Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online

Official Site: http://www.swordart-online.net/

In the year 2022, the Virtual reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) Sword Art Online (SAO) is released. With the Nerve Gear, a VR Helmet that stimulates the user's five senses via their brain, players can experience and control their in-game characters with their minds. But an unexpected event occurs on November 6, 2022 when Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of SAO, prevents the players from logging out. Akihiko issues them a challenge; if they wish to be free and log out of the game, they must reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, should their avatars die in the game, so will their bodies in the real world. As the game's 10,000 players try to accept their new deadly predicament, Kirito, a skilled player who tested the beta version of the game, is determined to reach the 100th floor and be free. Along with Asuna, his partner and love interest, and their friends, Kirito and his allies will face many obstacles and discovers the true purpose of SAO. As their adventure continues, they will also participate in other VRMMO games as well. [source:wikipedia]

Yuuki Asuna

 Asuna is a friend of Kirito and is a sub-leader of the guild Knights of the Blood (KoB), a medium-sized guild of about thirty players, also called the strongest guild in Aincrad. Being one of the few girls that are in SAO, and even more so that she's extremely pretty, she receives many invitations and proposals. She is a skilled player earning the title "Flash" for her extraordinary sword skill that are lightning fast. Her game alias is the same as her real world name.[source: wikipedia]

Cline

 A friendly player that meets Kirito at the start of the game and quickly befriends and learns from him. He and Kirito later separate because he has friends who were also new to the game so he couldn't leave them. He survives for the past two years and managed to protect his friends the whole time, something Kirito regretted not doing. He is a katana user and the leader of the small guild Fuurinkazan who participates in the boss battles.

As one of the few people close to Kirito, he always keeps him in check and wants Kirito to survive the game.

Andrew Gilbert Mills

 A merchant stationed at city Algate, located at the 50th floor of Aincrad. His shop motto is "Buy cheap and sell cheap". He is 180cm tall, has dark complexion and has a rare hairstyle which is bald. He is also a very strong axe-wielding warrior in the frontlines.

Kirito sometimes stays in his shop as sort of a disaster shelter, which he gets annoyed with but later ignores as Asuna also visits, which results in some publicity for his shop.[source: MAL]

Akihiko Kayaba

 Akihiko Kayaba is the Director and Creator of the Nerve Gear and Sword Art Online. He traps all the players within Sword Art Online by using the Nerve Gear to cease sending signals to the users' body. Any attempt at removal, loss of power for a certain period, or if the user dies in the game will also kill the user. His motivation is to observe what happens after he traps them.[Source:MAL]

Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya

 Kirito is the main protagonist of the series. He is a "solo" player, a player who hasn't joined a guild and usually works alone. He is also one of the very few people to have had the privelege to play in the beta testing period of Sword Art Online. His game alias, Kirito, is created by taking the syllables of the first and last Kanji of his real last and first names respectively: (Kirigaya Kazuto). In the real world, he lives with his mother and younger sister in a family of 3.

When Kayaba announced the start of the death game, he is surprised, but unlike everyone else he quickly gets over it and accepts it, to an extent. He invited his friend Cline to go with him but Cline had to find his friends in the game. He was invited to join them but he declined as he couldn't take the pressure of protecting them even with his beta testing knowledge of the game.[source:wikipedia]

Rika Shinozaki

A mace wielder and once run a blacksmith shop in Aincrad's on the 48th floor. She made Asuna’s rapier ‘Lament Light’ and one day got a request from Kirito to make him a sword with similar or better quality than his one handed long sword ‘Elucidator’ that he got from a monster drop. She told him that if she had the right materials she could make weapons that would break any sword, so they formed a party and went on a journey to find the material she needed. Because of that journey she came to the conclusion that she felt lonely and yearned for warmth. [source:mal]

Sachi

A member of the guild «Black Cats of the Full Moon». All the members are actually computer research club members from the same high school in the real world except Kirito. She uses a two-handed long spear and her level is rather low compared to the rest of the guild members. She never intended to leave the Starting City but she did, knowing that she probably would die because she is afraid of monsters. According to Kirito, she and him are a lot alike and are both socially awkward, wall themselves in from people but fear loneliness. [source:mal]

Keiko Ayano

She is 13 years old and a middle level dagger user. She is a very cheerful and sweet girl. 

She is one of the very rare 'Beast Tamers' in SAO. She has a very rare familiar a 'feathery dragon' that she named Pina after her cat in the real world. She treasured Pina a lot and was the reason she survived in the game. Aside from being a female player, she is also a Beast Tamer and thus perceived as an idol amongst the middle level players. She received endless invitations from parties and guilds who wanted an idol player to join them to get more fame.[source:mal]