Other than being a mere survivor of the death game Sword Art Online (SAO), Kirito is also one of the strongest players in the game. As a lone wolf who always participates in the front line during the boss raid in SAO while fighting using two swords at the same time, it doesn't take a long time for him to be somewhat infamous in SAO.
However, the other aspect of Kirito that contributes a lot to his popularity is his appearance. Kirito likes to wear an all-black costume. In a world where everybody donned colorful outfits, Kirito's all-black look stands out like a sore thumb. That is also why he is known as the Black Swordsman among other SAO players. Kirito's costume is a big part of his charismatic and mysterious persona. That being said, there is one game where Kirito doesn't give off that aura at all. That game is the Gun Gale Online (GGO), and he looks so feminine and approachable there. So what's the deal with Kirito's GGO avatar?
Kirito's Usual Avatar
Before we get to GGO, let's briefly recap how Kirito looks in his previous two VRMMO games. In SAO, Kirito started off by using an avatar that looks nothing like his actual appearance. But as the death game begins, every avatar in the game is reverted to match their actual real-life appearance.
After defeating the boss of the first floor of Aincrad, Kirito begins to wear a dark overcoat over his regular clothes. At first, he merely uses it for the stats, but as the game progresses, it becomes his primary outfit. Throughout SAO, Kirito uses a black shirt, black pants, black boots, and also black overcoat. He doesn't use any kind of armor, because as a dual-wielder, agility is everything for him. A heavy armor would only slow him down.
In ALfheim Online, Kirito initially looks like a generic in-game race called Spriggan with his spiky hair, big eyes, and also long ears. But as the story progresses, Kirito is back to his iconic looks with an all-black outfit and an overcoat. This time around, however, his hairstyle closely resembles his natural hair in real-life. But still no armor in sight.
Kirito's Avatar in Gun Gale Online
Kirito's look in GGO is significantly different from the previous games. Here, he has a much slender build, long hair all the way to his shoulder, and gemtler eyes. Kirito looks extremely feminine in Gun Gale Online. As a matter of fact, he virtually looks like a cute girl.
So why does Kirito look so feminine in GGO? The answer is simply that it's a coincidence. In GGO, once a new player creates an account, the system will assign an avatar based on the information that they have on the player. Later on, the player could freely customize their avatar, but other than that, one account is directly linked to one avatar.
When Kirito logs in to GGO, he is assigned an M9000 series avatar. This is an extremely rare avatar due to its feminine feature despite being a male avatar. Another player even offered a large sum of in-game money to Kirito in exchange for his avatar.
It is unclear why the system of GGO assigned this avatar to Kirito, but it is highly likely because Kirito uses a converted account, which contains information of his looks from the previous games, and the M9000 series avatar happened to be the closest resemblance to his previous avatar.
Kirito begins GGO with casual white shirts and relatively bright pants. But as the game progresses, he begins to wear his usual looks, all-black outfit and an overcoat. However, he uses a small chest plate this time around to protect himself from any incoming bullet as he charges forward.
The Effect of Kirito's New Avatar in GGO
Everybody in Gun Gale Online thinks that Kirito is a girl due to his extremely feminine avatar. Needless to say, he also received unwanted attention, and even some cat calling from other male players in GGO. Even Shinon thinks that Kirito is a girl when they first meet each other.
For the most part, Kirito never actually bothered to correct other players that think he is a girl. On the contrary, he often uses his feminine appearance to his advantage. Whether to let Shinon feel comfortable around him and therefore willing to help him understand the game, or to let his opponent think he is just a meek girl and therefore drop their guard.
That being said, as Kirito begins to rack up more wins with his extremely unique playing style, he becomes somewhat famous in GGO and almost every player knows who he is. Not only that, Kirito even earned some fans among other players who like his cute looks despite knowing that he is actually a guy.
Considering that Kirito will no longer use a similar avatar for any VRMMO games that he plays in the future, his feminine M9000 avatar will forever remain one of Kirito's most iconic looks.