History Characters / SwordArtOnlineAbridgedSeasonOneCharacters

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Kirito initially defends him and the other [=NPCs=] against Asuna's [[CannonFodder tactics]], saying that some of his best friends had been [=NPCs=]. Ironically, while Kirito does brutally murder him, it's because he does see him as a person, albeit a treacherous coward who stole all their teleport crystals and left them to die.

See [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedAntagonists here for his folder]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Charlie]]

[[quoteright:658:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2_649.png]][[caption-width-right:658:''"Winners don't use drugs! Except steroids! In which case, use lots of drugs!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Stuart "[=LordMegatronG1=]" Hutson\\\

The tutorial NPC, who Keita kidnapped, leaving the rest of the playerbase unable to get the most basic instructions on how to play the game.

* AdaptationNameChange: From Tetsuo to Charlie.

* FatalFlaw: Her ExtremeDoormat nature, lack of foresight (like her guildmaster Keita), and blind trust on her NPC peers are what lead to her death. She gets Kirito to go along with Keita's ill-conceived and reckless plan to replace the mafia's rare item, and in the dungeon with the item, she sets the AI companions to auto-loot to save time only for this to result in Gary triggering an obvious trap chest that gets her killed. They might have survived but she also gave Gary and Charlie life-saving items like Teleportation Crystals and Health Potions, so when they ran/died, they lost those too.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8ed3b547_90a7_4486_99a3_a00c52ab46ab.jpeg]][[caption-width-right:350:''"We must save my family!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Isaac "[=AtomicVoice=]" Lawson\\\

An NPC from one of ''Sword Art Online'''s quests, kidnapped by Keita to be a guild member. He ultimately causes the guild to die in a trap that he triggers (due to being set to auto-loot) and steals the teleport crystal that the group could have used to save themselves.

* AdaptationNameChange: From Ducker to Gary.

* AdaptationalVillainy: ZigZagged. The original character never [[DirtyCoward teleported away or left his guild to die]] at any point, and instead died in the same room as them. Mitigated somewhat by him being an [[ArtificialStupidity AI]] in this version, meaning he's ObliviouslyEvil at worst.
* AlasPoorVillain: With the exception of Kirito and Asuna, everyone is left completely traumatized after his gruesome death.
* AntiVillain: He's a massive hindrance for his guild, as well as a DirtyCoward who leaves his friends to die. However, he's also an AI following his directive, so most of his reprehensible actions can be chalked up to ArtificialStupidity.
* ArtificialStupidity: Part of being an NPC. Because Sachi has set him to auto-loot, he does so slavishly with every chest he come across, even if said chest is an incredibly ObviousTrap.
* AscendedExtra: He ends up playing a far bigger role here than he did in canon. He's the actual cause of the Moonlit Black Cats dying since he teleported away with the crystals. He gets SparedByTheAdaptation meaning he survives for months longer. He also ends up being Kirito's BerserkButton and is mentioned many times later in the series.
* BerserkButton: To Kirito, especially after he abandons the rest of the guild in an ambush. Hearing his voice or someone mentioning his name will send Kirito into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* BrickJoke: Kirito was ''really'' pissed at Gary for teleporting away with all their crystals and leaving Sachi to die. He shows up again in Episode 5 where Kirito proceeds to murder him in cold blood for abandoning them.
* BrokenRecord: "We must save my family!" Gets worse in Episode 5, as he repeatedly chokes the line out as many times as he can as he's being stabbed by Kirito.
* CannonFodder: Asuna planned to use him as this to fight Sheeptar, but Kirito had a score to settle with him first.
* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: In the original anime, he gets hacked to death by the Slaughternauts and Murder-Golems. Here, he manages to escape this fate [[DirtyCoward by abandoning his guild to die]], only to get brutally murdered by [[SoleSurvivor Kirito]] two episodes later.
* DirtyCoward: Kirito considers him this, since he teleported away and left the rest of the Crew to die.
* DumbBlond: He has blond hair and is by far the most dysfunctional of the [=NPCs=].
* FlatCharacter: Ducker was TheSneakyGuy in canon; here, he's just an NPC programmed to save his family. Ironically, he ends up playing a larger role here than [[RedShirt the one he had]] in canon.
* KarmicDeath: After getting Sachi killed, Kirito's next encounter with Gary ends with Kirito repeatedly running Gary through with a sword, with Gary futilely choking out [[WelcomeToCorneria his only line]] as he dies.
* KilledOffscreen: As he's hacked to death by Kirito, all the audience can see is the guild's horrified reactions.
* LethallyStupid: While in a dungeon, he triggers an obvious trap because Sachi set him to auto-loot, then teleports away with the party's entire supply of teleport crystals, leaving everyone trapped inside to die.
* TheLoad: He was almost completely useless for his guild, even moreso than Sachi and his fellow [=NPCs=]. He's never shown actually doing anything useful and only hinders or actively endangers his group on numerous occasions. In Episode 5, the only use Asuna finds for him is as CannonFodder.
* MauveShirt: He survives the longest out of his guild (outside of Kirito), but is killed early in Episode 5.
* TheMillstone: He gets his entire guild sans Kirito and Keita killed by opening a treasure chest in a dungeon which triggers a trap, and then teleporting away while storing all of the guild's teleport crystals.
* NonPlayerCharacter: From a quest that Keita has no intention of turning in, just so Gary can follow them forever.
* ObliviouslyEvil: He's a quest AI programmed to want to "save his family", even if it entails abandoning Kirito, Sachi and the other [=NPCs=] to their deaths.
* PokemonSpeak: "[[WelcomeToCorneria We must save my family!]]" [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as Keita never finished his quest, making him [[BrokenRecord unable to move on from that line]]. He's also heard chanting "To Kirito!" alongside the rest of the guild early in the episode.
* SoundOnlyDeath: Aside from his futile repeating of his only line, Kirito's insane laughter accompanied by sword striking sounds can also be heard as he's killing him.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: Survives longer than in canon, only to come across Kirito once more. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Kirito doesn't forgive him for indirectly causing Sachi's death.]]
* WelcomeToCorneria: [[RuleOfThree All together now:]] "We must save my family!"
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Kirito initially defends him and the other [=NPCs=] against Asuna's [[CannonFodder tactics]], saying that some of his best friends had been [=NPCs=]. Then he remembers who Gary is and what he did, and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge he conveniently forgets about his stance]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Charlie]]

[[quoteright:658:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2_649.png]][[caption-width-right:658:''"Winners don't use drugs! Except steroids! In which case, use lots of drugs!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Stuart "[=LordMegatronG1=]" Hutson\\\

The tutorial NPC, who Keita kidnapped, leaving the rest of the playerbase unable to get the most basic instructions on how to play the game.
----
* AdaptationNameChange: From Tetsuo to Charlie.
* AdaptationSpeciesChange: From a human player to an AI.

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8_29.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:So you see, boy. I didn't kill [[spoiler:Griselda]]. I killed [[spoiler:the thing that took her place]].]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Scott "Creator/KaiserNeko" Frerichs\\\

A member of the Golden Apple guild, married to another player, Griselda. He is the antagonist of Episodes 5 and 6 as the true killer of Griselda, who murdered her when she was too busy planning a raid with the others to make him dinner and asked him to eat leftovers instead.

* AdaptationalDumbass: On top of [[AdaptationalVillainy having his villainy upped to eleven]], this version of Grimlock is a complete idiot with the brain of a bratty (but more destructive) four-year-old who throws a tantrum over not having the dinner he wanted, then doubles down on his actions and tries to blame his mess on his former friend.
* AdaptationalVillainy: While murdering your wife out of fear she'll become a BloodKnight and no longer resemble who you fell in love with wasn't justified, it was a significantly less petty motivation than killing her for [[spoiler:not having the time to cook dinner one evening]].
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Is killed by Yolko, Schmitt, and Kains for having his own wife murdered. The fact that he put out a hit on them later doesn't help his case.]]
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: If killing his wife over a sandwich doesn't prove this, then acting like ''he'' is the victim of the whole ordeal certainly does.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He must've been this to be held in such high regard by Yolko and Kains. By the time we see him, however, any superficial charm he might've had is long gone, replaced with a shallow husk of a man grasping at straws.
* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:He is confirmed as an ''SAO'' survivor in the canon, but here he is killed by his former guild.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Thanks to this guy's master plan, nobody's making him sandwiches any time soon.
* DirtyCoward: Implied to have killed Griselda [[InTheBack from behind]], and he hires some mercenaries to tie up loose ends instead of doing it himself.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Subverted. He sounds offended when Kirito accuses him of killing his wife over something as petty as [[{{Greed}} money]], only to then reveal that he actually killed her over [[spoiler: ''a sandwich''.]]
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: He's positively ''shocked'' that his former friends would turn on him after [[spoiler: he told them [[BlatantLies his tragic story]] of murdering his wife over a sandwich.]]
* EvilerThanThou: He's the ''one'' villain (before [[SmugSuper Sugou]] enters the picture) that [[EveryoneHasStandards manages to disgust Kirito]] with his actions, to the point where the latter gives him a brutal TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
-->'''Grimlock:''' (to Kirito) Kid, one day you'll understand what's like to be in love.
* EvilIsPetty: [[spoiler:The most galling aspect of his crime. He didn't gain anything from it except a dead wife and the hatred of his guild when they find out.]]
* FalseFriend: He helps Kains and Yolko with their investigation of Griselda's murder, if only to [[spoiler: scare the already delusional Schmitt into falsely confessing to ''his'' crime. He also hires Laughing Coffin to get rid of all three of them once they fail.]]
* FauxHorrific: Only two things can drive him over the edge: His wife not making him dinner in time one day, and insulting his hat.
* GeniusDitz: His plan to get Schmitt framed for his crime is actually rather well thought out (due to the latter already being on the edge of his sanity), and it would've worked if not for Kirito' and Asuna's intervention. However, said crime was motivated by extremely stupid and immature reasons only befitting of a PsychopathicManchild.
* {{Greed}}: Subverted. [[spoiler:Kirito initially suspected that Grimlock killed his wife to keep that rare item for himself since married players share inventory space and no one would know he stole it. [[MotiveMisidentification However, his true motive is far]] [[EvilIsPetty pettier]]]].
* HateSink: The entirety of his screen time is devoted to showing off how much of a vile piece of shit he is.
* InsaneTrollLogic: [[spoiler:He claims he didn't kill his wife but "the thing that took her place." Keep in mind that this stems from the fact that she didn't cook dinner one day.]]
* LovingAShadow: As Kirito points out, he never really loved Griselda; he simply wanted to possess her.
* MagicalWeapon: Subverted. His sword, "Guilty Thorn" doesn't really kill players in safe zones; it was all part of a ploy by Yolko and Kains to scare Schmitt.
* MoralMyopia: "Delusional" doesn't even ''begin'' to describe this guy.
-->'''Kirito:''' (after sitting through his MotiveRant) [[SarcasmFailure Wow, okay.]] Let me see if I got this. You killed your wife because she wouldn't get in the kitchen and make you ''a sandwich''?!\\
'''Grimlock''': And what man would blame me?! Kains? Schmitt? You guys know what I'm talking about!\\
'''Kains''': [[TranquilFury Don't... don't talk to us, man.]]
* MotiveRant:
--> [[spoiler:'''Grimlock:''' Are you mad?! I didn't kill my wife for something as trivial as money! No. My story is... far more tragic.\\
''[cut to flashback]''\\
'''Grimlock:''' We were so in love. In all our time together, we never had a single fight. But then... one night... everything changed.\\
'''Griselda:''' I'm sorry, honey. I didn't have time to make dinner. I have to go meet Yolko and the girls to strategize for the raid. But there's still some leftovers in the fridge. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Love you!\\
'''Grimlock:''' And just like that, I realized the woman I loved was gone. I was devastated. How could she betray me like this? Clearly, if I was to preserve her memory... to hold on to the angel she once was... something drastic had to be done. So you see, boy. I didn't kill Griselda. I killed the thing that took her place.]]
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Your ExtremeDoormat wife isn't making you a proper dinner (for the ''first'' time in years), prioritizing going on raids with her girlfriends over your basic needs (even if you still had leftovers in the fridge)? [[CallForward Have you considered... murder?]]
* NeckSnap: After Asuna complains that they're making too much noise, [[spoiler: Schmitt puts an end to the guild's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown of him with one of these.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Not only does he kill his wife for not being a submissive housewife, but he tries to justify his actions to his fellow male players. Unsurprisingly, they're all repulsed by him.
* PsychopathicManchild: He considers his wife not making him dinner once to be her InUniverse MoralEventHorizon, and has a childish tantrum after Asuna says his hat makes him look like a hipster.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: When he tells [[LackOfEmpathy Kirito]], "Some day you'll understand what's like to be in love", he's obviously referring to him becoming a sexist asshole like him, but without the implications, it's actually a sound criticism of his character (and in episode 9, Kirito ''does'' eventually understand what's like to be ''really'' in love).
* SanitySlippage: By Episode 6, he's nothing but a blubbering mess pathetically trying justifying his actions at any chance he gets. Luckily, [[spoiler: his gang gave him the help he needed [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown behind a tree]].]]
* SkewedPriorities: As Kirito soon finds out, his dinner and '''his hat'' are far more important to him than his wife.
* SignatureHeadgear: His hat. Though Asuna and Kirito both think it makes him look like Music/JohnLennon joined the mafia.
* StayInTheKitchen: His attitude towards his wife, [[spoiler:to the point of killing her when she failed to do so.]]
* StrawMisogynist: Exaggerated to the point of parody. Every line of dialogue that comes from his mouth is dedicated to reinforcing this.
* StupidEvil: His actions weren't just atrocious, they were also extremely childish and immature; [[spoiler: he kills Griselda for not making him dinner ''once'', essentially ensuring she'll never be able to make him ''anything'' from then on.]]
* TokenEvilTeammate: While the other Golden Apple members aren't saints (especially Schmitt), Grimlock is the only one who is an outright monster. Needless to say, he stops being a "teammate" after his murder of Griselda comes to light.
* VillainousBreakdown: ''Not'' brought upon by Kirito's well-founded ReasonYouSuckSpeech, but by Asuna telling him that [[FashionVictimVillain his hat makes him look like a hipster.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: Since he's introduced as [[spoiler: Griselda's actual murderer, most of his entries are spoiler-tagged.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Is willing to do this to ''anyone'' the moment they don't do what he wants. [[spoiler: He pulls this on his wife after she stops making him dinner every day, and attempts this on Yolko, Kains, and Schmitt as well after the initial plan to frame the latter fails.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Griselda]]

[[quoteright:977:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/19_6.png]][[caption-width-right:977:''"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't have time to make dinner. I have to go meet Yolko and the girls to strategize for the raid. But there's still some leftovers in the fridge. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Love you!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Caitlin "[=MOM0KI=]" Myers\\\

The former leader of the guild Golden Apple, whose ghost is purportedly seeking vengeance on her murderer.
----

[[quoteright:950:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/17_1.png]][[caption-width-right:950:''"Beta testers?!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Mackenzie "[=Hayabusa449=]" Murdock\\\

A loudmouth and conspiracy theorist who blames the beta testers for being trapped in ''SAO'', hijacks a strategy session early in the game, and causes more trouble later.

* AdaptationalDumbass: The original Kibaou was already a moron, but the Abridged version makes him more of an exaggerated conspiracy theorist who thinks the beta testers are responsible for trapping the players in the game. When Diabel asks for evidence of his claims, Kibaou outright states he does not need any, and expects everyone to back him up.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Unlike in canon, he doesn't try to accuse Kirito of letting Diabel die in this version, even though this Kirito was even more of an ass than the original ever was, giving him more of a reason to be spiteful towards the beta tester.
* AntiHero: NominalHero in Episode 2. He was on Diabel's side, but he was even more unsympathetic than ''[[{{Jerkass}} Kirito]]''. After his rise to power, he drops the "hero" label pretty quickly.
* AssassinationAttempt: Tries to get his guild's deposed leader Thinker killed during a staged peace treaty. Thankfully, Thinker's lieutenant Yulier enlists the help of Kirito and Asuna to rescue him.
* BadLiar: Told Thinker that he was willing to negotiate their leadership issues, but only if the peace talk was held inside a dungeon with a creepy OptionalBoss lurking inside. The worst part? [[IronicName Thinker]] fell for it.
* CannonFodder: Since he "hijacked conversations to rant about his political views", he makes it to the front lines, much to his horror. He actually survives the raid, though.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He may be a stupid asshole, but he survives the Floor 1 raid despite being on the front lines. He also goes on to become the leader of the ALF.
* FantasticRacism: He hates beta testers for not helping people (read: ''him'') clear the first floor, and blames them for getting everyone stuck in the game.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: If Diabel's exasperated reaction to his introduction is any indication. As dumb as most SAO players are, ''nobody'' listens to what this guy has to say. Yulier states this is part of why they didn't see his power-grab coming: they honestly didn't think anyone would follow him.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: His first and only onscreen appearance is in Episode 2 and is spent trash-talking SAO's beta testers and blaming them for getting everyone trapped in the game. Then in a classic display of OffstageVillainy, he joins the ALF and stages a violent coup that throws the entire guild into chaos.
* InsaneTrollLogic:
** Claims he doesn't need evidence to blame beta testers for anything, he just can.
** It goes both ways; when Kirito states his BadassLongcoat somehow makes him a superior being than him, Kibaou ''agrees''.
* ItsAllAboutMe: He tries to out the beta testers as traitors because he's bitter that ''they'' didn't teach ''him'' how to play the game, even though they did make a players' guide for him and the other newbies to read [[WhoWritesThisCrap (though given what was written in it...)]].
* ILied: Turns out he lied about the negotiation and only wanted to get Thinker killed by a boss. Everybody saw it coming save for Thinker himself.
* {{Jerkass}}: Much like in canon, although it's mitigated by the fact that Abridged Kirito actually ''is'' an asshole.
* KarmaHoudini: Unless Yulier and Thinker did something about his AssassinationAttempt, he essentially got away scot-free when Kirito logged every surviving SAO player out of the game.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: He claims to know with complete certainty that the beta testers are traitors. He has no evidence of this and it's soon made clear that he is only bitter about not having their advantage over the mechanics of the game.
* OhCrap: Has one when the guide almost literally singles him out as a potential candidate for a meat shield, due to how annoying he is.
* PetTheDog:
** Despite all the grief he caused Diabel, he yells out his name as he's killed, implying he cared about his leader to an extent.
** He also doesn't accuse Kirito of getting him killed like in canon, despite Kirito actually being responsible this time around.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Since the beta testers' guide turns out to be a bust, he's eventually proven correct about the beta testers (or at least ''one'' of them) intentionally hindering them. However, it doesn't make his argument any less stupid as he didn't even know the book existed, and it's clear he was speaking out of ignorance.
* StupidEvil: He's a moronic conspiracy theorist who somehow rose to the ranks of the ALF and became a tyrant.
* TokenEvilTeammate: The ALF is already filled with incompetent assholes, but Kibaou is the only one of them who actually attempted to [[PlayerKilling kill another player.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Corvatz]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/16_21.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:''"Very well! Watch closely, for one day, you shall tell your grandchildren of the day you witnessed the great Corvatz in action! Now, men! Group up and hit it till it dies!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AlejandroSaab\\\

A self-proclaimed master strategist, who has never failed to defeat a floor boss. Or succeeded in defeating a floor boss. He likes to speak in a Spanish accent despite being from Nagano.
----

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/14_852.png]]
[[caption-width-right:1000:Kirito:''"You look like Benjamin Button fucked an old catcher's mitt. Like 4 inches of face stretched over 12 inches of skull. Like a moldy Jack O' Lantern some frat guy barfed in and then crushed against his forehead because he was super drunk and thought it was a beer can and then immediately regretted every single life choice he ever made."'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Mackenzie "[=Hayabusa449=]" Murdock\\\

