SAO Yuna Live Held Today — Concert Takes Place on April 29, 2026 as Depicted in the Film, Voice by Sayaka Kanda

The in-story concert “Yuna First Live” from the anime film Sword Art Online The Movie Ordinal Scale is being held today at 5:00 PM JST on the Aniplex YouTube channel. Alongside the announcement, a commemorative live visual has also been unveiled.

Yuna is a popular AR idol character featured in Sword Art Online The Movie Ordinal Scale, which premiered in theaters on February 18, 2017. Known as a “songstress” within the story, the character was voiced by the late Sayaka Kanda (神田沙也加), who passed away in 2021.

This special event has been scheduled to coincide with the exact date portrayed in the film, April 29, 2026, when Yuna’s concert originally took place within the story.

Official Statement on Yuna’s Voice and Future Casting

In 2023, the official Sword Art Online team announced a change in casting for the character Yuna moving forward. The committee explained:

“We, the SAO Committee, hope that both the series and Yuna will continue to move forward together over the next 10 and 20 years. At the same time, we believe that no one can replace the songs performed by Yuna.”

They further clarified:

“To ensure that the Yuna portrayed by Ms. Kanda continues to exist alongside the series, we carefully discussed this matter within the SAO production committee, including the original creator Reki Kawahara.”

As a result, the committee concluded:

“All songs previously performed by Ms. Kanda will remain unchanged. However, for any future appearances of Yuna in new stories, her voice will be performed by a new cast member.”

The successor has been officially announced as Risae Matsuda (松田利冴), who will take over the voice role for Yuna in future productions.

Source : ORICON NEWS