Now that we’re getting down to just days away from the July 5th, 2014 premiere of Sword Art Online II, a new minute long promo has come out which gives us a number of characters moving about but with a few more nods towards Shinon. And it gives us a lot of new animation as well, which is definitely a plus since every little bit draws the fans in all the more.
The series, which will be distributed by Aniplex USA in North America, will be showing up on Hulu, Hulu Plus, Crunchyoll and Daisuki with July 5th, 2014 streaming plans.
Sword Art Online II was announced at the end of the Extra Edition episode as part of the New Year’S Special. The focus of the series, at least to start, will be on the fifth and sixth novels of the series that revolves around the game Gun Gale and specifically the Phantom Bullet Arc. In continuity, the game takes place in 2025 as the game itself becomes the most popular game since SAO went online. The game is a science fiction type that focuses largely on firearms but also delves into other types of weapons as well. One of the characters from the game, Shinon, makes an appearance in the Extra Edition episode.
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka will be reprising his role as Kirito for the series while Miyuki Sawashiro, who playing Shinon in the PSP game Infinity Moment, will be taking on the same role for the anime series. In addition to that, Tomohiko Ito will direct the series for A-1 Pictures while Shingo Adachi has signed on to return as the original character designer.
Plot concept: 1 year after the SAO incident, Kirito is approached by Seijiro Kikuoka from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Department “VR Division” with a rather peculiar request. That was an investigation on the “Death Gun” incident that occurred in the gun and steel filled VRMMO called Gun Gale Online (GGO). “Players who are shot by a mysterious avatar with a
jet black gun lose their lives even in the real world…” Failing to turn down Kikuoka’s bizarre request, Kirito logs in to GGO even though he is not completely convinced that the virtual world
could physically affect the real world.
Kirito wanders in an unfamiliar world in order to gain any clues about the “Death Gun.” Then, a female sniper named Sinon who owns a gigantic “Hecate II” rifle extends Kirito a helping hand.
With Sinon’s help, Kirito decides to enter the “Bullet of Bullets,” a large tournament to choose the most powerful gunner within the realm of GGO, in hopes to become the target of the “Death
Gun” and make direct contact with the mysterious avatar.