5 Point Discussions: Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online 4: “Death Game”

LLENN and M have reached third place in the Squad Jam! But will they be able to take down the last two teams? Remember, if you like this article and 5 Point Discussions, please share it on Facebook or Twitter! It really helps. And if you’ve got any comments or questions, please hit me up @SageShinigami.

1. If LLENN wasn’t well known before, her victory here cements her as the “Pink Devil” the rumors talk about. We already knew Karen had footage of her victory in the Squad Jam–she shows it to some girls at the end of the first episode–but she’s also being watched by nearly everyone else playing GGO who didn’t participate or was already eliminated. They comment on her speedy build, which is weird because it seems like no one else knows how it works either, and how she took advantage of dead bodies being “Immortal Objects”.
She comes off as a shrewd, tactical genius here, and even if she doesn’t go further than this victory she’s already going to be something of a celebrity in the world of GGO.  Hopefully they come to acknowledge that when the tournament’s over.

2. After team LM takes out the pro group, it turns out they’re one of the only three teams remaining. LLENN’s happy because that means they’ve already achieved the bronze medal, but M says Pitohui told him they have to win. They scan the area before heading for the closest team, but here they get outsmarted. With so few teams left, they’ve become an actual target instead of something to be avoided. One of the two teams left rides in on hoverboats while LLENN and M both are pinned down on a beachfront.
It really should be over, but M finally reveals what’s in his backpack: a giant sniper shield, made out of a space battleship’s armor plate. It’s another thing that in real life isn’t possible, but here it lets him deflect bullets from most guns. So LLENN uses her superior speed to distract their opponent, while M makes himself useful and gets to take them out.  Of course, you’d think they’d be able to easily avoid his sniper rifle because of the obvious bullet line sight…

3. Even though the game seems realistic, GGO works off a lot of game principles. Two of which are the bullet circle and bullet line. The bullet circle is an aiming reticle so players can learn weapons faster instead of having to learn how to fire in real life. The bullet line is a red ray that tells people it’s aimed at that someone’s trying to shoot them. It gives whoever’s in the line of sight a brief few seconds to move. While M and LLENN are forced to take out the team on the beachfront, M takes advantage of a skill he hadn’t exposed to LLENN: he’s really good at real life shots. This goes back to M most likely being a former soldier or cop of some kind.  Without needing the bullet circle reticle, he can take shots without telling on himself with the bullet line.
And just like that, a team of six warriors are brought down with ease. Like M was largely useless for the first encounter, LLENN does nothing for this one. She draws their fire while M uses headshots to wipe them all out. It’s a great moment, and makes things all the more regretful that they’re ending this arc so soon.

4. With the third team down, the duo of LM is now second place in the Squad Jam. But before they can relax, LLENN gets nailed by a shot that knocks her right off her feet. She flies away from M, and they escape only because the remaining team can’t find another proper shot. LM takes the hoverboat that one of the group member’s brought with them from the last attack, and they escape in order to fight another day. Though they seem outnumbered and cornered, it still looks like they have a chance.

5. The ending to this was so stupid. After they get away from the second ambush attempt, LLENN offers to look out while M reads a letter he was told to read by a certain time. Once he finishes, he pulls a gun on LLENN, but she uses her super speed to dodge the bullet and aim her P90 at him. She asks why he suddenly turned on her, and he breaks down into tears claiming he doesn’t want to die.
As a guess, this likely has to do with his fear of dealing with Pitohui if he dies. But after clearing out every team other than one, why suddenly turn into a coward when he’s had nerves of steel this entire game? Is it just to give LLENN the last victory solo? Whatever the reason, it’s not to start off next episode disappointed. Hopefully they can win me back.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online is available on Crunchyroll and Hulu.