# Sword Art Online Abridged

Sword Art Online Abridged is a Canadian abridged fantasy web-series, parodying the 2012 anime series Sword Art Online. The series was created by Something Witty Entertainment and first aired on March 30, 2013, predating the official English dub of the anime.
The second season premiered on December 14, 2017, with its final episode in its development stages.

## Premise

The story of Sword Art Online Abridged stays almost the same as the original; the players of Sword Art Online are trapped and the players must beat all 100 floors of Aincrad. If they die in-game or their headset is removed in real life, they die.
However, SAO Abridged changes the character's personalities by a large margin, and creates new storylines.

## Characters
### Main cast

* Matthew J. Kok (known online as YamatoSFX) as Kazuto Kirigaya (Username: Kirito): An SAO beta tester and main protagonist of SAO Abridged. Unlike his original counterpart, Kirito has been shown as narcissistic, arrogant and socially inept with a misanthropic view of the world, having had severe trauma from wittnessing the death of his guild, the Moonlit Black Cats.
* Donna Jazz (known online as Misanda) and Carrie Johnston (known online as xbubblemunkyx) as Asuna Yuuki (Username: Asuna): A player of SAO. Unlike her original counterpart, she has shown sociopathic, sadistic, and emotionally abusive tendencies towards other characters. Many consider her and Kirito's romance to be greatly improved from the original series.
* Mackenzie Murdock (known online as Hayabusa449) as Fatty, Kibaou, Derrick, Kains, Kuradeel
* Chase Corbin (known online as Coffinjockey) as Nishida, Brian (Username: Sakuya), Sean

### Recurring cast

* Curtis Arnott (known online as Takahata101) as Kayaba Akihiko (Username: Heathcliff): The creator of SAO and the NerveGear who traps the player base inside the game. Contrary to his original counterpart, Kayaba's motive for trapping the players in SAO for two years was due to pressure in developing the game for three weeks without sleep to both meet a deadline and appease critics, but resulted in a glitch that kills players in real life if they die in his game. As a response, in a sleep deprived state, he decided to hold the players hostage and present it as if it were all a part of a deliberate plan.
* Jon Swinnard (known online as CheesemanJoe) and Anthony DiMascio (known online as Dizzasta) as Klein (Username: BallsDeep69): A 'friend' of Kirito. His username has been changed from his original counterpart to 'BallsDeep69', and is a running gag in the series.
* Cole Petty (known online as Sonicring123Dubs) as Girl Guy, Johnny Black
* Alexander Gross (known online as Octopimp) as Tiffany
* Fluffles as Himself
* Stuart Hutson (known online as LordMegatronG1) as Jeffrey, Charlie
* Isaac Lawson (known online as AtomicVoice) as Gary
* Rachel Michelle Thompson as Silica, Yolko
* Alejandro Saab (known online as KaggyFilms) as Schmitt, Corvatz
* Scott Frerichs (known online as KaiserNeko) as Grimlock, Nobuyuki Sugou (Username: Oberon)
* Corinne Sudberg (known online as Megami33) as Lizbeth
* eagle8burger as Sam
* Spencer Downs (known online as MrBuddyVA) as King of Ashes, Dylan (Username: DeezGunz), Shinichi Nagata (Username: Recon), Animatronic Gandalf
* Jane Redd (known online as redasatomato) as Yui
* Hayden Daviau as Sasha, Squeaker
* Logan Laidlaw (known online as BlazingAzureCrow) as Shouzou Yuuki, Jonathan (Username: PantySmasher)
* Lennon Drake as Suguha Kirigaya (Username: Leafa)
* Aaron Robert Parnell (known online as FrozenFrost) as Trevor (Username: Keith)
* Jesse Inocalla as Travis (Username: Cazmer)
* Alexander Katnik (known online as Grimmjack69) as Shoji Yanai
* Bread Breaderson as Denise (Username: Hime Kuronekodesuchan)

### Guest cast

* Howard Wang (known online as TehExorcist) as Diabel
* Sam Ryan (known online as SpriteStuff) as Keita
* Nicole Templeton (known online as NikokoTee) as Sachi
* Alexandra Curtis (known online as puccaagarukiss) as Rosalia
* Caitlin Myers (known online as MOM0KI) as Griselda
* Nick Landis (known online as Lanipator) as Bob
* Anthony Sardinha (known online as AntFish) as Godfree
* AliFluro as Yulier
* Chris Tout (known online as Faulerro) as Thinker
* Kenneth Tynan as Math Tree
* NiptoonVA as RamRod
* Cat Protano as Becky (Username: Eugene)
* MyToasterIsMoist as Kyle

