Sword Art Online Essence: Games and Anime
It is not uncommon for anime fans to also enjoy gaming. This is not at all surprising when we take a look at the history of both and realize they have a lot in common. Japanese video games were always quite popular. This makes a lot of sense seeing as some of the oldest/biggest video game companies are Japanese (Nintendo).
Today, quite a few anime-inspired games exist, but also many anime adapt video game storylines. In the past year, we’ve witnessed the rise of Genshin Impact, a game heavily inspired by anime culture. Among the games that received an anime adaptation in recent years are Seven Knights Revolution: Hero Successor, Scarlet Nexus, and Hortensia Saga.
It honestly makes sense that anime fans, who enjoy fantasy and use games as a relaxation/escape technique, would also enjoy SAO and other series with similar plots. Of course, they don’t have to be isekai, but as explained in the article, it does help if they share some common elements.
SAO also takes an in-depth approach to future technology development, by posing some interesting questions. Full-dive technology is definitely something we should all look forward to. And it’s not just SAO that uses a form of this – Overlord, Full Dive, BOFURI, and many more also incorporate the idea to their storyline.
Sword Art Online and Isekai
We can see that SAO truly shares similarities with a lot of isekai anime that came out during the past decade. The commercial success of some of these stories had probably helped make the genre more popular.
What gives weight to SAO is the possibility of actual death, something most stories about video games don’t have. While isekai in general is usually a do-over, some of them can get quite dark.
Sword Art Online is not an isekai, but it may as well be. Each season brings us a different world, although the characters stay the same. Later seasons also pose some interesting moral questions. Combined with the fantasy setting and various new worlds, the viewers are always offered something new and fresh.
Sword Art Online Synopsis
In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called: Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game’s tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now…
Crunchyroll
All screenshots via Crunchyroll and Funimation
©川原 礫／アスキー・メディアワークス／SAO Project
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