According to Oricon, Sword Art Online was the top selling light novel series of 2012, with eight volumes figuring among the top selling light novels.[95][96] It was ranked first in the 2012 and 2013 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! rankings, as well as top ten placement in 2011, 2014 and 2015.[97][98][99][100][101] It was also the second best selling light novel series for the first half of 2016 in Japan, selling 489,374 copies.[102] Sword Art Online: Progressive sold 321,535 copies in the same time period.[102]
Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku hails Sword Art Online as the smartest series in recent years, praising its deep insight on the psychological aspects of virtual reality on the human psyche, its sociological views on creating a realistic economy and society in a massively multiplayer online game setting, and the writing staff's ability to juggle a wide variety of genres within the series.[103] Eisenbeis particularly noted how the romance between Kirito Cosplay Costumes and Asuna is explored bringing "definition to exactly what love is like in a virtual world." However, at the time of this preliminary review, he had only watched the first 12 episodes of the series. He has since gone on to review the second half of the series, lauding its excellent use of plot twists and praising its well written and believable villain. However, he felt that some of the initial positive aspects of the series were lost in the second half, such as the focus on psychological repercussions and social interactions that could be realistically seen in an online game. Criticism was also levied on the aspect of turning Asuna into a damsel in distress, stating that a female lead as strong as her was "reduced to nothing but the quest item the male lead is hunting for." Eisenbeis closes his review of the series by stating in regards to the two halves, "Both, however, are enjoyable for what they are."[104]
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network has criticized the series as having pacing problems and "sloppy writing".[105] Theron Martin criticized the story as struggling "to achieve and maintain the level of gravitas that life-or-death danger should have", while calling it unwilling to Sword Art Online Costumes commit to Kirito's "lone wolf" image.[106] DeviceCritique explains that Sword Art Online influences the virtual reality market to grow, and references the Oculus Rift as a prime example of the starting point of virtual reality. It also praises Sword Art Online for exploring the psychological and social aspects of virtual reality gaming.[107] Adam Facey of The Muse criticized the series, among others, as being sexist and the female characters as being overly sexualized.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
A stage event at the Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival
A stage event at the Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival 2011 revealed that Reki Kawahara's light novels would get video game adaptations.[60] The first Sword Art Online adaptation, titled Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment (ソードアート・オンライン -インフィニティ・モーメント- Sōdo Āto Onrain: Infiniti Mōmento?), was developed by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation Portable.[61] The game follows an alternate storyline, in which a glitch causes Kirito and the other players to remain in Sword Art Online despite defeating Heathcliff, Cosplay Costumes and players from other VMMORPGs such as Leafa and Sinon get sucked into the game themselves.[62] The game was released in both regular and limited edition box sets on March 14, 2013.[63]
Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is a PlayStation Vita game released in Japan on April 24, 2014 rated C on the CERO rating scale.[64][65] Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment takes place in the same alternative storyline as Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment,[66] and it includes all content of "Floor Clearing" from that previous game[67] with the addition of new unexplored "Hollow Area" of Aincrad.[68] The protagonist Kirito will cross swords with Sword Art Online Costumes a mysterious player who would become one of the key characters in the game.[68] The game sold 145,029 physical retail copies within the first week of release in Japan, topping the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week.[69] The game had also been released in Taiwan by Namco Bandai Games Taiwan with Chinese and English subtitles.[70] A digital-only North American, European and Australian release was released in August 2014.
A third video game developed by Artdink[71] and titled Sword Art Online: Lost Song was released in Japan on March 26, 2015[72] on the PlayStation 3 and Vita platforms,[73][74] with an English version being released in Asia.[75] The game's producer revealed in October 2014 that the game is an open-world action RPG featuring an original storyline, set within Alfheim Online, Cosplay Costumes where characters are able to fly.[76] The game sold 139,298 physical retail copies on the PlayStation Vita in addition to another 55,090 units on the PlayStation 3 within its first week of release in Japan, ranking second and sixth place respectively within the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week, narrowly behind Bloodborne taking the top spot.
Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is a PlayStation Vita game released in Japan on April 24, 2014 rated C on the CERO rating scale.[64][65] Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment takes place in the same alternative storyline as Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment,[66] and it includes all content of "Floor Clearing" from that previous game[67] with the addition of new unexplored "Hollow Area" of Aincrad.[68] The protagonist Kirito will cross swords with Sword Art Online Costumes a mysterious player who would become one of the key characters in the game.[68] The game sold 145,029 physical retail copies within the first week of release in Japan, topping the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week.[69] The game had also been released in Taiwan by Namco Bandai Games Taiwan with Chinese and English subtitles.[70] A digital-only North American, European and Australian release was released in August 2014.
