It is a heckuva long time since the first season of the Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online anime series ended (July, 2018).
Yep, it has taken Aniplex and anime studio Studio 3Hz almost six years to get us a second season of the Sword Art Online spin-off but, according to the latest news out of Japan, that second season will finally see the light of day some time in 2024.
Yay!
Along with the confirmed 2024 premiere date for Gun Gale Online, Season 2 this week, we also just got a vibrant new Gun Gale Online, Season 2 character visual via the official SAO Twitter (X) account.
It features just who you might expect — main characters LLENNÂ (aka the Pink Devil), Pitohui, Fukaziroh, and M — exuding the same personality traits we remember them having.
Yay again, eh?!
The new visual is also the first real news we’ve had about Season 2 of Gun Gale Online in quite a while, so it is gratefully received.
What is Gun Gale Online about?
The Gun Gale Online anime series is based on the spin-off novels by Keiichi Shigusawa and Kohaku Kuroboshi — that personally I think are even better than the original SAO books.
Director Masayuki Sakoi is back to direct the second season of the anime, with Yousuke Kuroda (Mashle) again back in charge of scripts and series composition, and with character designer Yoshio Kozakai also back from Season 1.
Don’t you just love it when a popular anime sticks with the same folks for its next season!?
As for the plot…
My Anime List describes the first season of Sword Art Online: Gun Gale Online like this:
Clad in desert pink and the size of a mere child, the infamous “Pink Devil” mercilessly hunts down other players in the firearm-centered world of the virtual reality game Gun Gale Online. But in real life, this feared player killer is not quite who anyone would expect.
A shy university student in Tokyo, Karen Kohiruimaki stands in stark contrast to her in-game avatar—in fact, she happens to stand above everyone else too, much to her dismay.
Towering above all the people around her, Karen’s insecurities over her height reach the point where she turns to the virtual world for an escape. Starting game after game in hopes of manifesting as a cute, short character, she finally obtains her ideal self in the world of Gun Gale Online.
Overjoyed by her new persona, she pours her time into the game as LLENN, garnering her reputation as the legendary player killer.
No word yet on the precise date of the Gun Gale Online, Season 2 anime premiere, but I’ll take the news we do have so far, as this has been on my list of “we MUST get a second season” anime for quite a while now.
Enjoy the new Gun Gale Online, Season 2 character visual then, as well as the previously released teeny tiny teaser trailer below.