Sword Art Online was a massive success for many reasons. The story itself was fascinating for most action fantasy anime lovers, and its characters were fun and complicated. Creators worked hard to make the series visually intriguing, along with the superb soundtrack.
Additionally, most of the characters were great in their own way, but the main hero, Kirito, was especially easy to love. He had many positive traits fans could appreciate. Kirito didn't talk much. However, when he spoke, fans were amazed. In many cases, his character was deemed much deeper than fans perceived him to be at the beginning.
10 “No matter what, my heart will be forever yours, and I will fight until the day I see you again.”
Probably most fans don’t need more than one guess to figure out whom Kirito addressed with this touching line. When he met Asuna, his life changed forever, and fans cheered for them to end up together.
To everyone’s delight, the two found each other again, and their love was getting stronger as time passed. This quote shows how much Kirito gained because of their love and made him the most dedicated player in the SAO Universe.
9 “I thought that the closer the real and virtual world got, the better the future would be. But the more the boundary between them blurs, the more it starts to trick people.”
SAO Players were having a tough time remaining committed to the game. Many have given up because they felt there was no way to get out alive. Kirito tried to keep it together, but he had tough moments too. At some point, he had issues with mixing real-life experiences and virtual struggles.
He had real feelings, commitments, and relationships. All that was difficult to juggle in a world where he had to fight for survival daily.
8 “There are limits to what a solo player can do.”
During his adventures and advancement in the game, Kirito met several strong charactersーsome of whom were outstandingly powerful, who could go to extreme lengths.
Kirito was aware of his capabilities and knew, even the best players had to find suitable companions to make it out alive from SAO. Many fans respected him for being so realistic despite his strength and skills.
7 “Whether here or in the real world, you can cry when it hurts. There’s no rule that you can’t show feelings just because it’s a game.”
Another memorable quote by Kirito that shows he was much wiser than his fellow gamers. Kirito often consoled and always encouraged others to express their feelings.
He wanted everyone around him to be comfortable and be themselves, never forced anything on anyone, often displayed his emotions, and was never afraid to show his feelings. Kirito had many female and male fans because he had many positive qualities appealing to both genders.
6 "It is pointless to question who someone really is. All you can do is believe and accept. Because the way you perceive someone is their true identity."
Some fans strongly disagreed with this quote. However, in the game, it couldn’t have been more true. Kirito was quite good at judging people based on the first impression. So, for him, other gamers’ real personalities didn’t matter. Also, Kirito didn’t like to pretend to be someone else.
He usually behaved the same way around everyone, so it was easy to determine who he really was.
5 "You can go anywhere you want in this world with a single blade. This may be a virtual world, but I feel more alive here than in the real world."
Since Kirigaya Kazuto wasn’t very good with words, it was easier for him to find his place in video games.
He didn’t have many friends and wasn’t even looking for relationships in the real world. That explained a lot about his character in the game, who was withdrawn and short-spoken. Sometimes he appeared to be rude, although he didn’t mean to offend anyone.
4 “Everybody can fight. It’s just a choice of whether you should.”
This line really highlighted how smart Kirito was. He often avoided fights, although he could very likely win them all.
Kirito advised everyone to be smart about engaging in fights because players needed to stick together. United they stood a better chance to complete the game.
3 “Real pain is the result of losing someone you care about.”
Kirito had powerful feelings for the ones he considered to be his friends. For Kirito, losing someone dear to him was the biggest pain possible. Fans could see Kirito was extremely loyal and protective of his friends and helped many others he just met. After he fell in love with Asuna, Kirito became very determined and was willing to do whatever it took to save her.
Kirito and Asuna were most SAO fans' favorite couple; however, other ships formed after the first season.
2 “Levels are just numbers. In this world, strength is just an illusion. There are more important things.”
While every player was obsessed with becoming stronger and more skilled to complete the next level, Kirito looked at the whole game differently.
Kirito found his motivation thanks to Asuna's love and he felt players should be able to enjoy their lives, even if they are stuck in the VR world forever. A couple of amazing characters lost their lives while trying to escape from Sword Art Online.
1 "I'd rather die with someone than let that person die before my eyes."
Fans were very fond of Kirito because of his loyalty, and this line proves how far he was willing to go for others.
His love was so strong for Asuna; he often felt there wouldn’t be a point for him to live after losing her. Kirito was brave and was fearless in battles, especially when he had to protect someone he loved. Therefore, he never liked thinking about worst-case scenarios, and he did whatever it took to save Asuna or die trying.