In 2002, when Sword Art Online first came out, it was only a couple of novels telling us about the in-game adventures of a youngin named Kirito. However, the story was so interesting that it soon birthed mangas, films, and TV series.
There have also been spin-offs and even side stories. All these have been happily lapped up by longtime fans. It is however a headache for people just getting to know about the franchise. This is why we have outlined the correct Sword Art Online watch order here.
List of Sword Art Online In Order of Release
- Sword Art Online Season 1 (July to December 2012)
- Sword Art Online: Extra Edition (television film which originally aired on December 31, 2013)
- Sword Art Online Season 2, titled Sword Art Online II (July to December 2014)
- Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale (an animated film featuring an original story by Kawahara released on February 18, 2017, in Japan and on March 9, 2017, in the United States)
- Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online (spin-off anime series which premiered in April 2018)
- Sword Art Online Season 3, titled Sword Art Online: Alicization (aired from October 2018 to September 2020).
- Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (an anime film adaptation of Sword Art Online: Progressive, which premiered on October 30, 2021).
- Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night (the second anime film adaptation of Sword Art Online: Progressive, which premiered on October 22, 2022).
The Correct Order to Watch Sword Art Online
The correct watch order for Sword Art Online is largely the same as the order in which the various films and TV series in the Sword Art Online universe were released.
However, there is a tiny exception. It involves the 2017 movie Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal and the spin-off anime series, Scale Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online (this came out in April 2018.) To watch Sword Art Online in order, one has to see the 2018 TV series first before now going back to see the 2017 movie.
So the correct watch order for Sword Art Online is to start with Sword Art Online Season 1 before moving on to the TV film, Sword Art Online: Extra Edition, and then, Sword Art Online Season 2.
To continue watching Sword Art Online in order, one now has to cue up Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, and then, seasons 3 and 4 of Sword Art Online.
At this point, go ahead to watch the two films, namely Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless and Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night.
Summary of The Correct Sword Art Online Watch Order
- Season 1: Sword Art Online
- Sword Art Online: Extra Edition
- Season 2: Sword Art Online II
- Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
- Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale
- Season 3: Sword Art Online: Alicization
- Season 4: Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld
- Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (2021)
- Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of a Dark Dusk (2022)
Where to Watch Sword Art Online
If you are looking for where to watch a show that you love, please be careful. Do not go to a site that offends the laws. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, you can watch Sword Art Online on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, and Hulu. But hold up! Crunchyroll and Funimation have only three seasons of the show, while Hulu and Netflix have 2.
Do you know the good thing about these platforms? They have the English dub of Sword Art Online. Cool, right?
Fans of Sword Art Online can also buy all four seasons of the series on the Google Play Store. DVD and Blu-ray disk copies of the series are also out.
How Sword Art Online Was Rolled Out
Just as a squid has many tentacles, Sword Art Online has so many parts. You have the novels, mangas, series, movies, etc. Of course, the novel was the point from where it all started. The first Sword Art Online novel came out in 2002 while Sword Art Online Season 1 came out in 2012. Sword Art Online Seasons 2, 3, and 4 came out in 2014, 2018, and 2019 respectively.
The first Sword Art Online movie was a TV film that came out on the 31st of December 2013 titled Sword Art Online: Extra Edition. Other films are Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale (2017), Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (2021), and Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night (2022).
When Does Sword Art Online Take Place?
Sword Art Online is set in the 2020s and the hero Kirito was born in the 2000s.
If you are watching Sword Art Online, you will hear things like virtual reality, AI, and MMOG. This should tell you that the setting is not the olden days but rather the present and future.
When you watch Season 3 of Sword Art Online, you will see an AI named Alice. Alice is an innocent young lady but various bodies want to use her to do evil. It is now Kirito who rescues Alice and keeps her safe.
In the real world, there are also concerns about the Artificial Intelligence race getting out of control, and various countries have set up different mechanisms to checkmate this.
