Despite the animosity directed at the anime, Sword Art Online is a very successful show that helped popularize isekai anime alongside other anime genres. In fact, with the increasing number of show releases, Isekai anime has dominated anime seasons in recent years.
About Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is based on Reki Kawahara’s original light novel of the same name, with illustrations by Abec. Kawahara became well-known not only for his work on SAO, but also for his work on the 2009 sci-fi action manga series Accel World. Not only has the anime been a commercial success, but so has the light novel, with over 26 million copies in print worldwide. While some fans despised the series, others praised its music, animated sequences, and plot narrative. Sword Art Online, originally a web novel published on Kawahara’s website from 2002 to 2008, has been imprinted under ASCII Media Works’s Dengeki Bunko since April 10, 2009. As of this writing, the light novel has 26 volumes and 12 manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. Yen Press has also released an English translation. The plot follows the unusual fate of Kirito, a Sword Art Online virtual reality MMORPG player. Set in the fictional year 2022, Kirito, like thousands of other players, becomes trapped in Sword Art Online after being unable to log out. Kirito must defeat the 100-level tower Boss in order to return to his physical body and survive. Kirito sets out to form friendships, work with guilds, and deal with his newfound friends and foes using his knowledge of the VR MMORPG world.
Sword Art Online Watch Order and Guide
Since 2012, Sword Art Online has spawned new TV anime seasons, spin-offs, specials, and movies. Because of this, anime viewers might find the series intimidating with the number of shows it has released as of this writing. The good thing is that it is not as complex as you think. While it appears daunting, the series can be best enjoyed and experienced in chronological order. This means that watching the series based on its release date can be followed for your viewing pleasure. Here is the Sword Art Online watch order and best guide at the time of writing: The series has also spawned two related side stories with their own plotlines. While Gun Gale Online takes place in the same world as Sword Art Online, Accel World takes place in a separate universe. If you have free time to spend watching anime, you might also like to watch Sword Art Online’s specials as follows:
