Sword Art Online (light novel)
| Contains spoilers for Sword Art Online. I never really understood the complains about Kirito being a badly-written character or a Gary Stu and it seems to me that people don't even get what this anime is about. We don't follow around some random noname guy, we follow around THE winner of Sword Art Online, the best out of 20k other players. Obviously he's gonna have more skill than the average player and obviously he's gonna have more luck than the average player. Would you rather follow around some rando that either dies after two weeks or wins the game through sheer luck? Kirito might not be the most well-written character of all time but he just fits perfectly for the role he was thrown into. Asuna on the other hand... |
| Yeah he's not entirely bad by any means. People say he's generic or self-insert but doesn't every character share some similarities or have something we can relate to? As for the show itself it was pretty enjoyable. (Asuna is best waifu in SAO) |
   The Perfect Duo - has one who thinks and one who do's. To have a party, there's at least two When the world is dark, and you feel near to end. Just remember there's hope, in the form of a friend. |
| Ok, but why is he better than anyone else? The difference between good and bad writing lies here. He was a beta tester, but he wasn't the only one. |
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| Yeah, He is literally me. |
| Kirito is really great especially as the series goes on, mainly because he is still in touch with his emotions and always has his friends and others in mind, also, he still acts his age, even maintaining some of his childish tendancies as we go on. I think additionally when the series escapes from being seen through his eyes and we see how he is portrayed through others we really see him in new and different ways. Really the only faults I'd have with him due in part to the writing at times...(he cries and has strong emotions for Eugeo...yet, the writing only makes him out to have feelings for Asuna)...or he makes himself vulnerable in front of only liek Leafa and not Asuna, sometimes his feelings for Asuna seem weakly supported by the writing. |
| <img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx1a8gz3tu1qbxqfpo1_500.png" /> |
| My guy… you forgot your ADHD medicine or something? The title of the thread: “Kirito is a well-written character” Later in the post: “Kirito might not be the most well-written character” Too bad you didn’t even provide a single thing to support your claim |
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| I like both, and agree with your take about Kirito. Dude is overhated. |
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| April Fools was two days ago, bruv.. |
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| I dislike kirito not because he's the best in game, but rather because also happens to be the best at literally everything, to the point that when he has to overcome any hurdle they always feel like a joke. Yes, especially in war of the underworld. |
| I don't think he's that bad either, but well-written is a bit of a stretch. Guts is a well-written character, Kirito is not, he's alright. |
  Grant me one hour on love's most sacred shores To clasp the bosom that my soul adores, Lie heart to heart and merge my soul with yours |
Tendo_GM said: My guy… you forgot your ADHD medicine or something? The title of the thread: “Kirito is a well-written character” Later in the post: “Kirito might not be the most well-written character” Too bad you didn’t even provide a single thing to support your claim I guess reading isn't your strength. |
| This happens because it's trendy to be a hater of Sword Art Online. Kirito is a better protagonist than Rudeus, Rimuru, Naofumi, and the like, just as SAO is better than 99% of other isekai, even though it's not really an isekai. |
| If you're a fanboy, please don't waste my time. Watch more movies, please. Kafka, Fu Xuan, Jingliu, Topaz and Huohuo. |
| i dont remember anymore but i enjoyed sao and thats all that matters...the seasons and movies that came after gun gale online bored tf outta me tho , had to drop it |
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Phosphophyllita said: This happens because it's trendy to be a hater of Sword Art Online. Kirito is a better protagonist than Rudeus, Rimuru, Naofumi, and the like, just as SAO is better than 99% of other isekai, even though it's not really an isekai. Rudeus, Rimuru and Kazuma are literally tops in terms of isekai. I can agree that Naofumi is shit tho, Kirito is pretty good when you compare both. |
Grant me one hour on love's most sacred shores To clasp the bosom that my soul adores, Lie heart to heart and merge my soul with yours |
