SAO Alternative: Gun Gale Online – Episode 5 (Review)

By: V.O.lynnEnjoying a brief respite, the other team pulls us into the action with a song about open season on rabbits; and our speedy protagonist is clearly on their foe.The scene bounces to Llenn, pointing her gun at M, a reversal of the pre-credits cut of Episode 4, having stolen the upper hand in the stinger of the previous episode. Tearfully, M reveals that Pito will likely find a way to kill him in the real world if they don’t win the final confrontation with the other team. Llenn sounds unsettled for a moment, but not nearly as worried as you might expect for someone who is playing a high-stakes game in the SAO universe. Not seeing an option to retreat (Pito says to M that he can’t take his own character out, or “die a cowardly death”) M had theorized that taking out Llenn and withdrawing would be acceptable.Llenn tells M to find cover: if she dies, then he gets to surrender anyway.The team leader dashes away to take over the offensive and severs her audio connection with M. Taking the other team by surprise, Llenn takes down the short-haired blond before being chased off by gunfire. Having resolved to make speed her advantage, Llenn pulls out tactics of attack/retreat over and over again throughout the episode.When all seems lost at one point, Llenn’s weapon, a P90 affectionately named “P-chan”, blinks cheerfully at her and shares completely unexpected words of encouragement after Llenn’s own pep-talk to herself. P-chan, bought by Pitohui a few episodes back, was from a rare drop/rare item shop, so it makes sense that it was hiding a special ability.One by one the other team whittles down to three, and then after M takes out one of the last two remaining members, it is just Llenn vs the other captain, revealed to be Eva (or Boss) and a forgotten sniper who returns after Llenn takes out Boss.M takes the final shot, and victory is theirs!In the post-credits scene, Karen finally chats with the schoolgirls she’s been passing by for a few episodes. As it turns out, they’re a Rhythmic Gymnastics club from a neighboring high school. In classic SAO tradition, their leader, Saki NItobe, is not only a second year at a neighboring high school, she’s also Boss/Eva, the leader of the second-place team in the Squad Jam!