Sword Art Online Looks Back on the Past With New Aria of a Starless Night Trailer

Sword Art Online is looking back on how far the anime has come with a new trailer for Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night! The end of the massive Alicization saga left the Sword Art Online anime franchise in quite the pickle as the light novels are currently still shaping the next major arc of the series, Unital Ring, so instead the adaptation took a different approach. Taking on Reki Kawahara's official side series, Sword Art Online Progressive, the anime will be branching out into a new movie that explores the very first arc of the series in a new way. 

Sword Art Online Progressive is Kawahara's special look back on the events of Aincrad in a much slower pace than seen in the original version of the series. Instead of skipping through multiple floors, Progressive shines much more of a closer light on Asuna and Kirito's journeys through the floors while introducing new characters, threats, stories and more. Now the first arc of this side series, Aria of a Starless Night, will be getting its own showcase with this upcoming movie. To get a better feel for this going back in time, check out the newest trailer in the video above! 

This trailer for Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night looks back on some of the biggest moments in the anime before teasing how Asuna's going to take on a tough challenge in the movie, but it's also a good example of how Sword Art Online Progressive shows off the Aincrad arc in a new light. There's more of a look on Asuna's side of the events with this series, and more fleshing out of some of the changes that had occurred during the time jumps in the original. 

With this being the first arc of the Progressive side series, it does beg the question of how much this new movie will actually cover and whether or not this will be the direction for the anime franchise in the coming years until the original light novel is back on track. We'll see soon enough as Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night releases in theaters in Japan on October 30th, with a release in the United States planned in the future! But what do you think so far? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!