Asuna's bodyguard, who moonlights as a clingy stalker. He challenges Kirito to a duel and promptly makes a fool of himself. He is actually a fanboy of Laughing Coffin, seeking vengeance on Kirito for orchestrating their downfall.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Even ''Asuna'' thinks he's too insane (or ugly) for her. Didn't stop him from stalking her in her sleep.
* AbusiveParents: Suggested as he mutters to himself after recovering from a blow.
-->'''Kuradeel:''' Don't hit me mommy, you know it makes me hard...
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: It's not much, but this incarnation of him actually has a personal reason (petty as it may be) to want to kill [[{{Jerkass}} Kirito]] and [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Godfree]] beyond simply being deranged. He also doesn't pull an ISurrenderSuckers on Asuna like in the anime, though this was likely because [[VillainKiller she didn't let him]].
* AdaptationalSympathy: His death is a very well-deserved one, but the implication that [[AbusiveParents his mother used to beat him]], as well as the fact that Kirito just won't stop mocking him for his InformedDeformity can add some sympathy to his death.
* AdaptationalWimp: He doesn't manage to get the drop on Asuna this time around, although to be fair, it's not like [[AdaptationalJerkass this Asuna]] was going to give him the chance.
* AintTooProudToBeg: Like in canon, when Asuna beats him, he goes to his knees begging for mercy. [[spoiler:Unlike in canon, however, Asuna is far less merciful and kills him on the spot]].
* AxCrazy: The guy is [[spoiler:a fan of [[HeroKiller Laughing Coffin]]]], so... ''yeah.''
* BerserkButton: [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Butchering the]] [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Bard's]] prose, as [[spoiler:Godfree learns the hard way]].
-->'''Kuradeel:''' [[spoiler:''[whilst repeatedly stabbing Godfree]'' Wouldst thou shutteth the FUCK UP! I had to SIT and listen to you for MONTHS as you run Shakespeare through a wood chipper! Is that supposed to be endearing or something?!]]
* BodyguardingABadass: His protégée Asuna is clearly much more skilled than him, and from their interactions, it seems like she'd much rather not have him there. And this is before he's outed as a stalker.
* BullyingADragon: When Asuna comes in to Kirito's aid, he foolishly taunts her, only to end up on the receiving end of a vicious CurbStompBattle which ends with a sword through his skull.
* ButtMonkey: Asuna has little patience for him, and Kirito refuses to give him any respect.
* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: Somewhat. In the original anime, Kirito kills him. Here, Asuna is the one who does him in. However, Asuna was actually the one who killed him in the original Web Novel.
* DirtyCoward: Since he knows he can't best Kirito, he opts for spiking his drink with paralysis instead. He also quickly folds and pleads for his life when Asuna comes in and wipes the floor with him, [[{{Hypocrite}} despite not showing that same compassion when he had Godfree at his mercy.]]
* EvilCounterpart: To Asuna. Both SAO players serve as impulsive and sadistic members of the Knights of The Blood Oath with tendency to [[StalkerWithACrush stalk those they feel drawn to.]] However, there is one notable distinction between them: Asuna is an AntiHero whose primary objective is still to escape the game, and her more villainous actions often stem from emotional responses to certain events. In contrast, Kuradeel's malevolence is premeditated, and [[SlasherSmile he takes great pleasure]] in embracing the role of a villain, in stark contrast to Asuna's desire to [[MaskOfSanity maintain a semblance of normalcy in front of everyone else]]. Both characters also have an alarmingly intense obsession with Kirito; however, Kuradeel's obsession is driven by [[{{Revenge}} a thirst for revenge]], whereas Asuna's stems from MadLove. Fittingly, [[KarmicDeath Kuradeel's demise at her hands mirrors Godfree's death at ''his'' hands.]]
* EvilIsHammy: He appears to be trying to invoke Johnny Black during his torture of Kirito, although he's not as effective and instead comes off as him trying too hard.
* EvilIsPetty: Sadistically kills Godfree because he annoyed him with his roleplaying, and admitted that part of his motivation for killing Kirito was in part because he humiliated him during a duel.
* {{Fanboy}}: [[spoiler:He's revealed to be one of Laughing Coffin, as opposed to being an actual member like his canon counterpart. That doesn't make him any less dangerous, but it does give Kirito more ammunition to mock him with.]]
** He seems to be one specifically to Johnny Black, whom he appears to be trying to emulate with his [[EvilIsHammy hammy demeanor]] and his MasterPoisoner tactics. He doesn't seem to be as effective, though. Ironically, Johnny himself was a LoonyFan of one of his victims as well.
** To a lesser extent, he shares [=Red-Eyed XaXa=]'s SlasherSmile when threatening his victims, and seems to be trying to invoke Jeffrey's HolyHitman act when interacting with Kirito.
--->'''Kuradeel:''' Your reckoning comes from a ''far'' greater sin.
* {{Foil}}: To Rosalia, the antagonist of Episode 4: They both stand out as rather sadistic SAO players whose behavior drove away a former guildmate (Rosalia tried to kill Silica's pet, while Kuradeel stalked Asuna while she slept), and who's killed by their respective [[GoodCounterpart Good Counterparts]], but they're polar opposites:
** Rosalia was a FemmeFatale who served as the undisputed leader of her guild, while Kuradeel was a {{Gonk}} who served as a bodyguard to Asuna, before turning against her.
** While both are FauxAffablyEvil, Kuradeel was a [[AxCrazy murderous lunatic]] who killed his victims by himself, while Rosalia was a SoftSpokenSadist who made her men kill other players for her.
** Though both of them try to kill Kirito at different points in his journey, Kuradeel comes ''much'' closer to actually ending Kirito's life thanks to his [[CombatPragmatist careful planning]], but was continuously humiliated by Kirito's insults, and by the end of Episode 9, Kirito had all but forgotten about him. Rosalia, on the other hand, couldn't leave so much as a scratch on Kirito's body, but left a ''massive'' scar on Kirito's mental state through her [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech brutal deconstruction of his character]], which haunted him up until his full redemption in Episode 11.
** Rosalia didn't budge [[FaceDeathWithDignity even after being killed by Kirito]], letting out one final DyingCurse before dying, while Kuradeel went out [[FaceDeathWithDespair screaming and begging Asuna for his life]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: It doesn't kill him, but during his "duel" with Kirito, his own dagger comes down on his head after Asuna slaps it into the air.
* {{Hypocrite}}: He complains about being trapped in SAO, but he's a player killer who targets both the best fighter in the game and a high-ranking member of one of its only competent guilds, meaning he's done little but hinder the progress of those who want to escape the game.
* IfICantHaveYou: Downplayed when compared to his canon counterpart, as he's far more eager to kill Asuna after she shows up to stop him, even if she was his LustObject. This implies he gave up on her after she got a dagger stuck in his head.
* InformedAbility: From what we see of her, it's not like Asuna was in need of a bodyguard anyway, much less someone whose go-to method of killing was poison. Lampshaded when Godfree tells Kirito that Kuradeel has decades of experience with the game, only for Kuradeel to meekly state that he's actually in his twenties (on top of the game only being out for two years at the time).
* InformedDeformity: While he's certainly not winning any beauty pageants, he's not quite the {{Gonk}} Kirito makes him out to be.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Even though Kirito was one of the best members of his guild and a very valuable asset for those who wanted to clear the game, Kuradeel still tries to kill him over some petty squabble.
* KarmicDeath: This time around, [[spoiler: it's Asuna (his previous protegee and the victim of his stalking) who offs him. [[WordOfGod According to Something Witty Entertainment]], this was the main reason for the change]]. Furthermore, he also gets executed [[AintTooProudToBeg while pleading for his life]] after being given a HopeSpot by his killer, similarly to the way he killed Godfree.
* LaughingMad: As he steps in to kill Godfree, whom he loathes for his [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe butchering]] of Shakespeare's characters.
* LightIsNotGood: He sports the traditional Nights Of The Blood Oath white armor, but he's a deranged psychopath.
* MasterPoisoner: Spikes his victims drinks with paralysis potion before killing them so he can draw their deaths out as much as possible.
* MuggingTheMonster: He challenges Kirito to a duel in Episode 8, unaware of the possibility that he ''might'' be in over his head.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Your protegee doesn't appreciate you stalking her? Your guildmate just won't stop ruining the Shakespeare prose with his hideous roleplaying? Did that scumbag Kirito get your favorite serial killer guild disbanded with his stupid business advice, on top of constantly degrading and humiliating you for your ugly face? Have you considered... murder?
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: He initially seems like an IneffectualSympatheticVillain in Episode 8, but he becomes one of the three SAO characters (the others being ''The Gleam Eyes'' boss and ''Kayaba himself'') to bring Kirito's health into the red.
* NoRespectGuy:[[TrollingCreator Kayaba]] plays circus music when he challenges Kirito, and the latter isn't any less merciful when humiliating him.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Kirito wasn't exactly his most innocent victim, though this is {{Downplayed}} considering he had a much pettier reason for killing him.
* PsychopathicManchild: He tries to kill Kirito because he got his favorite cult of player killers disbanded, and he conveys these events to him as if he were talking about his favorite show getting cancelled.
-->'''Kirito:''' Let me guess. You prefer their early work?
-->'''Kuradeel:''' AND WHAT OF IT?!
* {{Revenge}}: While Kirito's {{Jerkass}} attitude is an unexpected side benefit, the main reason he wants to kill him is that Kirito got his beloved [[PlayerKilling PK guild]] killed.
* {{Sadist}}: [[spoiler: His EvilLaugh as he's killing Godfree and his slow torturing of Kirito should be enough evidence of this.]]
* ShadowArchetype: He's a lunatic who has a crush on Asuna and later tries to kill her boyfriend out of hate, but he's killed by a vengeful Asuna due to underestimating her. In the later arc, an employee of Asuna's father, Nobuyuki Sugou, finds himself lusting for Asuna as well, but is much more meticulous in his plan to make Asuna his "[[SexSlave wife]]" while crushing Kirito's spirits at the same time, using a brainwashing program to force her into submissiveness.
* SlasherSmile: [[spoiler:Once he reveals his true colors.]]
* SmugSnake: He has a rather overinflated opinion of his own abilities and has a tendency to look down on people who can and will kick his ass.
* TheSociopath: He's an entitled sadist who blames Kirito for all of his problems and who idolizes a cult of murderers. He also stalks his protégée Asuna at night, tries to kill her and her boyfriend after being humiliated, and gleefully murders his friend because he finds his quirks annoying.
* StalkerWithACrush: His actions went "a little" beyond what was acceptable for a bodyguard. ''Especially'' breaking into Asuna's house at night.
* StupidEvil: He doesn't seem to be very bright.
-->'''Kuradeel:''' (after realizing Kirito severs his sword by its handle) I... feel like this was longer.
* TattooedCrook: As befitting for a {{Fanboy}}, he has the Laughing Coffin logo tattooed on his forearm.
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:He was already angry at Kirito for insulting his being a fanboy of Laughing Coffin, but when Asuna comes at him, he loses all semblance of his pride and begs her not to kill him.]]
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Would you have guessed just from looking at him that he's 26?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Godfree]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/18_80.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:''"Now! Come hither, young squire! Let us avaunt for adventure and a valuable learning experience! Ha ha!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Anthony "[=AntfishFTW=]" Sardinha\\\

A senior member of the Knights of the Blood Oath, who puts Kirito through some team-building exercises that are ultimately unsuccessful. He's also a role-player who speaks in YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe.
----

!Bethesda and Argus

[[folder:General '''(Unmarked Spoilers)''']]
The publisher and developer of ''Sword Art Online'', respectively. Creator/{{Bethesda}} contracted Argus to develop the game and allowed Argus to delay it twice, but were unwilling to extend the deadline any further, resulting in head programmer Kayaba Akihiko having only three weeks to finish the game. This resulted in the game releasing in a disastrously broken state and being filled with bugs, including one that kills players.

* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: Apparently happened with Kayaba's night janitor Reki after he mistook him for God while in his sleep-deprived state.
-->'''Kayaba:''' On the plus side, I gave him a hell of an ego boost. Man was riding that compliment for days.
* CreatorCameo: Reki the night janitor is this for Reki Kawahara, the writer of the source material's light novels. Kayaba mistaking him for God due to his sleep deprivation is a reference to Reki actually being the God of the franchise.
* CreatorKiller: InUniverse example. ''Sword Art Online'' winds up being this for Argus. Since it was an ObviousBeta [[invoked]] with many awful design choices and outright [[TheMostDangerousVideoGame killing players who die in the game]], Argus is said in Season 2 to have gone bankrupt, with RECT Progress buying up the source code to do their own thing with it.
* DeadlyGame: Their first ([[CreatorKiller and last]][[invoked]]) fully immersive VR game became this when the overworked head programmer accidentally created a glitch which killed the players when their avatars die, then doubled down on his mistake and locked everyone inside until they finished it.
* DevelopmentHell: [[invoked]] Sword Art Online was apparently delayed twice, and the three last weeks of its production were handled by ''one'' man. However, the actual hell didn't occur [[DeadlyGame until the game launched]].
* TheGhost: Bethesda is only briefly mentioned by Kayaba as the publisher of SAO. Other than himself, no employees of Argus are shown onscreen either.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Bethesda forcing Kayaba to finish the game in only three weeks despite needing far longer to polish led to the creation of the player-killing glitch and Kayaba becoming the BigBad who trapped everyone in the game to use them as hostages and escape consequences for the glitch.
* IncompetenceInc: The entire conflict of the first season happened because Bethesda wouldn't extend the deadline for Argus and demanded Argus push out the game now, resulting in it containing a plethora of glitches, including one that [[TheMostDangerousVideoGame kills players if they die in the game]]. Party because of this, Argus also implemented several bad design choices like clunky menus, bland dungeons, repetitive quests, a "seizure-inducing" crafting system, and more. So great was their incompetence that they ended up ''nearly killing the virtual reality industry''.
* MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds: Despite Bethesda forcing Argus to rush the game, it's very obvious that they ''didn't mean'' to create the glitch that kills players.
* MythologyGag: Reki the night janitor, whom Kayaba briefly thought was God as part of his sleep-deprived madness, shares a name with ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' creator Reki Kawahara.
* ObviousBeta: [[invoked]] For all the hype surrounding it, Sword Art Online was clearly too ambitious for the workers at Argus, and even after being delayed twice, it was chalked full of bugs, glitches, and poorly coded crafting systems that broke the immersion of many players. Not even three consecutive weeks of uninterrupted work by the head programmer Kayaba could solve these issues.
* OvershadowedByControversy: InUniverse, Argus created the worlds' first fully immersive MMORPG of the world, but because of Kayaba Akihiko's poor handling of a deadly glitch, SAO is now remembered as a DeadlyGame responsible for the complete collapse of the organization and the near death of the virtual reality industry as a whole.
* TemptingFate: "Nobody's gonna notice a few glitches." [[DeadlyGame Yeah, about that...]]
* TroubledProduction: [[invoked]] Sword Art Online had an ongoing fight between its head programmer and its publisher, with Bethesda denying Kayaba a third extension despite the game being an ObviousBeta [[invoked]] at the time of its release, which ended in the game becoming a disaster.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Forcing Kayaba to release the game ahead of time regardless of how buggy it was led to him accidentally creating a new glitch (which kills the players when their avatars die) while trying to fix the other ones, which was the spark that ended up burning down the entire company after Kayaba went insane with sleep depravation and forced everyone to finish the game by locking them inside.
* VillainousLegacy: Aside from the [=NervGear=] hitting the second-hand market and nearly killing the VR industry, Argus' legacy mainly lives on in public memory because of "The SAO Disaster" through the SAO servers and source code they had sold to RECT Progress who sought to keep the still-comatose Players alive until they found a way to free them. They indirectly assist in Nobuyuki Sugous' [[CompellingVoice plan]] through constant psychological torturing of those very same comatose ''SAO'' Players, causing more trouble for Kirito and Asuna even after the company's demise.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: While Argus is known to have collapsed into bankruptcy as a result of the utter disaster that SAO became and the deaths it caused, no mention is given to Bethesda and what consequences they faced for rushing the game out. Though its very likely that Bethesda cut all ties with Argus when the deaths began.
[[/folder]]

!''[=SAO=]'' Player Base

[[folder:General]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/24_2.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:So... you want us to beat an MMO?!]]
''SAO''[='s=] player base, forced to fight for their lives in a game they can no longer log out of. Or as Kirito puts it, "a bunch of mouth-breathing neckbeards who think 'LMAO' is how French people laugh."
----

See [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedAntagonists for his folder]], but '''beware of unmarked spoilers'''.

See [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedAntagonists for Kayaba's folder]].

See [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedKayaba here]]

!!Supporting Characters

[[center: [- [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridged Main Page]] | [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedMajorCharacters Major Characters]] ([[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedKirito Kazuto Kirigaya]], [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedAsuna Asuna Yuuki]], [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedLeafa Suguha Kirigaya]]) | '''Introduced in Season 1''' ([[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedKayaba Kayaba Akihiko]]) | [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedSeasonTwoCharacters Introduced in Season 2]] | [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedAntagonists Antagonists]]-] ]]

!!Diabel's Raid Party

[[folder:General]]
[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_10_27_222107_4.png]]
[[caption-width-right:1000:WHAT?! 2000 PEOPLE ARE DEAD?! IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN A MONTH YET! OH MY GOD, WE REALLY ARE FUCKED!]]
A prototype guild formed by a ragtag force of straggler players which managed to clear Floor 1 before being disbanded due to the death of their leader, who then gave the reigns to beta tester Kirito, who then proceeded to ditch them all, effectively dissolving the guild.

* AllMenArePerverts: At least three of them lose their composure when Diabel reads that the players who ask female players for boob pictures should be put in the front lines.
* AnswersToTheNameOfGod: With one player it's justified. Jesus (Hay-soos) is a common name in Spanish-speaking countries.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: One of Diabel's squads starts playing ''VideoGame/{{Bejeweled}}'' during the Floor 1 Boss. [[BeleagueredBoss Diabel is not amused.]]
* BringMyBrownPants: During the fight with Illfang on Floor 1.
-->'''Illfang:''' [''jumps in front of Kibaou and another player and roars'']\\
[''pop-up appears: "Bonus Item: Soiled Pants"'']\\
'''Player:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Hey! Rare drop.]]
* CannonFodder: How Kirito labels them all at the end of Episode 2. More specifically, the players who asked their peers for coal right after meetinng them, those who interrupted discussions to rant about their political views (including Kibaou), and those who asked the female players for boob pics, are put on the front lines.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Not all of them, but after some time to get used to SAO, many of them start to get organized and even formed their own guilds. The prime example is Asuna, who went on to join the Knights of the Blood Oath and became TheDreaded for many players.
* DysfunctionJunction: Ignoring the fact that they include [[BelligerentSexualTension Kirito and Asuna]] in their ranks, nobody gives Diabel any respect, Kibaou tries to rally players against beta testers out of jealousy, Tiffany gave up on everyone halfway after the first mission, and at least two of their members would go on to form PlayerKilling guilds.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Many of them joined either the mafia or Laughing Cofffin after Episode 2.
* LeeroyJenkins: Even after Diabel had made a tactical plan for the raid, once they reach the boss room:
--> '''Player:''' "EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!"
* LiteralMinded: When they complain about having to walk too much, an angry Diabel sarcastically tells them to take an hour off for a Cheetos and Mountain Dew break. A SmashCut later:
-->'''Diabel:''' Dammit, guys! I was kidding! You weren't actually supposed to take an hour! God, we've lost so much time. Let's just do this already!
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Most of them are so useless that Kirito and Asuna end up being the only ones who effectively deal any damage to Illfang.
* PottyFailure: One of them pees his pants "a little" due to the exhaustion of reaching Illfang's Tower.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Diabel finds out pretty soon that trying to rally them into working as a team is a lost cause. Half of them would then go on to join the mafia.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Kirito leaves them following their pitiful display against Illfang in Episode 2. Tiffany soon follows.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: They were already this without Kibaou trying to turn them against each other and Kirito constantly mocking all of them.
* TheSlacker: They all refuse to participate in the raid during the morning (with one of them complaining about being forced to wake up at 2:30pm), and they're already exhausted after reaching Illfang's Tower, which is in ''the first floor''.
* ThoseWackyNazis: During the brief, a German player displays interest in a battle strategy featured in the guide called "The FinalSolution".
* TookALevelInBadass: Many of them start off as a group of complete buffoons who only serve as "meat shields". Many of those who survived Episode 2 would then go on to form their own guilds or become high-ranking members of other well-respected groups:
** Asuna learned how to open the menu and became second-in-command for the ''Knights of the Blood Oath'', the top guild in SAO. She got to the point of terrifying ''Kirito himself'' and game administrators Kayaba Akihiko and Nobuyuki Sugou.
** {{Downplayed}} with Tiffany who was already the OnlySaneMan of the guild but at some point, he joined Klein and survived many raids after that.
** Jeffrey became the feared leader of Laughing Coffin, one of the most notorious PlayerKilling guilds.
** {{Downplayed}} with Corvatz, who managed to become one of the greatest tactical minds of the Aincrad Liberation Front, [[DamnedByFaintPraise though that's not saying much]].
** After not being able to sway anyone in Episode 2, Kibaou managed to rise in the ranks and became the leader of the Aincrad Liberation Front.
** Fluffles went from a normal cat player to TheDon of the mafia, and ''then'' became a board member for the Knights of the Blood Oath, all the while being ''a housecat''.
* TookALevelInJerkass: After Diabel died and Kirito ditched them, this is what happened to many of them due to the struggles they faced in SAO: Asuna became even more AxCrazy, Tiffany became a ConMan, Corvatz became a DrillSergeantNasty for the ALF, Kibaou became a tyrant for the same guild, Jeffrey became the head of Laughing Coffin, and Fluffles formed ''a mafia''. Even Kirito himself became more of an asshole to everyone after his following misadventures.
* UndyingLoyalty: According to Tiffany, they would have gladly followed Kirito to hell itself after he killed the WarmupBoss. Kirito doesn't care and ditches them for their stupidity.
* VomitDiscretionShot: One of them vomits offscreen due to exhaustion ''before'' the raid had started.
* ZergRush: They attempt this on Ilfang in Episode 2. It predictably doesn't work, though they fare better than the ALF.

[[folder:Diabel]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/35_92.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:Okay, so the guide's a bust. But it'll be fine. I'll come up with a great plan for us.]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HowardWang\\\

A player appearing in Episode 2 who tries to lead others in clearing ''SAO'', but loses the will to live in the process.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Unlike in canon, this take on Diabel is legitimately trying to help people, and tries to solo the first boss not to swipe the "last hit" item, but because he knows the rest of the raid isn't competent enough to handle it.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: The original Diabel was no idiot (at least in the Anime version), but most of his knowledge could be chalked up to being a beta tester, and he gets killed the moment this knowledge fails him. In this version, he dies because Kirito spent too long explaining the differences between a Talwar and a No-Dachi while failing to tell him the actual utility of both weapons in battle. He also has [[DrivenToSuicide a legitimate (if tragic) reason]] to refuse Kirito's health potion this time, instead of it being a particularly stubborn case of HonorBeforeReason.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: On top of his newfound heroism, this Diabel is also a genuinely kinder leader to the rest of the team, even allowing them to take a a "Cheetos and Mountain Dew break" that lasted an entire hour.
* BeleagueredBoss: The first in the series to experience the trope. He leads an army of players in attacking Illfang, the WarmupBoss, only for the squads to completely ignore his orders.
-->'''Diabel:''' Goddammit guys! Squad B! Quit attacking the boss and keep the Sentinels off us! ''Squad C and D! Stop attacking from the front, do you even know what "flank" means?!'' SQUAD F, FOR FUCK'S SAKE STOP PLAYING ''VideoGame/{{BEJEWELED}}!'' [[{{Angrish}} AARGH!!]]
* AdaptationalWimp: {{Downplayed}}, since he's still one of the most efficient players of the raid, but there's no evidence of him being a beta tester in this version. He makes up for it with his AdaptationalIntelligence.
* BlueIsHeroic: His hair and eyes are blue, and he's the most heroic character in Episode 2.
* BrutalHonesty: While he's dying, he feels free to call the other players for the morons they are, and tells Kirito he wishes he had listened to his "always look out for number one" speech. Not even [[InternetJerk Kirito himself]] is exempt from this.
-->'''Kirito:''' In another life... in another time... I think we could have been friends.\\
'''Diabel:''' I... doubt it. *Dies*.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: While he starts off optimistic of his role, he gradually loses hope in his team after witnessing the extent of their ineptitude. His story ends up tragically, with him [[DrivenToSuicide refusing Kirito's healing potion]] because he has lost all hope in ever beating the game.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: He has both blue hair and blue eyes.
* CynicismCatalyst: By the end of the Floor 1 raid, he's bought into Kirito's worldview that other players are worthless morons.
* DrivenToSuicide: The experience of trying to lead his fellow players in a raid group leaves Diabel refusing a healing potion after getting mortally wounded.
* DyingCurse: It's Downplayed, as it comes after praising Kirito, but his last words to Kirito before dying essentially amount to "I doubt we would've ever been friends". Kirito takes the hint.
-->'''Kirito:''' Well, fuck you too!
* ExcellentJudgeOfCharacter: After the speech Kirito gave him, Diabel recognizes him not only as the OnlySaneMan of the SAO players, but also as a complete {{Jerkass}} with whom he wouldn't ever want to associate.
* ExtremeDoormat: Despite being the leader of his team, he allows his lazy subordinates to delay the Floor 1 raid for ''six hours''.
* EveryoneHasStandards: While he obviously doesn't commit to it, he can see [[PragmaticVillainy the reasoning]] behind the guide's tip involving the use of the more annoying players as live bait. He draws the line at whatever [[FinalSolution "The Final Solution"]] is, though.
* FatalFlaw: His lack of creative thinking is what causes him to follow through with his guildmates' stupid and impractical ideas, despite being against them for the most part. He also didn't have a strategy beyond what he read from the players' guide, so he was completely unprepared for when one of the tips (regarding the boss' weapon of use) turned out to be false/outdated.
* {{Foil}}: His arc is essentially the opposite of Kirito's; Diabel is introduced as TheHero who strives to lead the other SAO players to victory, but eventually becomes so disillusioned with them for their incompetence and stupidity that he ends up renouncing the position, [[DrivenToSuicide eventually allowing himself to die out of despair]]. Kirito, on the other hand, started off as a [[IWorkAlone solo player]] who enjoyed his time in SAO and had no problems hindering the other players' process for his own amusement, only to gradually have a change of heart and end up finishing what Diabel started after warming up to his peers, eventually becoming TheHero Diabel gave up on being. Tragically, Diabel died embracing the same MisanthropeSupreme beliefs that Kirito ended up disowning.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Other than Kibaou screaming out his name as he's killed, nobody has anything to say about his passing, since [[DyingDeclarationOfHate he used his final breath to curse them for their incompetence]]. In spite of everything Diabel had done for them prior to the raid, everyone is quick to accept Kirito as their new leader.
* GivingUpOnLogic: He ''tries'' to encourage his fellow players to come up with a better plan than [[AttackAttackAttack "group up and hit it 'til it dies"]] to beat the raid boss, but...
-->'''Random Player:''' I'd like to hear more about zis "Final Solution."\\
'''Diabel:''' ''[flatly]'' Fuck it, group up.
* GoodCounterpart: To Heathcliff[[spoiler:/Kayaba]]; they both aim to [[TheLeader lead and organize the SAO players]] with the goal of guiding them to victory, but both ultimately find themselves frustrated by [[SurroundedByIdiots said players' obnoxiousness and stupidity]]. Furthermore, despite having to deal with Kirito's abrasive and insufferable demeanor, both of them come to develop an admiration for him as the OnlySaneMan of the entire player base.]] However, Heathcliff is revealed to be [[spoiler:EvilAllAlong (Kayaba) and directly responsible for the predicament that all the players find themselves in, his purported leadership being a façade to maintain his subjects as hostages to evade the authorities]]. Conversely, Diabel is [[BeleagueredBoss an equally beleaguered victim]] of the situation Kayaba kickstarted, much like the rest of the players, and willingly puts himself in danger to stop everyone else from getting killed, in contrast to Kayaba, [[DirtyCoward who abused his admin privileges during the raids to make himself impervious to damage.]]
* HopeSpot: During the raid, it seems he finally found another player (Kirito) who has a sense of self-preservation and who is willing to follow through with his strategies. Said player gets him killed minutes later due to obnoxiously long exposition.
* IronicLastWords: As he's dying, he accepts Kirito's belief that the idiot player base was not worth all the effort he put into them, but also states that him and Kirito would've never probably managed to be friends due to the latter's chronic jerkassery. By Episode 11, not only has Kirito essentially become the new Diabel (leading armies and clearing floor after floor as the hero of Aincrad), but he's also [[TookALevelInKindness taken a massive level in kindness]], defending the "sheep" he used to look down upon so vehemently.
* ItsUpToYou: He seems to feel this way by the Illfang boss fight.
-->'''Diabel:''' Alright, men, this last part is going to take careful coordination... which is why I'm just going to do it myself!
* TheLeader: The only SAO player bold enough to assume this position, although even ''he'' ends up sick of it.
* MauveShirt: He serves as the third most prominent character of Episode 2 before he gets killed in the third act.
* NotSoAboveItAll: After some initial confusion, he admits to agreeing with the guide's tip of sending the more obnoxious players to the front lines to serve as a meat shield, even if he doesn't actually go through with the idea.
* OnlySaneMan: The only member of the Floor One clearing team besides Kirito, Asuna and Tiffany with an ounce of common sense.
* PartingWordsRegret: Inverted. As he's dying, he uses his last words to express lament for having spent so much effort on trying to lead the hopeless idiots that are the SAO player base, and not having been a solo player like Kirito.
* SenselessSacrifice: He dies charging at Illfang to stop anyone else from potentially getting themselves killed. His attack does absolutely nothing as both Kirito and Asuna make short work of the beast by themselves shortly afterwards. The fact that Kirito could've easily revived him had Diabel [[DrivenToSuicide not refused the health potion]] just cements this.
* ShadowArchetype: In the end, despite his initial refusal to do so, Kirito would end up unwittingly following in his footsteps and leading the players to victory, coming close to [[HeroicSacrifice dying while fighting for their freedom]] instead of [[CynicismCatalyst giving up on them]] like Diabel did.
* TakeUpMySword: After he gets killed by Illfang, he asks Kirito to lead the other players for him. Kirito refuses.
* WhoWritesThisCrap: His reaction to the beta testers' "guidebook."
-->'''Diabel:''' Now, it goes on to say that when Illfang's health goes into the red, he's going to switch from his axe and buckler to something called a talwar. At that point we should initiate a strategy called [[ThoseWackyNazis "The Final Solution"]] ''and I'm just gonna stop reading!'' Jesus, who wrote this?!\\
'''Kirito:''' Heheheheheheh.

