'Sword Art Online' Celebrates 10th Anniversary In Big Way

As hard as this is going to be for Netflix subscribers who only recently binged their way through Sword Art Online, the franchise is actually celebrating its 10th birthday! According to Comic Book, the franchise has something special planned in honor of the 10th anniversary. What do fans have to look forward to exactly? Keep reading and we’ll explain.

Sword Art Online celebrates 10th anniversary

Once recognized as nothing more than a light novel series written by Reki Kawahara, Sword Art Online has transformed into an explosive franchise. The franchise includes several novels and many spin-offs. But, it is the anime adaptions of the series that really sent the franchise into orbit. Did you know SAO has one of the longest-running anime shows on TV? The franchise also has spin-off shows and movies under its umbrella. So, it goes without saying that there are TONS for Sword Art Online to celebrate in honor of its 10th birthday.

The series kicked off its anime debut back in 2012. Recently, the franchise released a special promo for an event in honor of its 10th anniversary. The announcement was made during AnimeJapan 2022. This special event is slated to take place in Tokyo on November 6th. You can check out the teaser the franchise dropped regarding what to expect down below:

The franchise has big plans, nothing currently airing

Sadly, there is not a new season of Sword Art Online currently airing on TV. But, the most recent season of the series did conclude with the promise that Kirito would return. As Comic Book reminds us, a new movie for the franchise is slated to release in Japan in the Fall. Unfortunately, the franchise has not announced international release dates for the next film just yet.

The teaser for the 10th anniversary special event, however, did tease another project in the works. Turns out, the franchise is also working on yet another video game. As those well-versed in the franchise know, there are already several Sword Art Online video games available for purchase. So, fans are thrilled to learn something new is coming.

Sword Art Online Season 5: Renewed or canceled?

As we previously reported, Sword Art Online has not officially been renewed or canceled for Season 5 just yet. But, Season 4 did come to an end with the promise that the main character would return. So, fans could only take this to mean that a Season 5 would eventually happen. Considering the extreme popularity of this series, it seems unlikely the franchise would pull the plug on it just yet.

Do you want to go to Tokyo for the special 10th anniversary event? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. And, keep coming back for the latest anime news!