The light novel adaptation of the anime seriesSword Art Online(SAO) quickly became a fan favorite. The series has progressed from the NerveGear death game “Sword Art Online” to the Augma augmented reality game “Ordinal Scale.” From the first season onwards, and especially in the film adaptation, viewers see the characters put through their paces in a number of different gaming worlds. Characters with varying strengths and abilities have emerged from its many gaming settings.
Virtual realitymassively multiplayer online gamesmix fiction and reality. This allows for the portrayal of a wide range of personalities, each with their own set of talents and expertise. Each character in theSword Art Onlineseries has its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses, and these disparities are reflected in their respective degrees of ability.
Updated June 13, 2025 by Oluwatokiloba Folami:After its release, theSword Art Onlineanime series brought a world of carnage and death rather than a simple VRMMORPG, as the characters thought. With its ever-evolving landscape, many variations of the initial Sword Art Online game have come into play, and they each portray fresh new characters with unique skills and techniques of their own. The original Sword Art Online cast is undoubtedly powerful, but the many characters that came after, challenge the very meaning of power, as some like Quinella can exploit a whole game to their advantage, while others like Bercouli are capable of slashing through time are the very meaning of what it means to be powerful. Characters like Quinella had an entire game to their beck and call, while others like Bercouli possess the ability to slash through time itself.
18Klein
A Highly Adaptable And Loyal Character
At first glance, Klein is not the strongest of characters. However, after becoming a regular in various VRMMORPGs, he has slowly risen up the ranks and is capable of looking out for himself. As a hardcore gamer, Klein is a recurrent character throughout the franchise and explores various VRMMORPGs. He isknown to use a katanaand founded a clearer guild inSword Art Onlineto participate in clearing the floors of Aincrad.
As a character, Klein is friendly and extremely loyal, as seen through his interactions with Kirito. In the early stages afterSword Art Onlineturned into a death game, Beta Testers were looked at and treated with scorn; however, Klein remained devoted to Kirito nonetheless.
17General Eugene
The Salamander Commander Of Legend
As a very muscular Salamander, Eugene is easily recognizable, even from a distance. He is also very straightforward and loves to defeat challenging opponents. Before Kirito defeated him in a duel, Eugene was proclaimed as the strongest player in Alfheim Online. Moreover, he sported the Demonic Sword Gram, thesecond most powerful sword in Alfheim Online, surpassed only by the legendary Excalibur.
As a legendary sword, one of the requirements to use Gram is a two-handed sword skill level of 950. Eugene possessing that much sword skill shows just how high up the ladder he is. Coupled with its enormous strength, Eugene’s sword also has the ability to phase through objects, making blocking or parrying his attacks better said than done.
16Konno Yuuki
A Swordswoman With Faster Reaction Speed Than The Black Swordsman
ThisSword Art Onlinecharacter is one person who really developed a bond with Asuna, and they were as close as sisters. As Yuuki was diagnosed with an ailment throughout her life, she was a user of the Medicuboid and was perpetually logged on to various VRMMORPGs. Despite her weak body in real life,Yuuki’s virtual character was no weakling.
She was a powerful swordsman who bested Kirito in terms of reaction speed, the very thing that earned him the dual blades skill in theSword Art OnlineVRMMORPG. With her sword skills, Yuuki created Mother’s Rosario, an original 11-hit sword skill. She was also the protagonist of the Mother’s Rosario titularly named side story and is known to have bested Kirito in a duel.
15Yui
Being AI Makes Her Immune To Most In-Game Effects
Yuiwas initially created to help with the mental health of Sword Art Online players due to it being the first VRMMORPG. However, with Sword Art Online turning into a death game, Yui was blocked from performing her duties as players were left to either succumb to various mental stresses in-game or overcome them. Due to various malfunctions, Yui took the form of a little girl and forgot her primary purpose. Eventually, Kirito and Asuna adopted her.
As an entity tied to the core programming of the game, Yui possesses Game Master rights and is no different from Administrator, only that she doesn’t seek to control everyone and everything. Whatmakes Yui particularly powerfulis that she’s not bound by in-game rules and operates outside it.
