

In _Sword Art Online_ , there are a number of times Kirito's eye colour
changes. Originally in _SAO_ and _ALO_ , his eyes were kinda a grey colour:

![SAO](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9YNc7m.jpg)

![ALO](https://i.stack.imgur.com/cOYIXm.jpg)

When Kirito is killed by Heathcliff though, his eyes go golden when he comes
back to life:

![Golden Eyes](https://i.stack.imgur.com/baOUTm.png)

Now, I could just assume the eye colour change was a sign of him surpassing
the system with his will (as acknowledged by Kayaba).

However, in episode 22 of season 1, when his HP is going down after being
impaled by a Guardian's sword, as he is struggling to reach the door inside
the World Tree, before he dies, his eye colour has changed. It also changes
again during the Raid Battle in the World Tree when he produces that attack
which allows him to breach the wall of Guardians. In these two instances, I
don't see how his will is surpassing.

Considering also that his Avatar Data at this time was the SAO Data which was
made to look like him, what is causing Kirito's eyes to change colour?


CC BY-SA 4.0
2016-06-19T04:57:11.800
33826
2018-10-11T13:20:35.670
2018-10-11T13:19:52.650
2516
1587
question
sword-art-online
What is causing Kirito's eyes to change colour?


From what I have gathered, I couldn't find any information of why his eye
color changed, but from what I can see, the most likely reason is as you said,
his will was strong enough to surpass the system. The reason probably is of
course Asuna.

From the three cases that you have mentioned in your question, Asuna was
involved in all of them:

  1. When he was killed, Asuna was killed right before he was, he got too angry and surpassed the system.
  2. The second case where he battled but failed is because Asuna is so close, he is so desperate to see her again and he surpassed the system (maybe even with some help from Yui).
  3. It was also the same with the third case, except this time with more help, he was able to defeat the guardians and reach the World Tree.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2016-06-19T11:19:35.053
33831
2018-10-11T13:19:55.010
2018-10-11T13:19:55.010
2516
23346
33826
answer


My theory about it is that he has the willpower to surpass the system. In
reality, nobody knows if his eyes turn amber.

What I've realized is that anime characters such as Kirito and Mikado (
_Durarara!!_ and _Durarara!!x2_ ) both have grey eyes. When their anger builds
up, they let it out.

So basically what I'm trying to say is that he has so much willpower,
commitment, and strength that causes his eyes to turn a different color.
(Amber; a shade of gold)


CC BY-SA 4.0
2016-09-15T03:01:42.890
36356
2018-10-11T13:20:34.030
2018-10-11T13:20:34.030
2516
28270
33826
answer


It's because he gets mad. When his eyes turn gold, it means that he is angry.

This happened when he fights Heathcliff, and in the world tree, and when
fighting the red (sorry, forgot his name). It also happened when he fights the
first monster on floor one, in one moment his eyes are grey, and when he gets
hit by the monster his eyes turn a little gold.

So, my thought is that golden eyes mean he is pissed or angry.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-01-04T05:15:06.440
38249
2018-10-11T13:20:35.670
2018-10-11T13:20:35.670
2516
30129
33826
answer


It usually happens when he's willing to do the extreme:

  1. The first instance in SAO he has the will to kill Kayaba and free everyone.
  2. The second time it happens is when he's trying to fly up the World Tree in ALO and he's empowered with the will to save Asuna.
  3. He also gets it in his final battle with Death Gun or Sterben in GGO.

It's mentioned by him in the _Extra_ (1-hour special that takes place between
_SAO_ and _SAO2_ ), but I don't remember exactly what he says though. It also
happens in the movie, _Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale_ at the end.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2017-09-17T19:20:49.907
42377
2018-10-11T13:19:57.213
2018-10-11T13:19:57.213
2516
35685
33826
answer


It's when his system-overriding willpower thing is active apparently. It
doesn't necessarily mean he's angry, like during the [Ordinal Scale
movie](http://sao-movie.net/us/). Maybe it's something intrinsic to Kirito or
something. Something in his brain or something supernatural.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-19T05:51:26.353
42392
2017-09-20T11:46:33.380
2017-09-20T11:46:33.380
35707
35707
33826
answer


We don't see his eye turn when he fights Oberon. Why? I don't think it's that
he's pissed or pushing his limits. It's also only in the virtual world. When
he fights Suguo, it doesn't happen. So why?

Well, we get a hint that the server to SAO is similar to Alfheim. GGO would be
the same with stats and such. We saw him say he deleted his stats but not
skills. Yui also explained the seed uses the cardinal system, meaning GGO
included. This means that he has dual wield and everything else skills
related. I think his golden or yellow eyes are a skill he learned after
beating gleam eyes. He never had them until after that battle. Maybe he
obtained it on a mission.

Just an idea.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-04T00:22:01.707
44521
2018-02-04T00:58:03.890
2018-02-04T00:58:03.890
2516
37986
33826
answer