Wikipedia

Reki Kawahara

Reki Kawahara (川原 礫, Kawahara Reki, born August 17, 1974) is a Japanese novelist. He is best known as the creator of Sword Art Online and Accel World, both of which have been adapted into anime series.

Reki Kawahara
Native name
川原 礫
Born (1974-08-17) August 17, 1974 (age 50)[1][2]
Takasaki, Gunma, Japan
OccupationNovelist
Genre
Notable works
Signature

Career

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Kawahara wrote the first volume of Sword Art Online in 2001 as a competition entry for the 2002 ASCII Media Works Dengeki Game Novel Prize (電撃ゲーム小説大賞, Dengeki Game Shōsetsu Taishō, now Dengeki Novel Prize), but refrained from submitting it as he had exceeded the page limit; he instead published it as a web novel under the pen name Fumio Kunori (九里史生, Kunori Fumio).[3] Over time, he wrote more main arcs and side stories, which were later updated for light novel publication.[4][5][6]

The Isolator was serialized online starting in 2004,[7] and began publishing in print in June 2014.[8] 5 light novel volumes have been released as of August 2024.[9]

Kawahara entered the first Accel World novel into ASCII Media Works' 15th Dengeki Novel Prize in 2008 and the novel won the Grand Prize.[10] The first novel was published by ASCII Media Works on February 10, 2009 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint.[11] As of March 8, 2024, 27 volumes have been published.[12] An anime series debuted in April 2012.[13]

After gaining fame from the Dengeki award, Kawahara republished Sword Art Online in print. 28 volumes have been published as of August 2024,[14] as well as 8 volumes of Sword Art Online: Progressive.[15] An anime series premiered in July 2012,[16] and was followed by a for-TV movie Sword Art Online Extra Edition on December 31, 2013,[17] a second anime series, Sword Art Online II, in July 2014,[18] an original theatrical film, Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, in February 2017,[19] and the third anime series, Sword Art Online: Alicization, in October 2018.[20] Sword Art Online: Progressive was given an anime film adaptation in the form of Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night, released in Japan on October 30, 2021.[21] A second Progressive film was released in October 2022.[22]

In 2022, Kawahara started publishing a new light novel series, titled Demons' Crest, with illustrations by Yukiko Horiguchi.[23]

Inspirations

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Reki Kawahara has many inspirations growing up, from reading manga to online games. Reki Kawahara also stated in a Q&A session[24] between the author Reki Kawahara and Heathcliff (Akihiko Kayaba) in 2005: "If I were to ask for you to mention one of the games you like best, which would it be?", Reki Kawahara stated the following "If you mean aside from SAO, it would be Wizardry, a game from long ago. I acquired a lot of inspiration from it".[25][better source needed]

Works

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Light novels

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Film

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References

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  1. ^ "Reki Kawahara (川原 礫) Brief Biography". T-ono.net. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  2. ^ "Personal Twitter". August 20, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  3. ^ Afterword of the first light novel volume
  4. ^ "Understanding Sword Art Online". Anime News Network. March 1, 2017. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  5. ^ Afterword of the sixth light novel volume
  6. ^ Fumio Kunori (Reki Kawahara). "web novel". WordGear (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 17, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  7. ^ "絶対ナル孤独 連載ページ". Wordgear.x0.com. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  8. ^ "New License Announcements". Yen Press. June 13, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  9. ^ "絶対ナル孤独者5 ―液化者 The Liquidizer―". Dengeki Bunko. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  10. ^ 第15回 電撃大賞 入賞作品 [15th Dengeki Bunko Prize Winning Works] (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  11. ^ アクセル・ワールド1 [Accel World 1] (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  12. ^ アクセル・ワールド27 (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  13. ^ "Accel World, Natsuiro Kiseki, Zetman, Dusk maiden of Amnesia Premieres Listed". Anime News Network. February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  14. ^ ソードアート・オンライン28 ユナイタル・リングVII (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  15. ^ ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ８ (in Japanese). Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  16. ^ "Sword Art Online Light Novels About Virtual MMO Get Anime". Anime News Network. October 1, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  17. ^ "Sword Art Online Extra Edition to Air With New Footage". Anime News Network. August 12, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  18. ^ "Anime Expo to Host Sword Art Online II Premiere Event with Reki Kawahara, abec". Anime News Network. May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  19. ^ "Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale Film to Open in 2017 (Updated)". Anime News Network. March 13, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  20. ^ "『ソードアート・オンライン アリシゼーション』『ソードアート・オンライン オルタナティブ ガンゲイル・オンライン』がTVアニメ化決定". Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  21. ^ "Sword Art Online: Progressive - Aria of a Starless Night". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  22. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 22, 2022). "2nd Sword Art Online Progressive Anime Film Opens This Fall". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  23. ^ "Sword Art Online Creator Reki Kawahara to Launch New VRMMO Novel Series This November". Crunchyroll. September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  24. ^ "Reki Kawahara Q&A Session 2005". 2005.
  25. ^ "The Inspiration Behind Sword Art Online". Rank Anime. 2020. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
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