The World’s Only SAO Projector Room Opens for Limited Time at Karaoke-kan Shibuya Honten!
Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale, the newest work in the Sword Art Online (SAO) series, is releasing in theaters Japan-wide on Feb. 18, and it features an all-new story written specially for the movie by series author Reki Kawahara. This time, the story doesn’t involve the use of VR (Virtual Reality) as it did in the past but rather the use of AR (Augmented Reality), which has blown up in popularity since the smartphone app Pokémon Go, and this fact is drawing huge attention.
Several tie-in campaigns with the movie are currently ongoing in Japan, and one that is becoming quite a hot topic is the SAO projection room open at Karaoke-kan Shibuya Honten. It’s a must-see for all fans of the music in SAO!
Many real-world locations were used in the movie since it depicts battle scenes in AR, but the main focus appears to be on Shibuya. In the movie, Karaoke-kan Shibuya Honten is a place characters actually visit. (who it is that visits is still a secret, though!)
Naturally, we had to go to Karaoke-kan to check it out, so here’s our report of the SAO room starting from Shibuya Station. As soon as we got out of the station we arrived at Shibuya’s famous scramble crossing. No doubt even those overseas know of this famous spot from movies and TV shows. Up ahead is the entrance to Shibuya Center Gai. After walking for a short while we spot in the upper-right a blue sign with red letters spelling “Karaoke & Party.” Finally, we’ve arrived. Karaoke-kan Shibuya Honten even rents cosplay outfits and provides dressing rooms for changing. We hopped on the elevator up to the fifth floor and once the doors opened headed down the left hall where we spotted room 510 - the world’s only SAO projector room. We entered to find two gigantic projectors promptly projecting on the walls info on the collaborative campaign together with SAO characters! The room has a stylish design different from otaku rooms we’ve seen before. It’s spacious and can fit around 20 people max. The touch panel also introduces the campaign. Details on the campaign can also be found at the bottom of this article!
The limited-time SAO projector room features special content that you can’t savor anywhere else! There’s a special message from LiSA, the singer of the SAO the Movie theme song “Catch the Moment,” and you can sing SAO theme songs while watching a special edited version of the anime projected on the walls. Fans can choose between Eir Aoi’s “Innocence,” Luna Haruna’s “Courage,” and LiSA’s “Shirushi.” Of course, you can also sing any song from the song list available at Karaoke-kan. A guide explaining the special clips. Because the video clips were put together specially for this room they were supervised by publisher Aniplex, who were fastidious in their selection of which clips to include. A special video message from LiSA. Seeing as this was our one shot to experience this limited-time room we went all out singing along with the exclusive clips. Singing our hearts out to intense, exhilarating scenes from the SAO anime - there’s nothing like it.
Those who use the projector room will also receive a clear file featuring exclusive artwork. It’s not every day fans are treated to artwork of the female characters in casual clothes, and we’ve got but one word to describe them: kawaii! The dark blue clear file on the right in the picture above was available from Jan. 13 to Feb. 17. The light blue one on the left is available from Feb. 18 to March 31.
For those of you who will happen to be in Tokyo while the projector room is open, we’ve been told the room is already booked out for two weeks, and there’s no doubt it will only get more popular once the movie releases! Hurry to not miss your chance to experience this limited-time SAO projector room! (report date: Jan. 27) Sword Art Online the Movie x Karaoke-kan Special Page (Japanese) Karaoke-kan (Japanese) Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale
