‪“log horizon” on the other hand is an mmo franchise by someone who clearly deeply understands mmos. however it does a bit of a bait-and-switch with this, so it also ends up fantastical, just in different ways (which i do not wish to spoil).

‪one idea both series like playing with is the notion that real-world skill (knowing how to aim a pistol, cook food, play an instrument) could, in a VR MMO environment, exist in parallel to and perhaps triumph over in-game skill systems (levelling etc). i really like this idea‬

and what's funny is both franchises are able to entertain this idea even though they have fundamentally different notions of what kind of world the characters are inhabiting. notionally one series is sci-fi and the other kinda isn't, but this is framing, they're both fantasy imo

one thing i'm glossing over here is that “sword art online alternative: gun gale online” does not have the same author as the mainline “sword art online” series. i actually never got around to watching sao s2, though i know the synopsis. maybe it's time for a “rewatch”…‬

‪if you think about it, “sword art online alternative: gun gale online” is kind of a magical girl series‬

@hikari huh, I didn't know GGO wasn't by the same author and this makes me more interested in it

@embr it's not just not by the same author, it's by a legendary gun otaku

@embr his pen name, sigsawa, is derived from “sig sauer” and he also wrote “kino's journey”