First Impressions / Log Horizon

「ギルドマスター」 (Girudomasutaa)
“Guild Master”

Pride in the face of ridicule. Strength through vulnerability. There are some things you just can’t give up.

The Death of Raiding

Being depressed about a raid wipe could have seemed odd, because it happens all the time. I can understand them being annoyed, certainly, especially if they have to re-clear to get to the boss(es) again, but do depressed? That is, until they revealed their greatest fear … what if this is just a tiding? What if this is a sign that raiding, as they know it, is dead? That’s a good reason to be discouraged, if you ask me.

So What If It’s Silly?

Anyone who has spent time as a hardcore gamer—or, and this is just an example, spent 10+ hours a week blogging anime for almost three years now—has probably gotten sine strange looks from people. Why spend so much time on something that doesn’t matter? Putting aside the nihilist answer (“Does anything really mean anything?” Shutupshutupshutup!), William’s answer was stirring. So what if it doesn’t matter? They chose to pour their time, effort, and love into this game, so who cares what the others say? It’s the old “Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” (Random plug: that saying illustrated at Zen Pencils. Good site, highly recommended.) His passion really touched me, partially because Nakamura Yuuichi knocked the scene out of the park, and partially because it touched upon something I believe myself. So what if watching (and writing about) anime doesn’t “matter”? Screw ’em! We do what we want!

Bonus points: Rallying his people against a perceived “other” is a cheap, effective way to drive them forward. That’s not what ended up doing it, though.

Strength Through Vulnerability

I have a long-standing gripe about geopolitical politics. (Stay with me, now.) Why is it that, when we get on a corporate or national level, everything we learn about strength just goes out the door? Many of us are taught as children to not to fight back, to turn the other cheek, or at the very least to not throw the first punch. But organizations and countries believe that any display of mercy or compassion is weakness, and weakness will lead to destruction.

Bullshit. Showing vulnerability doesn’t make you weak, it shows you’re strong. Only the truly strong are able to show vulnerability like William did, to admit something honest and (to him) shameful and still stand in front of his people, unbowed. It shows he’s human. And once again, there was power in what he said, and more than a little truth. Hardcore gamers, MMORPG raiders included, are often a socially dysfunctional bunch, not always able to do in person what they’re able to do from behind a screen. I’ve been there myself, and still am to a degree. There were times when I spent more time with my guildmates than I did with my RL friends, and the very fact that “RL friends” is part of my vocabulary tells you something. And it’s also true that MMORPGs can teach us who play them while we’re young a lot about life—close human interaction, whatever the medium, changes you, and positive interactions change you for the better. William showed vulnerability, and I’d be willing to bet that his guildmates—his friends—will fight even harder for him, and beside him, than ever before. They’re closer to the real William now, and so are we.

The Grass Is Always Greener

It’s always interesting to see how the grass is greener on the other side. William looks up to Shiroe, something that I didn’t expect. Who wouldn’t, after he tamed Akihabara, something William didn’t think was possible? (Yes, there are people like Demikas who don’t, but quiet you. I’m on a roll here.) And when William spoke about the regret of running away … yes. This so much. If you haven’t collected a long list of regrets yet, let me tell you this now—you’ll always regret the times you ran away more than the times you failed. Failure is how you learn and grow, while running away does nothing. It sounds hackneyed when I say it, but it’s true.

As for Shiroe, though William looks up to him for tackling the hardest challenges and winning, Shiroe wonders if he can be an honest and vulnerable Guild Master like William. The grass truly is always greener on the other side. The key is to walk over to that side and ask them how they got their grass so green. Borrow from everyone so you can be better. You’ll all be richer for it.

Looking Ahead – Trying Again

Fifteen percent. It’s looking like off-tanking to me, with a side of Demi-glace to add some drama. Fine with me. After all they’ve gone through, seeing a victory will be all the sweeter.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – What could be the end of raiding leads to a stirring confession from William. It’s time to try again #loghorizon s2e10

Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: The brick walls, The allure of magic, Import, don’t recycle, and Impostor syndrome. For book updates, sign up for my mailing list.

 

Preview

59 Comments

    1. Touno-sensei does good speeches. The one from Meido Ane in Maouyuu is still one of the best I’ve seen, and one of the only redeeming things about that series.

      And yes, I heard about DxD ages ago. Only a couple of more seasons until it’s here.

