Earlier today, the March issue of Kadokawa's Dengeki G's Magazine revealed the sad news that Kiseki Himura's manga adaptation of Reki Kawahara's Sword Art Online: Progressive novels will end in the magazine's next issue on February 28. The series will also have an important announcement and feature on the issue's front cover.
Yen Press publishes the manga in North America, and it describes the story as:
Yuuki Asuna was a top student who spent her days at cram school and preparing for her high school entrance exams - but that was before she borrowed her brother's virtual reality game system and wound up trapped in Sword Art Online with ten thousand other frightened players. As time passes, Asuna fears what will become of her life outside the fantasy realm - the failure she might seem in the eyes of her peers and parents.
Unwilling to wait on the sidelines for more experienced gamers to beat the game, Asuna employs her study habits to learn the mechanics of gaming - and swordplay. Her swiftness impresses Kirito, a pro gamer who invites Asuna to join the best players on the front lines. Is Asuna ready to swap class rankings for player rankings and join Kirito?
The manga adapts Kawahara and abec's Sword Art Online: Progressive novels that feature a revised retelling of Kawahara's original Sword Art Online novels. The story depicts Kirito's journey through the floating Aincrad castle from the beginning, floor-by-floor.
Himura launched the manga in Dengeki G's Magazine in June 2013, and Kadokawa published the manga's sixth compiled book volume last June. Yen Press published the same volume on January 23. Kawahara released the fourth volume of the original novel series in 2015, and the fifth volume will ship on February 10. Yen Press released the fourth novel in English in 2016.
What are your thoughts on the sad news? What do you think the special announcement will be? Are you a fan of the Sword Art Online franchise? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and as always, stay tuned for more news!