Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online is a 12 episode anime (with a recap episode in the middle) based off the light novel series, which itself was a spin-off from Sword Art Online. While set within the Sword Art Online universe, it does not involve the same protagonists, in fact, they do not appear at all. Out of all the VR games that we're familiar with within the Sword Art Online universe, this anime focuses on one of the outliers, Gun Gale Online (GGO). GGO's theme is gunfights and set in a grim post apocalyptic world. This translates into a gritty and drab tone, which is only broken by the pink outfit of the main character.
Alternative follows a new protagonist, Karen in the real world and Llenn within GGO. Karen is shy and sensitive about her height in the real world, scared to talk and make friends. Thus, she decides to dive into online VR games and ends up with GGO. Her avatar is abnormally small, short, as well as cute. Due to her nimbleness and speed, she quickly gains a reputation as The Pink Devil from the other players.
In a spin-off to the everyone-for-themselves style of Battle Royale from Sword Art Online II, we're introduced to Squad Jam. This is basically the same Battle Royale except that they are in teams. The anime takes the structure of showing off Llenn's and her partner's abilities during the tournament, before cutting back to show how it all started. While this isn't a bad storytelling style, it's not done that well here since the flashbacks are long scenes without really expanding on much. The overall pacing of the anime is slow. There is a lot of talking but all the dialogue doesn't move the plot forward much.
In keeping in vein with Sword Art Online, the characters in Alternative take the game very seriously. Unfortunately, this just makes it overly dramatic and cheesy. You'll have opponents acting as if this is a real battlefield, hesitating to shoot even though they are currently in a deadlock against an enemy. However, they would win if they'd just go ahead; this is only a game after all. The other thing is that everyone talks way too much, in a Battle Royale game like this, shoot first and don't talk otherwise you'll give your enemy an opportunity.
While the stakes are high for Llenn to win the game it doesn't necessarily make sense. It requires a fairly big leap in logic, even more so than the whole Death Gun scenario in Sword Art Online II. While the technology is supposedly a lot more advanced the anime only really takes place around eight years into the future. To have a game that manages to replicate every tiny thing like throwing ammo across ten meters and then having someone else catch it into their gun to reload it seems a bit too far-fetched.
The anime gets away with the gore that comes from shooting by showing it off as red effects. It's still undoubtedly supposed to simulate blood but the fact that you have these kind of deaths, and then in the next scene, some cutesy cheesy thing happen, is jarring. There is a major flaw with the Squad Jam structure that's being portrayed in the anime. You have multiple teams put into a large area but then just leaves them alone. Thus you get teams who will stake out at an area that gives them an advantage and that is exactly what happens. You have to rely on other teams to bother going towards and targeting those teams that are stationary and in real life, this would be extremely boring. Since the map area doesn't shrink there is little incentive to put yourself at risk by moving and you end up getting teams who are using cheaper tactics such as sniping and hit and run attacks.
If there's one thing you learn from watching this, it's that even the supposedly amazing players who managed to get past all the rounds to participate in the finals all suck. They cannot aim, they lack teamwork (which is completely the opposite of what is required to get to this point in the first place) and they supposedly are scared of just someone appearing. It's a hard pill to swallow. Further spoiling the anime's potential is the desire for the anime to constantly present tired old cliches of the guys flirting with the girls (unwanted attention at that). Seriously, this is a battlefield, don't spend minutes being lecherous, it conflicts heavily with the tone and you can't take anything seriously.
Characters get crazier as the season goes approaches its end but that makes them less and less relatable, or likable. Cheap tricks are used to try and increase the tension but it's all very predictable. When it references the events of Sword Art Online II, it is supposed to be a cool thing but the execution is lame. Despite in a game where the main method of attack is to shoot guns, predictably (and this was the same as in Sword Art Online II), the characters settle their differences in hand to hand combat. It's a bit of an anticlimax and a cheap cop off with the happily ever after type of ending.
Overall, Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online could have been good with the focus on a darker genre. However, it has a messy storyline, implausible plot points and events, and some extremely cheesy dialogue. It doesn't go to the point of ruining the anime but does end up mediocre as a result.
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