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Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online

Blurring the line between the virtual and the real.

20128.24 Seasons96 EpisodesEnded

Overview

In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now...

Created by Reki Kawahara
Written by Reki Kawahara
Produced by Ryutaro Kawakami, Takaaki Yuasa, Masami Niwa
NetworksGunma TVTokyo MXtvkBS11Tochigi TV

Top Cast

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Kirito (voice)

Haruka Tomatsu

Haruka Tomatsu

Asuna (voice)

Hiroaki Hirata

Hiroaki Hirata

Klein (voice)

Ai Kayano

Ai Kayano

Alice Synthesis Thirty (voice)

Rina Hidaka

Rina Hidaka

Silica (voice)

Hiroki Yasumoto

Hiroki Yasumoto

Agil (voice)

Isshin Chiba

Isshin Chiba

Critter (voice

Kaori Maeda

Kaori Maeda

Selka (voice)

Taku Yashiro

Taku Yashiro

Iskahn (voice)

Yuhko Kaida

Yuhko Kaida

Dee Eye Ell (voice)

Themes & Keywords

video gameartificial intelligence (a.i.)based on novel or bookmagicfairytraumavirtual realityfriendshipsword fightromancesurvivalgamedeath matchalternative realityshooting gameanimesword and sorcerymmorpgisekaivirtual worldlove polygongunstrapped in a gamefantasydeath gamebased on light noveladventureadmiringteen fantasyvrmmodungeon crawling

About Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online is a animation, sci-fi & fantasy, action & adventure series that first aired in 2012 exploring themes of video game, artificial intelligence (a.i.), based on novel or book, magic, fairy, trauma. Created by Reki Kawahara, it stars Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Haruka Tomatsu, Hiroaki Hirata. In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now...

Shows Similar to Sword Art Online

Discover shows like Sword Art Online — ranked by similarity and community votes

We found 15 shows similar to Sword Art Online

If you enjoyed Sword Art Online, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, creator filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of Sword Art Online.

Log Horizon
34% Match

Log Horizon(2013)

TV Show7.7/10

One day, while playing the online game Elder Tales, 30,000 players suddenly find themselves trapped in another world. There, eight-year veteran gamer Shiroe also gets left behind. The trapped players are still alive, but they remain in combat with the monsters. The players don't understand what has happened to them, and they flee to Akiba, the largest city in Tokyo, where they are thrown into chaos. Once proud of his loner lifestyle, Shiroe forms a guild called Log Horizon with his old friend Naotsugu, female assassin Akatsuki and others.

No Game No Life
31% Match

Bored with life and considering the real world to be just a “crappy game,” savvy sibling shut-ins Sora and Shiro have withdrawn into their own fantasy world filled with video games. However, one day they find themselves summoned to another world by a boy who calls himself “God,” their abilities are about to be put to the ultimate test! Now not only their fates — but the fate of all of humanity — will be decided by a series of games that may just be the hardest these super-geniuses have ever faced!

Accel World
30% Match

Accel World(2012)

TV Show7.6/10

A short, overweight student uses the Neuro Link, an evolution of the Nerve Gear, to escape himself from the reality. But his skills in the virtual world brings him to the attention of Kuroyukihime, a popular student who introduces him to the Brain Burst.

Btooom!
30% Match

Btooom!(2012)

TV Show7.4/10

Sakamoto, an unemployed young man, is one of the world's top players of an online fighting game called Btooom! One day, he wakes up on what appears to be a tropical island, although he doesn't remember how or why he got there.

Overlord
30% Match

Overlord(2015)

TV Show8.5/10

In the year 2138, virtual reality gaming is booming. Yggdrasil, a popular online game is quietly shut down one day. However, one player named Momonga decides to not log out. Momonga is then transformed into the image of a skeleton as "the most powerful wizard." The world continues to change, with non-player characters (NPCs) beginning to feel emotion. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man Momonga then strives to take over the new world the game has become.

BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.
30% Match

Kaede Honjou is invited by her friend Risa Shiramine to play a virtual reality MMO game with her. While Kaede doesn't dislike games, what she really, truly dislikes is being in pain. She creates a character named Maple, and decides to put all her points in VIT to minimize pain. As a result, she moves slowly, can't use magic, and even a rabbit can get the best of her. But as it turns out, she acquires a skill known as "Absolute Defense" as a result of her pumping points into VIT, as well as a "Counter Skill" that works against special moves. Now, with her ability to nullify all damage, she goes on adventures.

