game – Page 2 – Anime QandA

The Shape of Love – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 4 Review

The Shape of Love – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 4

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 4.

So, the show about the dead girl who’s not dead but alive in a computer game, yeah? That’s the one!

So what happens in this episode? Not a lot to be honest–it’s kind of doing something I thought it might but kinda hoped it wouldn’t… or rather hoped it would do better.

And what’s that exactly? Love triangle, or is it a love square? Whatever shape it is, it’s definetly not a 3-dimensional shape that’s for damn sure!

Scathing! And I don’t even mean to be, I like this show a lot, more than probably a lot of people watching it but the central ~mystery~ of how a girl who died 6 years ago in real life can be alive and kicking in a computer game is inherently compelling. And at the start of the episode I thought we were going to begin exploring that as Asahi finds a red shard that upon touching it fills her (as well as Haruto and Satsuki who are standing beside her) with a flood of random ‘memories’ that Asahi is quick to attribute to “where she’s been the last 6 years”.

I’ve said it before but this show has some really nice shots.

So she’s not dead then? Well at the very least it’s maybe where her brain/memories have been. But ’tis but a tease as we have to go into love-triangle territory with Satsuki getting jealous about every bit of attention Haruto is showing Asahi–even if it’s from a completely innocent, non-romantic place! And what’s especially annoying is Satsuki is a good character with a decent amount of depth but then she’s stymied by these ‘shitty romance’ tropes that present her in a completely unsympathetic way. And they’re not even consistent with it either, one minute she’s clenching her fists and shouting in a restaraunt (in the real world, when Haruto and Satsuki are having lunch together) and the next scene she’s more or less fine.

Is that a lower-case ‘h’ or a giraffe on his shirt?

Doesn’t she have every right to be jealous though, especially if she has feelings for Haruto? No. Or rather, there’s better ways to go about it, I know they’re just stupid teenagers and I shouldn’t be coming into this with my wise (ha!) opinions on relationships but if Satsuki wants Haruto to know how she feels just talk to the guy! And I mean of course she’s going to dote on Asahi more than her, he’s thought she was dead for the last 6 years and he blamed himself for his death, that’s not something that’s easily compartmentalised!

I suppose so. But wait; didn’t you say this was perhaps a ‘love square’? Where’s the extra corner? That would come in the form of Takanori, who has appeared a couple of times up until now but has been kind of peripheral. He’s got the hots for Asahi—big time! And so he and his guild are going to cause some trouble for Haruto, who he deems unworthy of being by her side and the episode ends with them about to go head-to-head in a one-on-one fight!

Exciting? Eh, it’s okay; it’s at least more interesting than people getting huffy that a boy isn’t paying enough attention to them. But to be honest the whole “romance” aspect of this show is really kind of cliché and tired and this is coming from someone who has seen hardly any romance anime’s, so my experience with this genre is already pretty limited! I know they’ll be intermittently focusing on the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of Asahi’s existence in later episodes throughout, but it’s pretty clear they are going to stretch it out by having a lot of semi-uninteresting ‘romance’-type stuff in between. Oh well, at least the characters are cute and it’s a pretty show to look at!

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

Haruto and Asahi’s High School Re’Union – Episode 1 Review
Ghost In The Machine – Episode 2 Review
Promises Beyond The Grave – Episode 3 Review

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Promises Beyond The Grave – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 3 Review

Promises Beyond The Grave – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 3

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 3.

So what happens in this episode? Kinda not a lot actually—but at the same time it’s an emotionally important episode, and the fact they gave it a bit of time to properly resonate was either a smart decision on the part of the writer or just them stretching this premise out for the required number of episodes—either way it worked!

That’s great!… what’s it about damn it? Oh yeah, so Satsuki starts the episode still not convinced that this version of Asahi is in any way ‘real’—after all Asahi died 6 years ago in real life, she couldn’t possibly be anything other than leftover code, right? Adding to her objections is the fact that Asahi has yet to perform her signature ability to read the future, which is apparently something that requires a conscious mind to perform.

Pretty damning evidence I suppose. Indeed. We see a flashback to 6+ years ago when the ‘Subaru’ gang exchanged rings. He also made a promise to Asahi, and her to him—that they would protect each other no matter what. This is the galvanising moment for their friendship and so both Haruto and Satsuki decide to look for answers regarding Asahi’s current state. They head back to the dungeon where all the hardship began—where Asahi died, while there the mysterious loli Elicia re-summons the boss that first killed Asahi. A battle ensues and they eventually defeat it, with the help of both Haruto’s awakened ‘sense’ and that of Asahi—which all but convinces them that this is the real Asahi.

