is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series written by

Reki Kawahara is a Japanese light novel author. He is best known as the creator of ''Sword Art Online'' and '' Accel World'', both of which have been adapted into anime. He has also written '' The Isolator''. Career Kawahara wrote the first volume of ''Swo ...

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 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 ...

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

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 ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because of ...

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 a ...

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 Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publis ...

. The novels and the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by

Yen Press Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...

. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, 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 Japane ...

television series 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, ...

, known simply as ''

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 ...

'', 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 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 ...

'' 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 Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. 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

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 A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...

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 a

FPS FPS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "F.P.S." (''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''), an episode of the TV show ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' * '' fps magazine'', a defunct magazine about animation * ''The Fabulous Picture Show'', a televi ...

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

In 2022, a virtual reality

massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

(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 A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...

. 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 A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsAsuna 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 The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereb ...

" in another VRMMORPG cyberspace called ''Alfheim Online'' (''ALO''). Assisted in-game by his cousin 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 {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

(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 injures 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 Miller and Vassago Cassals - take control of two Dark Territory characters as they unite the Dark Territory's giants, goblins, ogres, orcs, dark knights, dark mages, and pugilists 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 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 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

wrote the first volume in 2001 as a competition entry for the 2002

, 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.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. In 2008, he participated in the competition again by writing ''

Accel World is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by HiMA. The series began publication in ASCII Media Works' ''Dengeki Bunko'' imprint from February 2009 and is licensed in North America by Yen Press. Two manga ...

'', 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. He agreed and withdrew his web novel versions. 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 A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

. We othtend to play solo in these games a lot." 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.

Publication

After Kawahara's request for ''Sword Art Online'' to be published was approved, he started working with illustrator abec on the light novel series. The first volume was published in print on April 10, 2009, and 27 volumes have been published as of October 7, 2022. 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. 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, and eight volumes have been released as of June 10, 2021. The first volume of a light novel series based on ''Sword Art Online'' titled ''

'', written by

Keiichi Sigsawa is a Japanese light novel author. In 2000, his work '' Kino's Journey'' was a finalist for the 6th Dengeki Novel Prize, and was subsequently serialized in '' Dengeki hp'' magazine in March of the same year, marking his debut. ''Kino's Journey' ...

with illustrations by

Kouhaku Kuroboshi , also known as , is a Japanese illustrator and character designer. He is from the Kanagawa Prefecture and lives in the Fukuoka Prefecture. He is probably best known for his frequent collaborations with writer Keiichi Sigsawa as the illustrator/cha ...

, was published by ASCII Media Works on December 10, 2014. 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. At their

Japan Expo USA Japan Expo USA was a three-day anime convention held in August at the San Mateo Event Center in San Mateo, California, United States. The convention is organized by SEFA Entertainment, based in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. It is the ...

panel,

announced the rights to publish the light novels; the first volume was released on April 22, 2014. Yen Press later announced their license of the ''Sword Art Online: Progressive'' series, which is scheduled for release in 2015. The novels are also published in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, with future plans for publications in France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and others. There are a number of ''

dōjinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created ...

'' (fan works) written by Kawahara under the pseudonym Fumio Kunori, titled . An 80-page assemblage of some of the ''Material Edition'' volumes was published on February 13, 2011; 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. 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.

Media

Manga

There are ten manga adaptations of the series, all written by Reki Kawahara and published by

. , illustrated by Tamako Nakamura, was serialized in ''

Dengeki Bunko Magazine was a Japanese light novel magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks). The magazine succeeded the light novel magazine '' Dengeki hp'', and originally was published as a special edition issue of '' Dengeki Daioh'' for the fir ...

'' between the September 2010 and May 2012 issues. Two ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes of ''Aincrad'' were released on September 27, 2012. A comedy four-panel manga, titled 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. A third manga, titled 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; the third volume was released on June 27, 2014. The ''Aincrad'' and ''Fairy Dance'' manga have been acquired for release in North America by Yen Press. The first volume of ''Aincrad'' was published on March 25, 2014. A spin-off manga starring Lisbeth, Silica, and Leafa, titled and illustrated by Neko Nekobyō, began serialization in the July 2013 issue of ''Dengeki Bunko Magazine''. Following the discontinuation of ''Dengeki Bunko Magazine'' in April 2020, the manga was moved to the DenPlay Comic website. ''Girls Ops'' was licensed by Yen Press in November 2014, the first volume of which was released on May 19, 2015. A manga adaption of ''Sword Art Online: Progressive'', illustrated by Kiseki Himura, began serialization in the August 2013 issue of ''

Dengeki G's Magazine is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and seria ...

