Sword Art Online II, Alicization: War of Underworld Part 2 & Alternative: Gun Gale Online

[Ryu]

Title: SWORD ART ONLINE II: Phantom Bullet (Gun Gale Online) & SWORD ART ONLINE: Extra Edition
Japanese: ソードアート・オンラインⅡ ファントム・バレット (ガンゲイル・オンライン) & ソードアート・オンライン Extra Edition
Airing date: 31/12/2013 (2-hour TV special) and 5/7/2014 (TV series second season, 24 episodes)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Science Fantasy, Romance, Harem
Original creator: Reki Kawahara
Original character designer: abec
Director: Tomohiko Ito
Character designers: Shingo Adachi and Yuu Yamashita (S2)
Sub-character designer: Tetsuya Kawakami
Chief animation director: Yuu Yamashita (S2)
Supervising animation directors: Shingo Adachi and Tetsuya Kawakami
Action scene animation directors: Ryuta Yanagi and Takahiro Shikama
Main animator: Atsushi Saito
Monster designer: Ryuta Yanagi
Prop design by: Yuta Tsuchiya, Takahiro Shikama and Shigeru Chiba
Color setting by: Kazuko Nakajima
Art director: Yusuke Takeda and Takayuki Nagashima
Art setting: Yuho Taniuchi
Conceptual art: Sotaro Hori
Directors of photography: Gaku Hirooka and Atsushi Usuda
CG director: Ryuta Kumofuji
Editing by: Shigeru Nishiyama
Sound director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
Effects by: Yasuyuki Konno
Sound production: Ducks Production
Music by: Yuki Kajiura
Music production: Aniplex
Project supervising: GENCO
Produced by: SAO II Project
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Network: Tokyo MX, tvk, TVS, TVA, RKB, HBC, MBS, AT-X, Chiba TV, BS11
Opening theme: "Niji no Oto (虹の音, Sound of the Rainbow)" by Eir Aoi
OP theme (S2): "IGNITE" by Eir Aoi
Ending theme: "Yume Sekai (ユメセカイ, World of Dreams)" by Eir Aoi
ED theme (S2): "Startear" by Luna Haruna

Main cast: Kirito / Kazuto Kirigaya (キリト / 桐ヶ谷 和人) voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Sinon / Shino Asada (シノン / 朝田 詩乃) voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro
Death Gun (死銃 / デス・ガン)
Supporting cast: Seijiro Kikuoka (菊岡誠二郎) voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa
Tamotsu Shigemura / XeXeeD (茂村 保 / ゼクシード) voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya
Yamikaze (闇風) voiced by Gō Shinomiya
Dyne (ダイン) voiced by Satoshi Tsuruoka
Shōichi "Red-Eyed XaXa" Shinkawa (新川 昌一)
Kyōji "Spiegel" Shinkawa (新川 恭二)
Natsuki Aki (安岐 ナツキ)
Pale Rider (ペイルライダー)
Behemoth (ベヒモス)
Uemaru (餓丸)

Asuna Yuuki (アスナ / 結城 明日奈) voiced by Haruka Tomatsu
Leafa / Suguha Kirigaya (リーファ / 桐ヶ谷 直葉 ) voiced by Ayana Taketatsu
Silica / Keiko Ayano (シリカ / 綾野 珪子) voiced by Rina Hidaka
Lizbeth / Rika Shinozaki (リズベット / 篠崎 里香) voiced by Ayahi Takagaki

Extra Edition cast: Yui (ユイ) voiced by Kanae Ito
Klein / Tsuboi Ryōtarō (クライン / 壷井 遼太郎) voiced by Hiroaki Hirata
Andrew Gilbert Mills / Agil (エギル) voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto
Sachi (サチ) voiced by Saori Hayami
Heathcliff / Akihiko Kayaba (ヒースクリフ / 茅場 晶彦) voiced by Kōichi Yamadera
Oberon / Nobuyuki Sugou (オベイロン / 須郷 伸之) voiced by Takehito Koyasu
SAO II PVs (1-4 & 6):
Hollow Fragment and Infinity Moment game sites: http://sao-hf.bngames.net/ & http://sao-im.bngames.net/
Official website and english website:

Synopsis: Yui wants to see a whale with Kirito during an underwater quest in Alfeim Online. During the quest however, it is revealed Leafa cannot swim. Asuna and the other female characters decide to train Suguha in a real-world pool to help her in ALO. Meanwhile, Kirito meets a certain someone.

