Sword Art Online

Anime Blog Posts That Caught My Eye This Week: July 14, 2017

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

This list is going to be longer than usual, since I posted last week’s list early. But there really were a lot of great blog posts over this past week, and here are the ones that stood out to me.

Here’s some blog posts talking about the Summer 2017 simulcast season:

And here’s a blog post taking a final look back at the Spring 2017 simulcast season:

These blog posts touch on several different topics that are connected with anime:

Here’s some blog posts talking about anime that’s not current, but these are titles I’ve also reviewed in the past. I like sharing others’ perspectives on topics I’ve already touched on:

And Karandi at 100 Word Anime continues the 30 Day Anime Challenge. I’m not linking to all of the posts from the challenge; instead, I’m just highlighting the ones that interested me:

Sword Art Online The Movie -Ordinal Scale- Grosses $1.35 Million in Its First Four Days of North American Release

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

Aniplex of America has announced that Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale- has grossed $1.35 million during the first four days of its North American run. The film set an opening weekend record for an Aniplex of America theatrical release, and has played in 560 theaters nationwide.

“I am honored that so many SAO fans came out and supported the film,” said Hideki Goto, President of Aniplex of America. “Ordinal Scale has become a smash hit worldwide and has garnered some wonderful reviews from critics. We hope that our dub release next month will bring the same excitement and lead to more people being able to enjoy this wonderful film.”

Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale- will return on April 22, 2017 for a limited theatrical engagement featuring the dub. Tickets for this screening are available via the official website (www.sao-movie.net/us).

Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale English Dub Screenings Begin in the United States on April 22, 2017

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

Aniplex of America has opened ticket sales for English-dubbed screenings of the Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale anime film. The dub will screen in U.S. theaters on April 22, 2017; however, some theaters are listed with screenings on April 23, 2017. Azoland Pictures is distributing the film.

The dub will premiere at the Anime Boston convention, which will be held from March 31-April 2, 2017.

The English cast for the film includes:

  • Bryce Papenbrook is Kirito / Kazuto Kirigaya
  • Cherami Leigh is Asuna / Asuna Yuuki
  • Stephanie Sheh is Yui
  • Cassandra Lee Morris is Leafa / Suguha Kirigaya
  • Christine Marie Cabanos is Silica / Keiko Ayano
  • Sarah Anne Williams is Lisbeth / Rika Shinozaki
  • Michelle Ruff is Sinon / Shino Asada
  • Kirk Thornton is Klein
  • Patrick Seitz is Agil
  • Matthew Mercer is Seijirou Kikuoka
  • Marc Diraison is Akihiko Kayaba
  • Ryan Bartley is Yuna / Yuuna Shigemura
  • Chris Patton is Eiji / Eiji Nochizawa
  • Taylor Henry is Tetsuhiro Shigemura

Aniplex of America hosted a premiere event with English subtitles in Hollywood, California on March 1, 2017, and followed it with a one-night wide release in the United States on March 9, 2017. The film will screen in Canada on March 17-19, 2017.

Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale opened in Japan on February 18, 2017, and sold about 308,376 tickets for 425,762,760 yen (about US$3.76 milion) in its opening weekend.

Source: ANN

Aniplex of America to Host Sword Art Online Festival at Anime Expo 2016

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

Aniplex of America is announcing that they will be hosting the Sword Art Online Festival at this year’s Anime Expo to celebrate the worldwide release of Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale- in 2017. This exclusive event will be on July 2nd, 2016, (Day 2 of the convention) in Petree Hall (Live Programming 1) and features 11 members of the English dub cast from the series including: Bryce Papenbrook (Kirito), Cherami Leigh (Asuna), Cassandra Lee Morris (Leafa), Stephanie Sheh (Yui), Michelle Ruff (Sinon), Ben Diskin (Death Gun), Christine Cabanos (Silica), Sarah Williams (Lisbeth), Patrick Seitz (Agil), Kirk Thornton (Klein) and Erica Mendez (Yuuki) along with Alex Von David (ADR Script Writer/Director) as the MC. Aniplex of America has also confirmed that they will be welcoming some secret guests who will only be revealed at the event.

