Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-26094613-20150210022917/@comment-100.32.240.163-20150211103742

Nope. Mostly because she is, for the sake of the story, the yin to his yang.

What I mean is that they come from two different backgrounds. He comes from a loving family that he eventually chose to alienate due to trust related issues. She came from an emotionally distant family that she wanted to be close to. (This is one of those components that many choose to overlook. Oftentimes to bicker about things instead of trying to understand them.) So, when it comes to this, Asuna gave Kirito reasons to make things right with his family. And in return, Asuna gets to have the familial experience that she had craved for a long time. This, and her role lead to the changes in both ALfheim Online and how Kirito does things.

[Feel free to skip this if you like.]  As for the chatacter being "annoying," that is true if treat her as a one- or two-dimensional character. She is, from the start, an emotionally distant person whose only interaction with others solely resided within the family. This slowly dissolved when she was around Kirito, and realized that she does not need to be this way. And with everything that happens after Fairy Dance has her experience a new world unlike the one she grew up in.

In all cases...

- She looks at Kirito as not just a boyfriend, but also a teacher. He has the experiences that she requires, and the teachings she receives have helped her become a better person. She also saw Yuuki as a person that has the bravery she needed, as she knew that there was a way to confront her mother. And Kirito was not the one to teach her it.

- She took the role of the Undine in favor of not repeating her role in the Aincrad arc. By being an Undine, she is allowed to be the "Support" role instead of solely being the damage dealer. However, old habits tend to die hard and she often ends up being the "Beserk Healer" (which has me wonder if she has a developmental form of OCD).

- She also has a separate account, which is a Sylph. And she did say that sometimes she needs to be somebody else, as in she needs to get away from being the person she wants to be... And become the person she has often chose to be. Which is a great thing, as it also means that she is not completely dependant on Kirito at all (which is needed).

[Please continue here.] Overall, I personally believe that removing her would undo all the improvements made in Kirito's life. Plus, it may turn Kirito into somebody that alienates his friends as well. So her death? Not needed.