      Stilts
      Reply

    3. @ Feik

      You’re not wrong. It would have been better if shorter … but it ended on a good moment, and I’ve come to expect some adaptation awkwardness. So you’re right, but we may have broke more by fixing that problem. In an ideal world, perhaps…

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. I think there’s a definite sense of stretching the material in this season. There aren’t as many LNs to make this season from, and it shows. It’s still very good, but certain scenes (like this one) go on longer than I think they would have last season.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

  4. And that would be why William had such a big name VA for so few lines back in season 1.

    Did anyone notice that, if only for a moment, Tetra spoke in a ‘normal’ manner there at the end?

    Longhaul
    Reply

  5. Wow. This episode was…magnificent. It reminded me in many ways of the speech in Maoyuu (you know the one) that singlehandedly elevated that episode to the best one in the entire (sadly dissapointing) series. And here Touno-sensei pulls it off again! Beautiful.

    Especially so because it hit rather close to home. This speech, more than anything else in the entire series so far, gave the impression that the writer ‘gets’ gamers, and why they cling to their identity. It wasn’t a glorificiation of the medium, instead, it merely showed exactly why they (and MMORPG’s in particular) mean so much to so many people. It provides them with an identity, a place to be. They gain comrades and make friends, and actually get the feeling they achieve something. Especially for people who aren’t happily dancing their way through society, that is so very important. The adventures they have, the talks they cause, the laughs that are had – even if society merely calls it a ‘dumb game’, they have meaning precisely because the experiences they cause them to have are irreplacable. Most people carry the years they put in MMO’s with them for a long, long time, possibly even the rest of their lives. So yes, screw it! Life is worth living if you’re having fun, no matter what anyone says.

    I find it rather fascinating too how William, through the course of this second season, went from ‘that jerk that walked out’ to a complex and emotional character. LH yet again never bothers with easy one-note characters, everone has a story. I hope he sticks around for a while yet, as I’d love to see more out of him. The irony that he looks up to Shiroe while Shiroe’s is jealous of his speeching skills is rather delicious as well. And of course the voice acting helps – Yuuichi Nakamura is one hell of an actor.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

    2. @ Dvalinn

      I know what you mean. Just because it’s not real doesn’t mean it’s not real, ya know? What matters is the experience, the story, and that’s as real as anything else, even if others don’t understand…

      Stilts
      Reply

    3. I played Lineage 2 for years and yes, you can relate very well with this 2D fabrication of an hardcore gamer. People like those are just made of that passion you can see burning in William speech.

      But why with all of that desperate act? Man you just were wiped out, just go in there another 10 times and… But this is not the Elder Tale they knew any more, and now everybody is well aware of that. So at the whole guild’s wits end, William just had to give out his best speech to motivate everybody once more…

      Solaris
      Reply

  6. From a short browse through some other forums on discussing this episode, I have encountered the following (non-exhaustive) types of reactions:

    1) Boring episode. All talk, no action, no plot progress. Complete waste of time.
    2) Speech was pandering and sends a bad message glorifying hikikomori gamers. Get a life!
    3) Speech was ok/good/great, but should have been shorter. Too many repeating parts in the speech.
    4) THE FEELS! This speech was wonderful, honest, and I can deeply relate to it.

    So, very polarizing episode.

    I am in camp 4, although I am not a gamer and I do not think I have committed myself as deeply or obsessively in any one thing. I do, however, know the feeling of having my interests non-comprehended and/or looked down upon by others.

    When William spoke about how he ran away from the Round Table and the reforming of Akiba, I saw a parallel in his voiced justification at the time with what others have said to him about his gaming obsession. William had deemed that reforming Akiba was an impossible task that was a pointless waste of time. Others have most likely seen it impossible for gaming to make any real-world difference in people’s lives, and thus dismissed it as pointless as well.

    …I don’t think I have to spell out the rest of this comparison. 🙂

    Monimonika
    Reply

    1. I remember all the people who were up set when on Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions the lead girl Yūta after acting normal for a while and returned to being a Chunibyo. In particular those who are you can’t stay that way and become a responsible person. To those people I say if you dislike Williams message here or that story you are “The Man” wanting to force everyone into what ever the social normal is at the time even though that is an artificial construct as well. People who dislike this and want others to conform want to make everyone another brick in the wall.

