Tuesday 15 October 2013
Log Horizon is a new anime series with a MMORPG genre. Knowing this, many may start comparing it to the ever popular Sword Art Online, and soooo, I've decided to watch it myself and see how good it can be. Just some background info and thoughts after watching the first 2 and only episodes so far (since it's a new and on-going anime). For those who plan to watch it, this will probably give you a slight idea, just in case if you are still thinking it may resemble SAO.
First off it is pretty much different from SAO, except for it having a MMORPG background (and characters being trapped), it has no other major similarities with it.
First off it is pretty much different from SAO, except for it having a MMORPG background (and characters being trapped), it has no other major similarities with it.
Some history just to kick off~ Log Horizon (ログ・ホライズン) is a Japanese novel series by Mamare Touno. It was first created as a novel, and later received 4 manga adaptations. The anime adaptation began airing on NHK Educational TV on 5 October 2013.
The story follows the main character Shiroe and the other players of the long-lived MMORPG Elder Tale after they find themselves trapped in the game world following a game update. Like usual MMORPG with expansion packs, Elder Tale has become a global success in Japan in its 11th expansion pack, having millions of players. During the release of its 12th expansion pack Novasphere Pioneers however, 30000 Japanese gamers who are all logged on at the time of the update suddenly find themselves transported inside the game world. Shiroe, along with his friends Naotsugu and Akatsuki then decided to travel and explore together in order to "live" this world which has now become their reality, along with the challenges which lie ahead.
Next, to introduce the main characters:
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| Shiroe |
Main character Shiroe, donning a pair of glasses, is a battle strategist among his group of friends. He plays the Enchanter in the game. He is a calm and strategic support mage - Not your usual front-line fighter with overpowered attacks for a main character. Looks rather plain for a main character ain't it? Hopefully we get to know more about him. Or perhaps he is one who will impress us with his wits as the story moves on :)
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| Naotsugu |
Naotsugu, friend of Shiroe is a cheerful and "perverted" guy. He is honest about what he thinks and often says things which pisses Akatsuki off. He is playing as Guardian, which is a tanker class.
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| Akatsuki |
Akatsuki is a serious but cute looking character playing the assassin class in the game. She calls Shiroe "Lord" and sees her role as protecting Shiroe after being accepted into the group. She pretty much behaves like a ninja, as her subclass is a tracker with abilities like "Sneak" and "Silent Move"; she is able to kill swiftly with her Assassinatoooo skills, AND solemnly protect and "work" for only one master lol. You may also see her asking Shiroe for permission to whack Naotsugu after he says some "perverted" things.
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| Pretty decent if it's a real MMORPG I would think. |
Episode 1 basically introduces you to how the world of Elder Tale is like, but it doesn't explain why and how the players got transported inside the game. So the creator probably prefers to leave you figure out later how and why this happened. First episode IMO, feels not as impressive because there was a load of things unexplained and there aren't many battle scenes as well. Episode 2 looks much better, as it starts to show the MMO party setup during the few first battle scenes where the characters used some recognisable skills like taunt and movement-binding spells. The story starts to show some direction as well in episode 2.
Animation and graphics wise are okay, nothing fantastic. If you are expecting beautiful environments and flashy skill animations you may be in for some disappointment. Characters and setups are rather different (if you're comparing to SAO), so there should be a lot of opportunities for development as the story goes on. Opening theme is rather hilarious lol, because it sounds kind of straight-forward making it a little blunt. There are parts in English and then Japanese and English again for the chorus. Entertaining though, no doubt lol.
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| Watch me whack more of Naotsugu. |
With the main plot still being unclear, there are a lot to discover and expect for viewers, which is good for continuity of the series. I think it’s enjoyable to watch and worth your time, especially if you are into MMORPG.
