Viewing order for Sword Art Online: Series, OVAs, and Movies (List of recommendations)
2012 was a year of game-concept animes. Whether you are an anime fan or not, the name SAO, better known as Sword Art Online, might have slipped inside your radar– be it by word of mouth or on the internet.
SAO continues to maintain its popularity and is still being talked about today.
What’s not to adore about SAO? If you are a gamer, then SAO will definitely fit your taste. SAO takes the gaming genre to another level: playing a virtual game will kill you in real life.
It’s thrilling, the plot is good, the animation is top-notch, and the storytelling is superb. Hence, it instantly became one of the most talked about anime during its release. It’s definitely an anime that is worth watching.
If you are into action-packed animation, MMPORG style, the fight scenes are something to look forward to. It adds to the hype factor of the series, even though it’s already been 10 years since it first aired.
Sword Art Online Watch Order By Chronological Order of Events
The best way to stream Sword Art Online is by watching it in chronological order of events.
The plot, if watched by the release date, can be puzzling. Hence, for the best experience, watching the events unfold by following their timeline would be the best.
By watching chronologically, viewers will be introduced to the main characters one by one.
Furthermore, you will get to see different perspectives that are happening in the series.
| Watch Order | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night |
| 2 | Season 1: Sword Art Online (Episodes 1-2) |
| 3 | Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of a Dark Dusk |
| 4 | Season 1: Sword Art Online (Episodes 3-25) |
| 5 | Sword Art Online: Extra Edition |
| 6 | Season 2: Sword Art Online II |
| 7 | Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online |
| 8 | Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale |
| 9 | Season 3, Part 1: Sword Art Online: Alicization |
| 10 | Season 3, Part 2: Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld |
| 11 | Season 3, Part 3: Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld 2nd Season |
Where to Watch Sword Art Online (October 2022)
| US | Hulu, Disney+, Netflix, Funimation |
| Canada | Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation |
| UK | Funimation, Netflix, Crunchyroll |
| Australia | Funimation, Crunchyroll |
SAO can be watched on the aforementioned sites but is mainly found in Crunchyroll and Funimation.
Not all seasons are available on Netflix. Moreover, not all seasons and movies are available on only one streaming site, so it’s better to watch on multiple platforms.
If by chance, the series is unavailable to watch in your country, then you need to use a VPN.
Complete Summary of Sword Art Online Anime
| # of Episodes | 96 |
| Runtime | Approximately 23 to 24 minutes per episode |
| Manga Canon Episodes | 1-49 (Seasons 1 and 2), 1-47 (Season 3) |
| Anime Canon Episodes | 50 |
| Special Episodes (OVA) | 12 |
| Movies | Sword Art Online: Extra Edition (2013), Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale (2017), Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (2021), Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of a Dark Dusk (Upcoming October 2022) |
SAO, or Sword Art Online, is a Japanese light novel by author Reki Kawahara and was illustrated by Abec.
SAO was originally only a web novel on Kawahara’s website spanning from 2002 to 2008. But then he begins to publicize his work on ASCII Media Works’s Dengeki Bunko on April 10, 2009.
With enough source material, a manga adaptation of the SAO web novel was made. It was then serialized and published by ASCII Media Works.
Not long after, in 2012, an anime adaptation of the series was animated by A-1 Pictures.
The SAO franchise received immense recognition and was widely praised by the public, confirming it to be a commercial success. The light novels of the series sold 30 million copies worldwide and had relatively good reviews.
Sword Art Online Complete Anime Synopsis
1. Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night