!!Moonlit Black Cats/The Crew

[[folder:General]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1_516.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:''This here is Sachi... and the rest are [=NPCs=].''[[note]]From left to right: Charlie, Derrick, Gary, Sachi, Keita.[[/note]]]]
A guild that Kirito got roped into joining, consisting of Keita, Sachi, and three [=NPCs=] from quests Keita never finished. Unlike in the original series, here they are usually called "The Crew".

* AdaptationalWimp: They weren't all that badass in the anime, but here they're a RagtagBunchOfMisfits composed mostly by defective [[NonPlayerCharacter Non-Player Characters]]. The only two human members are a sleazy cheater who gets his team targeted by the mafia, and an insecure girl who lags frequently. It's no wonder Keita was so desperate to approach [[TheAce Kirito]].
* AdaptationSpeciesChange: In the anime, they were all mid-level players who knew each other in real life and formed the guild in the game. In the parody, only Sachi and Keita are players while the others were [=NPCs=] that Keita abducted from the various quests and tutorials that he never finished.
* AndTheRest: While Kirito indirectly references Charlie and Derrick in Episode 5 when describing his fallen best friends, Sachi is the only one he always alludes to when thinking back on his time with the guild. Justified, since Keita was an asshole in this version, and Gary is a LethallyStupid AI whom he loathes.
* ArtificialStupidity: The AI party members... aren't exactly the greatest. Granted, all of them are from low level quests, one of them being the ''Tutorial'' NPC.
* ChekhovsGun: The fact that one of their NPC members is from the tutorial comes back in a big way [[spoiler:in Episode 11, where Kayaba reveals that stealing him was one of the primary reasons over 2000 players died within the first month as none of them could complete the tutorial, and was a catalyst for him posing as Heathcliff to try and get things back on the rails.]]
* FiveManBand: Before Kirito joined against his will, they were a five-man band; Two humans and three [=NPCs=].
* GuestStarPartyMember: Gary, Charlie, and Derrick are this in-universe, quest [=NPCs=] who fight alongside you until you finish their quests. Keita realized he could simply prolong doing so and make them permanent party members.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Keita is a cheater using glitches and exploits to fund the guild by using duplication glitches on rare items, Sachi has terrible internet connection and lags at all the wrong times, and the [=NPCs=] suck at pathfinding, fighting, obeying orders, and will randomly get stuck in walls.
* TotalPartyKill: Charlie, Derrick and Sachi die in the 27th Floor; Keita kills himself shortly afterwards; and SoleSurvivor Gary gets torn apart by Kirito months later.

[[folder:Keita]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saoa_keita.png]][[caption-width-right:350:''"And what if I put on this hat?"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Sam [="SpriteStuff"=] Ryan\\\

The glitch-exploiting leader of the Crew, who controls Kirito with his Charisma +50 hat. He ropes Kirito into his guild because of his high level. He also kidnapped three [=NPCs=] from their quests to make them permanent members. He eventually gets the guild in debt to the mob after selling a rare item he was going to duplicate before it got patched, and sends them to find a replacement on the dangerous 27th floor.

* AdaptationalIntelligence: Abridged Keita is a lot smarter, on top of being a manipulative glitch-exploiting hacker, he specifically recruits Kirito into his guild ''because'' of his level, while in canon, Keita never even knew about Kirito's true level.
* AdaptationalJerkass: The original Keita was AFatherToHisMen, while this one uses glitches and overpowered items to force people to join his crew and do his dirty work. This is mitigated since his guild is primarily composed by [=NPCs=] this time, but still applies.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Instead of a perfectly normal guild leader like in canon, he's a manipulative glitch-exploiting hacker affiliated with the mafia whose selfishness in stealing several [=NPCs=] [[spoiler:resulted in the death of ''thousands'' of players]]. Also, instead of his guild deciding to explore a dungeon out of curiosity like in canon, he was the one who forced them to go to recover an item from a dangerous dungeon and pay off his debt while he opts to not join them.
* AdaptationalWimp: Keita in SAO proper was implied to have been the badass of the group before Kirito stepped in, and was the one who came up with the guild's strategies. Abridged Keita, on the other hand, is a DirtyCoward who takes shortcuts and uses his companions to complete his tasks for him.
* AssholeVictim: Downplayed. In this version, it's a lot harder to feel sympathy for his death due to all the awful things he's done. [[AlasPoorVillain On the other hand]], Kirito's horrified reaction as he sees him commit suicide, and him crossing the DespairEventHorizon afterwards, can make viewers feel a tad sorry for him.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Introduces himself as a friendly figure to Kirito, offering him to join his guild, only to later demonstrate that he doesn't give a crap about his decision as he was going to [[ButThouMust force his hand]] with his charisma hat anyway.
* BreakingBadNewsGently: Tries this with his guild after being targeted by Fluffles' mob, to no avail. Eventually he just lays it all on them directly.
-->'''Keita:''' The good news is... we're in debt to the mob! No, wait, that's the bad news. Also, there is no good news!
* ButThouMust: When Kirito refuses his offer to join his crew, Keita uses his charisma hat to literally force his hand. Occurs again during the search for Sachi, and again during the quest for the lost mafia item.
* ChekhovsSkill: That Charisma-boosting hat of his? [[spoiler:It turns out to be the inspiration behind Sugou's plot to abuse the mechanics of the game to enact a worldwide MindControl plot.]]
* CompellingVoice: With the hat on, even the most asinine of suggestions becomes impossible to refute.
* DirtyCoward: He has his crew retrieve the in-game mafia's item for him, using his charisma hat to sit the mission out. Furthermore, when the mission fails, he simply kills himself, leaving Kirito (and the one remaining NPC) to deal with the mafia by himself.
* DrivenToSuicide: Here, Keita already knew about Kirito's levels, but still jumps to his death. Not because [[spoiler:Sachi (and two of the three NPC members) died]], but because he'd rather not face an in-game mafia for failing to duplicate a rare item.
* EntitledToHaveYou: A non-romantic version; when Kirito refuses to join his guild, Keita uses his charisma hat and forces him to sign in anyway.
* EvilCounterpart: To Klein. Both are brunette guild leaders who at one point ask [[ShowyInvincibleHero Kirito]] to join their guild, only to be rejected. However, Klein begrudgingly accepts Kirito's rejection and continues to be friends with him afterwards, while Keita [[KidWithTheLeash uses his charisma hat to force Kirito to join him.]] Furthermore, unlike Klein, who is an honest NiceGuy who wants Kirito to be a better person and doesn't hesitate to call him out, Keita is a manipulative suck-up who only cares about Kirito for his "assets".
* FailedASpotCheck: He didn't even tell Kirito and Sachi what item they were supposed to look for before sending them on a quest. The pair don't even realize this until they're already on the 27th floor.
* FatalFlaw:
** His short-sightedness and cowardice. He sells a rare item belonging to the mafia believing he will be able to replicate it easily with a glitch, only to learn it got patched. So he coerces Kirito and Sachi into traveling with the AI companions into the dangerous 27th floor that has the item in his place while he stays in safety, resulting in the operation utterly failing and Kirito and Gary being the only survivors. Keita is promptly DrivenToSuicide.
** His overreliance on Kirito and his charisma hat is another one. Once he gets him to join his crew, he believes he's essentially immortal now, and gets himself in all sorts of troubles with sketchy people thinking that either he'll be able to manipulate his way out, or Kirito will be able to carry his crew using his superior abilities and knowledge of the game. He's so confident in his exploits and Kirito's abilities that he doesn't even bother to specify the details of his quest for the mafia item before sending him on his way, much to Kirito's annoyance. When the beta tester fails the 27th-floor mission and everyone else (sans Gary) is dead, on top of some (if not all) of his glitches having been patched, Keita is left with nothing but a crippling debt to a dangerous mafia, leading to his suicide.
* FalseFriend: Constantly sucks up to Kirito during their interactions, and seems very tolerant of Sachi's lag. Despite this, he's a selfish DirtyCoward who gets his friends killed by making them do his dirty work.
* {{Foil}}: To his guildmate Sachi. Though both are low-level players who don't seem to play the game well, Keita is the overconfident leader of his guild who knows how to use the game's assets to his advantage, and who tries to force Kirito to stop being a solo player via his charisma hat, while Sachi is a [[ExtremeDoormat passive]] and insecure companion who suffers from internet lag which puts her at a disadvantage, and whose influence actually makes Kirito stop being a solo player.
* GeniusDitz: He's a complete noob, but he sure knows how to [[ManipulativeBastard "play"]].
* TheHedonist: Doesn't seem to be in a hurry to escape the death game, and uses his charisma-boosting hat to coerce other players into doing his chores instead of applying it in battle.
* HiddenDepths: Him [[SuddenlyShouting lashing out]] at the Tutorial NPC after the latter suggests [[InnocentlyInsensitive taking a break from "playing" the death game]] implies he's more stressed about being trapped in SAO than he lets on.
-->'''Keita:''' I WOULD IF I COULD, "MOM"! BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY AN OPTION NOW, IS IT?
* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: He seems to be sexually attracted by Kirito's stats much like an average guy would be to a girl's assets.
-->'''Kirito:''' Hey Hey! My eyes are down here!
* {{Jerkass}}: He's a glitch-exploiting hacker who uses a Charisma-granting hat to force other players to do whatever he needs them to do, along with stealing various quest-essential [=NPCs=] by never completing their quests. This includes the Tutorial NPC, [[spoiler:which results in ''thousands of deaths'' because a lot of players couldn't complete the tutorial... though given the quality of the tutorial, it may not have made much of a difference]].
* KidWithTheLeash: Because of the huge Charisma score granted by his hat, Keita can control [[ShowyInvincibleHero Kirito]], and make him and Sachi do things he'd rather not do.
* LoopholeAbuse: Figured out that if he never completed a quest an NPC was involved in, they'd follow him indefinitely to serve as a fighter and pack mule.
* ManipulativeBastard: He's a manipulative, opportunistic con artist and expert cheater who takes advantage of any glitch he can find to survive the death game.
* MauveShirt: He gets some characterization compared to his NPC underlings, but he doesn't make it past Episode 3.
* MeanBoss: Forces his crew (including one with a potentially lethal handicap) to go on risky missions for him, without even specifying what their objective is. Sure enough, [[spoiler:three out of five end up dead]].
* MirrorCharacter: He's essentially a lower-scale [[BigBad Kayaba]]:
** [[spoiler:They're both [[GeniusDitz quirky but knowledgeable]] brunet coders who exploit the game's system for their own benefit (Keita is a hacker who exploits glitches and the game's OP assets, while Kayaba is the game's head programmer who uses his admin privileges to make himself invincible)]].
** Both [[spoiler:used said exploits to force beta tester Kirito to join their guilds at one point, though Kayaba tried a verbal approach at first, and only opportunistically used Kirito's own arrogance against him when he challenged him, while Keita resorted to using the charisma hat almost immediately]].
** Furthermore, both of them [[spoiler:unwillingly caused the deaths of thousands of players due to creating/misusing a specific glitch in the game (Kayaba created a glitch that killed players when their avatars died, Keita stole the tutorial NPC which left the other players unprepared for the game's hazards[[note]]though it probably wouldn't have mattered much considering how [[TutorialFailure useless]] said tutorial was[[/note]])]].
** [[spoiler:The main difference between the two, however, is that Keita was unapologetic about using his perks to get his way, and ended up getting himself killed when he crossed the wrong people and the glitch he was using got patched, while Kayaba hid his admin privileges from the other players, even adopting a new identity to use around his guildmates]].
** Keita's quote "just because I can't play the game doesn't mean I can't "play the game"" regarding himself mirrors [[spoiler:Kirito's "guy can't make videogames for shit but he ''sure'' knows how to "play"" regarding Kayaba]].
** On a lighter note, [[spoiler:both were somewhat affiliated with the mafia, though Keita was implied to be little more than a trader, while Kayaba had at least two mafia members in his guilds [[EvenEvilHasStandards whom he dislikes]]]].
* MoodDissonance: He states his situation with the mafia equals to "The most horrific, awful thing imaginable multiplied by cancer" in a jarringly optimistic happy-go-lucky tone. It seems to be his way of delivering BadNewsInAGoodWay.
* ObliviouslyEvil: Keita didn't consider the possibility that the tutorial [=NPCs=] might actually be integral to the survival of thousands of players. [[TutorialFailure Though even he says it's "not a good tutorial".]]
* PetTheDog:
** While he doesn't sound all that worried, he asks Kirito to find Sachi after she runs away, saying he would do it himself if the [=NPCs=] weren't blocking his door. He's also very tolerant of her lag, despite it being a liability to the crew.
** He's also shown congratulating Charlie after he defeats an enemy shortly after Kirito joins the crew.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Yes, it was good for [[TheAloner Kirito]] to join a group and use his skill set to help someone other than himself, but by literally forcing his hand and using him to do his dirty work, Keita did little but increase Kirito's hatred for guilds. Luckily, Sachi's influence ended up bringing out his HiddenHeartOfGold posthumously.
* ShoutOut: His charisma boosting hat originated from the Studio Ghibli film Anime/HowlsMovingCastle.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Has a small moment of this when his [=NPCs=] unwittingly trap him in his room and glitch through his wall, and again when the tutorial NPC casually advises him to take a break from the game they've been trapped in for several months.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He only appears in one episode but he is ([[spoiler:along with Kayaba's incredible sleep deprivation]]) the reason why everything went horribly wrong in Sword Art Online. [[spoiler: Because Keita took the Tutorial [=NPCs=], a majority of players were left unprepared for the game and it caused the deaths of thousands of other players. Since Keita owes a debt to the mafia, he caused Sachi's death and Kirito's survivor's guilt triggered his character arc. Finally, Keita's hat is the reason why Sugou wants to exploit the game mechanics so he can gain the ability to control people's minds in the real world. Then again, [[TutorialFailure considering how incompetent the tutorial NPC was]], he probably did them a favor.]]
* SnakeOilSalesman: He gives off this vibe while trying to convince Kirito to join his low-level guild, behaving like he's reading from a script and never once listening to Kirito's complaints.
-->'''Keita:''' Now, I know what you're thinking. "Am I really worthy to join these awesome dudes?"\\
'''Kirito:''' I literally never thought that about anyone.\\
'''Keita:''' But let me assure you, we could certainly use someone with your... [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence assets]].
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:Taking the Tutorial NPC for his guild kept other players from completing the game's tutorial, leading to the deaths of thousands. Then again, it is heavily implied that he did have a valid point when he claimed that it was "[[TutorialFailure not a good tutorial.]]"]]

[[folder:Sachi]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/857ff0e4_4718_4b54_b854_f914008debca.png]][[caption-width-right:350:''"Thank you for joining our guild Mr. Ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-kirito"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Nicole "[=NikoruChan18=]" Templeton\\\

The only human member of the Crew aside from Keita (and later Kirito), and also the nicest person there. She lives out in the boonies and has a terrible internet connection, resulting in random lagging. She is actually able to get Kirito to open up a little and start being nicer. Unfortunately, her subsequent death leaves a mark on his psyche that never quite fades.

* AdaptationalAchillesHeel: While the original Sachi [[TheLoad was already lacking in fighting prowess]], Abridged Sachi suffers from a lag induced by her bad internet connection. This game-breaking handicap renders her completely helpless against enemies (and can also spread to other players, making her [[TheMillstone a liability to her team]] as well). Predictably, this lag is what gets her slain.
* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: The original Sachi's reasoning for running away was her confidence issues and her fear of death, and she at least had her guild and Kirito for support until her final moments. This incarnation of Sachi is the OnlySaneWoman of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits filled with jerks and [=NPCs=], and also happens to be TheMillstone for them due to her terrible lag that glitches her and those around her (which also killed four people in a fire at one point). Even if she didn't get killed in the dungeon, she was doomed from the start, as she has no control over it and it can kick in at any time regardless of how far she makes it into the game. [[MoralityChain No wonder Kirito couldn't bring himself to mock her.]]
* AdaptationalWimp: Justified, since she's dealing with [[AdaptationalAchillesHeel game-breaking lag]] that affects her movement and her environment, so her status as TheLoad is much more pronounced here.
* AndIMustScream: Sachi has no control over her lag, which pops up at random times and can even affect her surroundings. The worst part is it completely freezes her body in place, making her an easy picking for the roaming monsters (in fact, that is how she ends up biting it). Her speech is also distorted when she glitches, meaning she can't scream for help until she snaps out of it.
* CompositeCharacter: She fills the role of Suguha as the one who inspires Kirito to be nicer to others, such as what pushes Kirito to help Silica. This is justified given how much of a jerk Suguha is in this version.
* TheConscience: Briefly acts like this to Kirito in episode 3, stopping him short of mocking other people. She continues serving this role in death, as the vision of her dying is what triggers Kirito's ChronicHeroSyndrome.
* EtTuBrute: Has this reaction when Gary abandons her and the guild and takes all the teleport crystals with him, apparently not understanding this was due to ArtificialStupidity.
* ExtremeDoormat: Unlike with Kirito, Keita doesn't need his charisma hat to get Sachi to do whatever he wants. She acts this way with Kirito as well, but he doesn't take advantage of it.
* FatalFlaw: Her ExtremeDoormat nature, lack of foresight (like her guildmaster Keita), and blind trust on her NPC peers are what lead to her death. She gets Kirito to go along with Keita's ill-conceived and reckless plan to replace the mafia's rare item, and in the dungeon with the item, she sets the AI companions to auto-loot to save time only for this to result in Gary triggering an obvious trap chest that gets her killed. They might have survived but she also gave Gary and Charlie life-saving items like Teleportation Crystals and Health Potions, so when they ran/died, they lost those too.
* {{Foil}}: To [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Asuna]]:
** Both are [[MoralityPet Morality Pets]] to Kirito who had a particular issue with SAO that negatively affected their survival in the game that caused them to be TheQuietOne in their first appearance. (Sachi experienced lag, while Asuna was HopelessWithTech and didn't know how to open the game menu). However, Asuna was an ActionGirl who didn't allow her problem to make her a liability and her proficiency in combat impressed even [[TheAce Kirito]], while Sachi was TheMillstone of her guild and got herself killed fairly early.
** Sachi was TheRunaway who wanted the best for her group, while Asuna is a stalking ClingyJealousGirl who repeatedly manipulates and threatens Kirito because she's become too emotionally dependent on him.
** Their dynamic with Kirito is also vastly different: Sachi was a quiet and reserved NiceGirl who was [[ExtremeDoormat far more tolerant]] with Kirito than he deserved ([[EveryoneHasStandards although she did call him an asshole at one point]]), while [[{{Tsundere}} Asuna]] often engaged in SnarkToSnarkCombat, or even downright threatened Kirito when he became too unbearable.
** Both their deaths (or DisneyDeath in Asuna's case) caused a HeroicBSOD in Kirito, but Sachi tried to use her LastWords to reassure Kirito as she was fading away, while Asuna spent her last breath teasing him for crying.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Averted. Her death ''really'' messed up Kirito -- even more than it did in the actual show. Each subsequent episode has at least one mention of said event affecting his psyche in some way, shape, or form.
* GoOutWithASmile: Tragically, due to her hellish AndIMustScream life situation, she seems ''relieved'' when she gets killed.
* TheHeart: [[FalseFriend Keita]] seems to care about her at least a bit, and she soon becomes [[{{Jerkass}} Kirito]]'s MoralityPet as well.
* KillTheCutie: Despite Kirito's efforts, her fear of her lag getting her killed eventually became true.
* TheLoad: When her lag isn't getting people killed, she's implied to not be very proficient in combat.
* TheLostLenore: [[spoiler:To Kirito, obviously. Obvious enough that [[{{Yandere}} Asuna]] clearly did not take learning about her well.]]
* MauveShirt: She's given the most characterization of her guild next to Kirito, but it doesn't save her from getting killed halfway through her introductory episode.
* TheMillstone: She believes herself to be this, as her lag affects not only her, but her surroundings as well. In fact, her EstablishingCharacterMoment at the diner involves her lag getting four people killed in a fire. Tragically, the mistake that got Charlie, Derrick and herself killed was a completely human one that her lag had nothing to do with.
* MoralityChain: To Kirito. She's the one who convinces him to try and act nicer and be more helpful. [[spoiler:Her death, and final words "Not[[note]]gets cut out due to lag[[/note]] your fault" becomes Kirito's [[TraumaButton PTSD trigger]] into helping others out despite his attempts not to do so.]]
* NiceGirl: While her lag has taken a toll on her mood, she's incredibly sweet and patient, to the point where even Kirito can't bring himself to mock her. Even as she's vanishing, she attempts to reassure Kirito with some final words of comfort (which fail horribly).
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Silently reminding Kirito about his promise to be less of an asshole when he's about to insult Keita's plan, making Kirito do a LastSecondWordSwap and [[TeethClenchedTeamwork begrudgingly accept it]] instead. As it turns out, Keita's plan really ''was'' stupid and ends up getting Sachi killed.
* NumberTwo: To Keita, at least before Kirito was forced to join.
* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]]: While TheLoad at best and TheMillstone at worst, she's the only human of the team who isn't an insufferable {{Jerkass}}.
* PrecisionFStrike: When Kirito says there's no point to other people but to mock them:
-->'''Sachi:''' You know, I'm starting to see why people think you're an asshole.
* ProperlyParanoid: She's worried that her lag problem will get herself and everyone she loves killed. [[spoiler:It does indeed result in her death.]]
* TheQuietOne: She doesn't say much. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as her lag affects her speech terribly. In fact, one of the few times she ''does'' speak causes Kirito's TraumaButton because of a lag-induced misunderstanding.
* TheRunaway: Tries to leave her guild early in Episode 3 because she thinks she's TheMillstone for them.
* SacrificialLion: Her death is instrumental in Kirito's CharacterDevelopment into a better person for the rest of the series.
* ShrinkingViolet: Her default attitude. [[PrecisionFStrike Even when she's calling Kirito an asshole]] to his face, she comes off as shy.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: [[spoiler:Sachi was only around for episode 3; but her impact on Kirito could be felt over the entire first season as the initial cause of Kirito's gradual progression to caring about other people. From attempting to help Silica revive Pina, to defending the remains of Corvatz's army from the Gleam Eyes. Everything started with her simply asking Kirito to not be an ass all the time.]]
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only girl of "the crew".
* SpeechImpediment: Her lag causes her to have a case of this that borders on PorkyPigPronunciation.
* TokenGoodTeammate: When your guild is composed of [[{{Jerkass}} selfish assholes]] and [=NPCs=], you're this by default. Doubles as TheHeart of the team.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Her kindness and tragic situation might've softened Kirito's heart, but the death game's Slaughternauts and Murder-Golems couldn't care less, and kill her the instant her lag kicks in again.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Her lag is not the source of all her screw-ups.
** Her decision to set Gary to auto-loot and giving him all the teleportation crystals ended up destroying her guild.
** Leaving Charlie all the healing potions meant when he died, they lost them as well.
** Her attempts at reassuring Kirito with some last words of encouragement end up having [[TraumaButton the opposite effect]] when they come out botched and mangled.
* WomenAreWiser: She's the token female of the crew and also the only human member who isn't a complete dick.
* YankTheDogsChain: Halfway through Episode 3, it seems like Kirito is finally going to cut her some slack, just for him to yank the rug from under her by snapping back into {{Jerkass}} mode when she starts talking about her problems. And then she dies a few days later.
* YouDidEverythingYouCould: Tries to say this to Kirito as she's dying, but her lag causes it to come across as a DyingCurse.

