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Doesn’t Asuna look beautiful?

Sword Art Online is what’s known in Japanese marketing parlance as a “cross media” property. That means the franchise has a wide range of incarnations, including novels, anime, manga, and video games.

And now, Sword Art Online is ready to enter one of the most important media categories of the modern era: cat videos, with cute kitties acting out the dialogue being spoken by the series voice actors.

Called Sword Art Onnyain (nya being the sound of a cat meowing in Japanese), these are official videos produced by video game publisher Bandai Namco to promote the October 27 release of Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The first episode, “I Can Read Your Moves,” features Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, voice actor for series protagonist Kirito, and a cat locked in epic battle with one of its toys.

“Come on! I can read your moves! This is the end! STARBURST STREAM!”

If that’s too intense, Cat Kirito and Cat Asuna (Sword Art Online’s leading lady, in feline form) share a tender moment in episode two, “Sleeping Next to Each Other.”

“Kirito-kun, it’s embarrassing if you stare at me that much.”
“So-, sorry. I was careless.”
“Careless? What do you mean?”
“I…was thinking that you really are beautiful. So I couldn’t help staring.”
“Th-, thanks. I’m embarrassed, but happy. But you know, you’re handsome, too.”
“Re-, really? Co-, come closer.”

And finally, it’s back to battle preparedness in episode three, “Combat Training,” in which Kirito gives one of his fellow adventurers some pointers in how to wield a sword.

“Please teach me how to fight.”
“Let’s start with the basics. First, lower your stance and hold your sword out in front of you.”
“Like this?”
“No, not quite. Put your feet forward a little farther, and think about your center of gravity.”
“Like this?”
“Yeah. Now, thrust your sword with all your might.”
“Thrust…with all my might?”
“Hey, you almost stabbed me!”

Sadly, the game’s official trailer doesn’t feature any cat antics.

But while it may be a longshot, we’re still holding out hope that someone at Bandai Namco decides to add a full Sword Art Onnyain mode in a future DLC pack.

Source: IT Media
Featured image: YouTube/876TV
Top image: YouTube/876TV