Sword Art Online: Progressive Announces New Manga Spin-Off

Sword Art Online: Progressive has announced a new manga spin-off of the series is on the way! Sword Art Online: Progressive is a special spin-off of the main series written by original series creator Reki Kawahara himself as it shares a much closer look at Kirito and Asuna's respective journeys through the Aincrad floors initially skipped over in that first series. It's got a much deeper look at Asuna's side of the journey as well, and this franchise will soon be making its animated debut with the upcoming feature film Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night.

But this won't be the only new outing for the franchise as a new manga spin-off adapting the Canon of the Golden Rule arc of Sword Art Online: Progressive has been announced to be in the works. Featuring illustrations from Mugetsu, it's going to kick off its run with Dengeki G's magazine on March 30th in Japan. Here's a tease of what that will look like from Dengeki G's official Twitter account:

【新連載告知!!】
アインクラッド第６層攻略開始！
作画に霧月（@mugetsu_illust)氏を迎え、
『ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 黄金律のカノン』、３月30日より電撃G'sコミックにて連載スタート！#SAO pic.twitter.com/mMRbOwlkWd

— 電撃G'sコミック編集部@Ｇコミ (@dengeki_gscomic) March 10, 2021

Canon of the Golden Rule is the sixth arc of the spin-off series, and covers the fifth and sixth volumes of Sword Art Online: Progressive's original light novel releases (so it's probably going to be a while before it's animated like the Aria of a Starless Night arc, if at all). Yen Press has licensed cede novels for a release in North America, and they describe the Canon of the Golden Rule arc as such:

"At long last, Kirito and Asuna have reunited with Kizmel the dark elf, and everything is as it should be...Well, almost everything. As the three continue the Elf War campaign and hunt for the remaining sacred keys, they're met with one surprise after another. Between the assassination attempts, off-script scenarios, and AI that seem a little too lifelike, Kirito can't help but wonder if this is the same game he beta tested! And if that wasn't enough, a shocking development allows the Curse of Stachion questline to finally come to an end-but not before the party receives another unwelcome visit from a PK agitator!"

What do you think of Sword Art Online: Progressive getting a new spin-off manga? Curious to see its upcoming film in action? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!