The next phase for the Sword Art Online properties in anime form is coming up in just about a week with the adaptation of the light novel series Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online. The show has been set for an April 7th, 2018 debut and Crunchyroll has confirmed their pickup of it for streaming. While they’ll hit the April 7th premiere date, they don’t have a precise time yet for the launch. Availability is decent as it’s open to viewers in North America, Central America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, UK, and Ireland.
Masayuki Sakoi is directing the series with Yousuke Furoda handling the series composition. Yoshio Kosakai is on board as the chief animation director and character designer that’s adapting Kouhaku Kuroboshi’s original designs. Studio 3Hz is on board to handle the animation production.
The announced new Japanese cast includes Tomori Kusunoki as Llenn, Chinatsu Akasaki as Fukaziroh, Kazuyuki Okitsu as M, and Yōko Hikasa as Pitohui.
The light novel itself back in 2014 and has five volumes out so there’s plenty of material for the manga to adapt. The manga adaptation comes from writer Keiichi Shigusawa with artwork by Tadadi Tamori.
Plot Concept: The story follows Karen Kohiruimaki, a 183-centimeter-tall (6-foot-tall) college student who’s insecure about her height, and is bad at dealing with people in the real world. She enters the world of Gun Gale Online with her avatar, Ren, who is less than 150 centimeters (5 feet) tall and wears all pink. She meets a beautiful, brown-skinned female player who goes by Pitohui. They hit it off, but one day Pitohui pressures her to participate in “Squad Jam,” a team battle royale variation of the Bullet of Bullets tournament.
