you’re seeing this from the perspective that fujino sensei’s world is just designed to break kirito down entirely, but i don’t think that’s the whole picture. this game is a lot different from his other games. sure, a lot of the relationships seem manipulative, sinon using him as entertainment, alice being reduced to a pawn, and klein essentially being brainwashed to the point he became a cuck. but isn’t that exactly why characters like suguha stand out? suguha isn’t perfect, but she’s genuinely been doing more for kirito than anyone else in this game. while asuna is busy cheating with pignoda and making excuses for it, and sinon has her own agenda, suguha at least shows care and consistency. even if it’s “twisted love” like you said, that’s still miles ahead of whatever asuna and liz are doing...
i agree with your point about the “not really ntr” dynamic being fujino sensei’s way of showing kirito’s downfall, but i don’t think adding sinon or building suguha’s role is just random or forced. if his intent was total destruction, why even bother fleshing out suguha’s care for kirito or showing her keeping an eye on him? it wouldn’t make sense to set that up unless there’s still a chance for something better, even if it’s not a perfect ending. also, i don’t think alice’s situation is as final as you make it sound. yeah, she’s messed up rn, but if kirito can pull through with someone actually on his side, like suguha or sinon stepping up, there’s still potential for redemption in her arc too. fujino sensei might lean into darker themes, but that doesn’t mean everything has to end in disaster. the fact that suguha is still being positioned as someone who genuinely cares about kirito, however twisted it might seem, means there’s still a room for hope!!
