Kirito (Sword Art Online)

Kirito
Sword Art Online character
Kirito, as he appears in Sword Art Online
Created by	Reki Kawahara
Voiced by	Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Japanese) Bryce Papenbrook (English)

Kazuto Kirigaya (桐ヶ谷 和人, Kirigaya Kazuto) is a fictional character who appears in the Sword Art Online series of light novels by Reki Kawahara. He is more commonly known by his portmanteau, Kirito (キリト, Kirito), his player name in the eponymous video game which the novels are set in. Kirito is the protagonist of the series, and is depicted as a teenager who was chosen as one of 1,000 beta testers for a new state-of-the-art virtual reality MMORPG, Sword Art Online. After the game is released to the general public, him and 10,000 other players soon discover that they are unable to log out, trapping them inside the simulation, thus beginning his quest to successfully beat the game to set them free.

Due to the popularity of Sword Art Online, Kirito has become an extremely recognized character in anime and manga fandom, frequently appearing on lists of the most popular fictional characters. Additionally, Kirito has featured in numerous official merchandise, and has been the subject of mixed to mostly positive critical reception, with focus on his personality, traits, and relationship with fellow player and love interest Asuna.

Character

Official character design by abec for the light novels

In an interview with series creator Reki Kawahara, when asked whether Kirito's personality and character were based off his own, the author responded that he does not usually put aspects of himself into his characters, and jokingly remarked that "but if I had to say there was a point of similarity between Kirito and myself, it is the fact that neither of us are good at forming parties. We [both] tend to play solo in these games a lot." He also added that he wrote the series to change popular opinion of online gaming; viewing it not a social ill or just an escape from real life, and thus decided to show games in a more positive light in his light novels. When fans asked him about Kirito using a sword in a gun-based game, Kawahara responded that the energy sword in Halo can be the most powerful weapon if used properly.

Kirito is voiced in Japanese by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka and in English by Bryce Papenbrook. In an interview with Matsuoka on the similarities between him and his character, the voice actor opinioned that "I'm thinking about our workplaces – in both of our workplaces, there's only one chance [for success], so there's a lot of people who are putting in their all. I always think that I have to do the best acting I can for the sake of those who came to see me or watch the show. I feel like I have to pull along people with my acting. I feel like, I have to pave the way for the others." Many fans have asked Reki Kawahara whether there would be an eventual crossover between Accel World and Sword Art Online, to which he answered that while he had already written a scenario where Kirito and Haruyuki Arita meet and fight, such a prospect would be difficult due to SAO taking place in 2022 and Accel World in 2046.

Story

The main protagonist of Sword Art Online, Kazuto, who uses the portmanteau "Kirito" as his character name, is a "solo" player who has been branded a "beater" (a combination of beta tester and cheater) by the players in Sword Art Online. When Kayaba announces that the players of SAO can no longer log-out without clearing the game, he quickly overcomes the shock. He power-levels to improve his odds of survival in the game and emerges as a frontline floor-clearer known as the Black Swordsman (黒の剣士, Kuro no Kenshi), during this time Kirito experiences great trauma following the destruction of a small guild he had joined for some time, causing him to avoid guilds until he was forced to join the Knights of the Blood Oath. It is later revealed that he possessed the unique «Dual Blades» skill for being the player with "fastest reaction time" as well as the player that will supposedly beat the 100th floor boss. During his 2 years of being trapped in SAO, he fell in love with a female player named Asuna and even went as far as marrying her in-game.

