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The Red-Nosed Reindeer (赤鼻のトナカイ, Akahana no Tonakai?) is the third episode of the Sword Art Online anime adaptation, as well as the third episode in the Aincrad Arc. It aired on July 21, 2012.

Plot[]

On April 8, 2023, at the 11th Floor main town, Taft, the members of the «Moonlit Black Cats» guild were celebrating in an inn because Kirito had appeared and saved them.

SAO E03b

Kirito joining the Black Cats.

The guild leader, Keita, extended an invitation to Kirito after he learned that he was a solo player. Hiding his true level, Kirito joined as a temporary member until the guild could be independent without him. Kirito was also asked to help with the stat development of another player named Sachi. A month later, Kirito and the guild were seen training in the Sunshine Forest on the 20th Floor, where Kirito assisted the guild in taking down a Killer Mantis.

SAO E03c

Sachi confessing her fear of dying.

To maintain his own level, Kirito would often sneak out at night to grind in the higher floor Labyrinths. After coming back from his self-leveling, he received a message from Keita, saying that Sachi had gone missing and the group were looking for her in the Labyrinth. He quickly found her within the drains of the city with the help of his «Tracking» skill. After learning that she was incredibly afraid of dying, Kirito tried his best to reassure her, constantly telling her that he would not let her die. Afterwards Kirito would commonly comfort Sachi whenever she was afraid, thus helping her sleep by being by her side.

SAO E03d

Sachi saying goodbye to Kirito, before dying.

Less than a month later, when the group finally collected 200,000 Cor, which was enough to purchase a guild home, Keita teleported to the Town of Beginnings to purchase a new base for the guild. While Keita was gone to buy the house, the other members decided to impress him by getting items from the labyrinths near the front lines. Kirito tried to object, but the members insisted they were strong enough. The group, excluding Keita, traveled to the 27th Floor Labyrinth, where they found a hidden door after finishing their hunting quota. Ducker, the guild's thief, picked the lock and found a treasure chest in the center room. Kirito quickly recognized it as a trap and tried to warn the group, but it was too late. Just as the guild members opened the chest, the room suddenly turned red and a swarm of monsters surrounded them. The group's teleport crystals failed to activate; the trap was an Anti-Crystal Area with the only exit being sealed. Kirito tried to defend himself and reach Sachi while witnessing the other members fall one by one due to their low levels. Despite Kirito's effort to protect her, Sachi was killed as well. She had said something right before turning into polygons, but Kirito did not hear what she said due to the crisis.

Sword Art Online 03

Kirito facing Nicholas the Renegade.

Several months later, on December 24, 2023, Kirito met with the information broker Argo the Rat, questioning her about the location of the Christmas event boss. Obsessed about the possibility of a revival item said to be in possession of said boss, Kirito hoped to hear Sachi's last words. It did not matter to him whether she hated him or not, he would take all her anger. As it was nearly time for Christmas Eve, Kirito changed into his best equipment while lamenting the deaths of his guildmates. A flashback was shown where Kirito informed Keita about the demise of the other members, and told him that he had known about the possible trap since he was at a higher level due to being a «Beater»; Keita cursed him and committed suicide by leaping off Aincrad's edge into the endless sky.

Kirito then headed off to a 35th Floor dungeon, the Forest of Wandering. Along the way, Kirito was followed by Klein and his guild, Fuurinkazan. Klein initially wanted to fight alongside with Kirito against the Christmas boss, but Kirito refused. As Klein tried to convince his friend, another guild, the Divine Dragon Alliance, appeared near their location. Klein and his guild members decided to hold off the opposing guild while Kirito handled the boss, Nicholas The Renegade.

While Klein and his fellows rested from their fight, a halfhearted Kirito appeared before them. Klein asked what was wrong and Kirito handed him the revival item, the «Divine Stone of Returning Soul». After reading the item's description, Klein found out that it could only save a player during their ten-second «End Phase». As Kirito started walking off into the distance, Klein stopped him and requested he live on till the end.

SAO E03f

Kirito listening to Sachi's Message.

Kirito then headed back to his home and sulked in front of his desk while waiting for morning. Suddenly, Kirito was alerted by an incoming message in his inventory. To his surprise, he had received a recorded message from Sachi that was timed to appear at Christmas Day. After engaging the message record crystal, Kirito listened to the sound of Sachi's voice, telling him although she would probably be dead at that point, her death was not his fault. She mused on how her death was inevitable, and asked Kirito to fulfill her wishes. She ended the message by humming "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and thanking Kirito for all the time he had spent with her.