| Someone who is the best at everything no matter what is a gary stu. didnt have to work hard either. Just was the best to begin with so hard that he even got to have an exclusive ability unique to him. then not only is he the best at SOA he is also the best at every other game in that universe. Kirito also lacks any form of personality. Kirito is a gary stu. But there a worse things to be out there than being a gary. Some people want an overpowered MC wipe wipe the floor with all opponents |
| https://combosmooth.itch.io/ - I make free-to-play browser games for PC and I sell pixel art animation here |
| Well as I've read and watched SAO I don't get it either and I've never considered him to being a badly presented character or the anime titles to being bad. When it comes to his skills it is hard to say as in Beta he wasn't that good which doesn't deny of his reaction time which is the reason he has gotten the broken skill of Dual Blades, the only thing which is kinda specific and hard to say if that's positive or negative is that his own willpower or however you'd say is breakin a little bit of rules of the games [I don't consider here going 200% of your possibilities like with Death Gun fight as there was no breaking rules] but the time when he fought Heathcliff when he was about to lose that was straightly kinda breaking the game. [If I remember well his first day he was completely a noob if we speak in terms of gaming, he was lucky that Coper was a bigger noob/idiot than him -> I don't know if they've added it into Progressive which focused on Aincrad Arc but that's the only short story arcs from I think it was Volume 8 which hasn't been added into anime, there were 2-3 more which you can see in first season of anime which is based on 1-2 volumes + these additional stories from 8th volume outside the first day encounter with Coper] Aswell as I don't consider Asuna, to be bad either, if I would have to say for characters which personally I see negativly are Silica, Smith[forgot his name], Klein and Liz. Even in Alicization which was/is the main arc of whole universe the background character are more defined/better like Scheta, Fanatio, Bercouli etc. [Wrote was/is as I remember that Unital Ring is supposed to be a bigger arc or something like that, I need to update myself on SAO Light Novels as I haven't started the new arc after Alicization including Moon Cradle] |
ZettaikenApr 3, 2023 8:36 AM
ateks said: Tendo_GM said: My guy… you forgot your ADHD medicine or something? The title of the thread: “Kirito is a well-written character” Later in the post: “Kirito might not be the most well-written character” Too bad you didn’t even provide a single thing to support your claim I guess reading isn't your strength. Sorry my guy, your ADHD may have stumbled you again, but you didn’t write a single argument in your post to support your “Kirito is a well written character” argument, I encourage you to read it again but calm down first so that you actually catch everything you read. |
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Tendo_GM said: Sorry my guy, your ADHD may have stumbled you again, but you didn’t write a single argument in your post to support your “Kirito is a well written character” argument, I encourage you to read it again but calm down first so that you actually catch everything you read. I guess reading really isn't your strength if you are the only one here not seeing it. |
| Kirito's a well-written character because he won SAO? That's it? |
| I don't know about that. I hear Kirito uses Crunchyroll... and *likes* it (the horror!)! D: |
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ateks said: Tendo_GM said: Sorry my guy, your ADHD may have stumbled you again, but you didn’t write a single argument in your post to support your “Kirito is a well written character” argument, I encourage you to read it again but calm down first so that you actually catch everything you read. I guess reading really isn't your strength if you are the only one here not seeing it. Mate, you’re the one not seeing most of the people here agree with me… |
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| Kirito does kinda suck. Abridged Kirito is peak character writing |
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Sachyan said: Phosphophyllita said: This happens because it's trendy to be a hater of Sword Art Online. Kirito is a better protagonist than Rudeus, Rimuru, Naofumi, and the like, just as SAO is better than 99% of other isekai, even though it's not really an isekai. Rudeus, Rimuru and Kazuma are literally tops in terms of isekai. I can agree that Naofumi is shit tho, Kirito is pretty good when you compare both. Rimuru and Kazuma are badly written tho, so I don't know what makes them top isekai MCs. |
