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LiSA Performs Theme Song For Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale Film

The official website for the Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale anime film announced on Saturday that LiSA will perform the film's theme song "Catch the Moment." LiSA's 11th single, which will feature the song, will ship on February 15.

LiSA previously performed the opening theme song for the first Sword Art Online television anime series and the second ending theme song for the Sword Art Online II sequel series.

The film will open in Japan on February 18 in 150 theaters. Kadokawa had announced in October that the film would be "simultaneously released worldwide on February 18, 2017.” The film's staff previously confirmed that the film will screen in about 1,000 theaters worldwide.

Aniplex of America will host a premiere event in Hollywood, California on March 1, before a wider theatrical release across North America. The company describes the movie's story:

In 2022, the world of virtual reality was upended by the arrival of a new invention from a genius programmer, Akihiko Kayaba, called NerveGear. It was the first full-dive system, and with it, came endless possibilities to VRMMORPGs.
In 2026, a new machine called the Augma is developed to compete against the NerveGear and its successor, the Amusphere. A next-gen wearable device, the Augma doesn't have a full-dive function like its predecessors. Instead, it uses Augmented Reality (AR) to get players into the game. It is safe, user-friendly and lets users play while they are conscious, making it an instant hit on the market. The most popular game on the system is “Ordinal Scale” (aka: OS), an ARMMORPG developed exclusively for the Augma.
Asuna and the gang have already been playing OS for a while, by the time Kirito decides to join them. They're about to find out that Ordinal Scale isn't all fun and games...

The film will feature a returning cast from the previous two anime series, including:

• Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Kirito
• Haruka Tomatsu as Asuna
• Rina Hidaka as Silica/Keiko
• Ayahi Takagaki as Lisbeth/Rika
• Miyuki Sawashiro as Sinon/Shino
• Hiroaki Hirata as Klein/Ryotaro
• Kanae Itō as Yui
• Ayana Taketatsu as Leafa/Suguha
• Hiroki Yasumoto as Agil/Andrew
• Kouichi Yamadera as Akihiko Kayaba

The film's all-new original story takes place after the Mother's Rosario arc, which was the final arc depicted in the TV anime's second season. Original light novel author Reki Kawahara is writing the new story for the film. Tomohiko Ito is returning from the two TV anime series and the anime special to direct the film at A-1 Pictures. Shingo Adachi is also returning from the TV anime to design the characters based on abec's original character designs, and Yuki Kajiura is returning to score the music.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web