is a Japanese light novel author. He is best known as the creator 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 Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various vir ...

'' and '' Accel World'', both of which have been adapted into

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

. He has also written '' The Isolator''.

Career

Kawahara wrote the first volume of ''Sword Art Online'' in 2001 as a competition entry for the 2002 ASCII Media Works , but refrained from submitting it as he had exceeded the page limit; he instead published it as a web novel under the pen name .Afterword of the first light novel volume 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. Kawahara entered the first ''Accel World'' novel into ASCII Media Works' 15th

Dengeki Novel Prize The is a literary award handed out annually (since 1994) by the Japanese publisher ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) for their Dengeki Bunko light novel imprint. The contest has discovered many popular and successful light novelists, like K ...

in 2008 and the novel won the Grand Prize. The first novel was published by ASCII Media Works on February 10, 2009 under their

Dengeki Bunko is a publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks). It was established in June 1993 with the publication of '' Hyōryū Densetsu Crystania'' volume one, and is a light novel imprint ai ...

imprint. As of March 10, 2022, 26 volumes have been published. An anime series debuted in April 2012. After gaining fame from the Dengeki award, Kawahara republished ''Sword Art Online'' in print. 26 volumes have been published as of June 2022, as well as eight volumes of ''Sword Art Online: Progressive''. An anime series premiered in July 2012, and was followed by a for-TV movie ''Sword Art Online Extra Edition'' on December 31, 2013 a second anime series, ''Sword Art Online II'', in July 2014, a theatrical film adaptation, '' Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale,'' in February 2017'','' and the first of two seasons for the third anime series, '' Sword Art Online: Alicization,'' in October 2018. ''Sword Art Online: Progressive'' was given an anime film adaptation in the form of '' Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night,'' released in Japan on October 30, 2021. A second ''Progressive'' film is scheduled to be released in late 2022. ''The Isolator'' was serialized online starting in 2004, and began publishing in print in June 2014. Five light novels and four manga have been written. In 2022, Kawahara will publish a new light novel series, titled ''Demons' Crest'', with illustrations by Yukiko Horiguchi.

Inspirations

Reki Kawahara has many inspirations growing up, from reading manga to online games. Reki Kawahara also stated in a Q&A session between the author Reki Kawahara and Heathcliff (Kayaba Akihiko) in 2005. "If I were to ask for you to mention one of the games you like best, which would it be?", Reki Kawahara stated the following "If you mean aside from SAO, it would be

Wizardry ''Wizardry'' is a series of role-playing video games, developed by Sir-Tech, that were highly influential in the evolution of modern role-playing video games. The original ''Wizardry'' was a significant influence on early console role-playing ...

, a game from long ago. I acquired a lot of inspiration from it". Rank Anime also wrote a story on what inspired him to write

Works

Light novels

*'' Accel World'' (2009) *''

'' (2009) *'' Sword Art Online: Progressive'' (2012) *'' The Isolator'' (2014) *''

Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online is a Japanese light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa and illustrated by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. The series is a spin-off of Reki Kawahara's ''Sword Art Online'' series. A manga adaptation by Tadadi Tamori launched in 2015, and an anime te ...

'' (2014) - Supervision *''Demons' Crest'' (2022)

Film

*'' Accel World: Infinite Burst'' (2016) - Screenplay *'' Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale'' (2017) - Screenplay *'' Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night'' (2021) - Script, screenplay assistance *'' Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of a Dark Dusk'' (2022) - Script, screenplay assistance

References

External links

;Interviews
2013 interview from Anime News Network2014 The Accel World Interviews Part I from Anime News Network
;General *
"Word Gear", his official blog
*
The Inspiration Behind Sword Art Online
(2020) - Rank Anime {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawahara, Reki 1974 births Japanese writers Light novelists Living people People from Gunma Prefecture Writers from Gunma Prefecture Cyberpunk writers