Thursday, November 21, 2013

[New][October 2013] Log Horizon


A New Way to Live the Game

Last Seen: Episode 6

Summary: One day, 30,000 players suddenly find themselves trapped in another world. There, eight-year veteran gamer Shiroe also gets left behind. The trapped players are still alive, but they remain in combat with the monsters. The players don't understand what has happened to them, and they flee to Akiba, where they are thrown into chaos.
First Impression: Boldly striding where bandwagons meekly tiptoe. Solid story and characters, and a well shaped plot so far.

First Opinion: You remember the big hit a little while ago, Sword Art Online? You do? Well forget about it. This shows nothing like SAO. SAO ended up being a very action'y Shounen'y show, it lost a good deal of depth in the second season. Grant, I still enjoyed the hell out of it, but if it had just ended with the first season, and maybe an epilogue, it would have left a deeper impact. The core of the second season was sound, it just felt a little sloppy, too many plot holes.

Meanwhile, over here in Log Horizon, they like their flashy skills and spells, which is good, but the show is more drama and plot than it is action. The story is shaping beautifully, and the characters are all of sound quality and interest. The show has just spun its major plot element, and I'm looking forward to how this one spins out. If I had to summarize the the core difference, at the time of writing, between Log Horizon and SAO, it would be 'Human Interest' versus 'Drama and Action'. To be honest, I'm feeling like the word 'Drama' is a bit too general recently. I think I'll start cooking up something more specific for my needs.

If you were writing this one off as just a bandwagon behind Sword Art Online, (like I originally was), then consider yourself soundly slapped, and go start watching it.