yahzee

What started off as what seemed to be a bland-version of Sword Art Online turned out to be one of the hidden gems of anime shows. Log Horizon starts off slow with the usual setup of a "no-faults" main character, but with a slight difference. That difference is how the main character, Shiroe, strategically approaches each situation that makes Log Horizon an exciting show to watch. Shiroe isn’t the typical shounen main character that powers up throughout the story and then overpowers his enemies. Rather, he’s the guy in the background, the “villain in glasses” who controls the flow and direction of battle. Overall, LogHorizon is a genuinely fun show without all the pitfalls that we've come to expect from a shounen-type series. The story begins by introducing a set of typical MMORPG rules/restrictions that many viewers are familiar with. But what's not so familiar are the way these rules are manipulated, opening paths to feats that were previously impossible. When one thinks of rules and boundaries, one would assume that it would limit whatever it governs. Ironically, these strict rules expand Log Horizon's story from a generic show to a well thought-out strategic adventure. It's an extremely appealing story given the relatability to many of its viewers. Having played games like World of Warcraft, I and many other viewers understand how the core mechanics of questing, leveling, raiding and more work. That’s why when other possibilities that greatly affect these game mechanics are discovered, Log Horizon truly becomes special. It also feels completely plausible. It is NOT a “power of friendship defeating the boss that was previously kicking your ass.” It’s fundamentally sound and really becomes an intriguing show. Although some may disagree, I really thought that one of the show’s biggest strength is how the characters all have defined, unique roles. Where Shiroe is the leader in the shadows, Crusty is the leader in the spotlight. Where Akatsuki is loyal, quiet and small, Naotsugu is the loud, pervy and funny big guy. And you also have... Rundelhaus, who's in a category of his own when it comes to goofiness. These kinds of distinctions allow Log Horizon to have all kinds of interactions between characters and the possibilities become endless. To me, the characters are one of the biggest strengths of the show. The story is what makes Log Horizon quite different from a typical shounen show. It has heavy political/economical themes that tie well into one of the show’s biggest points: building a world. In fact, there are a few episodes where the dialogue gets quite heavy and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. With that being said, I genuinely enjoyed the dialogue and found the story to be engaging. Log Horizon also executes its' story quite well. I found the pacing and structure of the arcs to be satisfactory and enjoyable. Art is decent, it's not UFOtable amazing, but not terrible either. It's consistently pretty decent and not "inconsistent" like some other shows. Nothing else to be said here. Sound is decent as well, the opening and ending songs are quite good but take time to get used to. The background music, while not bad, is overused. You'll know what I mean when you get halfway through the season. With all that being said, Log Horizon is not a perfect show. For example, why does no one care about what's happening to their bodies in the real world? You'll find yourself asking this question as you watch the show. It's almost as if the topic of what's going on in the real world is completely forgotten. Also, some people may find that the interactions between the characters become quite repetitive, especially with Henrietta, who has a loli fetish for Akatsuki. Her interactions with Akatsuki are always of the same manner and it gets boring very quickly. It seems that Akatsuki's character is reduced to mere loli humor later in the show. On a side note, I really feel that it's important to point out that Log Horizon is not a combat-heavy show. That in itself already distinguishes itself from other shounen shows. But what's really important is how the show focuses on actual strategy and manipulating the rules within the game world that the characters live in. If Log Horizon's story didn't have these elements, I really believe that Log Horizon would not be an exciting show to watch, it would just be another okay show. Log Horizon is not your typical show. It has firm grounded roots of realism in a world of fantasy that is genuinely exciting to watch. From diverse characters, to bending the rules in a world most of us are accustomed to, Log Horizon is a good show and is worth your time. With that being said, it is by no means a perfect show. It's a rather simple show in terms of concepts, as well as having plot holes in the overall story. But Log Horizon more than makes up for it in terms of its pure enjoyability (isn't that why we watch anime in the first place?) and execution of its story.

