Sword Art Online Reveals Updated ‘War of Underworld’ Opening Theme

Sword Art Online‘s third season is now well into the second half of its huge Alicization arc, and War of Underworld is getting more intense with each new episode thanks to the bloody war between the human and dark territories. But the latest episode of the series has started a new phase as the “Alicization Exploding” era of the third season begins. To commemorate this new phase, Sword Art Online has unveiled an update to the current opening theme sequence. This new opening is still “Resolution” as performed by Haruka Tomatsu, but eagle-eyed fans will notice a few new additions.

Unlike the first opening theme which teased that Asuna would be making her way to the Underworld someday, the updates to the opening have revealed this in full as it gives fans a look at the shake-ups coming in the next half of the arc. Check it out below thanks to @gamerturk95 on Twitter:

Not only does the updated opening theme tease that Kirito will be back in action in the future, it also reveals new looks at Asuna, Sinon and Suguha as they make their way to the Underworld. Their looks were first revealed in full for some special Blu-ray art for the collector’s release in Japan, but it’s another thing to see it in action in the actual anime. Given that Kirito’s in trouble and the Integrity Knights have their hands full with the dark army, the arrival of Asuna and company will be welcome indeed.

If you wanted to jump back into the series, you can currently find Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation, HIDIVE, and Hulu. War of Underworld is described as such, “Kirito, Eugeo, and Alice. Six months have passed since the two disciples and an Integrity Knight brought down the pontifex, Administrator. With the fighting over, Alice has been living in her hometown of Rulid Village. Beside her is Kirito, who has not only lost his arm and soul, but also his dear friend.

As Alice devotes herself to looking after Kirito, she too has lost the will to fight she once had as a knight. “Tell me, Kirito… What should I do?” Nevertheless, the time for the final stress test – one which will engulf the entire Underworld with tragedy – draws relentlessly closer. Meanwhile, in the deepest areas of the Dark Territory, the Dark God Vecta has resurrected, as if to have waited for this very moment. Leading an army of dark forces, they begin their invasion into the human empire in hopes of attaining the Priestess of Light.

The human empire force led by the Integrity Knight Bercouli prepares for a war of an unimaginable scale against the army of the Dark Territory. Even then, Alice is nowhere to be seen, nor the two heroes that saved the realm… The curtain rises on the final chapter of the SAO series’ longest and most glorious battle – the Alicization arc.”