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| == Reception == | == Reception == | ||
| Asuna is one of the most popular characters in ''Sword Art Online''.<ref name="inquisitr"/> The character has received positive critical reception, and her popularity has lead to her being featured in several promotional efforts or merchandise of the series. This includes two swimsuit figures of Asuna and Leafa, another character from the same series.<ref>{{cite web |author=Loveridge, Lynzee |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2015-09-12/sword-art-online-asuna-leafa-figures-hang-out-under-parasols/ |title=Sword Art Online's Asuna, Leafa Figures Hang Out Under Parasols |publisher=Anime News Network |accessdate=March 2016}}</ref> Asuna also features in promotional advertisements for a series of Umaibo puffed corn snacks by ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Nelkin, Sarah |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2015-04-03/sword-art-online-umaibo-promo-features-asuna-yuki/ |title=Sword Art Online's Umaibo Promo Features Asuna, Yūki |publisher=Anime News Network |accessdate=March 2016}}</ref> | Asuna is one of the most popular characters in ''Sword Art Online''.<ref name="inquisitr"/> The character has received positive critical reception, and her popularity has lead to her being featured in several promotional efforts or merchandise of the series. This includes two swimsuit figures of Asuna and Leafa, another character from the same series.<ref>{{cite web |author=Loveridge, Lynzee |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2015-09-12/sword-art-online-asuna-leafa-figures-hang-out-under-parasols/ |title=Sword Art Online's Asuna, Leafa Figures Hang Out Under Parasols |publisher=Anime News Network |accessdate=March 2016}}</ref> Asuna also features in promotional advertisements for a series of Umaibo puffed corn snacks by ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Nelkin, Sarah |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2015-04-03/sword-art-online-umaibo-promo-features-asuna-yuki/ |title=Sword Art Online's Umaibo Promo Features Asuna, Yūki |publisher=Anime News Network |accessdate=March 2016}}</ref> A interactive ] app titled "Wake Me Up Asuna", in which Asuna provides the user with information such as wake-up calls, current weather, fortune, and appointments, was released on June 2015, followed by an international release in English.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2015-12-27/wake-me-up-asuna-app-now-available-internationally-from-sony-music-communications-inc/ |title=Wake Me Up Asuna App Now Available Internationally from Sony Music Communications Inc. |publisher=Anime News Network]] |accessdate=March 2016}}</ref> | ||
| In a fan poll by anime website Charapedia, 10,000 respondents voted on their favourite couples in anime, with Asuna and Kirito topping the list.<ref>{{cite web |author=Loveridge, Lynzee |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2014-07-26/kirito-and-asuna-top-fan-poll-of-best-anime-couples/ |title=Kirito and Asuna Top Fan Poll of Best Anime Couples |publisher=Anime News Network |accessdate=March 2016}}</ref> Kirito's confession to Asuna also placed third in a list of the top twenty "anime and manga love confessions" by the same website.<ref>{{cite web |author=Loveridge, Lynzee |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2016-01-29/get-your-heart-pounding-with-the-top-20-anime-and-manga-love-confessions/ |title=Get Your Heart Pounding with The Top 20 Anime & Manga Love Confessions |publisher=Anime News Network |accessdate=March 2016}}</ref> | |||
| == References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 07:33, 22 March 2016
Character
In an interview with series creator Reki Kawahara, the author noted that the female characters in Sword Art Online were not based on anyone he knew in the real world, but instead "I don’t usually make a character, setting, or anything before I start writing. As I write the story, the girls become what they are now. So, somehow, I don’t know exactly, but somehow, my subliminal idea or some hidden emotion creates the characters to be strong and capable." Kawahara also added that he wrote the series to demonstrate that he views online gaming not as a social ill or escape from real life, and thus decided to show them in a more positive light in his light novels. In another interview with Anime News Network, interviewer Lynzee Lamb noted that Asuna is a "very strong, capable female character", likening her to Genji's mother in The Tale of Genji, to which Kawahara agreed.