| I mean, the justification of why Kirito is so good at SAO game is pretty obvious and trhown at your face, so it has an easy justification right there, you might argue he lacks more personality. In other games gets a little more complicated, specially because sometimes he should be new a the game but still be good. Althought, I know that sometimes you can be good at a game that you haven't played, even I have done so and I'm not much of a gamer unlike Kirito. I definitely think he isn't particulary well written and he lacks personality for easier self-insertion, but he has far better justifications at what he does than your usual isekai MC. Hey, don't do Asuna dirty unlike the series itself, but yeah, sometimes the plot uses her as a strong girl and a damsell in distress not having a single middle point, I still like her tho. |
Ionliosite2 said: Sachyan said: Rudeus, Rimuru and Kazuma are literally tops in terms of isekai. I can agree that Naofumi is shit tho, Kirito is pretty good when you compare both. Rimuru and Kazuma are badly written tho, so I don't know what makes them top isekai MCs. Why? What makes them badly written? |
Grant me one hour on love's most sacred shores To clasp the bosom that my soul adores, Lie heart to heart and merge my soul with yours |
| Kirito is much better in the novels where you can actually experience his thoughts and motivations. The anime made him more generic by removing his internal monologue. Read the Progressive LNs. They humanize Kirito quite a lot, and all of that was cut from the anime. There's a lot of character even in the mainline LNs which never made their way to the anime, like Kirito messing with Kikuoka in his head showing that he's just a regular teen. Now, I do believe that the best SAO stories have always been told from a perspective other than Kirito's (first Progressive movie, Fairy War in the LN) since those parts of the story aren't focused on him and are much more compelling coming from other characters. He has his own arcs to shine in, as do the other characters. GGO from Sinon's perspective is still some of Kawahara's best writing. |
| I personally like both Kirito and Asuna. They may be a little bring compared to other characters, but I don't think they're bad. Hell, I think I consider Asuna to be my favorite girl in anime. I do think there are writing issues with the story itself though after going back and watching a little bit of Alicization. I'm biased though because I actually like Sword Art Online. |
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| I like them both, and yeah I can agree though Kirito is definitely not the best protagonist ever, but he's still a pretty good one. |
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| B-but angry, bitter and lonely nerds on youchube told me otherwise I don't have an opinion by myself. Neon Gayness Evangelion, FUUUUUtena, Bzerk and Gingay Densetsu gud. Others: Shit. 😎😎😎😎😎😎😋. |
 ねえ、それはあなたです！ あなたがカズマやトーマが好きなエッチ/ハーレムファンなら、女性を「平等に」扱うので、女性を殴る/軽蔑する2人のマッチョな男性か、Free！/YOIが好きだがフェアリーテイルの悪を話すTumblrファンガールです/ DxDとSAOは、ファンサービスがあり、アニメやマンガでBL / LGBTQ +ファンサービスが好きで、自分を「フェミニスト」と呼んでいるためです。自分は偽善者に過ぎず、価値観を再考し、これらの二重で停止する必要があることを知ってください。標準。 真剣に、それを止めてください😁。 #MenHaveTheRightToWorkInShortsInHotDays #MALMemberSince2010#Kirisuna Nico Nico no Hyouryuuken!https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMsHeAUgW0lgREhidvVfUeeXb2M5WTADZ (Music about God). *Bill Clinton's voice* I did not have sexual relationships with that anime girl. *Hilary Clinton's voice* waifu's rights are human rights, and human rights are waifu's rights. *God Emperor Donald Trump's voice* Yaoi anime will soon be illegal. All fujos will be arrested. |
| Yeah, it's well written if we talk about unintentional comedy. |
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| How does this compare to Kite, Black Rose or Haseo from the .Hack// franchise? I always ask this to SAO diehards, since .Hack// came first by a few months and SAO has some striking similarities to the series. |
Ionliosite2 said: Rimuru is a copy paste version of Ainz. Heck Tensura and Overlord feel like the same story. One is wacky and fanservice. The other is dark and fanservice.Rimuru and Kazuma are badly written tho, so I don't know what makes them top isekai MCs. |
| SAO was serviceable enough for many people, for me it was just right there. Arc after SAO was shit but man GGO was just something else shit. The thing about SAO in particular is that, idk how LN did it but there was a lack of monologue (as well, I would have expect from a LN series having anime adaptation) which fumed a lot of ppl ig. Kirito as a character is a standard protagonist, like all protagonist such as [insert random isekai protag here] or most closest would be Hajime, both just want to get the fuck out from the game they're stuck and does it their way. Did Arifureta did it any better than SAO? No, because the anime iirc were not in the arc yet while Kirito already got out. There should be a semblance of character development in Kirito, but anime didnt do justice to portray that, did the LN do so? I dont know. Classroom of the Elite anime have this flaw too, in which Ayanokouji's character development isnt as much shown or can be portrayed because it lies in his monologues in the LN, also Suzune were much of the focus so.... People, should understand by now that there is a limitation between anime and LNs/VNs/manga. Anime isnt the end all be all of this fucking shithole. Did the anime do justice in some anime adaptation? Yes. Absolutely, are there LNs/WNs that would have rather not have anime adaptation? Yes. Miles-chan WN/LN have growth and direction in every arc. Did the anime butcher all of that? Absolutely fucking yes. I dont care much about anime these days or for the what.... last 3 years. Because, honestly, I'd rather play gacha games. |
