Sword Art Online | |
ソードアート・オンライン (Sōdo Āto Onrain) |
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Genre | Action, Adventure, Science fiction |
Light novel | |
Written by | Reki Kawahara |
Illustrated by | abec |
Published by | ASCII Media Works |
English publisher | |
Demographic | Male |
Imprint | Dengeki Bunko |
Original run | April 10, 2009 – present |
Volumes | 18 |
Manga | |
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Anime television series | |
Directed by | Tomohiko Itō |
Produced by |
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Music by | Yuki Kajiura |
Studio | A-1 Pictures |
Licensed by | |
Original network | Tokyo MX, GTV, GYT, tvk, TVS, TVA, RKB, HBC, MBS, AT-X, CTC, BS11 |
English network | |
Original run | July 7, 2012 – December 22, 2012 |
Episodes | 25 |
Light novel | |
Sword Art Online: Progressive | |
Written by | Reki Kawahara |
Illustrated by | abec |
Published by | ASCII Media Works |
English publisher | |
Demographic | Male |
Imprint | Dengeki Bunko |
Original run | October 10, 2012 – present |
Volumes | 5 |
Anime television film | |
Sword Art Online: Extra Edition | |
Directed by | Tomohiko Itō |
Produced by |
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Written by | Reki Kawahara Munemasa Nakamoto |
Music by | Yuki Kajiura |
Studio | A-1 Pictures |
Licensed by | |
Original network | Tokyo MX, BS11 |
Released | December 31, 2013 |
Runtime | 101 minutes |
Anime television series | |
Sword Art Online II | |
Directed by | Tomohiko Itō |
Produced by |
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Music by | Yuki Kajiura |
Studio | A-1 Pictures |
Licensed by | |
Original network | Tokyo MX, GTV, GYT, tvk, TVS, CTC, TVA, MBS, TVQ, TVh, AT-X, BS11 |
English network | |
Original run | July 5, 2014 – December 20, 2014 |
Episodes | 24 |
Light novel | |
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online | |
Written by | Keiichi Sigsawa |
Illustrated by | Kouhaku Kuroboshi |
Published by | ASCII Media Works |
Demographic | Male |
Imprint | Dengeki Bunko |
Original run | December 10, 2014 – present |
Volumes | 5 |
Film | |
Video games | |
Sword Art Online | |
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Based on |
Sword Art Online by Reki Kawahara |
Written by | Laeta Kalogridis |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
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Production company(s) | Skydance Television |
Sword Art Online (Japanese: ソードアート・オンライン Hepburn: Sōdo Āto Onrain?) is a 2009 Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Abec. The series takes place in the near future and focuses on various virtual reality MMORPG worlds. 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 eight manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. The novels and four of the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press. An anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures aired in Japan between July and December 2012, with an Extra Edition episode aired on December 31, 2013, and a second season, titled Sword Art Online II, aired between July and December 2014. Four video games based on the series have been released on the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4. An animated film titled Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale featuring an original story by Kawahara has been announced and will premiere in Japanese theaters on February 18, 2017.
Sword Art Online has received widespread commercial success, with the light novels having over 19 million copies sold worldwide. The anime series has received mixed to positive reviews, praised for its animation, musical score and exploration of the psychological aspects of virtual reality, but criticized for its pacing and writing.