He may not have been the first, but Sword Art Online’s Kirito is practically the face of modern isekai anime. Despite splitting audiences for being too overpowered and insufferable, Kirito has become synonymous with any escapist power fantasy set in a video game.
Because of this, some viewers have wondered how Kirito would fare in other worlds, assuming his strengths and weaknesses as an overpowered gamer remained intact. While he’d thrive in certain isekai settings (especially those in video games), he’d surely die in others.
10 HE’D SURVIVE IN: Isekai Quartet
Isekai Quartet is a chibi-styled comedy anime that celebrates isekai by dropping four popular isekai shows’ casts into high school. These are KonoSuba, Overlord, Re: Zero and The Saga of Tanya the Evil. That said, it’s a bit weird that no one from Sword Art Online appears, given how it heralded the current isekai boom.
Regardless of some characters’ violent backgrounds, everyone in Isekai Quartet is there to goof off. Kirito wouldn’t be misplaced among equally overpowered protagonists, and would probably get along with them. The worst Kirito will have to deal with is slapstick and high school shenanigans.
9 HE’D DIE IN: My Next Life as A Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom!
My Next Life As A Villainess takes a different approach to the usual isekai anime by transporting its main character into an otome dating game. In Fortune Lover, Catarina Claes uses her knowledge and love of the game to get the most ideal romantic route possible. If she doesn’t, she’s either executed or exiled.
Kirito wouldn’t survive in Fortune Lover because dating simulators aren’t his forte and he’s too ineffectual. One of the most enduring criticisms against Kirito is how poorly he handles relationships, seen in how he effortlessly got a harem and a wife by doing absolutely nothing. His indecisiveness may work in a VR RPG, but it won’t in Catarina’s love conquests.
8 HE’D SURVIVE IN: Overlord
The world of Overlord that resides in the recently discontinued DMMORPG titled YGGDRASIL may be harsh and unforgiving, but it’s a place Kirito can actually excel in. That is, of course, after a dedicated amount of training and studying. Generally speaking, Kirito’s strengths come from being a gamer. All he has to do to conquer YGGDRASIL is grind a bit and master the power system.
Ainz did the same thing and became the kingdom’s eponymous overlord in no time. It also helps that despite its politics, YGGDRASIL functions on a “might makes right” status quo – something an overpowered protagonist like Kirito was practically made for. Any ensuing red tape can be easily handled after Kirito asserts his dominance.
7 HE’D DIE IN: Fushigi Yuugi
To enter the fantasy version of medieval China seen in Fushigi Yuugi, one only has to read a magical book The Universe of the Four Gods. While this was a dream come true for Miaka, Kirito would only find himself out of his depth. Unlike YGGDRASIL, the world of Fushigi Yuugi functions strictly on politics. Simply put, political and courtroom intrigue would overwhelm Kirito.
This is because he’s an immature and inexperienced gamer who’s at his best when fighting swordsmen and monsters, not forging treaties and feudal alliances. Additionally, Fushigi Yuugi’s destiny is heavily influenced by its characters’ romances (especially Miaka and Tamahome’s) – something that’s been already established to be one of Kirito’s weakest areas.
6 HE’D SURVIVE IN: Digimon
In Digimon, Tai and his friends get swept into the Digital World, where they’re given Digivices. These can bring them in and out of the Digital World but most importantly, it helps them bond with their designated Digimon. In this digitally dominated world of creatures, Kirito will thrive not just because he can fight enemy Digimon and win, but because he’s a hacker.
Back in Sword Art Online, Kirito got flak and ridicule when, against all logic, he hacked a dead girl back to life. While this was mocked in his home anime, game-breaking abilities would probably be worshiped by the Digi Tamers. Digimon aside, the Digital World works almost exactly like how the internet does. Kirito wouldn’t just be able to win fights but rewrite reality itself.
5 HE’D DIE IN: Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World
While it may lack the usual trappings of a video game or isekai anime, Re:Zero still operates on gamified logic. Instead of overpowered stats, Natsuki Subaru is blessed with limitless save points and respawns. Kirito can eventually master endless deaths and rebirths, but that’s assuming he can absorb the ensuing suffering.
Kirito is used to being at the top and overpowered, something that fate’s punching bag, Subaru, only achieved after unending pain and torture. Kirito wouldn’t be able to handle the trauma like Subaru did but this isn’t a knock against him. Rather, it just shows that he’s still human and reaffirms how exceptional Subaru is for having gone through so much hell and making it out alive.
4 HE’D SURVIVE IN: Re:Creators
Re:Creators may be a reverse-isekai but for the characters involved, it’s a straightforward isekai. Here, fictional characters from anime, light novels, games, and more find themselves in the real world, where they’ve been brought to for a dark purpose. Kirito wouldn’t just survive in the ensuing battle royale with other anime characters, but he’d thrive.
Late into Re:Creators, the characters’ respective creators give them upgrades and power-ups for their clash with the god-tier creation, Altair. Since Kirito is already overpowered as it is, having his author, Reki Kawahara, give him even more strengths would just make him unstoppable. Kirito won’t be able to beat Altair, but he’d be at his strongest state imaginable.
3 HE’D DIE IN: The Saga Of Tanya The Evil
Aside from the lack of gamified internal logic in The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Kirito would die almost immediately in this fantasy version of the World Wars simply because war is hell. Even if he had his powers and swords, Kirito would be no match for the harsh realities of war, both on the battlefield and the political arena.
Further decreasing Kirito’s odds in this reality is the presence of Being X, who’s essentially the anime’s equivalent of God. Being X is a petty figure, seen in how it openly messes with people’s free will and the general odds just to spite Tanya. If ever Kirito annoyed Being X enough, he can expect divine intervention for the worse in the next few seconds.
2 HE’D SURVIVE IN:.hack//SIGN
.hack//SIGN is a deceptively escapist isekai anime since it’s not even a power fantasy. Rather, it’s a somber character study of the in-game character Tsukasa and his player, An Shoji, that just so happens to take place in the fantasy MMORPG The World. Here, Tsukasa faces many challenges that help him grow as a warrior while An finds the strength to overcome her traumas.
Surviving The World’s physical dangers wouldn’t be a problem for Kirito. Instead, his biggest fights are the crises of faith and self-loathing brought about by the likes of the manipulative Morganna. Kirito would go through an existential breakdown in .hack//SIGN but in the end, this will help him banish his inner demons and become a stronger person in the real world.
1 HE’D DIE IN: Now & Then, Here & There
To be fair, almost nobody would survive the unforgiving world of Now & Then, Here & There. After all, this classic is regarded as one of the darkest isekai for a reason. On a normal day, Shu protects a girl from abductors. During the scuffle, Shu is transported to the girl’s world: a dying desert planet, torn apart by a war waged by ailing pathetic despots.
Even with his overpowered abilities, Kirito will be nothing in the face of war’s harshest realities and this literal hellhole. Kirito is just one guy, and he can only do so much in an anime that’s more about the evils and destruction that war itself causes, not any one beatable villain. Kirito can try his best to take down the nation/fortress Hellywood, but it won’t save anyone.