"Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale" animated film has announced its U.S. release date. The all-original film will premiere in California on March 1, 2017. Presale of tickets will start on Nov. 15. As reported previously, the film will be simultaneously released in 1,000 theaters worldwide on Feb. 18, 2017 including 150 theaters in Japan.
According to the "Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale" movie website, the film is set after events in "Sword Art Online" season 2. The plot reveals that in 2026, a new device called the Augma is developed. Unlike the NerveGear and the Amusphere, it does not have a full dive function but uses the so-called Augmented Reality (AR). The Augma is far more superior than its predecessors. It looks like a small pair of headphones that transmits data to the players while they are awake.
It became a hit because it is safer and more user friendly. Kirito and the gang will play the most popular game created especially for Augma titled "Ordinal Scale." The main feature of the game is its "Ranking System" which determines the players' rank using ordinal numbers. However, they will soon learn the game is not as safe as and fun as it seems.
The series' original author, Reki Kawahara, wrote the story for the film which takes place after the Mother's Rosario arc, according to Anime News Network. The production team and cast from the anime series will be going back to work on the "Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale." Tomohiko will be the director, Shingo Adachi is in charge of character design while Yuki Kajiura is returning to score the music.
The returning cast members include Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Kirito, Haruka Tomatsu as Asuna, Rina Hidaka as Silica/Keiko, Ayahi Takagaki as Lisbeth/Rika, Kanae Itō as Yui and Ayana Taketatsu as Leafa/Suguha. Other cast members are Miyuki Sawashiro as Sinon/Shino, Hiroaki Hirata as Klein/Ryotaro, Hiroki Yasumoto as Agil/Andrew and Kouichi Yamadera as Akihiko Kayaba.
