©2023 時雨沢恵一/KADOKAWA/GGO2 Project
In general, there are three types of stories: plot, characters, and theme. While nearly all stories combine these three, one often overshadows the other two. The same is true episode by episode, and what we got this week was definitely a plot-driven episode and offered nothing new in terms of thematic exploration or character development.
While the last episode showed us the ending of all the teams in Llenn's area through the battle between Shirley and Clarence, this episode shows us the three remaining teams participating in the winning Squad Jam ending. How did they win in their respective regions? SHINC brings the battle to surrounding teams before scanning and using flares to set traps and eliminate other teams. ZEMAL, machine gun lovers, used shopping carts and metal pipes found in a hardware store to create an armored mobile turret and TS climbed a skyscraper and got stuck there when the water rises (keeping them safe but essentially a non-entity as far as the rest of the teams are concerned).
And that's basically it. We just caught up with the key teams on what was going to happen for 20 minutes. It's fun, fun at times and a little more silly but nothing to write home about. Then comes the big twist of the season: one person from each remaining team (apparently the strongest) will be sent to the dead zone in the middle of the map and form their own new team.
While I am not opposed to this as a concept, I am a bit disappointed by it. The aim of this season is to have all of our heroes working together for the first time, taking on the strongest teams they've encountered as enemies in the past and (hopefully) upcoming Squad Jam. head. Honestly, we haven't gotten that yet. All our heroes have done up to this point is sit together in a train car and shoot anyone who comes close. And with this change, that is all we will achieve.
Then there's the meaning of that change in a broader, more meta-textual sense. We saw Llenn and Fukaziroh take on Pitohui. Overall it's not that exciting to see it again, especially when it happened as recently as the last one. But the real pity is that this time there is no tension regarding their impending confrontation. At the end, Pitohui resolves to commit suicide in real life if he dies in the game. The only possible way to prevent this is for Llenn to be the one to kill Pitohui and use Pitohui's promise to meet Llenn in real life if the latter can defeat her in the game as a shield against the decision her suicide.
However, this time Llenn didn't even want to participate in the tournament, let alone have a rematch with Pitohui. The only reason she joined was the promise to fight with the SHINC team. And now, like Llenn's team, SHINC has been disbanded. There's really no reason for Llenn (and, by proxy, us) to care about the tournament at all. Suddenly, instead of a new story, it feels like we're just going through the motions — following a much more impactful story.
Rating:
Random thoughts:
→ If I were Llenn, I would put a bullet in M's head immediately. Unless Pitohui's next words are “M, I expect you to fight against me with everything you've got,” he's on Pitohui's team regardless of the rules.
I love machine gunners because they simply seem to be having fun.
© Do we really need the scene where Karen watches the replay as a narrative device to see what the other teams are doing? Her comments were sparse and didn't really add anything.
© My favorite part of the opening song is the image of Elsa and Karen facing each other in the fetal position. They form the yen-yang symbol showing that they are opposites but are part of the same whole.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II is now streaming on Crunchyroll. Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more companies mentioned in this article are members of the Kadokawa Group.