Sword Art Online
Image via Crunchyroll

How to start watching Sword Art Online – SAO Watch Order

If you die in the game, you die in real life!

We’re in the age of the VRMMO anime, whether we like it or not. It’s debatable where this trend started; it could be that .Hack//SIGN (which began airing in 2002) could be responsible, but things didn’t really start to kick off until Sword Art Online (SAO) started airing in 2012.

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Sword Art Online follows Kirito and Asuna, two players of a VRMMO known as Sword Art Online who are, along with many, many others, trapped inside the game. It’s an evergreen premise, given the amount of other anime that have been made on the back of SAO, including Log Horizon, Accel World, and more. 

But, as the franchise has been in production for over 20 years now, there are more people than ever who want to see what all the fuss has been about, but who don’t know how. So, let’s go over the best watch order for the Sword Art Online anime. This will only cover the currently available anime seasons and films, so anything not adapted into anime at the time of writing this will not be included.

How to start watching Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online
Image via Crunchyroll

Sword Art Online (E1 — E25)

First up is the original season of Sword Art Online. It covers Kirito and Asuna’s experience in Aincrad, or the game called Sword Art Online. Starting in episode 15, the focus shifts from Sword Art Online to Alfheim Online, and the story starts to go a little off the rails. But it’s still good. It’s just strange. 

Sword Art Online II
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Sword Art Online II (E1 — E24)

Sword Art Online II covers the next trilogy of story arcs: Gun Gale Online, Excalibur, and Mother’s Rosario — and unfortunately, they are not all created equally. If you were to ask me, skip episodes 15 through 17; they aren’t relevant to anything else, and it is an absolute slog to get through them. 

Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale
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Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale

Ordinal Scale is an original film set between the events of SAO II and Alicization, so it’s best to watch it here. It shifts from a VRMMO focus to an ARMMO focus, and introduces a new character, Yuuna. 

Sword Art Online Alicization
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Sword Art Online: Alicization (E1 — E47)

Sword Art Online: Alicization encompasses two full seasons, Sword Art Online: Alicization, which is the first season of 24 episodes, and Sword Art Online: Alicization — War of Underworld, which is the second season of 23 episodes. In this season, Kirito volunteers to test a new Full-Dive tech called “Soul Translator,” and is forced to live within the government-sponsored VRMMO environment, Underworld. 

Sword Art Online
Image via Crunchyroll

Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night / Scherzo of a Deep Night

I place both this film and its sequel at the end because Sword Art Online Progressive is a reimagining of the original Aincrad arc from Asuna’s perspective. As such, you could either watch it after having seen everything else, or you could watch it immediately after the Aincrad arc in the original anime.

Sword Art Online Alternative
Image via Crunchyroll

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online (E1 — E12)

Last, but certainly not least — I think it’s arguably better than most of the franchise — we have Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online. This is a spinoff of the series based on light novels written by Keiichi Sigsawa, the mind behind the Kino’s Journey light novels. It’s set in Gun Gale Online and follows Llenn, who participates in the Bullet of Bullets tournament. This one is immediately relevant because a second season was announced earlier in 2023. 


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Author
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James Herd
Staff Writer — James has been playing video games for as long as he can remember. He was told once that video games couldn't be a career, so he set out to prove them wrong. And now, he has.