The third season of Sword Art Online, titled Sword Art Online: Alicization, is an anime series adapted from the light novel series of the same title written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. It is animated by A-1 Pictures and directed by Manabu Ono. It covers the first part of the "Alicization" arc and adapts from the novel's ninth volume, Alicization Beginning, to the fourteenth volume, Alicization Uniting. The second part of the anime, titled Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld, adapts from the novel's fifteenth volume, Alicization Invading, to the eighteenth volume, Alicization Lasting. While not covered in the light novels, Alicization takes place after , as it incorporates elements from the film not in the novels. The first part of the series premiered on October 6, 2018, and aired until March 30, 2019, with a one-hour world premiere airing in Japan, the United States, Mexico, Australia, France, Germany, Russia, and South Korea on September 15, 2018. The second part of the series premiered on October 12, 2019, and aired until December 28, 2019, with a recap episode summarizing the first part airing on October 5, 2019. The second half of the War of Underworld series was originally scheduled to premiere on April 25, 2020, but it has been delayed to premiere on July 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aniplex of America aired the first part of the series' English-dubbed version on Adult Swim'sToonami block from February 9 until July 13, 2019, while the second part of the series aired from January 18 until April 4, 2020. The first opening theme of Sword Art Online: Alicization is "Adamas" by LiSA and the first ending theme is "Iris" by Eir Aoi. The second opening theme is "Resister" by Asca and the second ending theme is "Forget-me-not" by ReoNa, with episode 19 featuring "Niji no Kanata ni", also sung by ReoNa. In Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld, the first opening theme is "Resolution" by Haruka Tomatsu, and the first ending theme is "Unlasting" by LiSA. The second opening theme is "Anima" by Reona and the second ending theme is "I will" by Eir Aoi. The series' music is composed by Yuki Kajiura.
Episode list
''Sword Art Online: Alicization'' (2018–19)
''Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld'' (2019–20)
Media release
Japanese release
''Sword Art Online: Alicization''
''Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld''
