Popverse's top stories of the day

• How the Star Trek V: The Final Frontier campfire scene encapsulated and inspired everything we love about the Marvel Studios movies & TV shows
• WATCH: Yellowstone: John Dutton's fate, Kevin Costner's exit, and season 5's biggest surprise revealed
• Creature Commandos at NYCC '24: The weirdest, wildest & Weasel-est moments from DC & Max's James Gunn-led panel

Sword Art Online has been one of the biggest titles in anime for over a decade and it shows no signs of giving up that title – not when there are new spin-offs to release. With Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II due to come out in October, we’re getting a healthy stream of new information about the upcoming anime series, including a fresh promotional video.

At their Anime Expo panel, Aniplex announced that Japanese recording artist ReoNa will perform the opening theme song for the new Sword Art Online anime. They also revealed a trailer for it that focused on the heavy action in Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II. The story follows Karen Kohiruimaki, a college student who is insecure about her 6-foot-tall height. She heads into the online VR game Gun Gale Online and creates an avatar named Llenn, who is short, clad all in pink, and absolutely adorable.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II is the second season of the 2018 anime, which was itself a spin-off of 2014’s Sword Art Online II and the light novel that preceded it. Don’t expect to see series protagonist Kirito here – this story is all about Karen and her friends as they participate in the Bullet of Bullets tournament. That is probably the biggest mark in its favor, as Llenn is a much more interesting (and cute) protagonist than the dour Kirito has ever been.

The good news is that the main cast and most of the animation staff are returning for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, which is set to come out in October 2024.

Here's our guide to every anime coming to Crunchyroll, Netflix and other streaming platforms during the Summer 2024 anime season.