Accel World

Accel World is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by HiMA. The series began publication in ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko imprint from February 2009 and is licensed in North America by Yen Press. Two manga series began serialization in Dengeki Bunko Magazine from May 2010, with another series beginning serialization in Dengeki Daioh in January 2013. An anime adaptation by Sunrise aired in Japan between April and September 2012. An English-language version began streaming on Viz Media’s Neon Alley service from April 2013. Two video games were released for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 on September 13, 2012, and January 31, 2013, each containing an original video animation episode. An anime film titled Accel World: Infinite Burst featuring an original story by Kawahara premiered in Japan on July 23, 2016.

Haruyuki "Haru" Arita is a short, overweight boy who is frequently ridiculed by delinquents at the Umesato Junior High School. Using his Neuro Linker to escape the torment of real life, he logs onto the school's Local Network cyberspace where he always plays virtual squash alone, and his innate video game skills bring him to the attention of Kuroyukihime (literally meaning "Black Snow Princess"), the school's popular, highly intellectual and attractive female Student Council Vice-President.

After helping him against the delinquents, Kuroyukihime introduces Haruyuki to Brain Burst, a secret program that is able to accelerate the human cognitive process to the point at which time appears to stop. Haruyuki soon learns that Brain Burst is more than just a program, but an Augmented Reality Massively Multiplayer Online (ARMMO) Fighting Game where people fight each other in fierce duels in order to obtain Burst Points which can be spent for acceleration abilities in the real world.

Kuroyukihime then enlists Haruyuki's help in reaching Level 10 within Brain Burst by defeating the "Six Kings of Pure Colour" and ultimately meet the creator of Brain Burst to learn its true purpose. With every challenge they face in the Accelerated World, Haru and Kuroyukihime, under their aliases "Silver Crow" and "Black Lotus", gather trusted allies, confront treacherous enemies and their bond grows stronger while working to attain their ultimate objective: to reach the highest in-game level and meet the game's creator, who will reveal why the game was created and the true purpose of it.