      And yes you can be a Chunibyo in a more adult form the rest of your life. See Society for Creative Anachronism Japan has four chapters and Japan has it’s own home grown groups into historical reenactment and mysticism of Japanese history.

      And Willam and his raiders in this story are the core of the main stream society. The people of Log Horizon need there core raiders. And you only dragging Willam and his group back to earth by force.

      In this world most of your with drawn nerds, not suffering serious mental issues, do tend to get into the real world and become productive without being forced. Some find other interests others stay in.

      The tragedy of Bengazi’s ambassador’s dying hit the MMO Eve hard as he was a key negotiator and key member of one the most powerful guilds. And in that game of major wars between players, see them on youtube some of them rival major movies, thousands of players fighting each other in one big battle, Forbes says $300,000 US dollars of ships destroyed in the largest one. So being a pro negotator gave them extra juice.

      Some of the crafting guild leaders in Log Horizon do contraction and engineering for there earth jobs. And we may see EVE like 1,000’s of players now inhabitants fighting each other.

      RedRocket
      Reply

    3. Sadly, most anime watchers just go for shallow entertainment and action. They just don’t care about deep meaning and character development. There are better shows for them just like one of the generic shounen out there. There are a number of those this season too.
      Ironically, this is exactly the kind of people Williams speaks against in this very same episode. Unconsciously rejecting it?
      It’s a pity these people don’t even want to do a little comprehension effort to get what’s really good in episodes like this. Why do they watch Log Horizon to begin with? This is just your little nerdy show, a feast for gamers. It’s clearly not for them. Maybe they just hope this turns out like another SAO?

      Solaris
      Reply

  7. Sorry Stilts, disagree with you completely on the vulnerability is strength. Vulnerability is never strength, it indicates weakness and allows those who wish to usurp you to quickly destroy you. William here is not professing vulnerability as much as showing leadership among a depressed group defined by gaming. William is showing his devotion to his love and passion in gaming, a key component for anyone who wishes to identify themselves as a gamer. William’s strength lies in this and his refusal to apologize for it in the current environment, using this to personally connect with the group members and bring them back together. It’s basic social dynamics in play, using differences with outsiders to solidify support among the insiders. Guaranteed if a similar play was made on a different stage (i.e. the cool kids cliques) William would have been ditched, shunned, and ostracized far quicker than the group was annihilated by those three raid bosses; his passion here would have been seen as strange, different, and weak as it would be a hobby not shared by the others. These tactics only work when dealing with a homogenous group already following the principles you are preaching, they do far more damage than support when used outside of their intended range.

    If one needs more evidence consider why gaming is generally considered a vulnerability in the first place. The answer to that question explains why it’s a failure to try to use it as a strength outside of any place not already devoted to gaming. If a vulnerability is a strength it wouldn’t be a vulnerability in the first place, it’s why one must account for the reference frame when considering these types of displays.

    TL;DR? Among gamers gaming prowess is a strength, not a vulnerability. William’s speech was successful here due to the people he was talking to. Tried anywhere else it would have failed miserably as in William’s flashbacks where he was ridiculed, laughed at, and ignored. Vulnerability only works as a strength when dealing with a group who already embrace and follow it as it is then not considered a vulnerability.

    Pancakes
    Reply

    1. Yeah, no. Knowing when and where you can be vulnerable is a great source of strength. And, as a student of geopolitics, I would go so far as to disagree with Stilts that countries never see this. America for example is famous for leaving huge gaping vulnerabilities in our security on the basis that ‘that’s who we are.’ And countries respect us for that.

      Of course, mistakes have been made (and are being made) and many sort of ‘pop culture’ conceptions of america abroad can be negative, but there is a reason that the US has been a fairly successful world hegemon and it largely comes down to an openness in how we are perceived to deal with our allies and even our enemies to an extent.

      I say this as someone who has studied this issues while spending years living abroad. I am not describing the words of Americans in American schools, I am saying what non-Americans say about America. Vulnerability when correctly applied can be a great political tool and even a good security maneuver, but you do have to pick your spots. It’s not about just laying down your arms and forgetting any measure of danger and security.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

    2. Sorry, one more thing:

      You’re not wrong about William’s words working because it was this group. But it’s not because these people don’t think it’s a vulnerability. If you think that hardcore gamers aren’t aware of the costs the hobby can have to you life I would question how hardcore of a gamer you’ve been. Social lives, education, jobs; games can cost a lot and gamers do not pay that price gladly.

