10 Anime Like Sword Art Online

If you love anime and MMORPHs, then you will be thrilled to find out that Sword Art Online has been turned into an anime. This Japanese light novel series has been popular with fans, although the new adaption has received some criticism.

Sword Art Online is a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG). It allows players to control players using their minds with a type of virtual reality helmet known as Nerve Gear. In the story, the players excitement quickly transforms into terror as they quickly realize that it is impossible to log out of their game. Before long, Kayaba Akihiko (the maker of Sword Art Online) tells them that their only chance of escaping is by defeating the last boss on the 100th floor. Unfortunately, any player who dies in the game also dies in real life.

If you loved Sword Art Online, then there are other anime like it that you can enjoy. Check out the following 10 anime like Sword Art Online.

1. Btooom!

This game centers around the story of a 22-year-old guy name Ryota Sakamoto. Ryota is currently unemployed and lives in his mother’s home. Unfortunately for poor Ryota, the only thing that he is good at in life is playing a kind of combat game known as Btooom!.

On one fateful morning, he wakes up on a tropical island and cannot remember how he got there. Struggling to figure out what is going on, he sees a stranger and asks the stranger for help. Instead of helping him, the stranger throws a bomb at him. Immediately, Ryota realizes that he has somehow become trapped within Btooom!. He ends up meeting his in-game wife, Himiko, who is another Btooom! player. Now, Himiko and Ryota have to figure out if they can beat the game and avoid dying so that Ryota doesn’t die in the real world as well.

2. Accel World

Like many students, Haruyuki Arita has to face bullies at school. Over time, these bullies have caused his self-confidence and self-esteem to take a hit. To distract his mind, he starts to play squash. Life is humming along as terribly as ever when Haruyuki meets Kuroyukihime. She is the most popular girl in his school and the person who introduces him to a top secret game known as Brain Burst.

The Brain Burst game is a Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online (VRMMO) Fighting Game, but it is also designed to speed up your mental processes. Players in the game fight to gain Burst Points that help them to actually boost their cognitive abilities in the real world. Together, Haruyuki and Kuroyukihime work together to conquer the game and to reach Level 10. With any luck, they will find out the real purpose behind Brain Burst and meet the creator.

3. Hunter x Hunter

Hunter x Hunter is about a boy named Gon. In the story, he discovers that his father, Ging, is not dead like he believed. It turns out that Ging is a legendary hunter who is well-respected by all levels of society. Gon decides that he has to find his father, so he sets out on a quest to locate him. Before long, he realizes that he would like to become a hunter as well.

When he turns 12 years old, Gon decides that he wants to take the Hunter exam. He learns that many of the applicants end up dying, but he decides that he still wants to take the test. He makes friends with a former assassin, Killua, and the talented Kurapika. The three friends take on the test and trials that come their way and have to overcome the many threats that face them.

4. Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk

This story is similar to Sword Art Online. Like Sword Art Online, it has a tower setting where the characters have the ascend through each floor. Like Sword Art Online, players have to keep moving through the floors until they reach the top floor and defeat the final boss. This game has a number of RPG elements like leveling up, searching for rare items and forming parties.

In the story, the setting starts in the Third Summer of Anu. This time period is when the powers of the monsters starts to decline, so people take advantage of this change by setting up a camp inside the tower. They work to secure their strongholds as they work toward reaching the top of the tower. Armies from the Uruk Kingdom lead the way, but there are some adventuresome climbers who join in the journey as well. They are drawn to the quest by rumors that the last floor contains the Blue Crystal Rod. One of the latest climbers is Jill. Her goal is to defeat the Evil Lord Druaga and ascend to the top of the tower.

5. No Game No Life

No Game No Life has a fairly ominous title, but it has been a hit since it was released in 2014. This anime is one of the most common games played by people who liked Sword Art Online. This is mostly because they have a similar setting, although this anime lacks the action of Sword Art Online. Instead, it focuses on supernatural, quest-like themes. There are humorous scenes and many fun activities in the game that you can play.

