Sword Art Online: Alicization

Sword Art Online: Alicization is a Japanese anime series adapted from the light novel series of the same name, written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. Alicization, the third installment in the Sword Art Online anime franchise, is produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Manabu Ono. Alicization spans 50 episodes and covers the original light novel series from the 9th volume "Alicization Beginning" to 18th volume "Alicization Lasting." Alicization premiered in Japan on Tokyo MX, Tochigi TV, Gunma TV, BS11, and MBS on October 6, 2018 with a 1-hour special. The series is also streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and FunimationNow.

The English dubbed version of Sword Art Online: Alicization premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block with a special, hour long premiere on February 9, 2019 from 12:30 AM – 1:30 AM. The series is rated TV-PG-DLSV, TV-14-LV, and TV-MA-SV on Adult Swim.

On March 16, 2019, episode 6 of Alicization began to air on Toonami in its usual time slot. However, shortly thereafter the broadcast began to experience technical difficulties. In response, Adult Swim immediately went to commercial to try to fix the issue. When Alicization resumed, it experienced the same problem, so eventually the episode was skipped and Megalo Box began airing ahead of schedule. However, in order to get back on schedule, instead of letting the entire episode of Megalo Box play out, it instead started over at its regular start time of 1:00 AM.

Episode 6 of Alicization was re-aired, in its entirety, on March 23, 2019. To make up for the glitch, episodes 7 and 8 aired on March 30th, from 12:30 AM to 1:30 AM. On July 6, 2019, the series moved to the 12:00 AM timeslot.

The series went on hiatus in Japan, after episode 24 aired on March 30, 2019, with the second half of the series set to premiere in October of 2019. Due to this hiatus, the series was removed from the Toonami block after episode 24 was broadcast on July 13, 2019. The second half of the series, titled "War of Underworld", began airing on Toonami on January 18, 2020, at 12:00 AM.

Plot
Before he knows it, Kirito has made a full-dive into an epic, fantasy-like virtual world. With only a murky recollection of what happened right before he logged in, he starts to wander around, searching for clues. He comes upon an enormous, pitch dark tree (the Gigas Cedar), where he encounters a boy, Eugeo. Although he is supposedly a resident of the virtual world – an NPC – the boy shows the same array of emotions as any human being.

As Kirito bonds with Eugeo, he continues to search for a way to log out of this world. Meanwhile, he remembers a certain memory deep down within him. He remembers racing through the mountains with Eugeo as a child. A memory that he should not have in the first place. In this memory, he sees someone other than Eugeo, a young blond girl. Her name is Alice. And it is a name that must never be forgotten...

Episodes
The 10th episode of Sword Art Online: Alicization had additional content edits on United States-based streaming services Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu, as well as on Toonami. However, Aniplex's France-based streaming platform Wakanim did not. The episode features subtle black bar shades over violent and sexual scenes, as per normal anime broadcast standards in Japan. However, the version on the U.S. services had some extra changes to a scene of attempted rape. Some cuts of animation in this scene were removed, and some were zoomed in so that less is visible. Funimation has stated that its version originated from the licensor, Aniplex. The Toonami version was edited to the point that the rape became less attempted and more implied.

Broadcast History
The series premiered in Japan on Tokyo MX on October 6, 2018 with a one-hour premiere. After episode 24 aired on March 30, 2019, the series went on hiatus. The second half of the series, titled War of Underworld, premiered in October of 2019. The English dubbed version of the first 24 episodes aired on Adult Swim's Toonami block from February 9, 2019 to July 13, 2019. The second half of the series began airing on Toonami on January 18, 2020, at 12:00 AM
 * Japan (Tokyo MX) — October 6, 2018 - March 30, 2019
 * United States (Adult Swim) — February 9, 2019 - July 13, 2019; January 18, 2020 - Present