After the Sword Art Online incident, 300 people have yet to wake up, including Asuna. Kirito receives a picture from another virtual reality called Alfheim Online, in which Asuna was trapped in a cage on the legendary World Tree, which no ALO player has ever reached directly. Kirito decides to get a copy of the game and rescue Asuna nonetheless. Shortly after joining ALO, he befriends another player called "Leafa" (who is actually his cousin Suguha). Leafa helps Kirito grasp the game and offers to help him reach the World Tree. After a long journey and many adventures, Kirito manages to reach the World Tree and overcomes its obstacles to reach the top. He rescues Asuna and discovers Leafa's true identity. As ALO and SAO share the same game engine, among other features, a bug allows Kirito to retain most of the skills and money he obtained in SAO upon playing ALO with the same NerveGear, already beginning his journey with an advantage over other players. Despite this, he ends up being forced to discard all of his items (except the one containing Yui, which reformats itself as a navigation pixie), as they were not recognized by the system. Kirito obtains the game's administrative ID from Kayaba's digital ghost during his battle with Oberon, granting him full control over the game's systems. Kazuto enrolls at the SAO Survivor School with Asuna and the other heroines in the real world.

He is later asked to register in Gun Gale Online in order to investigate real life murders that are somehow linked with assassinations in-game. It is soon revealed that the murders are committed by ex-players from Sword Art Online, who were part of a player killing guild known as Laughing Coffin. His actions result in the capture of two out of the three culprits. The last member escapes and is not heard of until the events of volume 9 and is responsible for an attempted murder of Kazuto. In the Alicization Arc, he has been assisting in the development of the fourth generation full dive interface, Soul Translator, by testing its thought acceleration functions. However, he has no memory of what he has been doing as a result of his memories being suppressed, voluntarily, by the system. He is attacked and poisoned by Johnny Black (the third culprit who escapes) in the real world and wakes up in UnderWorld with his memory of playing the game erased. He meets up with Eugeo and helps him out of some tough situations, during which he partially remembers his time with Eugeo and Alice during his "childhood" in UnderWorld. He then decides to aid Eugeo in finding Alice while he searches for a way out, back to reality.

In the real world, he lives with his foster mother and aunt, Midori, and younger sister, Suguha, in a family of three. In fact, he was actually adopted by Minetaka Kirigaya and Midori Kirigaya when he was just a year old, due to his real mother and father dying after an accident, and practice Kendo under his strict grandfather. However, Kazuto did not know this until he discovered the truth at the age of ten, and Suguha, being in fact the Midori's own daughter, was also unaware of Kazuto's adoption and is actually his cousin. This drove him into online playing: quitting Kendo and having a distant relationship with Suguha until his 2-year experience in SAO then makes amends.

Reception

Critical commentary

Usually, the complaint with male characters who have all the girls falling for them in anime is that the character does nothing to earn it; the girls just fall for him because it's in the script. In Kirito's case, he's extremely skilled at the game and actively uses his skills to help people weaker than him [...] in other words, the girls who like him have actual legit reasons for liking him.

You can say that Kirito is too competent and noble and it strains credulity, or you can say that the girls on this show are dumb for liking him, but not both. The idea that the girls like a guy who is competent and also nice paints them as good judges of character, versus mindless objects who like a character for no apparent reason.

Karen Mead, Japanator.com

In a review, Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku hailed Sword Art Online as the smartest series in recent years; Eisenbeis particularly noted how the romance between Kirito and Asuna is explored bringing "definition to exactly what love is like in a virtual world." However, the two characters' relationship in the second half of the novels was criticized, with Eisenbeis complaining about Asuna being deregulated to a damsel in distress stock character for Kirito to fight for, lamenting that the "strong female lead" had been "reduced to nothing but the quest item the male lead is hunting for." The love triangle between Kirito and the other female characters was also scrutinized; Eisenbeis considered it "ludicrous" that Kirito would consider abandoning Asuna, especially considering his devotion to her in the previous storyline. Nevertheless, Kirito was considered a likeable and "fun" character.

In response to criticism directed at the series that Kirito was a "Gary Stu" type character, Karen Mead of Japanator.com wrote that "I don't think we ever see enough of Kirito's weaknesses to balance out his strengths: he's pretty much a genius at video games, as well as a kind, giving person, and those are some pretty major positives." However, she praised the positive aspects of Kirito's character, and his "competent and noble" self distinguishes him from other harem protagonists in that he actually earns the girls' affection. Carly Smith of The Escapist criticized Sword Art Online II and compared it unfavourably to the original storyline, summarizing "welcome to Sword Art Online II: the show where everyone loves Kirito and nothing matters", and that the anime doesn't "start to shine" until "Kirito is pushed to the sidelines". In an interview with Bryce Papenbrook, Kirito's voice actor, when asked whether he would pick Kirito or Eren Yeager (whom he also voiced) from Attack on Titan in a fight, Papenbrook joked that "Inside a game, obviously Kirito would win, because he has God Mode running at all times. I think in real life, Kirito is strong-willed and passionate, but I think Eren would slice him up in real life. He's just too crazy."

