Online episodes 1 6 streaming Anime News Network Archived from the original on April 4 2014 Retrieved January 19 2014 Oculus Rift VR One large step into Virtual reality DeviceCritique March 27 2013 Archived from the original on March 5 2014 Retrieved March 4 2014 Sword Art Online Novel 16 Alicization Exploding Anime News Network May 29 2019 Archived from the original on September 11 2019 Retrieved September 10 2019 The Fall 2019 Anime Preview Guide Sword Art Online Alicization War Of Underworld Anime News Network October 12 2019 Archived from the original on October 29 2019 Retrieved October 26 2019 Eromanga Sensei Flame On Sword Art Online Proves To Be Too Hot For Anime May 30 2017 Archived from the original on May 2 2018 Retrieved May 2 2018 Kamen Matt October 2 2017 Anime the 10 must watch films and TV shows for video game lovers The Guardian Archived from the original on March 20 2018 Retrieved March 20 2018 Personal Twitter April 14 2019 Archived from the original on August 10 2022 Retrieved August 10 2022 Morrissy Kim March 19 2021 Mushoku Tensei Is Not the Pioneer of Isekai Web Novels But Anime News Network Archived from the original on April 10 2021 Retrieved March 24 2021 Ernest Cline Interview Ready Player One Screen Rant March 26 2018 Archived from the original on April 3 2018 Retrieved April 3 2018 Gun Gale Online Reveals Direct Tie In To Sword Art Online ComicBook com April 24 2018 Archived from the original on April 16 2019 Retrieved April 16 2019 China bans 38 anime amp manga titles including Attack on Titan Special Broadcasting Service June 12 2015 Archived from the original on August 31 2018 Retrieved August 31 2018 Books Kinokuniya Sydney Removes 7 Manga After Lawmaker s Child Pornography Complaint Anime News Network July 21 2020 Archived from the original on July 21 2020 Retrieved July 21 2020 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi Sword Art Online is the Light Novel of the Decade Anime News Network November 26 2019 Archived from the original on May 27 2022 Retrieved November 26 2019 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sword Art Online Official anime website Asia in English Official anime website in Japanese Official North American website Sword Art Online light novel at Anime News Network s encyclopedia Sword Art Online at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sword Art Online amp oldid 1152931298, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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