Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online (ソードアート・オンライン Sōdo Āto Onrain) is a 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 label from April 10, 2009, with a spin-off series launching in October 2012, and are licensed in North America by Yen Press. The series has spawned five manga adaptations. A television anime series produced by A-1 Pictures aired in Japan between July and December 2012. The anime has been licensed in North America by Aniplex of America and an English-language version began airing on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on July 27, 2013. An Extra Edition episode aired on December 31, 2013, and a second anime series, titled Sword Art Online II, will begin airing in July 2014. A video game based on the series was released on PlayStation Portable in March 2013, with a second game for PlayStation Vita to be released in April 2014. The novels and two of the manga adaptations have been licensed for release by Yen Press.

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

 * Wikipedia
 * MyAnimeList

Other Wikis

 * w:c:swordartonlineroleplay - Roleplay Wiki
 * w:c:websao - Wiki for web version, undeveloped
 * swordartanime - duplicate founded August 14, 2012‎ with 2 pages
 * sao - duplicate founded October 15, 2012 with 3 pages
 * w:c:swordart-online
 * w:c:sword-artonline
 * w:c:sword-art-online
 * w:c:alo
 * w:c:alfheimonline
 * w:c:alfheim-online:Thread:2068
 * w:c:ggo
 * w:c:gungaleonline
 * w:c:gungale-online
 * w:c:gun-galeonline
 * w:c:gun-gale-online
 * w:c:alicization
 * w:c:projectalicization
 * w:c:project-alicization