Log Horizon Episode 8
GingaDaiuchuu: Stage two: negotiations
SUCCESS
More good stuff. The constant presence of the “inner selves” made those scenes much more interesting, and the continued looks at the kids they’re trying to save make it all feel much more important than it would for any real game-related reason.
sonic: Minori and Touya are the saving grace of this show for me. They are finally bringing some human qualities, a self awareness, to this game world I can empathize with. Finding out why Minori was scared, she was killed and revived already, brought a higher level of sincerity to her character than what’s been show until this point. Until now I’ve been struggling to connect with any of the characters due to them seeming distant from their human side and more concerned with their in game personas. However, now I have hope moving forward the series will continue to expound upon the main cast in as meaningful a way as they did with Minori and Touya this episode. Shiroe is also coming off as more empathetic to me lately as he attempts to be helpful with the Log Horizon guild and the food recipe negotiations; he’s no longer just going with the flow, but a man on a mission to improve the quality of life in this new world until they can figure out what’s happened. Here’s to hoping Log Horizon will continue to shine with bright character development moments like the ones in this episode.
cxt217: A lot of negotiations and talking, which nevertheless moves the series better than an action episode might have. I think I liked how the expositions were handled in Episode 8 compared to earlier in the series.
Akatsuki is reminded that every ninja loyal to their lord needs to have their loyalty tested in some way. For her, the test is Henrietta…All the time.
I got into Log Horizon a bit later than everyone else (Primarily due to a friend who found Log Horizon a lot more faithful to MMORPGs than Sword Art Online.) and I am really taking a liking to it. It has been the surprise series of the season for me, with (So far.) none of the Walter Duranty/’Villain is the True Hero’ crap that eventually soured me on Sword Art Online, and at least has done a better job of executing an intriguing premise unlike Mamare Touno’s other series. The time and effort spent on the putting into place setting of the series – as much as actual action and/or moving the plot forward – actually works out well, since the series is as much exploration and mystery as it is action and drama.
I do find it convenient it was mentioned in Episode 7 that at least one ex-member of the Debauchery Tea Party is more or less confirmed to not be in the Elder Tale world now….Hmmm, leaves an opening for someone new to be added to the DTP grognards….I wonder who that girl might be…?
bctaris: Something about the way this episode was put together made it one of my favorite so far, certainly one of the most enjoyable. I’m starting to like this series quite a lot, now that we’re beyond the world-building early arcs. The adventuring in those opening episodes was routine–but this arc, now, seems to be what the creators (and Touno, of course) really want to do with this story, exploring this whole concept from its human perspective (vis a vis the game mechanics and structure). It’s all about the “talking” (not unfamiliar to viewers of Touno’s Maoyu), and the naturally occurring politics and the gamesmanship over resources (I didn’t expect the question of limited resources to come up, but it was explained–mostly sensibly–that the general level of insecurity among the players during the current chaos has prevented many people from procuring what they need or want). This is fascinating, intriguing.
And yet, cementing my enjoyment, it still manages to feel more and more like a classic fantasy series. The trappings and designs of the characters–from the guild halls and leaderships (and all the intrigue therein) to the attentive detail of the player classes and their tools and abilities–is slowly but surely building, in the background of the talking heads, a richly detailed fantasy world, as immersive as any lovingly-built MMORPG.