“The power is *yours!*” Oops wrong show, also wrong decade.

You said not a lot happened, that sounds like a lot to me! It’s more that there’s not a lot of forward momentum in the narrative, but as I said the emotional component to the story at this point is far more important… the ‘Subaru’ gang is reforming and they’re getting (probably) closer to an answer as to Asahi’s condition.

But what do they hope to achieve? I mean even if her mind is perfectly preserved ‘in-game’ her irl body is dead and buried. Way to bring it back to stark reality! But yes, that is correct. And that’s a part of the allure of this story, we could sit through this entire story only to find there’s no ‘happy ending’—I know it’s a little early to be looking at conclusions but I’d hope for an ending more melancholic and realistic than something that’s too light and fanciful. But it’s hard to know what kind of show this wants to be—on the one hand it’s dark enough to kill of a grade-schooler in the first episode. But on the other hand it’s got naked shenanigans and borderline harem-style jealousy developing between Haruto, Asahi and Satsuki.

Oh boy… “shenanigans” again huh? To be fair they’re done sparingly enough as to not break the tone completely, and the love triangle was established from the get-go so it’s not completely out of nowhere. Though any potential ‘romance’ between Haruto and Asahi is somewhat made more questionable by the fact that Asahi still has the mind and attitude of a grade-schooler, whereas Haruto is a moody clueless high-school boy. That’s probably part of the reason he—on several occasions—says “don’t hug me” to Asahi.

Yeah, I’ve got hair where there wasn’t hair before!

And what are you expecting from the show going forward? Well there’s still 3 more members to re-join the ‘Subaru’ gang—I imagine that’ll take up at least another 3 episodes. After that it’s anyone’s guess, this show is kind of without a tangible antagonist at this point—it’s almost like ‘reality’ itself is the antagonist, constantly barring down with the cold truth of what happened all those years ago in spite of what’s happening in game. I like the show, even if I’m not sure if it’s heading anywhere particularly ‘deep’ or ‘complex’ it’s at the very least ~intriguing~.

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

Haruto and Asahi’s High School Re’Union – Episode 1 Review
Ghost In The Machine – Episode 2 Review

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Ghost In The Machine – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 2 Review

Ghost In The Machine – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 2

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 2.

So last episode ended with a surprise? A loli in a box! Specifically Asahi, the dead girl in real life, but who is decidedly not dead in the game!

Such a revelation would certainly take a toll on the protagonist? In life they were best friends, in game they were something ~more~? Not really sure to be honest but actually Haruto takes it surprisingly ‘well’… that is to say he initially doesn’t believe her and then he kind of wants to abandon her and forget it all happened—ultimately though he decides to help her, though I have a feeling if it weren’t for Satsuki (who is totally best girl material just FYI) making an appearance in his real life he wouldn’t have even bothered to try and figure out what’s going on.

Sounds like you’ve got a pretty uninterested, low-key protagonist on your hands? Yeah he is a bit. I mean I can sympathise with his emotions, not wanting to deal with something you thought was already over and done with—unearthing feelings of grief and regret that you’d already come to terms with and not wanting to give in to the allure of hope that maybe Asahi is alive in some form or another.

But she is dead right, like there was a funeral with a body, it’s not like she went missing… Ah but herein lies this show’s juiciest plot-point and potential narrative crux, what if her mind is completely contained within the code of the game now? Everything a person is, their personality their memories their aspirations and dreams and loves and losses are all constructs of the mind. Her flesh body may have died but perhaps whatever broadly determines a human ‘soul’ is still within the game!

Seems like this show’s a lot deeper than it may have looked on the surface. Last episode I did prematurely dub this Summer 2018’s ‘Caligula’. I’m still standing by that assessment.

Lot of people didn’t care for Caligula though, right? Just like a lot of people probably don’t care much for this show either! I’ve seen a couple of reviews and tweets unfavourably compare this to Anohana—a show I know about but haven’t watched yet. And that brings me to another point I wanted to raise about this show specifically… if the concept is original to me, then it’s still original right? Just because I haven’t seen a show that this one apparently “wants to be” doesn’t mean my opinions for thinking its an ‘interesting’ and ‘unique’ idea are invalid?

