Sword Art Online, the Japanese light novel series came with a bang in the anime world, as soon as it got adapted into an anime series.
Here are 11 Anime like sword art online that you must watch if you like the original sword art online anime.
Categorized in the Isekai anime genre, Sword Art Online brings an interesting plot when thousands of Japanese players are trapped in a role-playing game, unable to log out!
Sword Art Online is an MMORPG game released in the year 2022 which allows players to control their in-game characters with their minds, using a virtual reality helmet.
The players’ excitement turns into terror as they soon find that they cannot log out of the game. Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of SAO, informs them that the only way out is to reach the 100th floor and defeat the final boss.
Oh! There is a catch! If an in-game character dies, they are also dead in real life.
Pretty interesting, isn’t it? If you loved SAO and want to experience the same thrill, check out some of the anime like ‘Sword Art Online’ below :
Accel World
Haruyuki is a student who often faces bullying at school, which leaves him with low self-esteem.
To divert his mind, he turns to play squash. His life changes after meeting Kuroyukihime, the most popular girl in school. She introduces him to a secret program called Brain Burst.
Haruyuki soon finds out that Brain Burst is actually a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online (VRMMO) Fighting Game, where people fight each other to gain Burst Points, which can be used for acceleration abilities in the real world.
Haruyuki and Kuroyukihime play together to reach Level 10 of Brain Burst, meet the creator, and find out the real purpose of the secret program.
If you are well updated about the anime universe, you must have probably heard a ton of fan theories surrounding the link between SAO and Accel World.
Both the shows are set in the same universe apparently, just at different timelines. It is widely believed that the NerveGear helmet used in SAO was the first generation of the tech used in Accel World.
Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter follows the story of Gon, who finds out that his dead father, Ging, is actually alive. In fact, his father is a legendary hunter, who has proven to be an elite member of society.
Gon embarks on a long journey to find his father, soon realizing his passion for hunting. After turning 12, he takes a Hunter exam, even after learning that applicants often end up dying.
This one’s a bit of a stretch as well, but Hunter x Hunter features some RPG elements and thus draws a comparison with Anime like “Sword Art Online”.
Log Horizon
The plot of the anime revolves around a role-playing game, Elder Tale, which becomes a real- life threat because of a glitch.
The series takes us through the journey where thousands of Japanese players are transported into the world of Elder tale game, unable to log out after a new update.
Away from their regular life, trapped together with the protagonist of the show, a socially awkward student Shiroe, they struggle to find their way out.
Log Horizon is compared to the anime like Sword Art Online as both take place inside a MMORPG.
However, that even though both series feature the same setting and characters fighting in-game to return to their normal lives, their journey is completely different.
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash follows a group of strangers with no memories of their past who find themselves immersed in the fantasy world of Grimgar.
Grimgar resembles a game, except it is very real and leaves no chance for deaths or re spawns; it is kill or die.
The characters engage with the Army, learn different skills, try to earn a living and preserve the peace in the fantasy world.
Although it is an isekai anime like Sword Art Online, Grimgar of Fantasy Ash is more into team-oriented battles whereas SAO has the main character Kirito, as overpowered, dominating everything.
Overlord
Overlord is an an anime based on a young man who gets trapped in an online video game permanently.
He has now become his game character, the wizard master of the dark guild Ainz Ooal Gown.
The anime takes us on his journey as a warrior king and his quest to make his empire in the world of video game.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
The story begins when a man named Satoru Mikami is randomly stabbed on the street and is reborn into another world – not as a wizard, a demon, or anything you can imagine, but as a slime! Yes, a slime with an ability to devour other creatures and absorb their power.
Now known as Rimuru Tempestgiving, he befriends a dragon named Veldora and chooses to build community and help others, just like he tried to do through his job on Earth.
The anime shows similarity with Sword Art Online as just like Kirito, Rimuru builds his own army. The story gets darker towards the end which many SAO fans would likely appreciate.
The King’s Avatar
Both SAO and The King’s Avatar tell the story of skilled gamers in MMORPG settings. Although The King’s Avatar is based on eSports instead video games, the anime can be compared to SAO especially when it comes to the main characters.
If you are a fan of action and are looking for heavy emphasis on action scenes, give this a try. Not to mention, the main character is more relatable since he loses everything at the beginning and earns his way back to the top.
In Another World with My Smartphone
The protagonist, Mochizuki Touya shares many resemblance with Kirito. After getting struck by lightning, he finds himself teleported to another world where he possesses superpowers and a smartphone.
Touya is overpowered as well, but likes to use his skills to help others. The series is action packed with plenty of fight sequences in which he fights alongside female characters.
How Not to Summon a Demon Lord
How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord might be the ultimate astounding anime in Isekai world.
Plot features Takuma Sakamoto as a loser in the real world, but an expert in the game ‘Cross Reverie’.
He is mysteriously transported to a world of his favourite game, when two NPCs summon him with an intention to enslave him.
It is indeed an anime like Sword Art Online as from the start, you will find similarities with SAO, particularly when Takuma begins forming a harem.
KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!
If you want an anime like Sword Art Online but less dense and more light-hearted, then look no further than KonoSuba.
The story is set in a fantasy world with video game theme. Although it follows the typical direction of the main character having to deal with different obstacles to accomplish his goal.
KonoSuba does this in his own humorous way! It’s more of a comedy than a virtual reality anime, this show is well worth checking out.
The Rising of the Shield Hero
SAO and The Rising of the Shield Hero starts out in the same direction, with the main character suffering from a traumatic experience of being placed in an unfamiliar world, fall in love with a female character they meet later on.
However Naofumi Iwatani isn’t overpowered as Kirito at first, but he soon forms a team with mostly female characters to help him complete different tasks.