11 Best Animes Like Sword Art Online
Being an anime fan, you cannot miss watching Sword Art Online which is a fantasy and action movie with beautiful animation and memorable characters. It tells the story of game players who get stuck in the game. The only way that helps them to log out is reaching the 100th level and defeating the final boss in the game. If they die in the virtual world, they also lose their lives in reality. So, if you have watched and loved Sword Art Online, you should also check out 11 best animes like Sword Art Online in this blog in order to enjoy the world of fantasy-action anime to the fullest!
11 Best Animes Like Sword Art Online
1. Log Horizon
Plot Summary
Elder Tale, which is the game in the anime, has become popular among millions of players. However, one day it suddenly surprises thirty thousand gamers when they find themselves wearing their in-game avatars and they are unable to log out of the game. Shiroe, the main character along with other players try to adjust to their new lives in their way.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
The main similarity between Log Horizon and Sword Art Online is that they both have the same setting. People are stuck in a virtual world and try to find a way out.
Why You Should Watch It
Log Horizon is not only one of the best animes like Sword Art Online but also a worth-watching series as it involves many great fight scenes, intriguing politic scenes, relatable characters and the right amount of comedy to make it extremely enjoyable.
Giving Log Horizon a try, it will not disappoint!
2. Accel World
Plot Summary
Accel World revolves around Haruyuki Arita, a student who is constantly bullied at school so that he has low self-esteem and is always afraid of facing reality. However, everything changes when he meets Kuroyukihime, the most popular girl in school. She introduces him to a secret program called Brain Burst.
Haruyuki realizes that Brain Burst is not only a program that fastens the cognitive process, but it is actually a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online (VRMMO) Fighting Game, where gamers fight each other to get Burst Points, which can be used for acceleration abilities in the real world.
Eager to prove he’s not a weakling, Haruyuki joins with Kuroyukihime to challenge fierce competitors and discover how incredible Accel World and he truly are.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
Firstly, both Sword Art Online and Accel World are anime adaptations of two light novel series written by the same author, Reki Kawahara. Secondly, they are similar in their setting. Both are set in the future where virtual reality combined with gaming technology are present and they are even set in the same world. Thirdly, in two series, both of the main characters are suddenly plunged into a VRMMO while fighting in the game for something much more than just entertainment.
Why You Should Watch It
If you are interested in shounen anime, you should try watching Accel World as it is also a popular series in this kind of anime. Besides, you can find the romantic themes in the series quite cool and interesting.
Accel World can impress you not only with its fighting scenes but also with its romantic themes
3. Btooom!
Plot Summary
Ryouta, 22 years old, is unemployed and good-for-nothing. He only spends his days at home and playing Btooom, a wildly popular online game that’s sold over three million copies worldwide. Ryouta’s dedication to the game has earned him the title of Japan’s top player. However, his life changes suddenly when he is dropped onto a tropical island and forced to play Btooom. But this time for real! He and other players now must fight to death and the only way to win this deadly game is by killing seven of the other players.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
Basically, Sword Art Online and Btooom! have the same storyline. They are both about an excellent game who really loves playing online games, but one day the game becomes real. Their lives are at stake and they are forced to “play” to survive. In addition, both animes also have a little of romance to spice things up.
Why You Should Watch It
Btooom! is an anime much like Sword Art Online. If you loved SAO, why not spend time watching Btooom!?
Let’s watch Btooom! to see how similar this anime and Sword Art Online are!
4. No Game No Life
Plot Summary
No Game No Life follow two siblings, Sora and Shiro who are exceptionally good at playing games but are reclusive and unsocial in real life. They are a member of “Blank,” a mysterious group of gamers who never lose in any of their games. One day, they are transported to another world where everything is decided by games. Now, it depends on Sora and Shiro to defeat the leader of that world and save the human race.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
The most striking similarity between Sword Art Online and No Game No Life is that both of them are set in a gaming world where the main characters compete and try to beat the games. Moreover, the protagonists in two series are all excellent gamers.
Why You Should Watch It
Being an appealing action-packed anime with nice amounts of humour, gaming strategies and colourful characters, No Game No Life is a must-watch series.
No Game No Life is an impressive action-packed anime that is really worth watching!
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5. Overlord
Plot Summary
After the permanent shutdown of his favorite game called Yggdrasil, Momonga, a veteran player, refuses to log out as he has no family or friends outside the game. After the servers go dark, he finds himself completely immersed in the online world of Yggdrasil. With all of his character’s devastating powers and total dominance over his loyal NPCs, he decides to take control of Yggdrasil and become its overlord.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
Overlord and Sword Art Online are quite similar to each other. Both stories focuses on highly skilled and experienced super gamers trapped in virtual reality games.
Why You Should Watch It
Featuring a good story and cool battles, Overlord is one of the most animes like Sword Art Online that’s worth watching.
Now, it’s time to immerse yourself into cool battles of Overlord!