Not invalid, just ~woefully~ uninformed. Wow, savage.

So what else happens in the episode? A lot of talking, a lot of other factions wanting to take control of Aisha now that people know she’s “alive” (in-game) because of her super powerful ‘see the future’ power. Also not only do we get Satsuki from the old group come back but Takanori, the one with the glasses who was most vocally blaming Haruto for Asahi’s death because of his own ‘feelings’ for Asahi. He vows to protect her but won’t bring the old group, ‘Subaru’ back together again.

Right, anything else you want to mention? This is a good looking anime, I know I said some negative things about the show’s art style last episode but I hearby all but rescind those harsh words here, it’s pretty darn nice and clean and crisp to look at. Also, the scene in the real world (outside of the game world) with Haruto, his sister and Satsuki was a particular highlight—Haruto’s sister is a gem of a character and offers much needed comic relief to what is otherwise a pretty dour episode (and premise).

But you’re still along for the ride? Sure, I mean it’ll have to either become drastically boring or drastically bad for me to drop it, I’m interested to see where the story goes and even if Haruto isn’t the most interesting protagonist in the world the girls more than make up for his character deficiencies!

Previous Seven Senses of the Re’Union Reviews:

Haruto and Asahi’s High School Re’Union – Episode 1 Review

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Haruto and Asahi’s High School Re’Union – ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 1 Review

Haruto and Asahi’s High School Re’Union – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Seven Senses of the Re’Union’ Episode 1

What’s the show? Seven Senses of the Re’Union, Episode 1.

Okay, and what’s it about? It’s about a group of powerful gamer collective named ‘Subaru’ who are among the best of the best in an MMORPG called “Union”, they can take on any opponent—non-player or player—and win! In real life though they were just a group of grade-schoolers, on a particularly difficult boss-battle quest, Asahi dies, which for this particular MMO means her character is deleted from the game. Upon returning to the real world the kids discover at their friend and teammate died of a cardiac arrest sometime after losing the game. Naturally the others blame her death the group-leader Haruto, who acted recklessly in the fight and was at least part of the reason she got killed.

Wow, that took a turn for the unexpectedly dark! You’re telling me! I was very surprised the show went that way, especially given how ~generic~ it looked at first glance.

Already throwin’ shade, huh? Care to elaborate on what you mean by “generic”? Not to be rude or anything but nearly everything from the character designs, to character tropes and the game world itself felt like I’d seen it a hundred times before—and I’m not even that well-versed in the ‘Game’ genre of anime, though I dare say this falls—at least visually, into the ‘Isekai’ genre as well.

Right… so what happens after the death of the grade school girl? 6 years pass and Haruto’s all grown up into a moody teenager, some of his new friends pester him into playing “Re’Union”—a sort of sequel game to the original MMORPG “Union” that was shut down after Asahi’s death. What’s more is that not only do character’s from the previous game carry over to this one, but the game is only accessible to people who possess a certain ‘trait’ called a ‘Sense’. Also, those who play have the possibility to win company scholarships and internships with the worldwide company responsible for the game’s creation.

Seems to me like this game is going to end up a training ground for these types of people…

Seems important that you mentioned that last bit…Seems important they mentioned it! I don’t know what the heck is going on here…

Fair enough, so does he re-join the game? Eventually, and turns out it’s not just any kind of game but a VR game—the kind you lie down on a bed to play so ~immediately~ I’m getting Gun Gale Online vibes! Anyway, he logs in and meets up with his annoying friends who were pestering him into playing the game again and wow, talk about cannon fodder characters!

High-schoolers in anime always seem to have huge beds!

What do you mean? I mean the two ‘new friends’ that coax him into the game are like the dictionary definition of characters who are going to be “deleted” at some point in the future, like they basically look like background characters who’ve temporarily been moved up to side-characters until the original crew join the story! I eagerly await their inevitable demise!

So what happens then? Haruto and the inept duo venture forth into the ‘Beginner’s Quest’ and after an initial skirmish that further punctuates their ineptitude they happen upon a treasure chest in the middle of a blank room.

Sounds like a trap! Those were my thoughts too, but it’s not a trap but a cliff-hanger inside as when he opens the chest, inside is Asahi—looking no worse for wear, despite dying in-game and in real life six years ago! Cue credits!

