In Defense of Aincrad | The Core of Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online is easily one of if not the most misunderstood series in all of anime. Be it due to the discourse and harsh criticism it received on rapid-fire during the 2010’s or just a general misunderstanding of the material on the part of the anime community, I don’t think there’s a series that has the sort of reputation that Sword Art Online does.One thing I feel that people need to understand is how the series structures itself. Many will claim that the story peaked in the Aincrad arc and blame the supposed drop in quality on Kawahara Reki being forced to write something he no longer wanted to write. But what I think needs to be emphasized are the merits of the story as the series builds upon its themes arc by arc. There is a clear thematic throughline that begins from Aincrad all the way to War of Underworld and presumably Unital Ring, and with the announcement of SAO Progressive receiving an anime in 2021, I find it fitting to look back at the original arc that hooked so many into this story of the Black Swordsman. This won’t be the first in this series of videos, as the second is going to be covered by Craftsdwarf as he details the core of the Fairy Dance arc, so go subscribe to him as well as we continue to go through this story that has far more going on than people seem to believe.

The world of Sword Art Online was spawned from the dreams of Kayaba Akihiko. Since he was younger, he always desired to soar to an iron castle floating in the sky, wondering what lay within and feeling the desire to climb to its top. It was a world that lied outside of his grasp, so he made it his goal to one day reach it. And if he couldn’t do so in our reality, he resolved to create his own. And thus, with the announcement of the first ever virtual reality console came with it the release of the first ever fulldive VRMMO known as Sword Art Online. Named such after its bold decision to have its combat based solely on sword skills and without the use of magic and the like, the game was released to the public on November 6, 2022…and with it the lives of all 10,000 players trapped within the walls of Aincrad.

Sword Art Online is inherently a story that details the ever-debated question of the validity of a virtual world. The concept of a virtual reality that feels and acts so similar to our own that it becomes almost indistinguishable is a focus of many sci-fi stories for a reason. For if the virtual is so similar to the real, what separates the two? Thus, the conflict of Sword Art Online is structured in a way that tries to remove this difference as much as it can by introducing the aspect of the death game. By removing the ability of the players to log out as well as making it so all characters that die in the game get killed by the NervGear that allows them to play this game, Kayaba removed the safety net of “just a game” that was all that kept this world from being real. If dying in the game also makes you die in the real world, then what’s the difference between the two? A question explored by our main character who would eventually challenge it head-on.

At the center of the story is Kirigaya Kazuto, known in game as Kirito, a beta tester of the game that used virtual reality to escape his real life. The tower of Aincrad was a place he could go to and feel more alive than he ever could in the real world, so being trapped in this game is probably the best thing that could ever happen to him. But the core of Kirito’s character and that escape is his desire for isolation. While he used virtual reality to escape his real life, doing so also separated all connections he had, shown more blatantly by the fact that he prefers to be a solo player in a game genre that encourages team play. Which is why his first interaction is with the newbie player Klein. By comparison, Klein was playing this game as a way to be with his friends, and forced Kirito to interact with him in order to even learn how to play the game at all. And through this simple interaction, we see Kirito start to form a bond with Klein that he began to feel uneasy about. This is made even worse when Kayaba announces the beginning of the death game, as Kirito pulls Klein out of the panicking crowd and offers him a way to survive with his knowledge of the beta test. But he declines, saying that he had to go back and find his friends in the crowd, and immediately Kirito realizes that it would be better for both of them if he stayed alone, attempting to cut off that connection again in order to survive.

At every turn, Kirito is faced with that one thing he always ran away from in the real world. Having been isolated from his family due to realizing that he was nothing more than an adopted outsider, he always figured it best to just leave them alone, always shouldering a burden that he felt he had to bear. As a month passed in Aincrad, the deaths of 2,000 players forced the remaining brave souls to find and defeat the first floor boss, a task that inherently required a group to work together in parties, which created an even more dire situation when the beta testers were branded as traitors who allowed the less experienced players to die. And while Diavel leading the party was portrayed with a selfless heart, he still tried to take the floor boss’s bonus for himself, causing his downfall. Kirito was the only one able to take it down, but at the cost of Diavel’s life and for all in that room to doubt the beta testers even more until Kirito decided to gather the blame onto himself so no one else had to suffer, once again shouldering a burden that he didn’t need to have yet chose to for the sake of others. This pattern continues again and again as Kirito journeys throughout Aincrad, coming to a head when he meets the Midnight Black Cats.

There is only one instance in Sword Art Online when Kirito joins a guild willingly, and it’s one of the most referenced moments in the entirety of the story for a reason. The one time Kirito tried to open up and make a connection with others was with that lower-leveled guild that he spent some joyful days with. By hiding who he was as well as his true power to prevent them from being wary of him, he was able to finally make some form of a connection, even promising that he would never let Sachi or any of their members die. Yet even though he did this and tried to bond with them, he was still holding back by lying about who he was and what he was capable of. They were honest with their feelings but he wasn’t doing the same. In his pride and carelessness, he watched them all die one by one in the dungeon that he could have avoided if only he was truly honest with them, but what’s done was done. They couldn’t be brought back to life. Their lives were real and their blood was on his hands. And fittingly during this period of time is when he runs into Klein again, and while Kirito feels nothing but guilt about abandoning him, Klein only has concern for that guy who helped him all that time ago.