14Bercouli
A Knight That Pierces Even Through Time
The leader of the Integrity Knights,Bercouli Synthesis Oneis known as the oldest Integrity Knight and remains one of the very strongest. As a knight, Bercouli has lived for a very long time but had his memories sealed, making him forget most of his past. However, in Rulid village, the legend about Bercouli facing a white dragon persists.
In terms of abilities, Bercouliuses the Time Piercing Sword, and with it, can slash both the future and the past. His attentiveness, mastery, composure, and pure physical ability make him a true master. With his ability to slash even outside of time, affecting cause and effect, Bercouli has proven his strength.
13Leafa
Following In Kirito’s Footsteps
The famousKirigaya Kazuto, known more popularly as the Black Swordsman, has a cousin who was raised as his sister. After Kirito’s encounter with Sword Art Online, Kirigaya Suguha decided to join in on VRMMORPG games. Whether dexterity and skill run in their family’s genes or Leafa is simply just as much of a prodigy as Kirito, the female warrior has proven herself.
As a Sylph warrior,Leafa is well-versedin the wind attribute and uses it beautifully. While her sword skills are top-notch, her tenacity and regeneration abilities, as shown while using the Terraria account during the War of Underworld astounded many.
12Oberon
The Major Antagonist Of Alfheim Online
Unlike many otherSword Art Onlinecharacters,Sugou Nobuyukididn’t possess incredible skill or tenacity but still had incredible power, all thanks to him running the account of Fairy King Oberon as the creator of Alfheim Online. With the Fairy King and administrator abilities, Oberon could do whatever he wanted.
Unfortunately for the Fairy King, Kirito could also access administrator privileges thanks to Kayaba Akihiko’s legacy and Yui, leveling the playing field. Despite giving Oberon the strongest weapon in-game, he could barely do anything against Kirito and could only swing recklessly. While Kirito was able to best Oberon, ordinary players could not stand up to him with the system on his side, as he even had Asuna imprisoned.
11Heathcliff
With The System At His Beck And Call, Heathcliff Was Untouchable
The creator of theSword Art OnlineVRMMORPG, Kayaba Akihiko, was so enamored with virtual reality that he designed a game to trap people in it, himself included. Once in the game, Kayaba took on the persona ofHeathcliffand achieved many notable feats. He founded the Knights of the Blood Oaths, and as the guild leader, he was known as the strongest player in-game. With his holy sword and liberator shield, Heathcliff’s life bar was known to have never entered the yellow range, meaning his life had never been put in danger.
While many adored him, Heathcliff was finally revealed to be the game master ofSword Art Online, which granted him many privileges, explainingmany of his inhumane feats. While powerful, Heathcliff was weaker than Kirito without the system at his beck and call, and fortunately for the players trapped inSword Art Online, the Black Swordsman put him down.
10Death Gun
The Mystery Surrounding Death Gun Made Him Widely Feared
Rather than a person,Death Gunis a group that came together to orchestrate killing avatars inGun Gale Onlinewhile also killing their real-life personas, all to make it seem like dying by Death Gun’s hand in-game would kill a player in real life.
While known as a single person, Death Gun comprises the brothers Shinkawa Shouichi and Shinkawa Kyouji, who came together to instill fear in others. Kyouji was the one who orchestrated the deaths of players in real life and did so by using succinylcholine, a muscle relaxant, to stop the hearts of his victims by injecting their real-life bodies while they were in the game online. Meanwhile, Shouichi, a former member of Laughing Coffin, went around killing players in the game. With his skills fromSword Art Online, very few players could give Shouchi a run for his money.
9Sinon
Few Could Face This Sniper And Come Out On Top, Whether She Used A Rifle Or A Bow
At a young age,Sinon, known in real life as Asada Shino, was involved in a robbery incident and became traumatized by guns. Taking the advice of a friend, Sinon started playingGun Gale Onlineto get over her phobia of guns, and from then on, she became a living legend.
With her avatar name Sinon and her signature Hecate II sniper rifle, Sinon became a renowned sniper feared by many. After resolving the Death Gun incident with Kirito, Sinon went on to become the co-winner of the third Bullet of Bullets championship (the largest PvP tournament inGun Gale Online) and came in second in the fourth tournament. After the Death Gun incident, Sinon became particularly close with Kirito and has assisted him in various other virtual reality games since. Whether it be as a sniper or an archer,Sinon has always showcasedher talent for long-range accuracy.