I'm Standing on a Million Lives
30% Match

Ninth grader Yotsuya Yuusuke is practical, friendless, and not active in any clubs. Then one day, he and two female classmates are suddenly sent to another world where they must work together to battle for their lives. Yotsuya is a lone wolf and has always lived his life according to his wants, but how will that work out now that he’s supposed to be a hero?!

Shangri-La Frontier
29% Match

Rakuro Hizutome only cares about one thing: beating crappy VR games. He devotes his entire life to these buggy games and could clear them all in his sleep. One day, he decides to challenge himself and play a popular god-tier game called Shangri-La Frontier. But he quickly learns just how difficult it is. Will his expert skills be enough to uncover its hidden secrets?

Fate/Extra Last Encore
28% Match

Waking up in a strange virtual world with no recollection of the past, Hakuno finds himself forced to fight for survival in a war he does not understand for a prize beyond value; the opportunity to have one's wish granted. With only an enigmatic "Servant" by his side, Hakuno Kishinami will have to face both friends and foes in battles to the death in order to not only gain possession of a mysterious object known as the "Holy Grail," but also to find the answer to the most important question of all: "Who am I?"

Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier Than Real Life!
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In an unexpected turn of events, dull high school student Hiro Yuuki obtains the full dive role-playing game Kiwame Quest. Created by the best of technology, the game claims to take "reality to its extremes," from stunning graphics, NPCs' behavior, to the scent of vegetation, and even the sensation of wind brushing against the skin—everything was the result of an ultimate workmanship. Except, the game is a little too realistic and messy to clear. Kiwame Quest features over ten quadrillion flags and reflects the players' real-life physical abilities in the game. Being hit in the game also hurts in real life and slash wounds take days to heal. The only reward here is the sense of accomplishment. Conquer the most stressful game in history that can't be played casually!

Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody
28% Match

29-year-old programmer Suzuki Ichirou finds himself transported into a fantasy RPG. Within the game, he's a 15-year-old named Satou. At first he thinks he's dreaming, but his experiences seem very real. Due to a powerful ability he possesses with limited use, he ends up wiping out an army of lizard men and becomes a high leveled adventurer. Satou decides to hide his level, and plans to live peacefully and meet new people. However, developments in the game's story, such as the return of a demon king, may cause a nuisance to Satou's plans.

Skeleton Knight in Another World
27% Match

One day, a gamer played video games until he fell asleep...and when he woke up, he found himself in the game world—as a skeleton! Equipped with the powerful weapons and armor of his avatar but stuck with its frightening skeletal appearance, Arc has to find a place for himself in this new, fantastical land. All his hopes for a quiet life are dashed when he crosses paths with a beautiful elven warrior, setting him on a journey full of conflict and adventure.

In Another World with My Smartphone
27% Match

Touya Mochizuki was accidentally killed, and as an apology, God allows him to be reborn in a fantasy world and will grant him any one wish he desires. And so, Touya chooses to keep his smartphone in the next world. In his second chance at life, he befriends many important figures and comes across the world's secret. He inherits the legacy of an ancient civilization and travels around nonchalantly while possessing powers that rival this world's kings.

She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man
27% Match

Kagami Sakamori was one of the top players in the VRMMO Ark Earth Online as Danblf, a veteran summoner with the gravitas to match his elite status. When he falls asleep playing one day, he's transported to a world where the game is reality—but instead of his all-powerful avatar, he's stuck in the body of a cute young girl! He can't let anyone know that this little cutie is really Danblf, so he takes the name “Mira” and claims to be Danblf's disciple. If this gets out, he'll never live it down!

A Playthrough of a Certain Dude's VRMMO Life
25% Match

Taichi Tanaka is just an ordinary 38-year-old who enjoys video games. He starts a new virtual reality multiplayer game called One More Free Life Online, naming his character Earth. Unlike his fellow players, he decides to master the most menial of skills in the game. He cooks the finest meals, overbrews complicated potions, and hunts monsters with handmade weapons. His fantasy life begins!