You just watch S1, S2, Ordinal Scale and Alicization — Extra Edition is skippable.
Alternative can be watched after the first arc of S2, while Progressive can be watched after S1.
Sword Art Online is a fairly controversial anime. It has its fair share of fans but also a good number of haters. Its reputation changed many times over the years. In 2012, it was seen as a new and exciting thing. Years later, it was criticized for being generic and full of plotholes.
By now, a lot of content is out, and most people stopped caring completely — but ultimately, fans agree that it’s not that bad.
Still, many people want to get into the franchise — to see how it influenced anime or just to see what all the hype was about. However, it can be easy to get confused by the sheer number of releases. So, how exactly are you supposed to watch it?
It’s Mostly Straightforward
As usual, you should start with the very beginning — that is the first season of Sword Art Online that came out in 2012. There’s an alternative take on the first arc of it, but we’ll get to it later.
After Season 1 (but before the second), you can watch Sword Art Online: Extra Edition. It’s a long OVA which is 75% just recapping the events of the first season, but there are some extra fanservice scenes, as well as a filler plot. It’s ultimately skippable, though, and most fans don’t even care if you skip it: it’s just that unimportant.
After Extra Edition, of course, you watch Season 2 — Sword Art Online II. After that point, however, the watch order becomes a little tricky.
The movie that came out after S2, Ordinal Scale, was initially presented as an anime-original movie. As such, you’d assume it’s a filler with no impact on the story. And yes, it didn’t progress the story by itself: you can start Alicization without watching it. Still, some elements from the movie were included in the later parts of Alicization, so you are still supposed to watch it.
Alicization is a new installment — a major arc that is split in two parts (the second part, War of Underworld, is further split in two). It fully concludes the main story, and is fairly different from the rest of the series — fans tend to either love it or hate it.
What About the Spin-Offs?
Besides these, there are also spin-offs. Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online is a spin-off LN written by another author (with the original author’s permission, of course) which focuses on the same game as the first arc of S2, Gun Gale Online. It can be watched anywhere after that point, and a sequel is coming out soon.
SAO Progressive is a series of novels that rewrite the first arc, showing it in far more detail and without skipping the progressions between floors of the game.
The start of it was adapted into two movies, though you’re not supposed to watch them before you finish S1. The anime adaptation of Progressive is unfinished, and it spoils some major plot twists.
When are you supposed to watch the Progressive movies?
You just watch S1, S2, Ordinal Scale and Alicization — Extra Edition is skippable.
Alternative can be watched after the first arc of S2, while Progressive can be watched after S1.
Sword Art Online is a fairly controversial anime. It has its fair share of fans but also a good number of haters. Its reputation changed many times over the years. In 2012, it was seen as a new and exciting thing. Years later, it was criticized for being generic and full of plotholes.
By now, a lot of content is out, and most people stopped caring completely — but ultimately, fans agree that it’s not that bad.
Still, many people want to get into the franchise — to see how it influenced anime or just to see what all the hype was about. However, it can be easy to get confused by the sheer number of releases. So, how exactly are you supposed to watch it?
It’s Mostly Straightforward
As usual, you should start with the very beginning — that is the first season of Sword Art Online that came out in 2012. There’s an alternative take on the first arc of it, but we’ll get to it later.
After Season 1 (but before the second), you can watch Sword Art Online: Extra Edition. It’s a long OVA which is 75% just recapping the events of the first season, but there are some extra fanservice scenes, as well as a filler plot. It’s ultimately skippable, though, and most fans don’t even care if you skip it: it’s just that unimportant.
After Extra Edition, of course, you watch Season 2 — Sword Art Online II. After that point, however, the watch order becomes a little tricky.
The movie that came out after S2, Ordinal Scale, was initially presented as an anime-original movie. As such, you’d assume it’s a filler with no impact on the story. And yes, it didn’t progress the story by itself: you can start Alicization without watching it. Still, some elements from the movie were included in the later parts of Alicization, so you are still supposed to watch it.
Alicization is a new installment — a major arc that is split in two parts (the second part, War of Underworld, is further split in two). It fully concludes the main story, and is fairly different from the rest of the series — fans tend to either love it or hate it.
What About the Spin-Offs?
Besides these, there are also spin-offs. Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online is a spin-off LN written by another author (with the original author’s permission, of course) which focuses on the same game as the first arc of S2, Gun Gale Online. It can be watched anywhere after that point, and a sequel is coming out soon.
SAO Progressive is a series of novels that rewrite the first arc, showing it in far more detail and without skipping the progressions between floors of the game.
The start of it was adapted into two movies, though you’re not supposed to watch them before you finish S1. The anime adaptation of Progressive is unfinished, and it spoils some major plot twists.
