On Sept. 3 and 4, 2016, director Tomohiko Ito, character designer and chief animation director Shingo Adachi, and Atsushi Kaneko of A-1 Pictures attended the anime convention Madman Anime Festival in Melbourne Australia to represent the production of Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale and to promote the film to all the local fans.

Being that Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, it was winter. Despite the outside temperature being about 10℃, the convention halls overflowed with the fiery enthusiasm of every anime fan!

The SAO Panel Part 1, an event centered on discussion, was held on the opening day. What unfolded was a precious inside story on everything from the TV series to the current status of the film’s production that was only able to have been heard by all the excited audience members.

Many fans lined up for the autograph session.
The SAO Panel Part 2 was held on the second day and included a live drawing by Shingo Adachi that was performed during a Q&A session with director Ito and Kaneko.

Adachi drew four illustrations during the event.

The completed drawings were raffled off as gifts to lucky members of the audience!

Starting with broadcast television stations, there was a rush of local media covering the event!

The 2-day event showed the local love for the series and everyone’s anticipation for the film!

[Event Details]
Madman Anime Festival
http://www.animefestival.com.au/
Date: Sept. 3 & 4, 2016
Location: Melbourne Convention Center (Australia, Melbourne)
Attendees: ~10,000 people