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. See also: List of Sword Art Online characters Setting 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. The light novel series had good reviews, mainly on later arcs, while other series like Progressive were praised since the beginning.
Sword Art Online has received widespread commercial success, with the light novels having over 30 million copies sold worldwide. Six video games based on the series have been released for multiple consoles. A live-action series will be produced by Netflix. A second film titled Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of a Dark Dusk has been announced. 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 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 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. The novels and the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press.Īn 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. The series has spawned twelve manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. 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. Kawahara originally wrote the series as a web novel on his website from 2002 to 2008. The series takes place in the near future and focuses on protagonists Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG worlds. 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. Sword Art Online: Variant Showdown (2022).Sword Art Online: Black Swordsman Ace (2021).Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris (2020).Sword Art Online Alicization: Rising Steel (2019).Sword Art Online Arcade: Deep Explorer (2019).Sword Art Online VR: Lovely Honey Days (2018).
Sword Art Online: Integral Factor (2017).Sword Art Online: Millennium Twilight (2017) Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization (2016).Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment (2014).Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment (2013).Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (film).Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale (film).Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online (spin-off).