New Characters[]

Known Monsters[]

Named Monsters[]

Guilds[]

Inventory[]

  • Kirito
    • Lava Plate
    • Rubber Plate
    • Metal Plate
    • Chestguard of Silver
    • Cardboard Armor
    • Breastplate of Steel
    • Guard Suit
    • Silver Armor
    • Silver Plate
    • Metal Boots
    • Black Boots
    • Blade of Frost Steel
    • Munin's Talon
    • Timer-Activated Message Record Crystal - Received from Sachi
  • Klein
  • Ducker
    • Teleport Crystal

Locations[]

Adaptation Notes[]

Adapted from Volume 2, Red-nosed Reindeer, Parts 2-4.
  • The anime skipped part 1 of the original story, which featured Kirito meeting Klein during his preparation for the Christmas event by farming ant-like monster on the 46th Floor just five days away from the Christmas event. Instead, the anime featured an original scene of Kirito encountering Klein and his group in a battle against Blood Wolf Leaders on the 28th Floor before the death of the Moonlit Black Cats.
  • Argo does not make an appearance in the light novel, but was mentioned by Klein during their conversation.
  • The story of how Kirito first met the Black Cats is not portrayed in the anime.
  • In the novel, Sachi was using a cloak that granted invisibility when Kirito found her.
  • The anime did not explain that Kirito escaped the Labyrinth trap by destroying the treasure chest.
  • In the light novel, it was stated that Klein negotiated with the Divine Dragon Alliance to have a 1-on-1 duel between him and a member of the Alliance to decide their next course of action. Because of this, only Klein was tired after the match, but in the anime it looks as if everyone in the Fuurinkazan guild fought against the DDA guild.
  • In the light novel, Sachi left the message record crystal in a shared inventory tab between her and Kirito with the timer-activation mode active, instead of a time-triggered mail.
  • There was no mention of the shared inventory window between Kirito and Sachi in the anime.
  • Sachi did not mention a friend of hers that died on the way back to town in her message to Kirito in the anime.
  • In the light novel, Sachi actually sang the "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", instead of humming it.

Errors[]

  • In the anime, the members of the Black Cats died on the 12th of June, while in The Day After it is revealed that they actually died on the 22nd of June.

Quotes[]

  • "Willpower is what separates us from the clearers; the determination to protect one's friends.... no, everyone. Right now, they are still protecting us." - Keita
  • "In this world, the dead won't return." - Kirito
  • "Kirito... Kirito! You have to survive. Survive until the end please..." - Klein
  • "Even if I die, you keep living okay? Live to see the end of this world, and to see why it was born. Live to see why a weak girl like me ended up here... And the reason you and I met." - Sachi

Trivia[]

  • Although in the anime it is not mentioned, Nicholas actually dropped a whole bag of loot. The Divine Stone of Returning Soul was only one of the dropped rewards.

Navigation[]

