Sword Art Online Abridged

Sword Art Online Abridged is a Canadian abridged fantasy web-series, parodying the 2012 anime series Sword Art Online.[1] The series was created by Something Witty Entertainment and first aired on March 30, 2013,[1] predating the official English dub of the anime.[a]

Sword Art Online Abridged
Also known as
  • SAO:A
  • SAO Abridged
  • Sword Art Online: Abridged
Genre
  • Action
  • Comedy
  • Fantasy
  • Sci-fi
Based onSword Art Online
Voices of
  • YamatoSFX
  • xbubblemunkyx
  • Jragoswinn
  • Takahata101
  • Octopimp
  • KaggyFilms
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes17
Production
Editors
  • YamatoSFX
  • xbubblemunkyx
Production companySomething Witty Entertainment
Original release
NetworkYouTube
ReleaseMarch 30, 2013 (2013-03-30) –
present

The second season premiered on December 14, 2017, with its final episode in its development stages.

Premise

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The story of Sword Art Online Abridged stays almost the same as the original; the players of Sword Art Online are trapped and the players must beat all 100 floors of Aincrad. If they die in-game or their headset is removed in real life, they die.[2]

However, SAO Abridged changes the character's personalities by a large margin, and creates new storylines.[2][3]

Characters

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  • Matthew J. Kok (known online as YamatoSFX) as Kazuto Kirigaya (Username: Kirito): An SAO beta tester and main protagonist of SAO Abridged. Unlike his original counterpart, Kirito has been shown as narcissistic, arrogant and idiotic.[4]
  • Jon Swinnard (known online as Jragoswinn) as Klein (Username: BallsDeep69): A 'friend' of Kirito. His username has been changed from his original counterpart to 'BallsDeep69', and is a running gag in the series.[4]
  • Carrie Johnston (known online as xbubblemunkyx) as Asuna Yuuki (Username: Asuna): A player of SAO. Many consider her and Kirito's romance to be greatly improved from the original series.[5]

Episodes

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Season 1 (2013–2017)

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No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byOriginal release date
11"Episode 1"JragoswinnMarch 30, 2013 (2013-03-30)
22"Episode 2"?[b]August 19, 2013 (2013-08-19)
33"Episode 3"?December 21, 2013 (2013-12-21)
44"Episode 4"?April 10, 2014 (2014-04-10)
55"Episode 5"?December 11, 2014 (2014-12-11)
66"Episode 6"?April 23, 2015 (2015-04-23)
77"Episode 7"?July 31, 2015 (2015-07-31)
88"Episode 8"?November 1, 2015 (2015-11-01)
99"Episode 9"?March 11, 2016 (2016-03-11)
1010"Episode 10"?August 29, 2016 (2016-08-29)
1111"Episode 11"?March 29, 2017 (2017-03-29)

Season 2 (2017–)

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No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byOriginal release date
121"Episode 12"?December 14, 2017 (2017-12-14)
132"Episode 13"?August 5, 2018 (2018-08-05)
143"Episode 14"?August 4, 2019 (2019-08-04)
154"Episode 15"?September 25, 2020 (2020-09-25)
165"Episode 16"?January 14, 2022 (2022-01-14)
176"Episode 17"?May 5, 2023 (2023-05-05)

Reception

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The series received a positive critical reception,[6][7][8] receiving praise for its improvements to the original's pacing and storylines.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ a b Sword Art Online Abridged (Animation, Action, Comedy), Matthew J. Kok, Carrie Johnston, Mackenzie Murdock, Something Witty Entertainment, 2013-03-29, retrieved 2024-08-19{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ a b Davis, Angela (2022-11-13). "Sword Art Online's Best Storyline Isn't Even Official, It's a Parody". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  3. ^ Donohoo, Timothy Blake (2023-02-13). "Sword Art Online Abridged Is Hilarious - And Better Than the Main Series". CBR. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  4. ^ a b "Sword Art Online Abridged Is A Masterpiece". The Fandomentals. 2020-04-09. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  5. ^ Ceates, Charlie (2018-10-03). "Sword Art Online Abridged: Fixing The Original". CulturedVultures. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  6. ^ Trinos, Angelo Delos (2021-03-30). "10 Abridged Series More Popular Than The Actual Anime". CBR. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  7. ^ Ed (2021-10-24). "Weekly Review: SAO Abridged". Green Coffee Hong Kong. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  8. ^ a b Parbhu, Sanjay (2013-09-12). "You Should Watch Sword Art Online Abridged". CapsuleComputers. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  9. ^ Sword Art Online Abridged (TV Series 2013– ) - IMDb. Retrieved 2024-08-21 – via www.imdb.com.

Notes

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  1. ^ The official English dub premiered on July 27, 2013, on Adult Swim. SAO Abridged's first episode premiered on March 30, 2013.
  2. ^ Director is no longer credited in description from Episode 2.
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