I’ve been debating for a while whether or not to combine these three episodes into one review or separate them into three individual reviews. Normally, I do combine muli-episode story arcs into one review, but these three episodes of Sword Art Online technically don’t have a unified story arc. Each episode has its own unique and iconic moments, but each of them end with a cliffhanger that leads directly into the next one. Although, you could consider that the development of the relationship between Kirito and Asuna is the story arc for these three episodes. With that in mind, I have decided to combine these next three episodes into one review. So hold on to your belts, cuz we’ve got a lot of ground to cover, but first let’s review how we got here.

Recap – Trapped in a Death Game

Kazuto Kirigaya, better known as Kirito, began playing MMO games when he discovered that the people he thought were his mother and sister were actually his aunt and cousin. Having felt a bit of identity loss, Kirito began playing MMO games as a way to escape from reality and to rediscover himself.

On November 6, 2022, a new VR game launched to the public called Sword Art Online. At 1:00 pm, Kirito logged into the game along with all the other players. Not being the most socially skilled, Kirito was a bit caught off guard when a player named Klein asked if he would show him the ropes of the game. Kirito took Klein to the outskirts of the Town of Beginnings where he taught him the basics of combat and described his feelings about VRMMO games.

“In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go,” says Kirito, “It’s a virtual world, but I feel more alive here than I do in the real world.”

At the end of the day, Klein opens his menu to log out, but to his surprise, the logout button is missing! Kirito checks his menu and sees that his logout button is missing as well. Suddenly, Kirito and Klein get teleported to a courtyard in the middle of the Town of Beginnings along with the rest of the players in SAO. A hooded figure draped in a cloak of blood descends form the sky. The figure announces himself as Akahiko Kayaba, the creator of Sword Art Online. He addresses the issue of the missing logout buttons and assures the players that this is not a defect, but a feature of SAO. The only way to escape the game is to clear all 100 floors of Aincrad Castle, and if a player’s HP drops to 0, the VR helmet will emit microwaves into the player’s brain, causing that player to die in the real world.

After the creator departs, Kirito pulls Klein aside and offers to take him to the next town before all of the resources get claimed. Klein thanks Kirito for the offer, but says he’d rather stick with his buddies–the ones he waited in line with to get the game. Regretfully, Kirito and Klein part ways.

One month later, Kirito attends a meeting with a group of players where they discuss a plan to defeat the first floor boss. As the players form into groups, Kirito sees a hooded girl sitting by herself. He asks if she wants to form a party with him, and the girl accepts. Kirito can now see that her name is Asuna.

The night before the raid, Kirito and Asuna share some bread and cream together. Kirito tells Asuna where he got cream from and offers to tell her the trick.

“I didn’t come to this town to eat good food,” says Asuna.

“Then why did you?” asks Kirito.

“So I can still be me,” responds Asuna, “I’d rather stay myself until the very last moment than lock myself inside an inn back in the first town and slowly rot away. Even if I’m defeated by a monster and die, I don’t want to lose to this game…to this world.”

“I wouldn’t want a party member dying on me,” says Kirito, “So at the very least, don’t die tomorrow.”

The next day, Kirito and Asuna tag team against the boss. Kirito manages to deal the final blow and wins a rare item called “The Cloak of Midnight”. Unfortunately, Kirito gets accused of withholding information about the boss’s attack patterns that he would have gotten from the beta test. Donning his newly-acquired Cloak of Midnight, Kirito disbands his party with Asuna and accepts his fate as an eternal solo-player.

Fifteen months later, Kirito and Asuna reunite as fighters on the Assault Team – a collection of the highest ranked guilds (and solo-players) who take the initiative to fight the bosses and advance to the next floor. Since their departure, Asuna has joined a guild known as The Knights of the Blood Oath – the highest ranked guild in SAO, and has become second-in-command to the leader himself. As the Assault Team was preparing to challenge the Floor 56 boss, Asuna catches Kirito resting under a tree instead of preparing for the boss fight, and she is not happy.

“What are you doing taking a nap?” rebukes Asuna, “Do you even understand what is going on here? Every day we waste here is one more we’ve lost in the real world.”

“But right now, the place where we’re alive is Aincrad,” responds Kirito,” The wind and the sunlight feel so good. Not only is this Aincrad’s nicest season, but today’s weather is at its optimum settings. If you were to lie down like me, you’d understand.”