      The key is, as I said, picking your spot. WIlliam revealed a vulnerability that they shared and understood. If he had revealed he had a bad ankle and his layup was weak it wouldn’t have helped. But he commiserated with them. This is the same reason groups like Alcoholics Anonymous work (as well as they do, they’re not perfect). You realize that you’re not alone in your weakness or your vulnerability, and through that shared weakness you can find a measure of strength.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

    3. Jesus and Gandhi would disagree and state vulnerability is the true strength.

      With countries more wars probably have been caused by acting tough than acting vulnerable but it is a balancing act. Acting tough easily can force you in a corner where you must fight or be a lie, and the toughness can make the other side hate you and want to fight. I prefer the talk softly and carry a big stick approach. You make clear that you can fight as country indirectly by having the military that can do it. But you take conversation with others from a stance of openness. Talking nice to Nazi Germany was not the problem, failing to invade Germany in 1935 when Hitler broke the arms restrictions on Germany treaty was the problem.

      RedRocket
      Reply

    4. You’re definitely not wrong when you say that the appropriate circumstances have to be there, but your argument seems to want to have its proverbial cake and eat it too.

      First you say that “vulnerability is never strength,” and yet then you turn right around and say “vulnerability only works as a strength when dealing with a group who already embrace and follow it as it is then not considered a vulnerability.”

      Of course, to be fair, I understand what you’re trying to say here, but your implied point that, somehow, a vulnerability can only be considered an actual vulnerability when it reflects badly upon the person in question by way of how the people around him/her react is, quite frankly, nonsense.

      Just because William opened himself up to the people who, admittedly, were probably the most receptive in the world to hear what he had to say; that doesn’t mean he wasn’t vulnerable. Of course he was, and there was no guarantee that he was going to get a positive outcome. His friends could’ve just as easily let themselves be consumed by despair and walked out on him.

      You can’t cherry pick situations based solely on the outcome and call what one person did a vulnerability because such-and-such happened or a strength because something entirely different occurred.

      An emotional vulnerability – as William put on display in this episode – is, ultimately, about the person himself/herself. Outside people may influence it, to be sure, but the root of it is always about the individual and that doesn’t change regardless of what any respective outcome might have to say about it.

      Ryan Ashfyre
      Reply

      1. @Ryan Ashfyre

        You’re not wrong, I have a bad habit of making off the cuff arguments and poor wording :P, I’ll see if I can’t better lay out my thoughts.

        Firstly I disagree in concluding the social judging of what constitutes a vulnerability to be nonsense. Vulnerabilities exist because the person holding them views them to be weaknesses in comparison to others; if they weren’t vulnerabilities, then the person would not feel put down by holding them. The vulnerability is always personal I agree, but it is grounded in relation to something else. The point I was trying to make was that if William had done the same speech outside of his guild the impact would likely have been very different. In such an instance William’s vulnerability would have been perceived as weakness, as no one would/could relate to it in context. It wouldn’t have been strength.

        Now in the guild William’s vulnerability no longer becomes immediately suspect as weakness as the others can personally relate to it. William is showing a personal weakness yes, but the others don’t perceive it as this as much as an example they can empathize with because of one key point: William’s professed desire to move past defeat and try the fight again. This part is why his guild members did not leave. By showing himself to experience the same things as everyone else and also find the strength to move past those experiences, William formed an example his friends could emulate; guaranteed if William had surrendered to despair then the whole raid party would have fallen apart. It’s why in this case I consider William’s vulnerability to not be one, he is using his opening up as a rock for the others to hold on to and propel themselves forward. If William had used his emotional letting to only bemoan the many troubles he and the group faced, then it would certainly have stayed as a vulnerability as there would have been nothing positive gained by its admittance.

        This is why I brought up the idea of reference frames, in certain circumstances the vulnerability can no longer be considered one. If a vulnerability lends strength as in this case, then IMO in terms of the circumstances it’s no longer a vulnerability. Poor wording attempt maybe, but I hope it gets the idea across better.

