SAO Election at AX 2016: Final Results

At AX 2016, Aniplex of America held an election/popularity poll for Sword Art Online (SAO). Votes could only be submitted at the Aniplex of America Booth # 3201 at AX 2016.

Those who attended the convention could choose from 11 different characters. Each character came with their own slogan and a reason for why the voter should vote for them in the upcoming election. A picture of the candidates can be seen below.

The voting took place during all days of the convention from July 1-4. Every day there would be an update on who was currently in the lead and how many votes each candidate had.

Now that the final results have been tallied, here are the three runner ups in the election.

4^th Place: Yuuki

In fourth place with 647 votes is the leader of the Sleeping Knights, the master swordsman, Yuuki (aka Zekken). The only person who could match Kirito in a duel in ALO was able to capture enough hearts with her tragic story to secure fourth place.

She was able to help Asuna mend relations with her mother and touched the lives of many who met her. It is fitting that she be in the Top 4 of this poll.

3^rd Place: Kirito

The hero who saved 6,147 people trapped in Aincrad and the main protagonist of Sword Art Online landed in third place with 1332 votes. He saved thousands of people by defeating Kayaba Akihiko, vanquished the creepy fairy king Oberon, sliced through the bullets of Death Gun and is the holder of the legendary sword Excalibur.

Known as the Black Swordsman, he is able to accomplish feats in the virtual world that many people can only dream of doing. He slices through bullets and magic with relative ease. It’s not surprising to see this guy place in the top 3.

Now the first runner up and Vice President in Sword Art Online is…

2^nd Place (Vice President): Asuna

That’s right, the Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath and female main protagonist of Sword Art Online was able to gather 1397 votes and become the Vice President in this election. She is known as Asuna the Flash for her incredible speed and skill with a rapier.

Asuna gained immediate popularity for being strong female lead and one who was not characterized as a damsel in distress. She ended up saving Kirito multiple times throughout the Aincrad arc and proved that Kirito was not as invincible as he seemed to be.

Throughout the entire election, Asuna had been trailing Kirito by a couple of votes but ended up gaining the lead in the end.

Due to her character, fighting ability, and leadership skills demonstrated during her time as Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, Asuna is right where she belongs as Vice President.

Now that you have seen the top 3 runner ups, it is time to reveal the winner of the SAO Election at AX 2016. The votes were tallied, the fans have spoken, and now the overall most popular character and President of Sword Art Online is…

1^st Place (President): Sinon

She’s cool, calm and collected and now she is the President of Sword Art Online. Sinon is the was able to garner an astounding 1431 votes to secure the Presidential nomination.

Throughout the entire election, Sinon stayed on top with a handy lead over all her competitors.

The wielder of the PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II and female main protagonist of the Phantom Bullet arc, Sinon gained immense popularity due to her tragic backstory, character development, character design, and strength of character shown throughout the entire series. In a recent poll in Japan to determine who would grace abec’s art book cover, Sinon was able to place 3^rd out of all the characters in Sword Art Online, just losing out to Yuuki (2^nd) and Asuna (1^st).

This time around Sinon bested those two and was able to come out with the nomination. Throughout the Phantom Bullet arc, Sinon kept fighting her fear, the trauma that had been gnawing at her since she was a young child.

Thanks to her determination, and with a little push from Kirito, Sinon was able to overcome her trauma, proving that with strength of will and determination, you can overcome any obstacle within your life.

Sinon proved that anything can happen so long as you don’t give up. No matter what holds you down, if you keep trying, you’ll be able to break the chains that bind you.

Thanks to her strength of character, great character development, and overall great personality, I am proud to call Sinon the winner and President of Sword Art Online, she certainly deserves to win.

How does Sinon feel about winning the election?