Sword Art Online’s Newest Light Novel Outsells One Piece and Nintendo for #1 Spot
Sword Art Online is having a big comeback in 2026 thanks to the successful launch of a major new video game, Echoes of Aincrad, the announcement of an upcoming major anime film, Integral Domain, and now news of a majorly successful new light novel, Sugary Days.
Sugary Days is a story from the original Aincrad days and follows the events of what occurs during Kirito and Asuna’s honeymoon in their famous Log Cabin. While the original book and anime glosses over this impactful time for the most part, Sugary Days gives readers an inside look into the blossoming relationship between Kirito and Asuna.
It’s not all just fluff, either: key moments referenced in later novels occur here, such as the arc regarding a certain rocking chair that plays a vital role in a side quest for Kirito in Unital Ring.
As ordinary as this all sounds, among diehard Sword Art Online fans, this is the stuff that only occurs in dreams. This has been evidenced by the fact that in Japan, Sugary Days has topped the best seller list for the month of August, beating out massive franchises like One Piece and Nintendo’s Kirby based solely on bonus content.
| Rank | Title | Creator(s) | Monthly Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sword Art Online Material 1: Sugary Days | Reki Kawahara, abec | 27,284 |
| 2 | Kirby: Mugen no Haguruma—Kiri ni Tsutsumareta Daijiken!? | Mie Takase, Tau Karino, Poto | 24,410 |
| 3 | Witch on the Holy Night Part 1 | Kinoko Nasu, Hirokazu Koyama | 19,560 |
| 4 | Full Metal Panic! Family 4 | Shoji Gatoh, Shikidouji | 15,503 |
| 5 | Magical Girl Witch Trials | Acacia, Umemaro, Omu Sugawara, maruchi | 12,259 |
| 6 | Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 36 | Hiro Ainana, shri, Megumi Nagahama | 11,694 |
| 7 | Playful Relationships 4 | Sekina Aoi, Kurehito Misaki | 8,732 |
| 8 | From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 11 | Shigeru Sagazaki, Tetsuhiro Nabeshima | 8,637 |
| 9 | Mobile Police Patlabor: Goto the Sushi Chef | Kazunori Itō, Masami Yūki | 7,112 |
| 10 | Chō Kaguya-hime! | Naruto Kiriyama, Asao Urata | 5,669 |
| 11 | Yokya Shudan ni Iru Serizawa wa... | Yuzu Tsubaki, Howako | 5,618 |
| 12 | ONE PIECE novel ZORO | Jun Esaka, Nakamaru | 5,123 |
This is an incredible nod to the power SAO still holds as a franchise, especially in Japan where it acts as a household name.
Why is Sugary Days so popular?
To understand why Sugary Days has been so successful despite only being essentially a compilation of bonus content previously available in other formats, you don’t need to look much further than SAO’s own dedicated fanbase, or their undeniable hunger for new content.
SAO fans love few things more than seeing Kirito and Asuna together: so much so that there is an entire light novel/anime movie series devoted to the two of them having adventures together.
SAO fans also have an undeniable nostalgia for Aincrad. And while many (myself included) may list later arcs amongst their favorite from the series, Aincrad still holds a special place in the hearts of many.
So returning to the Aincrad days to experience episodes lost from the anime is a big draw for many of its core audience.
Will we get a Sugary Days English release?
So far, a light novel release of Sugary Days has not been confirmed in English. If you don’t read Japanese, then you’ll have to either wait until the Light Novel comes out in English (which I highly recommend) or look it up online (it’s been available online for several years – again showing how devoted SAO fans are to show up in droves to purchase the actual physical copy).
Yen Press is the publisher for the English-translated SAO light novels, and typically they don’t publish SAO books until a year after the original released in Japan. So at the very earliest, we won’t likely be receiving an English version of Sugary Days until the end of 2027.
However, several recent and upcoming SAO releases have been/will be made available in English.
This includes the recently released Sword Art Online: Unital Ring Vol. 3 manga.
In the Unital Ring manga, readers can experience the next chapter beyond where the SAO anime left off, exploring the world of Unital Ring and maybe making a few trips back to other familiar worlds.
A recent audiobook was released for SAO Vol. 22 Kiss and Fly. Narrated by the voice actors of Kirito and Asuna from the English dub, this light novel is a compilation of short stories never seen in the anime – offering a similar appeal as Sugary Days.
Back on the manga side of things, the exceptional Ordinal Scale manga series has two English releases this year. The first was Vol. 4 and it came out back in May of this year. What I particularly love about the Ordinal Scale manga is that it features gorgeous artwork that more closely follows the anime than the Unital Ring manga, while also featuring additional side stories that weren’t included in the animated film.
Once you’ve caught up on the Ordinal Scale manga, you can eagerly await the final installment in the series that will be releasing in November 2026. The official English version cover has also been revealed for that release.
While it’s hard to beat the access Japan has for the latest SAO content – with regular new releases that include what feels like countless pop-up shops around the country (including an upcoming one that celebrates Kirito and Asuna’s wedding anniversary) and the latest releases (like Progressive’s upcoming 10th Volume) well in advance of us, there’s still plenty for those on the other side of the Pacific to be excited about.
More than a decade later, SAO is clearly still going strong with plenty more content to come.