''. The manga ended serialization in the magazine's May 2014 issue and was transferred to ''

Dengeki G's Comic was a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works. The magazine was first published digitally on August 9, 2012 with volume 0, and started monthly publication with the following issue released on October 15, 2012. From April ...

'' starting with the June 2014 issue. The ''Progressive'' manga adaption has been licensed by Yen Press, with the first two volumes released in January and April 2015, respectively. 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. A single compilation volume was released on August 10, 2015. 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''. A ninth manga, an adaptation of ''Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online'', began serialization in the November 2015 issue of ''

Dengeki Maoh is a Japanese seinen magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks). It first went on sale on October 27, 2005, and is sold every month on the twenty-seventh. The magazine features information on video games, manga, and light nove ...

''. 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''. It moved to ''Web DenPlay Comic'' due to the discontinuation of ''Dengeki Bunko Magazine''.

Anime series

adaptation of ''Sword Art Online'' was announced at Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival 2011, along with Reki Kawahara's other light novel series, ''

''. The anime is produced 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 ...

and

Genco is a Japanese anime production enterprise, founded on March 3, 1997. Presided over by Tarō Maki, its headquarters is located in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo. It has produced numerous anime series such as ''Honey and Clover'', '' Nodame Cantabile'', ...

, animated by

and directed by Tomohiko Ito with music by

Yuki Kajiura Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Y ...

. The anime aired 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 ...

, tvk, TVS,

TV Aichi JOCI-DTV, branded as , is a television station in Nagoya, Japan operated by the Aichi Television Broadcasting Company, Ltd. (TVA; ja, テレビ愛知株式会社, Terebi Aichi kabushiki gaisha) and is an affiliate of the TX Network. Broadcasti ...

, RKB, HBC and

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 ...

between July 7 and December 22, 2012, and on AT-X,

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 ...

and BS11 at later dates. The series was also streamed on

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 ...

and

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

. 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 Aniplex of America Inc. or Aniplex USA is the U.S. distribution enterprise of Aniplex, an anime and music production company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was established in March 2005 in Santa Monica, California, with the goal o ...

and an English-language dub premiered on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...

from July 27, 2013 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.

Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyro ...

released the first series on BD/DVD in the United Kingdom in December 2013, whilst

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...

released the series in Australia and the English-language version began airing on

ABC Me ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3. Hist ...

on June 7, 2014. ''Sword Art Online'' has been available on

in North America since March 15, 2014. 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. ''Extra Edition'' was streamed worldwide a few hours after its airing in Japan. The two-hour-long special was available on Daisuki worldwide except for French-speaking areas, as well as China and Korea. Daisuki offered subtitles in various languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and German. English-speaking countries, Mexico, Central and South America could also watch the stream on

. ''Extra Edition'' was also

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

in Korea on Aniplus cable channel and in China on the LeTV streaming website. French-speaking countries could watch on the Wakanim streaming website. The Blu-ray Disc and DVD of ''Extra Edition'' was released on April 23, 2014 in Japan. The limited edition included a Yui

character song An image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album (often called an image album or character album) for an anime, game, ''dorama'', manga, or commercial product that is sometimes sung by the voice actor or actor of a character ...

titled "Heart Sweet Heart" by

Kanae Itō is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Nagano Prefecture. Biography After graduating from high school, Ito attended thAmusement Media Academyin 2007. She was a member of the groups and , before they were disbanded between December 16, 200 ...

and an original side story written by Kawahara titled . 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. 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. 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. At

Katsucon Katsucon is an annual three-day anime convention held during February at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. It is traditionally held in February over Presidents Day weekend and was previously held in var ...

