Several magazine artworks have been released for upcoming RPG themed action anime, Sword Art Online – highlighting a pair of blonde heroines, and a pink haired bishoujo we’ve not seen much of before as well.
Examining the art work above, to the far right is the leading female we’ve seen quite a bit of, and to the far left, the adorable loli who we’ve unfortunately not seen enough of – and in between them both, a pink haired character we’ve freckles who we’ve hardly seen any, if at all, of. One striking aspect is there’s three females and a single male lead, yet all the girls appear of friendly disposition with one another – there’s no competitive vibe as per the generic harem atmosphere in most series of a similar gender ratio.
Another shared detail is how all the females have warmer eye colors – hues which blaze like fire versus the more commonly seen vibrant tones, serving to make for quite a distinguishing and memorable characteristic.
A detail hard to ignore, the female with pink hair is fitted in an ensemble which emphasizes the breasts – her blouse is predominately red, yet transitions to a contrasting white in quite the ideal spot, bringing visual attention towards the chest. On that note, the red seen within any Sword Art Online material is a recurring and very specific shade of sanguine – the reasoning for this uniform blend of red implies correspondence to an organized group of some sort.
Similarly, white manages to find a home in every image as well – and these repeat colors do well to build an atmosphere, whilst again, point towards a structured arrangement in the world of Sword Art Online.
The series debuts July – and once more, we’ve received an additional reason to feel impatient.
May 13, 2012 @ 14:13 CDT
These promotional pics look different from the trailers. Mainly, their faces look less round and fat, it resembles more like the novel. I would be content if the anime is like the pictures here. Seeing as how the public was outraged by how the manga turned out (the faces were too slender), it is expected that there will be some negative comments on the anime as well. Taking that into mind, it could be possible that the studio changed the faces a bit to fit the audience. Then again… it might be slim since that would mean hiring a new artist… then again… maybe I’m underestimating the artists too much and that the artist can adjust in a matter of days… … … Hmm.
Oh. By the way…
Twintails: Scilica
Pink Hair: Lizbet
Chestnut Hair: Asuna
Black Hair: Kirito
May 13, 2012 @ 14:18 CDT
I’m hallucinating… maybe they graphics didn’t change at all x,x ahhhh~
May 13, 2012 @ 14:21 CDT
It’s possible the visages vary in how they appear based on angle and lighting.
May 13, 2012 @ 14:20 CDT
Usually, studios have several different artists for assorted tasks – assuming all else fails, I’d not be surprised if the faces end up redesigned on Blu-ray, that happened with Persona.
May 14, 2012 @ 22:46 CDT
It’s Working!! Art Online, with Swords. And loli…can’t forget that, not that I would let anyone forget that!
May 14, 2012 @ 22:49 CDT
The Art of Working!! Online With Swords, featuring loli.
May 20, 2012 @ 6:13 CDT
I’m really not liking the character designs. Reading the novel, I’m 100% sure the pink haired girl does NOT have freckles. And the faces are all wrong in so many places.
Apr 2, 2013 @ 8:30 CDT
This looks like a promising show! Oh wait. Never mind. XD
The sandwich in the last pic cracks me up. The shape of things to come.