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Sword Art Online Voice Actors, Musicians Celebrate Day the Game Launched In-Universe
posted on by Kim Morrissy
On November 6, 2022, the fictional Sword Art Online VRMMORPG launched within the series' universe. The anime's voice actor and musical staff held a three-hour event commemorating this date, filled with musical performances and emotional vignettes about the characters. This event also celebrated 10 years of the Sword Art Online anime.
The "Sword Art Online -Full Dive-" event at the Tokyo Garden Theater kicked off with a lavish opening animation produced by A-1 Pictures. It shows the main characters of the Aincrad arc right before they put on the Nerv Gear and begin their fateful adventure in the Sword Art Online game.
This was immediately followed in the real world with a model of the Aincrad castle lifting into the ceiling—a grandiose start. Then Kirito and Asuna's voice actors walked on stage and began a live reading session without any preamble. It was a story set during their time in the SAO world, about Kirito trying to find a birthday present for Asuna. Although he struggles to think of a present, she tells him that she appreciates hanging out with him, and the two share a comfortable moment together.
Most of the stories performed throughout the event shared a birthday theme. Characters would pair up (Kirito/Asuna, Kirito/Eugeo, etc.) to celebrate one of their birthdays. Each story was arranged in chronological order, following the emotional journeys of the characters over the years. The final story centered on Kirito's 18th birthday, an event which has been alluded to but has yet to take place in the light novels.
[spoilers for the Sword Art Online: Progressive films to follow, highlight the white text to read] Notably, Mito, the anime-original character in the Progressive films, received several stories, alluding to her fate after the trilogy. She drops out of the front lines and survives the events of the game, but tells Asuna that she is still depressed about her failures. Later, she attends Kirito's 18th birthday party, displaying a more mellowed personality.
Another notable story includes [spoilers for the Sword Art Online anime and light novel series to follow, highlight the white text to read] Kirito and Asuna reuniting with their departed friends Eugeo and Yuuki inside the deepest part of the fluctlight, where the world's memories are stored. Although they do not meet in the real world, they sincerely hope that they do end up truly meeting again someday.
Between stories, the opening and ending theme song artists would perform their songs from the anime. Composer Yuki Kajiura also showed up to perform several iconic tracks from the soundtrack alongside a small orchestra and choir.
There were some surprises along the way. Partway through the event, a virtual 3D model of Yuna from the Ordinal Scale film appeared and began flying around the stage as she sang her insert song "longing." It was the perfect way of celebrating the legacy of her actress Sayaka Kanda, who is sadly no longer with us. LiSA, who performed the opening theme "crossing field" from the anime's first season, appeared right at the end as an unannounced surprise guest and rocked the stage.
Overall, it was a very satisfying event for fans of the series, effectively recapping the emotional highs of the story alongside marvelous musical and visual spectacles. Finally, the staff announced a "brand-new original film project" at the event, indicating that there are still plenty more adventures yet to come in the Sword Art Online world. Link Start!
Source: Sword Art Online -Full Dive- event livestream
