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The Sword Art Online franchise has always been a weird one, with such an interesting concept but a failure of a cast and story. I was pleased to hear that Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online or GGO for short had a brand new cast, this spinoff handled by Studio 3hz is a step in the right direction for the franchise. With the polish from what you expect from SAO but a story that doesn’t make me want to tear my hair out with pacing issues. That said that doesn’t mean the show is great, it’s good enough for a SAO show. But for ... what it is, I enjoyed it. And maybe you would too!

So with Kirito and his harem out of the fucking way, who’s going to replace him? Introducing Karen, better known as LLEN. A girl who has a complex about her height, she being 1.83m tall has always been ostracized for being an outlier and therefore has been having trouble with making friends. This doesn’t work wonders for her confidence so she strives for a new body. Something cute, something smaller. After hopping VR games in the hope that the RNG gods give her her desired body she came to GGO. Where she plays as a chibi. Less than 1.50m in height donned in pink. Combine that with a pink P-90 and she is all ready for rushing B for the motherland. In GGO she meets Pitohui, a woman who has issues. She is known for her sadistic fighting style and personality. And doesn’t fret to threaten to kill in real life if she doesn’t get what she wants in GGO. She takes on the role of LLEN’s teacher/friend before she actually learns the game, after a huge misunderstanding on her part. Deeming LLEN as a huge monster killing other players for fun. With Squad Jam on the horizon we won’t know will happen, but it’ll probably end with LLEN murdering everyone, cause P-90’s are OP as fuck and require no skill.

The story is nothing worth noting, it’s serves it’s purpose and that is keeping you watching. It does profit from the world building already done in SAO. So there is less time wasted letting you know the world and dropping you right into it. Which is fine by me, there is an improvement compared to the main SAO anime, the pacing is actually coherent. And everything is easy to follow, making the binge ability of this show pretty high.

The new cast, jokes aside is actually pretty good. The main character LLEN is adorable, and the chibi style character really suits her personality. Her uncertainty is something we all experience in life, so she is relatable to some degree. The other members of the cast is also very solid. We got all different types, from M a hunk of meat armed with a sniper rifle. Who may surprise you later down the road, Pitohui for the people who like psycho girls. (I know you guys are out there) and another chibi character by the name of Fuka. A real life friend of Karen, armed with 2 grenade launchers. What’s really enjoyable in these characters is that they all have their unique charm and personalities. The side characters are also there, but they are in comparison to the main cast rather plain. The relationships between the characters is nothing special, what is special is LLEN’s relationship with Pitohui. It’s a friendly rivalry but at the same time not. LLEN goes so far that she promises to kill Pitohui in GGO, otherwise terrible stuff is going to happen in real life. This dynamic is certainly interesting, and it’s also the driving force off the story.

The animation is great, I at first was rather scared to hear that Studio 3hz is going to handle the animation, cause I’ve never watched their works before. But I was pleased to see that it’s still the same polish I’ve come to expect from SAO. The action scenes are fluid, movement is dynamic and doesn’t feel floaty. Plus the use of tricks is minimal, with no cut outs, camera shaking and the likes. The art style is still the same one from the main series. Sharp and polished. The backgrounds are magnificent, capturing the desolate wasteland of GGO perfectly. Overall I’m really happy with how the show looks, and props to Studio 3hz for capturing the feel of SAO magnificently!

PEW PEW RATATATATA BOOM. That’s basically the sound of GGO. The individual gun sounds are good, but mixed into the battlefield and they become a mess, reminding me off a round of Red Orchestra where my ass is getting suppressed by MGs. This is both a plus and a downside, as you won’t be able to pay as much attention to the quality of the individual gun sounds, but at the same time it captures the chaos of battle perfectly. The other sounds are normal, but polished to an extend. The OST is lacking, apart from the opening performed by Eir Aoi. Which I thought was LiSa for a second. The ending is alright, but still not catchy enough to be able to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. That’s the main gripe with the OST. It simply isn’t memorable, and will be forgotten very quickly.

The verdict? Go watch it, it’s a great point to start if you hate the SAO franchise and have been derailed with the franchise. For the fans it’s more off the same stuff, with more polish and improvements in general. And to be honest, I hope this gets a season 2. As it’s better than the main show. But at this point, everything is better than the main show.