Sword Art Online: Alicization

Sword Art Online: Alicization

Network	Adult Swim (Toonami)
Broadcast Run	February 9, 2019^[1] - Present
Broadcast Time	12:30 AM
Episodes	50 (List of Episodes)

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.^[2] 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.^[1] The series is rated TV-14-LV 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 will be re-aired, in its entirety, on March 23, 2019. To make up for the glitch, episodes 7 and 8 will air on March 30th, from 12:30 AM to 1:30 AM.^[3]

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	—	Rina Hidaka
Lisbeth	Sarah Anne Williams	Ayahi Takagaki
Agil	Patrick Seitz	Hiroki Yasumoto
Deusolbert	—	Hikaru Hanada
Gasupht Zuberg	—	Kanehira Yamamoto
Subtilizer	—	Akira Ishida
Selka	—	Kaori Maeda
Jink	—	Haruki Ishiya
Sister Azariya	—	Kumiko Nakane
Ugachi	—	Kōsuke Takaguchi
Koujiro Rinko	—	Sanae Kobayashi
Higa Takeru	—	Kenji Nojima
Sortiliena Serlut	—	Megumi Han
Raios Antinous	—	Shūhei Iwase
Humbert Zizek	—	Ryūichi Kijima
Azurika	—	Akiko Hiramatsu
Sadore	—	Hisao Egawa
Garitta	—	Takehiro Hasu
Volo Levantein	—	Taishi Murata
Tiese Shtolienen	—	Kaori Ishihara
Ronye Arabel	—	Reina Kondō
Charlotte	—	Yōko Honna
Frenica Szeski	—	Miku Itō
Eldrie Woolsburg	—	Takeaki Masuyama
Cardinal	—	Sakura Tange
Quinella (Administrator)	—	Maaya Sakamoto

Episodes

Color	Story Arc	Episodes	Toonami Premiere	Toonami Finale
	Alicization Beginning	13	February 9, 2019	TBA
	Alicization Rising	TBA	TBA	TBA

The 10th episode of Sword Art Online: Alicization had additional content edits on United States-based streaming services Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu. 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.^[4]