Asuna decides to lay down on the grass and see if Kirito was telling the truth. A few minutes later, Kirito opens his eyes to find Asuna completely asleep. He decides to not disturb her slumber, but watches over her to ensure that no unfriendly player murders her in her sleep. When Asuna awakens, she sees Kirito watching her and feels embarrassed. She draws her sword, but quickly re-sheathes it.

“One meal,” says Asuna, “I’ll treat you one time to anything you want. Then we’ll be even! Deal?”

Asuna takes Kirito to a restaurant where she thanks him for protecting her. The two heroes soon investigate a murder mystery involving two players who were married in the game. During the case, Asuna explains that the marriage system in SAO is both romantic and pragmatic because it allows two players to share their item storage. Once the case closes, Asuna and Kirito reunite as friends and continue to fight together on the Assault Team.

It was also during this murder mystery where Kirito learns how much of a master chef Asuna is, with her ability to make gourmet sandwiches that are out of this world. Most players in SAO overlook the benefits of a cooking skill because it doesn’t affect combat, but perhaps Asuna’s cooking skill will come in handy in more ways than one.

The Ragout Rabbit

In the beginning of Episode 8, we see Kirito fighting a lizard monster while exploring the Floor 74 dungeon. The date is October 17, 2024. Kirito begins to wonder what Akahiko Kayaba is thinking as he watches over the world that he created. As he exits the dungeon and enters a forest, he hears something rustling in the bushes. Kirito turns his head and sees a pinkish-white rabbit with long ears. It’s name is “Ragout Rabbit”. Kirito pulls out his throwing needles and shoots them at the rabbit.

Soon after, Kirito visits Agil at his shop on Floor 50 and presents his most recent catch. Agil identifies the “Ragout Rabbit Meat” as an S-class rare item and has never seen one like it before. He asks if Kirito really wants to sell it instead of eat it, but Kirito doesn’t have a high enough cooking skill to prepare it, and hardly anyone did. If he or Agil tried to cook it, they would likely just burn it.

As if on cue, Kirito hears a familiar voice call to him from behind. Kirito turns around to see the fairest maiden in all of Sword Art Online.

“Caught myself a chef!” cries Kirito as he clasps Asuna’s hands, “What’s your current cooking skill?”

“I maxed it out last week,” reports Asuna.

Kirito is shocked. (In the book, Kirito sarcastically thinks it’s idiotic for someone to max out a skill that has nothing to do with combat. Personally, I don’t understand why food can’t be used as elixirs like in Breath of the Wild.)

“If you cook it for me, I’ll let you have a bite,” offers Kirito.

Asuna grabs him by the collar and emphasizes, “You’ll. Give. Me. Half!”

Kirito has no choice but to agree. (Also in the book, Kirito says he couldn’t say no to a pretty face at point-blank.)

Kirito and Asuna exit Agil’s shop as they discuss where they should cook the meat. Asuna assumes Kirito doesn’t have any cookware at his place, so she offers to use her apartment. She dismisses her bodyguard for the day, but he objects. The bodyguard, named Kuradeel, does not think Asuna should be letting someone with such a dubious background into her home. Asuna orders Kuradeel to return to the Knights of the Blood Oath HQ and pulls Kirito away.

Kirito follows Asuna to her apartment and sits down on a comfy armchair while Asuna goes to change. She returns wearing an apron and a short skit, causing Kirito to blush. Asuna asks Kirito how long he’s going to wear his gear, so he takes it off. Having never been in a single woman’s apartment before, Kirito struggles to not come across as awkward as he tries to maintain a high level of respect.

Asuna enters the kitchen and asks how Kirito would like his Ragout Rabbit Meat cooked. Kirito requests a chef’s choice, so Asuna decides to make a stew. Kirito watches as Asuna taps her kitchen knife over the meat, potatoes, and vegetables and dumps them all into a cooking pot. Asuna places the pot in the oven and sets the timer. When the timer rings, she pulls the pot out of the oven and voilà, Ragout Rabbit Stew!

Kirito and Asuna set themselves down at the table and enjoy the best meal they’ve had in two years.

“It’s strange,” says Asuna, “It feels like I was born and raised here my entire life.”

“Lately, there are days I can’t even remember the other world,” adds Kirito, “And it isn’t just me. These days, fewer and fewer people seem desperate to clear the game or escape.”

“But I want to go back,” continues Asuna, “After all, there are lots of things that I never got the chance to do there.”

The girl with chestnut brown hair asks Kirito if he would ever consider joining a guild, adding a concern that the monsters have been getting more unpredictable since the 70th floor. Kirito understands the risks of being a solo-player, but says that party members tend to get in his way.

