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「クレセントムーン」 (Kuresentomuun)
“Crescent Moon”
If you have enough money, anything is for sale. Almost anything.
Devils in Megane
I don’t blame Marie-nee for being scared of those who wear glasses, ’cause those two are scary. Scary awesome! I don’t know which I like better, that for once the protagonists are the schemers or that for once the protagonists are being proactive. Scheming plans for world domination is usually the villain’s role, but Shiroe and Henrietta are making a good case that they’re the megane-wearing people for the job! Really though I guess I just get a laugh out of them acting evil, especially when Marie-nee or Akatsuki suffer hilariously as a result. This is what happens when Shiroe sells Akatsuki out!? Sell her out, sell her out all the time Shiroooee!!
Shipping Marie-nee – Naotsugu, Shouryuu, or…?
My love for Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon is well documented, and one of the (many) reasons is the endless shipping potential and OTPs (trope!), and what do you know Log Horizon is turning out the same way. If you don’t like Shiroe x Akatsuki because you’re a monster or something, there’s still other fun relationships to ship, including Nyanta x Serara and Marie x Naotsugu. Or Marie x Shouryuu? I can’t decide! Naotsugu seems somewhat scared of Marie-nee, but she certainly seems to like glomping him more than anyone else. Then there’s Shouryuu, who’s so devoted it’s hard to not be taken in by his earnest desire to help, which I think even Marie-nee would agree with even if she’s oblivious to his feelings. Speaking of, the girl is oblivious to other’s romantic feelings for once? Le gasp!
The Race is On – Grow and Conquer
I should have expected this from the original author of Maoyuu but this is turning into a business anime, and I’m totally okay with that. What I’m glad to see is that Shiroe was thinking about, because I knew the Crescent Burgers alone would make them the money they need, and that the money isn’t the most important part anyway. The way I see it, Shiroe needs power and influence to reshape Akihabara with rules of his choosing, and for that he needs to be more than Debauchery Tea Party’s old strategist and a good Lv 90 Enchanter, though those are good starts. With food that tastes like actual food crashing into the market, he has done that.
For now. It won’t last long though, as Shiroe is undoubtedly aware. Now that everyone know it’s possible to make real food someone else will figure it out sooner rather than later, if they don’t simply investigate the Crescent Moon Alliance or Log Horizon and figure it out that way. That means Shiroe needs to use this advantage while they still have it. Here’s what I think he needs to do – he needs to draw lines in Akiba. He needs to declare who his enemies are by excluding them and mark his allies by including them. Whether that means strategically divulging the secret to curry favor or what depends, but if he’s going to change the rules he needs to get everyone willing to play ball on his side and prepare to exile the rest to the wilderness.
Past that, if I were in Shiroe’s shoes I know what I would do – franchise. He wants money and he has a secret that will only last for so long, so he should pull as many people into his conspiracy as he can trust and get them making money for the plan. That’ll mean sharing the plan with them too, of course. I think that’s exactly what he was doing when he called out to Soujiro (Shimono Hiro). Shiroe is mustering his allies and drawing battle lines in the lanes of Akiba. I can’t wait to see Hamelin left all on their own.
Old Friend Soujiro
A few things on Soujiro. First of all, I’m glad someone is finally talking about how this world is a prison. That elephant in the room still needs some occasional addressing. I also really liked how it was noted that Soujiro’s a hit with the ladies. It doesn’t take this show long to quickly establish characterization for anyone they introduce, which is a marker of good writing from Touno-sensei. Finally, it’s hard not to like him even if you’re a guy. Does he need to know the plan? No, fuck it. He’ll help because it’s a friend asking, right on the front lines if need be. He’s the kind of friend you want to have.
