Sword Art Online Progressive is a series of Japanese young adult novels written by renowned writer Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Abec. It aimed to target children in middle and high school. The books focus on a virtual reality world. As of December 2020, the books have grown to 25 volumes. After a smashing success in the literary world, Ayako Kono, along with A-1 Pictures, decided to bring the novels to the big screens, in the form of Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night, a Japanese animated sci-fi action-adventure film, slated to release on October 30, 2021.
Aria of a Starless Night: Everything We Know So Far
Based on the successful novel series by Reki Kawahara, SAO: Aria of a Starless Night narrates the tale of Akihiko Kayaba, a game developer at Argus, who develops a virtual reality game – SAO. The players will have to wear a device, NerveGear, that covers their entire head to have access to the game. Unfortunately, things turned south when 10,000 players logged into the game but failed to log out without completing the game.
Additionally, suppose a player tries to remove the NerveGear forcefully or dies in the game. In that case, the player will instantly die in the real world because of the shockwaves emitting from the device, which targets your brain. Since the film is ready for a theatrical release, here’s everything we know about the film so far.
Release Date
In Japan, the Ayaka Kono directorial venture is set to release in theatres on October 30, 2021. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, the release date in America and other countries is still unknown.
Characters
Like the novel, the film will focus primarily on the dynamic duo of Kirito and Asuna, portrayed by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka and Haruka Tomatsu, respectively. However, the film will show the entry of a new character, a female scythe-wielder named Mito. Inori Minase will play the character. The English-dubbed voiceover cast of the characters is yet unknown.
Plot
The plot of the story might be similar to the first volume of the book, where the fans will see on-screen why Kirito and Asuna decided to part ways with other players while being stuck in the VR game. How the two loners find each other among 10,000 players, how they developed their relationship, and why they came to be known as ‘Aria of a starless night’ forms the film’s plot.
Worth Waiting?
Since the novel series was a big success, it would be interesting to see how filmmakers bring the magic of original books to the big screen. However, at this point, we can safely conclude that the film is worth waiting for.
Conclusion
Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night was a huge success in Japan and, therefore, has a massive and loyal fan following. Turning a novel into a feature film while keeping its core intact is a big task, and it looks like makers are ready for that challenge. Will they be successful in their challenge, or will they be a failure, only time will tell.