“Oh!” retorts Asuna as she threatens the solo-player with a butter knife. Forgetting that a former party member was across the table from him, Kirito says Asuna is the exception.

“In that case, party up with me,” says Asuna, “It’s been forever!”

Kirito objects and comes up with every excuse not to, but Asuna turns down every one of them. Having been unable to convince her otherwise, Asuna sends Kirito a party invite.

“The front lines are dangerous,” says Kirito, but Asuna threatens him again with the butterknife. Kirito has no choice but to accept.

A Change of Guard

The next morning, Kirito waits for Asuna on the 74th floor near the teleport gate when suddenly, she comes frantically falling through it. She quickly gets up and hides behind Kirito. Soon after, Kuradeel appears at the gate

“Lady Asuna, it won’t do to have you take such liberties,” calls Kuradeel, “Let’s return to the guild headquarters.”

“No,” cries Asuna, “And what were you doing staking out my house so early in the morning anyway.”

“My mission is to guard you. Needless to say, that includes at your home.”

“No it doesn’t, idiot!”

Kuradeel approaches Asuna and grabs her by the wrist. Asuna gives Kirito a ‘help me’ glance, so he grabs Kuradeel by his wrist.

“Sorry, I’ve got your vice commander reserved for today,” declares Kirito, “I’ll take responsibility for Asuna’s security.”

Kuradeel becomes enraged and claims that a low-level player like Kirito couldn’t possibly protect her.

“I know I can do a better job than you,” claims Kirito.

To prove his worth, Kuradeel challenges Kirito to a duel. Kirito checks with Asuna, and after receiving her approval, accepts. Kuradeel and Kirito draw their swords.

“Watch carefully, Lady Asuna,” proclaims Kuradeel, “I’ll prove there’s nobody capable of protecting you besides myself.”

One minute later, the duel begins. Kuradeel and Kirito clash their swords against each other’s, but Kuradeel’s sword shatters in two.

“If you want to try with another weapon, I’ll be happy to take you on,” taunts Kirito.

Kuradeel filters through his inventory and withdraws a smaller sword, but Asuna steps in and deflects it.

“Kuradeel, I’m ordering you as the vice commander of The Knights of the Blood Oath. As of today, you are relieved of your post as bodyguard. Stand by at guild HQ until you receive further orders. That is all.”

Kuradeel grudgingly teleports away.

Kirito and Asuna proceed to the dungeon floor where they start fighting a group of armored skeletons. During the fight, Kirito realizes that fighting is a lot easier with a skilled person by his side.

The two heroes proceed through the dungeon until Asuna spots something strange at the end of a long hallway. It’s the door to the boss’s lair! Kirito and Asuna know they shouldn’t fight the boss by themselves, but they don’t want to have come this far without knowing what the boss looks like. Kirito says that boss monsters never leave their room, so they should be fine to just peak inside, but he tells Asuna to have a teleport crystal ready just in case. Kirito gets one ready himself. The two slowly push the door open. When they enter, the room is completely dark, but after taking a few steps inside, a circle of blue-flamed torches illuminate the room, then Kirito and Asuna can see the entity that is the Floor 74 boss.

He was big and had blue skin. He stood about twice the size of Kirito and Asuna. His sword stretched from his hand all the way down to the floor. He had a snake for a tail, and horns protruding from his head. His appearance resembled that of a Minotaur. His name was “The Gleam Eyes”.

Our brave heroes stare the monster dead in the eyes and…run screaming out of the room.

Kirito and Asuna set themselves down next to a pillar on the dungeon floor.

“That one’s gonna be tough,” says Asuna, “We’ll have to put tanks in the front row and keep switching.”

“I’d like to have around 10 shield users or so,” says Kirito. His mentioning of shield users causes Asuna to bring up another topic.

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?” Asuna says to Kirito, “Normally, the biggest advantage of a one-handed sword is using a shield, but I’ve never seen you with one. I don’t use them because they slow down my rapier. Some people don’t because they put style ahead of function. You don’t seem to be using the sword you commissioned from Liz either. How suspicious is that?”

Kirito doesn’t respond, but just as he was about to explain, Asuna stops him.

“Oh, well, never mind! After all it’s rude to pry into people’s skill,” continues Asuna, “Anyway it’s gotten late, but let’s have lunch.”

