🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Reki Kawahara
Reki Kawahara is a Japanese storyteller best known for the Sword Art Online Series. +Biography Reki Kawahara is a native of the Gunma Prefecture where he was born in 1974. One of three children, Reki, like most kids his age, loved manga. It wasn’t that much of a surprise when he gravitated towards the manga studies club in college. When the author wasn’t reading or studying manga, he was drawing it. However, it didn’t take Reki long to realize that drawing might not be his strong suit. Reki grew frustrated with just how tedious drawing manga could be. It wasn’t enough for him to have artistic skills. Reki Kawahara realized that there were too many elements required to bring an idea for a manga together on paper.
All Book Series by Reki Kawahara
Sword Art Online Progressive Canon of the Golden Rule Vol. 1
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 2024
Sword Art Online Progressive Canon of the Golden Rule, Vol. 2
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2024
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 1
Series opener · book 1 of 10 · published 2014
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 2
Book 2 of 10 · published 2015
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 3
Book 3 of 10 · published 2019
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 4
Book 4 of 10 · published 2019
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 5
Book 5 of 10 · published 2019
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 6
Book 6 of 10 · published 2020
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 7
Book 7 of 10 · published 2020
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 10
Book 8 of 10 · published 2021
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 11
Book 9 of 10 · published 2022
Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 13
Latest in the series · book 10 of 10 · published 2023
Sword Art Online Alternative Clover's Regret, Vol. 1
Series opener · book 1 of 3 · published 2024
Sword Art Online Alternative Clover's Regret, Vol. 2
Book 2 of 3 · published 2024
Sword Art Online Alternative Clover's Regret, Vol. 3
Latest in the series · book 3 of 3 · published 2025 Anthology · Soitiro Watase
Sword Art Online: Kiss & Fly, Vol. 1
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 2022
Sword Art Online: Kiss and Fly, Vol. 2
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2022
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Reki Kawahara?
Reki Kawahara is a Japanese storyteller best known for the Sword Art Online Series. +Biography Reki Kawahara is a native of the Gunma Prefecture where he was born in 1974. One of three children, Reki, like most kids his age, loved manga. It wasn’t that much of a surprise when he gravitated towards the manga studies club in college.
Which Reki Kawahara series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Sword Art Online series, the earliest of Reki Kawahara's multi-book series: it opens with Aincrad, Vol. 1 (2009) and runs to 32 books across 2009–2025, ending with Sword Art Online 28 (2025). Reki Kawahara's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Reki Kawahara written?
Reki Kawahara has 98 books catalogued in this guide, published between 2009 and 2026. Every one of them sits in one of 10 named series — the largest being the Sword Art Online series with 32 books.
In what order should Reki Kawahara's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Reki Kawahara's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Sword Art Online (2009–2025, 32 books), Accel World (2009–2026, 27 books) and Sword Art Online Progressive (2012–2026, 9 books), plus 7 more.
How are Reki Kawahara's books organised into series?
This guide splits Reki Kawahara's 98 books into 10 named series, with no standalone titles: Sword Art Online (32 books, 2009–2025); Accel World (27 books, 2009–2026); 4th Squad Jam: Start (10 books, 2014–2023); Sword Art Online Progressive (9 books, 2012–2026); Sword Art Online: Girls' Ops (5 books, 2014–2021), plus 5 further series.