"Gun Gale Online", commonly known as GGO, is one of the VR games that appears in the popular media mix work "Sword Art Online", commonly known as SAO. The VR games that appear in SAO have a strong fantasy feel, where you fight with swords and magic, but GGO is popular in the work as a "VR game where you fight with guns" that distinguishes itself from them. The brutal atmosphere like a real war has created enthusiastic fans, and it is famous as a VR game with maniac fans. Here, I would like to introduce the appeal of the work through the "Phantom Bullet Arc" of the main Sword Art Online story, which progressed around Gun Gale Online, and the spin-off work "Alternative Gun Gale Online".
[Gun Gale Online] Appeal 1: Fight with real guns!
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
The greatest appeal of Gun Gale Online, commonly known as GGO, is that the characters fight with real guns. Weapons that will appear include the "PGM Hecate II" anti-material rifle used by Sinon, the heroine of the Phantom Bullet arc, as well as the "M4 Carbine" assault rifle, which has been officially adopted by the US military and is highly trusted by real soldiers. 
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
Not only large sniper rifles and assault rifles, but handguns are also used as sub-arms in the work, and popular pistols such as the "Glock 18c" and "FN Five-Seven" appear. Since the author of GGO is quite particular about the depiction of guns, it will be an interesting work for military and airsoft fans. I recommend it.
【Gun Gale Online】Charm 2: Good design of main characters
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
The first thing that catches your eye in Gun Gale Online is Sinon, the heroine of the SAO main story "Phantom Bullet". She has blue-green hair and wears a quirky, revealing outfit that would be unthinkable in the world of GGO. Furthermore, she is a rare cool beauty in SAO, and a renowned top-class sniper in GGO, which is what makes her so cute. She is also the one who operates the "Hecate II" introduced earlier, and just looking at her is enough to get you panting.
She's such a great character. 
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
In addition, in the spin-off work "Alternative Gun Gale Online" based on GGO, the main character Len runs around the battlefield in a cute and small pink avatar and wins with the submachine gun "FN P90". Furthermore, Ren's best friend Fukajiro is also very cute, and despite being a small girl, it's amazing to see her firing off a six-barreled grenade launcher.
【Gun Gale Online】Charm 3: A bleak world view
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
The main characters are generally seen in looks that would be criticized by military otaku or people who are into the real thing, but the other mob characters are generally dressed in military fashion and have a military-like atmosphere. Since this is an entertainment piece after all, the main characters have unnatural designs that stand out in the world of GGO, but the overall atmosphere is brutal, so I think even real military fans will enjoy it.
【Gun Gale Online】Charm 4: Swords are stronger than guns?!
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
This may be a negative for some people, but SAO's protagonist Kirito is a top player in the world of VR games, so he can easily perform the feat of cutting down bullets with a sword. For those who value realism, this unrealistic feeling may be a negative, but for fantasy-oriented people who want to believe that swords are mightier than guns, it's an exciting action scene. Kirito demonstrates this feat in the "Phantom Bullet" arc of the SAO main story.
[Gun Gale Online] Charm 5: The unrealistic feel that only a game can provide!
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
Although Gun Gale Online's appeal is its worldview that resembles a real battlefield, there are also parts that can only be enjoyed as a game. The elements that make this work entertaining are the parameters inherent to the characters. For example, a character with a high agility parameter can dodge bullets with moves that would be impossible in real life, and a character with high strength can carry heavy objects even if they're the smallest.
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
The protagonist of Alternative Gun Gale Online, Len, has a small body and extremely high agility, so he dodges bullets with movements that are impossible for humans, and even active members of the Self-Defense Forces are helpless. Also, Fukajiro, who is just as small as Ren, has great strength, so he can move around holding six-barreled grenade launchers weighing over 13kg each in both hands without any problems. GGO has an interesting worldview that successfully balances reality and fantasy.
【Gun Gale Online】Charm ⑥ Deep human drama
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
The heroine of the "Phantom Bullet" arc of the SAO main story, Sinon, snatched a gun from a bank robber as a child to protect her mother and staff from the robber and shot the criminal dead. Since then, just seeing a gun makes him mentally unstable, and even having one pointed at him renders him unable to move. However, in order to overcome that trauma, he decides to take on GGO, and it's touching to see him confront his own trauma.
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
Also, the mastermind behind the Phantom Bullet arc is a real villain who commits murders, but his motives for the crimes are very silly, and if VR games like SAO were to become popular in real life, he would commit the same kind of boring murders that would not be surprising if they actually existed. In real life, there are people who commit murders for petty personal grudges, but the murderer in the Phantom Bullet arc also killed people for such trivial motives that ordinary people would not be able to understand them.
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
Also, in the spin-off work Alternative Gun Gale Online, the main character Len is a female college student named Kohiruimaki Karen in real life, and is a quiet girl who feels insecure about her height of 183 cm. I got a cute little avatar named Len in GGO and became completely absorbed in the world of GGO, which was a rather unusual motivation for me to step into the world of VR gaming.
Just watch GGO without thinking too hard about it!
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
I've introduced the charms of GGO in various ways, but what I think about GGO is, "Just watch it without thinking too deeply! It's fun!" GGO is very enjoyable as a pure action work, so it's worth watching even if you just watch it without thinking too deeply. I recommend it to people who want to watch a hot action anime. Also, if you watch it without being too nervous, you may discover something new and enjoy it more.
Source: Gun Gale Online © Keiichi Sigsawa/KADOKAWA ASCII Media Works/GGO Project
If you haven't watched Sword Art Online yet and are interested in GGO, we recommend you start by watching the spin-off Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online. You can enjoy this one even if you haven't seen the SAO main story from the beginning, and there's no particular drawback to watching this one first. In any case, SAO and GGO are popular works, so I recommend watching them at least once.