, it was announced that the English dub of the second season would air on Toonami beginning March 28, 2015. The third season of ''Sword Art Online'', titled ''Sword Art Online: Alicization'', and a spin-off anime, titled ''

'', were announced in 2017. ''Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online'', animated by 3Hz, premiered in April 2018. ''Sword Art Online: Alicization'' aired from October 6, 2018 to March 30, 2019, with a one-hour world premiere which aired in Japan, the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Russia and South Korea on September 15, 2018. The English dub of the third season premiered on February 9, 2019 on Toonami. 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''. 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''. The second half of the ''War of Underworld'' series was originally scheduled to premiere in April 2020, but due to the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in Japan, it was rescheduled to air from July 11 to September 19, 2020.

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. 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. For the first 14 episodes of season one, the opening theme song is "Crossing Field" 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 ending theme song is by

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 ...

. From episode 15 onward, the opening theme is "Innocence" 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 ...

and the ending theme is "Overfly" 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 ...

. The main theme for ''Sword Art Online: Extra Edition'' is by Aoi. For the second season, 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 ...

" by Aoi, and the first ending theme is "Startear" by Haruna. The second opening theme is "Courage" by Tomatsu, and the second ending theme is "No More Time Machine" by LiSA, with the third ending theme being , also by LiSA. The song "Catch the Moment" by LiSA is used as the theme song to ''Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale''. For the third season, the first opening theme is "Adamas" by LiSA, and the first ending theme is by Aoi. The second opening theme is " Resister" by

Asca ''Asca'' is a genus of mites with worldwide distribution in the family Ascidae Ascidae is a family of mites in the order Mesostigmata. Description Ascidae are mites characterised by: seta ''st4'' usually on unsclerotised cuticle, peritrem ...

and the second ending theme is "Forget-me-not" by

ReoNa Reona ( ; stylized as ReoNa, born October 20, 1998) is a Japanese singer who is signed to Sacra Music. Having been active as a cosplayer and independent musician, she made her major debut in 2018 as the singing voice of the character Elza Kanzak ...

, with episode 19 featuring , also sung by ReoNa. For the second part of the third season, the first opening theme is "Resolution" by Tomatsu, and the first ending theme is "

Unlasting "Unlasting" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by Japanese pop singer LiSA. It was released as her sixteenth single digitally on October 21, 2019, and received a physical release on December 11, 2019. It reached number 4 on Oricon and number ...

" by LiSA. The second opening theme is "Anima" by Reona and the second ending theme is "I will" by Aoi. The song by LiSA was used as the theme song to ''Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night''. 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, while ''Sword Art Online Song Collection II'', which included character songs released in the season two volumes, was released on March 22, 2017. In celebration of the anime's 10th anniversary, the song will be used as the theme song for the commemorative event "Sword Art Online: Full Dive", to be held on November 6, 2022. The song was composed by Yuki Kajiura and will be performed by ReoNa, ASCA and Eir Aoi, who were in charge of previous opening and ending themes for the series.

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. After the finale of ''Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld'', an anime adaptation of ''Sword Art Online: Progressive'' was announced. 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.

Inori Minase is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Axl One. In March 2016, she won the Best Lead Actress Award in the 10th Seiyu Awards for her leading roles as Jun Naruse in the box office hit ''The Anthem of the Heart'' and as Yuki Tak ...

is joining the cast as the new character Mito. 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. 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. The film was scheduled for September 10, 2022, but was later delayed due to production issues caused by the

. It is premiered on October 22, 2022. 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.

Video games

A stage event at the Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival 2011 revealed that Reki Kawahara's light novels would get video game adaptations. The first ''Sword Art Online'' adaptation, titled , was published by

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

. 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. The game was released in both regular and limited edition box sets on March 14, 2013. '' Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment'' is a

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...

game released in Japan on April 24, 2014. ''Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment'' takes place in the same alternative storyline as ''Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment'',The ''Sword Art Online History Chart'' bundled with the May 2014 edition of Dengeki Bunko Magazine. and it includes all content of "Floor Clearing" from that previous game with the addition of new unexplored "Hollow Area" of Aincrad. The protagonist Kirito will cross swords with a mysterious player who would become one of the key characters in the game. 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. The game had also been released in Taiwan by Namco Bandai Games Taiwan with Chinese and English subtitles. A digital-only North American, European and Australian release was released in August 2014. A third video game developed by