Asuna pulls out a basket of sandwiches from her inventory and the two heroes chow down. Kirito jokes that Asuna should go into business selling sandwiches again, but takes it back because he wants them all to himself.

Kirito’s Secret Skill

As Kirito and Asuna were enjoying their meal, they suddenly hear a guild teleporting in. Kirito reaches for his sword, but he soon sees that the guild’s leader is none other than his old friend, Klein! The scruffy-faced guild leader is also surprised to see Kirito, but even more surprised to see him with a…girl? Asuna explains that she and Kirito are in a party together.

Suddenly, the group hears footsteps approaching. They turn their heads and see a guild of players clad in knights’ armor. Kirito identifies them as the guild known as the Army. The leader of the party approaches Kirito and introduces himself as Lieutenant Colonel Corvatz of the Aincrad Liberation Army and demands that Kirito hand over all of his map data. Klein objects, but Kirito says he was going to go public with the data anyway, so he agrees to hand it over.

“If you’re planning to pick a fight with the boss, I’d recommend against it,” warns Kirito.

“That is my decision to make,” responds Lieutenant Corvatz.

Kirito warns again that the Lieutenant won’t get far with his troops at half strength. The Lieutenant refuses to believe that his troops would give up so easily and proceeds to the boss room. Kirito says they should keep an eye on them. When they get to the boss room, they see the Army struggling to stand against The Gleam Eyes. Kirito tells them to use teleport crystals, but they aren’t working. Kirito gets PTSD flashbacks to when the Moonlit Black Cats opened a treasure chest in a room they couldn’t teleport out of, and then a monster hoard appeared.

The Gleam Eyes swings his sword and sends the Lieutenant flying out of the room to where Kirito is standing. The swordsman clad in black watches in horror as Corvatz disintegrates into dozens of polygons. Asuna can’t bear to see anyone else in the Army perish, so she charges in at the boss. Kirito follows her, and Klein follows shortly after.

Kirito begins slashing his sword at the boss, but The Gleam Eyes responds by dealing Kirito his own slashes. Kirito realizes he can’t hold off the boss with his current skill set. He has a plan to defeat The Gleam Eyes, but he needs someone to buy him time.

“Asuna, Klein,” calls Kirito, “I need you to hold it off for 10 seconds!”

Asuna and Klein agree to help and engage the boss. Kirito opens his menu and begins scrolling through his skill list. He activates a skill that allows him to equip another sword. Kirito switches back into the boss fight and draws his Dark Repulsor. With his Elucidator in his right hand and his Dark Repulsor in his left hand, Kirito engages the boss.

“Starburst Stream!” cries Kirito. This skill cry allows Kirito to quickly slash at the boss’s chest several times.

“Faster,” thinks Kirito, “Even faster.”

(Gotta go fast…gotta go faster…gotta go faster, faster, faster-faster-faster!)

After what feels like a thousand sword strikes, Kirito sends his Elucidator into the boss’s chest, dealing him the final blow. Soon after, Kirito collapses and goes unconscious. He wakes up to the sight and sound of Asuna calling to him.

“How long was I out?” asks Kirito.

“Just a few seconds,” says Asuna, but to her, it felt like an eternity. She wraps her arms around Kirito’s arms and chest.

“Anyway, what was that just now?” asks Klein.

“Do I have to say?” responds Kirito.

“Of course. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“An extra skill: Duel Wielding.”

“What are the prerequisites?”

“If I knew, I’d have shared them by now.”

Klein checks the information broker’s skill list, but can’t find it, meaning that Kirito has a one-of-a-kind skill. Kirito explains that he was looking at his skill window one day, and it was just there. He realized that if the other players found out he had this skill, he would make them all super jealous.

Klein bids Kirito well and head up the stairs to the 75th floor. Asuna, who still has her arms wrapped around Kirito, says she wouldn’t know what to do if he had died. She says she wants to take a leave of absence from her guild and party up with him some more. Kirito agrees.

Another Dilemma

The next day, Kirito meets Agil in his shop. Agil reads from the newspaper about Kirito’s stunning defeat of the Floor 74 boss, but what concerns Kirito the most is that they also revealed his secret skill. Kirito explains that he has been swarmed by tons of swordsman and information brokers so much that he can’t even stay at his own apartment.

Asuna comes running into the room panting and tells Kirito she has some disturbing news; both of them have been summoned to the HQ of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Soon after, Kirito stands before the leader of the guild himself, Commander Heathcliff.

The commander explains that they cannot allow Asuna to take her leave of absence.