Well then that certainly… happened… what do you make of this show? It’s good! I mean, it’s probably going to end up being kind of mediocre to above-average on the whole, but I enjoyed it for what it was. I hardly think it’s going to be a show that sets the zeitgeist alight but simultaneously I think it’ll still be interesting enough to watch all-the-way through, kind of like Caligula was last season. Also, despite my previous comments about the character designs the girls in this show are pretty cute and you know me by now—that’s more than enough to keep me invested!

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Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 12 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 12

What’s the show? Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, Episode 12.

Here we are end of Squad Jam 2 and end of Gun Gale Online. It all happened so fast, I don’t know how to feel!

What did, the episode? No, the episode is perfectly paced—I meant the series in general, feels like it was just yesterday we were meeting cute little LLENN-chan!

Right… that’s enough strolling down memory lane, how’s the finale, how much of it is taken up by the conclusion to Squad Jam since the previous episode ended on a cliffhanger? Mercifully little, not to say that I didn’t enjoy Squad Jam 2 but by this point in the series I needed this finale to focus on the scenes set irl and boy oh boy does this episode deliver on that!

Now kiss! (Guess I’ll have to wait for later for that).

I know you’re frothing to talk about the “irl scenes” but please, focus on the episode in chronological order, who wins Squad Jam 2?! Well it’s a tough one-on-one battle between LLENN and Pito, things get dirty, things get violent, there’s neck stabbings and face punching and hands being cut off—it’s positively visceral! But in the end, it’s the power of trust and teamwork that gives LLENN and co the upper hand. With all weapons out of reach, the two are face-to-face and on the ground, both on minimal life, LLENN reminds Pito of her promise, that if she ever won that they’d meet in real life. Pito calms a little and LLENN tears Pito’s throat out, claiming her kill.

Wow… brutal… I’ll say.

So LLENN and Fuka win? Nope, there was a third team on the map that were lying in wait and proceed to mow down LLENN and Fuka in a matter of seconds.

Nobody likes this team… whoever they are…

Oh, kind of anti-climactic, no? Not at all! I would have been annoyed if it had kept going, it was ~just~ the right length for me, besides it was never about winning Squad Jam, it was about LLENN “saving” Pito by killing her in the game—and by that definition, mission accomplished!

Hard to hold hands when you have no hands.

Right, I know you’ve been eagerly waiting to talk about the scenes set outside the game. Go on now, have your fun. Arigato! So it’s kind of hard to put into words how much I prefer the show’s scenes set in real life, first we get to see the adorable team SHINC having their sweets and tea with Karen and it’s exactly the amount of adorable I was craving, like the anime equivalent of a sugar rush! Then Karen and Miyu (the irl Fuka) go to meet with irl M (Goshi) who’s going to take them both to meet the real life Pito—whose identity is still a mystery!

I loved their reactions during this scene, nobody likes a stalker!

If I recall from an earlier review, this ‘Goshi’ character is a little ~obsessed~ with real life Pito, to a troubling degree, do they explain any of that? Yup, and it’s as hilarious and twisted as I was hoping—turns out in his teenage years Goshi was an overweight stalker(!) and one day while following her, she confronts him, invites her back to her hotel room, strips him, beats him and takes incriminating photos basically ensuring that he’ll be her manservant for life.

Umm… I don’t know who’s worse him for stalking her or her for treating him like that. An essay could be written about how deeply “problematic” that whole thing is, but the way I see it is that they’re too screwed up people who probably deserve each other—nothing come from trying to dissect and discuss the validity of their “relationship”.

I guess that’s your way of saying, ‘we’re moving on’, yeah? Moving on… They arrive at their destination a secret Elsa Kanzaki concert! (Elsa Kanzaki is both Karen and Miyu’s favourite artist) they watch the petite singer’s performance with joyful tears in their eye and then backstage we finally meet the irl Pito… Goshi tries to make out that real life Pito is the owner of the club but Karen’s smart enough to know what’s going on…

Well who is it? Turns out Pito has been Elsa Kanzaki all along, that’s right the bloodthirsty, borderline insane master of GGO was a petite pop-star with a cutesy image! And I love her so much!

Excuse me? Elsa Kanzaki is best girl; also she’s bisexual… which Karen finds out as she plants a big kiss on the lips of the blushing tall-girl!