| Hmmmph.. something I actually agree with. I never hated Kirito and have said things for a lot of years about too much hate. I especially liked him in Phantom Bullet; well he and Xenon (Sinon I know) played well off each other. He has some chivalry without being a pushover, and the reason I liked him from the beginning was that he was able to stand up to bullies. So yeah he's a good character to me. I dropped Alicization due to him being sidelined and all the side-arcs were just going on and on and the show just bored me after a while. Still need to watch Ordinal Scale. |
| i completely agree, he doesnt deserve the hate he gets its sad. |
| Bruh, Kirito is not necessarily a bad character; however, he can be seen as too perfect or idealized. He is a gifted and talented character who often appears invulnerable, making it difficult for the audience to feel a deep connection or sentimentality towards him. Additionally, Kirito is seen as a Gary Stu character with little realistic development or change throughout the series, providing limited exploration of his motivations, backstories, and relationships. |
 Decide once every certain number of years which members of the ruling class will oppress and crush the people in parliament: this is the true essence of bourgeois parliamentarism, not only in the constitutional parliamentary monarchies but in the most democratic republics - The State and Revolution (September 1917), Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov "Lenin". |
| I do think Kirito is well written in the sense that he is relatable: not the most "naturally" skilled maybe, but someone who grinds a lot and is very careful in every step he takes, especially after sao becomes a death game. He doesn't have any amazing lines in the show, but he doesn't need to: he's supposed to be a (relatively) normal guy thrown into that mess, he's not someone extraordinarily clever and certainly not perfect from a moral standpoint, but he is a good individual who tries his best to get back to his family in the real world I would agree thought that Asuna's writing (at the beginning of the show anyway) is a little bit less convincing. |
| Idk why I thought this was gonna be a troll topic. |
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| I think your argument is sensible in terms of justifying Kirito's skill level in SAO, but at the same time, I wouldn't really call him a well-written character either. Kirito can get out of most situations with his game skill, which I don't take issue with, but he's honestly just...boring. I'm fine with the fact that he's written to be as close to perfect as possible, but he isn't as entertaining of a character as he could be. His personality is kind of bland, his character design is alright but I think the black trench coat is a bit tacky, and of course compound this with his relative lack of challenges within his own anime, and he's just boring. I don't think he is a bad character and he and his anime are definitely over hated by people who still watch anitubers in the current year, but I just think that he's boring. There are plenty of worse characters in SAO like Yuuki, Alice, or Sinon honestly. |
ateks said: Do you think that's a fair assessment of why kirito is a gary stu?Obviously he's gonna have more skill than the average player and obviously he's gonna have more luck than the average player. I mean sure, he's the best at videogames. He's also much more than that. He's hard working, smart, extremely attractive, unreasonably lucky, a paragon of morality and so on and so forth. All while being a 15-16-17 yo with a somewhat tragic background. Of course fiction is fiction, but that doesn't mean we're supposed to buy anything they dump on us. I personally don't mind gary stu characters, as long as the narrative isn't serious. I mean it's not like sao pretends to be another seasonal trashy isekai (like kamitachi ni hirowareta otoko or isekai nonbiri nouka), where everything is tailored so that the mc can finally shine after living a life of hardships. Except it is. SAO is supposed to be more serious than kuma kuma kuma bear, but the protagonist is literally the male version of yuna, which make all the hardships kirito faces feel fake. Besides, being flawless means he has no room for improvement, so they have to resort to shallow character development such as "finding the resolve" and stuff like that. |
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