How is it that people in ALO didn't recognize Kirito?

Question

So, I've been enjoying SAO quite a bit more than I thought I would. My only thing is, why has no one in ALO even questioned if Kirito is the same Kirito from SAO, especially his sister? I'm going on the assumption that there would have been some sort of news when he got out of the game and that his character name would have been mentioned. I know that if I see a character with the same name in multiple MMOs, I at least ask if they are the same person. I have to believe that SOMEONE would recognize the name at least.

Also, thinking back on it, I remember them reading something, seemingly the internet, inside SAO, that listed the news of what was going on in the game. So surely this was available to the outside world as well?

Answer 1

ALO players

From Volume 3, Chapter 1, during the scene where Kirito first logged in into ALO:

Next I chose the nickname for my character. I didn't put much thought into it, but entered the name «Kirito».

This name was a shortened form of my real name, Kirigaya Kazuto, and there weren't many who knew that. Those who understood included only the rescue team from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and those with a close connection, i.e. Recto's president Yuuki Shoujou and that Sugou. Of course, that also included Egil, and Asuna, who had yet to wake. Even Suguha and our parents shouldn't know of it.

In the SAO incident, none of this information had been made public, especially character names. This was because in that world there was frequent fighting between players and the result was often a horrible death in the real world. If unrestricted publication of this information was allowed, it would not be difficult to imagine a large number of lawsuits being filed.

[...]

With a bit of trepidation I realized the name was known to Sugou Nobuyuki, and because it is a rather well-known name I changed it from its romanized form to its kana form. [...]

According to the cited paragraph, since character names are not made public, the name Kirito is only known to the rescue team from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Recto's president Yuuki Shoujou, Sugou, and fellow players in SAO.

ALO arc takes place 2 months after SAO is cleared. During this period of time, I would assume that it's unlikely for any SAO survivor to play another VRMMO when they had just been through a life and death experience.

Therefore, it would be natural for almost all players in ALO to be unaware of the identity of the person who cleared SAO and set all players free.

I guess that would clear the question of why no one in ALO ever questioned about Kirito's identity.

How about Suguha, then?

Suguha/Leafa

From Volume 3, Chapter 2, when Kirito crash-landed as Leafa/Suguha was surrounded by three Salamanders:

This voice with no tension came from a lightly dark skinned male player while standing up. His black hair stood in natural spikes, and his large eyes gave an impression of mischief. Behind him stretched dark greyish-blue wings that marked him as a member of the Spriggan race.

I guess Kirito's skin color and appearance is a great enough departure from his real life appearance that Suguha couldn't tell that Kirito is actually her onii-chan.

Apart from the appearance, there is also the fact that Kirito distanced himself from Suguha, after knowing that they are not siblings.

From Volume 4, Chapter 7:

Suguha's accusation that I had distanced myself from her because she wasn't my true younger sister was almost correct. I had searched the net for my family registry, but I had found the deletion notice, so I asked my parents about it. I was ten years-old. I began to put some distance between Suguha and myself, but there was no specific reason.

[...]

[...] By the time I was a 5th or 6th grader, I was already addicted to net games, without a side glance I moved straight forward. Finally I was imprisoned for two years, in that virtual world.

Due to Kirito keeping distance and the SAO incident, Suguha didn't have much chance to know Kirito, and there were many sides of him that she didn't know about, especially during the time Kirito was trapped in SAO. I think this contributes to the reason why Suguha/Leafa didn't realize that Kirito is actually Kazuto even after traveling together. She only caught on when Kirito blurted out Asuna's name after he failed to clear the Grand Quest for the first time.

Answer 2

Well, that is easy.

During the entire SAO incident:

1. Families that are rather sensitive to the entire locked in a game story, would not necessarily follow what is happening in this world. They would rather visit the family member in the hospital.
2. I am sure that for the first while that the majority of the people in the world were interested in the news to know what is going on. But just like today's society if someone hammers on one subject the entire time - you tend to turn the TV/radio down when the topic is about to be mentioned (Or in some cases you would zone out).

After the SAO incident:

1. Should this topic brought on by the media, they would most likely start of a conversation of all the people in the room. (And how many people that is up to date with technology reads the paper? Therefore I would conclude that the people in the game would not read more than a heading on a newspaper)
2. These that played ALO - was most likely just happy for those that got out, and sad for those that didn't. (Or they were to absorbed in ALO to care about SAO)

As to why Sugu didn't recognize him: She is most likely part of the first group of people who rather visit the hospital than read the papers/watch the news.

And if all that fails you, then remember: It was for the story. No other reason needed. If everyone knows who your character is there is not much to write in a story now is there?

Answer 3

Keep in mind that this is an anime and so little things like common sense do not really get in the way of story telling. The real problem with this all starts with the question which is based in common sense, and thus can not win out against the needs of story telling.

I understand that player information was given out, if it was forget law suits, laughing coffin members would of been gunned down on the streets for what they did. GGO would never of happened. However, while following the common sense of things, everything after the end of SAO would of happened differently. I believe it was stated that 6000 people and change were still in SAO when it came to an end. Most of those people woke at the same time. That would of been major news.

Most of those people would not know how they were freed, only that one moment they were in the game and the next that after an announcement that the game was cleared they woke up. However those members of the assault team they would know. The doctors and nurses that cared for them would likely question folks as they were seen and checked over. " It was amazing! Kirito saved us!" or versions of that statement would of passed unfiltered in the first few days. If not from Doctors and Nurses, from player to player. Most of the SAO players were in hospitals when they woke, so it is natural to assume numbers of them were in the same places. The SAO members would of spoken to each other if not the staff.

Kirito was well known in the game if not by his name, at least as the black swordsmen. Trying to keep the media from discovering the story of how they escaped in reality would of been like trying to capture water in your hands. You get some of it, but most pours through. Maybe they never link Kirito to his RL id, but that would only of raised the legend of Kirito that much higher. The hero of SAO humbly keeps his identity a secret?

For ALO, they used the same model for Kirito in that game that they used for SAO for our benefit, so we as anime watchers knew him the moment he was on screen. Asuna looks very different in SAO II from her SAO character and while I never forget who she is, it is an attention grabbing difference I never fail to notice. So I could almost forgive Suguha for not knowing Kirito in ALO right away. Siding with the answers others gave. However I'm not willing to. He does look the same, no matter the reasons. Maybe she does not know for sure that is him, and maybe he never talked about what his character name was in SAO with her. However she never questions him about just how very much he looks like Kirigaya Kazuto. That is pure story telling over common sense.

By the time SAO II comes along and he enters GGO There should of been lines of folks whispering rumors of him being the same Kirito from SAO, hell their should of been dozens of would be fame seekers running names like KiritoSAO, KiritoR1, and many others trying to cash in on fame that was not theirs. If any thing the only reason Kirito should not gotten much notice in GGO it is because people would of assumed he was another faker cashing in on the name of the Hero of SAO.

The answer to this question, pure and short, is Story. The writer of the manga and anime needed him to, and wanted him to, have less fame and acclaim then he would of had if something like this happened in our world. They needed his own sister/cousin to be utterly clueless about who he was.