Tabloid newspaper with goods "SWORD ART ONLINE THE MOVIE Special Issue" to be released on November 25 (Thursday), cover revealed!

The cover visual of the "Sword Art Online the Movie - Progressive - Aria on a Starless Night" special issue, a tabloid newspaper with goods to be released on November 25, 2021 (Thursday), has been revealed.

The "Sword Art Online" series of novels by Reki Kawahara (published by Dengeki Bunko) won the 15th Dengeki Novel Award (Grand Prize). The story, which depicts the activities of the main character Kirito in the next-generation VRMMORPG "Sword Art Online," has been highly popular since the first volume was released in 2009, and as of 2021, the total number of copies sold worldwide exceeds 26 million.

As of October 30, 2021 (Sat), "Sword Art Online the Movie: A Progressive Aria: A Night Without Stars," a new "Aincrad" chapter from the perspective of Asuna, written by the original author, Reki Kawahara, is currently in theaters.

⇒ The next movie version of SAO, which is currently in theaters, is already in the works! Sword Art Online - Progressive - Scherzo in the Dark of the Underworld" will be released in 2022!

⇒ The theme song is "Ouke" by LiSA! The trailer for "SWORD ART ONLINE THE MOVIE - Progressive - Aria on a Starless Night" was released! Reki Kawahara, the author of the original story, and other staff comments have also arrived!

⇒Click here for the screening schedule of the anime film.

The cover visual of the tabloid newspaper "Sword Art Online the Movie: Progressive - Aria the Hoshinaki Yoru no Aria" special issue, which will be on sale on November 25, 2021 (Thursday), has been revealed.

The front page features a newly drawn illustration of the three main characters, Asuna, Kirito, and Asuna's best friend, Mito, side by side, and is used for a large, extractable A1-size poster.

In addition to the must-see illustrations of Asuna, Kirito, and Mito, the book also includes a trilogy of the main cast by Haruka Tomatsu, Sadashijo Matsuoka, and Inori Minase, and staff interviews with producer Masami Niwa, director Ayako Kono, character designer and chief animation director Kento Toya, and music director Yuki Kajiura. The interviews are well worth reading. It also includes comments from LiSA (singer and lyricist) and Ayase (composer), who are in charge of the theme song, as well as a feature page tracing the history of SAO up to the present.

The 16-page tabloid-format, all-color book comes with three cheki-style cards and is priced at 1,000 yen (tax included). It will be sold at Lawson stores nationwide (excluding some stores), specialty anime goods stores, bookstores, and Sports Hochi's EC site "Hochi Entertainment Market (H.O.E.M.)".

Product Information
Sword Art Online the Movie: Progressive - Hoshinaki Yoru no Aria Special Edition

＜Outline of sales
Style: 16 tabloid-format, all-color pages + large A1-size poster with 3 Cheki-style cards
Price: 1,000 yen (tax included)
Sales Locations ：Lawson stores nationwide (excluding some stores), specialty anime goods stores, and some bookstores
Mail order ：Sports Hochi EC site " H.O.E.M. ", etc.
Date of sale: November 25, 2021 (Thursday)

<Contents
Illustrations by Asuna, Kirito, and Mito
Main cast trilogy: Haruka Tomatsu, Sadao Matsuoka, Inori Minase
Staff interview: Producer Masami Niwa, Director Ayako Kono, Character Designer and Chief Animation Director Kento Toya, Music Director Yuki Kajiura
Staff Comment: LiSA (Theme Song), Ayase (Composer)
Previous SAO Special

Film Information

Sword Art Online the Movie - Progressive - Aria: A Night Without Stars

<Release Date>
October 30, 2021 (Sat)～

<Cast
Kirito: Sadajo Matsuoka
Asuna Yuki: Haruka Tomatsu
Mito / Usagiwawa Fukasumi: Minase Inori
Klein: Hiroaki Hirata
Egil: Hiroki Yasumoto
Shirika: Rina Hidaka
Diavel: Hiyama Shuyuki
Kibao: Tomokazu Seki

＜Staff
Original story and story idea : Reki Kawahara ("Dengeki Bunko")
Original illustration and character design idea : abec
Director : Ayako Kono
Action Director & Monster Design: Yasuyuki Kai
Character Design & Chief Animation Director: Kento Toya
Sub-character Design: Aya Akizuki, Tomomi Ishikawa, Keisuke Watanabe
Prop Design: Hisashi Higashijima
Art Director: Yusa Ito
Art Setup: Akihiro Hirasawa
Color Design: Naomi Nakano
Director of Photography: Yuki Oshima
CG Director: Kengo Oda, Hiroshi Nakajima
2D Works: Yohei Miyahara, Kaori Seki
Editing: Kiyoshi Hirose
Music: Yuki Kajiura
Sound Director: Miwa Iwanami
Sound Effects: Yasumasa Koyama
Sound Production: Sonirudo
Produced by EGG FIRM and Straight Edge
Production: A-1 Pictures
Distributor: Aniplex
Production: SAO-P Project

<Music
Ouke" LiSA (SACRA MUSIC)
Lyrics: LiSA / Composition: Ayase / Arrangement: Ryo Eguchi

＜Story
This is the story of "Flash" and "Black Swordsman" before they were called by their names.
Asuna Yuki, a girl in her third year of junior high school who was accidentally covered in Nerve Gear that day, was originally a girl who had nothing to do with Internet games.
On November 6, 2022, the world's first VRMMORPG 《Sword Art Online》 was launched.
However, the players, who had not yet cooled off from the excitement of logging in, were suddenly deprived of the means to log out by the game master, and became trapped in the game world. The game master tells them, "This is a game, but it is not play.
This is a game, but it is not a game.
Death in the game is directly connected to death in reality.
Hearing this, all the players were confused, and the game was filled with screaming. Asuna was one of them, but without understanding the rules of the world, she set out to conquer "Aincrad," a floating castle of steel with no visible top.
As she survives in a world where death is a fact of life and death is a fact of life, a fateful "encounter" comes her way. And then, a parting of the ways.
She is tossed about by the "reality before her eyes," but the one who appears before her, fighting with all her might, is the lone swordsman, Kirito...

＜Introduction
Reki Kawahara, the author of the original manga, has created a completely new animated film version of "Aincrad" from Asuna's point of view.
This is a game, but not a game.
Game over is directly connected to death in real life. Sword Art Online, the death game that started it all, opens anew on the theater screen.

(C)2020 Reki Kawahara/KADOKAWA/SAO-P Project