How to Watch Sword Art Online In Order

Sword Art Online is an exciting anime series where video game players get stuck in its virtual reality. Importantly, if they die in the game, they die in real life. If you’re ready to start watching SAO or you’re not sure where to go after Season 1, we’re here to help! In this article, we’re going over how to watch the series in release order and chronological order. We also partnered with anime experts to explain where to watch the series and learn what it’s about. We’ll also let you know if the spin-off series, Gun Gale Online, is a required watch.

SAO Watch Order

The best way to watch Sword Art Online is the order the anime and movies were released in. Start with Sword Art Online, SAO Extra Edition, SAO II, SAO The Movie: Ordinal Scale, SAO: Alicization, SAO: Alicization - War of Underworld, SAO Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night, and SAO Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night.

Section 1 of 9:

Sword Art Online Release Watch Order

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If you’re just getting into Sword Art Online, most people simply recommend watching the series in the order it was released. This includes the three seasons of the anime, plus the movies that have been released. Here’s the release order for the series:^{[1]
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- Sword Art Online (Season 1) — Episodes 1-25 (2012)
- Sword Art Online Extra Edition — Special Episode (2013)
- Sword Art Online II (Season 2)* — Episodes 1-24 (2014)
- Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale — Movie (2017)
- Sword Art Online: Alicization (Season 3 Part 1)* — Episodes 1-24 (2018)
- Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld (Season 3 Part 2)* — Episodes 1-23 (2019)
- Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night — Movie (2021)
- Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night — Movie (2022)
- Note: Sword Art Online Extra Edition is mostly a recap of Season 1, so some people say it’s optional to watch. However, it does include a completely new story towards the end of the episode.^{[2]
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Meet the wikiHow Experts

Richard Moore is an anime expert. He’s known as @ohayokage on social media, where he creates anime and music content for his over 386k followers.

Michael Udayakumar is a pop culture commentator who specializes in making anime and gaming content.

Megan Blue is an anime expert known as TheFangirlWatches online. She shares video essays covering movie analysis, character case studies, and fan theories.

Ed Erskine is an anime expert and podcaster. He founded the Suuuper Anime Podcast, where he and his co-host break down anime series, episodes, and character profiles.

Section 2 of 9:

Sword Art Online Chronological Watch Order

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While the two Progressive movies are the most recent Sword Art Online releases, they are technically set earlier in the series’ timeline. So, some fans like to watch them in chronological order during Season 1. This is really only recommended if you’ve already seen the entire SAO series, as the Progressive movies may contain a few spoilers or seem confusing on your first watch. Here’s how to watch SAO in chronological order:^{[3]
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- Sword Art Online (Season 1) — Episodes 1-2
- Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night — Movie
- Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night — Movie
- Sword Art Online (Season 1) — Episodes 3-25
- Sword Art Online Extra Edition — Special Episode
- Sword Art Online II (Season 2) — Episodes 1-24
- Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale — Movie
- Sword Art Online: Alicization (Season 3 Part 1)* — Episodes 1-24
- Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld (Season 3 Part 2)* — Episodes 1-23

Section 3 of 9:

Do you need to watch Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online?

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Gun Gale Online is a spin-off, so it’s not required, but it does reference SAO. Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online is a separate series that’s set in the same universe as Sword Art Online, but follows different characters and a different story and VR game. Because it’s a spin-off series, the events of the show don’t affect the main series, so you don’t have to watch it to understand SAO.
- However, if you enjoy SAO, definitely check GGO out! It’s a great way to continue exploring the universe, and you’ll catch some fun SAO easter eggs.
- Since GGO is a standalone series, feel free to watch it after you finish the entire SAO series (plus the movies). Alternatively, you can watch GGO before you start SAO!
  - There have been 2 seasons of Gun Gale Online***: Season 1 (Episodes 1-12, 2018) and Season 2 (Episodes 1-12, 2024).

Section 4 of 9:

Where to Watch Sword Art Online

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Watch all seasons and movies of SAO on Crunchyroll. Anime expert Richard Moore advises watching Sword Art Online on Crunchyroll, as it has all three seasons of the anime available for streaming.^{[4]
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Richard Moore
Anime Expert

Expert Interview} Crunchyroll also has the movies and the Extra Edition special episode available to stream. Just know that you need a subscription to start watching.
- The first two seasons are also streaming on Hulu, plus the Ordinal Scale movie and the Extra Edition special episode.
- Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online is also available to stream on Crunchyroll (both seasons).

Section 5 of 9:

What is Sword Art Online about?

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SAO is about a teen who gets stuck in a virtual reality video game. As pop culture commentator Michael Udayakumar explains, the series follows Kazuto Kirigaya (more commonly known as Kirito, his online user name), who’s a beta tester for a virtual reality online role-playing video game called Sword Art Online. When the game finally gets released to the public, he and all of the players get trapped in the game. They learn that if they die in the game, they die in real life. So, Udayakumar says Kirito spends the series trying to beat the game and get everyone out.^{[5]
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Michael Udayakumar
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- Udayakumar says the game follows a tower system, where in each level, the enemies get stronger and stronger. Kirito is trying to reach the top level to beat the entire game.^{[6]
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- Sword Art Online is an action-adventure anime with bits of fantasy and sci-fi mixed in.
- The series also belongs to the isekai genre. As anime expert Megan Blue explains, isekai refers to stories where characters leave their reality and enter another world with all of their memories intact.^{[7]
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  Expert Interview} Anime expert Ed Erskine notes that SAO is responsible for popularizing the genre.^{[8]
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- Blue adds that SAO can ride the line as an isekai anime, as the characters aren’t permanently trapped in their new world.^{[9]
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Section 6 of 9:

What is Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online about?

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GGO is about a teen who enters tournaments in a shooting VR game. Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online follows university student Karen Kohiruimaki, who starts playing the virtual reality online shooting video game called Gun Gale Online. Known as LLENN in the game, Karen primarily starts playing because her character is short and cute. But, she ends up enjoying the game (and gets good at it!) and decides to enter battle tournaments, where she faces off against different teams.^{[10]
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- GGO is an action-adventure anime like SAO, but it’s more comedic and lighthearted (as no one is trapped in the game and at risk of dying in real life).

Section 7 of 9:

Will there be more Sword Art Online?

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A new movie is in the works, and a fourth season is a likely possibility. In 2022, the creators of Sword Art Online announced that a new original movie is going to be released. While there is no set release date and it’s unclear where the movie is currently at in production, it will come out in the near future.^{[11]
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Research source} Due to the popularity of the show, it’s also likely that SAO will get a fourth season, though there’s been no official announcement. Plus, there are still volumes of the manga it’s based on that haven’t been adapted yet.
- There’s no official word if Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online will get a third season, either. GGO is also based on a manga series, and there is still content left that the anime can adapt, though.

Section 8 of 9:

More Anime Watch Orders

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Looking for another anime series to binge? We’ve got you! Check out these other wikiHow articles to learn the best watch orders for other popular series:
- A Certain Magical Index
- Jujutsu Kaisen
- Code Geass
- Naruto
- Made in Abyss