Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

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tl;dr: A faulted adaptation of a pretty solid story about characters playing a gun based MMO carried entirely by it’s excellent action.

This is the manga adaptation to a light novel series that is a spinoff of Sword Art Online, specifically of the third arc Phantom Bullet. Plot wise the two don’t intersect at all and thus the only connection they have is that they take place in the same world and involve the same VRMMO, Gun Gale Online. As such this work should be standalone, but it doesn’t quite feel like it. There’s a lot of terms and mechanics, including those that are pretty important ... plot wise, that are mentioned in passing or given incredibly short explanations. If one has familiarity with GGO and the world of SAO then it should be incredibly easy to follow what is being talked about, but I feel things aren’t explained well enough for readers that are completely new to the franchise. As such, I would very much recommend not starting with this, but rather getting through the main story of SAO through Phantom Bullet before this. Alternatively, just reading the light novel or watching the anime adaptation are also options as they don’t seem to the same issues as the manga adaptation.

Actually, the anime adaptation overall I think does a much better job than the manga in a lot of ways even beyond the better explanations. The most prominent reason for that would be that the anime adapts volumes 1-3, while the manga only adapts volume 1 and part of volume 2. Furthermore, the manga rushes the part it adapts from volume 2 quite a bit and then ends at a random spot in the middle of the arc in such a way that there’s no sense of being an ending whatsoever. It would probably have been better for the manga to just stop after finishing adapting volume 1 rather than the half assed and half lived attempt at doing part of volume 2. Thus, I suppose the manga is fine if you just want to try out the series without getting too into it, but to properly experience the series you’ll have to go to the anime or light novel eventually, so if you’re already sure that this is something you’ll be interested in, you might as well just start with them.

Now as for SAOAGGO in general, it’s a fun take on GGO that’s very different in what it’s trying to do as compared to the main series. There’s some depth in terms of characters with themes such as using VRMMOs to live different lives and thus grow in ways that it’s impossible to in real life, though as far as the manga gets this is just lightly touched on. However, there’s no grand plot like the main series has. It’s really just the story of characters playing the game. The characters are okay, but I didn’t really find them all that likable or particularly worth getting invested in. As such, the story relies heavily on action to carry it, and thankfully the action is good enough to be able to do so. It’s paced very well and makes really good use of the game mechanics in lots of interesting and unexpected ways for fast moving thrill-ride that was pretty fun to experience.

The art is okay but not particularly exceptional. The designs I felt were somewhat dull though as compared to the GGO designs in SAO. The designs here go for a much more realistic feel as compared to the more sci-fi designs that GGO in the main series has, and while that was kind of interesting at first due to it being pretty novel as far as the genre is concerned, once I got used to them I just found them kind of dull.

Gun Gale Online was a story that took place in the SAO universe, with a fresh new cast along with familiar faces.

This manga is not a complete adaptation (the last chapter says to continue the story in the light novels), but it does feature one "arc" of some sort.

The arc is mildly enjoyable. Even though there is cliche plot armor applied at certain places, the tension does seem to build in places with an abrupt twist or two. The current plot does feature some character development by the end of the book, though the overarching plotline leaves unanswered questions that would probably be ... explored more in the light novel.

Overall, it's pretty short so it doesn't really waste your time and serves as a sample for the light novel.