[Log Horizon - Complete Series Review]
LOG HORIZON - IT'S LIKE SWORD ART ONLINE, BUT NOT SHIT
Just kidding!
Log Horizon doesn't really resemble
Sword Art Online at all. This may puzzle those of you who are aware of the premise of
Log Horizon - a bunch of people get trapped inside the world of an MMORPG. This in an accurate description but it utterly fails to describe the what makes the show interesting.
So if Log Horizon isn't just like
Sword Art Online, what the hell is it? Earlier I described
Log Horizon as
Twelve Kingdoms + Spice and Wolf + .hack//SIGN + Legend of the Galactic Heroes with a dash of
Neon Genesis Evangelion. If that sounds good to you than feel free to check the show out but be warned that it starts off a little slow and doesn't try to pull you in with cheap hooks. You may need to be a little patient before the show 'clicks'. I imagine most people, however, will need to know a lot more people investing their limited time in trying the show out.
Log Horizon takes the very basic premise of 'players get trapped inside an MMO' and then actually explores this idea to it's logical conclusion while simultaneously avoiding many of the tropes which are common in this genre. For example, death is not the end. This means that the show actually has to generate tension through means other than death which is considerably more work for the writer. It's a testament to the quality of the work that there are a number of tense moments in the series.
Another important element of the story is that we never see the real world or have any idea how people trapped in this new reality. This leads the show an element of mystery and sorely lacking from something like
Sword Art Online.
Easily the biggest deviation from the formula is that the players aren't simply trapped inside the game they used to play, instead they're actually trapped inside a fantasy world that resembles that game. This is has huge implications for the story because it turns old ideas on their head. If this isn't a game, then how did get trapped in this world? How should people live in a world without laws and government? If this is a 'real' world, then what about NPC's? Surely these are just normal people trying to go about their lives.
You'll notice I haven't written anything about the key characters of the story, or even the protagonist. The cast is broadly sketched and filled with a bunch of fun characters who interact in a somewhat predictable but ultimately satisfying manner. The protagonist, Shiroe, is really the only person worth talking about. He's not the strongest fighter in the show, neither is he a charismatic leader of men. Instead he's a masterful strategist, the power behind the throne. The charm of the series comes from watching him encounter and overcome increasingly complicated problems through clever strategies. Unusually for a 'hero' he doesn't take the centre stage because his manipulations and trickery lead many people to view him as more of a villain than a saviour. This operates in stark contrast to power fantasy drek like
Sword Art Online.
Normally I'd berate a show for having such thin characterisation of it's main cast but I give Log Horizon the pass because it's story is focusing on so many other things at once. The writer is clearly fascinated by systems more so then the people. Characters exist and are important but the world building comes first, every time. Some of the most emotional, pivotal and important scenes of this show involve people talking about the importance of contracts. You'll never see another fantasy or MMO anime discuss:
- how to pull aggro and managing spell cooldowns while also discussing
- the importance off correctly completed documentation
- the most effective way to deal with retail complaints,
- the logistics of moving cargo
- correct way to negotiate a deal
Every elements of the world is realised and discussed to the point that within a single episode we'll watch a tiny party of players face off against monsters, while at the same time discussing considering the positioning or armies while at the same time considering the political ramifications of alliances between major factions. The show manages to weave everything from the micro to the macro together into one cohesive and exciting story that's unlike any other show I've seem It's genuinely impressive and how it all comes together. So much so that whenever I finished an episode I immediately wanted start the next one not because of some cheap cliff-hanger but because I actually want to see what happens next to these characters and this fascinating world that the creator has crafted.
While I have lots of positive things to say about the series it's far from perfect. Quite far from perfect actually. Here's a list of things wrong with the show:
- The direction is extremely flat.
- While the background art is attractive, nothing else about the art is worth mentioning.
- The animation is fairly average, and there's even ugly CG during certain action sequences.
- The sound track is bland.
- The characters are painted broadly
- The opening of the series features lots of bad, repetitive stock jokes.
- A later development between the protagonist and two girls literally had me rolling my eyes, to the point where it was actually spoiling my enjoyment of a show that I had practically marathond.
As all of the problems above suggest, most of the show absolutely has to be carried on the strength of it's writing because there's nothing else to really draw you in as a casual viewer. It's a good thin, then, that the world building is so rich and engaging.
I'm used to recommending shows with noticeable imperfections, but it's rare for me to single out a show for praise when there are so many things wrong with it. This simply demonstrates that the strength of the series, namely the world building, is so strong and so unique that it actually manages to elevate the series completely above and beyond it's other failings. To the point where I would have actually put it on my top ten anime list last year.
For all the reasons above I recommend that you soldier through the rather generic opening arc so that you can uncover the genuinely fresh story that lies beneath that generic exterior. There really isn't anything else like
Log Horizon in anime so go out there so go and give it a shot.