        Pancakes
        Reply

    5. While I agree that knowing vulnerability is useful, there’s a significant difference between that and professing vulnerability openly. What you’re discussing is not the disclosure of vulnerability, but its perception. This difference is why you have the dichotomy between the American (to continue the example) focus on freedom and democracy while simultaneously spying on both allies and citizens, whether at home or abroad. Non-Americans (and most Americans) do not know what the US’ specific vulnerabilities are, but they perceive it to be merciful and fair from the public image proclaimed at every news conference and Presidential address.

      It’s why I stated William’s speech to be a source of strength because he is not professing a personal vulnerability as much as the perception of vulnerability. His speech overall could be considered a musing on a common experience all the guild members share in some capacity. I agree that none of them really consider their gaming prowess a “strength”, but what William has done here is turn the issue away from whether it is a strength or weakness (i.e. from “real life”) to one of action; he has used the shared problems of real life as a source of inspiration to spur the guild members forward, saying in effect “I’m just like you, but I aim to push on through; if I can find the strength to keep on going then I know the rest of you can too”. If anything it’s similar to how politicians hold photo ops in places like factories, schools, and fairs wearing jeans and t-shirts while holding babies and drinking beer. It’s designed purposely to show that they are just like everyone else to lend support to initiatives without actually indicating any specific weakness, and–like you mention–only works when employed carefully in chosen spots.

      Pancakes
      Reply

      1. No offense, but you’re sort of missing the point.

        “I’m just like you, but I aim to push on through; if I can find the strength to keep on going then I know the rest of you can too”.

        This is exactly what he’s NOT saying. In fact the episode goes lengths to establish that he is not using a ‘let’s work together’ platitude. Yes, you can simplify what he said down to that, but you always have to be careful when you simplify things that you aren’t losing important parts of the meaning. And in this you are. The whole arc of the episode (and actually this season) is that shallow words are meaningless. Only by being honest and vulnerable could they get what they needed. William had to admit that he’s a ‘pathetic’ gamer, Akatsuki had to admit she’s weak and had no identity, Shiroe had to admit that half of his politics was just him hiding stuff for various reasons. Admitting vulnerability is literally the point of this whole season so far.

        And again, not having every vulnerability does not mean you have no meaningful vulnerability. Admitting vulnerability does not mean running naked into the jaws of death. America can spy and still having meaningful vulnerabilities elsewhere, as do many democracies, as do William and Shiroe and so on.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

    6. Sorry, but no; vulnerability can absolutely be a strength, when appropriately applied. Yes, sometimes vulnerability is a weakness, but I don’t like to waste a lot of time quibbling over the minor details, so don’t focus on the exceptions; focus on the general thrust of truth to what I’m saying.

      If you’re willing to stand vulnerable in front of a group, to reveal your weakness and give them the ability to wound you, while in the pursuit of greater understanding, that shows your strength. That shows that you’re willing to be wounded—perhaps mortally, perhaps wounds that can never heal—in the pursuit or defense of that which you believe.

      RedRocket is right—Jesus and Ghandi and thousands of other amazing people in the span of our great history would disagree with you. To posture and strut for the sake of protecting strength can be useful, I do doubt that; but it’s not necessarily a strength. It’s a brittle strength, one which can be shattered at the slightest blow.

      Stand in front of a crowd and willingly put yourself out there. I don’t mean fake vulnerability, in order to curry favor; I mean true vulnerability, putting yourself out there, naked before the world. Be vulnerable when you don’t have to. Do that, and tell me it’s not a strength.

      You can’t. You won’t. It’s one of the greatest strengths of all. We laud those who are willing to endure great physical damage in the pursuit of their ideals; why not those who endure emotional and psychological damage as well? Because those wounds are far more difficult to heal.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. If you’re willing to stand vulnerable in front of a group…

        IMHO, it’s not that but rather the ability to trust those with whom
        you expose your vulnerability. When they see you trust in them,
        more so than any vulnerability you could be exposing, that’s where
        the team building and team strength happens.

        It’s all about fertility; you wouldn’t throw seeds on concrete
        and expect any growth, likewise, you should only expose those
        things to people whom you trust, and people who trust you.
        You wouldn’t go to a job interview and tell your prospective
        employer any negative view of yourself, but you would / should
        confide in people dear to you how that interview process went, etc.
        Because you know they’ll only use that knowledge to help you.

        It’s always measured; you’d (hopefully) never show your vulnerability
        to someone or group who would exploit that against you.

        Vulnerability isn’t a strength by itself, its application of when
        to share it is wisdom, and that wisdom will lead to strength.

