The Best Order for All ‘Sword Art Online’ Seasons, Movies, Novels And Manga

Sword Art Online is one of those series that has as many haters as lovers. Yet whether you love it or hate it, you cannot deny its status among otakus. The anime might have a cliched plot, and the characters often make questionable decisions, but its execution has won over quite an audience.

Isekai series rarely receive a lot of installments, but SAO has established a formidable franchise, making it even more respectable. So if you want to experience the wonderful game world of SAO, you should try out the anime free of bias.

Sword Art Online has three seasons which consist of 96 episodes, and it has also received four movies. Of course, SAO isn’t devoid of specials and ONAs, but we will discuss them later.

SAO has many time skips, and the narrative jumps from one point to another, thus making it a difficult watch for fun. However, I have arranged the anime by its release and chronological orders just so that you can watch it without getting confused or without skipping anything.

1. Release Order of Seasons and Movies

• Season 1: Sword Art Online (2012)
• Season 2: Sword Art Online II (2014)
• Sword Art Online The Movie -Ordinal Scale-
• Season 3:
  • Part 1: Sword Art Online: Alicization (2018-2020)
  • Part 2: Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld (2019–20)
  • Part 3: Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld Part 2 (2020)
• Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night
• Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of a Dark Dusk

2. Specials

• Sword Art Online: Sword Art Offline (2013)
• Sword Art Online: Extra Edition (2013)
• Sword Art Online: Sword Art Offline – Extra Edition (2014)
• Sword Art Online II: Debriefing (2014)
• Sword Art Online II: Sword Art Offline II (2014)
• Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale – Sword Art Offline (2017)
• Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet: The Third Episode (2018)
• Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online – Refrain (2018)
• Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld Recollection (2019)
• Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld Reflection (2019)
• Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld Reminiscence (2020)

3. ONAs

• Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet: The Third Episode – Pilot-ban (2018)

4. Chronological Order of Sword Art Online

• Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night
• Season 1: Sword Art Online (Episodes 1-2)
• Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of a Dark Dusk (Upcoming October 2022)
• Season 1: Sword Art Online (Episodes 3-25)
• Sword Art Online: Extra Edition
• Season 2: Sword Art Online II
• Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
• Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale
• Season 3, Part 1: Sword Art Online: Alicization
• Season 3, Part 2: Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld
• Season 3, Part 3: Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld 2nd Season

5. Do you need to watch Sword Art Online: Extra Edition?

Sword Art Online: Extra Edition is mostly a recap special with a bit of original content at the end. It has thrown in fan service for good measure so if you want to watch for just that you can. Otherwise, you can skip the special, and you won’t miss anything important.

6. How many seasons does Sword Art Online have?

Sword Art online has three seasons, but on some streaming websites, Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld which is actually the second part of season 3) is referred to as season 4. The actual season 4 is yet to premiere and hasn’t been announced yet. 

7. Where to watch Sword Art Online with English subtitles or dub?

Sword Art Online is available to watch on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix US and Hulu with English subtitles and dub, but the movies can be a bit hard to find.

We have a full list of where to watch each installment right here:

8. Where can you download SAO to view offline?

Several websites offer download options with their different packages, and we have the readymade list right here

9. What to do if Sword Art Online is not available to watch in your region?

A lot of anime are geo-blocked for several countries. If the anime isn’t available on any streaming website in your area, then you can use a VPN to bypass the geo-block.

There are many paid VPN services available, but you also have free options at hand. You can also use free browser extensions VPNs that you will find in the extension store.

If you are accessing streaming websites from your phone, you will find several VPNs from the app store. The important thing is that My Hero Academia is present in catalogs of Funimation, Hulu, Crunchyroll, and Netflix, so set your VPN to a suitable location to access the anime from anywhere.

10. How much time will it take to watch Sword Art Online?

11. Watch Order Conclusion

You should first watch Sword Art Online according to its release order if you do not want to pause the series mid season to switch to another installment. The chronological order, however, is good for keeping a track of the timeline.

SAO has multiple spin-offs and recap episodes, all of which you can skip if you follow the release order. The specials and extras are not important to the actual plot.

Gun Gale Online is also not central to the story, but give it a watch if you have the time for it.

12. Sword Art Online Manga Adaptations Read Order

SAO has received several manga adaptations depending on the novels as well as some original materials. Below is a list of all the manga, along with their volumes:

13. Reading Order of SAO Light Novels

Now who doesn’t know that Sword Art Online originated from a novel series? Well, the entire franchise sprang from this light novel series and to understand the series best, the light novels are a must-read. To keep you on track with SAO, we have compiled the novels by order of publishing and chronology.

I. Publishing Order

• Volume 1: Aincrad
• Volume 2: Aincrad
• Volume 3: Fairy Dance
• Volume 4: Fairy Dance
• Volume 5: Phantom Bullet
• Volume 6: Phantom Bullet
• Volume 7: Mother’s Rosario
• Volume 8: Early and Late
• Volume 9: Alicization Beginning
• Volume 10: Alicization Running
• Volume 11: Alicization Turning
• Volume 12: Alicization Rising
• Volume 13: Alicization Dividing
• Volume 14: Alicization Uniting
• Volume 15: Alicization Invading
• Volume 16: Alicization Exploding
• Volume 17: Alicization Awakening
• Volume 18: Alicization Lasting
• Volume 19: Moon Cradle
• Volume 20: Moon Cradle
• Volume 21: Unital Ring I
• Volume 22: Kiss and Fly
• Volume 23: Unital Ring II
• Volume 24: Unital Ring III
• Volume 25: Unital Ring IV
• Volume 26: Unital Ring V
• Volume 27: Unital Ring VI

Progressive Series

• Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 01
• Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 02
• Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 03
• Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 04
• Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 05
• Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 06
• Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 07
• Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 08

II. Chronological Order

• Volume 1: Chapters 1 – 3
• Volume 8: Chapter 3
• Sword Art Online Progressive Volumes 1 – 8
• Volume 2: Chapter 4
• Volume 2: Chapter 1
• Volume 8: Chapter 1
• Volume 2: Chapter 2
• Volume 1: Chapter 4 – 16
• Volume 22: Chapter 1
• Volume 1: Chapter 17
• Volume 2: Chapter 3
• Volume 1: Chapter 18 – 25
• Volume 3: Fairy Dance
• Volumes 4 – 6
• Volume 8: Chapter 2
• Volume 7
• Volume 9
• Volume 22: Chapters 2 – 4
• Volumes 10– 18
• Volume 19 – 20 (side story to the Alicization arc)
• Volume 21
• Volume 23 – 27

14. Reading Order Conclusion

If you are new to SAO, then it is best that you follow the publishing order for both the manga and light novel. The chronological order for the manga and novel are same since the manga directly adapts from the novel with a few original bits.

The chronological order is for seasoned otakus who are already familiar with the series. You will find that several spinoffs like Gun Gale and Clover Regret are also included in the order, but they are spinofs so feel free to skip them if you are only focused on the main plot.

15. About Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Abec.

The series occurs in the near future and focuses on the protagonist “Kirito” Kirigaya Kazuto and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG worlds.

At the launch of the game, 10,000 people had connected themselves to the virtual reality of Sword Art Online. The plot takes a twist when people realize that they can’t quit the game.

Protagonist Kirito, a pro gamer and was present for the beta launch of SAO, starts planning to clear levels as soon as possible. Throughout his quest to finish the game, he meets many friends and also a love interest, Asuna.

The plot and the whole premise of the show are remarkably unique and quite believable in some futuristic sense.

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