Reki Kawahara is a Japanese author known for the 'Sword Art Online' and 'Accel World' light novel and manga series, both of which have been adapted into anime. (Photo : YouTube/AniplexUS)
Set to hit theaters in the United States on March 9, Thusday, "Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale" is an animated film written by Reki Kawahara and directed by Tomohiko Ito. It features Yuki Kajiura's music and Shingo Adachi's character designs.
The animated film is based on Kawahara's "Sword Art Online" light novel series, which was illustrated by abec. On March 1, the film adaptation had its U.S. premiere in Hollywood, California, which was attended by Kawahara, abec and Adachi.
In the film, viewers will see Kirito and friends going from the NerveGear to Augma. In an interview with Nerd Reactor, Kawahara was asked about the shift from virtual reality to augmented reality.
"To put it briefly, compared to the TV world, I wanted a new angle of storytelling," Kawahara said. "Besides that, for the TV setting, the character you have, the characters pretty much lie in bed with their NerveGear on."
Kawahara explained that the grandeur that takes place somewhere else has always been bothering him. What he wanted, he said, was wanted something that gave much more solid and concrete presence of flesh into the characters.
Also known as Kazuto Kirigaya, Kirito will be joined by 12 other characters. They are Asuna Yuuki, Dr. Shigemura, Eiji, Yuna, Akihiko Kayaba, Yui, Leafa/Suguha Kirigaya, Lisbeth/Rika Shinozaki, Sinon/Shino Asada, Klein/Ryotaro Tsuboi and Agil/Andrew Gilbert Mills.
The film adaptation is set after the events of "Sword Art Online II." In the second season of the anime, Kirito, Asuna, and their friends start playing a new game known as Ordinal Scale or OS, which is based on Augma, a new augmented reality device. Unlike the games they previously played, OS does not have a full-dive function.
In other news, it was recently revealed by the official website of Cure Maid Café that the Akiba cafe will have a collaborative event with "Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale," which will kick off in May. No other details about the collaboration have been revealed aside from the special merchandise promised by the café.
Here is a video featuring more "Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale" spoilers:
