A brand new visual has been released for the second season of Sword Art Online. The image is from Dengeki Online and the image itself focuses on the main character Kirito, aka Kirigaya Kazuto, in the upcoming series that adapts the Phantom Bullet Arc.

In regards to his new feminine look, Kirito plays a new Virtual Reality MMO titled Gun Gale Online, which he obtains an extremely rare avatar. There was an issue with the game’s system misinterpreting Kirito’s gender, and thus he obtained a female avatar.

Sword Art Online is a light novel series written by Reki Kawahara, who also is the author of Accel World. The light novel series began in 2009 and has sold millions of copies, topping the charts in 2012. Additionally in 2012, an anime adaptation was released. The Sword Art Online anime aired in July 2012 and was produced by A-1 Pictures, which received a large reception. Since then, the series has appeared on a plethora of media from handheld and browser video games, to spin off mangas and international merchandise. The latest canonical light novel, the thirteenth in the series, was released in Japan on August 10th 2013. In addition, Kawahara has relaunched the series as Sword Art Online: Progressive, a re-release of the light novels with additional content. The second issue of Sword Art Online: Progressive launched in October 2013.

Here is a synopsis of the series from MAL:

In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game’s tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now…