[[folder:Gary]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8ed3b547_90a7_4486_99a3_a00c52ab46ab.jpeg]][[caption-width-right:350:''"We must save my family!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Isaac "[=AtomicVoice=]" Lawson\\\

An NPC from one of ''Sword Art Online'''s quests, kidnapped by Keita to be a guild member. He ultimately causes the guild to die in a trap that he triggers (due to being set to auto-loot) and steals the teleport crystal that the group could have used to save themselves.

* AdaptationNameChange: From Ducker to Gary.
* AdaptationSpeciesChange: From a human player to an AI.
* AdaptationalVillainy: ZigZagged. The original character never [[DirtyCoward teleported away or left his guild to die]] at any point, and instead died in the same room as them. Mitigated somewhat by him being an [[ArtificialStupidity AI]] in this version, meaning he's ObliviouslyEvil at worst.
* AlasPoorVillain: With the exception of Kirito and Asuna, everyone is left completely traumatized after his gruesome death.
* AntiVillain: He's a massive hindrance for his guild, as well as a DirtyCoward who leaves his friends to die. However, he's also an AI following his directive, so most of his reprehensible actions can be chalked up to ArtificialStupidity.
* ArtificialStupidity: Part of being an NPC. Because Sachi has set him to auto-loot, he does so slavishly with every chest he come across, even if said chest is an incredibly ObviousTrap.
* AscendedExtra: He ends up playing a far bigger role here than he did in canon. He's the actual cause of the Moonlit Black Cats dying since he teleported away with the crystals. He gets SparedByTheAdaptation meaning he survives for months longer. He also ends up being Kirito's BerserkButton and is mentioned many times later in the series.
* BerserkButton: To Kirito, especially after he abandons the rest of the guild in an ambush. Hearing his voice or someone mentioning his name will send Kirito into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* BrickJoke: Kirito was ''really'' pissed at Gary for teleporting away with all their crystals and leaving Sachi to die. He shows up again in Episode 5 where Kirito proceeds to murder him in cold blood for abandoning them.
* BrokenRecord: "We must save my family!" Gets worse in Episode 5, as he repeatedly chokes the line out as many times as he can as he's being stabbed by Kirito.
* CannonFodder: Asuna planned to use him as this to fight Sheeptar, but Kirito had a score to settle with him first.
* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: In the original anime, he gets hacked to death by the Slaughternauts and Murder-Golems. Here, he manages to escape this fate [[DirtyCoward by abandoning his guild to die]], only to get brutally murdered by [[SoleSurvivor Kirito]] two episodes later.
* DirtyCoward: Kirito considers him this, since he teleported away and left the rest of the Crew to die.
* DumbBlond: He has blond hair and is by far the most dysfunctional of the [=NPCs=].
* FlatCharacter: Ducker was TheSneakyGuy in canon; here, he's just an NPC programmed to save his family. Ironically, he ends up playing a larger role here than [[RedShirt the one he had]] in canon.
* KarmicDeath: After getting Sachi killed, Kirito's next encounter with Gary ends with Kirito repeatedly running Gary through with a sword, with Gary futilely choking out [[WelcomeToCorneria his only line]] as he dies.
* KilledOffscreen: As he's hacked to death by Kirito, all the audience can see is the guild's horrified reactions.
* LethallyStupid: While in a dungeon, he triggers an obvious trap because Sachi set him to auto-loot, then teleports away with the party's entire supply of teleport crystals, leaving everyone trapped inside to die.
* TheLoad: He was almost completely useless for his guild, even moreso than Sachi and his fellow [=NPCs=]. He's never shown actually doing anything useful and only hinders or actively endangers his group on numerous occasions. In Episode 5, the only use Asuna finds for him is as CannonFodder.
* MauveShirt: He survives the longest out of his guild (outside of Kirito), but is killed early in Episode 5.
* TheMillstone: He gets his entire guild sans Kirito and Keita killed by opening a treasure chest in a dungeon which triggers a trap, and then teleporting away while storing all of the guild's teleport crystals.
* NonPlayerCharacter: From a quest that Keita has no intention of turning in, just so Gary can follow them forever.
* ObliviouslyEvil: He's a quest AI programmed to want to "save his family", even if it entails abandoning Kirito, Sachi and the other [=NPCs=] to their deaths.
* PokemonSpeak: "[[WelcomeToCorneria We must save my family!]]" [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as Keita never finished his quest, making him [[BrokenRecord unable to move on from that line]]. He's also heard chanting "To Kirito!" alongside the rest of the guild early in the episode.
* SoundOnlyDeath: Aside from his futile repeating of his only line, Kirito's insane laughter accompanied by sword striking sounds can also be heard as he's killing him.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: Survives longer than in canon, only to come across Kirito once more. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Kirito doesn't forgive him for indirectly causing Sachi's death.]]
* WelcomeToCorneria: [[RuleOfThree All together now:]] "We must save my family!"
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Kirito initially defends him and the other [=NPCs=] against Asuna's [[CannonFodder tactics]], saying that some of his best friends had been [=NPCs=]. Then he remembers who Gary is and what he did, and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge he conveniently forgets about his stance]].

[[folder:Charlie]]

[[quoteright:658:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2_649.png]][[caption-width-right:658:''"Winners don't use drugs! Except steroids! In which case, use lots of drugs!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Stuart "[=LordMegatronG1=]" Hutson\\\

The tutorial NPC, who Keita kidnapped, leaving the rest of the playerbase unable to get the most basic instructions on how to play the game.

* AdaptationNameChange: From Tetsuo to Charlie.
* AdaptationSpeciesChange: From a human player to an AI.
* AmbiguousSituation: Did hijacking the tutorial really lead to thousands of deaths, or [[TutorialFailure given the quality of the advice]], it would have changed very little?
* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: Routinely dispenses (questionable) nuggets of wisdom.
* AnnoyingVideoGameHelper: Invoked. [[AntiPoopSocking He reminds players how long they've been playing]] in a game ''they can't log out of.'' [[spoiler:Which turns out to be foreshadowing that the whole situation was a complete mistake.]]
* BackForTheFinale: A variation. His SpoofAesop speech appears again during the credits, serving as the closing quote of the Aincrad arc.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: He's definitely ''not'' a good tutorial, but he does manage to defeat a killer mantis early in the episode.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Seems to be his permanent expression, even as he's getting killed.
* FlatCharacter: Tetsuo was TheBigGuy of the guild in canon; here, Charlie is just the tutorial NPC who mostly serves as a minion for Keita.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Surprisingly {{Averted}}. Despite being an AI, his death motivates Kirito to vouch for the [=NPCs=] early in Episode 5, citing him and Derrick as "some of (his) best friends".
* IdenticalStranger: He looks almost identical to his guild leader Keita. Considering the sketchy things he does, it's possible Keita "recruited" him to serve as a BodyDouble.
* TheMedic: For the 27th floor raid, Sachi gave him all the health potions, though he dies before being able to put them to use.
* NonPlayerCharacter: From the tutorial.
* ShootTheMedicFirst: He's the first victim of the 27th floor raid after Gary abandons them, which dooms Derrick and Sachi.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: His "recruitment" to the guild and subsequent death [[spoiler:deprived thousands of players of the tutorial, which Kayaba hints lead to the mass deaths in the first month]].
* SpoofAesop: [[invoked]]"Winners don't do drugs! Except steroids. In which case, use lots of drugs!"
* TutorialFailure: Putting aside the fact that the NPC meant to mentor new players instead got turned into one guy's personal pack mule, Charlie's tips on playing the game are things like "always remember, to jump... [[ShapedLikeItself jump!"]]
-->'''Keita:''' It's not a good tutorial.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Gets two lines before he gets offed with little fanfare.

[[folder:Derrick]]
[[quoteright:573:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3_54.png]][[caption-width-right:573:''"The bandits are coming!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Mackenzie "[=Hayabusa449=]" Murdock\\\

Another kidnapped quest companion NPC.

* AdaptationSpeciesChange: From human player to AI.
* AdaptationNameChange: From Sasamaru to Derrick.
* AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption: His one line turns out to be a pretty good summation of the guild's mob problem.
* FlatCharacter: Sasamaru was TheLancer in canon, while in this version, Derrick is an NPC who mostly serves as cannon fodder for Keita.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: Surprisingly {{Averted}}. Despite being an AI, his death motivates Kirito to vouch for the [=NPCs=] early in Episode 5, citing him and Charlie as "some of (his) best friends".
* TheGenericGuy: Unlike [[TheMillstone Gary]] and [[TutorialFailure Charlie]], he has no impact on the plot outside of his one line serving as an AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption for Keita's presentation, and is killed with little fanfare. Notably, he was also the only NPC to whom Sachi didn't entrust any items.
* NonPlayerCharacter: From an unfinished quest involving bandits.
* PokemonSpeak: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as he's an NPC. His only line of dialogue is "The bandits are coming!".
* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: After a monster [[NoSell No-Sells]] his spear attack, this is how Derrick bites it.
* RedShirt: Gets the least amount of characterization of the [=NPCs=].
* WelcomeToCorneria: "The bandits are coming!".
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Like Charlie, he only gets two lines before he gets killed. Unlike with the former, however, Kirito doesn't even learn his name, as he gets killed just as Sachi is calling for him.

!!Golden Apple

[[folder:General]]

[[quoteright:958:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20_67.png]][[caption-width-right:958:Left to right: Kains, Grimlock, and Schmitt. Not pictured: Yolko, Griselda.]]

A guild that attempted to avoid some LootDrama by selling a valuable item instead of fighting over it, only for the guild leader to be murdered on the way to the market, leading the group to collapse into suspicion over who did the deed.

* AllForNothing: The guild completely disbanded due to mutual distrust after their leader was killed trying to sell an item, making their attempts at solving the LootDrama completely pointless. To make matters worse, [[spoiler:the murderer wasn't even interested in the item]].
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Their antics and dysfunctional relationships are played for laughs, [[spoiler: but they end up beating Grimlock half to death and giving him a NeckSnap when he's exposed as his wife's real murderer]].
* LootDrama: They tried to avoid one by selling a valuable item that they had obtained, but ended up falling apart anyway after their leader was mysteriously killed that day.
* MadeASlave: In exchange for his business advice, Laughing Coffin decides to spare Yolko, Schmitt, and Kains by giving them to Kirito as slaves. He's pretty happy about it, they aren't. It's {{Downplayed}} as he mostly uses this as a way to mock them, and he lets them go with little fanfare after Laughing Coffin is gone.
* MeaningfulName: Their guild name is an allusion to the AppleOfDiscord from Myth/ClassicalMythology that Eris, the goddess of strife, used to spark the Trojan War by causing a violent feud among the Olympians. It's an unfortunately appropriate name for a guild that self-deconstructed due to paranoia and resentment.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Yolko overreacts to things and comes up with oddball ideas. Schmitt is a video game reviewer who justifiably fears for his life due to the possibility of angry fanboys killing him over his reviews as part of the death game. Grimlock [[spoiler:murdered his wife not even for the money, but simply because she didn't cook him dinner one night, leaving him leftovers while she was having a Raid strategy meeting with Yolko and the others]]. Only Kains and Griselda tried to lead the group with any sort of sensibility. It's no wonder the group just fell apart.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: The guild fell apart after Griselda's death after they found out one of them had to be the killer. Only Yolko and Kains are implied to have been on genuinely good terms after the fact, and even then they seem to be VitriolicBestBuds at best.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Griselda refers to her raid party as "Yolko and the girls" to Grimlock, even though the only other members shown are Kains and Schmitt. This implies there were other female members on the team, but it's unclear whether they were participants in Yolko's plan to avenge her, or if they're even alive as of her death.

[[folder:Yolko]]

[[quoteright:982:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6_89.png]][[caption-width-right:982:''"I'm sorry, Kains. I entangled him in our web of lies."'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Rachel Michelle\\\

A witness to an alleged murder in a safe zone who draws Kirito and Asuna into the mystery that destroyed her guild.

* AccidentalTruth: Twice.
** Once when she draws attention to Grimlock as the prime suspect behind Kains' "death", before introducing the idea of Griselda's ghost being the culprit. Grimlock would later pay Laughing Coffin to kill Kains and the rest of Golden Apple for real.
** Later when she fabricates the story of Griselda's ghost surfacing from the grave. While she wasn't there to take revenge, as Yolko falsely claimed, [[RealAfterAll Griselda's spectre made a physical appearance at the end of the episode]], making Yolko at least half-correct.
* AchievementsInIgnorance: For as much as Kains lambastes Yolko for her general inability to keep their secret revenge plot... a secret, it's this very incompetence that ends up saving their lives. Had she not decided to involve Kirito and Asuna in their plans for whatever reason, not only would they, along with Schmitt, have gotten murdered by Laughing Coffin, but [[spoiler:Grimlock would have gotten away with his crimes scot-free]].
* AdaptationalDumbass: This version of Yolko is portrayed as much more incompetent in her attempts at uncovering Griselda's murder, owning to her MissingStepsPlan.
* AdaptationalJerkass: Minor example. Her PetTheDog moment of keeping Asuna in her friends list even after she's done with her is instead changed to her having forgotten to delete it.
* AllForNothing: Her and Kains' scheme to get Schmitt to confess to Griselda's murder ends up being this when Kirito enters the picture and effortlessly exposes Grimlock as the true killer. Downplayed, as if not for their MissingStepsPlan, Kirito would've never gotten invested enough to dig in the matter and rub it in their faces.
* AntiHero: While not as bad as Schmitt, she's a PragmaticHero. She's willing to involve Kirito and Asuna (who, while not [[NominalHero ''innocent'']] per se, are still unrelated players) into her plan to terrorize Schmitt, but she's doing this to get revenge on her guild leaders' death.
* BadLiar: Downplayed. Kirito admits her act was solid for the most part, but she drops the ball when she says her and Schmitt were good friends despite her barely concealed disdain for him. She also has a poorly hidden OhCrap moment when Kirito comes close to deciphering Kains' death was a fake.
* BeneathTheMask: Downplayed. Her BrokenBird act was a façade, sure, but her personality doesn't change much even when her true role in the scheme is revealed.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Despite being somewhat of an airhead, she helps in the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown of Grimlock after he's revealed to be the murderer.
* BrainlessBeauty: Kirito sees her as one, lacking in the brains department but sporting a nice butt.
* BrokenBird: Subverted, but she plays the role rather convincingly. It's later PlayedStraight, but not due to Kains' "death", but Griselda's.
* CrocodileTears: When she's trying to sell Kains' faked death to Kirito and Asuna.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: She's presented as an idiot who isn't the best at making up or executing plans, but if her part in the beatdown of Grimlock is any indication, she can pack up a punch when she's motivated.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: She has navy blue eyes and hair.
* DamselInDistress: In Episode 6, she's captured alongside Schmitt and Kains by Laughing Coffin and held at swords' point by [=Red-Eyed XaXa=]. She's soon rescued by Kirito, who gets Laughing Coffin to surrender them to him as their slaves.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: She ''really'' shouldn't have entangled Kirito and Asuna into her and Kains' already faulty plan to scare Schmitt. She's beyond lucky it ended up saving her when Laughing Coffin entered the picture.
* TheDitz: She constantly comes up with [[MissingStepsPlan unnecessarily convoluted plans]] and also executes them horribly, involving unrelated third parties for no discernible reason and forgetting to cover her tracks [[HopelessWithTech due to having troubles with the game's mechanics]].
* EasilyForgiven: Schmitt forgives her and Kains pretty quickly, considering they've spent six months trying to scare a "confession" out of him, despite Schmitt being innocent.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Kirito calls her "Yogapants", since he can't be bothered to remember her actual name. She clearly isn't flattered, but since he had just saved her life, she lets it pass.
* FakingTheDead: Does this in Episode 6 with the help of Kains, exploiting the free fall glitch by taking a swan dive out a window and then teleporting away after the latter throws her a knife.
* ForgetfulJones: She forgot to delete her friends list after she was done with Asuna and Kirito, which they later used to track her down. Kains is ''not'' impressed since they had spent six months perfecting their scheme.
* GoodCounterpart: Aside from their shared inability to open the game menu, both her and Asuna are attractive and emotional players whom Kirito loves to tease for their flaws and who aren't above [[BeneathTheMask putting on a façade in front of their peers]] to achieve their goals. However, Yolko's is in aid of coercing a confession out of her ex-guildmate [[WellIntentionedExtremist to get justice for her guild leader's death]], while Asuna's is a full blown MaskOfSanity to hide her [[AxCrazy bigger flaws]]. They both have a hidden brutal side, which manifests with killers (or attempted killers) of their loved ones. Yolko is also a lot meeker than Asuna, and takes Kains' criticisms in relative stride; while Asuna''stabs Kirito in the eye'' for making a jab at her.
* HiddenDepths: She's a bit scatterbrained, but even Kirito admits her BrokenBird façade was rather convincing.
* HopelessWithTech: Has a Callback to Asuna's issues with menus as apparently, she didn't think about deleting her friends list to keep her cover of being supposedly "dead".
* InnocentBlueEyes: PlayedWith. She has blue eyes, and while she's ''not'' complicit in Griselda's death, she's an active participant in the ploy to scare Schmitt into "confessing".
* InTheBack: To fake her death, Kains throws a knife at her back while she's perched on a window, causing her to fall to her "death".
* InTheHood: While posing as Griselda's ghost.
* KnightTemplar: She wants justice for Griselda's death, and her plan involves scaring the already unhinged Schmitt until he confesses despite having no concrete evidence of his involvement. She's even willing to involve Kirito and Asuna to make her act more believable.
* MissingStepsPlan: Even she can't articulate why she got Kirito and Asuna involved in her and Kains' plan.
* MsFanservice: As in the anime, she wears tight pants and the camera focuses on her rear. It turns out that Kirito can't actually remember her name and just calls her "Yogapants."
* PinkGirlBlueBoy: While pretending to be Griselda's ghost, she has a pink bowtie on her cape, while her companion Kains has a blue one.
* ProneToTears: She exaggerates it while pretending to be a BrokenBird but later cries genuine tears when calling out Schmitt for supposedly murdering Griselda.
* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: After Kirito uncloaks Grimlock as the real mastermind behind the murder, Yolko gasps. When Grimlock doesn't actually show up due to Asuna missing her cue, forcing Kirito to repeat TheReveal, she does this instead, the tension having clearly been ruined.
* SuddenlyShouting: After she "realizes" Grimlock wasn't the killer, she assumes it was Griselda's ghost instead and [[HeroicBsOD she completely loses her marbles]]. As it turns out, it was all a set up for "her death".
* ShyBlueHairedGirl: She has blue hair and she's far less assertive than [[DeadpanSnarker Kains]].
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She gives a brutal one to Schmitt for killing Griselda. Kirito waits until she's finished to tell her that he is innocent.
-->'''Yolko:''' How could you kill her, Schmitt? She was your friend! Did you really need the item that badly?\\
'''Schmitt:''' What? Are you kidding me?! You guys are my friends! You know I could never do something like that!\\
'''Yolko:''' How dare you act like our friend after what you've done!
* UndyingLoyalty: To Griselda, enough to spend six months investigating her murder alongside Kains, and trying to scare a confession out of their prime suspect.

[[folder:Kains]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7_15.png]] [[caption-width-right:1000:''"Christ, Yolko! How big is this web?! You're catching school buses in this thing!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Mackenzie "[=Hayabusa449=]" Murdock\\\

A former Golden Apple member trying to figure out who destroyed his guild, in a fairly roundabout manner.

