Sword Art Online is a Japanese science fiction anime television series based on the light novel series of the same title written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec, produced by A-1 Pictures, and directed by Tomohiko Itō. It is divided into the "Aincrad" and "Fairy Dance" arcs, adapted from volumes 1–4 from the light novels. The story of the first season follows the adventures of Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki, two players who are trapped in the virtual world of "Sword Art Online" (SAO). They are tasked to clear all 100 Floors and defeat the final boss in order to be freed from the game. Three months after the death game, Kazuto discovers that Asuna is being held captive in "Alfheim Online" (ALO), a spiritual successor to SAO, where the players assume the roles of fairies. Kazuto enters the game and allies himself with his sister Suguha "Leafa" Kirigaya to rescue Asuna from captivity.
The season aired from July 8 to December 23, 2012, on Tokyo MX, spanning 25 episodes. It was later broadcast by 12 other stations. Aniplex of America announced that the English dubbed version would air on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block starting on July 28, 2013. The first DVD and Blu-ray Disc volumes were released in Japan on October 24, 2012, and it concluded on June 26, 2013, with all nine volumes containing a bonus episode. In North America, Aniplex of America released the series in four Blu-ray/DVD volumes on August 13, 2013. In Australasia, Madman Entertainment distributed the four volumes in DVD and Blu-ray format. In Europe, Manga Entertainment first released all four volumes on December 16, 2013. A special episode of the anime titled was globally released on December 31, 2013. A second season, titled Sword Art Online II, began airing in July 2014.
Five pieces of theme music were used for the series: two opening themes and three ending themes. For the first 14 episodes, the opening theme song is "Crossing Field" performed by Lisa, and the ending theme is performed by Haruka Tomatsu. The second opening theme, used from episode 15 onwards, is "Innocence" performed by Eir Aoi, while its second ending theme, used from episodes 15 to 24, is "Overfly" performed by Luna Haruna. The third ending theme, "Crossing Field" was used for the final episode. The extra edition's main theme is by Eir Aoi. The original score for the series is composed by Yuki Kajiura. __TOC__
Episodes Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online: Extra Edition Sword Art Online: Extra Edition is a special anime episode which was simulcast worldwide on December 31, 2013. In Japan, it was premiered on two broadcast channels: Tokyo MX and BS11. While in other countries, the special was streamed via the Internet on Daisuki and Crunchyroll. The extra edition was directed by Tomohiko Itō and screenplayed by the creator, Reki Kawahara, and Munemasa Nakamoto. It recounts the events of the original Sword Art Online anime, told in retrospect by the series characters and features new footage.
The main theme song is by Eir Aoi. "Crossing Field" by LiSA, "Overfly" by Luna Haruna, and "Innocence" by Eir Aoi are all insert songs.
Home media release Japanese Aniplex, in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Japan, distributed the episodes in nine volumes in DVD and Blu-ray format across Japan. Sword Art Online: Extra Edition was released on April 23, 2014, in DVD and Blu-ray limited editions, including a bonus Sword Art Offline: Extra Edition episode.
+ Aniplex (Japan, Region 2) VolumeEpisodes DVD and Blu-ray release dateVolume 11–2October 24, 2012Volume 23–5November 21, 2012Volume 36–8December 26, 2012Volume 49–11January 23, 2013Volume 512–14February 27, 2013Volume 615–16March 27, 2013Volume 717–19April 24, 2013Volume 820–22May 22, 2013Volume 923–25June 26, 2013
English In North America, Aniplex of America released the series in four DVD and Blu-ray volumes beginning on August 13, 2013. In Australasia, Madman Entertainment released volume one in DVD and Blu-ray on December 18, 2013, and concluded with volume four on March 19, 2014. In Europe, Manga Entertainment began to release the anime on December 16, 2013. Sword Art Online: Extra Edition was licensed by Aniplex of America and released by Blu-ray and DVD in North America on December 23, 2014.
+ Aniplex of America (North America, Region 1) Volume EpisodesDVD and Blu-ray release datePart 11–7August 13, 2013Part 28–14September 17, 2013Part 315–19October 15, 2013Part 420–25November 19, 2013
+ Manga Entertainment (Europe, Region 2) Volume EpisodesDVD and Blu-ray release datePart 11–7December 16, 2013Part 28–14January 27, 2014Part 315–19February 24, 2014Part 420–25March 31, 2014
+ Madman Entertainment (Australasia, Region 4) Volume EpisodesDVD and Blu-ray release datePart 11–7December 18, 2013Part 28–14January 15, 2014Part 315–19February 19, 2014Part 420–25March 19, 2014
Sword Art Offline Sword Art Offline is a series of bonus episodes released in their own DVD and Blu-ray volumes in Japan. The show has 10 episodes, including the extra edition. Aniplex of America announced that they will include those episodes in the English version of the volumes with English subtitles.
+Sword Art Offline episode list Title Packaged in Japan with
See also Sword Art Online Abridged, an American web series adapting/abridging the season
Notes
References
External links
Sword Art Online Official anime website Sword Art Online Official anime website