<p>When people were trapped in SAO, their avatars became exactly similar to their real-life bodies, so recognizing someone from real life was possible there.</p>

<p><strong>Kirito at SAO:</strong></p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/UDbjQ.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p><strong>Kirito in real life:</strong></p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Rzasj.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>But in ALO, it's totally different.</p>

<p>See Sugu and leafa as an example:</p>

<p><strong>Real Life:</strong></p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/uBijO.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p><strong>ALO:</strong></p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/oZic0.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>Kirito's avatar in ALO may <strong>resemble</strong> his character from SAO, yet it's still different.
A player with that avatar could look totally different in real life. And people that play MMORPG's are not use to talk about their real life at the game.</p>

<p>So, Leafa didn't recognize Kirito because there was no reason for her to do so in a game like ALO. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-18T13:48:32.940Z
Adding to this - on SAO, people _started off_ with whatever avatar they wanted. At a certain point their avatars were _forced_ to their actual real-life look (around the time that it was revealed they could not log off etc...). It is reasonable to think that this, original avatar, was what Leafa/Sugu saw.
Oded
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-18T13:55:26.330Z
@Oded: if you're referring to Kirito's avatar before the change, this doesn't seem quite right to me - Kirito's original SAO avatar looks very adult, whereas his Alfheim look seems based off more of his SAO appearance (although details, like ears, facial structure, etc. still look slightly different).
Maroon
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-18T13:59:51.223Z
@Maroon - just adding a possibility. In terms of visuals, it would be rather jarring if Kirito would have appeared as he was before the change on Alfheim and was therefore represented using his later appearance.
Oded
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-18T23:16:22.863Z
I also remember when Kirito selected his race a voice said it was his appearance would be "generated" almost by random, either by total chance or from data confliction with his SAO Player Data Kirito looked similar to Post Death Game Start Kirito.
Memor-X
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-18T23:20:29.940Z
Also to reaffirm the *"A player with that avatar could look totally different in real life"* part, at the start of the Death game remember how 2 characters reacted seeing their avatars change, one was playing as a young girl. Sugu probably just assumed she was playing with a guy and not a girl in a guy avatar (if Kirito was actually a girl and Sugu was still crushing on...\*faints from over exposure to cute Shoujo Ai/Yuri\*)
Memor-X
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-19T00:04:51.377Z
ALO Avatars are randomly generated. Kirito created a new character, with a new avatar. A bug caused his SAO stats and items to transfer over, and overwrite most of his data; but his avatar didn't change. That said, the resemblance between his RL self and ALO Avatar is a result of the artists not wanting to confuse viewers. Even in Season 2, they didn't change the face of Kirito's GGO Avatar, even though the novels depict a VERY different face from his RL self. The similarities are to make sure people recognize him, but that clearly confuses some.
TUSF
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-19T10:56:34.830Z
Additionally, Kirito would be an out-of-context problem for his sister.  Besides the low random chance of meeting someone you know, there's his previous experience with a VRMMO...  When you're not expecting someone, you can discount look-alikes.
Clockwork-Muse
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-18T12:50:20.213Z
2014-09-18T13:03:50.980Z
2014-09-18T13:03:50.980Z
Rikkin
<p>When Kirito went onto ALO it said that his apearence will be randomised, however, since all of his data was transferred from SAO he looked the same as he did in SAO which was exactly how he looks in real life but when Sugu saw him she would not have thought it was her cousin because all the looks had been randomised.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-04T21:06:06.347Z
2018-01-04T21:06:06.347Z
Bethany
<p>Suguha didn't resemble her true self because it was a different machine in the anime but by the same creators... remember how they "asked them to touch themselves all over so they resemble the same?" Remember how there were mirrors and when they looked inside of them they looked exactly the same as what they look like in the real world? Maybe that's why. One, because f it's a different machine, then they might've forgot to make it so you had to touch yourself all over, two, because they didn't receive any mirrors in Alfheim.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-01T20:37:27.267Z
2016-01-01T20:37:27.267Z
Kat
<p>When Kirito logs in to ALO with his SAO account, all his SAO skills and points and even Yui's heart are loaded; so we can conclude that the same thing must have happened to his avatar, too. If so, why didn't Sugu recognize him and if not, why is that?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-18T12:08:21.700Z
Sugu was never in SAO - why should she recognize anyone from SAO?
Oded
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-18T12:23:45.887Z
@Oded In the first episode, we find out avatars exactly look like the players' real-life bodies in SAO, so Sugu should recognize Kirito's avatar.
mjhp
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-18T12:27:50.187Z
But in ALO, they are not identical to their real-life bodies (wings, ears...). And nothing suggests they are identical to their SAO avatars.
Oded
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-10T03:15:20.383Z
Related: http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/24382/
senshin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-11T06:44:40.270Z
because after event of original SAO , "Kirito" become a fad for IGN character name. . .
i bet there`s alot of "Kirito69","Kirito11" , etc etc
Tanya von Degurechaff
<sword-art-online>
Why didn't Sugu recognize Kirito in ALO
# Why didn't Sugu recognize Kirito in ALO
Posted by: username_0 on 2014-09-18
When Kirito logs in to ALO with his SAO account, all his SAO skills and points and even Yui's heart are loaded; so we can conclude that the same thing must have happened to his avatar, too. If so, why didn't Sugu recognize him and if not, why is that?
**Tags:** sword-art-online
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Sugu was never in SAO - why should she recognize anyone from SAO?  
> **username_0**: @Oded In the first episode, we find out avatars exactly look like the players' real-life bodies in SAO, so Sugu should recognize Kirito's avatar.  
> **username_1**: But in ALO, they are not identical to their real-life bodies (wings, ears...). And nothing suggests they are identical to their SAO avatars.  
> **username_2**: Related: http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/24382/  
> **username_3**: because after event of original SAO , "Kirito" become a fad for IGN character name. . .
i bet there`s alot of "Kirito69","Kirito11" , etc etc  
---
## 3 answers
### Answer by username_4 on 2014-09-18. Score: 6
When people were trapped in SAO, their avatars became exactly similar to their real-life bodies, so recognizing someone from real life was possible there.