6. .hack//Sign
Plot Summary
.hack//Sign is set in a fictional 2005 when the Internet has been shut down by a massive virus called Pluto’s Kiss. Two years later, the first online game named The World appears. A strange boy, Tsukasa, wakes up in The World with no memories and soon realizes that he is trapped in the game and unable to log out. Now, a journey of him and a group of players to find out why he got trapped in this world starts.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
.hack//Sign and Sword Art Online are good adventure anime based on a very similar concept. People in both animes are stuck in a virtual world and cannot get out.
Why You Should Watch It
.hack//Sign is an excellent and compelling narrative with many character secrets and mysteries revealed throughout the series. Additionally, the epic and original soundtrack of the anime is also impressive.
Beside being one of the best animes like SAO, .hack//Sign is also a good must-wacth adventure anime
7. Guilty Crown
Plot Summary
Guilty Crown follows Shu Ouma, a high school student who obtains a rare and great power called The Right Hand of the Kings unintentionally. This mysterious power allows him to turn mortals into weapons. When he meets the beautiful pop star Yuzuriha Inori, who is a member of the rebel group called Undertakers seeking to restore the independence of Japan, Shu chooses to use his newfound power to liberate his nation.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
Guilty Crown and Sword Art Online are both set in the future and the two main characters also share some common traits. Shu and Kirito are both like lone wolves and then fall in love during their journey. Besides, the art style and fighting scenes are really similar and the romance story is quite intense in both animes.
Why You Should Watch It
If you want to enjoy an epic journey that involves self-discovery, love, and awesome fights, Guilty Crown would be your choice!
An epic journey is waiting for you in Guilty Crown!
8. Mirai Nikki
Plot Summary
The story centers on Yuki Amano, a middle school student who has no dreams or goals in life. The things he likes to do are writing in his diary or talking with his imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina. One fateful day, he learns that Deus Ex Machina is more than just a figment of his imagination. Deus gives him a diary containing events that will happen in the next 90 days. He then finds himself thrown into a survival game against other future diary owners to become the new Lord of Time.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
Both Sword Art Online and Mirai Nikki have main characters that are not social and not good with people. They only make friends in the game, but end up losing them because of the game itself.
Why You Should Watch It
Mirai Nikki is a psychological thriller and one of the animes like Sword Art Online that you should give a try.
If you are finding an anime like Sword Art Online, Mirai Nikki would be your choice
9. Deadman Wonderland
Plot Summary
The story is about a middle school student named Ganta Igarashi, who witnessed the slaughter of his entire class by the mysterious ‘Red Man. As the sole survivor, he was labeled a mass murderer and sentenced to death. He becomes an inmate in a privately-owned prison and ‘amusement park’ known as Deadman Wonderland, where he takes part in brutal survival games in order to uncover the truth behind the murder, his mysterious childhood friend Shiro, and why he was the only survivor on that bloody day.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
In both animes, the protagonists are locked into life-or-death situations. Besides, they both have a rather mysterious girl and you come to understand the main characters as the stories progress.
Why You Should Watch It
If you want to try an anime that is more violent and gruesome than Sword Art Online, watch Deadman Wonderland!
You would like something more violent and gruesome than SAO? Why not try Deadman Wonderland?
10. Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?
Plot Summary
The story is set in Orario, a city where adventurers look for treasures in groups called Familia in an underground labyrinth known as Dungeon. Like role-playing games, the adventurers level up and their abilities increase according to their achievements. The protagonist, however, Bell Cranel, cares more about the girls than fame and riches.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
Two anime series are both set in a non-realistic world with main characters fighting to survive. However, there is also a touch of romance in both animes, making the viewers interested while enjoying colorful fighting scenes.
Why You Should Watch It
If you love game or role-play styled anime series with deep characters and nice animation, it’s worth giving Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon a shot!
Featuring deep characters and nice animation, Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon is definitely worth your time!
11. Recovery Of An MMO Junkie
Plot Summary
Despite having a successful career, Moriko Morioka, a 30-year-old chooses to leave everything behind to become a NEET. She takes part in an online MMORPG called Fruits de Mer where she creates a male character named Hayashi. In the game, she meets a high-level player named Lily who helps her discover a lot about the game. Meanwhile, she also meets a handsome young man in real life who seems to be involved in her online life.
Why It Is Similar To Sword Art Online
Watching Recovery Of An MMO Junkie, you will notice that this anime and Sword Art Online both features a love story that starts inside a game and where the lines of virtual life and reality are blurred.
Why You Should Watch It
The cute story of the anime will not disappoint and it’s really worth your time!
Recovery Of An MMO Junkie is also an anime like Sword Art Online that you cannot miss watching
Conclusion
That’s it for recommendations about animes like Sword Art Online. Hopefully, this blog will help you in looking for the anime of your interest. If you think there are still more animes similar to Sword Art Online, feel free to leave your comments below!