        He made a decision to trust his team, and he was rewarded with greater
        loyalty from them as a result of their better understanding of him
        at a personal level. Thus he became stronger as a result.

        mac65
        Reply

    7. I completely disagree with Stilts here as well.

      The only vulnerability to show is that which is overcome, otherwise weakness breeds fear and dissention. If the leader showed weakness, he loses faith and trust in those following him.

      No one wants to follow a coward, or a weakling. The only vulnerabilities allowed in leadership are straw-men, not actual weaknesses. For example, ,o one would willingly follow the Matoi boy in Fate Stay Night. He is a sniveling wreck, and if William tell acted any bit like Matoi– giving into his weaknesses, the guild would fall apart quickly and scatter to the wind.

      If you show vulnerability you will be exploited. That is a fact of nature. It isn’t kind, but it is true. There’s very few candy-land situations where it is not.

      Drasca
      Reply

      1. Showing you are vulnerable and showing you are weak are not the same thing. William revealed a vulnerability. That does not mean he is a pushover. They all know that he is one of the strongest people there. Any time you are trying to convince people to do something they would not do naturally you are playing politics, and in all politics there are tricks and tools that can be used to achieve your end.

        Showing weakness is one such tactic. Ghandi was a master of such things. This does not mean Ghandi was a fool or simply ignored everything. He was very shrewd and he knew what weaknesses to show and what strengths to capitalize on.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

  8. I found a comment on /r/anime that i think is really useful, so I’ll post it here:
    “I really enjoyed this episode and most likely going to rewatch it soon. Probably after SAO or Pedal (on monday). There really is an observable effort by the anime staff to show its themes and motivations. Feels like they are giving their A game. They may not have a blockbuster FX budget they know how to stretch whatever funds they got. Very appreciated.
    One part that particularly stood out from a episode board/planning point of view was William’s final parts before Shiroe became the focus on the episode.
    While William gave his speech to his guild, and to himself to be honest, his mind ‘voice’ or his heart is apart from him for all intents and purposes. Physically, Real William is sitting down, while imaginary William is standing up. Real William says one thing, but imaginary william is opposing what he says. So eventually at the end, after the speech, where he finally manages to communicate what he is really thinking and feeling, Real William stands into the outline of imaginary william (whom disappears).
    Very very cool. Really shows the thought that went into interpretation of the source material. Like you said, Rise Up. And how.” —-Minte_Fresh

    Yes and it’s little details like this that really makes you think that the director of this show has really put some serious effort into it. Obviously you wouldn’t notice it the first time around, but when pointed out, it just makes you appreciate this show a lot more.

    NorsonWood
    Reply

    1. I very much liked the first parts with imaginary-imaginary William standing next to each teammate and giving pandering/clichéd/cringe-worthy words of confidence that William knew would be ineffective.

      Monimonika
      Reply

    3. I noticed that while watching and I liked the effect a lot. It was a good way of showing how conflicted William himself was. If they had just had ‘real’ william you would have thought he was giving an effective pep-talk, but by showing the internal conflict through the ‘imaginary’ william, we got to see that he was kind of at war with himself, struggling to find his own meaning in what was happening.

      Having the two line up at the end was a nice touch to show that he’d figured it out finally.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  10. I have so much respect for Willian Masachusets right now, to say what he said to his friends demands courage, to admit weakness in front of others is no easy feat and Willian did it proudly in a way makes feel good with yourself. He´s absolutely right, every single person in this crazy planet is different so their values differ vastly and becuase we differ so much is that what matters to each us is different but at the same equally valuable. So what if you don´t understand my interests? That doesn´t give you the right devaluate it or make fun of it, that´s our thing, what makes us special in our way, Willian knew all this and transmited it to his comrades and that´s why he´s an awesome guild master and even more awesome person.

    haseo0408
    Reply

  11. I wonder. Log Horizon and Fairy Tail have the same director. This week’s episode of Log Horizon featured Nakamura Yuuichi’s character William, and this week’s episode of Fairy Tail featured Nakamura Yuuichi’s character Gray. I wonder if this was intentional, or things just worked out that way.