Sounds like Elsa’s got some issues with consent… Maybe, I don’t care, talk about how it’s problematic that a bisexual character is presented as sexually promiscuous all you want in the comments but right now I’m just content to sit and bask in the afterglow of this season finale that was pretty much everything I love about this show in one 25 minute package! I’m going to miss this show a lot, it was an unexpected treat of the season and even if it never gets a second season I’m incredibly satisfied.

Can we get a second season that’s just these two please? Oh and the gymnastic girls too.

Previous Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Reviews:

Episode 1 Review
Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 Review
Episode 4 Review
Episode 5 Review
Episode 5.5 Review
Episode 6 Review
Episode 7 Review
Episode 8 Review
Episode 9 Review
Episode 10 Review
Episode 11 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 11 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 11

What’s the show? Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, Episode 11.

Seems like Squad Jam 2 has been going for an eternity, does it wrap up in this episode? Nope! It’s the Squad Jam that never ends!

Is that a bad thing? Hell no! Especially not here, this episode has probably the best action set piece of the whole series (so far). It’s bold, it’s loud, it’s over-the-top and it’s just so well animated!

High praise, but haven’t you complained in the past that this series’ action is at times implausible. That’s because early on I was approaching this series like it was a video game—and therefore thinking about the limitations of the current generation of video games. But that’s the absolute wrong way to look at the action in this series—this is more akin to a ludicrous Michael Bay action film, just with cute anime girls in the roles usually reserved for some generic white dude.

Who would have guessed this was based on fan-fiction?

So in changing how you approach the action scenes you’ve appreciated them for what they are rather than what you ~thought~ they should be? Exactly! And at just the right time too, it’s difficult to articulate how terrific the action scene with LLENN on foot versus Pito and M in a military vehicle is!

Well it’s your job to articulate it, so try your best! Right! So it’s one close call after another as LLENN uses her fast and fancy footwork to dodge M’s driving and Pito’s wild firing, until LLENN’s luck looks like it’s about to run out as she’s struck by a bullet and lays bleeding out in a lake. But it ain’t over til it’s over as Fuka has recovered from her previous injuries and comes to rescue LLENN in a military vehicle of her own—accompanied by a couple of cheekily suggestive comments about “not going home tonight” and “love hotels”.

Okay, well explained, but why mention that last part—doesn’t really seem like it has any bearing on the action? In my Episode 9 review I hypothesised that Karen (the irl LLENN) may possibly be queer, or closeted. Maybe this was just a cute little joke, but I like to think that the writer is hinting at something by having Fuka make these suggestive ‘jokes’.

Sounds like ‘head cannon’ to me, but hey this is your review, you can talk about whatever you want. So what happens after Fuka’s rescue of LLENN? More action! Chases, explosions, ramming, running, out of bullets, face-to-face, cliffhanger ending!

Being stepped on by a loli, I know this is someone’s fetish.

So pretty positive all things considered then, anything you didn’t like about the episode? I love how crazy Pito is, and I know this series needs an ‘antagonist’ of sorts, but I don’t get the reaction a lot of other players have towards her—acting like she’s a monster or she’s evil because she’s enjoying killing other players. Last time I checked, it’s a video game; none of the people she’s killing are actually dying in real life. If they all knew the external circumstances around her actions and what her end goal was maybe I could understand their hostility towards her unique brand of crazy but as far as they know she’s just a sadistic player—hardly worthy of such ire.

Well it is a video game, so I’d hope so…

But other than that a great episode? Yup! Maybe a bit lacking in the character development department and I miss not having scenes in the real world as they’re my favourite but being that this is the penultimate episode I’m not going to complain too much about that, it was an action-packed extravaganza and I can’t wait to see the conclusion to that cliffhanger ending!

Previous Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Reviews:

Episode 1 Review
Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 Review
Episode 4 Review
Episode 5 Review
Episode 5.5 Review
Episode 6 Review
Episode 7 Review
Episode 8 Review
Episode 9 Review
Episode 10 Review

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Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 10 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 10

What’s the show? Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, Episode 10.

Squad Jam 2 continues? Of course, though we are fast approaching the final confrontation! And what a terrific episode we’re once again treated to!

What’s so good about this episode then? It’s everything that this show does well–albeit with only a single real world scene–but it’s exactly the kind of real world set scene that makes me low-key adore this show. Without the scenes set in reality I don’t think I’d be nearly as keen on this show. Sure it would have held my attention but I’m straight up in love with Team SHINC’s real life identities–the High School Rhythmic Gymnastics Club! The little scene where they’re discussing military tactics in the real world is just so damn cute and cool!