In No Game No Life, we follow the story line of Sora and Shiro. These siblings are known for being reclusive gamers who excel at playing. Sora and Shiro are secretly members of a secretive group of gamers called Blank who are known for never losing their games. On one particular day, they are brought to a world where the games decide everything and all of humanity is driven into just one city. Now, Sora and Shiro are left to defeat the leader and hopefully save humanity from destruction.

6. Mirai Nikki (Future Diary)

If you love psychological thrillers, then you will love playing Mirai Nikki. Initially, it does not seem like this game is like Sword Art Online. There are a few hidden similarities though. Like SAO’s protagonist, the protagonist in Mirai Nikki is generally disliked. He finds himself stuck in a difficult situation and tries to make friends to help him along. Unfortunately, he loses these friends because of the game.

The story line of Mirai Nikki focuses on awkward Yuki Amoano. Unlike other children his age, he likes to spend his time talking to his imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina, or writing in his journal. On one particular day, he is given proof that Deus Ex Machina is not just an imaginary friend. In his diary, Deus Ex Machina tells him what will happen each day for the next 90 days. When Yuki is asked to take part in a battle against 12 people, he decides to do it. His prophetic diary is on hand to help him find a way to kill each opponent. If he fails at his task, the 90th day will bring the apocalypse.

7. Guilty Crown

The Apocalypse Virus is coming. On December 24, 2029, this biological disaster reaches Japan and creates a disaster known as the Lost Christmas. The situation rapidly reaches unbelievably severe levels. Left scrambling, the Japanese government is forced to call the United Nations and international governments to help combat the epidemic. GHQ is sent from the United Nations to take care of the outbreak, but this creates another problem. Once the outbreak is contained, GHQ retains control over Japan.

The main character in this story is Shu Ouma. He is a high school student who unintentionally gains the power of the Right Hand of the Kings. This rare power makes it possible to remove voids from other people, which are basically a weapon made from the human heart. In the story, he meets a girl from a rebel group called the Undertakers. With this girl, Yuzuriha Inori, Shu wants to make Japan independent of the GHQ overseers. He has the good luck of his Right Hand, but the road ahead is still not clear. With the help of Inori, he must win this conflict and free his country.

8. Kaze no Stigma

In this story, Yagami Kazuma is a part of the Kannagi family. His family is well-respected for being the masters of the Fire technique. Unfortunately, young Yagami is kicked out of his family because a distant relative known as Ayano defeats him in a match that determined who would wield the Blaze Lightning Supremacy. Four years after being cast aside, Kazuma returns as a master of the Wind technique. He is reunited with his younger brother, Ren, as well as Ayano.

The story takes a darker turn when members of Kazuma’s family are killed. People find that the method was the wind technique, so they believe that Kazuma was responsible for the murders. Now, Ayano and Kazuma are working together to prove his innocence.

9. Hack//SIGN

There are many similarities between hack/SIGN and Sword Art Online, so some people believe that SAO was actually based on this other series. While hack/SIGN does not have a lot of action, it is still fun to play. In the game, you uncover secrets until the main character ultimately figures out the reason why he cannot log out of the game.

Tsukasa wakes up inside a game known as the World. Unfortunately, he cannot remember how he got there, and he finds that he cannot log out. He ends up finding a guardian item that protects him from harm and tries to uncover the reason why he cannot log out. To help him along the way, Subaru of the Crimson Knights joins forces with him.

10. Log Horizon

This anime is quite similar to SAO and has a similar setting. Like SAO, players have to fight in the game in order to get back to their normal lives. The story features around the Elder Tale game that has an 11th expansion pack. About 30,000 players are in their avatars when they suddenly find that the expansion pack has started. They are inside their favorite game and must play to get out. Shiroe is the main character who leads the others in the game.