Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

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.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
First light novel volume cover, featuring Llenn (left) and Karen Kohiruimaki (right)
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
(Sōdo Āto Onrain Orutanatibu: Gan Geiru Onrain)
Genre
Light novel
Written byKeiichi Sigsawa
Illustrated byKouhaku Kuroboshi
Published byASCII Media Works
English publisher
ImprintDengeki Bunko
DemographicMale
Original runDecember 10, 2014 – present
Volumes14 (List of volumes)
Further information
Manga
Written byKeiichi Sigsawa
Illustrated byTadadi Tamori
Published byASCII Media Works
English publisher
  • NA: Yen Press
MagazineDengeki Maoh
DemographicSeinen
Original runDecember 27, 2015January 21, 2021
Volumes4 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed byMasayuki Sakoi
Written byYōsuke Kuroda
Music byStarving Trancer
Studio
Licensed by
Original networkTokyo MX, BS11, GYT, GTV, MBS, TV Aichi, Nittele Plus (S1), AT-X (S2)
Original run April 8, 2018 – present
Episodes21 (List of episodes)
icon Anime and manga portal

Plot

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Due to the incident that occurred in VR MMORPG Sword 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.

Media

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Print

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Dengeki Bunko announced on September 18, 2014, that Keiichi Sigsawa would be writing a light novel based on Reki Kawahara's Sword Art Online light novel series. The series is supervised by Kawahara and illustrated by Kouhaku Kuroboshi, and ASCII Media Works published the first novel under the Dengeki imprint on December 10, 2014.[2] During their panel at Anime NYC on November 18, 2017, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the series.[3]

Tadadi Tamori launched a manga adaptation in ASCII Media Works seinen manga magazine Dengeki Maoh on October 27, 2015.[4] During their panel at Sakura-Con on April 15, 2017, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the series in North America.[5]

Anime

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The Tokyo Marui P90 on display inside an air gun store in Japan

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 premiered on October 5, 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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ Tokyo MX listed the series premiere as April 7, 2018, at 24:00, which is effectively April 8 at midnight JST
  2. ^ Tokyo MX listed the second season premiere as October 4, 2024, at 24:00, which is effectively October 5 at midnight JST

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 1 (light novel): Squad Jam". Yen Press. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Kino's Journey's Sigsawa Writes Sword Art Online Novel". Anime News Network. September 19, 2014. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  3. ^ "Yen Press Adds New Sword Art Online, WorldEnd, Little Witch Academia, Fruits Basket, Star Wars Titles". Anime News Network. November 18, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-12-27. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  4. ^ マオウ10周年の読み切り祭りに田中久仁彦、武田すんら、新連載も一挙開始. Natalie (in Japanese). October 27, 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  5. ^ "Yen Press Licenses Saga of Tanya the Evil, Acca 13, One Week Friends, A Polar Bear in Love, More". Anime News Network. April 15, 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-06-13. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  6. ^ "Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online TV Anime Announced". Anime News Network. September 30, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-01. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  7. ^ "Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Anime Premieres in April". Anime News Network. January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online Reveals Visual, Studio 3Hz". Anime News Network. January 31, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-01-31. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  9. ^ "Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online Anime Reveals TV Ad, Staff". Anime News Network. February 7, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-02-08. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  10. ^ "Eir Aoi Performs Opening Theme for Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online Anime". Anime News Network. March 7, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  11. ^ "Tomori Kusunoki Performs Ending Theme for Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online Anime". Anime News Network. February 17, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-02-17. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  12. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 22, 2018). "Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online Anime Reveals Ending Song Title in Video". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2018-03-23. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  13. ^ "Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Anime Premieres in April". Anime News Network. January 3, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online Anime Premieres on April 7". Anime News Network. March 10, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-03-10. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  15. ^ "BD/DVD Vol.6". gungale-online.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  16. ^ Ressler, Karen (March 30, 2018). "Aniplex USA to Stream Persona 5, Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online on Crunchyroll, Hulu". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2018-03-31. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  17. ^ Stevens, Josh A. (October 28, 2018). "Anime Limited To Release Sword Art Online Alternative & More". Anime UK News. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  18. ^ "Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Vol. 1 (Eps 1-6) (Blu-Ray)". Madman Entertainment. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  19. ^ Bortignon, Tegan (April 17, 2018). "AnimeLab Spring Simulcast Lineup 2018!". AnimeLab. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  20. ^ Loo, Egan (July 15, 2023). "Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online Anime Gets 2nd Season". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  21. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 17, 2024). "Studio 3Hz Transfers Animation Planning, Production Business to A-1 Pictures (Update)". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  22. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 23, 2024). "Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II Anime Reveals October Premiere in 2nd Teaser Video". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  23. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 2, 2024). "Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II Anime Premieres on October 4". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 2, 2024. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  24. ^ Rafael Antonio Pineda (2024-07-22). "Muse Asia Licenses Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II Anime". Anime News Network.
  25. ^ https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/announcements/2024/10/31/sword-art-online-gun-gale-online-season-2-english-dub-release-date
  26. ^ "Tokyo Marui P-90 Version LLenn Update". Popular Airsoft. September 5, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  27. ^ "Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online Inspires P-chan Airsoft Gun". Anime News Network. July 1, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  28. ^ "Gun Gale Online Takes Aim at Pizza Hut with Signed Merchandise Campaign!". Tokyo Otaku Mode. June 7, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  29. ^ Sato (2018-02-18). "Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet Details What's New In Recent Free Update". Siliconera.
  30. ^ "Top-Selling Light Novels in Japan by Series: 2015 (First Half)". Anime News Network. May 31, 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  31. ^ "Top-Selling Light Novels in Japan by Volume: 2015 (First Half)". Anime News Network. June 2, 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-12-05. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  32. ^ "Top-Selling Light Novels in Japan by Volume: 2016 (First Half)". Anime News Network. May 29, 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  33. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (April 29, 2018). ""Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online" Novel Reaches One Million Copies in Print". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on 2018-04-30. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
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