Yup, enough with the creepy cute girl worship–can we talk about the actual episode for a moment? Spoil sport. So basically LLENN and Fuka team up with SHINC to take down Pito’s team–with the one stipulation that LLENN gets the kill shot on Pito. With the help of an anti-tank rifle(!) the girls get the upper hand on M the sniper by busting his otherwise impervious sniper shield and his 50. Cal rifle, but not without taking a few casualties. Meanwhile, LLENN has flanked their position with the intention of confronting Pito–but she’s not quick enough as an enemy sniper takes out Pito from a distance!

A random sniper? No, there’s a small scene at the start of the episode that shows another team wanting to team up with Pito, but Pito being Pito not only does she refuse their terms she also shoots them in the back as they’re leaving–albeit leaving the teams ‘conscientious objector’ alive… evidentially a mistake as she’s enraged by Pito’s actions and vows revenge on behalf of her fallen squad mates!

That seems… kind of tacked on, no? It is a little bit, it’s pretty contrived and honestly the worst thing about the episode–they didn’t need to give the “random sniper” role a motivation, they could have had any number of ~random encounters~ be the thing that almost takes out Pito but I guess the writer wanted to give a face and voice to the instigator.

“Almost”? She doesn’t die? A quick thinking M uses a medkit as she’s bleeding out that stops her on a ~slither~ of health. Which also leads to one of the big “revelations” of the episode–Pito is using ‘nervegear’ which if my Googling is correct is the thing that made the original SAO players die in real life if they died in the game.

So she wasn’t bluffing then. What happens after that? M takes the unconscious Pito to a nearby house to hold out while she heals up to full and regains consciousness. Meanwhile another squad–MMTM crashes the party and breaks into the house, while nearby LLENN can only hope and pray Pito survives long enough so that she can kill her herself. Inside the bedroom, M offers Pito a tender kiss before priming a plasma grenade–intending for them to go out together on his terms, but at the last minute she stops him and from the darkness emerges Dark Side Pito complete with totally not a knock-off light saber to completely devastate MMTM!

A new ability for Pito at the 11th hour… sounds convenient. I’d be more annoyed if it wasn’t so damn cool–which is this episode in a nutshell really. The action if not the best or most inventive it’s been is still consistently very good, plus there’s a real sense of honestly scary determination from LLENN that rivals even Pito’s performance–which is something I never thought would be possible with her pint-sized pink avatar. It’s just enjoyable all the way through and I’m immensely looking forward to the final confrontation between these two very scary women!

Previous Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Reviews:

Episode 1 Review
Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 Review
Episode 4 Review
Episode 5 Review
Episode 5.5 Review
Episode 6 Review
Episode 7 Review
Episode 8 Review
Episode 9 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 9 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 9

What’s the show? Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, Episode 9.

Squad Jam 2 continues? Yup and will do so for a couple more episodes yet.

So is it good? It’s great—but unusual—but great!

“Unusual”? How so? Well… the action in the Squad Jam is among the best this show has done. Pito’s ’10 minute massacre’ of the episode’s title is unbelievably cool as well as terrifying and hilarious in equal measure. I could watch a full season of Pito killing people in GGO and I’m not sure what that says about me. The “unusual” part was how there seemed to be a recurrent theme through this episode of random men saying and doing ‘inappropriate’, ‘sexist’ and downright ‘rape-y’ things to and about LLENN and Fuka.

He’s talking about what he could do to her dead body in game.

And I’m guessing that’s “unusual” because the show hasn’t done that before? It was vaguely hinted at in a couple of very fleeting moments in a couple of previous episodes but having the moments more ‘in your face’ and having multiple of them in a single episode means they were obviously wanting to highlight something.

And what’s that? That even in an online VR shooter, women have to deal with creeps. Not a revelatory thing for sure but I’m glad the show decided to address the issue, and that Fuka got to beat her would-be molester to death with a machine-gun—I enjoyed that.

Wow. Brutal. So, uh, what happens in the episode? Well aside from the centrepiece ’10 minute massacre’ I mentioned earlier, LLENN has something of her own massacre in the savannah dome. I love the contrast between the exuberant and flashy—almost god-like powers that Pito exhibits compared to the raw practicality and strategy that LLENN employs to despatch 17 people. Now that I think of it the episode title probably refers to both massacre’s and now I feel silly for not having come to that conclusion ’til now.