The special will recap the previously aired anime series and include some new footage. At the end of the special, the TV anime series was confirmed for a second season titled Sword Art Online II. The setting for the third arc of the story, known as GGO for short. It is a virtual game world with a main focus on guns, although melee weapons like lightsabers and knives also exist. From all the games it is the most competitive one as the money earned there can be exchanged for currency used in the real world, drawing high-tier professional players to make a living from it.

QUOTE (labk1ta @ Sep 23 2013, 11:35 PM)sao= need not to say anything. (kyaaaa!)lol thats right just watched the special subbed and as expected most is a recap, what surprised me was to see a PV for s2! can't. wait; Ex: high - PS 8/10

 

[Chrome2183]

Sword Art Online Season 2 will be out in 2014, you can watch a teaser here http://www.swordart-online.net/phantom/#!/ its under Phantom Bullet. Idk if you want to call it season 2 or 3 but they call it call it season 2.
I'm pretty excited.

 

[daedalron]

I'm really looking forward on more info on this second season, especially number of episodes, to get some idea of how far they will animate (only GGO or more ?).

 

[Kid-Wolf]

Okay long story short, the extra edition episode is more or less an 1hr 40 minute recap along with a short story for the core members of SAO here. So pretty much it can be considered half recap, half epilogue episode here if you think about it.

So far with the first episode it pretty much recaped on not only how Kirito managed to save everyone in SAO and ALO, but how he managed to get his harem full of girls, with Asuna as his waifu.

Still to think he would do anything for his daughter Yui, and also his imouto Suguha as well. Not only that but it seems that the ladies are okay with the whole KiritoxAsuna pairing, but that doesn't mean they are giving up on him I'll take it. In any case I expect one of them to try and make a move on him in the next Extra Edition episode, or in the GGO Arc.

 

[Norren]

And Leafa demonstrates singlehandedly why us avid waterbreathers get underwater dungeons to ourselves! I'll never understand how looking out underwater in a video game will make some people feel claustrophobic, but it does.

The way they cleverly worked in the recap episode with Chrysheight being a rat bastard and monopolizing Kirito's time with the girls for an SAO/ALO debriefing was fairly nice.

The recap makes me want to marathon the series and books again, some good memories in this series. I do have to laugh at Asuna blushing at the recollection of 16.5- Even Kawahara Reki was embarrassed by that chapter, he rewrote it recently, it seems.

And finally, as expected, Klein got a faceful of big black man as soon as he got excited about the "scenery".

 

[Knorris908]

QUOTE (Chrome2183 @ Dec 31 2013, 12:01 PM)
I'm pretty excited.

I'm pretty excited about this as well. (And I can't WAIT to see how they portray poor Kirito "in-game", and who's voice they will use!) I'm not saying anything more about that for fear of spoilers... BU I CAN'T WAIT!

 

[Anybody]

QUOTE (Knorris908 @ Jan 04 2014, 11:13 AM) I'm pretty excited about this as well. (And I can't WAIT to see how they portray poor Kirito "in-game", and who's voice they will use!) I'm not saying anything more about that for fear of spoilers... BU I CAN'T WAIT!
Since its still technically "male", just a trap, most likely same VA.

 

[daedalron]

QUOTE (Knorris908 @ Jan 04 2014, 11:13 AM) And I can't WAIT to see how they portray poor Kirito "in-game", and who's voice they will use!
Spoiler on Kirito's voice.
It was explicitly said in the novel that Kirito didn't try to change his voice to make it seem female. Only his appearance changed. So they shouldn't change the voice actor.

 

[Ryu]

QUOTE (daedalron @ Dec 31 2013, 02:09 PM)I'm really looking forward on more info on this second season, especially number of episodes, to get some idea of how far they will animate (only GGO or more ?).sadly I haven't found how long PB will be yet (I guess 24-26 eps) but still I just updated above, it'll be aired this July and new promotional images of its female lead Sinon are up ;/ lol Kirito's same seiyu... not really a spoiler because it was confirmed in the official website since S2 announcement, along Extra Edition ;p oh well it's already feeling like a long wait now that Log Horizon s1 just ended

 

[Anybody]

QUOTE (NecroRyu @ Mar 22 2014, 09:00 AM) sadly I haven't found how long PB will be yet (I guess 24-26 eps) but still I just updated above, it'll be aired this July and new promotional images of its female lead Sinon are up ;/ lol Kirito's same seiyu... not really a spoiler because it was confirmed in the official website since S2 announcement, along Extra Edition ;p oh well it's already feeling like a long wait now that Log Horizon s1 just ended

Phantom Bullet does not need that many episodes.

