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Sword Art Online
Sign in to saveAlso known as SAO, Sword Art Online (series)
Japanese light novel series
"Sword Art Online" is a Japanese light novel series that depicts players trapped in a virtual reality game where death in the game means death in real life. The series became influential in popularizing the "trapped in a virtual world" concept in anime and gaming culture.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Genre
- Adventure Science fiction
- Written by
- Reki Kawahara (as Fumio Kunori)
- Published by
- Self-published
- Original run
- 2002 – 2008
- Illustrated by
- abec
- English publisher
- NA : Yen Press
- Imprint
- Dengeki Bunko
- Volumes
- 29 ( List of volumes )
- Directed by
- Tomohiko Itō
- Produced by
- Shinichirō Kashiwada Kazuma Miki
- Music by
- Yuki Kajiura
- Studio
- A-1 Pictures
- Licensed by
- AUS : Madman Entertainment NA : Aniplex of America SEA : Muse Communication UK : Manga Entertainment
- Original network
- Tokyo MX , GTV , GYT , tvk , TVS , TVA , RKB , HBC , MBS , AT-X , Chiba TV , BS11
- English network
- AU : ABC Me NA : Aniplex Channel PH : TV5 US : Adult Swim ( Toonami )
- Episodes
- 25 ( List of episodes )
- Released
- December 31, 2013
- Runtime
- 100 minutes
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Author
- Reki Kawahara
- Country of origin
- Japan
- Publisher
- M&C!
- Official website
- www.swordart-online.net
Show 9 more facts
- derivative work
- Sword Art Online: Lost Song
- title
- ソードアート・オンライン
- publication date
- 2009-04-10
- Commons category
- Sword Art Online
- topic's main category
- Category:Sword Art Online
- language of work or name
- Japanese
- set in period
- 2020s
- social media followers
- 130000
- number of parts of this work
- 29
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Sword Art Online (Japanese: ソードアート・オンライン, Hepburn: Sōdo Āto Onrain) is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in the 2020s and focuses on protagonists Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG worlds, and later their involvement in the matters of a simulated civilization. Kawahara originally released the series as a web novel on his website from 2002 to 2008. The light novels began publication on ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint from April 10, 2009, with a spin-off series launching in October 2012. The series has spawned twelve manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. The novels and the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press.
An anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures, known simply as Sword Art Online, aired in Japan between July and December 2012, with a television film Sword Art Online: Extra Edition airing on December 31, 2013, and a second season, titled Sword Art Online II, airing between July and December 2014. An animated film titled Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale, featuring an original story by Kawahara, premiered in Japan and Southeast Asia on February 18, 2017, and was released in the United States on March 9, 2017. A spin-off anime series titled Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online premiered in April 2018, while a third season titled Sword Art Online: Alicization aired from October 2018 to September 2020. An anime film adaptation of Sword Art Online: Progressive titled Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night premiered on October 30, 2021. A second film titled Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night premiered on October 22, 2022. Many video games based on the series have been released for consoles, PC, and mobile devices.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Sword Art Online” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.