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Alternative Series How LLENN Stopped Fretting and had Her Fire for Combat Sparked by Pitohui (AGGO BD/DVD Vol.6)
Magazine Publications Calibur SS - Celeste Fairy - Objectors! ~VRMMO Development Tragedy~ - Open-Air Bath - Salvia and the MTB
Crossover Dream Game -Crossover- - Versus - Versus II
Dengeki Fair Main Series 16.8.5 (2014) - Agil and Klein's Exciting Meal - Breaking the Damage Limit (2012) - Bluish Memories (2021) - Defensive Power (2015) - SAOP 4.1 (2016) - Summer Memories (2019) - The End of the Summer and the Straw Hat (2018)
Alternative Series LLENN and Fukaziroh Talking About Dates (2016) - Mizugi de Tatakaeru ka Online (MTO) (2018)
Other Specials Main Series chromatic colors (abec Art Works) - Cooking with the Wife (SAO x NewDays collaboration) - Hopeful Chant (Ordinal Scale screenings) - prismatic colors (abec Art Works Wanderers)
Alternative Series (AGGO) Girl Meets Gun ~P90 ni tsuite Yoku wakaru Online (PYO)~ (P-90 Airsoft Gun bonus) - Her step, step (ReoNa's Prologue Album) - Minami no Island Online (MIO) (Dengeki Island!) - MZO (Dengeki Splash) - Pitohui, Elsa, and a Fine Day for Handguns (AM.45 Airsoft Gun) - Sugoimizugi Jam (Dengeki Girls Swim Wear Festival) - The Untold Tale of the Vorpal Bunny's Birth ~Otherwise Known as the Worries of Two Gun Nuts~ (Vorpal Bunny Airsoft Gun bonus)
Alternative Series (Clover's Regret) Idle Talk - The Shinobi's Reckless Remarks (Dengeki Bunko Magazine Animate bonus) - The Story of the Matchmaking Bakeneko (Clover's Regret Vol.1 Animate bonus) - The Strange Tale of Makuwa Melons (Clover's Regret Vol.1 Melonbooks bonus)
Web Stories There is But One Ultimate Way
Manga Aincrad Volume 01 - Volume 02
Fairy Dance Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03
Phantom Bullet Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03
Mother's Rosario Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03
Calibur Tankoubon
Alicization Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03 - Volume 04 - Volume 05
Progressive Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03 - Volume 04 - Volume 05 - Volume 06 - Volume 07
Progressive - Barcarolle of Froth Volume 01 - Volume 02
Progressive - Scherzo of Deep Night Volume 01 - Volume 02
Girls Ops Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03 - Volume 04 - Volume 05 - Volume 06 - Volume 07 - Volume 08
Ordinal Scale Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03 - Volume 04 - Volume 05
Kiss and Fly Volume 01
4koma Manga Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03
SAOAGGO Manga Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03
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4koma Anthology Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03
Hollow Realization Volume 01 - Volume 02 - Volume 03 - Volume 04 - Volume 05
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Aincrad Night of Kirito Tankoubon
Kirito's Gun Gale Wars Tankoubon
Anime Season I - Aincrad Arc Episode 01 - Episode 02 - Episode 03 - Episode 04 - Episode 05 - Episode 06 - Episode 07 - Episode 08 - Episode 09 - Episode 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12 - Episode 13 - Episode 14
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Season I - Special Episodes Sword Art Online Extra Edition
Season II - Phantom Bullet Arc Episode 01 - Episode 02 - Episode 03 - Episode 04 - Episode 05 - Episode 06 - Episode 07 - Episode 08 - Episode 09 - Episode 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12 - Episode 13 - Episode 14 - Episode 14.5
Season II - Calibur Arc Episode 15 - Episode 16 - Episode 17
Season II - Mother's Rosario Arc Episode 18 - Episode 19 - Episode 20 - Episode 21 - Episode 22 - Episode 23 - Episode 24
Movie Sword Art Online The Movie -Ordinal Scale-
AGGO Episode 01 - Episode 02 - Episode 03 - Episode 04 - Episode 05 - Episode 06 - Episode 07 - Episode 08 - Episode 09 - Episode 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12
Season III - Alicization Arc Episode 01 - Episode 02 - Episode 03 - Episode 04 - Episode 05 - Episode 06 - Episode 07 - Episode 08 - Episode 09 - Episode 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12 - Episode 13 - Episode 14 - Episode 15 - Episode 16 - Episode 17 - Episode 18 - Episode 18.5 - Episode 19 - Episode 20 - Episode 21 - Episode 22 - Episode 23 - Episode 24 - Episode 25 - Episode 26 - Episode 27 - Episode 28 - Episode 29 - Episode 30 - Episode 31 - Episode 32 - Episode 33 - Episode 34 - Episode 35 - Episode 36 - Episode 37 - Episode 38 - Episode 39 - Episode 40 - Episode 41 - Episode 42 - Episode 43 - Episode 44 - Episode 45 - Episode 46 - Episode 47
Sword Art Offline Episode 01 - Episode 02 - Episode 03 - Episode 04 - Episode 05 - Episode 06 - Episode 07 - Episode 08 - Episode 09 - Extra Edition
Two Episode 01 - Two Episode 02 - Two Episode 03 - Two Episode 04 - Two Episode 05 - Two Episode 06 - Two Episode 07 - Two Episode 08 - Two Episode 09
Ordinal Scale
Drama CD Accel World + Sword Art Online Drama CD Ordeals of Kirito
Ichiban Kuji STAGE2
Ichiban Kuji STAGE3 Melodies Go Beyond the Forgetting Curve... - The Grand Plan for a Summer Festival Performance! - The Grand Plan to Overcoming Picky-Eating! - When Asuna and Yuuki Changed into Swimsuits
Ichiban Kuji Ordinal Scale A Brief Instant of Reminiscing Right Below the Concert - From Asuna's Diary on a Certain Day in Late April
SAO x KYOTO NIPPON FESTIVAL The Great Barrier of the Old Capital of Kyoto
Lycoris Drama CD Another Heroine Inverter
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