Review of Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

While Gun Gale Online has been lauded as a show fixing all the problems of Sword Art Online (the franchise it’s a spinoff of), it also created some new ones. It’s a very pleasant and fun show when you watch it with low expectations and you only care about the action scenes and the main characters doing epic stuff; but it suffers from a plot that borders on “so bad it’s good” and doesn’t expand on any of the themes and character arcs it seems to want to explore. It still remains a very fun romp, slightly elevated by an all-female cast that evades most,if not all, anime stereotypes about women; it made me smile throughout, but I will probably forget it pretty quickly.

Art and Animation:
On the technical side of things, GGO is completely average. The animation is fine for an action anime and I never had the impression the director was taking shortcuts during the action scenes. Since the protagonist’s strategy is based on her speed and agility, the animation does do a good job of showing her swiftness and the fluidity of her movements. The settings are pretty bland, both online and offline: for what is supposed to be a gritty, apocalyptic game, the scenery is very generic and I can’t imagine wanting to spend that much time there.
The character design is a little bit disappointing too: except for LLEN (who, yes, is a typical pink-clad moe girl with bunny ears, but this actually does have a character-based explanation), everyone else is very basic. Of course I don’t expect secondary characters to be as unique and flashy as the protagonist, but I do find it a bit unrealistic that no one else wants to customize their avatar like LLEN does. It all adds to the dreary (not in the fun way) atmosphere of the game. One thing I did appreciate a lot is the lack of fanservice: this anime has almost only female characters, and all of them wear pretty realistic and sensible clothing when going into battle. It’s very nice to see an “empowering”, all-female cast that shows you don’t need to look or dress like a fashion model to ride tanks and shoot guns.

Music:
I liked the opening a lot; I never skipped it and I think it has lots of replay value. The ending is one of those generic calm, cutesy endings and I’ve already forgotten how it goes. As for the background music… Say what you want about Sword Art Online, but their music was composed by Yuki Kajiura, who can make everything seem epic. Yes, you could argue that she didn’t bring her A-material to the series, but even just the Main Theme she composed has enriched SAO more than it deserves. Of course, GGO can’t keep up with that and the music is way less memorable. Nevertheless, it’s still a good soundtrack that serves its purpose well. It may not be as epic and grandiose as SAO’s, but maybe it doesn’t need to be. The fast electronic/rock music is perfect for LLEN’s action scenes, makes everything even more exciting and dynamic, and I really can’t imagine anything else playing in the background.

Characters:
I was mainly drawn to this series by the premise of LLEN’s/Karen’s character: I am 1,83 cm/6 feet tall, the protagonist’s exact height, and having grown up in a pretty short country where I was always taller than even the boys, I suffered a lot because of it as a kid and despised my body. Being an anime fan, where the female ideal is a perpetual middle-schooler, also didn’t help, and I would have given everything to turn into a petite kawaii girl who could pull off all those cute cosplay outfits. All this to say: I perfectly understand LLEN’s motivation and identified with her a lot. That said, I did fill in some of the blanks with my own experience, and LLEN’s character has lots of blanks.

I think the main problem is that, like in most “virtual reality” stories, we don’t see the characters interact with the real world a lot. I really wish we could’ve spent some more time with LLEN offline, maybe see some bullying flashbacks or some disappointing moments in her life caused by her height. The anime only tells us about her vague sensation of perpetual discomfort; one I perfectly identify with, but I think it would have been more impactful to show (instead of tell) us some more about her body issues.

That said, LLEN is still a relatable character that’s easy to root for, especially if you too have a reason to escape the real world.
The other characters are even less developed, but since LLEN is the series’ undisputable protagonist, they don’t really need to be. M and Pito are mostly there to introduce a mystery element to the story (even though their characterization goes off the rails towards the end), and LLEN’s best friend is hilarious and a joy to watch as a supporting character.

Plot:
In contrast to SAO, videogames in this anime aren’t a prison and everyone can leave when they want. A common criticism I’ve seen is that this makes GGO less intense and watchable. Is there a point in watching a fight scene when you know it all takes place in a videogame and there are no stakes?
There is a point, and it’s the absolute joy LLEN feels while playing. Knowing that she’s so insecure and unsatisfied in real life, and then seeing her run and hide behind rocks and cavort through the air and doing all the things her normal body keeps her from doing, seeing her just be comfortable in her own skin, is amazing. That’s what makes every action scene such a shot of pure happiness and adrenaline: seeing the happiness and adrenaline on the protagonist’s face. It’s like watching sports, watching someone having the absolute time of their life doing what they do best.
In the screenwriters’ shoes, I would’ve gone all in on this: make some sort of sports anime in which LLEN learns something about herself through playing, maybe exploring the themes of escapism, self-worth, the implications of virtual reality in general etc. Unfortunately, that is not the direction the anime ends up going in.

We do get our high-stakes plot eventually, and while the race to save someone’s life may sound like an exciting premise, these more plot-oriented episodes kill any budding character development we may have had. The character this all revolves around, the one LLEN does everything to save, just isn’t deep enough; their motivations are never fully revealed, not even at the end, and the writers sadly resolve to the generic and uninteresting “They’re just insane!” anime trope, which kills any psychological/sociological themes the series may have had.
The finale is particularly disappointing, making everything climax in one big joke. Comedy absolutely does have its place in this series, but I would have loved a more serious ending with a satisfying explanation of the characters’ motivations.

Enjoyment:
Despite all the criticisms I’ve levelled at this anime, I really enjoyed watching it. It’s because of the very good action scenes, the relatable main character, but especially because it’s an exciting, female-led action and adventure story that doesn’t resort to any of the stale anime clichés about women. The protagonists aren’t wearing skimpy outfits, aren’t good at fighting because they feel the need to protect a male MC, aren’t part of a harem and their lives don’t revolve around romance. They’re just a group of girlfriends living their best lives by shooting guns and grenade throwers. Had the anime focused on character development and friendships, this might even have become one of my favorite series’. Where GGO fails is in wanting to have a typical high-stakes action plot at any cost without keeping the tone consistent. It’s a fun ride, but don’t expect anything profound or innovative about it.