Sword Art Online

is a 2009 Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The light novels began publication on ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint from April 10, 2009. The series has spawned eight manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa based on the story arcs. The novels and four of the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press.

Few spin-offs have been written starting with Sword Art Online: Progressive which launched in October 2012 narrating further about the Aincrad arc. Another entitled Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online written by Keiichi Sigsawa and illustrated by Kouhaku Kuroboshi on December 10, 2014, where the setting is based around Gun Gale Online. Another entitled Sword Art Online Alternative: Clover's Regret written by Watase Souichirou and illustrated by Ginta on November 10, 2016.

An anime adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures aired in Japan with the first season between July and December 2012, an Extra Edition episode on December 31, 2013, and a second season (known as Sword Art Online II), ran between July and December 2014. An animated film titled Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale featuring an original story by Kawahara has been announced and had its first premiere in Japanese theaters on February 18, 2017. The spin-off, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, also received an adaptation and ran from April to July 2018, but was made by Studio 3Hz. A third season (called Sword Art Online: Alicization) covering the "Alicization arc" and returning to A-1 Pictures was scheduled to premiere on October 6, 2018 and will run for an unprecedented four cours. The anime franchise is licensed by Aniplex of America.

Sword Art Online has received widespread commercial success, with the light novels having over 20 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. Several video games based on the series have been released for mobile phones and five of them for the PlayStation consoles.

Plot
In the year 2022, the Virtual reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) Sword Art Online (SAO) is released. With the Nerve Gear, a VR Helmet that stimulates the user's five senses via their brain, players can experience and control their in-game characters with their minds. But an unexpected event occurs on November 6, 2022 when Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of SAO, prevents the players from logging out. Akihiko issues them a challenge; if they wish to be free and log out of the game, they must reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, should their avatars die in the game, so will their bodies in the real world. As the game's 10,000 players try to accept their new deadly predicament, Kirito, a skilled player who tested the beta version of the game, is determined to reach the 100th floor and be free. Along with Asuna, his partner and love interest, and their friends, Kirito and his allies will face many obstacles and discovers the true purpose of SAO. As their adventure continues, they will also participate in other VRMMO games as well.

Official

 * Official anime site
 * Aniplex

Other Sources

 * Sword Art Online at Wikipedia

Other Wikis

 * SAO roleplay wiki - Roleplay Wiki
 * Web SAO Wiki - Wiki for web version, undeveloped