Log Horizon Review | Anime Review
They had to fight
against the Sword Art Online reputation and they managed to do that.
So for all these
reasons, this review got the title of:
"From the New World"
Anime Score:
Total Score: 82.5%
Top 2014 entrance: 1º
All Time Top entrance: 16º
STUDIO – Satelight:
82.5%
Directed by – Shinji
Ishihara
Studio – Satelight
Year – 2014
Season 1 / 25
episodes
Warning this review could contain spoilers!
If the reader wasn't watched this anime,
this could reduce the enjoyment!
For instance Sasuke will kill Naruto in
season finale!
See the danger of a Spoiler? Now this was a
lie, only to show the power of a spoiler!
The reader was been warned!
Loose notes – An
Extra Battle
When this anime
appeared in the anime’s lists for 2014, the comparisons to Sword Art Online
(SAO) and accusations of plagiarism started!
The copy
accusation for me is a little pathetic, in the movie/game industry is a common
practice (Hunger Games/Battle Royale), same stories with a little twist
(different visions and perspectives)!
The comparison to
SAO is impossible not to do. SAO marked the community in the gaming category. The
vast majority of the community liked the first part of SAO and hated the second
one and, I don’t understand why, the hate of second part affected the general
content of SAO especially the first part! But that are SAO subjects and when I
do the review of Sword Art Online 2 I will write about this subject!
 |
| Sword Art Online Vs Log Horizon |
To enter in a more
detail about anime in the gaming world and to defend a little Log Horizon, SAO
wasn't the first anime who present it, neither Log Horizon will be the last!
The first anime I
saw in a gaming world was Hunter x Hunter OVA – Greed Island, where Gon and
Killua are trapped voluntarily in a game where they can die (if you die in the
game you die in reality) and they have to evolve mental and physically to
survive and beat the game!
To conclude Log
Horizon is not SAO, SAO is not HxH and HxH is not Log Horizon, they are only
great anime with great stories and mistakes (SAO season 1 - part 2 :P) they
show us different perspectives. If they merge their plots in a single anime, I
probably will give a classification close to 100% for this anime.
The Soundtrack
After seeing the
opening of this anime I stayed a little surprise with myself because I didn’t
like it. In a technical point of view the animation was the correct, resulting
in a trailer who didn’t spoiled any aspect of the story, and the song has a
good refrain (Database, one of the components with whom I work in my job and an
excuse for some companies to disguise their incompetence like Galp Portugal! 2
month to do a Gas contact).
Log Horizon–opening
But, most
probably, the reason I don't like the music is because the genre is hip hop.
This is a genre that I really don’t appreciate!
Another reason why
I don’t like the opening theme is because they have a much better option, in my
point of view, of course. At certain point there is a ball where the orchestra
plays the true opening theme of "Elder Tale" game (the game where
they are trapped). I think if they incorporated this theme in the opening would
have been a better choice!
When they
presented to us the world of “Elder Tale” I stayed frightened because of two
points:
1.
The main
characters are players with a very high level (monsters) defeating everything
that moves with relative ease
2.
Theyare
basically three lone wolves in the game.
This beginning it
looks like a total copy of Sword Art Online, but (fortunately) it was only the
way they choose to present a little of the world and their mechanics!
 |
| Log Horizon – the powerful three Shiroe, Akatsuki and Naotsugu |
Also in the
beginning the focus of Log Horizon is in the players who taken a strange path
(in my opinion). If I was trapped in a game at least in the beginning and
depending of the rules (if I die in the game, will I die in reality?) I would
explore the game and try to do quests. But, in Log Horizon the focus goes to a
tedious climate lived by the players, or by the bigger players (Level 90), who
start a massive and nonsense PK (Player Killing)!
Log Horizon has
one of the best plot twist that I saw in anime. They establish a rule that each
player only can obtain a maximum level of 90. That rule worked in favor of the
anime, because at certain time in the game the players with the maximum level
to fight and win a similar player need to use the right strategy and think in
all variables involved in a battle versus a player!
