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 appeared on stage, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Shinjuku Wald 9’s opening.)
Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale hits theaters on Feb. 18, and an advance screening event was held on Feb. 14 at Shinjuku Wald 9 where Kirito’s voice actor Matsuoka Yoshitsugu and producer Kashiwada Shinichiro (Aniplex) appeared on stage in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Shinjuku Wald 9’s opening.
That wasn’t the only thing to celebrate, though: As the event fell on Valentine’s Day, what better time to announce the results of the AnimeAnime questionnaire, “Which male character would you give chocolate to on Valentine’s Day?”
With Victor Nikiforov from Yuri!!! on Ice finishing third and Sakata Gintoki from Gintama coming in second, it was Kirito from SAO who took the crown! While that might be expected from female fans, 20% of male fans also voted for him, to which Matsuoka reacted with, “Whoops, Kirito-kun, it looks like some of the guys want you! (laughs)”. He also commented, “I would have been content with receiving just one chocolate, but I got a lot from male fans”, bringing out quite a few laughs from the audience.
Another topic was the “SAO Cup Sports Chanbara Tournament,” which was held just two days earlier. Kashiwada, who came in second in the inexperienced category, remarked, “In the experienced category, there were people who made movements that looked like they were using sword skills just with their body, it reminded me of Heathcliff!” Matsuoka, on the other hand, previously a sports chanbara champion, said, “What I used to do was ‘form,’ a contest of the beauty and accuracy of movements, so I thought it had nothing to do with fighting strength. I never would have guessed that my old experiences would come in handy in such a way.”
When asked about the highlights of the movie, Matsuoka commented, “It’s the action. Although I already said this during the stage greeting at the premiere screening, this movie is the culmination of the Sword Art Online series. The last battle scene was actually so uplifting that my lips couldn’t stop trembling when I was saying my lines during postrecording.” As for his hopes, he said, “Both the staff and the voice cast gave their all in making this SAO movie. I want everyone to watch it multiple times. You can watch it from the perspective of different characters and make new discoveries every time. I hope to see everyone again at the theaters after the opening day!”
Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale
Japan-wide roadshow from Feb. 18
©2016 Kawahara Reki / KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works / SAO Movie Project
Source: AnimeAnime
