Is Log Horizon really better than Sword Art Online?

[Kourin Tatsunagi]

Alicization Arc of SAO has been great (LN so far). ALO was bad, but other than that, SAO has been solid. Between Log Horizon and SAO, both are good, both has their bad. I would lean to SAO if they don't butcher Alicization arc.

[SayuriChan]

I didn't completely watch Log Horizon, but I watched the first few episodes. And I think that's already my reason for rating SAO higher than Log Horizon - I finished SAO in just 1 or 2 days, while Log Horizon is taking me forever, because I can't seem to convince myself to continue it.

[senshikoi]

Anyone else feel that the number of "copycats" have shot up, since Sword Art Online and/or Log Horizon?

 

Was looking at potential suggestions for GeneralOtter, regarding horror manga on MangaUpdates, and suddendly found myself being drawn into the site more and more; a bad habit of mine, regarding certain sites! Eventually, I found myself trawling through a number of different light novel/manga which either said something like "trapped in an RPG world" or "finds him/herself in a fantasy world"!

 

My "argument" would be a lot stronger, if I had the names of these manga/novels to back up this claim, but I don't have them to hand, they're in a "huge" list of "must read at somepoint", along with other unrelated titles, such as Kikou Shoujo wa Kizutsukanai (Novel), which tickled me because the description mentions a "Royal Academy in Liverpool" (guessing it's the one in the UK, and if so, where I was born; Liverpool, not the Royal Academy, I don't think there is actually a Royal Academy in Liverpool), and R.O.D - Rehabilitation, which is some alternate Read or Die, with a different Yomiko to Yomiko Readman, and the age of books is at its end!

 

I've watched the first episode of Sword Art Online, but I've not watched Log Horizon, at some point, I will probably do both!

 

Still, I find it interesting how Sword Art Online and/or Log Horizon, has caused "copycats" to spring up, because as @SurrealBrain mentioned, before these two... there was .hack, another series (or rather group of series), I need to get round to watching, especially with Yuki Kajiura scoring some of them!

 

There was also Ragnarok Online or Dragon Quest, not quite the same, as the characters aren't trapped in the RPG, the RPG is real, if that makes sense, but again, before Sword Art Online and Log Horizon, again need to watch!

Edited April 18, 2016 by Guest

[Smashinguy12]

I've just started watching Log Horizon and oh my it is awesome but I still think that SAO is better as don't really find the characters in Log Horizon all that interesting... Don't hate me

Edited April 22, 2016 by Guest

[LensFlareHD]

Yeah, I thought Log Horizon sounded good, but I sat through the first episode bored outta my mind SAO all the way

[Smashinguy12]

Yeah, I thought Log Horizon sounded good, but I sat through the first episode bored outta my mind SAO all the way

I know right

[$3x¥]

As it stands overall I feel Log Horizon is better the Sword Art Online, though each of them have their own good qualities. Both of them take a different approach to being trapped in a game and they also put give out different information regarding how they got there. I feel one's opinion is based primarily off their tastes rather than the actual quality of the show.

 

Log Horizon hits a more political stance when it comes to the affects of being in a game and makes you think a bit (not much at some times) than Sword Art Online does. Log Horizon, however, does leave out how they got into the game and are saving that answer for their finale that may or not may not be coming up in a future season(s).

 

Sword Art Online, however, takes a more action adventure stance when it comes to being trapped in a video game. As the series (or the first half) is much shorter than the so far 2 seasons (though they also haven't finished the story) of Log Horizon, it does a lot more explaining. Because Log Horizon is longer, it also tends to take things slower than Sword Art, which, to some, seems to have rushed through it's primary story, skipping a lot of what it was advertised for (action).

 

However, both anime have decent OST and are about people being trapped in video games and the affects that may or may not have on them. Each of them is realistic in their own way (Log Horizon focusing more on how people would react and build themselves up whereas Sword Art Online is more about trying to escape in an action romance). I feel Sword Art Online's animation was much better than that of Log Horizons, but I feel that Log Horizon is written better.