* AllForNothing: His and Yolko's scheme to get Schmitt to confess to Griselda's murder ends up being this when Kirito enters the picture and effortlessly exposes Grimlock as the true killer. Downplayed, as if not for their MissingStepsPlan, Kirito would've never gotten invested enough to dig in the matter and rub it in their faces.
* AntiHero: He comes off as a KnightInSourArmor, though he can slide into PragmaticHero considering the lines he's willing to cross to bring Griselda's killer to justice.
* BrainyBrunet: He has brown hair and is much smarter than his guildmates.
* BrutalHonesty: He doesn't hold back when criticising Yolko's flawed execution of their even more flawed plan.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Invoked to scare off Schmitt; He's found hanging from a tall tower with a broadsword sticking out of his chest. He was still struggling by the time Kirito and Asuna arrive at the scene.
-->'''Kirito:''' [[LackOfEmpathy Huh, look. A human piñata.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: In regards to Yolko's MissingStepsPlan.
-->'''Kirito:''' Ah, well, that part was quite simple. You see, ''I'm not an idiot''.\\
'''Kains:''' Yep, that'd do it...\\
'''Yolko:''' Shut up, Kains! ''I'' thought it was clever...
* DeadGuyOnDisplay: Or fake-dying guy on display. He invokes this when he and Yolko choose to fake the former's death in the Town of Beginnings during the dinner rush, ensuring it reaches the largest possible audience. Unfortunately, this ends up backfiring on them when two particular players decide to stick their noses in the matter.
* DistressedDude: In Episode 6, he's captured by Laughing Coffin alongside his guildmates, and is later rescued by Kirito, though he's somewhat annoyed at his failed BigEntrance.
* EasilyForgiven: Schmitt forgives him pretty quickly, considering he, alongside Yolko, had spent six months trying to force a "confession" out of him, despite Schmitt being innocent.
* FakingTheDead: As part of his plan to scare Schmitt, he exploits a glitch in the game that mistakes the game's teleport animation with the death animation when in free fall. In the following episode, he helps Yolko fake hers as well by throwing a knife at her.
* {{Foil}}: He's smart, deadpan, and brutally honest, contrasting Yolko's forgetful, airheaded, and deceitful (albeit well-intentioned) personality.
* GoodCounterpart: To Kirito. Both are competent and [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan]] SAO players who are very savvy of the game's glitches and who unabashedly call out their fellow players for their incompetence (namely for their inability to open the game menu). However, Kains shows exasperation and anger at worst, while Kirito [[TheGadfly opts to mock and prank his peers for their mistakes]]. Furthermore, while a bit underhanded, Kains' main goal is to get justice for Griselda's death out of genuine loyalty, while Kirito's default reaction to human suffering (including Kains' DisneyDeath) is "[[LackOfEmpathy to pull up a chair and crack on the popcorn]]", and his inability to take the mystery seriously irritates Kains to no end. After Kirito [[TookALevelInKindness takes a level in kindness]], he becomes a lot more similar to Kains, especially once he reaches [=ALfheim=].
* {{Hypocrite}}: He endlessly criticizes Yolko for her many mistakes in her already flawed plan, despite his IdiotBall moment below being as pivotal to their failure as any mistake Yolko made.
* IdiotBall: Had he not used a teleport crystal to escape while pretending to be a ghost, Kirito would've had no concrete evidence of Yolko's ghost story being a farce. It's especially notable in this version compared to the original anime, as Kirito [[AdaptationalWimp fell through a window while trying to chase him down]], so he could've just run away with no one to pursue him.
* InTheHood: While posing as a ghost.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: To make his faked death look more realistic, he ''stabs'' himself in the midsection with Grimlock's sword. Since the town was a safe zone, he didn't die, though according to Kirito, it still would've hurt him like hell.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Though he's rather blunt about it, he's right that Yolko's execution of their plan was lackluster, especially since they had been planning their BatmanGambit for half a year, and they only had one shot at it.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite his snarky and sarcastic demeanor towards Yolko, especially in regard to her MissingStepsPlan, he genuinely wants to solve Griselda's murder. He even attempts to depart on good terms with Kirito, despite their rocky start. Furthermore, he's shown comforting Yolko when she cries.
* KnightInSourArmor: He knows Yolko's plan is stupid and needlessly contrived, but goes through with it anyway. When it predictably falls apart, Kains is there to chew her out on it, though even he's surprised at how much she screwed it up.
* KnightTemplar: He wants justice for Griselda's death, and he's willing to fake his death in front of tens of players just to scare his prime suspect into a confession despite having no concrete evidence of his involvement.
* NotSoAboveItAll: He goes along with Yolko's ghost plan despite its numerous flaws. When Kirito breaks the plan down to prove how nonsensical it is, Kains initially tries to defend his actions before giving up.
* OnlySaneMan: Yolko's constant screw-ups in the plan, and the fact that all their efforts turned out to be wrong in blaming Schmitt annoys him to no end. He does thank Kirito for his help in solving the case, as well as saving all of them. Kains even apologizes for not getting along with Kirito. Unfortunately, given the deal that was made with Laughing Coffin to spare them, and [[HeroicComedicSociopath Kirito]] being [[{{Troll}} Kirito]].....
-->'''Kirito:''' ''[with a tear in his eye]'' You guys were the best slaves a boy could have.\\
'''Kains:''' ''[angrily]'' Fuck it! I tried! You all saw it!
* PinkGirlBlueBoy: While pretending to be a ghost, he has a blue bowtie on his cape, while his companion Yolko has a pink one.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After Kirito trolls him yet again, he gives up trying to make up with him and leaves with the others to kill Grimlock.
* StraightMan: While not perfect, you're this by default when dealing with Yolko, Schmitt, and Grimlock. [[NominalHero Kirito and Asuna's]] involvement only makes him look even ''more'' sane in comparison.
* SuddenlyShouting: Despite his generally composed demeanor, he loses his temper on several occasions. Namely, when Yolko admits to involving Kirito and Asuna into their plan for no reason, he lets out a loud "WHY?!".
* TooCleverByHalf: His plan to fake his death by exploiting a glitch in the game shows some knowledge of the game's mechanisms, [[FailedASpotCheck but his use of the teleport crystal while fleeing from Kirito]] ends up exposing the entire "ghost" façade he and Yolko had planned. His and Yolko's misguided (if based on sound evidence) targeting of Schmitt also had some holes in its reasoning, as Kirito smugly points out while calling them out on their idiocy.
* TranquilFury:
** When Grimlock tries to appeal to his and Schmitt's masculinity to justify his StayInTheKitchen-motivated murder.
--->'''Kains:''' Don't talk to us, man.
** He does it again when he's taking Grimlock to his demise.
--->'''Grimlock:''' Where are you taking me?.\\
'''Kains:''' We're gonna get you the help you need, buddy. [[GoryDiscretionShot Behind this tree...]]
* UndyingLoyalty: To Griselda, enough to spend six months investigating her murder and fake his death to scare a confession out of the suspects. He's even willing to stab himself in the chest with the business end of a broadsword while in a safe zone which, while not lethal, was implied to hurt a ton.
* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Several times with Kirito, Yolko and Schmitt. Said almost word for word ''Twice'':
** Once when Kirito casually reveals Schmitt is innocent, after watching them verbally tear onto him.
** And again when Yolko admits [[HopelessWithTech to not deleting her friends list because she didn't know how to open the menu.]]

[[folder:Schmitt]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9_05.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:''"I used to laugh at their comments. You hear me?! LAUGH! But now?! What if they actually do chop off my limbs, rip out my intestines, and ride me like some sort of meat tobogan!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AlejandroSaab

A game reviewer in the real world who owns the site "Piece of Schmitt Games", now a nervous wreck because he's terrified that some of his angry, hateful commenters will find him and make good on their creative death threats.

* AdaptationalDumbass: The Schmitt in SAO proper was no Einstein, but his potential went beyond assistant manager at Kinkos.
* AdaptationalJerkass: Despite his indirect involvement in Griselda's murder being AdaptedOut, this version of Schmitt makes up for it by being an [[AxCrazy Emotionally stunted]] [[DirtyCoward coward]] who [[WouldHurtAChild apparently has no qualms with hurting children]].
* AmbiguouslyEvil: He's clearly a piece of work, but it's not clear if he actually would've gone on to murder infants had "the ghosts" told him to. On a related note, his canon guild (Divine Dragons Alliance) was adapted into TheMafia for this version, so it's unclear if this Schmitt was actually part of them.
* AntiHero: He's not a murderer (or at least, he hasn't managed to kill anyone yet), and he wants to clear the game as much as anybody else, but he's ''not'' someone you can rely on when in a high-stress situation.
* ApologisesALot: Comes with being a game reviewer.
--> '''Schmitt:''' Hey, people threatened to kill me for giving Pokémon V&R a 7 out of 10! At this point, I've learned to just assume the position...
* AxCrazy: When he thinks he's being accosted by two ghosts, he's quick to offer to scalp innocents and crucify orphans as an offering. Even after they reveal themselves to be Yolko and Kains in disguise, he offers to carry out the deed regardless. This trait of him makes Yolko and Kains suspect him as Griselda's murderer.
--> '''Schmitt:''' Oh...so, where are we on the whole orphan blood, thing? We talking heads or liters?.\\
'''Kains:''' Oh, for the love of, WE'RE NOT GHOSTS!\\
'''Schmitt:''' We faked our deaths.\\
'''Kains:''' Seriously Schmitt, how many people would you have killed if we'd asked you to?\\
'''Schmitt:''' Thaaat's not important.\\
'''Kains:''' I DISAGREE!
* ButtMonkey: His guildmates don't respect him at all, to the point of dropping all suspicion over Griselda's death upon remembering that he couldn't possibly have beaten her, or even caught her off guard. Later, Kirito specifies him as an example as to the potential that most of the SAO players have, something he doesn't take kindly to.
-->'''Kirito:''' Nobody's saying their potential doesn't top out at "assistant manager at Kinkos". I mean, just look at Schmitt.\\
'''Schmitt:''' ''[offscreen]'' WHY AM I ALWAYS THE EXAMPLE?!
* CausticCritic: If the fact that his site is called "Piece of Schmitt Games" is any indication, he primarily criticized games he found bad or mediocre. This earned him a lot of haters who would graphically threaten him, and being trapped in ''SAO'' has made him fear that one of those players might actually carry out their threats.
* CreatorBreakdown: InUniverse example. The constant online harassment and death threats his fans put him through caused him to go insane after being trapped in SAO. Special mention goes to Johnny Black's "meat toboggan" threat.
* CowardlyLion: He showed up to help out at the boss battle in Episode 11, despite being a completely nervous wreck.
* DirtyCoward: Willing to kill anyone (except his friends), to save his own skin, as he unintentionally reveals to Yolko and Klain when he thinks they're ghosts.
* DistressedDude: He's distressed most of the time, but he becomes this alongside his guildmates in Episode 6 when Johnny Black paralyses him and tries to have Jeffrey [[ColdBloodedTorture make a "meat toboggan" out of him]]. He's later rescued by Kirito.
* TheDitz: On top of being a NervousWreck, he's famous for his low IQ, even among his own guild.
-->'''Kirito:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Well then, you must think Schmitt was skilled enough to have killed Griselda one-on-one, or perhaps smart enough to catch her unawares?]]\\
'''Kains:''' ....''Oh my god, Schmitt's not the killer.''\\
'''Schmitt:''' [[ImStandingRightHere Aw, come on!]]
* DumbassHasAPoint: His speech about Sword Art Online being a terrible MMO is on point, much to Kayaba's anguish. Even Kirito agrees with him, despite being a huge fan of the game.
* HePannedItNowHeSucks: In-Universe: He received a lot of death threats for his negative reviews of various games, notably giving ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}} V&R'' a 7 out of 10, hence why he's so nervous now that his "fans" (like Johnny Black) can find him in a death game.
* HiddenDepths: Being a game reviewer, he's very good at pointing out poor design in video games, and gives a surprisingly accurate speech for why Sword Art Online is an ObviousBeta [[invoked]]. Even [[spoiler: Kayaba]] can't come up with a retort.
-->Well, how else would you describe a game where players can just kidnap [=NPCs=], the crafting system is seizure inducing, and half the time our teleport crystals, one of our only lifelines, do nothing!
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's a complete nutcase and probably has more than one corpse in his closet, but he's very loyal to his friends in SAO. In the real world, he was a CausticCritic but was quite devoted to his fanbase.
* NervousWreck: Justified, since being trapped in the game, he's been afraid that some of his more vocal anti-fans are going to cash in on their death threats.
* NotHelpingYourCase: Even worse than the canon version. Schmitt's innocence doesn't get proven easily, due to his troubling outburst in the forest, as well as his strange insistence on collecting orphan blood as an offering for a "ghost".
* OhCrap: Has one, when a certain member of Laughing Coffin asks him if he recalls a commenter to one of his reviews by the name of "Johnny Black."
-->'''Schmitt:''' ''[in fear]'' "[[CallBack "Meat toboggan]]"....
* PayEvilUntoEvil: He snaps Grimlock's neck in revenge for Griselda's murder.
* ProperlyParanoid: He's a NervousWreck because he fears that, now that he's trapped in an MMO, one of his haters will actually carry out their threat to turn him into a "meat toboggan" because he criticized some games they liked. He and the guild proceed to get attacked by the leaders of [[MurderInc Laughing Coffin]], one of whom is the commenter who issued that threat and ''would'' have carried it out if Kirito hadn't saved them.
* RedHerring: Despite his AxCrazy tendencies, it turns out he wasn't the one who killed Griselda after all; Grimlock was.
* SanitySlippage: By the time we meet him, he's a gibbering mess who handles pressure worse than a landmine.
* UndyingLoyalty:
** Despite being a DirtyCoward, he's very loyal to his guild, considering them his best friends, and is heartbroken when they accuse him of being Griselda's killer.
** Also to his remaining fans, for whom he's making his best effort to survive in SAO.
* VaryingCompetencyAlibi: Kirito convinces Schmitt's teammates he's not the killer by pointing out that he sucks too much to pull that off.
* VideoReviewShow: ''Piece of Schmitt Games''. Yeah...
* WouldHurtAChild: When he believes Griselda's ghost is coming to kill him off, he suggests sacrificing orphans as an offering in exchange for his life.

[[folder:Grimlock]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8_29.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:So you see, boy. I didn't kill [[spoiler:Griselda]]. I killed [[spoiler:the thing that took her place]].]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Scott "Creator/KaiserNeko" Frerichs\\\

A member of the Golden Apple guild, married to another player, Griselda. He is the antagonist of Episodes 5 and 6 as the true killer of Griselda, who murdered her when she was too busy planning a raid with the others to make him dinner and asked him to eat leftovers instead.

* AdaptationalDumbass: On top of [[AdaptationalVillainy having his villainy upped to eleven]], this version of Grimlock is a complete idiot with the brain of a bratty (but more destructive) four-year-old who throws a tantrum over not having the dinner he wanted, then doubles down on his actions and tries to blame his mess on his former friend.
* AdaptationalVillainy: While murdering your wife out of fear she'll become a BloodKnight and no longer resemble who you fell in love with wasn't justified, it was a significantly less petty motivation than killing her for [[spoiler:not having the time to cook dinner one evening]].
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Is killed by Yolko, Schmitt, and Kains for having his own wife murdered. The fact that he put out a hit on them later doesn't help his case.]]
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: If killing his wife over a sandwich doesn't prove this, then acting like ''he'' is the victim of the whole ordeal certainly does.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He must've been this to be held in such high regard by Yolko and Kains. By the time we see him, however, any superficial charm he might've had is long gone, replaced with a shallow husk of a man grasping at straws.
* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:He is confirmed as an ''SAO'' survivor in the canon, but here he is killed by his former guild.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Thanks to this guy's master plan, nobody's making him sandwiches any time soon.
* DirtyCoward: Implied to have killed Griselda [[InTheBack from behind]], and he hires some mercenaries to tie up loose ends instead of doing it himself.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Subverted. He sounds offended when Kirito accuses him of killing his wife over something as petty as [[{{Greed}} money]], only to then reveal that he actually killed her over [[spoiler: ''a sandwich''.]]
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: He's positively ''shocked'' that his former friends would turn on him after [[spoiler: he told them [[BlatantLies his tragic story]] of murdering his wife over a sandwich.]]
* EvilerThanThou: He's the ''one'' villain (before [[SmugSuper Sugou]] enters the picture) that [[EveryoneHasStandards manages to disgust Kirito]] with his actions, to the point where the latter gives him a brutal TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
-->'''Grimlock:''' (to Kirito) Kid, one day you'll understand what's like to be in love.
* EvilIsPetty: [[spoiler:The most galling aspect of his crime. He didn't gain anything from it except a dead wife and the hatred of his guild when they find out.]]
* FalseFriend: He helps Kains and Yolko with their investigation of Griselda's murder, if only to [[spoiler: scare the already delusional Schmitt into falsely confessing to ''his'' crime. He also hires Laughing Coffin to get rid of all three of them once they fail.]]
* FauxHorrific: Only two things can drive him over the edge: His wife not making him dinner in time one day, and insulting his hat.
* GeniusDitz: His plan to get Schmitt framed for his crime is actually rather well thought out (due to the latter already being on the edge of his sanity), and it would've worked if not for Kirito' and Asuna's intervention. However, said crime was motivated by extremely stupid and immature reasons only befitting of a PsychopathicManchild.
* {{Greed}}: Subverted. [[spoiler:Kirito initially suspected that Grimlock killed his wife to keep that rare item for himself since married players share inventory space and no one would know he stole it. [[MotiveMisidentification However, his true motive is far]] [[EvilIsPetty pettier]]]].
* HateSink: The entirety of his screen time is devoted to showing off how much of a vile piece of shit he is.
* InsaneTrollLogic: [[spoiler:He claims he didn't kill his wife but "the thing that took her place." Keep in mind that this stems from the fact that she didn't cook dinner one day.]]
* LovingAShadow: As Kirito points out, he never really loved Griselda; he simply wanted to possess her.
* MagicalWeapon: Subverted. His sword, "Guilty Thorn" doesn't really kill players in safe zones; it was all part of a ploy by Yolko and Kains to scare Schmitt.
* MoralMyopia: "Delusional" doesn't even ''begin'' to describe this guy.
-->'''Kirito:''' (after sitting through his MotiveRant) [[SarcasmFailure Wow, okay.]] Let me see if I got this. You killed your wife because she wouldn't get in the kitchen and make you ''a sandwich''?!\\
'''Grimlock''': And what man would blame me?! Kains? Schmitt? You guys know what I'm talking about!\\
'''Kains''': [[TranquilFury Don't... don't talk to us, man.]]
* MotiveRant:
--> [[spoiler:'''Grimlock:''' Are you mad?! I didn't kill my wife for something as trivial as money! No. My story is... far more tragic.\\
''[cut to flashback]''\\
'''Grimlock:''' We were so in love. In all our time together, we never had a single fight. But then... one night... everything changed.\\
'''Griselda:''' I'm sorry, honey. I didn't have time to make dinner. I have to go meet Yolko and the girls to strategize for the raid. But there's still some leftovers in the fridge. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Love you!\\
'''Grimlock:''' And just like that, I realized the woman I loved was gone. I was devastated. How could she betray me like this? Clearly, if I was to preserve her memory... to hold on to the angel she once was... something drastic had to be done. So you see, boy. I didn't kill Griselda. I killed the thing that took her place.]]
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Your ExtremeDoormat wife isn't making you a proper dinner (for the ''first'' time in years), prioritizing going on raids with her girlfriends over your basic needs (even if you still had leftovers in the fridge)? [[CallForward Have you considered... murder?]]
* NeckSnap: After Asuna complains that they're making too much noise, [[spoiler: Schmitt puts an end to the guild's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown of him with one of these.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Not only does he kill his wife for not being a submissive housewife, but he tries to justify his actions to his fellow male players. Unsurprisingly, they're all repulsed by him.
* PsychopathicManchild: He considers his wife not making him dinner once to be her InUniverse MoralEventHorizon, and has a childish tantrum after Asuna says his hat makes him look like a hipster.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: When he tells [[LackOfEmpathy Kirito]], "Some day you'll understand what's like to be in love", he's obviously referring to him becoming a sexist asshole like him, but without the implications, it's actually a sound criticism of his character (and in episode 9, Kirito ''does'' eventually understand what's like to be ''really'' in love).
* SanitySlippage: By Episode 6, he's nothing but a blubbering mess pathetically trying justifying his actions at any chance he gets. Luckily, [[spoiler: his gang gave him the help he needed [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown behind a tree]].]]
* SkewedPriorities: As Kirito soon finds out, his dinner and '''his hat'' are far more important to him than his wife.
* SignatureHeadgear: His hat. Though Asuna and Kirito both think it makes him look like Music/JohnLennon joined the mafia.
* StayInTheKitchen: His attitude towards his wife, [[spoiler:to the point of killing her when she failed to do so.]]
* StrawMisogynist: Exaggerated to the point of parody. Every line of dialogue that comes from his mouth is dedicated to reinforcing this.
* StupidEvil: His actions weren't just atrocious, they were also extremely childish and immature; [[spoiler: he kills Griselda for not making him dinner ''once'', essentially ensuring she'll never be able to make him ''anything'' from then on.]]
* TokenEvilTeammate: While the other Golden Apple members aren't saints (especially Schmitt), Grimlock is the only one who is an outright monster. Needless to say, he stops being a "teammate" after his murder of Griselda comes to light.
* VillainousBreakdown: ''Not'' brought upon by Kirito's well-founded ReasonYouSuckSpeech, but by Asuna telling him that [[FashionVictimVillain his hat makes him look like a hipster.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: Since he's introduced as [[spoiler: Griselda's actual murderer, most of his entries are spoiler-tagged.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Is willing to do this to ''anyone'' the moment they don't do what he wants. [[spoiler: He pulls this on his wife after she stops making him dinner every day, and attempts this on Yolko, Kains, and Schmitt as well after the initial plan to frame the latter fails.]]

[[folder:Griselda]]

[[quoteright:977:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/19_6.png]][[caption-width-right:977:''"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't have time to make dinner. I have to go meet Yolko and the girls to strategize for the raid. But there's still some leftovers in the fridge. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Love you!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Caitlin "[=MOM0KI=]" Myers\\\

The former leader of the guild Golden Apple, whose ghost is purportedly seeking vengeance on her murderer.

* ActionGirl: She is shown wielding a sword and shield in a flashback, and she apparently led the raids of her guild.
* ExtremeDoormat: Implied to have been this for Grimlock before she makes one "mistake" that gets ger killed.
* HappilyMarried: She and Grimlock were apparently the perfect couple. {{Subverted}} when Grimlock is revealed to be a misogynistic psychopath who [[spoiler: killed her the moment she didn't make him a sandwich one time.]]
* TheHeart: Her guild completely fell apart when she died, and Schmitt was implied to have gone through some SanitySlippage after the fact.
* {{Intangibility}}: When Kirito throws his sword at her ghost in a panic, it goes right through her and gets lodged in a tree. She doesn't even seem to notice it.
* TheLeader: She was this for ''The Golden Apple'' before her death.
* LovedByAll: [[DramaticIrony Save for her own husband]], everyone in Golden Apple seem to have held her in very high regard, and they go to great lengths to investigate her murder.
* NoAccountingForTaste: Considering she was one of two [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Men]] in her guild, and she married Grimlock, [[spoiler:a man who ''murdered her'' because she didn't make dinner for him one night]], she's definitely got a case of this going on.
* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]]: Of EVERYONE in her guild (except maybe Kains), she's the one who's most composed. [[spoiler:Even after Kirito and Asuna fling a sword through her ghost, the most she does is just frown a bit, and sigh at how they're reacting.]]
* PeacefulInDeath: After [[AssholeVictim Grimlock is killed]] her soul is finally left to rest in peace (barring the minor inconvenience of Kirito throwing a sword at her).
* PosthumousCharacter: She's already dead by the time she's first mentioned, and Episodes 5 and 6 revolve around Kirito and Asuna investigating the circumstances of her death. [[spoiler:She [[RealAfterAll reappears in spirit form]] to thank them for solving the case, only for Kirito to throw his sword at her as he and Asuna run away screaming.]]
* SilkHidingSteel: She must've been a common housewife IRL for [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Grimlock]] to love her for as long as he did, only to show herself to be a rather effective strategist and leader for her guild. [[spoiler: This trait ends up killing her when she prioritizes strategizing for a raid over making dinner her husband, resulting in him murdering her.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Her decision to manifest in ghost form the end of the episode to express gratitude to Kirito and Asuna [[PeacefulInDeath for releasing her spirit]] ends up startling them, leading to Kirito's panicked response of flinging a sword at her, which kickstarted his quest for a new one with Lizbeth in Episode 7.

!!Aincrad Liberation Front

[[folder:General]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/15_86.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:Corvatz: ''"Nonsense! We're too close to give up now! My men do not even know the meaning of the word "surrender""''![[note]]But we're willing to learn![[/note]]]]
One of the guilds trying to clear ''Sword Art Online'', and for the most part, failing at it.

