The world Sword Art Online has spawned a lot of material from that original novel series and it continues to do so. Monthly Comic Dengeki Daoih magazine has revealed that the original light novels are getting a new manga adaptation that begins next month where it’ll cover the Aincrad arc once again, but feature scenes not from the anime and expand from there. The new series has Kimi handling the adaptation artwork.
The 2012 TV series is based on the light novels of the same name by Reki Kawahara. They were directed by Tomohiko Ito with character designs by Shingo Adachi, who served as the chief animation director along with Tetsuya Kawakami with animation by A-1 Pictures.
The Japanese cast includes Haruka Tomatsu as Asuna, Kanae Itō as Yui, Kōichi Yamadera as Akihiko Kayaba, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Kirito, Ayahi Takagaki as Lisbeth/Rika Shinozaki, Ayana Taketatsu as Leafa/Suguha Kirigaya, Hiroaki Hirata as Klein, Hiroki Yasumoto as Agil/Andrew Gilbert Mills, and Rina Hidaka as Silica.
The English cast includes Bryce Papenbrook as Kirito, Cherami Leigh as Asuna Yuuki, Cassandra Morris as Leafa/Suguha Kirigaya, Christine Marie Cabanos as Silica, Kevin M. Connolly as Heathcliff, Kirk Thornton as Klein, Marc Diraison as Akihiko Kayaba, Patrick Seitz as Agil, Sarah Anne Williams as Lisbeth, Stephanie Sheh as Yui, Todd Haberkorn as Oberon/Nobuyuki Sugo, and Xanthe Huynh as Sachi.
Plot Concept: The players of a virtual reality MMORPG, Sword Art Online, are trapped and fighting for their very lives. After it is announced that the only way to leave the game is by beating it, Kirito—a very powerful swordsman—and his friends take on a quest to free all the minds trapped in Aincrad.
[Source: ANN]
