Sword Art Online Announces Its Next Manga

It looks like Sword Art Online is gearing up for a new manga! If you did not know, the Kadokawa series pushed out a big Sword Art Online update in its latest issue of Monthly Shonen Ace. It was there mangaka Masato Kanetsuki tackled chapter 0 of Sword Art Online’s new manga, and this new series is all about Unital Ring.

For those who don’t know what Unital Ring is, the story arc first appeared under author Reki Kawahara in the Sword Art Online light novels. Now, it is time for Kanetsuki to give their take on the arc in the manga. Kawahara is credited as the creator on the new series while artist abec is listed as the character designer.

As for the Unital Ring arc, you should know this story thread has been a major focus in Sword Art Online. Its prologue appeared in 2017, and as of Kawahara’s latest light novel, the Unity Ring arc is ongoing. The arc has collected more than five light novels to date, and there are more on the way.

The story focuses on Kirito and Asuna in the wake of Sword Art Online: Alicization. A month after Alice showed up in the real world, the trio returns to the Underworld and is very quickly swept into another MMO title named Unital Ring. The game strips Kirito and the gang of their equipment and skills as Unital Ring forces them to start at level one. And from there, the gang must progress through Unital Ring while sussing out secrets behind The Seed program.

Obviously, this manga adaptation will make the Unital Ring arc easily accessible for Sword Art Online fans. Kawahara’s light novels are very popular, but there are definitely fans who prefer Kanetsuki’s manga when it comes to Kirito. This adaptation has also put a renewed focus on the Sword Art Online anime. It has been years since the sci-fi isekai wrapped Sword Art Online: Alicization, and recently, Asuna has led the anime with her Sword Art Online Progressive films. The manga version of Unital Ring will give readers something new to talk about, and that buzz will make it easier for Sword Art Online to pursue new anime projects.

Will you be checking out this new Sword Art Online manga? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

HT – ANN