Sword Art Online: Progressive Releases New Trailer

If you are missing out on Sword Art Online these days, don’t fret too much! The show will back before you know it. Not long ago, it was confirmed Sword Art Online was working behind-the-scenes on a new movie based on the Progressive light novels. Now, a new trailer has been released for the flick in honor of AnimeJapan, and the epic clip shows off Asuna in a whole new light. Oh! And it happens to confirm when exactly fans can expect Sword Art Online: Progressive to hit theaters!

Officially titled Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night, it was confirmed during the special panel for the film at AnimeJapan 2021 that it will be heading for theaters in Japan this Fall. To celebrate the new announcement, the film released a new trailer that shows off much more of what’s to come including a brand new face in the mix, Mito, who will be voiced by Inori Minase. Check out the trailer in the video above!

Directed by Ayako Kawano for A-1 Pictures, Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night will feature returning character designer from the anime series, Kento Toya, Yasuyuki Kai returning as action director, and Yuki Kajiura returning to compose the music for the new feature. Sword Art Online Progressive is a spin-off directly from the original creator himself that explores the Aincrad floors that were initially skipped over in the first series.

It’s also kind of a long one, and Aria of a Starless Night is the first of several major arcs in this series. The subtitle teases we’ll see the full arc in the movie, but for fans who want to check out the original light novels they have been licensed by Yen Press for an English language release. They describe the series as such, “‘There’s no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die…’ One month has passed since Akihiko Kayaba’s deadly game began, and the body count continues to rise. Two thousand players are already dead. Kirito and Asuna are two very different people, but they both desire to fight alone. Nonetheless, they find themselves drawn together to face challenges from both within and without.

Given that the entire virtual world they now live in has been created as a deathtrap, the surviving players of Sword Art Online are starting to get desperate, and desperation makes them dangerous to loners like Kirito and Asuna. As it becomes clear that solitude equals suicide, will the two be able to overcome their differences to find the strength to believe in each other, and in so doing survive? Sword Art Online: Progressive is a new version of the Sword Art Online tale that starts at the beginning of Kirito and Asuna’s epic adventure–on the very first level of the deadly world of Aincrad!”

What do you think of this newest trailer for Sword Art Online Progressive? Excited to check out the next big movie in the franchise? 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!