It has been a long time coming, but Sword Art Online is finally ready to make a big comeback this year. After releasing its first movie, the franchise will return to the screen come April when its spin-off series Gun Gale Online is released. Come October, Sword Art Online will then move forward and release its third season. And, as you might expect, the anime's staff has plenty to say about its awaited comeback. Recently, the directors of Sword Art Online came together at Anime Japan 2018 to promote the anime's return. Aniplex of America has shared its exclusive interview with season three's director Manabu Ono and former director Tomohiko Ito. The pair had plenty to say about the future of Sword Art Online's anime and how season three will tackle the fan-favorite 'Alicization' arc. So, you can check out what the pair had to say about the series' return in the following slides! For those unfamiliar with Sword Art Online, the series was originally created by Reki Kawahara with illustrations provided by abec. The series follows a boy named Kirito after he and thousands of gamers get trapped in a virtual reality video game known as Sword Art Online. The gamers must band together to defeat the game’s final level to escape, but Kirito and his guild learn there is more behind their prison than they were originally told. The series began as a series of light novels published through Dengeki Bunko in 2009, and has been adapted into eight different manga series by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. The series has been licensed for an English language release by Yen Press, and has been adapted into an anime series by A-1 Pictures. Its first season aired in 2012 and ran for 25 episodes, while its second season, Sword Art Online II, aired in 2014 and ran for 24 episodes. The series currently gearing up for its next big arc in the light novel series, "Unitial Ring," and the next season of the anime is set to adapt "Alicization. Will you be binging the anime's third season once it goes live? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

Question 1 (Photo: © 2017 REKI KAWAHARA/KADOKAWA CORPORATION AMW/SAO-A Project) At last, an anime adaptation of Sword Art Online: Alicization has been officially announced. First of all, Mr. Ito, please tell us how you felt when you first heard the news. Ito: Since I’d already read all the light novels online to prepare for the anime series, I already knew about the Alicization arc before we started work on the first season. But even then my thought was that it was going to be hard to bring it to the screen. Of course, I did think it would be great if SAO could be adapted all the way to the Alicization arc... So the whole time I was working on the final scene of the movie, I was thinking, “I don’t know who’s going to be in charge, but here, take this baton from me." prevnext

Question 2 So that’s what you were trying to convey in that last scene of Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale-. Now, then, Mr. Ono, please tell us how you came to accept the job of directing the Alicization arc. Ito: When did you first hear about it? Ono: Around the time the movie was being test-screened. I’d already heard from the Aniplex staff that they were planning to adapt the entire Sword Art Online series. prevnext

Question 3 (Photo: A-1 Pictures) What made you decide to helm the anime version of the Alicization arc? Ono: Well, it’s a popular series, with a two-cour TV series, and also a movie version. So naturally, when I accepted the job, I thought about how much pressure I’d be under. But then I thought, “If I’m ever going to do something on this scale, it’s now or never.” Since producing a TV series can be so grueling, I felt that in terms of motivation and stamina, I’d be at optimal condition right now. That was one of the biggest reasons. prevnext

Question 4 What did you think about the original Alicization story? Ito: First off, it’s really packed. Not only is the story long, but you have to depict war as well. It made me wonder, “Just how (can you turn this into an anime)?” When I read the original novels, I figured it would take at least ten years from the time of the first season to adapt it for anime. Ono: I felt the same way as Mr. Ito. It seemed to be a story of epic scale that would be tough to bring to the screen. But I did sense that what Mr. Ito felt would “take ten years” to depict, when he first read the novels, is something that we can now achieve in an anime adaptation, thanks to all the recent technological innovations. So I was pretty sure that we’d be up to the challenge. Ito: Since it introduces new characters, and in a way, it’s a good cutting-off point in terms of the story, I thought it would be a good time to switch directors (laughs). And I think you can go ahead and portray Alice and Eugeo your own way. Ono: Thank you very much. Like you said, Mr. Ito, the tone of the series changes pretty drastically with the Alicization arc, and that’s one of the reasons why I decided to take on the challenge. That said, Mr. (Shingo) Adachi will be returning from the previous seasons and film to do the character designs, so the backbone of the story won’t be changing. As for the new designs and characters, I hope to put my own stamp on them. prevnext

Question 5 (Photo: A-1 Pictures) What was your impression of the previous Sword Art Online titles, Mr. Ono? Ono: I’d seen Episode 1 when it aired, and I thought it was such an intriguing, ideal first episode. Kirito and Asuna’s appeal, how cool the action scenes were, and how ingenious the plot was. Overall, I was intrigued by how the characters would unload their emotions on each other without holding back. In a way, it’s a kind of “rawness,” right? Since the Alicization arc also has some of that rawness, I hope I can rise to the challenge of depicting it in my own way. Ito: Since you have so many achievements under your belt, I feel reassured that it’s going to be you in the director’s seat. Till now, I’d gotten comments like, “We’re looking forward to the Alicization arc!” everywhere, so it’s a load off my chest, finally being able to say, “Right, but I’m not directing.” Ono: I’m hoping that I can pick up where the first two seasons and the movie left off, and try to bring the intriguing aspects of the Sword Art Online story to the screen. prevnext

Question 6 Mr. Ono, can you tell us specifically what kind of story you’d like Alicization to turn out to be? Ono: Since the beginning of the Alicization light novels focuses on the friendship between Kirito and Eugeo, I’d like to depict that friendship between guys in the anime as well, and I hope it both exhorts viewers and moves them. Kirito will be portrayed as an eleven-year-old, so one issue is how we’re going to make him seem like an eleven-year-old. I hope that our viewers will be like, “What on earth is going to happen next?” prevnext