It's hard to tell whether director Tomohiko Ito is serious or just trolling when he states on Twitter that Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale's bath scene might reveal Asuna's nipples. Such a reveal isn't exactly out of the ordinary in anime so it's hard to just dismiss Ito's comments outright.
When Ito revealed on Twitter that the film's home video release would be slightly improved, sound editor Yoshikazu Iwanami asked if there would be a nip-slip, to which Ito revealed that the scene was actually animated with Asuna's nipple's covered and exposed and that they opted for the more family-friendly version for the theatrical release. Ito's final comments on the subject was that fans would have to buy and watch the blu-ray to determine for certain whether the blu-ray contained the more X-rated version (so it's entirely possible that he's just trolling).
Aniplex of America and Eleven Arts previoulsy screened a limited run in North American theaters on April 22, following the film's February 18 release in Japan.
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...