The Sword Art Online Festival will feature a wide variety of live entertainment by the cast members, such as live line readings, games, and bloopers. Fans who attend the event will also receive an exclusive giveaway item while supplies last. Details of the giveaway item will be announced at a later date.

“We are excited to bring the Sword Art Online Festival to the fans at this year’s Anime Expo,” says Hideki Goto, President of Aniplex of America. “Every year, our English cast panels are extremely well received by the attendees so we really wanted to wow them this year with a super-charged version of the panel.”

Aniplex of America also plans to make a special announcement regarding Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale- at this event.

Anime Film Review: Sword Art Online: Extra Edition

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

Sword Art Online: Extra Edition is a television anime film for the Sword Art Online franchise that aired on Japanese television on December 31, 2013. Aniplex of America holds the North American distribution license for the film.

Out of the 100 minute runtime for Sword Art Online: Extra Edition, roughly 80 minutes of it is devoted to reused footage from the first season of the series that make up the flashbacks that various characters have. Kirito is talking to an investigator that is looking into what happened while he was in both the Sword Art Online and Alfheim Online games. The female characters, meanwhile, are teaching Suguha how to swim and they share their memories of meeting Kirito in Sword Art Online. The only new animation to appear in the first 80 minutes is the footage that was created to bridge the flashbacks.

To me, the first 80 minutes of the film were rather boring, and the newly animated footage did nothing to help make up for the fact that most of that time is made up of footage previously seen in the anime series. When it comes to the scenes with the girls at the pool, it felt like they were there more for “fanservice” than anything else.

The final 20 minutes of the movie actually have a story to them, although it’s not enough to make up for the previous 80 minutes. It’s during these last 20 minutes that we learn why the girls were trying to teach Suguha how to swim: they, along with some of their friends, are going to an underwater dungeon to undertake a quest in the hopes that Yui can see a whale.

While these last 20 minutes had some kind of a story, roughly the first half of it was simply Kirito, Asuna, and the others lounging around a beach in Alfheim Online. The quest itself only lasts for about 10 minutes, and feels rushed. For me, it wasn’t a satisfying way to end the movie after I had spent 80 minutes being bored by it.

After watching Sword Art Online: Extra Edition, I came to the conclusion that it really isn’t necessary for someone to watch this in order to understand Sword Art Online II. It’s not something that viewers of Sword Art Online have to watch, and it’s something I would only recommend to viewers who absolutely must watch everything that’s been released for the Sword Art Online anime. Outside of those die-hard fans, it’s not a film I can truly recommend to anyone as a “must see.”

Sword Art Online Film to Take Place After Mother’s Rosario Arc

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

The December 2015 issue of Kadokawa’s Dengeki G’s Comic magazine has revealed that the Sword Art Online anime film’s all-new original story will take place after the Mother’s Rosario arc, which was the final arc depicted in the TV anime’s second season.

The Mother’s Rosario arc in Reki Kawahara’s original light novel series covers volume 7 of the series. The second half of the anime’s second season also covered the Calibur arc, which took place in volume 8 of the light novel series, but aired in the second season before the Mother’s Rosario arc.

Kawahara is writing a new story for the film. Tomohiko Ito is returning from the two TV anime series and the anime special to direct the film at A-1 Pictures. Shingo Adachi is also returning from the TV anime to design the characters.

Source: ANN

Sword Art Online Anime Film Project Announced

Posted on by Lesley Aeschliman

A stage event at the Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival 2015 event has revealed that Reki Kawahara’s Sword Art Online light novel series is inspiring a new anime film.

The film project will be a completely new anime work, and Tomohiko Ito is returning from the two TV anime series and the anime special to direct the film at A-1 Pictures. Shingo Adachi is also returning from the TV anime to design the characters. Kawahara is writing a new story for the film.

Kadokawa will reveal more information about the film in the next issue of Dengeki Bunko Magazine on October 10, 2015.

Source: ANN