Swords Online Australia

Australian Sword Art Online fans can rejoice, as Sword Art Online II is finally on its way to Australia, thanks to Madman Entertainment and AnimeLab.

According to a report from The Otaku’s Study, Madman Entertainment plans to bring Sword Art Online II, Part 2 to Australia’s shores as of November 18, 2015. Preorders should open beginning September 1 and will be available on both DVD and Blu-Ray for $29.95 and $34.95 AUS respectively.

For anyone who hasn’t seen Sword Art Online II yet, a report from The Fandom Post indicates that AnimeLab will be streaming it as part of their upcoming summer simulcast, along with Absolute Duo, Assassination Classroom, Death Parade, Maria the Virgin Witch, The Rolling Girls, Gangsta, Prison School, Sky Wizards Academy, and PSYCHO-PASS Season 2. Sword Art Online will be one of their few non-FUNimation simulcasts this season (in North America, FUNimation generally handles their own online broadcasting; in Australia, they have a firm relationship with AnimeLab.)

If you haven’t yet seen Sword Art Online II, you’re in for a treat; it’s my favorite of the SAO anime thus far. Be warned, spoilers ahead.

SAO II takes a significant departure from the rest of the series; Kirito, by request of the police, leaves ELO to investigate a series of strange killings that seem to indicate a link between a VR game and real life. Set in the gritty cyberpunk world of Gun Gale Online, it’s kind of a relief to get away from the fantasy and fairies. Fairies and elves, everywhere. Viewers will also hopefully be pleased by Kirito’s new gender-neutral avatar.

Soon after logging in, Kirito meets and befriends a young woman named Sinon, who turns out to be GGO’s top sniper – although the friendship doesn’t last especially long (it’s later renewed, but Kirito ends up on Sinon’s bad side for quite a while.) With Sinon’s help, Kirito manages to equip himself with a “laser sword” (yes, it’s a light saber) and get enrolled in the Bullet of Bullets tournament on his hunt for the mysterious Death Gun; a vaguely-familiar figure from Kirito’s past who seems to be successfully killing people from inside of GGO.

Interestingly enough, the swords are laughed at by players of GGO, but Kirito (and his incredible skills with the sword) make it work. Of course, it’s a little surprising that other Sword Art Online survivors hadn’t done the same; perhaps Kirito really was just that good.