Deiger

Log Horizon. The basic premise, as is evident in the synopsis, centres around a group of players who by some - as of yet - unexplained phenomenon, got stuck in an online massive multi player role playing game. I can imagine anyone familiar with Sword Art Online doing a double take at this point, obviously comparing the two anime, itching to see how one holds up against the other. SAO lovers and haters alike will travel down this line of thought. To be honest, I was and is one of the latter. Infact, I went into the series hoping to find all I missedin SAO after reading some assuring extracts that put this above Sword Art Online. And it did deliver. I should mention, however, that this anime is not everyone's cup of tea. If you're not the type to sit down and enjoy a dialogue heavy show such as this, the anime will most certainly come off as dry and boring. To be fair, if you're on the extreme end of dialogue-heavy fanaticism, the end-result won't vary. Log Horizon is the kind of anime that sits on the neutral ground - its dialogue heavy, but the concepts are not overly complex, thought provoking or riddled with worldly wise philosophies. That is not to say the show is not intelligent, but nonetheless, if you take the word of Log Horizon fans(a.k.a SAO haters) that judge the show as the intellectual's SAO, then you'll end up sorely let down. Because, at the end of the day, Log Horizon is still a kids show that shows no shame in shying away from the more ugly facets of the scenario, and the devious schemes that characters keep praising as something phenomenal are rather elementary. Not that its a bad thing, the anime itself doesn't go out of its way to show its characters as human super computers or anything. We just get a normal gamer guy with above average intelligence, and one who actually does his homework to get things done. Seeing he's surrounded by other normal people and AI, it might even be a good thing. The situations themselves doesn't call for anything more than some rudimentary marketing and administrative tactics and strategies. The story is in any case, fairly well executed and implemented; you won't find the characters doing utterly pointless actions or going on completely fruitless endeavours. Although, like they say, don't judge a book by its cover, because first arc of Log Horizon can mislead you on the show's main focus. Without spoiling too much, they first go on a rescue mission and the short arc serves as an exposition of sorts to give us a gist of the combat and gameplay mechanics, which while not a central theme, does get some focus later on in the series. Even so, combat is not heavy in Log Horizon. When there is action, it mostly relies on tactics and strategy. There is no one-man show where the mc's love overrides the game mechanics or anything. But, if you forget the two arcs where action is important - Log Horizon is about economics and politics at its core. One significant factor that differentiates Log Horizon from its thematic predecessors like SAO and .hack series is that death in the game does not equate to death in real life. That is, the players can respawn infinitely. It is not without consequence though, as there is something even more terrible than death that await the players who carelessly let their HP bars easily chip away to zero. Oops, I said too much. Maybe you should go watch the anime, because I won't be dropping any more spoilers. Now, onto the sound. The OST at first didn't at all sit well with me. It was sharply contrasting to the shows feel and theme. However, slowly but surely, I ended up loving it and started humming along. I can't honestly speak in-depth about the back-ground score...But they were certainly mood building, though I have my doubts about whether they went overboard with it. Some of the mood-building has gone to water and left me with a facepalm because the epic moments were made epic only because of the soundtracks. Without those, I wouldn't have batted an eye at the game winning strategies the characters employed and would have wrote them off as common sense. Meanwhile, the ending has already found a place in my favorites. Never skipped it, infact, I'm listening to it as I'm typing. The art was quite mediocre. Nothing to speak of. Its not too bad and its not too good. I felt that it didn't quite feel like a game for most part. But you really can't complain, for all we know, they may not even be stuck in a game per se. The character designs were pretty generic and all of anime's usual motifs are used. I particularly liked the mc's design. Characters of Log Horizon are not unique or spectacular in any sense. But they get their job done, and the mc is a wits above fists guy for once, and he's good at it. There is also the charismatic guy who gets all the praise, but luckily, we see him as a side character for the better part of the show. Not really surprising given Log Horizon takes a radically different route than most mainstream shounen shows by focusing on the action behind the scenes far more than the frontline adventures. I have noticed the characters getting blamed for reacting too calmly towards their predicament and this is one of those criticisms I don't understand. If you came across such a criticism, take my word - that is baseless. Completely baseless. One character I was thoroughly disappointed with was the loli assassin, Akatsuki. I actually had high hopes for her. But much to my dismay, her potential as a character was left untapped in terms of both execution and elucidation. I certainly won't condemn her character for development as she seemed to be wallowing in sadness because of her inability to be of sufficient use, and even more her because of her being unable to empathize with the mc towards the end. She still has a lot of potential for development, especially in the light of next season coming shortly. No, my problem is with her lack of chemistry with the mc. The same slap-stick jokes with the show's resident pervert can get old really easily, and the whole cosplay facade she uses to interact with Shiroe doesn't help either. Heck, Shiroe himself thinks her antics are nothing more than cosplaying when her personal monologues shows that she is invested in Shiroe on a more than superficial level. If there was some backstory for such an introverted personality, then I could have let it slip. But sadly, nothing of that sort came up. I'm hoping that the next season will take some time to flesh out her character, seeing she's the main female lead. Rest of the characters were great for the duration of the show and we can hope that they will play more important roles in the upcoming sequel. Some of the secondary cast got a lot more development than the main cast, both a positive and negative point in my books. Another weakness in its character department comes from overuse of certain gags. Shiroe adjusting his glasses when thinking making everyone go 'Ooohh the villain in glasses', Henrietta's obsession with dressing up lolis, Naotsugu's openly showing perverted tendencies only to get interrupted halfway by wrathful Akatsuki etc being only some of the examples. While this is not uncommon or ineffective, too much of these can be frustrating. As I mentioned at the beginning, this anime is not for everyone. For those who like dialogue heavy anime that is not dark or depressing, with some light slapstick comedy thrown in for good measure - this is exactly what you're looking for. As a last note, I must warn anyone who has been pushed onto taking up this anime by SAO haters - Granted, its different from SAO and does decidedly better than SAO on the story department, particularly the pacing. But its not the masterpiece that many of them paint it to be. Log Horizon is a little above the average shounen, however, its still an anime with flaws that cannot be overlooked. My own overall score is a result of the kind of entertainment I derived and not at all reflecting of the show's quality from an objective standpoint.