# List of Sword Art Online characters
The characters of *Sword Art Online* (ソードアート・オンライン) are the players, artificial intelligences, and antagonists of the media franchise created by [Reki Kawahara](https://www.edgepedia.org/reki-kawahara), whose other light novel series [Accel World](https://www.edgepedia.org/accel-world) won the 15th [Dengeki Novel Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/dengeki-novel-prize) grand prize in 2008, and whose Sword Art Online series has surpassed 30 million copies in circulation worldwide.[1](https://dengekibunko.jp/title/sao/about/) • [11](https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/documents/global/news_release/20161003_f4i3n.pdf) The cast is organized around the virtual worlds the characters inhabit: the death game Sword Art Online (SAO), the fairy realm Alfheim Online (ALO), the shooter world Gun Gale Online (GGO), and the Underworld of the Alicization arc.[2](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/index2.html) • [3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/)
| Character | Role | First major arc |
|---|---|---|
| Kirito (キリト) | Solo player who fights on in SAO after it becomes a death game; voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka[2](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/index2.html) | Aincrad |
| Asuna (アスナ) | Idol-like presence within SAO; her ALO avatar appears in the Fairy Dance arc[2](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/index2.html) • [3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/) | Aincrad |
| Leafa (リーファ) | Sylph player skilled in agility and swordplay who guides Kirito through ALO[3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/) | Fairy Dance |
| Yui (ユイ) | AI that existed in SAO, like a daughter to Kirito and Asuna; revived in ALO as a navigation pixie[3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/) | Aincrad / Fairy Dance |
| Sinon | GGO player whose reconciliation of her physical and virtual identities drives Phantom Bullet[4](https://www.crunchyroll.com/hi/news/features/2017/3/6/feature-novel-vs-anime-why-the-sword-art-online-tv-anime-is-an-excellent-adaptation) | Phantom Bullet |
| Akihiko Kayaba | SAO's development director and a base designer of the NerveGear[2](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/index2.html) | Aincrad |
## Protagonists
**Kirito.** The official character page describes Kirito as a solo player who continues fighting in SAO after it has turned into a death game, and he is voiced by [Yoshitsugu Matsuoka](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoshitsugu-matsuoka) in the anime.[2](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/index2.html) In real life he is Kazuto Kirigaya, a player of the VRMMORPG Sword Art Online.[5](https://www.aniplex.co.jp/lineup/swordartonline/) For the Fairy Dance arc he creates a new player character to log into Alfheim Online, of the Spriggan race.[3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/) In the Alicization arc he studies at the Sword Mastery Academy alongside Eugeo, and the story follows the two through their conflict with the Integrity Knights and the Administrator.[6](https://as.com/meristation/2020/07/31/analisis/1596192699_474332.html)
**Asuna.** Asuna is described on the official site as an idol-like presence within SAO, and she returns in the Fairy Dance arc through her Alfheim Online avatar.[2](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/index2.html) • [3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/) A character study of the Progressive anime identifies Yuuki Asuna as a main character who undergoes significant development across the story.[7](https://ojs.unikom.ac.id/index.php/injuchum/article/download/16333/5130)
## Fairy Dance arc characters
The Fairy Dance arc introduces Kirito's real-world family and the operators of Alfheim Online.[3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/)
- **Suguha Kirigaya** is Kazuto's younger sister, a member of her kendo club whose skill is at a national level, and she keeps a close eye on Kazuto after his return from SAO.[3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/)
- **Leafa** is her ALO avatar, a Sylph player strong in agility and sword techniques, who takes on the role of guiding the ALO-inexperienced Kirito through that world.[3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/)