* AintTooProudToBeg: While trapped in the boss room, one of them desperately begs to be saved. Kirito begrudgingly answers the distress call.
* DeadpanSnarker: When Asuna tells them to use the teleport crystals when they're trapped against ''The Gleam Eyes''.
-->'''ALF member''': [[SarcasmMode Oh, HELL, why didn't WE think of THAT]]? [[SuddenlyShouting OF COURSE WE TRIED THE CRYSTALS! THEY'RE NOT WORKING!]]
* DistressedDude: After they let Corvatz lead them into a HopelessBossFight they had no chance of beating, they spend the rest of their screentime having to be saved by Kirito and Co.
* ExtremeDoormat: As Kirito says, they're essentially glorified sheep to Corvatz, as evidenced by the fact that they follow him into a HopelessBossFight where some of them die. They also somehow allowed a moronic scumbag like Kibaou to rise up to the rank of leader, without anyone objecting.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: {{Averted}} like you wouldn't believe. Despite being one of the biggest frontline guilds in the game, ''none'' of their high-ranking members behave competently or reasonably, to the point where StupidEvil Kibaou somehow managed to rise up the ranks and become leader. When your other authority figures are either immature assholes (like Kibaou), complete idiots (like Thinker) or both (like Corvatz), you end up with a RedShirtArmy of which only a lucky few make it out alive.
* RedShirtArmy: The only thing they're good at is getting themselves killed.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Most of them only appear in Episode 7, but they're the ones that make Kirito choose to stop being such a stubborn prick and finally [[ChronicHeroSyndrome follow his instincts.]]
* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: A variation of this happens when Kirito reveals his DualWielding skill against ''The Gleam Eyes''.
-->'''Klein:''' Holy...\\
'''Asuna:''' Shit!\\
'''ALF Soldier:''' Exclamation mark!
* SourSupporter: Despite what Corvatz says, his Spanish Guitar reverb item does jack shit to make them like him more.
-->'''ALF Member:''' Why is he our leader? Let's recall him!
* TooDumbToLive: In Kirito's own words, the ALF members in Episode 8 allowed Corvatz to lead them into a HopelessBossFight like lemmings throwing themselves off a cliff. And Thinker is an even bigger example.
* WilhelmScream: Can be heard when a bunch of them are being BlownAcrossTheRoom by the boss.

[[folder:Kibaou]]

[[quoteright:950:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/17_1.png]][[caption-width-right:950:''"Beta testers?!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Mackenzie "[=Hayabusa449=]" Murdock\\\

A loudmouth and conspiracy theorist who blames the beta testers for being trapped in ''SAO'', hijacks a strategy session early in the game, and causes more trouble later.

* AdaptationalDumbass: The original Kibaou was already a moron, but the Abridged version makes him more of an exaggerated conspiracy theorist who thinks the beta testers are responsible for trapping the players in the game. When Diabel asks for evidence of his claims, Kibaou outright states he does not need any, and expects everyone to back him up.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Unlike in canon, he doesn't try to accuse Kirito of letting Diabel die in this version, even though this Kirito was even more of an ass than the original ever was, giving him more of a reason to be spiteful towards the beta tester.
* AntiHero: NominalHero in Episode 2. He was on Diabel's side, but he was even more unsympathetic than ''[[{{Jerkass}} Kirito]]''. After his rise to power, he drops the "hero" label pretty quickly.
* AssassinationAttempt: Tries to get his guild's deposed leader Thinker killed during a staged peace treaty. Thankfully, Thinker's lieutenant Yulier enlists the help of Kirito and Asuna to rescue him.
* BadLiar: Told Thinker that he was willing to negotiate their leadership issues, but only if the peace talk was held inside a dungeon with a creepy OptionalBoss lurking inside. The worst part? [[IronicName Thinker]] fell for it.
* CannonFodder: Since he "hijacked conversations to rant about his political views", he makes it to the front lines, much to his horror. He actually survives the raid, though.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He may be a stupid asshole, but he survives the Floor 1 raid despite being on the front lines. He also goes on to become the leader of the ALF.
* FantasticRacism: He hates beta testers for not helping people (read: ''him'') clear the first floor, and blames them for getting everyone stuck in the game.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: If Diabel's exasperated reaction to his introduction is any indication. As dumb as most SAO players are, ''nobody'' listens to what this guy has to say. Yulier states this is part of why they didn't see his power-grab coming: they honestly didn't think anyone would follow him.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: His first and only onscreen appearance is in Episode 2 and is spent trash-talking SAO's beta testers and blaming them for getting everyone trapped in the game. Then in a classic display of OffstageVillainy, he joins the ALF and stages a violent coup that throws the entire guild into chaos.
* InsaneTrollLogic:
** Claims he doesn't need evidence to blame beta testers for anything, he just can.
** It goes both ways; when Kirito states his BadassLongcoat somehow makes him a superior being than him, Kibaou ''agrees''.
* ItsAllAboutMe: He tries to out the beta testers as traitors because he's bitter that ''they'' didn't teach ''him'' how to play the game, even though they did make a players' guide for him and the other newbies to read [[WhoWritesThisCrap (though given what was written in it...)]].
* ILied: Turns out he lied about the negotiation and only wanted to get Thinker killed by a boss. Everybody saw it coming save for Thinker himself.
* {{Jerkass}}: Much like in canon, although it's mitigated by the fact that Abridged Kirito actually ''is'' an asshole.
* KarmaHoudini: Unless Yulier and Thinker did something about his AssassinationAttempt, he essentially got away scot-free when Kirito logged every surviving SAO player out of the game.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: He claims to know with complete certainty that the beta testers are traitors. He has no evidence of this and it's soon made clear that he is only bitter about not having their advantage over the mechanics of the game.
* OhCrap: Has one when the guide almost literally singles him out as a potential candidate for a meat shield, due to how annoying he is.
* PetTheDog:
** Despite all the grief he caused Diabel, he yells out his name as he's killed, implying he cared about his leader to an extent.
** He also doesn't accuse Kirito of getting him killed like in canon, despite Kirito actually being responsible this time around.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Since the beta testers' guide turns out to be a bust, he's eventually proven correct about the beta testers (or at least ''one'' of them) intentionally hindering them. However, it doesn't make his argument any less stupid as he didn't even know the book existed, and it's clear he was speaking out of ignorance.
* StupidEvil: He's a moronic conspiracy theorist who somehow rose to the ranks of the ALF and became a tyrant.
* TokenEvilTeammate: The ALF is already filled with incompetent assholes, but Kibaou is the only one of them who actually attempted to [[PlayerKilling kill another player.]]

[[folder:Corvatz]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/16_21.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:''"Very well! Watch closely, for one day, you shall tell your grandchildren of the day you witnessed the great Corvatz in action! Now, men! Group up and hit it till it dies!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AlejandroSaab\\\

A self-proclaimed master strategist, who has never failed to defeat a floor boss. Or succeeded in defeating a floor boss. He likes to speak in a Spanish accent despite being from Nagano.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: His men are very open about their hatred for their incompetent GeneralFailure, with one of them giving him an exhausted PrecisionFStrike. Unsurprisingly, none of them cared to mourn him after his death.
* AdaptationalDumbass: He was already pretty dumb in canon for attempting to take on a floor boss with a handful of players. But he's even dumber here for not only doing that but also refusing to run when he's severely outclassed.
* AdaptationalWimp: He has no strategy to speak of to beat a boss beyond "hit it 'till it dies". Therefore, he lasts even less than his canon counterpart.
* AlasPoorVillain: He wasn't really a villain; just a massive asshole, but his death causes Kirito to finally give in to his ChronicHeroSyndrome and save his men from a fatal end.
* AttackAttackAttack: His iconic "brilliant strategy". It goes as well as you'd expect.
* BoisterousWeakling: He presents himself as a skilled, brave, noble and experienced leader and brilliant strategist, but in actuality, he's an extremely boastful, arrogant and egotistical noob with poor leadership skills, as he shows during his first fight.
* BullyingADragon: Well, a four-health-bars-sporting, giant-sword-wielding goat demon, but still applies.
* DamnedByFaintPraise: He really is one of the greatest tactical minds the ALF has ever known. The bar is set that low.
* {{Determinator}}: While the same can't be said for his men, his warrior spirit is never shattered, ([[LiterallyShatteredLives unlike literally everything else in his body]]).
* DrillSergeantNasty: He forces his men to march for hours while they listen to his guitar reverb. By the time they reach the boss room, they can barely stand still.
* EarlyBirdCameo: While there's no way to fully identify him from the crowd, he's implied to have been of Diabel's party members against Illfang in Episode 2, specifically the guy who proposes to "hit it 'till it dies" as a battle strategy.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: Despite how humiliating his defeat was, he goes out asking Kirito not to weep, as "the legend can never die", although mitigated by the fact that he might've simply been in denial.
* FakeNationality: InUniverse. He's from Nagano, but he tries to pass off as a Hispanic commander to boost his men's morale.
* {{Foil}}: To Diabel; Although both players are brave guild leaders trying to clear the game's levels for the benefit of all players, and ultimately meet a tragic demise in their pursuit, they play opposite roles. Diabel is a noble yet besieged leader who often finds himself overwhelmed by the inadequacies of his subordinates. Corvatz, on the other hand, is an arrogant fool infamous among his men for his military endeavors. Moreover, while they both die in the arms of Kirito, Diabel willingly allows himself to die due to despair, [[DrivenToSuicide even refusing a health potion from the beta tester.]] Conversely, Corvatz meets his end in an apparent state of denial, reassuring Kirito that he can never die [[InstantlyProvenWrong right before he dies.]]
* GeneralFailure: The only reason he was still alive in Episode 8 is because he hadn't yet attempted to fight anyone. [[WeHardlyKnewYe Sure enough]], when he ''[[WeHardlyKnewYe does]]'' [[WeHardlyKnewYe try...]]
* GratuitousSpanish: He sounds Spanish, anyway, which surprises Asuna since she didn't know SAO has international servers. Another ALF member points out it ''doesn't''; Corvatz is from Nagano and found an in-game item that makes Spanish guitar music play every time he talks. [[TheRoleplayer He's just really committed to the bit.]]
* HollywoodTactics: In a CallBack to Episode 2, his strategy to defeat the Gleam Eyes is to "group up, and hit it 'til it dies!" It doesn't end well for him. It's quite possible that he's the exact same guy from the Illfang briefing who suggested it in the first place.
* ItsAllAboutMe: He's a boastful narcissist who, for all his talk about honor, only cares about the glory that comes with being "The Saviour of Aincrad".
* {{Jerkass}}: He's a harsh leader to his men and a rude asshole to Kirito, Asuna and, Klein, made worse by the fact that he's little more than a BoisterousWeakling.
* LeeroyJenkins: What he really is at heart. What else can you expect from a guy whose main strategy when fighting a big goat demon is to "hit it 'till it dies"? He doesn't even stop when the strategy fails the first time.
* MauveShirt: He gets some characterization as TheNeidermeyer with a forced Hispanic accent before getting killed in his first episode.
* TheNeidermeyer: His men don't think too highly of him as he forces them to march for hours straight and demands they fight a tough floor boss by just hitting it until it dies.
* ObliviousToHatred: He's so delusional he believes his Hispanic general shtick boosts his men's spirits, even as said men are gasping for air and cursing him to his face.
* PetTheDog: He really thought his Spanish guitar reverb item would increase his men's morale. [[TheNeidermeyer He was wrong]], but it's the thought that counts.
* {{Pride}}: He thinks of himself as the future saviour of Aincrad, and believes he will one day achieve legend status. [[BullyingADragon He doesn't.]]
* ShadowArchetype: After his death, the equally arrogant (but considerably smarter) Kirito would not only go on to kill '''The Gleam Eyes'' himself, saving his men from anihilation, but he would also be accepted in Heathcliff's senior council and go on to become "the Hero of Aincrad", the title Corvatz died failing to obtain.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He dies in the same episode he's introduced, but his colossal failures as a general force Kirito to swoop in and save his men, finally surrendering to his ChronicHeroSyndrome.
* TooDumbToLive: Really, it's a miracle this guy survived as long as he did (that is, around twenty seconds) against Gleam Eyes.
* UndignifiedDeath: He dies just as he's telling Kirito that he can't die. Other than his reverb, he did ''not'' go out on a high note.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: While he gets more focus than in the original anime, he still doesn't make it past two scenes.

[[folder:Yulier]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/21_3.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:''"It all happened so fast. None of us saw it coming. I mean, would you? The man has the unbridled charisma of a chipotle enema!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Alison "[=AliFluro=]" Jayce\\\

The very, ''very'' loyal lieutenant of the ALF's former leader. She asks Kirito and Asuna to help her rescue Thinker from Kibaou in Episode 10, only to embarrass herself.

* AdaptationalDumbass: The original Yulier was genuinely concerned about the trajectory of her guild, and her admiration for Thinker was (somewhat) earned. Here, she's an immature and borderline sycophantic apologist for her incompetent idiot of a leader.
* AdaptationalRelationshipOverhaul: In canon, Yulier and Thinker were HappilyMarried both in-game and IRL. Here, while she refers to him as "her man", he simply addresses her as "Lieutenant", implying it's more of a one-sided crush.
* AdaptationalJerkass: While her distress caused her to act somewhat unorthodox for an officer, canon Yulier never went as far as to threaten to beat up a child.
* BerserkButton: Badmouthing Thinker. And not only does Yui press it, but she smashes it with a hammer.
* BirdsOfAFeather: She's this with Thinker, being just as gullible as him.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: She's introduced as a polite and well-spoken lady who is worried for the safety of her guild, but after being pressed by Yui, she's revealed to be an ill-tempered {{Womanchild}} who lusts after her boss and who frantically defends his incompetent actions with no self-awareness whatsoever.
* BodyguardCrush: More like "lieutenant Crush" but still applies, though her devotion is somewhat misplaced.
* BrokenBird: By the time she reaches Kirito and Asuna, she's already breaking down in tears due to being worried for her lover.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Let's just say that her crush on Thinker is not well hidden, assuming she's actually trying to hide it in the first place.
* FemaleGaze: The ''real'' reason she's so infatuated with Thinker. She's just not good at hiding it.
* HairTriggerTemper: She threatens to beat up a flippant Yui for calling her lover a dullard. Keep in mind Yui resembles an eight-year-old child.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: She believes [[TooDumbToLive Thinker]] to be the most intelligent man she's ever known, ''and'' considers [[StupidEvil Kibaou]] to be cunning and charismatic. Worse, she thinks [[NominalHero Kirito and Asuna]] are fit to help her rescue the former. The only time she's ever correct about someone is when she notes [[DysfunctionalFamily just how dysfunctional]] Kirito, Asuna and Yui are as a family.
* HypercompetentSidekick: Thinker is ultimately the one who's in charge, but when he's in a pickle, it's up to her to organize his rescue mission.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: When she's one inch away from facing [[MamaBear Asuna]]'s wrath after threatening Yui, she cleverly sits down and apologizes. It's one of the few smart decisions she makes in the series.
* TheLancer: To Thinker. She aids him in his fight against Kibaou's tyranny.
* LoveMakesYouDumb: Her infatuation with Thinker leaves her a bit, shall we say, ''biased'' when it comes to evaluating his qualities. In the one instance where Thinker isn't immediately on her mind, she's shown to be surprisingly insightful.
* TheMillstone: While trying to save Thinker, she accidentally draws out the boss hidden in the dungeon with her running and screaming, forcing Kirito to save her.
* MirrorCharacter: Her obsessive demeanor towards Thinker is very similar to [[{{Yandere}} Asuna's]] towards Kirito, though Yulier is much more blatant and less conscious about her infatuation, while Asuna hides hers behind a {{Tsundere}} front. Her sudden anger towards Yui also mirrors Asuna's many outbursts against her peers whenever she's pushed.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The aforementioned triggering of the floor boss ends with Yui having to "sacrifice herself" to defeat it. [[spoiler: Subverted in Episode 13 when it was revealed she was never in any danger.]]
* OnlySaneWoman: Compared to Kirito, Asuna and Yui; she's the only one who's worried at Yui's TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour, and is visibly troubled by Kirito's rampage against a pack of monsters.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Subverted; Thinker's niceness is about his only apparent positive trait, but Yulier cites his [[InformedAttribute supposed]] intelligence and bravery ([[FemaleGaze and fine ass]]) as the main reasons for her devotion.
* PsychoSupporter: She threatens to beat up an 8-year-old girl for speaking out against her beloved Thinker.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Thinker, for some reason.
* {{Womanchild}}: She obsesses over Thinker like a {{Fangirl}} would obsess over her favorite boy band, and she snaps whenever anyone questions her infatuation.
* WouldHurtAChild: "You wanna take this outside, kid?! I'll throw down with an eight-year-old! I don't give a ''[[PrecisionFStrike fuck!]]''"

[[folder:Thinker]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/22_94.png]]
[[caption-width-right:1000:Little one, what are you doing?!]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Chris "Faulerro" Tout\\\

The ALF's deposed leader, who by the time we meet him has been reduced to crying while huddled in the fetal position at the bottom of a dangerous dungeon. Despite his moniker, he is not too bright.

* AdaptationalDumbass: Canon Thinker was attempting to apprehend a criminal player and got lured into a trap, while Abridged Thinker was stupid enough to attend a peace talk with his rival, in a ''dungeon'' without bringing any weapons or items. It also doesn't even occur to him to try and warn Kirito, Asuna, or even Yulier about the hidden boss that has him trapped in the dungeon's safe room since he was told the dungeon has crappy wi-fi.
* BirdsOfAFeather: With Lieutenant Yulier. While it's unknown if he reciprocates her feelings, he's just as stupid as she is.
* DistressedDude: He spends most of Episode 10 trapped in a dungeon, crying and huddled in a fetal position. Halfway through the episode, Kirito and Asuna are sent in to rescue him.
* TheDitz: His few minutes of screentime suggest this.
* DumbIsGood: He's dumb as a rock, but he's also one of the politest characters in the series.
* EtTuBrute: For some reason, he's completely flabbergasted by Kibaou's betrayal.
* {{Foil}}: To his successor Kibaou; They both served as airheaded leaders of the Aincrad Liberation Front, but while Kibaou was a gruff {{Jerkass}} who refused to trust anyone for childish reasons and who eventually became a dangerous tyrant. Thinker is a well-spoken gentleman who seems to believe in people's honesty to a fault, and who rose to become the leader of LaResistance.
* FlatCharacter: He has very little characterization on top of being a [[TheDitz Ditzy]] DistressedDude whose main deeds are more an InformedAttribute than anything else.
* FriendToAllChildren: He gets worried for Yui when she leaves cover to fight ''The Skull Reaper''.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Seriously, how could he trust ''[[StupidEvil Kibaou]]'' of all people?
* InformedAbility: PlayedForLaughs. Yulier speaks wonders of his bravery and intellect, but she soon contradicts herself when detailing his most recent actions, which paint him as a complete moron. It's made crystal clear her opinion of him is rather biased due to her infatuation with him.
* InformedAttractiveness: It's all but stated the ''actual'' reason Yulier is infatuated with him is "his beautiful ass", to the point where she gets horny just thinking about him. However, from what little we see of him, he seems like a rather average-looking guy.
* IronicName: As Yui points out, for a guy named Thinker he's [[{{Understatement}} "something of a dullard."]] He is fully willing to attend a "peace talk" in a dungeon while bringing no weapons or items and promptly falls into a blatantly obvious trap.
* IAmVeryBritish: Despite his low intelligence, he talks like an exaggeratedly well-spoken, well-educated Englishman.
-->'''Thinker:''' "Yulier? Oh, thank goodness you're here, Lieutenant! Uh, be a dear and take care of this gangly fellow for me, would you? He's been blocking my way out all day."
* NiceGuy: For what's worth, he seems like a polite guy all around, wanting to negotiate a peace talk with Kibau despite the latter being an insufferable {{Jerkass}}.
* NoRespectGuy: Other than Yulier (who respects him a bit ''too'' much), everybody pokes fun at him for his stupidity.
* PrinceCharmless: Due to her infatuation with him, Yulier sees him as TheOuji, but he really is this. While he does have some superficial charm in the form of his formal speech, he's an utter dullard who could rival [[GeneralFailure Corvatz]] in terms of incompetence.
* TooDumbToLive: The reason Kirito and Asuna initially refused to help him: He's completely blind to other people's lies, no matter how stupid and implausible they are. Kibaou takes advantage of this to try and get him killed.
* TokenGoodTeammate: While he's as stupid as the rest of them (or even ''worse''), he's the only ALF leader who isn't a complete {{Jerkass}} or downright evil.
* TroubledFetalPosition: When Kirito spots him, this is the position he's described as having (although Kirito may have just been trolling Yulier).

!!Knights of the Blood Oath

[[folder:General]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/23_05.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:Pictured: A Knight of the Blood Oath after trying to use a teleport crystal in a boss room.]]
The top guild in ''Sword Art Online'', of which Asuna and Kirito become members, and the leaders of the effort to clear the game.

* AndIMustScream: While trapped in a glitched boss floor, a guild member tried to exit with a teleport crystal that glitched him out and turned him into a [[BodyHorror Cronenbergian mess of twisted limbs and other mislocated body parts.]] By the time we see him, he's begging for a MercyKill.
* BrokenPedestal: After their leader Heathcliff turns out to have been [[spoiler: Kayaba Akihiko the whole time]], every respect they had garnered for him died in a flash, with one of them even attempting to kill him in a fit of rage.
* EtTuBrute: After getting over their initial confusion, this is their reaction to the reveal of [[spoiler:Heathcliff having been Kayaba the whole time]].
* HeroOfAnotherStory: They managed to put an end to Laughing Coffin and briefly make peace with "The King of Ashes". Both of these deeds are done offscreen, and the only enemy we see them engage ends up being a ZeroEffortBoss.
* LightIsGood: Their signature color is white, and most of them willingly risk their lives to clear the game for everyone else.
* LightIsNotGood: On the other hand, their leader was openly willing to exploit Asuna to advance the Guild's goals (offering her to Kirito and making her do a lewd calendar shoot) and had multiple sketchy people in their ranks, including [[{{Yandere}} Asuna herself]], [[HeroicComedicSociopath Kirito]], [[StalkerWithACrush Kuradeel]], [[TheMafia the mafia enforcer spokesman]], [[CatsAreMean Fluffles]] and [[spoiler:[[BigBad Kayaba Akihiko]] himself]]. And most of these people were already known to be sketchy, even before their worst aspects came to light.
* LiteralMinded: At least three of them misinterpret Heathcliff's encouraging metaphors in Episode 11.
-->'''Heathcliff:''' If we are to be victorious, we must fight as one. As a single sword.\\
'''Schmitt:''' I feel like multiple swords would be more effective, sir.\\
'''Heathcliff:''' N-no, you misunderstand. I'm not speaking literally. It's a metaphor. For unity-\\
'''Guard 1:''' Does it have to be a sword? Can't we be, like, a single warhammer?\\
'''Heathcliff:''' Look, the specific weapon doesn't matter. It's-\\
'''Guard 2:''' [[RuleOfThree My strength stat's not high enough for hammers. Could we be a dagger instead?]]
* OhCrap: The collective reaction when ''The Skull Reaper'' makes its entrance, followed by AndThereWasMuchRejoicing when it glitches out and dies seconds afterwards.
* OnlySaneMan: While several of its top members have more than a few screws loose, they're shades more competent than most of the other players in the game and the ones putting in the most effort to free everybody trapped in it.
* ParentalAbandonment: During the final boss raid, one of the tanks mentions having crippling abandonment issues with his father.
* RedShirt: Both tanks (TheStoner and the guy with abandonment issues) get killed by ''The Skull Reaper'' seconds after it enters the picture.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Two of them attempt to flee when they see "the giant fuckin' centipede made of ribcages and hatred" that is the Floor 75 Boss. They don't make it far.
* TheStoner: In Episode 11, it's implied the other tank had taken some of Kirito's weird plants from Episode 5 to prep for the boss fight, as he had bloodshot eyes and acted spaced out for most of the scene.
-->'''Stoner:''' Wait. What if this is, like, one of those "meta-morphosis" things the commander was talking about? Like... the real boss... is the demons within ourselves.
* UncertainDoom: The poor bastard who "cronemberged" was likely logged out of the game alongside everyone else once Kirito defeated Kayaba a few minutes later, but it's unknown if he survived in the horrid state he was, ''especially'' after getting soup spilled on him.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: The companion of the player who glitched out [see AndIMustScream above] didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation, and instead made him some soup to calm him down.