It’s these first three episodes that build the foundation for this ongoing conflict that the story bases itself upon. What defines our reality, moreso than feelings, emotions and death is arguably connection. The bonds we form with others and the memories we form in this world are what make the basis of what we define as real. And while Aincrad was virtual, the memories that were formed there were every bit as real as the world that lied outside it. Those lives that were lost were lost in Aincrad. But the bonds formed there were equally as real. And as such, the following episodes detail the positive aspects of creating such bonds. Silica was all alone, weak and helpless and basically only invited into parties as a mascot character. There was no one there who would truly try to help her until the Black Swordsman who spent all his time alone picked her up and gave her the strength to stand on her own two feet. His reasoning for doing so was because of a connection he had in the real world, as Silica and her behavior reminded him of that little sister he pushed away all those years ago, awakening a desire in him to reform that bond that would be the focus of the Fairy Dance arc. This episode is followed up later when he journeys with Lizbeth to find material for a new sword. And by being with her and forcing her out of that blacksmith shop to take her on an adventure, she was able to be reminded of what it’s like to live, and upon returning created the sword named “Dark Repulsor,” a sword that held her feelings that Kirito would eventually hold in his own hand with his dual wielding skill. But above every other connection he made in Sword Art Online, the one that changed him the most was the one he made with a girl who wanted nothing to do with this world that she only saw as a game.

In the first floor before the boss battle was the first time Kirito met Asuna. But whereas Kirito used SAO as an escape from reality, the only thing Asuna was focused on was escaping. And in this simple interaction between the two, we see something interesting. Asuna was content eating the stale bread as is, whereas Kirito used the game’s systems to create the simple action of putting cream on it, enhancing the flavor. While the situation they were in was bad, he made the most of it, looking at the life that could be lived within rather than painfully drudging through it. This is the most common contrast placed between the two, as Asuna learns from Kirito and vice versa. Whereas Kirito was afraid of making connections for the pain he would cause them, Asuna was afraid of dying at all. Kirito wanted to live and Asuna simply wanted to not die. 

That very distinction between living and not dying is something that Sword Art Online focuses on throughout the entirety of the series, but in the case of Aincrad it explores it through its aspect of the death game in order to force a transformation of each player within into a different person, best shown by using the death of Griselda and her relationship with her in-game and real life husband Grimlock. While he was terrified of dying in that world, a new person was awoken inside that previously timid, quiet and subservient woman he used to love. He didn’t recognize who she was anymore because she had changed, and decided to end her life before the person in his memory was gone forever: an outright rejection of the experiences in the virtual world and the person that she had become. But in the interactions between Kirito and Asuna, the people that they eventually grew to know each other as were the only people that they knew. Asuna was unaware of Kirigaya Kazuto who ran away from his family, and Kirito knew nothing of Yuuki Asuna who was crushed by her family’s expectations. They only knew the person that they saw, and to them that person was every bit as real as anyone in their memory. 

The growth between their relationship is used to detail how these individuals were able to realize the validity of not just the virtual but also the need to acknowledge and not run away from the reality that lied outside of it. All of their interactions have Kirito doing the most mundane of things as Asuna regularly becomes infuriated by his seeming unwillingness to further the goal of advancing up the floors. But his reasoning was just that the weather in the game was nice and it would be a shame not to take it all in. And time and time again, he would interact with Asuna and eventually fall in love, making the very connection that he was so afraid of making before. If Asuna was able to change because of Kirito allowing her to see just how real and valid virtual reality was, then it was her who made Kirito realize how much he desired to return to reality. Because even though they’re able to hold hands in this virtual world, he wanted to hold her hand in the real world. He didn’t want to die without ever seeing her again, finding a reason to live and leave the game because of his love for her. This drive to return to the real world was pushed even further when they met Yui, the AI that became their daughter after spending time with her; she only came to them because she sensed the bond that was formed between two broken individuals. And upon saving her from being destroyed by the Cardinal system, Kirito resolved to bring her back when they eventually return to the real world. He had so much in his hands that he had to carry to the top, a desire to return to his world that he originally escaped from, driven by that girl who saved his heart; his Lambent Light in this world where he was previously stuck in the dark. 

It’s interesting to think about why Sword Art Online not just as a game but also throughout the story focuses so much on the idea of sword skills over any other form of combat. Though magic and the like are inherently fantasy, a sword skill is a regular form of martial art aided by the system to push its capabilities to the limit of human ability. In fact, almost every skill in the world of Sword Art Online is merely an exaggeration, simplification or enhancement of a regular skill that you can have in the real world. Cooking, fishing, and even the manner of which one swings a sword are all not too far away from what we are capable of in our current reality, almost further pushing that idea of the world of Aincrad leaning as hard as it can into making its world as real as possible. And above any of these sword skills available in this world, there is none as fabled or memorable as dual wielding.

