The UK premiere of Sword Art Online: Alicization will take place at this month’s MCM Scotland Comic Con, Anime Limited has announced.

The Glasgow-based distributor says that the opening 50-minute episode of Sword Art Online’s third season will screen on MCM Scotland’s main stage at noon on Sunday 23 September, ahead of its October broadcast date in Japan and simulcast on Crunchyroll.

Open to any attendees with a valid MCM Scotland ticket on the day, Sword Art Online: Alicization’s double-length opener will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles alongside an exclusive video introduction from members of the show’s voice cast.

The longest story arc in the SAO franchise, Alicization sees Kirito wake in an unfamiliar virtual world – ‘Underworld’ – with little idea of how he got there. Underworld’s forest landscape is dominated by the enormous pitch-black Gigas Cedar, where Kirito encounters a boy called Eugeo, who seems to have the emotions of a real human despite being an NPC. Soon, Kirito’s mind is flooded with childhood memories of Eugeo and another person – a young girl named Alice…

MCM Scotland Comic Con takes place on 22-23 September. Tickets are available here.