[[folder:Heathcliff]]
See [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedKayaba here]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kuradeel]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/14_852.png]]
[[caption-width-right:1000:Kirito:''"You look like Benjamin Button fucked an old catcher's mitt. Like 4 inches of face stretched over 12 inches of skull. Like a moldy Jack O' Lantern some frat guy barfed in and then crushed against his forehead because he was super drunk and thought it was a beer can and then immediately regretted every single life choice he ever made."'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Mackenzie "[=Hayabusa449=]" Murdock\\\

Asuna's bodyguard, who moonlights as a clingy stalker. He challenges Kirito to a duel and promptly makes a fool of himself. He is actually a fanboy of Laughing Coffin, seeking vengeance on Kirito for orchestrating their downfall.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Even ''Asuna'' thinks he's too insane (or ugly) for her. Didn't stop him from stalking her in her sleep.
* AbusiveParents: Suggested as he mutters to himself after recovering from a blow.
-->'''Kuradeel:''' Don't hit me mommy, you know it makes me hard...
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: It's not much, but this incarnation of him actually has a personal reason (petty as it may be) to want to kill [[{{Jerkass}} Kirito]] and [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Godfree]] beyond simply being deranged. He also doesn't pull an ISurrenderSuckers on Asuna like in the anime, though this was likely because [[VillainKiller she didn't let him]].
* AdaptationalSympathy: His death is a very well-deserved one, but the implication that [[AbusiveParents his mother used to beat him]], as well as the fact that Kirito just won't stop mocking him for his InformedDeformity can add some sympathy to his death.
* AdaptationalWimp: He doesn't manage to get the drop on Asuna this time around, although to be fair, it's not like [[AdaptationalJerkass this Asuna]] was going to give him the chance.
* AintTooProudToBeg: Like in canon, when Asuna beats him, he goes to his knees begging for mercy. [[spoiler:Unlike in canon, however, Asuna is far less merciful and kills him on the spot]].
* AxCrazy: The guy is [[spoiler:a fan of [[HeroKiller Laughing Coffin]]]], so... ''yeah.''
* BerserkButton: [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Butchering the]] [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Bard's]] prose, as [[spoiler:Godfree learns the hard way]].
-->'''Kuradeel:''' [[spoiler:''[whilst repeatedly stabbing Godfree]'' Wouldst thou shutteth the FUCK UP! I had to SIT and listen to you for MONTHS as you run Shakespeare through a wood chipper! Is that supposed to be endearing or something?!]]
* BodyguardingABadass: His protégée Asuna is clearly much more skilled than him, and from their interactions, it seems like she'd much rather not have him there. And this is before he's outed as a stalker.
* BullyingADragon: When Asuna comes in to Kirito's aid, he foolishly taunts her, only to end up on the receiving end of a vicious CurbStompBattle which ends with a sword through his skull.
* ButtMonkey: Asuna has little patience for him, and Kirito refuses to give him any respect.
* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: Somewhat. In the original anime, Kirito kills him. Here, Asuna is the one who does him in. However, Asuna was actually the one who killed him in the original Web Novel.
* DirtyCoward: Since he knows he can't best Kirito, he opts for spiking his drink with paralysis instead. He also quickly folds and pleads for his life when Asuna comes in and wipes the floor with him, [[{{Hypocrite}} despite not showing that same compassion when he had Godfree at his mercy.]]
* EvilCounterpart: To Asuna. Both SAO players serve as impulsive and sadistic members of the Knights of The Blood Oath with tendency to [[StalkerWithACrush stalk those they feel drawn to.]] However, there is one notable distinction between them: Asuna is an AntiHero whose primary objective is still to escape the game, and her more villainous actions often stem from emotional responses to certain events. In contrast, Kuradeel's malevolence is premeditated, and [[SlasherSmile he takes great pleasure]] in embracing the role of a villain, in stark contrast to Asuna's desire to [[MaskOfSanity maintain a semblance of normalcy in front of everyone else]]. Both characters also have an alarmingly intense obsession with Kirito; however, Kuradeel's obsession is driven by [[{{Revenge}} a thirst for revenge]], whereas Asuna's stems from MadLove. Fittingly, [[KarmicDeath Kuradeel's demise at her hands mirrors Godfree's death at ''his'' hands.]]
* EvilIsHammy: He appears to be trying to invoke Johnny Black during his torture of Kirito, although he's not as effective and instead comes off as him trying too hard.
* EvilIsPetty: Sadistically kills Godfree because he annoyed him with his roleplaying, and admitted that part of his motivation for killing Kirito was in part because he humiliated him during a duel.
* {{Fanboy}}: [[spoiler:He's revealed to be one of Laughing Coffin, as opposed to being an actual member like his canon counterpart. That doesn't make him any less dangerous, but it does give Kirito more ammunition to mock him with.]]
** He seems to be one specifically to Johnny Black, whom he appears to be trying to emulate with his [[EvilIsHammy hammy demeanor]] and his MasterPoisoner tactics. He doesn't seem to be as effective, though. Ironically, Johnny himself was a LoonyFan of one of his victims as well.
** To a lesser extent, he shares [=Red-Eyed XaXa=]'s SlasherSmile when threatening his victims, and seems to be trying to invoke Jeffrey's HolyHitman act when interacting with Kirito.
--->'''Kuradeel:''' Your reckoning comes from a ''far'' greater sin.
* {{Foil}}: To Rosalia, the antagonist of Episode 4: They both stand out as rather sadistic SAO players whose behavior drove away a former guildmate (Rosalia tried to kill Silica's pet, while Kuradeel stalked Asuna while she slept), and who's killed by their respective [[GoodCounterpart Good Counterparts]], but they're polar opposites:
** Rosalia was a FemmeFatale who served as the undisputed leader of her guild, while Kuradeel was a {{Gonk}} who served as a bodyguard to Asuna, before turning against her.
** While both are FauxAffablyEvil, Kuradeel was a [[AxCrazy murderous lunatic]] who killed his victims by himself, while Rosalia was a SoftSpokenSadist who made her men kill other players for her.
** Though both of them try to kill Kirito at different points in his journey, Kuradeel comes ''much'' closer to actually ending Kirito's life thanks to his [[CombatPragmatist careful planning]], but was continuously humiliated by Kirito's insults, and by the end of Episode 9, Kirito had all but forgotten about him. Rosalia, on the other hand, couldn't leave so much as a scratch on Kirito's body, but left a ''massive'' scar on Kirito's mental state through her [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech brutal deconstruction of his character]], which haunted him up until his full redemption in Episode 11.
** Rosalia didn't budge [[FaceDeathWithDignity even after being killed by Kirito]], letting out one final DyingCurse before dying, while Kuradeel went out [[FaceDeathWithDespair screaming and begging Asuna for his life]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: It doesn't kill him, but during his "duel" with Kirito, his own dagger comes down on his head after Asuna slaps it into the air.
* {{Hypocrite}}: He complains about being trapped in SAO, but he's a player killer who targets both the best fighter in the game and a high-ranking member of one of its only competent guilds, meaning he's done little but hinder the progress of those who want to escape the game.
* IfICantHaveYou: Downplayed when compared to his canon counterpart, as he's far more eager to kill Asuna after she shows up to stop him, even if she was his LustObject. This implies he gave up on her after she got a dagger stuck in his head.
* InformedAbility: From what we see of her, it's not like Asuna was in need of a bodyguard anyway, much less someone whose go-to method of killing was poison. Lampshaded when Godfree tells Kirito that Kuradeel has decades of experience with the game, only for Kuradeel to meekly state that he's actually in his twenties (on top of the game only being out for two years at the time).
* InformedDeformity: While he's certainly not winning any beauty pageants, he's not quite the {{Gonk}} Kirito makes him out to be.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Even though Kirito was one of the best members of his guild and a very valuable asset for those who wanted to clear the game, Kuradeel still tries to kill him over some petty squabble.
* KarmicDeath: This time around, [[spoiler: it's Asuna (his previous protegee and the victim of his stalking) who offs him. [[WordOfGod According to Something Witty Entertainment]], this was the main reason for the change]]. Furthermore, he also gets executed [[AintTooProudToBeg while pleading for his life]] after being given a HopeSpot by his killer, similarly to the way he killed Godfree.
* LaughingMad: As he steps in to kill Godfree, whom he loathes for his [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe butchering]] of Shakespeare's characters.
* LightIsNotGood: He sports the traditional Nights Of The Blood Oath white armor, but he's a deranged psychopath.
* MasterPoisoner: Spikes his victims drinks with paralysis potion before killing them so he can draw their deaths out as much as possible.
* MuggingTheMonster: He challenges Kirito to a duel in Episode 8, unaware of the possibility that he ''might'' be in over his head.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Your protegee doesn't appreciate you stalking her? Your guildmate just won't stop ruining the Shakespeare prose with his hideous roleplaying? Did that scumbag Kirito get your favorite serial killer guild disbanded with his stupid business advice, on top of constantly degrading and humiliating you for your ugly face? Have you considered... murder?
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: He initially seems like an IneffectualSympatheticVillain in Episode 8, but he becomes one of the three SAO characters (the others being ''The Gleam Eyes'' boss and ''Kayaba himself'') to bring Kirito's health into the red.
* NoRespectGuy:[[TrollingCreator Kayaba]] plays circus music when he challenges Kirito, and the latter isn't any less merciful when humiliating him.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Kirito wasn't exactly his most innocent victim, though this is {{Downplayed}} considering he had a much pettier reason for killing him.
* PsychopathicManchild: He tries to kill Kirito because he got his favorite cult of player killers disbanded, and he conveys these events to him as if he were talking about his favorite show getting cancelled.
-->'''Kirito:''' Let me guess. You prefer their early work?
-->'''Kuradeel:''' AND WHAT OF IT?!
* {{Revenge}}: While Kirito's {{Jerkass}} attitude is an unexpected side benefit, the main reason he wants to kill him is that Kirito got his beloved [[PlayerKilling PK guild]] killed.
* {{Sadist}}: [[spoiler: His EvilLaugh as he's killing Godfree and his slow torturing of Kirito should be enough evidence of this.]]
* ShadowArchetype: He's a lunatic who has a crush on Asuna and later tries to kill her boyfriend out of hate, but he's killed by a vengeful Asuna due to underestimating her. In the later arc, an employee of Asuna's father, Nobuyuki Sugou, finds himself lusting for Asuna as well, but is much more meticulous in his plan to make Asuna his "[[SexSlave wife]]" while crushing Kirito's spirits at the same time, using a brainwashing program to force her into submissiveness.
* SlasherSmile: [[spoiler:Once he reveals his true colors.]]
* SmugSnake: He has a rather overinflated opinion of his own abilities and has a tendency to look down on people who can and will kick his ass.
* TheSociopath: He's an entitled sadist who blames Kirito for all of his problems and who idolizes a cult of murderers. He also stalks his protégée Asuna at night, tries to kill her and her boyfriend after being humiliated, and gleefully murders his friend because he finds his quirks annoying.
* StalkerWithACrush: His actions went "a little" beyond what was acceptable for a bodyguard. ''Especially'' breaking into Asuna's house at night.
* StupidEvil: He doesn't seem to be very bright.
-->'''Kuradeel:''' (after realizing Kirito severs his sword by its handle) I... feel like this was longer.
* TattooedCrook: As befitting for a {{Fanboy}}, he has the Laughing Coffin logo tattooed on his forearm.
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:He was already angry at Kirito for insulting his being a fanboy of Laughing Coffin, but when Asuna comes at him, he loses all semblance of his pride and begs her not to kill him.]]
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Would you have guessed just from looking at him that he's 26?

[[folder:Godfree]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/18_80.png]][[caption-width-right:1000:''"Now! Come hither, young squire! Let us avaunt for adventure and a valuable learning experience! Ha ha!"'']]
->'''Voiced by:''' Anthony "[=AntfishFTW=]" Sardinha\\\

A senior member of the Knights of the Blood Oath, who puts Kirito through some team-building exercises that are ultimately unsuccessful. He's also a role-player who speaks in YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe.

* AdaptationalDumbass: Here, it takes him longer to grasp that Kuradeel is actually trying to kill him, initially believing his poisoning of his drink to be a harmless prank.
* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: The original Godfree was still somewhat of a LargeHam, but he was far more serious. He also didn't speak in [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Ye Olde English]].
* AintTooProudToBeg: Once he realizes [[spoiler: Kuradeel`s betrayal isn't roleplay, he drops his act to nervously plead for his life. It doesn't save him.]]
* BigFun: He's always very active and quirky, and is a bit on the heavy side.
* TheBigGuy: The largest guy shown in the Knights of the Blood Oath.
* CoolBigBro: Judging by his demeanor, he seems to be trying to be this for everyone else in SAO, even if he fails.
* EtTuBrute: While it takes a while for him to process what is happening, he had this reaction on his face moments before [[spoiler:Kuradeel stabs him.]]
* {{Foil}}: To his former guildmate Kuradeel; Godfree is a large, fun-loving buffoon who takes insults in stride, and who serves as the peacemaker of his guild. Kuradeel, meanwhile, is a slim, neurotic psychopath who holds a deadly grudge against all those who embarrass him, and who stabs people (including Godfree) at the slightest provocation.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: He's only shown interacting with Kirito, Asuna and Kuradeel, and their opinion of him ranges from "I do not care for you" to "You'll die screaming". Despite this, Kirito [[spoiler:is still shocked at his death.]]
* ForgottenFallenFriend: The original version of the scripts for Episodes 9 and 10 had Asuna learn of [[spoiler:his death]] and Heathcliff inquiring about it respectively, but said scenes were cut, making him this trope.
* GentleGiant: He towers over both Kirito and Kuradeel, but he's the nicest of the trio (and possibly of the entire Knights of the Blood Oath guild).
* HopeSpot: After he vows to stop roleplaying for good, Kuradeel makes it look like he's sparing him, much to Godfree's relief, only to sadistically ram his sword into his back again.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: [[spoiler:He thinks Kuradeel spiking his and Kirito's drinks with paralysis poison is just a prank, and doesn't understand that he's about to be killed for "running Shakespeare through a wood chipper".]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Kuradeel does indeed put the sword down... on his back.]]
* InnocentlyInsensitive: He attempts to defend Kuradeel by claiming that his old and haggard appearance is the result of his age, only for Kuradeel to meekly state that he's [[YoungerThanTheyLook only 26]].
* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:Kuradeel, tired of his MotorMouth, offs him before he has a chance to finish his last speech.]]
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Kuradel finds him obnoxious and kills him late in Chapter 9]].
* LargeHam: He's role-playing as The Bard, so he's bound to be this.
* {{Manchild}}: He seems to be in his mid-30s, but he quotes Shakespeare during missions like an excitable child playing a role. It's implied to be either a coping mechanism or a [[TheFriendNobodyLikes failed]] attempt at cheering his friends up.
* MauveShirt: Gets a little more characterization than [[RedShirt his canon counterpart]], [[spoiler:but it doesn't save him.]]
* MotorMouth: Comes with being TheRoleplayer. Kirito gets sick of it five seconds after they get introduced.
* NiceGuy: While a bit socially awkward, all he really wants is for everyone in his guild to enjoy their time in SAO as much as they can, and he tries to persuade Kuradeel to make amends with Kirito.
* ObliviousToHatred: He had no idea Kuradeel hated his impersonations so much. [[spoiler: When the latter snaps and tries to kill him for it, he vows to quit his bard shtick, but it doesn't save him]].
* OhCrap: When Kuradeel stabs him, he briefly breaks character [[EtTuBrute in shock.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Drops his [[TheRoleplayer roleplaying]] act when begging for his life. It doesn't help.
* ThePollyanna: Out of the entire SAO player base, he's easily the most optimistic guy around, and deals with his situation in a healthy (if obnoxious) manner.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: He had no idea of how right he was when he told Kirito to "be ready for some trust falls."
* TheRoleplayer: Speaks like a [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Shakespearean actor]] who walked right off the stage? Check. Kirito and Kuradeel both find it annoying and if Asuna's tone when she introduces him is anything to go on, [[TheFriendNobodyLikes so does everybody else.]] [[spoiler:He instantly drops it when he realizes Kuradeel is about to kill him for it. [[DoomedByCanon Not that it helps.]]]]
* ShooOutTheClowns: He's not the only comic relief character in the series by a long shot, but he ''is'' one of the few who intentionally tries to play the clown for everyone else's enjoyment (or so he thinks). [[spoiler:He gets killed by Kuradeel late in Episode 9 to showcase how insane the latter truly is.]]
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: This poor man genuinely thought everyone could just get along and have fun in the "death game". [[spoiler: He pays for his naivetée with his life.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler: Lasts only three scenes.]]
* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: As part of his [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Bard]] impersonation. Kuradeel refers to it as "running Shakespeare through a woodchipper".

!Other ''[=SAO=]'' Players

[[folder:Nishida]]

[[quoteright:675:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/11_617.png]][[caption-width-right:675:''"Why hello there, kids! Beautiful weather we're having!"'']]
->'''Voiced By:''' Chase "Coffinjockey" Corbin\\\

An elderly fisherman who lives near Kirito and Asuna's cabin who [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial totally doesn't bang fish]]

* AdaptationalJerkass: The original Nishida was somewhat eccentric, but he wasn't ''a fish fucker''.
* AffablyEvil: "Evil" might be debatable, but he's a nice friendly old zoophile who wants to connect with his neighbors.
* BestialityIsDepraved: Kirito certainly seems to think so, and hightails it with Asuna before things get too squicky between him and his fishes.
* BetterWithNonHumanCompany: "At least the fish are always here for me".
* CoolOldGuy: Asuna refers to him as a nice guy, even if she rethinks her statement when she finds out about his hobbies.
* DemotedToExtra: Here, Kirito and Asuna are too creeped out by his sexual tenancies to hang around him.
* DirtyOldMan: While it's not made clear if he had any [[PaedoHunt unsavory]] intentions for Kirito and Asuna, he clearly has them with his (hopefully dead) fishes.
* FriendToAllChildren: Creepy as his sexual preferences are, he is very nice to Kirito and Asuna, and is dismayed when he unintentionally scares them away. [[PaedoHunt That is if he didn't have any ulterior motives regarding them, of course.]]
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: His dismayed reaction when Kirito and Asuna flee from him implies this, as does his statement that his fish "are always there for [him]".
* LonersAreFreaks: No human wants to interact with him, let alone hang out with him, due to his strange sexual preferences.
* LovablePervert: He's a zoophile and he's quite affable for an SAO player. Though Kirito doesn't find him so "lovable".
* NotWhatItLooksLike: Says this word for word when trying to convince Kirito and Asuna not to leave him. Whatever scenario he was imagining, [[BestialityIsDepraved the reality]] wasn't much prettier.
* RefugeInAudacity: He's not subtle about his sexual tenancies, even fishing with no pants on.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In Kirito's dream in Episode 12, Asuna refers to him as a nice old man "who totally doesn't bang fish".

[[folder:Sasha]]

[[quoteright:834:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9_26.png]][[caption-width-right:834: ''"''OHHH!'' SO I CAN TALK ''NOW?!'' IT'S OKAAAY FOR I, ''SASHA'' TO TALK?! YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW MY NAME WAS ''SASHA'', DID YOU? '''''DID YOU?!'''''"'']]
->'''Voiced By:''' Creator/HaydenDaviau\\\

A woman who runs ''SAO''[='s=] orphanage, looking after the game's youngest players. At least until Kirito and Asuna show up and try to take it over in Episode 10.

* AdaptationalWimp: ZigZagged. The original Sasha was far less of a pushover, willing to defend herself against pushy ALF members. Here, she's reduced to a glorified butler within seconds of meeting Kirito and Asuna. With that said, she ''does'' have a breaking point, and threatens to stab Kirito after he calls her names.
* BadassPreacher: She's dressed for the part, and is one of the few people to successfully intimidate Kirito into backing off from an insult. Keep in mind, even [[TheDreaded Laughing Coffin]] couldn't do that.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: She's a very quiet and kind person, but even she can be pushed too far.
* ComicalAngryFace: She makes one during her rant, complete with a flush and a popping vein.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Since Kirito doesn't seem to care about her, he takes to calling her "Freckles". It pisses her off to no end.
* ExtremeDoormat: Within minutes of meeting them, Sasha is reduced to serving tea while Kirito claims to be running her orphanage, and he even credits Asuna with making the beverage. Sasha meekly goes along with it, [[RageBreakingPoint until she goes ballistic]].
* EveryoneHasStandards: Spineless as she is, after being ignored for too long, she snaps and flips the table.
* FlippingTheTable: She does this after her RageBreakingPoint.
* FriendToAllChildren: Instead of helping the other players with raids or levelling up herself, she spends her time trapped in SAO caring for the children who are trapped with her, and even runs an orphanage of sorts in the Town of Beginnings.
* GoodShepherd: She's dressed like a priest, and is a maternal figure for most of the kids in the game.
* InSeriesNickname: Gets nicknamed "Freckles" by Kirito since he never bothered to find out her real name.
* LargeHam: What she becomes during her rant...
-->'''Sasha:''' ''OHHH!'' SO I CAN TALK ''NOW?!'' IT'S OKAAAY FOR I, ''SASHA'' TO TALK?! YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW MY NAME WAS ''SASHA'', DID YOU? '''''[[FlippingTheTable DID YOU?!]]'''''
* MamaBear: [[ExtremeDoormat You wouldn't believe it at first]], but she single-handedly reclaims her orphanage after Kirito pisses her off.
* NerdGlasses: She has a pair of these.
* NiceGirl: Much like in canon, she helps take care of the children who are trapped in the game.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Other than [[FlippingTheTable her table flip]], we don't get to see what she did to Kirito and Co to kick them out of her orphanage.
* OnlySaneMan: She's easily the sanest person, constantly pointing out the common sense that has slipped Kirito, Asuna, and Yulier.
* RageBreakingPoint: What finally pushes her too far is when, after taking over her life, Kirito calls her "Freckles."
* ParentalSubstitute: She's this for the kids in her orphanage, as most of them still have parents IRL.

[[center: [- [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridged Main Page]] | [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedMajorCharacters Major Characters]] ([[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedKirito Kazuto Kirigaya]], [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedAsuna Asuna Yuuki]], [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedLeafa Suguha Kirigaya]]) | '''Introduced in Season 1''' ([[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedKayaba Kayaba Akihiko]]) | [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedSeasonTwoCharacters Introduced in Season 2]] ([[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedOberon Nobuyuki Sugou]]) -] ]]

[[index]]
* [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineAbridgedKayaba Kayaba Akihiko / Heathcliff]]
[[/index]]

!!The Mafia

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_10_28_101945_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:1000: I'm sorry, Don. We finally tracked down the one known as Kirito, but... we were beaten back by the legendary warrior [=BallsDeep69=] and his men. The boy escaped us yet again. I have no excuse. But I promise you, we will get back what was stolen. What are your orders... Don Fluffles?]]

An organized group of unsavory individuals who scattered themselves across SAO and make sketchy deals with other players. They've been chasing Kirito ever since his former guild leader Keita conned them out of a rare item, but the boy managed to evade them every time.

* AdaptationalVillainy: The group Klein fought against in Episode 3 was called "Divine Dragons Alliance", and were only interested in beating other players to a rare monster drop that they were eager to collect. Here, they're a full blown mob who try to kill Kirito because his guild leader didn't settle a debt with them.
* AffablyEvil: From what we see of them, they seem rather polite, respectfully explaining their motivation to Kirito before trying to kill him.
* BlondBrunetRedhead: During TheStinger for Episode 3, the three CanonForeigner mafia members follow these respective patterns.
* DisproportionateRetribution: They try to kill Keita and Kirito for a rare item in a video game. The second example doubles as MisplacedRetribution, since Kirito didn't have beef with them before that.
* TheDreaded: For the Moonlit Black Cats at least. Kirito tends to flee from them instead of confronting them head on, which is not something that can be said for Titan's hand or even ''Laughing Coffin''.
* FaceHeelTurn: Many of them were normal SAO players before joining Fluffles.
* TheMafia: They essentially operate as this, much to Sachi's bewilderment.
* {{Mooks}}: For Don Fluffles.
* KarmaHoudini: Unless [[TerrorHero Kirito]], [[EvenEvilHasStandards Heathcliff]] or [[TheChessmaster Fluffles]] did something offscreen, they were logged out safely alongside every other player, with only one of them being confirmed deceased.
* VillainOfAnotherStory: Aside from their beef with Keita, they only interact with Kirito onscreen once, and they're implied to have caused Kayaba some grief offscreen.
* VillainRespect:
** They speak to Kirito with some respect before attempting to kill him.
** One of them refers to Klein as "the legendary warrior [=BallsDeep69=]" after he beats the group sent to kill Kirito. [[EmbarrassingNickname He likely wouldn't be so flattered, though]].
* WouldHurtAChild: They put a hit on the underage Kirito.