“If you want her, then take her with your blades, your dual blades,” says the commander, “If you defeat me in combat, you may take Asuna, but if you lose, you will join the Knights of the Blood Oath.”

“Very well,” responds Kirito, “If you’d rather settle this with swords, that’s fine with me. Let’s settle it with a duel.”

The following day, Kirito and Heathcliff proceed to the arena where thousands of spectators have gathered to watch the duel of the year. The commander begins the one-minute countdown, and both duelists draw their swords. As soon as the timer hits zero, Kirito moves in and swings his Elucidator, but Heathcliff blocks it with his shield. The black swordsman makes several strikes, all of which the commander blocks by the same method. Then, when the time is right, Heathcliff clashes his sword with Kirito’s, sending him flying back a few feet. The commander rushes in and uses his shield to attack. Kirito responds by using a sword skill, but the commander deflects it again.

“Splendid reaction time,” remarks Heathcliff.

“And your defense is impregnable,” responds Kirito.

The duel progresses with both warriors clashing their swords. Kirito tells himself to move faster. He manages to strike Heathcliff in the cheek, after which he uses Starburst Stream. After several consecutive sword strikes, Kirito manages to deflect the commander’s shield out of the way. Now is his best chance to strike the commander directly and win the duel, but just before his sword lands, Heathcliff’s shield moves to block the attack, seemingly automatically. After the block, the commander counterstrikes, causing Kirito to enter the yellow zone. Heathcliff has won the duel.

As a result of losing the duel, Kirito must now join the Knights of the Blood Oath, and the first thing to change is his wardrobe. Kirito has to swap out his usual black attire with the red-and-white KOB uniform, which Kirito thinks is a bit too flashy. Asuna apologizes for dragging him into this, but Kirito admits he was reaching his limits as a solo-player.

“Hey, Kirito,” calls Asuna, “I want you to tell me why you avoid guilds and other people.”

Kirito recounts to Asuna his experience joining the Moonlit Black Cats and how he witnessed each one of them perish.

“I was the one who wiped out the entire guild,” explains Kirito, “I could’ve convinced them of the trap’s danger if I hadn’t hidden that I was a beater.”

Asuna walks over to Kirito and holds his head in her hands.

“I won’t die,” assures Asuna, “Because I’m the one who will protect you.”

She brings Kirito’s head into her bosom and wraps her arms around his head in a warm embrace.

My Life Belongs to You

A few days later, Kirito and Asuna are sitting in the HQ of the KOB when a man approaches Kirito about a training exercise. The man, whose name was Godfree, told Kirito to meet him at the western gate in 30 minutes. When Kirito meets him, he is shocked to see who their companion will be. It’s Kuradeel!

“What’s this?” asks Kirito.

“From now on, we’re all in the same guild,” says Godfree, “I thought it would be a good time for you to bury your differences.”

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble the other day,” says Kuradeel, “I will never act so rudely again, please forgive me.”

Godfree announces he would like to assess everyone’s reaction to danger, so he orders Kirito and Kuradeel to hand over all of their crystals. The two players reluctantly agree.

The three guild members proceed to a canyon on the 55th floor. After a bit of walking (and presumably some training), they stop for a break. Godfree tosses Kirito a bag. Kirito looks inside and sees a baguette and a bottle of water. He’s already missing Asuna’s cooking.

Kirito pops the cork on his bottle and starts to drink the water. He looks to his side, and to his horror, Kuradeel hasn’t touched his meal…and he has a terrifying grimace on his face. Kirito quickly tosses the water aside, but it was too late. He checks his status next to his HP bar, and to his shock, he sees that he is now paralyzed. Kirito can’t move! Godfree also collapses and cannot move. Kuradeel lets out a maniacal laugh.

“Wh-what is this?” asks Godfree, “The one who brought the water was you, wasn’t it, Kuradeel?”

Kirito tells Godfree to grab an antidote crystal, but as soon as he pulls it out, Kuradeel kicks it away. He draws his sword and starts slashing into Godfree’s back. He keeps slashing until Godfree’s HP bar depletes to zero, and his avatar disintegrates. Then he turns to Kirtio.

“Why’d someone like you join the Knights of the Blood Oath?” asks Kirito, who was still paralyzed, “You’d do better in a criminal guild.”

“You have sharp eyes,” responds Kuradeel. He pulls back his sleeve and reveals the mark of the Laughing Coffin guild tattooed onto his arm. Kuradeel then proceeds to stab Kirito in the wrist, and then his leg.