Popularity

File:Kirito cosplay.jpg

The popularity of the character has made him a popular subject of cosplay.

Kirito is one of the most popular characters in Sword Art Online. In a fan poll by anime website Charapedia, 10,000 respondents voted on their favourite couples in anime, with Kirito and Asuna topping the list. Kirito's confession to Asuna also placed third in a list of the top twenty "anime and manga love confessions" by the same website. A third Charapedia poll, where respondents ranked the "top 30 [anime] characters they’d like to work for", had Kirito placed twenty-ninth and Asuna twenty-sixth. Additionally, a Chinese website, bilibili, took a reader poll to find the most "moe" characters of 2015; Kirito placed sixth in the male top 8 and Asuna first in the female top 8. Asuna and Kirito were awarded first and second respectively in a character poll by Dengeki Bunko (the publisher of Sword Art Online) for their light novels. Asuna and Kirito once again made a list of the "[Top] 7 Couples Who Make Love and War" by Anime News Network, writing "love blossoms on the virtual battlefield and the two wed before taking on the game's creator together.

Otamart, a popular Japanese app that specializes in anime, manga and idol products, polled users in which characters look best in swimsuits and yukatas, with Kirito (as Kazuto Kirigaya) placing 11th (for swimsuits) and 13th (yukatas) respectively in the male character category. Another Otamart poll asking users to rank the anime characters they would want to give chocolates to for Valentine's Day had Kirito placed 15th on the "top 20 characters men want to give chocolates to" category. The August 2014 issue of Monthly Newtype published results of a recent character popularity poll, with Kirito placing 1st overall for male characters; Asuna placed 4th for all female characters. Another poll which would decide the characters placed on a Sword Art Online artbook had Kirito placed in fourth place. "Kazuto" (Kirito) was also fourth on a list of the "top 20 anime characters Japanese fans would name their children after"; "Asuna" placed first. Italian restaurant La Ricetta in Zama, Kanagawa features pancakes prepared with anime and video game character art, including Kirito and Asuna.

Merchandise

The character has received positive critical reception, and his popularity has led to him being featured in several promotional efforts and merchandise of the series. Kirito makes an appearance in an April 2015 campaign which promotes Namco gaming arcades. Fan-made replicas of Asuna's "Lambent Light" and Kirito's "Elucidator" rapiers have been built by the Man At Arms team of blacksmiths and craftsmen. There are also Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon Sword Art Online-branded perfumes for sale; "Kirito" is described as "dry citrus with a touch of brandy, meant to evoke a mature spirit. It uses green apple, apricot and lime above Muguet, Rose, Jasmine, grapefruit and a musk and brandy base." Sword Art Online glasses based on the characters had a "Kirito" model; "these matte black frames feature a cross and the excalibur on each arm [of the glasses]." A series of anime-inspired Christmas cards featured characters such as Rin Matsuoka from Free!, Godoka from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Kirito. He has also appeared in several Sword Art Online-related video games. This includes Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax, in which several characters appearing under the Dengeki Bunko imprint are featured. In a costume swap between video games Sword Art Online: Lost Song and God Eater 2: Rage Burst, Lost Song received a Julius costume for Kirito and an Alisa costume for Asuna whilst Rage Burst received costumes of Kirito and Sinon. Asuna, Kirito and Leafa appeared in a campaign by the "Manga Anime Guardians" project in combating anime and manga piracy, with the being project supported by 15 anime production studios and manga publishers.

External links

• Characters at the Sword Art Online official Japanese website
• Characters at the Sword Art Online official North American website
• Kirito at IMDb