Sword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of the Dark Twilight (Limited Edition) [DVD]

About the Book ★Introduction

The “Sword Art Online” novel series (published by Dengeki Bunko) by Reki Kawahara, winner of the 15th Dengeki Novel Award Grand Prize. Set in the next-generation VRMMORPG *Sword Art Online*, the story follows the exploits of the protagonist, Kirito. Since the release of the first volume of the original novel in April 2009, the series has enjoyed immense popularity, and as of 2023, its cumulative worldwide circulation has exceeded 30 million copies. The first season of the TV anime aired in 2012, and in addition to the four series that have continued to the present day, the movie *Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale* was released in 2017. Furthermore, the franchise has expanded across a wide range of media, including video games and manga adaptations.

*Sword Art Online Progressive* is a reboot series written by the author himself, which delves deeply into and depicts in detail the journey beginning with the first layer of Aincrad— the very origin of the *SAO* story.

In 2021, the series launched as a completely new animated film that reimagines the story from Kirito’s perspective to that of the heroine, Asuna, and depicts a new *Aincrad* arc. The first installment, *Aria of a Starless Night*, debuted at No. 1 on the weekend box office rankings and became a long-running hit across all prefectures for 10 weeks. And in 2022, the sequel, “Scherzo of the Dark Twilight,” is finally set to premiere.

A death game where “Game Over” leads directly to real-world death— The long-awaited second installment of the anime adaptation of *Sword Art Online Progressive*, which traces the story’s origins