Although she wasn't the original queen of Sword Art Onlinewith the introduction of the Gun Gale Online arc, fans got introduced to the calm-and-collected, cool-as-ice VRMMO sniper known as Sinon. Unlike SAO where everyone was forced to use their true appearance as their in-game avatar, Sinon's icy-cool sniper persona belies her true quiet, compassionate and slightly nerdy real-world nature. However, this fact only serves to make her more charming, as her two personas feel much more distinct from each other- which makes perfect sense when one isn't literally trapped within the game world.

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Despite having real-world trauma involving both guns and men, she's a top sniper within the virtual world, and she's the reason Kirito is able to find his footing and get used to GGO to begin with. The way she handles her trauma is written pretty well overall, and with how many hardships she had to overcome throughout the course of the series, Sinon becomes a rather complex character with points about her that can be easy to miss.

10 Loss In The Family

sinon fighting back tears sword art online

The series spends a good chunk of time elaborating on the incident involving Sinon, her mother and the post office robber, but there was actually a prior tragedy in her life that isn't really discussed in the show. When Sinon was still quite young, her and her parents were involved in a car crash while on a secluded mountain road. Sadly, her father passed before help could arrive, leaving her mother absolutely traumatized. This event forced Sinon to grow up at quite an early age, as she felt the need to take it upon herself to become strong enough to protect her mother.

9 Past Friend, Present Bully

sinons bully from sword art online

SAO tends to leave out many little details from character's relationships, as the series is based off of original light novels with far too much to fully translate everything into the episodic format. One such detail is the fact that Endou, one of the girls who used Sinon's gun trauma to trigger her in an alleyway and try to get money out of her, was actually her first friend after she moved to Tokyo. She approached Sinon in order to use her house as a place to crash when drunk, and later began threatening her with gun finger signs, and even an actual model gun.

8 What Sparked Her Interest

sinon trying to aim sword art online

Sinon is already an established top sniper within Gun Gale Online by the time that fans are introduced to her, so the method in which she first became aware of and interested in the game was unclear. Kyouji, the boy that she's seen playing with and who harbors an incredibly unhealthy infatuation with her, is actually the one who first introduced her to it. Her interest was further sparked when she learned that the gun that the robber had used in reality was available in the game. She wished to be able to get over her real-life trauma by handling the model in-game.

7 Savior Complex

sinon thinking sword art online

One of the things that makes the end of the first arc Sinon appears in so unsatisfying is her tendency to want to 'save' everyone else around her, even if such a feat isn't possible, or even realistic. For example, after her father passed, she vowed to harden herself so that she could be strong enough to 'protect' her mother. However, a car accident like that isn't something that you can just train to be able to save someone from.

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Additionally, Sinon forgave Kyouji after he tried to paralyze and sexually assault her, going as far as to want to try to 'save' him.  This didn't make sense to a lot of viewers, but it's an irrational response that makes sense given what she'd been through.

6 ALfheim Avatar Reasoning

sinon alfheim online avatar sword art online

At first, it can be easy to assume that Sinon chose the catlike Cait Sith race simply for the sake of fanservice. After all, anime logic clearly states that slapping cat ears onto a character amplifies their appeal at least threefold. Thankfully, though, she actually has rather sound reasoning as to why she chose such a race above the others. The Cait Sith race possesses the best eyesight in the game, meaning it would be the most logical choice for someone looking to become a sniper.

5 Alternate Secondary Weapon

sinon getting ready to fire sword art online

For fans who have only seen the anime, perhaps even the manga as well- which is a large majority of the general audience- Sinon's secondary weapon is a Glock 18C with an extended magazine. However, this is actually an edited detail. In the original light novel, her secondary weapon is actually an H&K MP7, which is a sub-machine gun compared to the pistol she wields in the anime. It's always minor, easily-missable details like this that vary between adaptations that can be some of the most interesting to learn about.

4 Real-World Aspirations

sinon annoyed sword art online

The series does a wonderful job at touching on what each character is like in-and-outside of virtual reality, as well as what their virtual aspirations are. Sinon wanted to be the crowned champion of the Bullet of Bullets along with getting over her trauma, but her real-world aspirations outside of that weren't really touched on. In a Q&A session with her character that was held during one of SAO's popularity contests, it was revealed that she aspires to become a policewoman. This makes sense, given how much she wishes to save others and how much hardship she'd been through at the hands of others.

3 Faded Memories

Sinon looking surprised sword art online

Sinon was practically still an infant whenever she lost her father in a fatal car accident- having only been a single year old when it happened. Because of this, she can't personally remember a single thing about him as she was far too young to do so. In Volume 5, Chapter 4 of the light novel, it's revealed that her mother was so deeply traumatized by this incident that she personally destroyed or erased every single photograph and video that existed of him.

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Tragically, this means that Sinon possesses absolutely no means of recalling who her father is. Combined with the majority of her interactions with men having been negative throughout her life, it's no wonder she'd develop slight trauma involving them.

2 Un-Prescribed Glasses

sinon crying from sword art online

It's a pretty safe assumption that a character who wears glasses does so because they have a problem with their vision, and in the anime, it's never touched upon as to why Sinon wears glasses. In the same chapter of the light novel that revealed how Sinon's mother handled her father's passing, it was revealed that the glasses she wears are actually strong enough to withstand a bullet. They don't possess any capability to improve eyesight- and Sinon actually has 2.0 eyesight, which is better than the average person. They simply are a comfort item that helps her cope with her past trauma.

1 Touchy Temperament

sinon upset sword art online

Sinon is typically heralded as having a cold-as-ice personality, brushing off many of Kirito's comments early on. This also allows her to remain calm and collected during battle, even when all of the odds seem stacked against her. However, as Kirito unfortunately had to learn the hard way, she also possesses quite an intense temperament when it's triggered. After she first learned that he was a male and didn't disclose his real gender to her, she smacked him hard enough to leave a visible mark on his face.

It's noted that Kirito is actually the very first person to elicit such a strong reaction from Sinon, which was remarked on by Kyouji, simultaneously furthering his jealous pining.

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