Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online (Japanese: ソードアート・オンライン オルタナティブ ガンゲイル・オンライン, Hepburn: Sōdo Āto Onrain Orutanatibu: Gan Geiru Onrain) is a Japanese light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa and illustrated by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. The series is a spin-off of Reki Kawahara's Sword Art Online series. A manga adaptation by Tadadi Tamori launched in 2015, and an anime television series adaptation produced by studio 3Hz aired between April and June 2018. A second season produced by A-1 Pictures premiered in October 2024. Both the light novel and the manga adaptation are published in North America by Yen Press, while the anime is licensed by Aniplex of America.
Due to the incident that occurred in VRMMORPGSword Art Online—where 10,000 players were trapped in the game on launch day—the popularity of VR games has plummeted due to fear of similar incidents. The NerveGear, SAO's VR device, was recalled and destroyed, but with the launch of its successor, the AmuSphere, combined with release of the license-free development support package the "Seed", the popularity of VR games saw a sudden resurgence.
The story follows Karen Kohiruimaki, a university student with a complex about her abnormal height. She begins playing a VR game called Gun Gale Online after it gives her the short, cute avatar that she has always wanted.
An anime television series adaptation was announced at the Dengeki Bunko Fall Festival 2017 event in October 2017.[6] It is produced by Egg Firm and animated by studio 3Hz, and directed by Masayuki Sakoi, with scripts written by Yōsuke Kuroda, [7] and character designs by Yoshio Kosakai.[8][9] The opening theme song is "Ryūsei" (流星, lit.'Meteor') performed by Eir Aoi,[10] and the ending theme song is "To See the Future" performed by Tomori Kusunoki as her character LLENN.[11][12]
The series aired from April 8 to June 30, 2018,[13][14] on Tokyo MX and other networks.[8][14][a] The series was released on 6 home video sets with 2 episodes each, for a total of 12 episodes.[15]Aniplex of America licensed and simulcasts the series on Crunchyroll and Hulu.[16]Anime Limited announced that they had acquired the series for release in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[17]Madman Entertainment licensed the series for release in Australia and New Zealand,[18] simulcasting it on AnimeLab.[19]
A second season was announced at the Dengeki Bunko 30th anniversary event in July 2023. The main cast and staff members returned from the first season,[20] with A-1 Pictures as the studio, replacing 3Hz.[21] It aired from October 5 to December 21, 2024.[22][23][b] Muse Asia reported that they have licensed the distribution of Gun Gale Online II in Asia.[24] The English dub was streamed on Crunchyroll on November 1, 2024.[25]
Airsoft collaboration
To promote the anime, Tokyo Marui made a limited edition FN P90 submachine gun with a pink finish as part of a collaboration with Keiichi Sigsawa and Kōji Akimoto, the latter who worked on the air gun's color.[26][27] The pink P90 was raffled to the public through a raffle in a collaboration with Pizza Hut Japan, in which two of them were awarded to contestants.[28]
A limited edition Vorpal Bunny pistol made by Tokyo Marui was announced for a release in 2019. It was eventually released on April 3, 2020.
Video game
Llenn, Pitohui, M, and Fukaziroh made their video game debut in Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet as a free update.[29] They later have a major role in the DLC episode "Dissonance of the Nexus", which is also the first time they interact with the main series characters.
Reception
During the first half of 2015, the series was the eleventh best-selling light novel series,[30] with its first and second volumes ranking at eighth and seventeenth place, respectively.[31] The fourth volume also managed to be the 25th best-selling novel during the first half of 2016.[32] By May 2018, the series had one million copies in print.[33]
Notes
^Tokyo MX listed the series premiere as April 7, 2018, at 24:00, which is effectively April 8 at midnight JST
^Tokyo MX listed the second season premiere as October 4, 2024, at 24:00, which is effectively October 5 at midnight JST
