Kirito from Sword Art Online [guest post by ThunderbirdQueen]

Hey, guys! The following is an amazing guest post from Thunderbird Queen as an entry in my Fifth Costume Blog Party. A huge thank you to her for doing this! Enjoy reading about this incredible character and seeing TQ's epic costume! I can't stop screaming about it! You should check out her blog HERE, because she has awesome posts.

MovieCritic

Hello, everyone! 

This is Thunderbird Queen from The Winchester North Star. For MovieCritic’s Fifth Costume Blog Party, she has so graciously let me participate in way of writing a guest post! This Blog Party is a really fun idea and I’m so excited to be participating! I don’t really celebrate Halloween, but I welcome any chance to get dressed up in costume. For this post, I decided to be the main character from the TV show Sword Art Online. I’ll be unpacking the general synopsis of the show, and the character himself. And there will be SPOILERS down the line. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

“Anyone can fight. It’s just a choice of whether you should.” - Kirito

~ Synopsis ~

Let’s start with a brief synopsis of the show itself. Sword Art Online is an anime show, and I understand it’s not for everyone. The title is a reference to the latest virtual reality game in the show. At the launch of the game, thousands of players sign on… only to realize they can’t sign out. To escape, they have to clear all levels of the game, and dying in the game means dying in real life. 

Enter Kirito, the show’s main character. He’s a lone player with exceptional sword skills, arguably the most powerful one. Like any good fantasy hero, he’s brave, handsome, and smart, and ultimately wins the day in the end. 

~ The Character ~

On the surface, Kirito seems like a typical action hero, who can do no wrong, finds love, and saves the day. To some extent, this is true. However, one of things that sticks out to me about him is that he understands his actions have consequences. And sometimes he doesn’t handle it very well. For example, he is forced to kill a few other players in game throughout the series, which kills them in real life. Though it was in self- defense, there is an arc dedicated to him battling that guilt that he killed real people. He also has to deal with some of his friends dying, and distances himself as a result. 

Another one of his best traits is his loyalty. Throughout the series run, he (understandably) has a lot of girls crushing on him. However, he loves one and one girl only. Not once does he turn his back on her or look at anyone else. He learns to have friends, and stands by them and his family always. 

Now, let’s talk power and skills. He is the strongest player in the series (he has to be, as the main character, right?), in which part comes from his sword fighting techniques. As the player with the fastest reaction time, he was granted a rare skill, one that’s pretty much a garuanteed win in any situation. This is called Dual Wielding, where he can fight with two swords at once. The attack is called Starburst Stream, probably one of the coolest attack names ever. On top of that, he’s called the Black Swordsman by others, and his secondary blue sword was partially made from a dragon. 

~ Favorite Moments ~

I would have to make a whole post about Kirito’s most epic moments, but I think I’ll have to settle for just a couple. The first is when he used his dual wielding for the first time. He initially was reluctant, but he eventually took on a massive minotaur by himself with his two swords to save his friend and the love of his life. The strain nearly killed him, but it remains one of the best battles scenes I have ever watched. 

The second has nothing to do with fighting. Instead, it’s a tender moment shared between him and Asuna, the girl he loves. Both stuck in a game where they could easily die any day, they don’t waste time dancing around their feelings. Instead, he’s very blunt and asks her to marry him, to which she readily agrees. Other fictional couples really need to take a page from his book and bypass the denial stage. 

~ Final Thoughts ~

I love this show, and I love the characters. Kirito is by far my favorite, if you couldn’t tell. Sword Art Online is what got me into anime to begin with, and I’ve never regretted it. And, if anyone was wondering, those are real sword replicas in the pictures. They are very long, and weigh about ten pounds a piece, just like actual swords. They don’t have a sharp edge, but I don’t exactly want to dig my skin into it and test exactly just how sharp it can be. 

I hope you enjoyed this post, and once again huge thanks to MovieCritic for letting me do this. Photos were courtesy of a good friend, and you can find her on Instagram @lovely.co.photo. Without her, these would not have turned out this good!

Signed,

TQ