Charlie (チャーリー, Chārī) was the tutorial NPC of Sword Art Online. He was an unintentional member of the Moonlit Black Cats.
Appearance
Charlie wore a set of dark gray armor, consisting of a chest and shoulder plates, underneath which he wore a purple tunic. Charlie's weapon of choice was a mace, which was paired with a small kite shield in his left hand.
Personality
Charlie was programmed with an overly cheery personality, which bordered on annoying, and would spout overly basic, and sometimes slightly dodgy, info, which made Keita deem as "not a good tutorial".
When he wasn't being interacted with or was in a situation that didn't require his help, Charlie would just stand or sit in silence with a big cheery smile on his face as the players interacted around him.
Like all the other NPCs, when his quests weren't being interacted with, Charlie would wait for approximately four seconds before shouting an order that was related to his quest or a questionable motivational speech.
Biography
Aincrad Arc
Pre-Episode 3
Charlie was created to help players get the grips of the game, but his advice wasn't very good, as he spouted overly basic, and sometimes slightly dodgy, instructions. This might be because he was created during one of Kayaba Akihiko's sleepless nights.[1][2]
On November 6, 2022, the game's launch day, his tutorial quest was activated by a player named Keita. However, instead of listening to him, Keita deliberately ignored Charlie's instructions, as he planned to use the NPC as an expendable soldier, effectively kidnapping him. Because Charlie didn't have any boundary restrictions on his quest, and because Kayaba didn't program any way to track his location, Charlie followed Keita throughout the game.
Keita eventually recruited two more NPCS, named Gary and Derrick, and a girl named Sachi, who suffered from lag due to her bad internet connection from living "in the boonies", and together, they formed a Guild called the Moonlit Black Cats.[1]
Episode 3
On April 8, 2023, in the Floor 11 town of Taft, Charlie was present when Keita swindled Kirito into their Guild with his Charisma Hat. After Keita explains that most of the Guild's members are NPCs, Charlie said two of his questionable instructions. He was also present when Sachi accidentally set the tavern on fire with her lag.
The Guild then went on many adventures, such when they killed a Killer Mantis together in the Sunshine Forest on Floor 20.
On May 16, 2023, Sachi ran away. Keita tried to run after her, but Charlie and the other NPCs ended up inadvertently blocking the door. Annoyed, Keita sends Kirito message explaining the situation, asking him to find Sachi for him. Charlie takes this opportunity to advise Keita to take a break, as he's been playing for 4608 hours. Keita yells at him, as he doesn't have a choice but to play the game, after which the Charlie proceeds to clip through the wall, much to Keita's annoyance.
On June 21, 2023, Keita announces to the Guild that they're now in debt to the game's Mafia. After informing them that they must retrieve an item from a Dungeon on the Floor 27, Keita uses his Charisma Hat to talk his way out of going with them, teleporting away on Taft's Teleport Gate the next day.
During the expedition, Charlie was tasked with holding the Guild's Potions. However, Gary triggers a trap in the Dungeon, summoning a bunch of Slaughternauts and Murder-Golems. Gary then uses one of the Teleport Crystals he was carrying to teleport out of the trap, leaving the rest to die. Charlie was then killed by one of the enemies.[1]
Post-Episode 3
It's unclear if Charlie respawned after he died, but if he did, he was deleted after the game got purged following Kayaba's defeat.[2]
Legacy
Due to the deaths of Charlie and the other members of the Moonlit Black Cats, Kirito developed severe PTSD. Kirito tried to retrieve an item that he thought would revive his friends, but when was faced with the reality that there was no way to bring them back, he retreated into his sarcastic persona and became unwilling to make any more emotional connections, fearing that he'd lose them too.[1] He was eventually brought out of his self-induced loneliness by Klein and Asuna about a year later.[3]
At some point, Kirito fought the Mafia's leader, Don Fluffles, to avenge his fallen friends, which resulted in Fluffles falling off a cliff and losing his position as head of the Mafia.[4] When Kirito reunited with Gary, he brutally murdered him out of revenge for Derrick and the other members, although he mostly did it in the name of Sachi.[5]
Because Keita stole the tutorial NPC, this resulted in the deaths thousands of players, especially in the first month, as Charlie was no longer available to teach them. This eventually became one of the main reasons Kayaba started the death game.[2]
Differences from the Original
In the original "Charlie" was called "Tetsuo", and he was a real player. He went to school with other members of the Moonlit Black Cats (except for Kirito) and they were all members of their school's computer club.
Voice Actor
- In the Japanese dub, Tesuo is voiced by Kenji Akabane.
- In the English dub, Tesuo is voiced by Tyler Shamy.
- In the abridged series, Charlie is voiced by LordMegatronG1.
Sightings
| Aincrad Arc | ||||||||||||
| Opening: | Absent | |||||||||||
| 1. "Episode 1": | Absent | 7. "Episode 7": | Absent | |||||||||
| 2. "Episode 2": | Absent | 8. "Episode 8": | Absent | |||||||||
| 3. "Episode 3": | Appears | 9. "Episode 9": | Mentioned | |||||||||
| 4. "Episode 4": | Absent | 10. "Episode 10": | Absent | |||||||||
| 5. "Episode 5": | Mentioned | 11. "Episode 11": | Mentioned | |||||||||
| 6. "Episode 6": | Absent | |||||||||||
| Fairy Dance Arc | ||||||||||||
| Opening: | Absent | |||||||||||
| 1. "Episode 12": | Absent | 5. "Episode 16": | Absent | |||||||||
| 2. "Episode 13": | Absent | 6. "Episode 17": | Flashback | |||||||||
| 3. "Episode 14": | Flashback | |||||||||||
| 4. "Episode 15": | Absent | |||||||||||
References
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