“How does it feel?” taunts Kuradeel, “How does it feel knowing that you’re about to die?”

Kirito starts to wonder if he really is going to die here. He closes his eyes and begins to accept his fate, but as he closes them, he sees someone – a girl with long chestnut brown hair, a girl who could make gourmet sandwiches, a girl worth living for.

Kirito grabs Kuradeel’s sword by the blade.

“What’s this, so you’re afraid of dying after all?”

“That’s right, I can’t die yet!”

“Is that so? That’s the way I like it!”

Kirito tries to pull the blade out, but he is too week to do it. Just as his HP bar is about to reach zero, a force comparable to a gust of wind comes rushing down the canyon. It makes contact with Kuradeel and sends him flying into the canyon wall. Kirito opens his eyes to see the Lightning Flash herself. Asuna quickly uses a crystal to heal Kirito to full strength. She explains that she was watching Kirito’s position on the map, but there was no response from Godfree, so she was worried that something happened.

Asuna returns to finish off Kuradeel. She begins cutting him up with several swift strikes until she eventually knocks his sword away. The former bodyguard drops to his knees and begs for mercy. While Asuna has her guard dropped, Kuradeel picks up his sword and knocks Asuna’s away. He tries to strike Asuna, but Kirito has found the ability to move again and deflects Kuradeel’s attack with his wrist. Then, Kirito seems to use a sword skill to jab his hand into Kuradeel’s chest, dealing him the killing blow. Kirito and Asuna watch as Kuradeel disintegrates into a million polygons.

Asuna starts crying and claims that all of this is her fault. Kirito looks at her with a look of concern and responds by…

“My life belongs to you, Asuna. So I’ll use it for you. Let’s stay together until the end.”

“And I’ll protect you too, no matter what.”

“I’ll see to it that you can go back to the other world, no matter what.”

Kirito asks if he can stay the night with Asuna, to which she agrees.

A Promise Forever

Kirito and Asuna return to her apartment where they have another tasty meal. After they eat, Asuna turns out the lights and undresses, much to Kirito’s surprise.

“Hurry and get undressed too,” says Asuna, “It’s embarrassing being the only one.”

“No, I just wanted to stay in the same room tonight,” explains Kirito, “That was all.”

Following their brief misunderstanding, Kirito pokes Asuna’s cheek while she is resting in bed. He has something important to tell her.

“Sorry, I woke you, didn’t I?”

“I was just dreaming a little about our world. It’s strange, in the dream, I was worried that things in Aincrad and things with you were only a dream. I was really scared. I’m glad this wasn’t a dream.”

“Don’t you want to go back?”

“I do, but I don’t want my time here to disappear. These two years have been important to me. I can think of them that way now.”

Asuna says she wants to take a break from the front lines. Kirito agrees that they should.

“In the southwest part of Floor 22, there’s a small village surrounded by forests and lakes,” explains Kirito, “Let’s move there together and…”

Kirito hesitates.

“Let’s get married.”

Asuna’s heart flutters with joy. She says yes!

Thoughts

This has already been a lengthy review, so I will keep my thoughts on this one brief. The relationship between Kirito and Asuna is what the entire plot and themes of Sword Art Online revolve around.

When SAO first launched, Asuna was terribly afraid of losing herself to the game so much so that she distanced herself from the other players. Accepting that she would one day die, Asuna wanted to remain herself until the very end and not lose herself to the world within the game. Now, after having met Kirito, she is afraid that she would wake up one day and realize that her time in SAO was just a dream. Meeting Kirito and falling in love made all of Asuna’s suffering and sadness worth enduring.

Kirito began playing MMO games as a way to escape from reality and to rediscover his identity. Having difficulties associating with the other players, Kirito has spent most of his time in SAO as a solo player. Most of the other players thought he was a cheater for being so overpowered, but there was one player who saw him for more that what he was on the surface. It was Asuna. Through Asuna’s help, Kirito was able to rediscover his self-worth and to once again find connection.

I’ve mentioned before that Sword Art Online is a metaphor for life. The analogy presented in these episodes is that just as Kirito and Asuna were able to find happiness and fall in love despite all of the darkness and despair around them, humans in the real world can push away the darkness and the sadness by finding love and connection. As we continue through the next few episodes of the story, we will see more of how Kirito and Asuna’s relationship are central to the themes of Sword Art Online.

What do you think of Kirito and Asuna as a couple? Share your thoughts in the comments below!