 

Overall, the opinion the anime should probably stand between whether you like a more action oriented anime or if you want something more mentally based.

 

TL;DR- The two of them are like apples and oranges. They both stem off of tress but are fundamentally different.

[Rin Tokikaze]

I find that Log Horizon aims a lot more towards the mental aspect than SAO does. SAO is a lot more fast-paced and risk-driven, because if you die in the game you die irl, etc. Log Horizon tends to focus on the more human side of things, and seems to build a more realistic in-game world because of it. Politics, player wellbeing, the nature of humanity, all are things that Log Horizon dives into that SAO basically ignores for favour of 'scream at things and kill them'.

 

Basically, I consider Log Horizon to be based on logic, and SAO to be based on emotion. I like Log Horizon more, but I really enjoyed both shows.

[Saitama]

Even if i do watch Log Horizon which I'm planning on doing I'm probably not going to like it better than Sword art Online cus it was one of the first animes I ever watched alongside Bleach

[iQbliviqn_]

SAO Was a great anime. Log Horizon is also a really good anime but tbh, I Can argue. there both pretty good! ^-^

[IntoMyWorld]

So after watching most of log horizon and buying the novel I still think sword art is much better. It's anyone here reading the sword art novels? Ive got 3

[AvatarAvocado]

Being better then SAO isn't really that much of an accomplishment....

[SAO LILDOOP]

Sword art is better. Have not even watched log horizon, but I know it cant be as good as SAO, nothing can. And really, log horizon? That's a really dumb name, imo. Is the hole mmo/rpg there stuck in about logs?

[Xyro]

to be honest, I hated SAO, but i have never seen log horizon. but i will have to pick log, just because its not SAO

 

(fyi, i have a deep hatred for SAO, so don't take this literally. Concept was good, actual anime was bad. just my opinion)

[Wodahs]

I really did like LogHorizon and wish they'd finish it and id watch it again as well

but id still rat SAO higher and am waiting for the next part of the animation to watch

I liked Log Horizon more, and SAO wasn't that great, but I had a okay time watching it.

*Who's Cuter?

sorry Akatsuki is

Edited November 24, 2016 by Guest

[unownram]

Toooo be honest. I liked Log more than SAO, because, well, Log was more in-depth with the game mechanics, and I rather enjoy games. Also, SAO reminded me of the standard harem situation with the MC. Sooo yeah....

[Greeneyes]

Okay this is a vary fair question but first I have a warning... I can already say I am in favor fr sao so this maybe a tad biased so don't get mad.

 

First off I am not fully done with Log Horizon I am only a few episodes away I can say it at the beginning was basically neck and neck with sao but not for long everything was doing pretty okay but there wasn't a lot of character progression which kind of made it come off as a bit boring and almost forced yourself to have to finish which is the feeling I am facing. Sao on the other hand had great progression and development and you didn't get bored, or at least I didn't.. So in other words HELL NO! -This is my Opinion-

Edited June 16, 2017 by Guest

[IntoMyWorld]

I feel i need to reevaluate my opnion. Neither is better than the other. They are entirely different. Loh Horizon Is about being stuck in a game and living with that and making it work. Sword art is a analysis of emotions and virtual Vs Real and what value can be placed onto that.

[RepentantSky]

I probably shouldn't talk about SAO anymore because every time I call it out for what makes it flawed, someone dislikes my posts and tries to start a fight with me, but all the same, here's my thing about these shows. SAO starts off well as far as being interesting is concerned, but that said, if you go look back at it and aren't a huge fan, you'll see it's not as good as you remember. Log Horizon, to me at least, starts off as being rather boring before it picks up, and going back and watching it again doesn't change that. However, when it comes down to the nitty gritty of it all, SAO constantly spirals downward, while Log Horizon constantly spirals upward. SAO becomes more about the harem that never made sense, and even characters who are not in that harem are defined by not being it, which is to say, they show up less often because they aren't eye candy, and even when they do show up, they often don't do much. In Log Horizon, the exact opposite happens. Characters become more interesting, and more developed, and you start to care about them more. With SAO, I actually started to forget minor characters names and appearances, and as the harem grew for no reason, it became hard to even keep current characters together because their only defining feature as characters and not eye candy was liking Kirito for a reason that was not given. At least when they were still in SAO, Lizbeth and whatever the Loli character who's name I can never remember anymore had a reason for like him, because he saved them or showed them something they believe would have been impossible without him. By the time we're watching ALO, characters are popping out of the woodwork and instantly falling for him, and then most of the time is spent on that. Log Horizon, simply doesn't have that issue, but the problem with it is that it might not be as entertaining if you are watching it more for action, because it doesn't have as much as SAO.

