Sword Art Online is a science fantasy anime series adapted from the light novel series of the same title written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Abec. It was produced by A-1 Pictures and the SAO Project, and directed by Tomohiko Itō. It is divided into the "Aincrad" and "Fairy Dance" arcs. The story of the first season follows the adventures of Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya, a beta tester for the titular Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (VRMMORPG) where it takes place on the game's first day out of the beta testing period. The players discover that they cannot log out when the creator of the game, Akihiko Kayaba, issues them an ultimatum: if they die in the game, so will their bodies in the real world, and if they wish to be freed from the game, they must reach