'Sword Art Online: Gun Gale Online' Announces Simulcast Release

Sword Art Online fans are gearing up for a great year, but before the official third season of the main line season returns to screens, the series' first big spin-off Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online is premiering as part of the Spring 2018 season.

Aniplex of America announced during Sakura-Con thatSword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Onlinewill be available for simulcast on Crunchyroll and Hulu starting April 7, the day the series premieres in Japan.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online stars Tomoki Kusunoki as Llenn, Yoko Hikasa as Pitohui, Kazuyuki Okitsu as M, and Chinatsu Akasaki as Fukaziroh. Masayuki Sakoi is directing the series for Studio 3Hz, Yousuke Kuroda will handle the series' scripts and series composition, Yoshio Kosakai will serve as the chief animation director and character designer, and Tomori Kusunoki is performing the series' ending theme, "To see the future."

If you are not familiar with Gun Gale Online, then you need to re-watch Sword Art Online's second season. The anime covered the new game way back when. The spin-off will follow Karen Kohiruimaki as the abnormally tall college student enters the world of Gun Gale Online. The player operates under the avatar Llenn, and the character's life gets turned around when she meets a player named Pitohui who convinces them to enter a tournament known as Squad Jam.

For those unfamiliar with Sword Art Online, the series was originally created by Reki Kawahara with illustrations provided by abec. The series follows a boy named Kirito after he and thousands of gamers get trapped in a virtual reality video game known as Sword Art Online. The gamers must band together to defeat the game's final level to escape, but Kirito and his guild learn there is more behind their prison than they were originally told.

The series began as a series of light novels published through Dengeki Bunko in 2009, and has been adapted into eight different manga series by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. The series has been licensed for an English language release by Yen Press, and has been adapted into an anime series by A-1 Pictures.

Its first season aired in 2012 and ran for 25 episodes, while its second season, Sword Art Online II, aired in 2014 and ran for 24 episodes. The series currently gearing up for its next big arc in the light novel series, "Unitial Ring," and the next season of the anime is set to adapt "Alicization."