Artdink is a Japanese developer of video games, based in Tsukishima, Tokyo. By far Artdink's biggest international success was the award-winning ''A-Train'' (known in Japan as ''A Ressha de Ikou'', or "Take the A-Train") strategy game released for the ...

and titled '' Sword Art Online: Lost Song'' was released in Japan on March 26, 2015 on the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

and Vita platforms, with an English version being released in Asia. 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. 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 is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. ''Bloodborne'' follows the player's character, a Hunter, through the decrepit Gothic, Victorian-era–inspired cit ...

'' taking the top spot. A fourth game titled '' Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization'' was released in Japan for the PS4, Vita, and Windows on October 27, 2016 and worldwide on November 8, 2016 for the PS4 and Vita. A

social network game A social network game (sometimes simply referred to as a social media game, social gaming, social video game or online social game) is a type of online game that is played through social networks or social media. They typically feature multiplayer ...

called ''Sword Art Online: End World'' was released for Japanese feature phones and smartphones on February 28, 2013 with more than 1 million registered users. It was discontinued in September 2017. Another

freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium," is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical (o ...

game for Android and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

titled '' Sword Art Online: Code Register'' launched in 2014, and over 3,000,000 users have downloaded the game. Another game called ''Sword Art Online: Progress Link'' designed for the

Mobage is a portal and social network for games, owned by DeNA. The service had 30 million users, who largely play on feature phones. On February 14, 2011, DeNA announced renaming Mobage Town service name to Mobage, which also merged the Plus+ Plus+ ...

browser game A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on c ...

platform on smartphones was released on February 10, 2015. 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 A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

featuring various characters from works published under the ''Dengeki Bunko'' imprint. A browser game titled ''Sword Art Quest'' and its sequel smartphone game, ''Sword Art Quest II'' provide challenges to users to upgrade their characters to receive rewards. 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. A virtual reality massive multiplayer online game was in development by

and

IBM Japan IBM has had business internationally since before the company had a name. Early leaders of the companies that would eventually become IBM (Mr Hollerith, Mr Flint, and Mr Watson) all were involved in doing international business. In those early day ...

, 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 ''

'', published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

, and

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

via

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

, and was released to western audiences on July 7, 2017. 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. The game is being distributed and is operating under Bandai Namco Shanghai, Bandai Namco Entertainment and

Qihoo 360 Qihoo 360 (; approximate pronunciation CHEE-hoo), full name 360 Security Technology Inc., is a Chinese internet security company that has developed the antivirus software programs 360 Safeguard and 360 Mobile Safe, the Web browser 360 Secure Bro ...

on Chinese platforms. The game was launched on Android on May 26, 2016 and on iOS on June 9, 2016 after a brief period of closed beta, though it is officially still in an "open beta" phase. Bandai Namco released ''Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag'' RPG for Android and iOS in August 2016. It was released outside of Japan on January 24, 2017. 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. 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. However, the game was discontinued in August 30, 2021. 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 . 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 The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and Windows on February 23, 2018.

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...

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. 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. 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. 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

. 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 announced, and released on November 19, 2022. It will feature a battle royale mode which will be added in a post-launch update, a first for an ''SAO'' game.

Live-action series

Skydance Television Skydance Media, LLC (formerly known as Skydance Productions) is an American production company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company entered a five-year partnership to co-produce and co-finance films with ...

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.

Laeta Kalogridis Laeta Kalogridis ( ) is an American screenwriter and television and film producer of Greek descent. She has written scripts for ''Alexander'' (2004), ''Night Watch'' (2004), '' Pathfinder'' (2007) and '' Shutter Island'' (2010). She also serve ...

has been attached to write a script for the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, and will also serve as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

for the series alongside Skydance CEO

David Ellison David Ellison (born January 9, 1983) is an American film producer and actor best known as the founder and CEO of Skydance Media. Early life and education David Ellison was born in Santa Clara County, California. He is the son of billionaire Ora ...

