I mean, I know Asuna is strong, but I've always assumed Kirito was stronger. And maybe this was true in SAO. But when Kirito and Zekken fought, she did not ask Kirito for help. But she asked Asuna. I know Kirito wasn't using Dual Blades and fighting like in SAO or old ALfheim Online against Oberon (to protect something or in a life-or-death situation), but he did say he wasn't holding back, and Asuna wasn't that desperate or giving it her all either (I mean, as in like a real life-or-death battle like in SAO). So, since they were both slightly but almost equally holding back when they each fought Zekken, but she chose Asuna over Kirito to help her, does it not lead to the conclusion Asuna pushed her further, and is thus the stronger warrior?
I've noticed a trend in which Kirito is slowly becoming portrayed as weaker. His battle with Death Gun (Red-Eyed XaXa) in GGO was just lame. He was supposed to be better at swords, difference in quality of weaponry shouldn't have made that much of an impact that he was cut all over while Death Gun was barely fazed. I mean, that time when he fought in ALfheim Online against General Eugene, considered the strongest ALO player at the time, with the second most legendary sword in the game, Demonic Sword Gram, which could phase through objects, and yet he managed to beat him with inferior n00b equipment. I don't like OP MCs too much, but still, I'd like them to at least be the strongest in the relative peer group, even if they can't beat boss monsters solo with one-hit-kills D:
Well, it is explainable why Kirito would lose to Yuuki, with his stats reset when switching to ALO, having real world issues to deal with while Yuuki had 3+ years of experience from many different MMO's without ever disconnecting (she did character conversions so while she spent only a few months on ALO, she had years worth of stats from other similar games). Also, Kirito's main true unique skill is his sheer willpower, seeing as he was getting beaten by Heathcliff and Oberon almost one-sidedly bad but he refused to give up. I'm sure he wasn't treating this as a similar situation. But the thing that bugs me is how is Asuna stronger? Is it because she didn't reset her skills? Or is she just simply stronger?