Chances are PB will be ~15-16 episodes, with the remaining ones being Mother Rosario(so you essentially have half season for kirito and half for asuna), ending the season on a bit of a cliffhanger

 

[Norren]

QUOTE (Anybody @ Mar 22 2014, 08:47 AM) Phantom Bullet does not need that many episodes.

Chances are PB will be ~15-16 episodes, with the remaining ones being Mother Rosario(so you essentially have half season for kirito and half for asuna), ending the season on a bit of a cliffhanger
Is it confirmed for two cour? I'm sort of expecting it to be one cour, if only because I want to see Mother's Rosario animated.

It would be great if we'd get Mother's Rosario and Excalibur arcs, but I'm kind of pessimistic.

 

[Barbobot]

I've heard 1 cour so far, but that's not from something official.

 

[Ryu]

QUOTE (Norren @ Mar 23 2014, 12:57 PM)QUOTE (Anybody @ Mar 22 2014, 09:47 AM)Phantom Bullet does not need that many episodes.

Chances are PB will be ~15-16 episodes, with the remaining ones being Mother Rosario(so you essentially have half season for kirito and half for asuna), ending the season on a bit of a cliffhangerIs it confirmed for two cour? I'm sort of expecting it to be one cour, if only because I want to see Mother's Rosario animated.

It would be great if we'd get Mother's Rosario and Excalibur arcs, but I'm kind of pessimistic.
QUOTE (Barbobot @ Mar 23 2014, 02:05 PM)I've heard 1 cour so far, but that's not from something official.I'm still optimistic that it'll be 2 or even 3 cours (if Excalibur is aired) given how popular was season 1, in case Anybody's prediction comes true I think Mother's rosario will be like 10 or 11 episodes... do you guys know if both arcs are about Gun Gale Online like PB or a new game? btw i just updated more info above, its 2nd key visual and S2's main cast profiles including the antagonist Death Gun

 

[JCDRANZER]

I have to watch those OVAs beforte the 2nd season starts airing.

 

[Ryu]

even though half is only a S1 recap you need to see EE, because is linked to S2 premiering today after Sailor Moon: Crystal... just watched both and for me the Phantom Bullet arc is looking better, more interesting than Fairy Dance so far

 

[Anybody]

Great episode. Its nice to see that they paid more attention at adapting stuff from the novel and its not as rushed. The tone and everything is just right and the animation is damn beautiful.

10/10 so far.

 

[is_darkness88]

just watched ep 1.
after i saw kirito and asuna, i just felt this strange feeling of how much i miss this show.. those couple really bring back memories. Really looking forward for this new arc.

 

[Marine-RX179]

Actually I think it is interesting that now that they are back into the real world, Asuna is still calling him by the name of "Kirito"

 

[Ryu]

QUOTE (is_darkness88 @ Jul 06 2014, 09:01 PM)after i saw kirito and asuna, i just felt this strange feeling of how much i miss this show.. those couple really bring back memories. Really looking forward for this new arc.
QUOTE (Marine-RX179 @ Jul 7 2014, 5:10 PM)interesting now that they are back into the real world, Asuna is still calling him by the name of "Kirito"

lol she's just too used to call him by his username, after many years they spent in Aincrad while hers is the same in RL ;p ...I liked more ep.2 introducing Sinon and guild, after a déjà vu with Silica in ALO looks like we'll see Kiritrap next

 

[Barbobot]

It feels so odd and strange when people are getting so into that shootout and really worried about dying. I'm sure it's an inconvenience, but GGO is just a normal game. It doesn't have the consequences SAO had, but their reactions make it feel that way. Like how Sinon was saying how the minigun guy has the strength to smile on the battlefield. Well it's a goddamn game. If you aren't having fun in a fight like that then what's the point. You're not on a real battlefield. Stuff like that bugs me. SAO had it cause obviously if you died in that you die in real life. ALO felt like it had that a little, but reasonably so, like how the the first time we see Kirito fight the group against Leafa the lone survivor pretty calmly just says "screw this" and leaves.