The second season of ''

Sword Art Online 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 Kirito (Sword Art Online), Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna (Sword Art On ...

'', titled ''Sword Art Online II'', is an anime series adapted from the light novel series of the same title written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Abec. It was produced by

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division, ...

, and directed by Tomohiko Itō. It is divided into the story arc "Phantom Bullet" which adapts volume 5 and 6 and in the Side Stories "Calibur" and "Mother's Rosario" which are respectively adapted from volume 7 and 8 of the light novel. The episodes are each 23 minutes in length and adapts Kawahara's light novels from the fifth through the seventh volumes as well as parts of the eighth volume. The story of the second season follows Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya as he plays the new

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

called "Gun Gale Online" (GGO), where he allies himself with a girl named Shino "Sinon" Asada and enters a tournament to investigate a player known only as "

Death Gun Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

", who has the ability to kill a person in the real world by

killing Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Killing'' (film), a 2018 Japanese film * ''The Killing'' (film), a 1956 film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick Television * ''The Killing'' (Danish TV serie ...

their virtual avatar. Kirito and his friends return to "Alfheim Online" (ALO) to retrieve the Holy Sword

Excaliber Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in the ...

from Thrym, the King of the Frost Giants, in order to restore the city of

Jötunheimr The terms Jötunheimr (in Old Norse orthography: Jǫtunheimr ; often anglicised as Jotunheim) or Jötunheimar refer to either a land or multiple lands in Nordic mythology inhabited by the jötnar. are typically, but not exclusively, presented ...

back to its former glory. Asuna befriends a girl named

Yuuki Konno The following is a list of characters from the light novel, anime and manga series ''Sword Art Online''. Most of the characters are introduced as gamers who play and consequently become trapped in a virtual reality massively multiplayer online role ...

, leader of the Sleeping Knights, who asks Asuna to join them in one last quest together. However, Asuna later discovers that Yuuki is suffering from a terminal illness and does not have very long to live. This 24-episode series initially ran in Japan from July 5 to December 20, 2014 on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

with later airings on

Chiba TV , doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neighbouring prefectures. It is a mem ...

, tvk, Teleball, GYT, GTV,

MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician Places * MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US * Mari ...

TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a Federal government of the United States, federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, an ...

, TVh,

TVQ TVQ is the Brisbane television station of Network 10 in Australia. History In April 1964, the Postmaster-General's Department granted Universal Telecasters a broadcasting licence. The channel was allocated channel 0 (the 0 was pronounced as ...

and BS11. The series was made available as a worldwide simulcast by

Aniplex is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both ''Fullm ...

. It was also picked up by

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

for online simulcast streaming in North America and other select parts of the world. Daisuki allowed users to stream the series in select European countries. Five pieces of theme music are used for this series. The first opening theme is "

Ignite To ignite is the first step of firelighting. Ignite may also refer to: Music *Ignite (band), a melodic hardcore band from Orange County, California * ''Ignite'' (Econoline Crush album), 2007 * ''Ignite'' (Shihad album), 2010 * "Ignite" (Eir Aoi s ...

" performed by

Eir Aoi is a Japanese singer from Sapporo, Hokkaido, signed to Sacra Music. After being discovered through the Japanese video sharing website Niconico, Aoi made her major debut in 2011 with the release of her first single "Memoria", whose title track ...

. The first ending theme is "Startear" performed by

Luna Haruna , better known by her stage name is a Japanese singer and fashion model from Tokyo. Biography Luna Haruna was interested in anime and music from a young age. In her first year of junior high school, she became obsessed with Gothic Lolita manga ...

. Since the "Calibur" arc, the second opening theme is "Courage", which is performed by

Asuna Yuuki is a fictional character who appears in the ''Sword Art Online'' series of light novels by Reki Kawahara. She is mononymously more commonly known as just , her user name, player name in the eponymous video game which the novels are set in. Asuna ...

's voice actress,

Haruka Tomatsu is a Japanese voice actress and singer, employed by Music Ray'n. She received the Rookie of the Year award at the 3rd Seiyu Awards and the Synergy Award at the 9th Seiyu Awards. Tomatsu voiced Asuna Yuuki in ''Sword Art Online'', Zero Two in ...

, while the second ending theme is "No More Time Machine", which is performed by

LiSA Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

, and the third ending theme is "Shirushi", also sung by LiSA. __TOC__

Episode list

''Sword Art Online II''

''Sword Art Offline II''

Media release

Japanese release

Notes

References

External links

Official anime website

Official website

Official Adult Swim website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sword Art Online II Sword Art Online episode lists 2014 Japanese television seasons I