[[folder:Fluffles]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/40a75808_c842_45f0_bced_b76a64e4a03a.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Meow."'']]

A cat that somehow learned how to play ''[=SAO=]''. And somehow started the game's mafia. And somehow ended up on the [=KoB=]'s senior council, only to betray them and rule alongside the King of Ashes over the ruins of Floor 75.

* AndStarring: The cast credits for the Aincrad arc end "And Don Fluffles [[CharacterAsHimself [as] Himself]]".
* AntiHero: He's TheDon of the ''Aincrad'' mafia, but he willingly participates in several raids to clear the game, and he briefly worked with the Knights of the Blood Oath. He drops the label after joining the King of Ashes, whereupon he laid waste to Floor 75.
* ArchEnemy: To [[TheHero Kirito]], [[ItMakesSenseInContext oddly enough.]] He was responsible for the death of Kirito's entire guild, (including [[ILetGwenStacyDie Sachi]]) And apparently, they've had many an offscreen battle ([[UnreliableNarrator assuming Kirito isn't just trolling everyone]]).
* ArtShift: His scenes are always done in a different art style to the usual anime art, due to being original Flash animated footage for an original character.
* AscendedExtra: He was originally just a throwaway joke of a cat who learned how to play SAO, before becoming the [[BigBadEnsemble second biggest threat in Season 1 after Kayaba]].
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He joins the Knights of the Blood Oath somewhere between episodes 3 and 9, but considering he had previously been seen as the leader of a player killing mafia, it's clear he's not to be trusted. Predictably, he turns traitor an episode later.
* CanonForeigner: There's no mention of nonhuman players in the source material, much less cats.
* CatsAreMean: Well, one doesn't become a mafia don by being nice.
* TheChessmaster: He somehow always manages to be one step in front of everyone else. Kirito calls him a "sly bastard" in Episode 9 after surviving a deadly encounter with him.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Fluffles tends to turn traitor the moment someone more bloodthirsty comes into power.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: After joining "the King of Ashes", he apparently suggested boiling several intruders in boiling oil.
* CuteAndPsycho: Many players find him cute. The rest are scared shitless of him.
* DarkIsEvil: Fluffles is a black cat, and most certainly is mean enough to be considered "evil".
* DisneyVillainDeath: Subverted. Kirito claims that he last saw him go down a cliff, but it turns out he survived.
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: "Cat", but still applies.
* TheDon: He is the leader of the mob Keita indebted himself to. The men under his command explicitly refer to him as this.
* TheDreaded: Keita would rather [[spoiler: kill himself than be in debt to him and his mob.]]
* EvilCounterpart: To his supposed ArchEnemy Kirito; both were nobodies in the real world (Kirito being a lonely computer geek and Fluffles being a common housecat), who nevertheless managed rise up the ranks and become highly respected and feared public figures while being trapped in SAO, as well as causing the game's head programmer Kayaba a large amount of grief. The key difference between the two is that Kirito eventually grew to bond with his fellow players (especially Asuna), and ended his journey as TheHero of Aincrad; while Fluffles became TheDon of the Aincrad mafia, and thrived on exploiting, backstabbing, and killing other players to achieve his goals.
* EvilWearsBlack: Or in this case, evil has black fur.
* FaceHeelTurn: When first introduced, he was trying to clear out floors and help the other players out of the game. Somewhere down the line, he became the feared don of Aincrad's mafia.
* FairWeatherFriend: He seems to align with whatever guild he finds more suitable, before betraying them and joining someone else.
* FakingTheDead: After his fight with Kirito, he apparently did this by throwing himself down a cliff. He then went on to join the Knights of the Blood Oath.
* FluffyTheTerrible: He's an ordinary looking cat (appropriately named "Fluffles") who also happens to be the leader of the mafia.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Fluffles is a literal house cat. And yet he is able to go toe-to-toe with Kirito and ran the in-game Mafia, before eventually throwing in with The King of Ashes.
* FunnyAnimal: While presumably a regular cat in the real world, ''SAO'''s system renders him as a human with a cat's head, and he behaves like a serious crime lord rather than a beast (besides speaking only in meows).
* GuiltByAssociation: The reason he targets Kirito after his actual debtor Keita commits suicide.
-->'''Mafia spokesman''': Kirito. As the sole survivor of the Midnight Black Cats, the debt naturally falls to you. The don sends his regards.
* GreaterScopeVillain: He causes Kirito almost as much trouble as Kayaba in Season 1, but his status as a CanonForeigner means he's little more than a background presence throughout the series.
* HazyFeelTurn: In Episode 9, he seems to have left the mafia in favor of joining the Knights of the Blood Oath. Not only is that decision questionable especially after it's revealed that there are many sketchy people in their ranks, (including ''their own guildleader'' and at least one of his subordinates) but he betrays them anyway in favor of their enemy in the next chapter.
* IntelligibleUnintelligible: Despite only communicating with meows, he can command his men, Kirito can probably understand him, and apparently so can The King of Ashes. Nobody holding the SanityBall can. Heathcliff wonders aloud if Kirito can understand cat or if he just messing with them.
* KarmaHoudini: He doesn't get his comeuppance as far as we see, at least in Aincrad. Jury's out on whether or not he shows up in [=ALfheim=].
* LethalJokeCharacter: Fluffles is a cat. A cat who is playing ''SAO'' and survived the entire ordeal. He also happens to be one of the most dangerous players out there.
* MeanBoss: After three of his mobsters return having failed to retrieve his rare item, Fluffles hisses at them.
* MirrorCharacter: He's on par with Jeffrey as the leader of one of the main villainous player organizations in SAO. Both villains are also introduced in the same scene and have similar antagonistic yet cordial relationships with Kirito.
* TheMole: Implied to be one for his mafia while in The Knights of the Blood Oath.
* NoodleIncident: His offscreen encounters with Kirito.
-->'''Kirito:''' You know, I still have that knife you put in me... I've been meaning to give it back.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: One of his fights with Kirito ended with Fluffles going off a cliff. He survives with a contingency Kirito hadn't thought of. [[UnreliableNarrator Maybe.]]
* ObviousJudas: InUniverse. Heathcliff refers to his betrayal as "a perhaps unsurprising twist".
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: If Kirito's story is reliable, he somehow managed to stab him at one point and then survive falling off a cliff. Pretty impressive for a cat.
* OffscreenVillainy: Most of his atrocities are heard of from a third party, and he's never seen in action.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: When in the mafia, he sends his fellow mobsters to deal with other players for him while he schemes from a distance. It's downplayed since he's implied to have done his own dirty work, but those instances are never shown onscreen.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: All things considered, he ''does'' give Keita a chance to replace his rare item after he failed to duplicate it, even after he had sold it. He stops being so reasonable after Keita's death though, [[GuiltByAssociation targeting Kirito instead]].
* {{Sadist}}: If The King of Ashes isn't projecting, he apparently recommends boiling intruders in oil.
* ShoutOut: That isn't just any old cat's head photoshopped onto a human body, it's Amanojaku from ''[[Anime/GhostStories Ghost Stories]]''.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He has less than a minute of screentime, but he's responsible for the deaths of The Moonlit Black Cats, and his underlings occupied Floor 75 for most of Episode 10.
* TheStoic: He emotes as much as a particularly aloof cat.
* TheUnintelligible: He's a cat, so he only communicates with meows and other cat noises.
* VillainOfAnotherStory: This cat somehow went from a regular Assault Team member, to forming a mafia, to fighting TheHero and faking his death, to joining the [=KoB=]'s senior council, to betraying them in favor of laying waste to Collina with "The King of Ashes". Despite this, he only appears onscreen for brief periods of time.
* VillainRespect: He "sends his regards" to Kirito before pulling a hit on him, and is later shown cordially "interacting" with him after becoming a senior council member.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After the negotiations with Kayaba, he's not heard from again outside of a minor comment that he "thankfully" wasn't present on Floor 75 at the time of the boss raid.
* WorthyOpponent: Unless he was trolling everyone, Kirito sees him as this, which isn't uncalled for considering he's a GodlikeGamer.

[[folder:Mafia Enforcer Spokesman]]
[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_10_28_102051.png]]
[[caption-width-right:1000:Come on, sir. Do you really think any of us would still be playing if we didn't have a gun to our heads? Ya gotta admit, this game is kind of a hot mess.]]
A mafia enforcer spokesman who somehow infiltrated himself in the ranks of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Kayaba [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty made sure he didn't get away with his past crimes]].

* AdaptationalVillainy: He originally wasn't a member of the mafia, but a normal Assault Team member.
* AlasPoorVillain: Kirito (his attempted victim) angrily calls Kayaba out for murdering him [[DisproportionateRetribution just for mildly sassing him]].
* AntiHero: He was a mafia member, but he did assist in the raid against the Skull Reaper, which could've killed him if the boss hadn't glitched out and died on its own.
* AssholeVictim: Kayaba justifies his murder of a player [[DisproportionateRetribution for making a point against him]] by saying he was in TheMafia. Considering he and his guild had previously tried to kill Kirito for being associated with a debtor, it's hard to argue with him.
-->'''Kayaba:''' That guy [[CallBack was in the mafia]], that's, like, a freebie.
* BackForTheDead: After appearing in Episode 3, he returns in Episode 11 [[BackForTheFinale for the final fight to escape SAO]], only to be killed by Kayaba for talking back to him.
* BrutalHonesty: He criticizes both ''Sword Art'' as a game and Kayaba himself with no hairs on his tongue. He pays dearly for the latter.
* DeadpanSnarker: He's quite sassy when talking to Heathcliff, even before finding out he was actually Kayaba.
* DeathByAdaptation: Kayaba doesn't kill him in the source material, since he wasn't so unstable and the enforcer kept his mouth shut.
* EnemyMine: If he wasn't TheMole or a defector, he's probably this towards the Knights of the Blood Oath.
* HazyFeelTurn: It's unclear whether he defected from the mafia, if he was TheMole, or if the Mafia became an ally of convenience. Kayaba couldn't care less.
* HopeSpot: He survives the deadly encounter with the Skull Reaper, but is killed by Kayaba a few hours later. To add insult to injury, he's the last confirmed SAO player fatality.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: In Episode 11, he insults SAO's game design and calls the game itself "a hot mess", not knowing that the man he was talking to was the game's creator, who unbeknownst to him had spent three consecutive weeks trying to perfect the game.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Though he gets away with persecuting Kirito for most of the season, he's killed by Kayaba late in Episode 11.
* TheMole: Implied to be this for the mafia while clearing floors with the Knights of the Blood Oath.
* RedShirt: After a small appearance in Episode 3, he gets a little focus in Episode 11 before being shattered.
* PunchClockVillain: His brief rant at Heathcliff surrounding the game makes it clear that he wouldn't even be playing SAO if he wasn't trapped, implying that his actions are mostly for the sake of survival.
* SoundOnlyDeath: We only hear a sizzling sound followed by his screams of agony before he shatters.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He appears for less than a minute, but his death is implied to have motivated Kirito's decision to challenge Kayaba to a DuelToTheDeath and prevent any more unnecessary bloodshed.
* TooDumbToLive: He ''really'' shouldn't have tried to argue with a clearly deranged Kayaba, who could literally end him with the push of a button.
* VillainousValor: Despite his flaws, Kirito points out that he, alongside the other Assault Team members, had the courage to willingly sign up on the mission to defeat the Skull Reaper, despite the high chances of dying.
* VillainHasAPoint:
** When Kayaba accuses him and the other players of bringing their own deaths upon themselves with their stupidity, he correctly points out that Kayaba is just as responsible for trapping them in the game in the first place.
** Earlier, he was also not wrong to say that SAO's game design was incredibly messy. Even Kirito (who loves the game) comes to agree with him on that.
* YankTheDogsChain: He survived ''two years'' trapped inside the buggy death dungeon that was SAO, only to be killed by Kayaba for a petty reason two minutes before Kirito freed all the other players.

!!Titan's Hand

[[folder:General]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4_026.png]]
[[caption-width-right:1000:Kirito: ''"HA! Titan's Hand? Wow, I thought you were someone dangerous, like Laughing Coffin! I've never even heard of you!"'']]
[[OverlyNarrowSuperlative One of the most feared orange guilds on the lower floors.]]

* BigBadWannabe: They all talk big game, but they're nothing but incompetent bullies who so desperately want to be like Laughing Coffin.
* TheDreaded: To Silica, anyway. Then again, she thinks ''slimes'' are terrifying too, so...
* EvilVsEvil: They try to kill Kirito, who at that point was at his absolute worst in terms of moral compass. He wins.
* OverlyNarrowSuperlative: They ''really'' are the most feared orange guilds on the lower floors, meaning that the only people they can frighten are kids like Silica.
* PlayerKilling: The first onscreen guild which actively tries to kill other players.
* ShadowArchetype: To Laughing Coffin, another murderous guild who, while still imprefect, would prove to be far more effective in their crimes than them, even though they're still outsmarted by Kirito.
* StarterVillain: They're the first player threats to Kirito before Laughing Coffin, Kuradeel and Kayaba enter the picture. They're also the most ineffective.
* WouldHurtAChild: They try to kill the underage Kirito, and it's implied they would've killed or hurt Silica as well.

[[folder:Rosalia]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/abridged_rosalia.png]][[caption-width-right:350:"''And to top it all off you play the tough guy, this invincible warrior you can never hope to be in the real world. Getting stuck in this game was probably the best thing to ever happen to you.''"]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Alexandra "puccagarukiss" Curtis\\\

The leader of Titan's Hand and the antagonist of Episode 4. Stupider than she looks. She prides herself in her ability to manipulate and accurately psychologically diagnose others. Silica decides to quit her guild when she tries to convince her to hand over Pina, her pet dragon, to skin her for leather pants, and she later gets into a confrontation with Kirito that ends badly for her.

* AdaptationalBadass: When facing Kirito, [[DownplayedTrope she doesn't last a second longer than her canon counterpart]], but she dies throwing the last jab at his character instead of letting him have the last word.
* AdaptationalDumbass: She was already an overconfident SmugSnake in the original anime for underestimating Kirito's abilities, but this version of Rosalia takes it to another degree by continuing to taunt [[AxCrazy an obviously deranged and bloodthirsty]] Kirito even after he's proven himself to be immune to her men's weaponry.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: A mild example; While she's still part of an orange guild, she doesn't go out of her way to express her LackOfEmpathy in this version, instead spending most of her screen time giving a surprisingly accurate TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Kirito. She's also not as much DirtyCoward in this version ([[BullyingADragon instead having the opposite problem]]) and [[FaceDeathWithDignity she takes her death at the hands of Kirito with complete acceptance]].
* AlasPoorVillain: Even though she was a petty pet skinner and an attempted murderer by proxy, her death at Kirito's hands shocks Silica so much that she completely cuts ties with him after their mission is over.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Her BreakThemByTalking strategy seems solid on paper, [[BreakTheHaughty and it sure takes its toll on Kirito]]. The problem is that the plan completely relies on her men being able to defeat the target after she's done poking at the armor. When Kirito turns out to be a bit too strong for them, the tables are turned rather quickly.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Her EstablishingCharacterMoment consists of her wanting to skin Pina, a cute little pet dragon belonging to Silica, to use her skin to make leather pants.
* BigBad: Of Episode 4. While she's not a threat to Kirito, she tries to steal the Pneuma flower and kickstarts the events of the episode by driving Silica away from her guild, causing Pina's death.
* BigBadWannabe: She so desperately wants to be the leader of a respected player-killing guild like Laughing Coffin, but as Kirito puts it, she's little more than a [[SmugSnake psych-student in her first year]] who can only scare players who think ''[[CuteSlimeMook slimes]]'' are terrifying.
* BreakThemByTalking: Her default tactic when dealing with players who are more skilled than her is to repeatedly poke at their self-esteem and reduce them to gibbering wrecks with her manipulation skills, before leaving them to be picked apart by her men.
* BullyingADragon: She orders her minions to attack Kirito even after one of said minions explains why Kirito might be a lot more dangerous than he looks. Then he proves it by being unfazed by their attacks, and she continues to taunt and antagonize him, provoking him to [[spoiler:slit her throat and kill her]].
* DeathByAdaptation: Her canon counterpart just gets sent to prison with the rest of her guild. Her abridged self? [[TooDumbToLive Gets her neck cut open for pressing]] ''[[TooDumbToLive all three]]'' of Kirito's {{Berserk Button}}s.
* DefiantToTheEnd: As she is killed by Kirito, she proceeds to make one final remark to spite him, which [[BreakThemByTalking evidently really gets to him]]. See FacingTheBulletsOneLiner.
* DirtyCoward: Not as pronounced as in the original show, but she does have her men take on Kirito while she idly waits instead of participating in the charge, despite believing him to be an easy target.
* DistaffCounterpart: She's as eloquent, overconfident, and self-absorbed as Kirito, but they have a contrasting skill set: Rosalia is much more smooth, perceptive, and eloquent than him, and her speech is much more refined to boot, but completely relies on her men to fight her battles for her. Kirito, on the other hand, is a much better fighter ([[BadassOnPaper in SAO at least]]), and insists on accomplishing things by himself, but his insults are much more shallow and superficial, and much more akin to common bullying than Rosalia's psychological analyses. Fittingly, Kirito technically won the battle against her, but she ''obliterated him'' during their SnarkToSnarkCombat.
* DyingCurse: Delivers a brutal one to Kirito after he stabs her:
-->'''Rosalia:''' Enjoy this while you can. It's the deepest you'll ever be in a woman ''[shatters]''.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Doesn't understand why Silica might be upset at the prospect of skinning and wearing her pet.
* EvilRedhead: She has a blood-red head and she's the leader of a murderous guild.
* EvilIsPetty: Not only does she try to skin Silica's pet to make herself some pants, but she later tries to steal the pneuma flower from her to stop Silica from reviving her, with the implication that she wanted to revive Pina herself [[YankTheDogsChain to turn into leather immediately]].
* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: "Enjoy this while you can. [[VirginShaming It's the deepest you'll ever be in a woman]]."
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Her villainous entrance gets ruined when Kirito notices her player name poking out at both sides of the tree she was hiding behind. Happens again when her entire TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Kirito gets cut short by him slicing her throat with little fanfare (although she ''does'' get the last laugh on that one).
* FauxAffablyEvil: She acts rather cordial with Silica and Kirito during their first encounter, all the while intentionally needling him and poking at his weak spots. [[{{Jerkass}} Kirito]] tries this with her during said meeting, but quickly gives it up.
-->'''Kirito:''' Rosalia! Oh my god! How ''are'' yo- oh wow, that's enough of that. Jesus, how do you keep that act up all day?
* {{Foil}}: To Silica, a former member of her guild. Silica is an excitable child who treasures her pet dragon and who naively trusts Kirito (at least at first) despite his abrasive demeanor. Rosalia, on the other hand, is a SoftSpokenSadist who only sees the dragon as a source for leather pants, and who immediately sees Kirito as the EmptyShell that he is. Both of them also allow her fellow men to fight off their enemies, though Silica does it out of necessity due to being an inexperienced little girl, while Rosalia forces her men to do her dirty work for her.
* FunWithSubtitles: She's introduced in the subtitles as "Pet Skinner".
* GeniusDitz: She seems to be very good at psychological analyses, not so good at strategizing or planning ahead. Unfortunately for her, this isn't enough to survive in Aincrad.
* HidingBehindYourBangs: The scheming version. Her hair covers her right eye.
* {{Hypocrite}}: She taunts Kirito by implying that ''The Hill of Memories'' is over his level. In the third act of the episode, she ambushes an overpowered Kirito alongside her men, even though his stats are ''far'' bigger than hers and her men's combined. This lack of self-awareness gets her killed.
* InterfaceSpoiler: InUniverse. Her attempt to ambush Kirito is foiled because he can see her nametag hovering over her head, poking around the sides of the tree she's behind.
* IShallTauntYou: She goads Kirito into helping Silica by insinuating he's underleveled. Kirito falls for it. Then, when they have the pneuma Flower, she tries it again to throw Kirito off his game. It... ends badly.
* {{Jerkass}}: On top of being a sadistic thief and attempted murderer, she also takes great delight in taunting Silica and Kirito, and is implied to have kept the former around just to bully her (and for her leather-skinned pet).
* JokeAndReceive: She attempts to insult Kirito by suggesting that Silica finally found a party member closer to her level, but as the end of Episode 4 shows, that's more true than Rosalia could have known.
* KarmicDeath: She gets killed by Kirito after she sends her men to kill him.
* KickTheDog: She's introduced trying to convince Silica to hand Pina over so they can skin her and make dragon leather pants.
* LesserOfTwoEvils: At the end of episode 4, Silica calls Kirito "the worst person I've ever met", implying she regards him as a ''worse'' person than Rosalia, since he killed her, since he had sadistically killed her despite her having no feasible way to defeat him.
* ManipulativeBitch: She gets Kirito to accompany Silica on her quest for the Pneuma Flower by insulting his {{Pride}}, then ambushes the pair to steal the item for herself.
* MsFanservice: Her teammates were very much looking forward to seeing her in leather pants.
* MuggingTheMonster: She grossly underestimated Kirito, thinking he was all talk and that her BreakingSpeech managed to take even that away. Then Kirito shrugged off all her minions' attacks and casually killed her. She also underestimated Silica, who turned out to be powerful enough to make even ''Kirito'' terrified of her rampage.
* PetTheDog: A small example. While she tries to skin Silica's pet to make herself some leather pants, she offers to make a pair for Silica too. However, it's implied she only said this to get Silica to hand over the dragon, which she refused to.
* ShadowArchetype: To Suguha, Krito's [[BigSisterBully Little Sister Bully]] who makes her debut in Episode 12. They're two of the few people who can [[BerserkButton bring out the worst in Kirito]] by poking at his insecurities, and eventually left him without a comeback. However, Kirito ''killed'' Rosalia at the end of her rant, and her effects on him were shown posthumously; while Suguha's MotiveRant in Episode 17 actually got through to him, and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone caused him to reflect on his choices]].
* SlashedThroat: How Kirito offs her in this adaptation.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: As much as Kirito doesn't want to admit it, her "First-year Psyche-School bullshit" was an accurate assessment of Kirito's pre-CharacterDevelopment.
-->'''Rosalia:''' And to top it all off, you play the tough guy; this invincible warrior you could never hope to be in the real world. Getting stuck in this game was probably the best thing to ever happen to you.
* SmugSnake: She thought Kirito was all bark and no bite when that definition only applied to her and her low-level guild.
* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: As she's getting ready to throw another barrage of insults at Kirito, the boy dashes forward like a flash and slices her throat. Despite the sudden shock, Rosalia still manages to throw in a DyingCurse.
* TooDumbToLive: It ''really'' wasn't a good idea to taunt an already unhinged Kirito by intentionally pressing all his {{Berserk Button}}s all at once. What's worse, [[RefugeInAudacity she continues insulting him]] even after he {{no sell}}s all her guild's strikes.
* VillainHasAPoint: Her "first-year-psych-student bullshit" turns out to be quite the accurate character deconstruction for Kirito, and the latter can't help but remember it when reflecting on his HeelFaceTurn in the finale. She was eventually proven wrong about the "the deepest you'll ever be in a woman" part, though.
--> '''Kirito:''' [''as he finishes having sex with Asuna''] AH, SUCK IT ROSALIA!
* VirginShaming: Rosalia's dying words after Kirito stabs her is "It's the deepest you'll ever be in a woman." This gets under Kirito's skin because he's unable to come up with a snappy comeback.