Kikuoka Seijirō

Kikuoka Seijirou (菊岡誠二郎, Kikuoka Seijirō?) is a member of Second Separated Advanced Network Division, Technology Bureau, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, or «Virtual Division».[3] He uses the handle Chrysheight (クリスハイト, Kurisuhaito?) (formed from the English words «Chrysanthemum» and «Height»[4]) in «ALfheim Online» (ALO).[5] He supposedly uses this account to get more familiar with VRMMO players, but Kirigaya Kazuto (Kirito) speculates that the true reason for using this account is to gather information.[4] It is later revealed that Kikuoka is actually a Lieutenant Colonel working at the JSDF who voluntarily transferred over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication for the sake of his plans on Project Alicization.

Chronology

Extra Edition

Seijirou had the SAO Survivor School set up an emergency counseling session with Kazuto, to his surprise, in order to gather more information regarding the events of SAO, and its aftermath. The game's logs only displayed the locations of players at certain times and, with Kayaba Akihiko's death, Seijirou wanted to hear Kazuto's story. Kazuto, after informing Seijirou that he had to be somewhere later, agreed to tell him everything that happened: from the incidents in SAO, to Kirito's "victory" over Heathcliff, and then explained the situation after he discovered that Asuna, along with 300 other SAO players, was trapped by Sugou Nobuyuki, and how he came to locate her in ALfheim Online.

Seijirou is later seen calling Kazuto through his cellphone.

Phantom Bullet Arc

Kikuoka Seijirou made his first appearance at the beginning of the Phantom Bullet arc as an acquaintance of Kazuto, contacting him for advice concerning a troubling matter. He introduced the Death Gun problem, trying to debate on how Death Gun could kill through the tamper-proof, safety-conscious AmuSphere. He and Kazuto reasoned that such a feat was impossible, but he convinced Kazuto to investigate for a sizable reward.

After Kirito entered the «Bullet of Bullets» and encountered the Death Gun after the death of Pale Rider, Asuna contacted Seijirou and got him to log in to ALfheim Online where she interrogated him to find out the true reason behind Kazuto converting his avatar to Gun Gale Online. He, after extreme pressure, revealed everything to Asuna.

In the resolution, he met with Kazuto and Asada Shino for a debriefing of the incident and apologized for the danger. Kazuto also brought up the issue of the dangers that some aspects of VRMMO games pose, such as invisibility being a gateway to misbehavior.

Alicization Arc

Alicization Running

In Alicization Running, it was revealed that he is a Lieutenant Colonel from the Japanese government's Self-Defence Force, and is in charge of Project Alicization. He oversaw its conception and formulation, directing the soul cloning of newborn babies and then the acceleration of the Underworld society.

It was also revealed that he had taken advantage of the «Gun Gale Online Incident» to form a relationship with Kazuto. His true goal was revealed to have been enlisting Kazuto's help for Project Alicization.

Trivia

• Seijirou is a man who likes talking about disgusting things. For example, he excitedly talked about the making of a Kiviak in great detail in a cafe.
• Seijirou's character name, Chrysheight, comes from Seijirou's family name, Kikuoka (菊岡, Kikuoka?), which is written using two kanji: Chrysanthemum (菊, Kiku?) and height (岡, oka?).[7]