 

Log Horizon does what most anime from 90's and at least early 2000's did, and that was focus on character development, which means less time is spent fighting enemies, and more time is spent on characters talking, or us as viewers learning about them in one way or another. Log Horizon is a slower show, but if you like character development that shouldn't be a problem. If you're in more for the action, then SAO is the better choice, provided the pointless harem doesn't bother you as much as it did me.

 

All that said, I honestly think, while being as unbiased as possible that both shows aren't as interesting as the dot hack series. Now to be clear, my favorite games off all time are the GU trilogy of titles, so it's a little hard for me not to be at least somewhat biased, I understand what I'm about to say may not interest you as much as it does me. Throughout the run of dot hack as an anime, it's had this theme of a virus attacking whatever version of the MMO game the characters are playing called "The World" and putting people in coma's over it. You'd think because it's not death, it would be less interesting than an anime that does have that, but honestly, there's something very compelling about watching people try to figure out if they can save people in coma's, and if they, it's even more interesting to see how they'll do it. Now granted, even though I'm a huge fan of this anime and the games, I realize the shows are incredibly slow, and there's one anime in the series that was fairly short by highly annoying where the main characters take control of the avatars of the two lead characters from the first 4 games because they stopped playing it, and it was just bad. That said, there two anime, that even though they aren't fast paced, are fun to watch, and even the first 4 games have a 4 episode anime tying some characters together with the plot of the games, and working to help set up the next show. The lore of the anime is what's so appealing honestly.

 

Anyways, I'm rambling, and I went off topic for a while, but yeah, overall my money's on Log Horizon.

[Wodahs]

meh~ !!!!

some are going to like one

some the other

hell some may not like either whilst others (like me) like both

theres never a right or wrong just a point of view

[The Bunk]

Log Horizon. SAO had so much potential but went downhill by the second half...

[Scrooge]

Log Horizon had so much potential but the second season betrayed my expectations. The same goes for Sword Art Online so I can't really say which one's better

[Imogen]

I said they're about the same. If we go with Log Horizon season 1 only vs SAO I definitely think Log is better. That said I was only interested enough in SAO to watch the first season and since I didn't care for it I didn't continue. Log season 2 got so lame though and I stopped watching that too.

 

I totally agree with RepentantSky. The .hack universe holds such a strong place in my heart that other anime that try the same concept just don't live up to it for me.

[brycec]

My judgment between the two would not be entirely fair, as I only finished SAO, but I think SAO was better.

 

SAO has many problems to be sure, but it at least felt like something I wanted to keep watching, unlike the original novels, because it seemed pretty interesting

 

Log Horizon, however, did not seem to have that hook in the beginning, as the characters did not feel remotely interesting enough to continue, nor were their lives.

 

If I gave Log Horizon more of a chance, I probably would have liked it better, but I have encountered many stories that were either dull all the way through or took too long to peak my interest.

[Cy~]

It depends on your own preferences.

 

I watched the first two episodes of SAO and then I got bored with it and moved on.

 

I watched the first season of Log Horizon and kept waiting for something to happen, but then nothing happened. Then, I started the second season. Omfg, it was the most random mess that I've ever seen. How was that even a season? It was objectively terrible.

 

If you're looking for a good time, then go to SAO, I think - of the two. If you're looking for a good slow-paced thinking plot, then I guess Log Horizon is more like it. Tbh, I think I liked SAO more.