Don’t worry, I forgive you. Tch.

So anything else of note happen? Actually yes, LLENN and Fuka have an ~odd~ encounter with an androgynous woman named Clarence in the dome. They have her dead to rights, but LLENN notices they carry the same ammo and having used much of hers in the previous battle she instructs her to hand it over. Clarence, being bi-sexual and a fan of cute-girls, requests that in exchange for the ammo she receives a kiss. Surprisingly LLENN obliges and gives her a peck on the cheek, much to the odd woman’s joy.

Right… and so what purpose did the scene serve? It’s a very odd scene, though it comes after an intense battle so it’s comedic sensibilities and lightheartedness are appreciated even if Clarence is a very strange character. But I did like the fact that there’s a bi-sexual character in this show, and it’s interesting that she mentioned “wanting to meet up in real life” after the Squad Jam. If that does come to pass makes me wonder if it’ll be a way of Karen (the real life LLENN) in exploring her own sexuality as her in real life persona strikes me as possibly being queer.

Sure, why not. So how’s this episode fare among the others? Probably my second favourite after Episode 7, the action is pretty much flawless in this episode and it had a great current of humour throughout, while also exploring some of the darker personality traits of their fellow online gamers. Recently, after every episode I’m just left feeling like I want to watch more and more so that’s high praise if I do say so myself!

Previous Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Reviews:

Episode 1 Review
Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 Review
Episode 4 Review
Episode 5 Review
Episode 5.5 Review
Episode 6 Review
Episode 7 Review
Episode 8 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 8 – Anime QandA Review

An Anime QandA review for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 8

What’s the show? Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, Episode 8.

Last week ended just as the second Squad Jam was about to begin, how’s this one compared to the first Squad Jam? Much improved.

Good to hear, how so exactly? Having LLENN as the vocal leader type almost immediately improves things, as interesting as M’s stern and stoic character was (at least initially) his personality was lacking entirely. So with him relegated to an opposing team with crazy death-obsessed Pito ~feels~ like a better fit, they kind of balance each other out. LLENN being paired with the comedic stylings of Fuka works well too as LLENN makes for a great ‘straight-man’ against her silliness.

So this new girl, Fuka, she’s comic relief then? Not exactly. Her comedic side is in character and while she obviously plays up to it while in VR she still pulls her own weight on their two-person team. Even though she gets her legs blown off by a trap early on you never get the sense that she’s weighing LLENN down.

Excuse me? Her legs get blown off! That kind of seems like an important thing to lose—even in a video game? Don’t worry, non-fatal injuries can be healed with med-kits, and losing limbs regrow (or would that be respawn?) after a couple of minutes.

Right. That’s convenient. So what happens in the game? Not a lot to be honest, we’re following five or six different teams throughout the episode—though the focus is moreso on LLENN and Fuka, Pito and M and team SHINC. And due to the material being spread out across more characters it limits how much the story can actually progress. Which I’m kind of okay with, I kind of resigned myself to the fact that the Squad Jam 2 arc would take up the rest of the season.

Is that a grenade launcher between your legs or are you just happy to see me?

Fair enough, so what does happen in the episode? Pito and M’s team are on the top of a mountain on the opposite side of the map to LLENN and Fuka, so they have to work their way there, in the process they eliminate two teams. M is instructing Pito to keep her position on the mountain as they wait for the enemy to come to them, which is not to her liking one bit. She’s getting restless and she wants in on the action. Meanwhile seven other teams decide to join forces to take down Pito and M, obviously fearing their prowess. The episode ends with these seven teams approaching the mountain, a digital bloodbath no doubt to ensue next episode!

So in other words it’s a set up episode? Well there’s still some great action in this episode, the scene where Fuka gets to show off her grenade launcher skills was great ~~and weirdly hot~~. Also the small scene with one member of team SHINC telling off their leader for using “unlady-like language”—despite their in-game avatars being buff and square jawed toughs was pretty adorable. But yeah, the best is yet to come, that much is for damn sure!

Previous Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Reviews:

Episode 1 Review
Episode 2 Review
Episode 3 Review
Episode 4 Review
Episode 5 Review
Episode 5.5 Review
Episode 6 Review
Episode 7 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!