Every Sword Art Online Season Ranked Worst To Best
5. Gun Gale Online - Season 2, Part 1
Sword Art Online II had to work hard to cleanse the viewers' palettes after the disastrous Alfheim online arc, so they came in with an entirely new direction, and it worked pretty well - for the most part.
The dramatic changes seemed too much at first, but the introduction of an alternative world and new weapons promoted a positive shift for the show.
In the Gun Gale Online arc, Kirito finds himself contracted to investigate the titular game, as a rogue player called Death Gun's in-game kills have resulted in real life deaths. So, he grabs a Photon Sword (or lightsaber, if you want Disney's lawyers to get involved), and jumps in.
There are plenty of positives to this arc, such as the introduction of Asada Shino and her tragic backstory, the world of GGO itself and the thrilling connection to SAO's Laughing Coffin guild. However, there are a few drawbacks that keep it just shy of being great.
This mainly comes down to the slow pacing towards the end. The arc starts rather explosively but soon slows down as the Bullet of Bullets tournament begins, and you watch as Sinon and Kirito talk and wait for Death Gun to appear.
It was a solid way to start the second season but wasn't quite perfect.