A stage event for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online was held on 25 March 2018 at AnimeJapan 2018’s Red stage at Tokyo Big Sight. Schedule to air from April 2018, Gun Gale Online is a spin-off of the popular light novel Sword Art Online by Reki Kawahara.

Sword Art Online (Season 1) Series Review

The four cast members attending this event were Tomori Kusunoki (voice of Llenn), Yoko Hikasa (Pitohui), Kazuyuki Okitsu (M), and Chinatsu Akasaki (Fukaziroh). They started off by greeting the audience and revealing that this was Kusunoki’s first appearance at AnimeJapan. She seemed very enthusiastic but also a bit nervous about her appearance. As it was the very first stage of the day, Okitsu tried to wake everyone up by continuously shouting ‘GGO!’ and throwing his fist in the air. They joined in, heating up the atmosphere and Okitsu enjoyed becoming one with the audience. The cast pointed out that Okitsu was completely different from how he was in the studio and he revealed that he was so nervous that he couldn’t even get a wink of sleep before the event.

The cast members said they had a very family-like dynamic. They explained the role everybody would have. Okitsu would be the father and Hikasa the mother. Okitsu pleaded that he wanted to stop being the dad and Hikasa made the audience burst into laughter because of the face of relief she showed when she heard that she wasn’t made the granny but rather the mother of the group. Hikasa showed how fitting her role is for her when the cast asked her what she thought of Kusunoki. She said that she knew Kusunoki from the day she debuted and that she has grown up so fast.

During the first recording, Okitsu thought that he definitely should not scare Kusunoki who stood next to him. Kusunoki explained that Okitsu is not only a great partner to her role but also reliable. She can trust him very much.

The next corner was called ‘Which one is making a sound? Posing Air Gun Gale Online’. They received guns modeled after the guns each character uses in the series and the details of the gun surprised the fans at the venue as well as the cast. They were told that they should not point the muzzle at a person, since it was a model gun, and then started to introduce each model with its name and specs. The cast members posed with the gun according to the explanation. When Okitsu said that a woman holding a gun makes his heart skip a beat, the venue applauded in agreement and surprised him.

The game started when the cast had to guess if the sound they played was actually the sound from the gun they used in the anime or if it was a sound recorded by Kusunoki. For this game, they were asked to pretend to be shooting with the gun. It sounds like a gunshot, but not really? While playing around with Kusunoki’s cute gun sounds the cast enjoyed themselves and the audience answered with laughter.

At the end of the event, information about the opening and ending themes was revealed along with information about a web radio show. A short message from the cast completed the event. The ending theme will be by Kusunoki and is titled ‘To see the future’ and she surprised everyone by singing the chorus of the song a cappella. The moment was rewarded with the biggest round of applause that day.