Reviews

Sep 6, 2014
In my anime, as my games, story/setting/gameplay/one intriguing premise or idea can save the characters, and vice versa. And this is where Log Horizon is muddy for me. Let's start with the positives, setting and art.

Recently, likely with the advent and popularity of SAO, many MMO-based anime have been released. Log Horizons interpretation, as many gamers will likely sympathyize with, is BRILLIANT. Stats, mmo-style interfaces, classes, items - you take one 5 minute battle out of this show and all the basics of an MMO are there. One part I quite like (minor spoliers!) is when the show makes one character cook as oppose to just 'magic up' food, and funnily enough it makes the food tastes 10x better (END OF SPOILERS)
So, story, brilliant. Art, standard modern anime fare but still lovely eye-candy. Both a great 8.

Now, sound and character. First, easy one, sound - uuhh, meh. The opening I think is really awesome, the ending isn't bad, and everything else is really meh and REPEATED THROUGHOUT THE SHOW. This can be an OK thing, good thing (a la Angel Beats), but with it being so meh in this show, bar one 'drama incoming' piano interlude I quite liked, it's rather grating.
And here comes the difficult part... The show has quite the cast for a non-shounen show, so I'll outline the mains:
Shinroe, the main protagonist and strategist of 'Log Horizon' (the casts guild). He's cool-headed and I liked him to start, but he became bland as the show went on, in my opinion.
Akatsuki is a 17 y.o. (I'm 80% sure) ninja. Any more needs to be said? I love her... Oh, and she's a love interest for Shinroe. 'Cause.
Nyanta is a cat-swordsman. Again, I'd say need anymore be said but to avoid beating a dead horse... He's like suppose to be this bad-ass, 'I can diffuse a situation with my mouth or sword' character but comes off a bit of a Shinroe clone.
Naotsugi makes up the original fighting trio of Shinroe and Akatsuki, (before Shinroe got involved in politics and Akatsuki stalked him as self proclaimed 'servant' *cough stalker cough* because Shinroe said something about needing her at one point) and is Shinroe's IRL good friend. He's the comedy relief character, obsessed with panties meathead but he's brave and I really like him as well!
Minori I think was supposed to be the most interesting, being introduced halfway in and wanting to learn from 'Master Shinroe' but, yet again, becomes another clone AND another love interest! Saying that, because of the love triangle that is ever so omnipresent in every anime, episode 22 I think pokes fun at that concept which made me laugh a lot, despite having nothing to do with an MMO about it.

Other than those above there's a princess, a main baddy as well as your general MMO-fare enemies (which is introduced episode 24 of 25! They were optomistic for a S2, which is out so...) and a cast of supporting characters that usually have a link with Shiroe, Naotsugi or Minori.

So, after that essay, do I recommend this? Eehh hard to say. If you like SAO, and I mean REALLY enjoyed it, you're likely to enjoy this, as it's a lot of the same to be fair. If you enjoyed but got bored of SAO, or outright hate SAO, then probably give this a miss and, from what my friends keep banging on I need to watch, give Summer Wars a go. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next show!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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