Sword Art Online (shortened to SAO) is originally a light novel written by Reki kawahara and illustrated by Abec. Initially, Sword Art Online is a story written in 2002 that Reki Kawahara presented at the grand prize for the novel Dengeki, but which was refused access to the competition because of too many pages. In 2008, the author returned to participate with his novel Accel World. After winning the Grand Prize, publisher ASCII Media Works asked him to resume his work on Sword Art Online. Since then, the light novel has met with huge success and now has 26 volumes. This popularity has given rise to many derivative products, the most famous being undoubtedly his anime which debuted in 2012. The novel has also been adapted into several manga series.
In 2024, players can launch an assault on a new title: Sword Art Online, which is presented as a “VRMMORPG” (Virtual Reality Multi Massively Online Role Playing Game). At first completely amazed by the possibilities that such a game offers, participants quickly find themselves trapped within this virtual world by its creator himself. They will then have to climb 100 levels and defeat the final boss to be able to exit this video game and regain their real life.
In summary, this is the story of the first “Aincrad” arc. The protagonist Kazuto “Kirito” Kirigaya (Narusaka), strong of his participation in the beta of SAO, feels that he can achieve this goal. Then begins his adventure and especially, his meetings. He will soon be joined by Asuna, a distinguished warrior and vice-commander of the Brotherhood of Knights guild. 5 arcs followed this first story: Fairy Dance, Phantom Bullet, Calibur, Mother’s Rosario and Alicization.
In 2012, with the development of the anime, Reki Kawahara realizes the potential of some of his secondary characters for whom he had so far had little interest. He then decides to start again from zero the history of Sword Art Online by constituting a parallel story.. Reki Kawahara will therefore rewrite his story, this time from Asuna’s point of view. Sword Art Online is not a “reboot” per se, but the author admits to having overlooked certain inconsistencies that arose after the writing of Progressive. This new start allows Reki Kawahara to focus on more neglected points at the beginning of Sword Art Online, and also offers more life to characters who had so far shone little.
Initially released on October 30 from our Japanese friends, Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night officially releases in France, Belgium and Luxembourg on January 6, which is tomorrow! You can therefore go to the cinema tomorrow to attend the first screenings, and the film could be available on Wakanim a few months or even weeks after its theatrical release. For the moment, it will be shown in nearly 150 cinemas across France. In addition, it should be noted that Wakanim is organizing an evening event this Friday January 7 at the CGR des Lilas at 8 p.m.
As said above, Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night is released in French theaters tomorrow, January 6, 2024. For the moment, it will only be available in theaters thanks to the partnership between Wakanim and CGR. As Wakanim owns the rights to Sword Art Online, it is more than likely that the film will be available on the streaming platform soon. In addition, it should be noted that this new opus will be both viewable in French and in original version.
Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night takes on exactly the same storyline as the early days of Sword Art Online, but this time from Asuna’s perspective. Early fans and newcomers alike will therefore have no trouble enjoying this new film. The story begins as Asuna finds herself, like the thousands of other players who launched Sword Art Online, stuck in the game.. She decides to set out to conquer Aincrad, until she meets a young swordsman named Kirito …
Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night is produced by A-1 Pictures, the studio behind the first two seasons of Sword Art Online as well as the adaptation of the Alicization arc, and finally the first film Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale. It should be noted that Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night is not the only Progressive film in preparation, since it should be followed in 2024 by a new work called Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of a Dark Dusk which should simply continue the parallel narrative developed by Reki Kawahara.
Anime, manga… and of course video games. Sword Art Online has seen many video game adaptations. If several of these titles are exclusively available in Japan, several have reached our countries. In our columns some of these titles benefit from tests, like Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization or Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag.
In addition to Progressive, there is another spinoff series from Sword Art Online by the name of Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, which tells a story following the events of the first arc. The heroine, Karen Kohiruimaki, finds herself propelled into the virtual world of Gun Gale Online, a new game released after the SAO debacle. An anime adaptation has seen the light of day, as well as a video game by the name of Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet.
