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.[6] The series is also streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and FunimationNow.
The English dub of Sword Art Online: Alicization premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block with a special, hour long premiere on February 9, 2019 at 12:30 AM.[1] The series was removed from the block after episode 24 was broadcast on July 13, 2019.[2] The second half of the series, titled "War of Underworld", aired on Toonami from January 18, 2020[3] to April 4, 2020 before being removed again from the lineup after episode 36. The series returned to Toonami on November 7, 2020[4] and completed its run on February 6, 2021.[5] The series is rated TV-MA on Adult Swim.
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...
Characters
Voice Cast
| Character | English Voice Actor | Japanese Voice Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Kirito (Kazuto Kirigaya) | Bryce Papenbrook | Yoshitsugu Matsuoka |
| Eugeo | Brandon Winckler | Nobunaga Shimazaki |
| Alice Zuberg | Kayli Mills | Ai Kayano |
| Asuna Yūki | Cherami Leigh | Haruka Tomatsu |
| Leafa (Suguha Kirigaya) | Cassandra Morris | Ayana Taketatsu |
| Sinon (Shino Asada) | Michelle Ruff | Sawashiro Miyuki |
| Klein | Kirk Thorton | Hiroaki Hirata |
| Silica | Christine Marie Cabanos | Rina Hidaka |
| Lisbeth | Sarah Anne Williams | Ayahi Takagaki |
| Agil | Patrick Seitz | Hiroki Yasumoto |
| Deusolbert | Armen Taylor | Hikaru Hanada |
| Gasupht Zuberg | Jalen K. Cassell | Kanehira Yamamoto |
| Subtilizer | Ted Sroka | Akira Ishida |
| Selka | Jackie Lastra | Kaori Maeda |
| Jink | Ted Sroka | Haruki Ishiya |
| Sister Azalia | Philece Sampler | Kumiko Nakane |
| Ugachi | Armen Taylor | Kōsuke Takaguchi |
| Rinko Koujiro | Jennifer Losi | Sanae Kobayashi |
| Takeru Higa | Brian Beacock | Kenji Nojima |
| Sortiliena Serlut | Jeannie Tirado | Megumi Han |
| Raios Antinous | Steve Staley | Shūhei Iwase |
| Humbert Zizek | Chris Hackney | Ryūichi Kijima |
| Azurika | Julia McIlvaine | Akiko Hiramatsu |
| Sadore | Jason Marnocha | Hisao Egawa |
| Garitta | — | Takehiro Hasu |
| Volo Levantein | Chris Niosi | Taishi Murata |
| Tiese Shtolienen | Kimberly Woods | Kaori Ishihara |
| Ronye Arabel | Deneen Melody | Reina Kondō |
| Charlotte | — | Yōko Honna |
| Frenica Szeski | Skyler Davenport | Miku Itō |
| Eldrie Woolsburg | Ethan Murray | Takeaki Masuyama |
| Cardinal | Lizzie Freeman | Sakura Tange |
| Quinella (Administrator) | Maureen Price | Maaya Sakamoto |
Episodes
| Color | Story Arc | Episodes | Toonami Premiere | Toonami Finale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alicization Beginning | 13 | February 9, 2019 | April 27, 2019 | |
| Alicization Rising | 07 | May 4, 2019 | June 15, 2019 | |
| Alicization Uniting | 04 | June 22, 2019 | July 13, 2019 | |
| Alicization Invading | 05 | January 18, 2020 | February 15, 2020 | |
| Alicization Exploding | 05 | February 22, 2020 | March 21, 2020 | |
| Alicization Awakening | 07 | March 28, 2020 | December 12, 2020 | |
| Alicization Lasting | 06 | January 2, 2021 | February 6, 2021 |
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.[7] The Toonami version was edited to the point that the rape became less attempted and more implied.[8]
Gallery
Broadcast History
The series premiered in Japan on Tokyo MX on October 6, 2018 with a one-hour premiere.[6] 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.[9] The English dubbed version of the first 24 episodes aired on Adult Swim's Toonami block from February 9, 2019 to July 13, 2019.[1][2] The second half of the series began airing on Toonami on January 18, 2020[3] but was removed from the lineup before completion due to a hiatus in Japan. It returned to complete its run from November 7, 2020 to February 6, 2021.[4][5]
- Japan (Tokyo MX) — October 6, 2018[6] - March 30, 2019
- United States (Adult Swim) — February 9, 2019[1] - July 13, 2019; January 18, 2020[3] - April 4, 2020; November 7, 2020[4] - February 6, 2021[5]
Toonami Broadcast History
The English dub 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.[1] 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, the following week (March 23rd). To make up for the glitch, episodes 7 and 8 both aired on March 30th, from 12:30 AM to 1:30 AM.[10] On July 6, 2019, the series moved to the 12:00 AM timeslot.[11]
