Sword Art Online (2012 TV series)

Sword Art Online is a science fantasy anime series adapted from the light novel series of the same title written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. It was produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tomohiko Itō. It is divided into the "Aincrad" and "Fairy Dance" arcs, respectively adapted from volumes 1, 2 and one story of 8, and 3&4 from the original material. The story of the first season follows the adventures of Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki, two players who are trapped in the virtual world of "Sword Art Online" (SAO). They are tasked to clear all 100 Floors and defeat the final boss in order to be freed from the game. Three months after the death game, Kazuto discovers that Asuna is being held captive in "ALfheim Online" (ALO), a spiritual successor to SAO, where the players assume the roles of fairies. Kazuto enters the game and allies himself with his sister Suguha "Leafa" Kirigaya to rescue Asuna from captivity.
The series aired from July 8 to December 23, 2012, on Tokyo MX, spanning 25 episodes. It was later broadcast by 12 other stations. Aniplex of America announced that the English dubbed version would air on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block starting on July 28, 2013. The first DVD and Blu-ray Disc volumes were released in Japan on October 24, 2012, and it concluded on June 26, 2013, with all nine volumes containing a bonus Sword Art Offline (ソードアート・オフライン, Sōdo Āto Ofurain) episode. In North America, Aniplex of America released the series in four Blu-ray/DVD volumes on August 13, 2013. In Australasia, Madman Entertainment distributed the four volumes in DVD and Blu-ray format. In Europe, Manga Entertainment first released all four volumes on December 16, 2013. A special episode of the anime titled Sword Art Online: Extra Edition (ソードアート・オンライン Extra Edition, Sōdo Āto Onrain Ekisutora Edikushon) was globally released on December 31, 2013. A second season, Sword Art Online II began in July 2014.
Five pieces of theme music were used for the series: two opening themes and three ending themes. For the first 14 episodes, the opening theme song is "Crossing Field" performed by LiSA, and the ending theme is "Yume Sekai" (ユメセカイ, lit. "Dream World") performed by Haruka Tomatsu. The second opening theme, used from episode 15 onwards, is "Innocence" performed by Eir Aoi. While its second ending theme, used from episodes 15 to 24, is "Overfly" sung by Luna Haruna. The third ending theme, "Crossing Field" was used for the final episode. The extra edition's main theme is "Niji no Oto" (虹の音, Sound of the Rainbow) by Eir Aoi. The original score for the series is composed by Yuki Kajiura.
Category:TV Shows