**Kirito at SAO:**

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/UDbjQ.jpg)

**Kirito in real life:**

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Rzasj.jpg)

But in ALO, it's totally different.

See Sugu and leafa as an example:

**Real Life:**

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/uBijO.png)

**ALO:**

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/oZic0.png)

Kirito's avatar in ALO may **resemble** his character from SAO, yet it's still different.
A player with that avatar could look totally different in real life. And people that play MMORPG's are not use to talk about their real life at the game.

So, Leafa didn't recognize Kirito because there was no reason for her to do so in a game like ALO.
> **Comments:**
> **username_1** (2014-09-18): Adding to this - on SAO, people _started off_ with whatever avatar they wanted. At a certain point their avatars were _forced_ to their actual real-life look (around the time that it was revealed they could not log off etc...). It is reasonable to think that this, original avatar, was what Leafa/Sugu saw.  
> **username_5** (2014-09-18): @Oded: if you're referring to Kirito's avatar before the change, this doesn't seem quite right to me - Kirito's original SAO avatar looks very adult, whereas his Alfheim look seems based off more of his SAO appearance (although details, like ears, facial structure, etc. still look slightly different).  
> **username_1** (2014-09-18): @Maroon - just adding a possibility. In terms of visuals, it would be rather jarring if Kirito would have appeared as he was before the change on Alfheim and was therefore represented using his later appearance.  
> **username_6** (2014-09-18): I also remember when Kirito selected his race a voice said it was his appearance would be "generated" almost by random, either by total chance or from data confliction with his SAO Player Data Kirito looked similar to Post Death Game Start Kirito.  
> **username_6** (2014-09-18): Also to reaffirm the *"A player with that avatar could look totally different in real life"* part, at the start of the Death game remember how 2 characters reacted seeing their avatars change, one was playing as a young girl. Sugu probably just assumed she was playing with a guy and not a girl in a guy avatar (if Kirito was actually a girl and Sugu was still crushing on...\*faints from over exposure to cute Shoujo Ai/Yuri\*)  
> **username_7** (2014-09-19): ALO Avatars are randomly generated. Kirito created a new character, with a new avatar. A bug caused his SAO stats and items to transfer over, and overwrite most of his data; but his avatar didn't change. That said, the resemblance between his RL self and ALO Avatar is a result of the artists not wanting to confuse viewers. Even in Season 2, they didn't change the face of Kirito's GGO Avatar, even though the novels depict a VERY different face from his RL self. The similarities are to make sure people recognize him, but that clearly confuses some.  
> **username_8** (2014-09-19): Additionally, Kirito would be an out-of-context problem for his sister.  Besides the low random chance of meeting someone you know, there's his previous experience with a VRMMO...  When you're not expecting someone, you can discount look-alikes.  
---
### Answer by username_9 on 2018-01-04. Score: 0
When Kirito went onto ALO it said that his apearence will be randomised, however, since all of his data was transferred from SAO he looked the same as he did in SAO which was exactly how he looks in real life but when Sugu saw him she would not have thought it was her cousin because all the looks had been randomised.
---
### Answer by username_10 on 2016-01-01. Score: -1
Suguha didn't resemble her true self because it was a different machine in the anime but by the same creators... remember how they "asked them to touch themselves all over so they resemble the same?" Remember how there were mirrors and when they looked inside of them they looked exactly the same as what they look like in the real world? Maybe that's why. One, because f it's a different machine, then they might've forgot to make it so you had to touch yourself all over, two, because they didn't receive any mirrors in Alfheim.
---
