Any Sword Art Online: Progressive fans here wanting to see Asuna Yuuki star in her own anime film? Well, Funimation is about to grant your wish. They even have a new promotional trailer for us to celebrate the occasion:

Ah, a film about the real heroine of the story. Now if only Kirito wasn’t present for this.

Funimation is officially announcing that they will release Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night, starting with the promotional trailer above on YouTube. The trailer also revealed some key details about the theatrical release of this anime film. The most important is that we get to see it in theaters and IMAX on December 3, 2021. Tickets will go on sale on November 5, 2021.

Other key details about the theatrical release of Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night include that the December 3 release date will be for US and Canadian theaters. Australia and New Zealand theaters will see a December 9, 2021 release date. UK, Ireland, and Latin America theaters will have to wait a bit for the release date. The theatrical release will be in both Japanese audio with English subtitles for the purists, and English dub for those who want a new experience. For more information on this anime film, check into saop-anime.com. You can find more news there.

Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night ~ Details

Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night key art.
Ah, clever trick with the reflection.

You might ask what Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night is all about? Well, it’s the anime film adaptation of the Sword Art Online: Progressive light novels by Reki Kawahara, who is also the creator of the main series. The light novels basically tell the story of the Aincrad arc, but from the perspective of Asuna Yuuki. Technically, it also tells more of Kirito’s story, but Asuna is the main focus. The official synopsis from Funimation goes as follows:

This is a tale of the time before “Lightning Flash” and “The Black Swordsman” were known by those names… 

The day that she happened to don the NerveGear, Asuna Yuuki was a third-year middle school student who’d never even touched an online game before. On November 6, 2022, the world’s first VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online, is officially launched. But the players, still euphoric over having logged in, suddenly find themselves trapped inside the game when the Game Master deprives them of any way to log out.

The Game Master then gives them this warning “This may be a game, but it’s not something you play.” If a player dies in-game, they die in the real world. 

Hearing this, all of the players panic, and pandemonium reigns. One of those players is Asuna, but despite not yet knowing the rules of this world, she sets off to conquer the floating iron castle, Aincrad, whose peak is too high to be seen. As the days go by in this world where death is never very far away, she has a fateful encounter. And then, a parting…

Though she’s at the mercy of the reality before her eyes, Asuna fights on with all her might until someone appears before her: the aloof swordsman, Kirito…

For the anime film, A-1 Pictures produced it, with Ayako Kōno directing. The cast so far is as follows:
Kirito: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Japanese voice); Bryce Papenbrook (English voice)
Asuna: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese voice); Cherami Leigh (English voice)
Mito: Inori Minase (Japanese voice)

Conclusion

Funimation is officially bringing Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night to NA. This anime film spinoff of the SAO anime will debut in US and Canadian theaters and IMAX on December 3, 2021. December 9, 2021 will see its release in Australia and New Zealand. UK, Ireland, and Latin America will have to wait a bit for their release date. The anime film will be in both Japanese with English sub, and English dub. If you’re a fan of SAO, or if you’re a fan of sci-fi anime in general, you might want to give this a look.

Source: Funimation, Aniplex USA YouTube, saop-anime.com