Shiroe also takes
a different path and founded the Guild Log Horizon (yes, the anime name was
explained: P), and then Log Horizon definitely changed! The characters started
to be interesting, from the level 90 to low level characters that they used to
show us the game engine (the level up and the characteristics of each
race/class).
 |
| Log Horizon – Log Horizon Guild from Level 90 at left to level 20 at right |
Another innovation
that I saw relatively to this genre of anime was the interactions with NPC (Non
Player Character) or "People of the Land", as they are call in the
game. The players are called "adventurous".
NPC have feelings
too, this is the notion that I received from this anime. Instead of the old
boring NPC that only talks to you to give you missions or if you speak the
right thing. The People of the Land may suffer or die.
From People of the
Land two characters stood out: Rundelhaus Code, the NPC that wants to be an
adventurer; and Lenessia Erhart Cowen, the lazy princess.
Their
dialogs/interaction with Crusty (adventurer guild leader) create an enjoyable
clime in the anime.
 |
Log Horizon – Lenessia “A Lazy and Cowardly princess” Cowen
|
The vast majority
of the interaction of the characters reveals a high level of companionship.
They also have a series of gags (between several characters instead of the
usual one), which gives a moment of humor when the anime needs it!J
To end the
analysis with a little of criticism there are some angles that have not been
explored, probably due to a limit of 25 episodes or due to the second season
having already received the green light at the time.
One of the angles
to explore is the increasing of maximum level of the characters in 10 levels,
despite being addressed (spoken) at the beginning of the anime, I have not seen
anyone get the level 91 or even try to get it!
Performing quests
should be one of the main focus, this topic is spoken many times along the
anime, but I don’t remember about any reward or even a quest performed by
anyone, even the main quest "The return of the Goblin King" (that
takes more than 10 episodes) wasn't completed!
Another weak point
is the division between class levels. The characters of level 90 are the adults
and the low level are considered the kids, this classification is not by the
levels, is by the true age of players that was represented in the game by their
heights. For me, in a game a player produces an avatar, we can be a girl/ boy,
short/ tall, we can be what we want. And generally a kid creates strongest
characters than an adult because it has more time to play the game!
And to end, but probably this
topic will be addressed in the season 2, the Debauchery Tea Party founder (Kanami) is a
constant presence. Ever that Shiroe demonstrates doubt or nostalgia she appear,
but their relationship it’s never explained, where is Kanami and if she even is
in the game? Are questions to be answered.
Log Horizon – Kanami leader of Debauchery Tea Party
Beyond the fate of
Kanami, I still don’t know if “Elder Tale” only occur in a Japanese Map or if
there are other countries represented, I have this doubt because in the anime
they only show the Japan map, but they say that the world is based in Half GAIA
Project which is a half-scale model of planet Earth. So I launch the question:
There are other
countries/continents?
And obviously the
first season not had a proper final they only announced a second season with a,
“Oh wait there’s more” was pretty bad!
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed
this anime, Log Horizon presented us a more political perspective (more my
style) and it doesn’t care about the whys and how’s they are stuck in the game!
These explanations
probably will appear in the future, but they are only needed in a third or
fourth season in my opinion. Doing quests and characters leveling up are pretty
more important (there are still the leveling up from 90 to 100 to show, besides
the interesting lower level characters)!
Speculating a
little about Log Horizon, there are no futurist technology to play the game,
they use the same technology that we current use (PC and third generation
consoles), I think their bodies were transported to the "Elder Tale"
world a little as HxHGred Island OVA and probably if the game ends (a final
secret quest) they can escape from the game, but how do you end a game that
never ends?
Log Horizon's
future seasons has so many paths that they can follow, that almost certainly
will guarantee a new success of Satelight studio.
I will watch with
pleasure to more adventures of the villain with glasses.
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| Log Horizon – Shiroe The Villain with Glasses |
Future Seasons !?
This is an easy
prediction, there are too many questions to be answered and in the anime the
last image is the announcement of the second season air in the fall of 2014!
I can only hope
they maintain the quality and the focus of season with a little more exploration
of "Elder Tale" and perform game quests!
Sincerely I think
Log Horizon to be a little better requires a bigger number of episodes (at
least more than 25 episodes that can be transmitted instead the crappy fillers
of Naruto).
*Watched by me in 2014 – originally
released in 2014
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