Anime
Sword Art Online was originally a web novel series that was self-published online, starting in 2002, by Reki Kawahara, who published them using his pseudonym, Fumio Kunori. In April 2009, after winning a writing competition for Accel World, Reki worked with Dengeki Bunko to publish the first Sword Art Online light novels.
Premise
Sword Art Online follows the journey of Kazuto Kirigaya (known in-game as Kirito), through various games, beginning with his fight for survival within Sword Art Online, a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) that traps users within the game, and kills them in real life if they die within the game. After beating the game, thus freeing all if its users, Kazuto discovers that his in-game love interest, Asuna Yuuki, did not awake upon the completion of Sword Art Online. Determined to wake Asuna from her coma, he begins searching for clues within ALfheim Online, a new VRMMORPG that was created using the servers and data from Sword Art Online.
Reception
Sword Art Online has seen massive success, charting as one of the highest selling light novels of all time with over 22 million volumes sold globally. The series has received praise for various aspects, such as its portrayal of the psychological effects of virtual reality. The anime series was just as popular, seeing constant success since its beginning in 2012.
Light Novel
Sword Art Online was originally a web novel series that was self-published online, starting in 2002, by Reki Kawahara, who published them using his pseudonym, Fumio Kunori. In April 2009, after winning a writing competition for Accel World, Reki worked with Dengeki Bunko to publish the first Sword Art Online light novels. These novels include illustrations by abec. The light novel begun what is believed to be its final arc, Unital Ring, in December 2018.
Reki Kawahara has also released a separate series of light novels in the Sword Art Online world titled Sword Art Online: Progressive. These stories cover the Aincrad arc with greater detail compared to the original light novel. Both the Sword Art Online and Sword Art Online: Progressive light novels have been licensed for publication outside of Japan by Yen Press.
Apart from the main series, there are also spin-off series set in the world of Sword Art Online that are written by other authors, such as Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, which is written by Keiichi Sigawa and illustrated by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. This spin-off series recieved an anime adaptation in April 2018.
Manga
The Sword Art Online series has been adapted into manga format and has been serialised in various manga magazines published by ASCII Media Works. All volumes of the manga are written by Reki Kawahara, but the illustrators vary. Multiple Spin-off manga have been released, such as Sword Art Online: Girls Ops, which features Lisbeth, Silica and Leafa, rather than the usual Kirito and Asuna.
| Title | Illustrator | Magazine |
|---|---|---|
| Sword Art Online: Aincrad | Tamako Nakamura | Dengeki Bunko Magazine |
| Sword Art Online 4-koma | Jūsei Minami | Dengeki Bunko Magazine |
| Sword Art Online: Fairy Dance | Hazuki Tsubasa | Dengeki Bunko Magazine |
| Sword Art Online: Girls Ops | Neko Nekobyō | Dengeki Bunko Magazine |
| Sword Art Online: Progressive | Kiseki Himura | Dengeki G’s Magazine/Dengeki G’s Comic |
| Sword Art Online: Phantom Bullet | Kōtarō Yamada | Dengeki Bunko Magazine |
| Sword Art Online: Calibur | Shii Kiya | Dengeki G’s Comic |
| Sword Art Online: Mother’s Rosario | Hazuki Tsubasa | Dengeki Bunko Magazine |
| Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online | Tadadi Tamori | Dengeki Maoh |
| Sword Art Online: Alicization | Kōtarō Yamada | Dengeki Bunko Magazine |
Anime
The Sword Art Online animated series is animated by A-1 Pictures, produced by Aniplex and Genco, and is directed by Tomohiko Ito. The first season aired in Japan in 2012, running from July 7 through to December 22. Season one aired in English starting in July 2013. The series is currently in its third season, with the final episodes of the season being slated to air in the 2020 Spring anime season.