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Log Horizon Season 3


Beocat

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So, Log Horizon is one of my favorite anime.  I rewatch it every few months and it never gets old to me.  The second season seemed to take forever to come out, then the whole tax scandal thing happened....and....the novels stopped.  =/  The outlook wasn't too good for a season 3 at that point, but I kept hoping that the author would continue it anyways.  I check in on it every few months, hoping for a positive change.

 

Well, news is that he has released another volume of the novels again in Japan and is writing more so I'm hopeful for a season 3 at long last ^_^  Anyone else happy to hear this news?  I'm really hoping that these novels get an animated season.  Some people were thinking that the studios might shun him for the whole scandal issue (but I think that would be stupid from a business standpoint).  Thoughts anyone?

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33 minutes ago, Wedgy said:

I've been eying it for some time now, though never actually committing to watching it yet. Maybe I'm just being ignorant, but it just feels as if there are a lot of anime with that same plot structure going on. What does Log Horizon bring to the table that is different? If I knew better, I might consider adding it to my To Watch list but as it is now I'm skeptical. 

Ooh ^_^  You speak to my heart in wanting to hear more....   Prepare your eyes for a wall of text...

 

Well, Log Horizon is in the "trapped in a video game" subgenre (sub being under the isekai? genre which is transported/trapped in another world).  As far as anime go, there are quite few in this subgenre, originally starting with dot hack, then Log Horizon, then Overlord, Sword Art Online, and Ambition of Oda Nobuna came along.  Some like Btoom kind of qualify.  dot Hack focused heavily on relationships and the lore of the series, Log Horizon focuses more on political and economic trappings (lots of team/party dynamics here), Sword Art Online (I wasn't impressed by the few episodes I saw so I'm guessing here...) focused on harem and fighting, Overlord is...well Overlord being alone and supreme in a game, and Ambition of Oda Nobuna was mostly Harem with a Nobunaga vibe.

 

So, Log Horizon was very unique.  The main protagonist is an Enchanter (a physically weak class, even from a magical standpoint his abilities are more for party support as opposed to attack or defense) who was a loner (for good reasons) but a master strategist in the game.  One with quite a reputation for being able to direct battles down to 1%.  Suddenly with an update, all the players online at the time are pulled into the world as their avatars and no one knows really how to make sense of it.  Everyone is confused and some exploit players and some just try to guild up for protection.  Death causes the players to simply revive in the Cathedral but there is a catch there as well.  So the story tackles a few different things.  How would one protect ones' self and friends in a world of chaos where no one but the People of the Land die?  How could you make things safer for all?  What are you limits and what can you do that you couldn't do before?  How do you get back home? 

 

I find that Log Horizon focuses in on politics, economics, party dynamics and the relationships of the core group.  The main protagonist is very introverted and puts a lot of consideration into things, but he must rely on his friends to execute his plans.  It is quite good.  The English dub is amazingly good as well (they really picked the right people for the dub) and the soundtrack is good.  It isn't quite slash slash stab stab, as it is figuring out how to work within the system.  I think it has the right mix of relationship and character development and action in just the right ratios.  It is comical in some places and serious in others.  You come to care for the characters. 

 

If you are interested, definitely check it out.  I believe it was the second Trapped in a Video Game anime series to come out (by all means correct me if I am wrong) and there isn't really a flood of them...  Sword Art Online may make things seem like a flood (which has the TiaVG community split over whether it is any good or not) but I think if the tax scandal hadn't happened, Log Horizon would have had more content and episodes by now.  >_>  Darn Japanese IRS....  I'm just going to say it.  No country's IRS is a nice agency.  I don't know the details of it all but I feel for him.  I think if you've seen SAO, you've seen plenty of solo work.  Log Horizon on the other hand is all about the party, and different classes and subclasses using their varying functions to really pull the party through tight situations (and not just combat situations).  I can't say it enough.  It is definitely worth a watch, even if only once.

Edited by Beocat
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3 hours ago, Renee said:

I would put it like this

 

Log Horizon; Stats, game play, details

Sword art online, escape, philosophy, romance

Lol...better at summarizing than me, for sure.  The Details part is a certainty.  There are over 90 subclasses (that's on top of the 12 classes you start out with) which really expands it out.  For Log Horizon, it's all in the details ^_^ @Wedgy I hope I haven't scared you off with my wall of text.  Let me know if you decide to give it a shot.

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1 hour ago, Beocat said:

Lol...better at summarizing than me, for sure.  The Details part is a certainty.  There are over 90 subclasses (that's on top of the 12 classes you start out with) which really expands it out.  For Log Horizon, it's all in the details ^_^ @Wedgy I hope I haven't scared you off with my wall of text.  Let me know if you decide to give it a shot.

Anyway, since you have seen both seasons I have a question, do they ever bother trying to escape? Because I watched up to about episode 17 and the fact they seemed perfectly happy to stay in the game really annoyed me and I dropped watching it.

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Hmmm, each season is around 25 or so episodes, which means you didn't finish the first season....

 

Without spoiling things, figuring out how to get back home becomes....a major part of the second half of season two if I remember correctly.  That's where it takes off anyways in that direction, not to mention the focus on the psychological trauma the people have started experiencing who think they might never get home.  Stabilizing things and learning more about the world they've been thrown into so they have a foundation to pursue the possibilities of getting back home (and possibly being stuck there for a very very long time, perhaps forever even...) takes priority earlier in the series.  I believe Season 3 would have expanded into that significantly as the ending and plot mechanics of the second half of season two were really setting the stage for Season 3.

 

Did that explain it to your satisfaction?  I really am trying to avoid spoiling anything big.  I don't mind handing out spoilers if direct messaged.  :)

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The first season was pretty good, but would only watch a season 3 if studio deen stays away from the series this time (since they took over for season 2).  They seem pretty good at ruining shows I'd otherwise enjoy.

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1 hour ago, drill said:

The first season was pretty good, but would only watch a season 3 if studio deen stays away from the series this time (since they took over for season 2).  They seem pretty good at ruining shows I'd otherwise enjoy.

You know,  the only real difference between the two seasons with the studios seemed to be the art style. It was slightly less refined in season 2 and the Chief was toned down dramatically  (visually and personality wise). I chocked up most of the Chief's changes to be due to that in game phenomenon that was affecting players who had mismatches in gender etc real world vs avatar. So, while I preferred the original art style, I don't think season two was all that bad. 

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  • 1 year later...
1 hour ago, efaardvark said:

I actually did my monthly check for updates on it this past week...just a day or two early it seems :)  Still, I'm happy to hear it ^_^ It has been too long.  Every year, I spend a week or two where I rewatch certain anime masterpieces (what I consider to be anyhow).  Log Horizon always makes the list.  Now to insulate myself from spoilers.  I had planned on catching up with the novels but hadn't gotten around to it yet so I'll be on the edge of my seat when the anime comes out.

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