Director Tomohiko Ito
Staring Haruka Tomatsu, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Ayahi Takagaki, Ayana Taketatsu
Rated PG
Score 5/6

In 2026, a new machine called the Augma is developed to compete against the NerveGear and its successor, the Amusphere. A next-gen wearable device, the Augma doesn’t have a full-dive function like its predecessors. Instead, it uses Augmented Reality (AR) to get players into the game. It is safe, user-friendly and lets users play while they are conscious, making it an instant hit on the market. The most popular game on the system is “Ordinal Scale” (aka: OS), an ARMMORPG developed exclusively for the Augma. Asuna and the gang have already been playing OS for a while, and soon Kirito decides to join them. However, they’re about to find out that Ordinal Scale isn’t all fun and games.

For those of you who are wondering is a 2009 Japanese light novel series (manga) written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by Abec. The novel series was also spun off into an anime series in 2012. Supposedly there are plans by Skydance television an American production company for a live action version.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the manga or the anime series you don’t have to do your homework before watching Ordinal Scale because there is an opening prologue to explain and the plot of the movie doesn’t rely heavily on significant events from any of the previous story arcs.
From what I can tell the entire Japanese voice cast from the anime series have reprised their roles for Ordinal scale and I can only assume that the voices from the English dub of the anime will also reprise their roles.
While I was going to this I did hear a couple of rumors that this was going to be a bad movie, but those can easily be chalked up to the fact that most comic book fans have ritually disemboweled movies based on their favorite books, when they perceive that they have not been given the correct level of respect.
I actually liked this movie and it’s a bit of a shame that Ordinal scale has received what seems to be a strictly limited cinematic run that it has been given. There was the right mixture of humor, awkwardness and heroism that you would expect from the anime series to satisfy most fans.