Log Horizon Volume 2

“Probably the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton, but the opening battles of all subsequent wars have been lost there.” – George Orwell.

Continuing on from Part 1, this collection of episodes of Log Horizon resumes with “villain-with-glasses” Shiroe and other members of the Round Table Conference meeting up with members of the neighbouring League of Freedom Cities of Estal to discuss a treaty and to improve relationships with man-made humans known as “People of the Land”  in the video game Elder Tales, while several of the weaker “players” in this world take part in a special training camp.

Shiroe and his loyal assassin Akatsuki meet an expert in “Global Magic” called Regan who informs them both that there are possible spells that can change the entire world. He also reveals to them a shocking truth about the game: that while players cannot die in the game, when someone is reincarnated. that player begins to lose some of their memories of the real world. This is true of some of the members of the Round Table Conference such as Krusty, who is currently trying to get close to Princess Lenessia of Estal.

However, priorities suddenly change when a massive goblin army begins attacking. Suddenly everything is focused on stopping the army, with Shiroe and Krusty using Lenessia to motivate the people of Akihabara to prepare for battle. During the battle, however, the weaker players also find themselves caught up in the fray, with one person, the egotistical sorcerer Rundelhaus “Rudy” Code, revealing that he has a big hidden secret. This leads to Shiroe creating a new form of magic that will change the world of the game. 

Following the conclusion of the battle, the eccentric Marielle decides to hold a festival to relax, but it is anything but relaxing for the people running it. Shiroe, swamped with paperwork, finds that several female players have romantic feelings for him, and that someone from another realm appears to be sabotaging the event itself.

The battle against the goblin army is the more exciting of the two stories in this collection, especially with Shiroe using his new magical skills to help Rudy. We also witness the development of some of the minor characters such as healer Minori, who learns how to become a stronger player via Shiroe’s instructions. She also learns how to use her abilities off the battlefield, as she is the one in the festival storyline who uncovers some revelations that are key to the plot.

The series ends with the introduction of a new character: Nureha, a fox girl whose guild runs an entire region, and who is also fascinated by Shiroe, whom she claims helped her in the past. This seems to lead to new developments in the story, which fortunately will be continued as there is a second series of Log Horizon. 

In terms of production, it is mainly the same as it was with the first part. The animation is generally good, although some of the 3D animation is rather suspect. The opening and closing themes are exactly the same as those in the first part, but both songs are good. Also, as with many MVM titles, there are few extras: only clean opening and closing themes are available.

However, this series has been overall an entertaining one. Hopefully the second is too, which we hope MVM will bring out. If you can’t wait, you can watch the second series now on Crunchyroll.