Is a third season of Sword Art Online on the way? Will fans finally see the Alicization arc in anime format? Or is there another, original movie adaptation in the works?
What would be even more surprising is if the anime shifted gears for SAO Progressive - the manga reboot of the original light novel series from Kawahara Reki. In Progressive, greater emphasis on how Kirito and the rest of the gamers progressed through each of the Aincard dungeon floors, whereas the light novel series and anime sort of skipped from the first few dungeon floors up to floor 50, when Kirito and Asuna discovered the secret identity of Kayaba. The manga series also recounts what happened when Kirito and co. went back to Aincard and cleared floors 51-100 after Kayaba's defeat.
Whether it's another original movie like Ordinal Scale, a continuation of the TV anime with the Alicization arc or a soft-reboot with an adaptation of SAO Progressive, just knowing that more Sword Art Online is on the way has seemingly renewed interest within the anime community.
Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale KEY STAFF:
Animation Studio: A-1 Pictures
Director: Tomohiko Ito
Script Supervisor: Reki Kawahara
Character Designer: Shingo Adachi
SWORD ART ONLINE LIGHT NOVEL ARCS:
Aincard arc
Fairy Dance arc
Phantom Bullet arc
Calibur arc
Mother Rosario arc
Alicization arc
In 2022, the world of virtual reality was upended by the arrival of a new invention from a genius programmer, Akihiko Kayaba, called NerveGear. It was the first full-dive system, and with it, came endless possibilities to VRMMORPGs.
In 2026, a new machine called the Augma is developed to compete against the NerveGear and its successor, the Amusphere. A next-gen wearable device, the Augma doesn't have a full-dive function like its predecessors. Instead, it uses Augmented Reality (AR) to get players into the game. It is safe, user-friendly and lets users play while they are conscious, making it an instant hit on the market. The most popular game on the system is “Ordinal Scale” (aka: OS), an ARMMORPG developed exclusively for the Augma.
Asuna and the gang have already been playing OS for a while, by the time Kirito decides to join them. They're about to find out that Ordinal Scale isn't all fun and games...