Kirito has so many potential love interests in Sword Art Online that it’s almost funny, considering how quickly he chose Asuna and has stayed by her side throughout the series. There have been a lot of potential good partners for him along the way, including Lisbeth, his personal blacksmith, and there are a lot of good reasons why he might have chosen someone like Liz over Asuna.
But we also understand why he ended up with Asuna, since the two seem perfect for each other. Here are five reasons Kirito should have chosen to be with Liz and five reasons why Asuna was the woman for him after all.
10 Liz: Stands Up To Him
Kirito is probably the most powerful player in Sword Art Online, which means that people don’t usually stand up to him when he’s acting like kind of a jerk. When Liz meets him, it’s because he’s come calling for a custom sword. While giving it a test and durability run, he immediately breaks it. While that probably means it wasn’t the best quality it could be, it’s also kind of a jerk move. Liz makes sure to let him know that, and Kirito definitely needs people like her to tell him when he’s not being cool.
9 Asuna: Kind And Helpful
We all want to be with people who are easy to be around and are generally pleasant. Asuna is definitely both of those things. When she meets Kirito, she immediately shows that she wants to help out anyone who needs it, which Kirito also tries to do, and generally tries to be kind to the people they come across in their journeys.
Everyone should seek to be with someone who both makes their life better by being a kind person but also someone who leads by example and tries to improve the world by helping others.
8 Liz: Motivated By Kirito
A great partner is someone who wants to improve themselves and never settles for being just an okay version of who they are. Liz is a great example of this. She’s an excellent blacksmith, but after Kirito breaks her best sword, she has to acknowledge that her work can be even better. So she’s determined to make him the best sword possible, to improve on her own skills. Good relationships happen when both parties learn from each other and are motivated by each other to achieve loftier goals, and Liz demonstrates that desire here.
7 Asuna: Not Afraid To Challenge Kirito
We mentioned above that Asuna tries her best to be kind and helpful whenever she can, and while that remains true, she also has a proud streak. She doesn’t like to be talked down to and has certain expectations of how people treat her, as we all should.
So it’s a good thing that when she feels Kirito is out of line or making the wrong decision, she’s willing to stand up to him and to tell him that she disagrees with him. Having a partner who’s not afraid to tell you when you’re wrong is an important part of having a healthy relationship.
6 Liz: Insists On Accompanying Kirito On The Quest
In wanting to make Kirito the best sword she’s ever made, she requires an item that Kirito will need to go on a quest to retrieve. Liz gives him the instructions, but in the end, also insists on coming with him, partially because he’ll likely need a blacksmith in his party in order to access it, but also because she wants to stay by his side and help him. Her desire to prove herself here is a big driving force in their relationship. Because she wants to become a better blacksmith and to make him the best sword possible, she also is able to help him achieve his goals, and that mutual support is good in every relationship.
5 Asuna: Protected Him From An Attack
Asuna has shown time and again that she loves Kirito and is willing to put her life on the line for him. One way that she did that to jump in front of him during a battle, blocking a blow and taking the damage that would have killed Kirito if it hit him.
This selflessness and desire to protect him is a clear indication of her feelings for him and the fact that she doesn’t want to live in a world without him. That seems like a pretty clear sign of true love to us.
4 Liz: Finishes The Dark Repulser
Kirito asks Liz to make the Dark Repulser as strong as possible for the upcoming boss battles he knows he’ll have to use it in. Liz, who by this point has developed pretty strong feelings for Kirito, is worried that once she has made this ultimate weapon as powerful as possible, Kirito won’t have any reason to come back to see her. That’s a pretty big bummer for someone who’s in love, but Liz, knowing how important this is to Kirito, puts aside her feelings to finish it for him anyway.
3 Asuna: Helps Kirito In Battle
We mentioned in an earlier point that a good relationship has partners who are happy to help and support each other in any situation. Asuna is a capable fighter who is just as likely to end up in battles as Kirito is, and when they’ve formed a party, she makes sure to carry her weight so that they fight together against their enemies. This is an important skill in Sword Art Online, making sure that both of them are able to have each other’s backs and not be dead weight.
2 Liz: Steps Aside For Asuna
This one is a pretty big deal. Liz is in love with Kirito, and that certainly means that she wants to be with him in whatever way she can. But she sees Asuna, and the fact that Kirito clearly loves her, and instead of trying to fight for him or attempting to break them up, she quietly steps aside to let them be together without fanfare. She understands that they’re a good match and that they love each other, and she also sees that Asuna is a better partner for him than she herself can be. That self-sacrifice and self-awareness makes Liz a great choice for a romantic partner, even though she’s not the one he chose to be with.
1 Asuna: Stays In A Party With Him
Asuna and Kirito end up meeting because they’re the last two people in a raid without a party. They band together out of necessity and for really no other reason and fight alongside each other. When the fight is over, it would be easy for them to separate and to go off on their own or to find different party members to join up with and fight beside. Instead, Asuna, without even seeming to have a second thought about it, decides to stay with Kirito, showing that there is already a bond forming between them and that they’re both choosing to nurture it into something more.