MANDALUYONG CITY, Philippines (February 18, 2017) — Cinema 2 at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City was jampacked for two times because of fandom as Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale premiered on Saturday.
The Singapore-based anime licensor ODEX Pte. Ltd. posted on social media last December that they will be distributing the movie adaptation of the highly-popular franchise to several countries in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.
Unlike in Singapore screenings which was announced ahead of time, the special screening in Manila was only announced two days before the premiere because of several issues needed to be resolved, including the items to be given away.
But the announcement “delay” didn’t become a hindrance as fans flooded the SM Cinema website, as well as the ticket counter, to buy tickets or make reservations online.
Reservations for the 5:00pm screening was almost sold out just about 12 hours, which forced the management to open another screening time at 8:00pm. Both screenings were at full house capacity.
Fans familiar with the S.A.O. light novel & anime series are curious on how will the movie fare with the popular series, and it did not disappoint almost everyone.
Everyone was glued to the screen with the action-packed scenes featuring old and new characters, as well as the drama between the lead characters Kirito and Asuna.
Of course, there were also some cheers of certain scenes, especially the after-credit scene.
Due to the massive turnout of moviegoers for the 5:00pm screening, several free giveaway items ran out of stock, including the “Shikishi” signature board featuring the lead characters and the mini-mug.
8:00pm screening attendees were only given the A2 poster due to the limited quantity of the items.
Despite the minor issues, the Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale special screening in Manila has been a success and all anime fans hope that the turnout for future screenings of anime titles will be the same.
The next challenge will be this weekend. Let’s hope for the very best. #