## Episodes
### Season 1 (2013–2017)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Cheesemanjoe | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449, Cheesemanjoe | March 29, 2013 (2013-03-29) |
| SAO's launch doesn't go to plan, when the game's creator pulls a "Tron" and traps his player-base in the game until they can beat every level. ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449, Cheesemanjoe | August 19, 2013 (2013-08-19) |
| Kirito meets a mysterious player who cannot open her menu, and they join a hastily made plan to beat the first Boss. ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449, Cheesemanjoe | December 21, 2013 (2013-12-21) |
| On a very special Christmas episode, Kirito gets taken in by a Guild, half of which consists of NPCs. ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449, Cheesemanjoe | April 9, 2014 (2014-4-9) |
| Kirito begrudgingly helps a young girl save her dead pet, but someone has other ideas. ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449 | December 11, 2014 (2014-12-11) |
| After getting into an argument, Kirito and Asuna witness an impossible death and the two team up to solve it. ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449 | April 22, 2015 (2015-04-22) |
| The truth behind the deaths within the Safe Zone is revealed. ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Episode 7" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449 | July 31, 2015 (2015-07-31) |
| While trying to get a new sword, Kirito meets a shut-in Blacksmith. ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Episode 8" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449 | November 1, 2015 (2015-11-01) |
| Kirito finds himself unexpectedly on a date with Asuna and soon finds himself fighting a creepy bodyguard and a dangerous Boss. ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Episode 9" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449 | March 11, 2016 (2016-03-11) |
| Heathcliff, the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, invites Kirito to join his Guild. ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Episode 10" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449 | August 28, 2016 (2016-08-28) |
| Kirito and Asuna adopt a child. What could go wrong? ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Episode 11" | ? | YamatoSFX, Hayabusa449 | March 28, 2017 (2017-03-28) |
| During the Floor 75 Boss fight, Kirito realizes something about his Guild's leader. ||||||

### Season 2 (2017–)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 12 | 1 | "Episode 12" | ? | YamatoSFX, xbubblemunkyx, Hayabusa449 | December 14, 2017 (2017-12-14) |
| Kazuto returns to his normal daily life, only to find Asuna still hasn't woken up and her life has been entrusted to a disturbing individual. ||||||
| 13 | 2 | "Episode 13" | ? | YamatoSFX, xbubblemunkyx, Hayabusa449 | October 5, 2018 (2018-10-05) |
| Tiffany shares information about a fairy-themed RPG, where images of Asuna's avatar have been leaked. ||||||
| 14 | 3 | "Episode 14" | ? | YamatoSFX, xbubblemunkyx, Hayabusa449 | October 4, 2019 (2019-10-04) |
| Kirito makes a new ally, the role-player Leafa, who offers to help him travel to the World Tree, but she has a secret. ||||||
| 15 | 4 | "Episode 15" | ? | YamatoSFX, xbubblemunkyx, Hayabusa449 | September 25, 2020 (2020-09-25) |
| Kirito, Leafa and Yui set out on their journey. Meanwhile, Oberon tells Asuna that Kirito entered the game. ||||||
| 16 | 5 | "Episode 16" | ? | YamatoSFX, xbubblemunkyx, Hayabusa449 | January 14, 2022 (2022-01-14) |
| In order to earn the favor of some of the fairy leaders, Kirito must reluctantly join them in some role-playing. ||||||
| 17 | 6 | "Episode 17" | ? | YamatoSFX, xbubblemunkyx, Hayabusa449 | May 5, 2023 (2023-05-05) |
| While Asuna tries to escape again, Suguha decides to give her brother a chance. ||||||
| 18 | 7 | "Episode 18" | ? | YamatoSFX, xbubblemunkyx, Hayabusa449 | December 13, 2024 (2024-12-13) |
| With the truth revealed, Kirito and Leafa must learn to understand one another and unite, to face the odds and conquer the World Tree. ||||||

## Reception

The series received a positive critical reception, receiving praise for its improvements to the original's pacing and storylines.