At Sakura-Con 2013, Kawahara noted that "the character of Asuna I might have created a little too perfectly for Sword Art Online. When teamed up with Kirito, there were hardly any problems the two as a pair could not overcome", in response to whether Asuna was a "tricky character" to develop. In an interview with Haruka Tomatsu, Asuna's voice actor, she said that "rather than having something similar to her, I feel that to me, she is the ideal person that I would want to become. After all, she can cook, she's smart... I think that she's the type of woman I wanted to become and admired. Leaving aside if I can cook well, though, I really like to cook. I don't really know if I can say if we are alike because of that, though."
Story
The main heroine of Sword Art Online and main protagonist of the seventh volume, Asuna is a friend and later to be wife of Kirito and a sub-leader of the "Knights of the Blood Oath", a medium-sized guild acknowledged as the strongest guild in Aincrad. Being one of the few girls that play SAO and extremely attractive, she receives many invitations and proposals. Asuna is a strong-willed, accomplished player known in-game as the "Lightning Flash" (閃光, Senkō) for her extraordinary fast sword skill.
Later, she falls in love with Kirito and they marry in-game. Towards the end of the SAO arc, she saves Kirito from a killing blow by Heathcliff at the cost of her life. However, her death was only in-game and she is shortly reunited with Kirito shortly after the death of Heathcliff.
Despite the completion of SAO, Asuna remains unconscious and is instead detained in another virtual reality called Alfheim Online. She is forced to play the role of «Titania the Queen of Fairies», with Nobuyuki Sugō, the man responsible for imprisoning her, playing as Oberon the Fairy King. This is done so that Sugō could marry Asuna in the real world, while she is unconscious and thus take over RCT Progress Inc. She attempts to escape the World Tree where she is imprisoned and manages to steal a GM card which she throws out of the window when she hears Yui's voice. Upon being released she creates two avatars for Alfheim, Asuna (being the healer of the team) and Erika (a battle type avatar) and went on to continue living together with Kirito. She enrolls at the SAO Survivor School with Kazuto Kirigaya in the real world after everything ended.
In the real world, Asuna's parents want her to follow in their footsteps. However, after living in SAO and meeting Kirito, she gains a different perspective and looks back on her past with disgust. She officially becomes Kazuto's real life girlfriend and dreams of marrying him and having a family with him in the future.
Reception
Asuna is one of the most popular characters in Sword Art Online. The character has received positive critical reception, and her popularity has lead to her being featured in several promotional efforts or merchandise of the series. This includes two swimsuit figures of Asuna and Leafa, another character from the same series. Asuna also features in promotional advertisements for a series of Umaibo puffed corn snacks by Namco. A interactive digital assistant app titled "Wake Me Up Asuna", in which Asuna provides the user with information such as wake-up calls, current weather, fortune, and appointments, was released on June 2015, followed by an international release in English.
In a fan poll by anime website Charapedia, 10,000 respondents voted on their favourite couples in anime, with Asuna and Kirito topping the list. Kirito's confession to Asuna also placed third in a list of the top twenty "anime and manga love confessions" by the same website.
References
- ^ Frye, Patrick. "'Sword Art Online' Season 2 and 3: Kawahara Reki talks SAO, 'Accel World', anime, and future plans". Inquisitr. Retrieved March 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Loveridge, Lynzee. "Interview: Sword Art Online's Reki Kawahara". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - "Interview with Kawahara Reki @ Sakura-Con 2013". figure.fm. Retrieved March 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Nelkin, Sarah. "Interview: Haruka Tomatsu, Sword Art Online's Asuna". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Loveridge, Lynzee. "Sword Art Online's Asuna, Leafa Figures Hang Out Under Parasols". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Nelkin, Sarah. "Sword Art Online's Umaibo Promo Features Asuna, Yūki". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - "Wake Me Up Asuna App Now Available Internationally from Sony Music Communications Inc". Anime News Network]]. Retrieved March 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Loveridge, Lynzee. "Kirito and Asuna Top Fan Poll of Best Anime Couples". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - Loveridge, Lynzee. "Get Your Heart Pounding with The Top 20 Anime & Manga Love Confessions". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 2016.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)