10 Anime Deaths You Didn't See Coming

Given Asuna's own incredible skill and power in Sword Art Online, it is hard to imagine her dying, such as Sachi does at the beginning; so, it makes sense that she will only die in the act of sacrificing herself rather than losing a contest of skill.

Furthermore, the general tone of the series after Sachi's death, and the ease with which our cast (especially Kirito) sails through almost every challenge, gives the audience a sense of complacency; even Yui doesn't actually die when sacrificing herself, so there is little reason to believe an important character such as Asuna would succumb to death.

Naturally, this wasn't a permanent death - lucky enough for our cast of characters and some especially attached audience members.

This really goes to show just how much some characters get the short end of the stick in terms of mortality.

Even so, Asuna's death becomes instrumental in the eventual defeat of Kayaba, as the sheer emotions overwhelm all logical constraints within the game and allows Kirito to claim the final victory at a seemingly terrible cost. Her death is vital to saving the lives of all those trapped in Sword Art Online.