Sword Art Online Covers Shonen Ace with a Gorgeous Illustration
While Sword Art Online anime fans are still waiting on news of the next installment, fans of the manga adaptations and the original light novels are eating well. Just a few days ago on January 25, 2026, the Japanese Manga publication, Shonen Ace, shared the cover artwork for their upcoming March edition, and it features a gorgeous illustration of Asuna and Argo to celebrate the release of Unital Ring Vol. 4 in Japan.
Without spoiling anything, Argo plays a huge role in the Unital Ring arc. For those unfamiliar, Unital Ring is essentially the next big arc after where the Sword Art Online anime leaves off.
Shonen Ace also shared this gorgeous artwork from the manga, as well as a teaser for the vol.
“Kirito reunites with the missing Kikuoka.
It seems that his companion Argo and Kikuoka have some prior acquaintance”
The artwork above features Kirito, Asuna, and Alice in their Unital Ring gear – relatively basic battle armor that they manage to cobble together in the survival game world of Unital Ring. The teaser shared by Shonen Ace, meanwhile, alludes to the unique relationship between Argo and Kikuoka – one that continues to be important for the Unital Ring arc. I won’t give anything more away than that, but you can check out my full Unital Ring arc review for more details on that.
Unital Ring Manga Vol. 2 recently released in English
While you won’t be able to read the latest Unital Ring Manga volume – featuring Sinon on the cover – in English right now, you can get the first two volumes in English via Amazon. Vol. 2 only released today on January 27, 2026, making it a great time to get caught up on the truly epic Unital Ring arc.
The next Sword Art Online Light Novel announced and more news
Of course, the manga is an adaptation of the Sword Art Online Light Novels, so really hardened fans might want to check those out, too. They’re much further along in the Unital Ring story than the manga, and the next volume – Vol. 29 – was recently announced to be coming soon.
Additionally, there have been hints that – after over three years – news on the franchise’s next original anime film will be revealed this year, showing that despite how quite things have been on the anime front, Sword Art Online is very much alive and well as we head into the second half of the 2020s!
Stay tuned for more Sword Art Online updates on my blog as I’ll be sharing more exciting news in the weeks and months to come!
