I praised the first season of the show for it's detailed and concise way of telling viewers about the MMORPG angles of Elder Tale that many characters use or referenced throughout the story. All the information comes across in a way that is not only interesting but is explained in terms that even people who have never played an MMO could understand what was going on. This feature continues in the second season of the show but it also gets delved further into as well. As all the players continue to live in the world and make it their own, certain elements of the game start to change or rather become real. Things like "flavor textures" or whether or not an item or weapon is evil begins to mean something. Players in games often pick up items because they look cool or use them because they're super powerful but never have to worry about whether or not it was an evil object or if it did a certain thing. Well, these features become an element that players need to worry about as an evil object or an object that can do something like make you confess your inner most love will affect them. It was an interesting addition to the story that I loved especially in the Valentine's Day episode where a specific fruit made you confess what you desire most in the world. It also furthered the indoctrination of players into the world and what affect adventurers now had on it.
Adventurers or the regular characters of the world are viewed as strange outsiders for their abilities and their free will. Where as People of the Land or the NPC's can only do certain things or only do certain things because it is all that they know or have ever known. We see the adventurers affect things even more this time around though after Shiro and the Round Table have formed a friendship with the nobility of Elder Tale. We see players start to train soldier characters or watch over the important characters in the game like they were real people. This being an interesting point because it's hard to tell that this world that we find ourselves in is actually a game or use to be one because the people in it feel so real and are no longer just faceless quest givers anymore to the adventurers. I started to notice this more and more about halfway through the story when the "kid's arc" started and the younger members of the Log Horizon guild went on their very first quest. The kids all gave it their all to defend a town from certain destruction even though these people are allegedly not real and risked their lives for them.
The aspect of death was a key part to the story this season as well. Shiro, Naotsuga and members of another guild all join together in the first arc of the story to take on the hardest raid in the game. Not only is this a fantastic part of the story that finally features what a raid looks like and introduces some new interesting characters, it also brings about Shiro's first death. Players have died in this world and come back no problem but it's never happened to one of the main members of the story. It is a great part of the story especially when you see just how death works and how it affects players afterward, don't worry I won't spoil it for you but needless to say you don not come out unscathed. This aspect also proves to push the story along because it let Shiro learn a little bit more about the world that they are all living in now and theorize a way of getting them out. I pointed out in my review of the first season how getting out of Elder Tale didn't come up much and really how the first season mainly served as a setup for the story. Now though we see real progression in the story as Shiro and the members of Log Horizon try and figure out a way home to their lives and their families.
My biggest problem though with the story has to be our resident bad guys. At the end of the first season we saw Shiro being confronted by a mysterious woman named Nureha and she has some obsession with him and his skills. We found out that she is a member of a group named Plant Hwyaden and they aim to cause real trouble for the world. The group is interesting because not only do they have insanely powerful NPC members but one of them is an old friend of the Debauchery Tea Party which is the guild that Shiro, Naotsuga and Nyanta use to belong to but now is for some reason on the bad side of things. These players seem to have a problem with being unwilling held in this world and are out to start conflict and war among the People of the Land. The reason I sound speculative about all this though is because I really never figured out what these characters were all about. This group is randomly introduced and while their character seem interesting and appealing, not a lot is known about them other than them wanting to cause conflict. It's kind of a big bust for the story because you never figure out what their goals are and what these characters are all about.
As for the rest of the returning character's, they all continue to go on strong for me. Shiro was already a compelling character to begin with and his exploits this time around only further my liking of him. Akatsuki was also another favorite of mine and she actually gets her very own story and look into what sort of person she is and why she acts the way she does. Turns out theres more to this spunky little ninja than meets the eye. I did mention that the younger members of Log Horizon get their own arc once again and to be honest they were weak characters for me in the first season. But, their characters see amazing growth both in terms of them becoming skilled players and them actually growing. Their characters all receive new looks (every character does) and they appear to have grown since the first season. This may be due to the new studio that has taken over or the fact that these characters actually are changing just like the world they're now living in. Regardless, I enjoyed the new look and the new studio (DEEN) that has taken over has done a wonderful job of keeping the style similar to the original while adding their own touches to the show.
In conclusion, Log Horizon's second season continues forward with many of the solid features that were brought forth in the first season. It is still very much a show about characters and the world over the story, it just seems like everything that is going on envelopes you so much that you sometimes forget that Shiro and the rest of players are actually trapped in this world and trying to get out. However, this season does see forward motion on the aspect of all of the characters possibly escaping Elder Tale and just how they all became trapped there in the first place. I certainly cannot wait to see what else is around the corner for Log Horizon though and hopefully see each of my favorite characters get to return home, in a couple more seasons that is.
Good:
- Returning characters are still fantastic
- The story sees some real progression and some interesting plot points such as what happens when a player dies
- Some new/strong character join in on the story
- Still an overall interesting concept and the world of Elder Tale continues to get bigger and more interesting with each episode
Bad:
- Plant Hwyaden is a group of interesting but lack luster characters that get no back story or information revealed on them
Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10
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