- **Yui** is an artificial intelligence that existed within SAO and is treated by Kirito and Asuna as a daughter-like figure; in ALO she is revived as a Navigation Pixie.[3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/)
- **Nobuyuki Sugou** is a promising young employee of Rect Progress who is involved in the operation of Alfheim Online.[3](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/)
## Other SAO figures
**Agil** is a merchant who buys and sells a variety of items, appearing among the supporting cast of the Aincrad arc.[2](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/index2.html) **Akihiko Kayaba** stands on both sides of the series' premise: he is the development director of [Sword Art Online](https://www.edgepedia.org/sword-art-online) and, at the same time, one of the base designers of the NerveGear, the device that traps the players.[2](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/index2.html) Commentary on the series treats Kayaba as the figure whose lore gives the death-game conflict its central dimension.[8](https://www.animepapa.com/article/story-quality-dissection-sword-art-online-vs-log-horizon-a-look-at-world-building-and-character-development/)
**Sinon** belongs to the Phantom Bullet arc set in Gun Gale Online. A contemporary review of the adaptation describes her as a strong yet emotionally complex character whose struggle to reconcile her physical and virtual identities is one of the most compelling aspects of that arc.[4](https://www.crunchyroll.com/hi/news/features/2017/3/6/feature-novel-vs-anime-why-the-sword-art-online-tv-anime-is-an-excellent-adaptation)
## Game-original characters
The video games add characters who do not appear in the novels or anime. The official site for *Sword Art Online: Last Recollection* lists **Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-one** (エルドリエ・シンセシス・サーティワン), an Integrity Knight and Alice's disciple who waits in the rose garden to capture the escaped Kirito and Eugeo.[9](https://lr.sao-game.jp/character/) • [12](https://sao-alicization.net/1st/character/?chara=kirito) The same page describes **Yuna** as the image character of the AR game *Ordinal Scale* and the world's first AR idol, and notes a mysterious, highly skilled GGO player who debuted in *Fatal Bullet*.[9](https://lr.sao-game.jp/character/) In *Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad*, players instead create their own customizable character and embark on quests with party members to beat the death game, meeting the established cast along the way.[10](https://www.bandainamcoent.com/games/echoes-of-aincrad/characters)
## References
1. [SAOとは | 川原礫＆ソードアート・オンライン 公式サイト, Dengeki Bunko](https://dengekibunko.jp/title/sao/about/)
2. [キャラクター | ソードアート・オンライン (Aincrad arc character page)](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/index2.html)
3. [キャラクター | ソードアート・オンライン (Fairy Dance arc character page)](https://www.swordart-online.net/character/)
4. [FEATURE: Novel vs Anime – Why the "Sword Art Online" TV Anime is an Excellent Adaptation, Crunchyroll News](https://www.crunchyroll.com/hi/news/features/2017/3/6/feature-novel-vs-anime-why-the-sword-art-online-tv-anime-is-an-excellent-adaptation)
5. [ソードアート・オンライン | アニメ | アニプレックス オフィシャルサイト](https://www.aniplex.co.jp/lineup/swordartonline/)
6. [Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, análisis, MeriStation](https://as.com/meristation/2020/07/31/analisis/1596192699_474332.html)
7. [Virtual World: A Study on The Anime Sword Art Online, International Journal of Computer in Humanities](https://ojs.unikom.ac.id/index.php/injuchum/article/download/16333/5130)
8. [Story Quality Dissection: 'Sword Art Online' Vs. 'Log Horizon': A Look at World-Building and Character Development, Anime Papa](https://www.animepapa.com/article/story-quality-dissection-sword-art-online-vs-log-horizon-a-look-at-world-building-and-character-development/)
9. [CHARACTER | ソードアート・オンライン Last Recollection, Bandai Namco Entertainment](https://lr.sao-game.jp/character/)
10. [Echoes of Aincrad – Characters, Bandai Namco Entertainment America](https://www.bandainamcoent.com/games/echoes-of-aincrad/characters)
11. [group.kadokawa.co.jp](https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/documents/global/news_release/20161003_f4i3n.pdf)
12. [sao-alicization.net](https://sao-alicization.net/1st/character/?chara=kirito)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Anime and manga genres, tropes, and characters › Individual anime and manga characters › Titles L to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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