The dual-wielding skill in Sword Art Online is possibly one of the most interesting pieces of symbolism used throughout the entirety of the series. It’s presented as a unique skill that only the player with the fastest reaction time is able to use, but even more interesting is when you factor in not just the names of the weapons but also the feelings that lie within the swords themselves. Sword Art Online makes it a point for almost every character with a named weapon to have a great attachment to said weapon. Even in the world of guns, Sinon insisted that Hecate II was part of her soul and identity as Sinon. If we consider this, then keep in mind the two swords that Kirito wields: Elucidator and Dark Repulsor.

The Elucidator, a name meaning “to make things clear”, is Kirito’s primary weapon and is the representation of his own feelings, but while using his dual wielding skill he uses the Dark Repulsor, the weapon that held the feelings of Lizbeth who was able to find a meaning in life because of his actions; a weapon that represented his willingness to take on the feelings and burdens of all of the connections he made in this world. It’s also a skill that neglects the defensive option of a shield in exchange for even greater offensive power: to throw away his guard and embrace the battle with both hands. This skill is Kirito’s greatest advantage in any battle and what allowed him to defeat the Gleam Eyes, but only doing so within an inch of his life that he was about to throw away for the sake of others. Keep this in mind.

The way Kirito fought was almost suicidal, and as we go forward in the series, it’s important to realize that this tendency of his never goes away. He’s always fighting in a way that all but sacrifices himself for the sake of others. He fought the Gleam Eyes alone because it meant that Asuna would live. He fought Nicholas the Renegade alone in order to bring the Midnight Cats back to life as Klein begged him to live. But it’s his relationship with others that keeps him living throughout the course of the story. That change with his relationship with Asuna gave him new purpose. Those bonds he made were what made this virtual reality real, and it’s because he was actually living it that he was able to fully embrace that fact. But the question always stuck in his mind. Why was he stuck in there? Why were they forced to play this game? What was Kayaba Akihiko’s goal?

Kirito himself admits that not only did he admire what Kayaba created but also Kayaba himself. Kirito admired the skill and intelligence of this man who was able to create a world outside of our own. Even after being trapped in this world, witnessing loved ones be ripped away by the systems that he created and even after being betrayed by him on Floor 75, Kirito still admits that he admires him. But whereas Kirito was playing the game and embracing every real thing that came with it, Kayaba Akihiko refused to do the same. While he was still technically playing as Heathcliff, the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, he still had his administrator positions on. He gave himself a unique skill in the form of Divine Blade, a skill that maximizes his defense behind a powerful and unbreakable shield, arguably the opposite of Kirito’s reckless and full-force dual wielding that abandoned defense. Everything about Heathcliff ironically represented his hypocrisy. He created the world of Aincrad in order to create his reality that he always wanted, but refused to abide by its rules and instead chose to stand above them. He cheated in order to prevent himself from dying and never once embraced death, in turn embracing life. Every player who stood before him was willing to do what he could not, and Kirito’s final battle with him on floor 75 was to prove the strength that he had. But even as he struck with the symbol of the bonds he held, it still shattered before the power of that world’s god.

Even worse when the one connection that fundamentally changed who he was threw her own life away to save him.

This final scene as Kirito loses his hope and is killed by Kayaba is often confused by many people as him reviving from the dead, but that’s not the case. Kirito was already at the brink of death, but upon seeing his wedding ring and the Lambent Light that held within it Asuna’s soul, he made one final attack, struggling against his imminent death until the very end, striking Kayaba not with Elucidator, but with Lambent Light. By fully embracing death and choosing to defeat the game by his own rules, Kirito had won.

What Kayaba desired was to see a world of his own creation and to understand the meaning of human life. His actions were cruel, but in the process created lives for each and every survivor of that game. Had Asuna never been trapped in Aincrad, she would have never met Kirito and learned the value of the virtual. Had Kirito never tried to run away from his reality, he never would have met the one who taught him to face it head-on. To live isn’t to not die, it’s to embrace the possibility of death and grasp hold of the connections you hold dear. For it’s the memories that you form and the connections you make that determine what is real. Kayaba had only been watching from afar, and only in the destruction of his grand creation was he able to see what he had been searching for all that time.

The story of Aincrad is the thematic basis for every event in Sword Art Online going forward. It’s the story of those faced with a new world and what it takes to gather the strength to face oneself and find connections within. It’s to see that the difference between escapism and reality is simply how full-force one embraces and unites all things that make up “you.” Escapism is merely watching from the sidelines and treating it like a game. Reality is when you acknowledge it as real. And as Sword Art Online continues through the course of its story, we see that his journey to embrace life isn’t quite over yet.