A third video game developed by Artdink[71] and titled Sword Art Online: Lost Song was released in Japan on March 26, 2015[72] on the PlayStation 3 and Vita platforms,[73][74] with an English version being released in Asia.[75] The game's producer revealed in October 2014 that the game is an open-world action RPG featuring an original storyline, set within Alfheim Online, Cosplay Costumes where characters are able to fly.[76] The game sold 139,298 physical retail copies on the PlayStation Vita in addition to another 55,090 units on the PlayStation 3 within its first week of release in Japan, ranking second and sixth place respectively within the Japanese software sales charts for that particular week, narrowly behind Bloodborne taking the top spot.
An anime adaptation of Sword Art Online was announced at Dengeki Bunko Autumn
An anime adaptation of Sword Art Online was announced at Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival 2011, along with Reki Kawahara's other light novel series, Accel World.[31] The anime is produced by Aniplex, animated by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tomohiko Ito with music by Yuki Kajiura.[32] The anime aired on Tokyo MX, tvk, TVS, TVA, RKB, HBC and MBS between July 7 and December 22, 2012, and on AT-X, Chiba TV and BS11 at later dates.[33] The Cosplay Costumes series was also streamed on Crunchyroll and Hulu.[34] The anime is adapted from the first four novels and parts of volume eight. The opening theme song for the first 14 episodes is "Crossing Field" by LiSA[35] and the ending theme song is "Yume Sekai" (ユメセカイ?, lit. "Dream World") by Haruka Tomatsu.[36] From episode 15 onward, the opening theme is "Innocence" by Eir Aoi and the ending theme is "Overfly" by Luna Haruna.
The anime has been licensed in North America by Aniplex of America[37] and an English-language dub premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami from July 27, 2013[38] to February 15, 2014. The series was released by Aniplex of America in four DVD and Blu-ray sets, with special extras on the BD sets, between August 13 and November 19, 2013.[39] Manga Entertainment Sword Art Online Costumes released the first series on BD/DVD in the United Kingdom in December 2013,[40] whilst Madman Entertainment released the series in Australia[41] and the English-language version began airing on ABC3 on June 7, 2014.[42] Sword Art Online has been available on Netflix in North America since March 15, 2014.[43]
A year-end special, titled Sword Art Online Extra Edition, aired on December 31, 2013. The special recapped the previously aired anime series and included some new footage.[44] The special's main theme is "Niji no Oto" (虹の音 Sound of the Rainbow?) by Eir Aoi.[45] Extra Edition was streamed worldwide a few hours after its airing in Japan.[46] The two-hour-long special was available on Daisuki worldwide except for French-speaking areas, Cosplay Costumes as well as China and Korea.[46] Daisuki offered subtitles in various languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and German.[46] English-speaking countries, Mexico, Central and South America could also watch the stream on Crunchyroll.[47] Extra Edition was also simulcast in Korea on Aniplus cable channel and in China on the LeTV streaming website.[47] French-speaking countries could watch on the Wakanim streaming website.[47] The Blu-ray Disc and DVD of Extra Edition was released on April 23, 2014 in Japan.[48] The limited edition included a Yui character song titled "Heart Sweet Heart" by Kanae Itō and an original side story written by Reki Kawahara titled "Sword Art Online Niji no Hashi" (ソードアート・オンライン 虹の橋 Sword Art Online Rainbow Bridge?).
The anime has been licensed in North America by Aniplex of America[37] and an English-language dub premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami from July 27, 2013[38] to February 15, 2014. The series was released by Aniplex of America in four DVD and Blu-ray sets, with special extras on the BD sets, between August 13 and November 19, 2013.[39] Manga Entertainment Sword Art Online Costumes released the first series on BD/DVD in the United Kingdom in December 2013,[40] whilst Madman Entertainment released the series in Australia[41] and the English-language version began airing on ABC3 on June 7, 2014.[42] Sword Art Online has been available on Netflix in North America since March 15, 2014.[43]
A year-end special, titled Sword Art Online Extra Edition, aired on December 31, 2013. The special recapped the previously aired anime series and included some new footage.[44] The special's main theme is "Niji no Oto" (虹の音 Sound of the Rainbow?) by Eir Aoi.[45] Extra Edition was streamed worldwide a few hours after its airing in Japan.[46] The two-hour-long special was available on Daisuki worldwide except for French-speaking areas, Cosplay Costumes as well as China and Korea.[46] Daisuki offered subtitles in various languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and German.[46] English-speaking countries, Mexico, Central and South America could also watch the stream on Crunchyroll.[47] Extra Edition was also simulcast in Korea on Aniplus cable channel and in China on the LeTV streaming website.[47] French-speaking countries could watch on the Wakanim streaming website.[47] The Blu-ray Disc and DVD of Extra Edition was released on April 23, 2014 in Japan.[48] The limited edition included a Yui character song titled "Heart Sweet Heart" by Kanae Itō and an original side story written by Reki Kawahara titled "Sword Art Online Niji no Hashi" (ソードアート・オンライン 虹の橋 Sword Art Online Rainbow Bridge?).
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