    Krono
    Reply

  14. I watched this on Crunchyroll and you could tell by the comments that his speech reached a lot of gamers. Well someone decided to post an all access code for Crunchyroll “for the gamers”. Now posting an all access code in the comments section is nothing new, and happens all the time. Then the people who don’t have an account can grab the code and get all access for 48 hours. Which is pretty cool, though this little stunt inspired many other Crunchyroll members, (including myself) and we now have over 170 codes posted in a row. All in support of gamers. I thought it was pretty cool, and the amount of codes will probably keep on growing. Though this is definitely the most amount of codes I’ve seen posted in a single comment section. Pretty cool that an episode of Log Horizon was the inspiration there, and that one speech could speak so much to people. Gotta love anime. ^^

    Hyosuke575
    Reply

  15. I’ve been lurking this site for over a year, never posting and just reading comments, but i cannot stay quiet anymore

    This episode was the best. motivational speech. ever.
    Even in the novel, it didnt sound THIS amazing

    Thankfully i’m not on a level where i can only interact with people through games, but i know all too well about the comments of people, and when he went and said “We’re gamers, damn it!” i automatically raised a fist in the air and roared because that’s exactly my definition of gaming, the will to tackling challenges because its just fun

    And now time to play a Touhou game on lunatic or a naked run with the champion covenant on Dark Souls 2 because fuck it i feel like doing something impossible

    Masamune00
    Reply

  16. I think the length of the speech is a strength really (of the characterization). William is honest and heartfelt, and maybe pretty charismatic yeah, but I think that despite shirou’s admiration of his speaking skills, he’s still a bit socially awkward like the rest of us. That wasn’t a planned speech, it was william saying exactly what he felt, and it felt like he didn’t even know exactly what he was saying or thinking until he started saying it (hence the internal debate). The length was a demonstration of the honest unpolished nature of william as a person, as opposed to the short, frank, and calculating shirou

    nyanlol
    Reply

    1. He goes in circles a few times as well. And while that’s always hard to be sure if it’s totally intentional or a translation error/lost context, I choose to take it as characterization. when someone is trying to say something that they know is meaningful but they haven’t prepared, it’s not uncommon for them to talk in circles a bit.

      At first it sort of annoyed me, but as I settled in I came to like it how it made his words feel more natural and less like a prepared speech.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  17. Look at this from other perspective:
    If they succeed they will be THE legendary guild that was first to defeat 3 Raid bosses in single instance/time.
    Kinda, like first people on Mt.Everest, or the Moon, or to fly aircraft.
    I deliberately have left the names out, because if you dont know them , google is your friend, and it would be educational.
    I guess similar stuff surprisingly as in SAO with Sleeping Knights. Who could have suspected that 2 so different series can steer so close course at one moment?

    ewok40k
    Reply

  18. >Being depressed about a raid wipe could have seemed odd, because it happens all the time.

    Isn’t it balance issue? I don’t play MMORPGs, but from following Log Horizon book/anime it’s clear that Raid Rank bosses are built to be taken out by a party of similar level. So it would make sense that having 3 of them together would in essence be impossible.

    I mean, imagine your job or class at school where no matter how hard you try, you can’t succeed. I think that’s how they felt. Like their goal has suddenly became unattainable.

    baubo
    Reply

    1. Yes … but then again, no. Experience MMORPG raiders run up against many bosses that seem unbeatable at first blush (and some which, because they were badly balanced at release, were unbeatable). Coming up against super tough bosses (even multiple ones) and wiping are not uncommon. In fact, the fact that they’ve only had one total wipe is pretty impressive. That in and of itself isn’t enough to be that depressed.

      But the idea that raiding as they know it could be coming to an end? Yeah, that’ll do it.

      Stilts
      Reply

    2. The hint is that the game is becoming an alternate reality, so challenges that were once designed to be won with a given amount of effort are now being rewritten for worse. Just like in real life a challenge could be too much difficult to overcome, Raid bosses could have become an unbeatable foe now.

      Solaris
      Reply

    1. Apparently the light novels during this part largely sit in the same time frame but follow what different characters are doing. So while Shiroe is still the overall protagonist of the series, on the whole it’s actually a little ‘game of thronesian’ when it comes to main characters. In short, there’s a lot of protagonists and it won’t always focus on Shiroe even if he is the main guy in the end.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  21. As someone who played mmo’s back in the day this episode touched all the right notes. It reminded me of how i was into Ragnarok online to the point where I would study things about the game itself and the items that could be used by different classes. It actually made me want to play ro again lol

    Alcren
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *