Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online S2

Important takeaways

• Episode 6 marks the start of the final phase with high tension and advantage for the betrayal team.
• Llenn excels in movement and fighting instincts, while Pitohui shines in strategic thinking and ruthlessness.
• The pace and tension of GGO Season 2 is handled expertly, shifting from fast-paced action to intense stealth.

Having constantly moved at top speed since the start of the season, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Season 2 finally slows down a bit in episode 5. The Squad Jam 3 has entered its final phase, so episode 5 was all about preparations, especially regarding the newly formed betrayal teams.

So technically, episode 6 is the official start of the final phase of the third Squad Jam. This is the beginning of the end, and the excitement couldn't be higher. After all, as the only one already inside the ship, the betrayal team has a clear advantage over the other teams. And with Pitohui in charge, things immediately descend into chaos.

Different approaches to key characters

Although Llenn is the main character in the first season of Gun Gale Online, she arguably shares that role with Pitohui for this second season. As we've seen since the start of the season, these two shooters clearly have remarkable teamwork. But this episode is what shows how different they really are.

Lenn & Pitohui

Llenn is the perfect example of someone born with innate talent. Anyone can focus their character on speed – one team in this competition did just that – but what makes Llen special is her exceptional agility and spatial awareness. She knows the best path to choose to achieve her goal and move in a way that no one else can. For example, in this episode, when she tries to get close to the Ocean Liner, a member of Team Betrayal relentlessly shoots at Llenn, but she manages to get out unharmed. She out maneuvered literal bullet storms.

Pitohui doesn't really have such a prominent fighting talent. M is a better sniper than her, and she's possibly only slightly better at pure gunfights than Llenn or Fuka. However, Pito's gift lies in her exceptional strategic thinking skills and the ruthlessness to do whatever is necessary to achieve her goals. For example, in this episode, Pito uses his iconic photon sword to cut the cable suspending the emergency boats so they fall and close the holes surrounding the Ocean Liner, preventing the other team from entering the ship.

We will block the entrances by dropping these on the side of the ship. That way we only need to protect the front and back.

Different kinds of geniuses

Both Llenn and Pitohui are geniuses, there's no doubt about it. What makes them interesting, however, is how different they are. Llenn can make any plan work, no matter how absurd, simply because of her incredible mobility and remarkable fighting instincts. But she would never be able to come up with some of Pito's brilliant ideas.

Similarly, Pito can formulate outrageous plans that may seem strange at first but turn out to work better than expected while manipulating other people to do her bidding. But she could never escape the barrage of bullets raining down on her through sheer physical ability alone as Llenn. By once again pitting these two types of geniuses against each other, we get to see their unique strengths and weaknesses, making this final battle that much more interesting.

Pacing and tension

There are many great things about this new season of GGO, but two of the most notable are its pacing and tension building. They know when to move the story and they know when to stick the face and when to slow it down a notch. This season of GGO also knows how to build suspense to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Move fast and slow

Pacing is one of the most important aspects of a story. Too slow and the story will tire people to sleep. Too fast and viewers have no idea what is actually happening. So the key is knowing when to push and when to pull back. As it turns out, GGO is a master at this. Episode 6 is the perfect example of their mastery of pacing a story.

For the first half of the episode, the main objective is to get into the Ocean Liner while trying not to get shot by the Betrayal team from the front and the other teams from the side. Speed ​​is essential for this part, and the pace reflects that the characters are constantly moving or doing something.

The second half of the story is calmer and more mysterious. In this type of situation, every movement and dialogue matters, so they slowed down the pace to allow viewers to fully absorb the information presented on the screens. It's the perfect push and pull.

Water from the back, bullets from the front

For this episode, GGO uses several different ways to create tension that not only keeps the viewer's eyes glued to the screen, but also dictates the pace of the story. The first is the time limit, which is achieved by rising tides. The seawater slowly creeping in from behind forces the outer teams to keep moving forward amid the hail of bullets to get inside the ship. And they can't take their sweet time either because the tide is rising fast, so time is of the essence.

The other is limited options. By closing the entrance to the ship, the outer teams are forced to rush into any remaining entry points. And once inside, the long corridors and the many levels and rooms of the ships mean that the characters must take extra precautions before making their next move. Otherwise they would be ambushed and killed. So as you can see, limiting the characters' time and options is a great way to keep the tension high.

The big shift

We've touched on the difference in pace and tension between the first and second half of episode 6. Apart from those, there's actually another big shift that clearly marks the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half of the episode. This change is responsible for the dramatic change in tone and style of the story.

From Tower Defense to Stealth Mission

The first half of Episode 6 where one team must defend their base while other teams try to get close and infiltrate the base is basically the most basic version of a subgenre of strategy games called Tower Defense. Just like some of the best games in the genre—Bloons TD 6, Kingdom Rush and Orcs Must Die!just to name a few – there is a lot of action going on along with some combat tactics as well. It's loud, flashy and fun.

However, the second half is much more solemn and chill. Once the outer teams enter the Ocean Liner, they immediately switch to another battle mode. Something similar to going on a secret mission in games like Call of Duty: Black Ops. They crouch in the corner of a long corridor and plan their next move with the limited information they have.

The adrenaline rush to collective anxiety

Another interesting change is the tone of the story. In the first half of the episode, everything is bright, loud and dynamic. The people, the setting, actions, everything feels over the top and has a sense of urgency to them. This is the fun and engaging part of the episode.

In the second half of the episode, however, everything is gloomy, silent and passive. The people, the environment, actions, everything feels subdued and has a sense of mystery about it. This is the tense and exciting part of the episode. The first half induced an adrenaline rush in the viewers, while the second half put us in a state of collective anxiety. How fascinating! Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online S2 is available to stream on Crunchyroll.