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.[9] Due to this hiatus, the series was removed from the Toonami block after episode 24 was broadcast on July 13, 2019.[2] The second half of the series, titled "War of Underworld", began airing on Toonami on January 18, 2020, at 12:00 AM.[3] The series went on hiatus in Japan again after episode 36, so after episode 36 aired on Toonami on April 4, 2020, the series was removed from the lineup. The series returned to Toonami on November 7, 2020 at 12:30 AM.[4] On January 9, 2021, the series moved to the 1:00 AM time slot.[12] The series completed its run on Toonami on February 6, 2021 and was replaced in the lineup by Black Clover the following week.[5]
- Toonami (United States) — February 9, 2019[1] - July 13, 2019; January 18, 2020[3] - April 4, 2020; November 7, 2020[4] - February 6, 2021[5]
External Links
See Also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "For all those who have asked about SAO, we’re about to make your day ". facebook.com/Toonami. January 24, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/Toonami/photos/a.1442483259375850/2077733235850846/?type=3&theater. Retrieved on January 24, 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Sorry for the short notice! ". facebook.com/TOONAMI. July 16, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/Toonami/photos/a.1442483259375850/2187942721496563/?type=3&theater. Retrieved on July 16, 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "t’s time to draw your blade – again! ". facebook.com/TOONAMI. January 8, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/Toonami/photos/a.1442483259375850/2331700393787461/. Retrieved on January 8, 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Bust out your planners – Toonami’s got some announcements to make! ". facebook.com/TOONAMI. October 20, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/Toonami/photos/a.1442483259375850/2562005120756986/. Retrieved on October 20, 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Black Clover is bringing back the magic! ". facebook.com/TOONAMI. February 1, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/Toonami/photos/a.1442483259375850/2644258612531636/. Retrieved on February 1, 2021.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "TV Anime Sword Art Online: Alicization Set to Be Aired for Four Cours ". crunchyroll.com. September 10, 2018. https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/09/09/tv-anime-sword-art-online-alicization-set-to-be-aired-for-four-cours. Retrieved on January 24, 2019.
- ↑ "Sword Art Online Episode Censors More Content on U.S.-Based Streaming Services ". animenewsnetwork.com. December 11, 2018. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-12-11/sword-art-online-episode-censors-more-content-on-u.s-based-streaming-services/.140630. Retrieved on January 24, 2019.
- ↑ "Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 10 Rape Scene Nearly Completely Censored On Toonami ". oneangrygamer.net. April 10, 2019. https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2019/04/sword-art-online-alicization-episode-10-rape-scene-nearly-completely-censored-on-toonami/81865/. Retrieved on April 13, 2019.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld Anime's Teaser Reveals October Premiere ". animenewsnetwork.com. March 30, 2019. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-03-30/sword-art-online-alicization-war-of-underworld-anime-teaser-reveals-october-premiere/.145214. Retrieved on May 6, 2019.
- ↑ "We’re really sorry about the Sword Art Online glitch ". facebook.com/TOONAMI. March 18, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2108748096082693&id=1440408039583372&__tn__=%2As%2As-R. Retrieved on March 21, 2019.
- ↑ "Better bring your appetite, because Toonami and Sentai Filmworks are serving up a brand new show on the Saturday night menu! ". facebook.com/TOONAMI. June 27, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/Toonami/photos/a.1442483259375850/2175293802761455/?type=3&theater. Retrieved on June 28, 2019.
- ↑ "Witness the final season of an epic series. ". facebook.com/TOONAMI. December 22, 2020. https://www.facebook.com/1440408039583372/posts/2613240268966804/. Retrieved on December 22, 2020.
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