, Dana Goldberg, and Marcy Ross. Skydance has stated their intent to "fast-track" the launch of the series, along with plans to follow the TV series with the release of a ''Sword Art Online''

experience. In February 2018, it was reported that the live-action series had been sold to

Reception

Sales

According to

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

, ''Sword Art Online'' was the top selling light novel series of 2012, with eight volumes figuring among the top selling light novels. It was ranked first in the 2012 and 2013 ''

Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! is an annual light novel guide book published by Takarajimasha. The guide book publishes a list of the top ten most popular light novels according to readers polled on the Internet and votes from "collaborators" (critics, influencers, and other p ...

'' rankings, as well as top five placement in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and top 10 in 2019. It was also the second best selling light novel series in the first half of 2016 in Japan, selling 489,374 copies. ''Sword Art Online: Progressive'' sold 321,535 copies in the same time period. As of 2017, the series has an estimated 20 million copies in print worldwide. As of 2021, the series has 26 million copies in print. The number of sales have reached 30 million in 2022.

Critical response

Richard Eisenbeis of ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'' hails ''Sword Art Online'' as the smartest series in recent years, praising its deep insight on the psychological aspects of

on the human psyche, its sociological views on creating a realistic economy and society in a

massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, alt ...

setting, and the writing staff's ability to juggle a wide variety of genres within the series. Eisenbeis particularly noted how the romance between Kirito and Asuna is explored bringing "definition to exactly what love is like in a virtual world." However, at the time of this preliminary review, he had only watched the first 12 episodes of the series. 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." Rebecca Silverman of ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

'' has criticized the series as having pacing problems, logical gaps and "sloppy writing". 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. DeviceCritique explained that ''Sword Art Online'' influences the virtual reality market to grow, and referenced the

Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016. In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...

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. 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. 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".

Cultural impact

Kirito makes a cameo appearance in the eighth episode of the anime series ''

Eromanga Sensei is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Fushimi and illustrated by Hiro Kanzaki. ASCII Media Works has published thirteen volumes in the series under its Dengeki Bunko imprint from December 2013 to August 2022. A manga adaptati ...

'', with

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka is a Japanese voice actor from Hokkaido affiliated with the talent agency I'm Enterprise. Honored at the 6th Seiyu Awards for Best New Actor in 2012 and the 10th Seiyu Awards for Best Lead Actor in 2016, he is best known for being the voice of K ...

reprising his role. ''Sword Art Online'' is sometimes considered to be part of the

isekai is a Japanese genre of speculative fiction—both portal fantasy and science fiction are included. It includes novels, light novels, films, manga, anime and video games that revolve around a person or people who are transported to and have to ...

genre, although Kawahara himself does not agree. 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 is a Japanese novel self-publishing website created by . It was launched on April 2, 2004. Users can upload their novels free of charge and the novels are also free to read. As of December 2022, the site hosts close to 1,000,000 novels, has ove ...

("Let's Become Novelists") and a number of Narō isekai novels being adapted into anime.

Ernest Cline Ernest Christy Cline (born March 29, 1972) is an American science fiction novelist, slam poet, and screenwriter. He wrote the novels '' Ready Player One'', '' Armada'', and '' Ready Player Two'' and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation ...

, the writer of 2011 novel ''

Ready Player One ''Ready Player One'' is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality ga ...

'', 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. 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 A battle royale game is an online multiplayer video game genre that blends last-man-standing gameplay with the survival, exploration and scavenging elements of a survival game. Battle royale games involve dozens to hundreds of players, who sta ...

called Bullet of Bullets. On June 12, 2015, the now-inactive

Chinese Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (MOC) was a ministry of the government of the People's Republic of China which was dissolved on 19 March 2018. The responsibilities of the MOC, which were assumed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, encompassed cultur ...

listed ''Sword Art Online II'' among 38 anime and manga titles banned in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In July 2020, ''Sword Art Online'' became one of seven manga titles to be removed from

Books Kinokuniya is a Japanese bookstore chain operated by , founded in 1927, with its first store located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Its name translates to "Bookstore of Kii Province". The company has its headquarters in Meguro, Tokyo. One of the company's g ...

in Australia for claims of promoting child pornography. In the 2020 edition of ''

'', ''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.

Notes

References

External links

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