Looking Ahead
It’s hard to guess what exactly the second step of Shiroe’s plan is, but now that he’s eyeing real estate there’s no end to the possibilities. Perhaps he wants to create posh apartment complexes to rake in even more money/expand his influence, or somehow force Hamelin out of their own guildhall. It’s useless guessing, so I’ll just wait for next week and enjoy the fun. See you then!
tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Shiroe is gunna rule the world, not w/ force but w/ cute waitresses serving burgers. Waitress Akatsuki? All hail Shiroe-sama! #loghorizon 07
Random thoughts:
- No no no, meido outfits were absolutely the right choice. Waitresses are good too, but c’mon!
- That paperwork. I feel you, Marie-nee. Responsibility sucks.
- I think this is the first time we’ve seen these guys when PKing wasn’t mentioned. I guess they’re sticking around!
- Even if their current world is a prison, I like Shiroe’s plan – first improve the prison, then use their newly amassed power to break free. There’s no end to his plans? I hope so.
Check out my blog about storytelling and the fantasy novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Writing challenge – one short story, one week, Novel update: editing & short stories, My stance on piracy, and The three main rules of storytelling.
Full-length images: 14, 27, 28.
Preview
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Pay attention to all the new characters given voices or one-off scenes, because they’re going to be really important down the line. Especially that blonde-hair near the ending. You won’t be able to guess who he is.
You mean the person of the land???
The last picture, that’s the Bank of the city, if you can buy real state, What happens when you buy the building where all the money is?
Holy &%$$…
That could be the most diabolik plan that I hace seen. I love it.
I believe that is the guildhall, not the bank.
Technically it’s both.
The building is the Guildhall, where all the guild rooms are.
But as mentioned in the opening minutes of this episode, the Hall also provides the storage and bank services too. So basically two birds with a single stone.
I would also think that as the owner of the building, he can access all the rooms as well as change the security settings for them
glasses are scary…..
How many GF does Soujirou have?
Qoute from Baka-Tsuki’s Log Horizon Translation, Volume 2, Chapter 3
"Soujirou is still popular with the ladies?""Hmm? Ah... please don't say that."
Soujirou started to panic. Nyanta squinted his thin eyes into a thin line and asked "So nice to be young. How many nya?"
Soujirou raised one hand with his thumb folded in..
4 girls.
So he’s the male version of Akatsuki? I guess as much since he looks just as young as Akatsuki.
Show Spoiler ▼
Just as what Naotsugu said in the earlier episodes; There are two types of men in the world; Perverts that talk about it out in the open, and closet perverts who don’t.
Soujirou seemed to be fine talking about pantsu as long as there ain’t no girls around (Episode 3). He appears to spend most of his time with Naotsugu. He probably is a muttsuri-ni.
So it looks like part of the plan is to buy the whole guild building, we can guess as much with all the clues dropped. And I’m guessing that the price comes around the same price Shiroe was asking. I guess buying a building would mean access to everything in it, which meant Shiroe can access Hamelin’s hall and save the kids. Pretty neat.
But then I guess there is something more to the plan: people like Shiroe don’t stop the plan even if the main goal is achieved. He’s more like an evil mastermind now rather than a benevolent MC. Chaotic Good, perhaps?
Own the building and you can get into any room, eh? I like it 😀
And of course Shiroe has more up his sleeves! There’s no end to his plans, remember? That’s probably just step 2 or 3. There’ll be plenty more after that.
I don’t think that Shiroe wants into their guild hall, I believe he wants *them* thrown out of their own guildhall.
Late reply but I wanted to toss this in cause I’m currently watching this series and following this commentary. This show and SAO reminds me so much of WoW(maybe I can get Blizz to make a Ninja companion that pops down from the top of the monitor and say ” My Lord, whatcha going”. Great job Stilts. I also enjoyed the one on Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere.
I bet you 5million that he’s going to by the guild hall. It would be the only thing that could cost that much. Look at him staring at the building. https://randomc.net/image/Log%20Horizon/Log%20Horizon%20-%2007%20-%2039.jpg
Off to eps 8 to see him rule the world
In what struck me as a good example of showing instead of telling, the Akatsuki dress up bit giving hints of what guilds can do with permission settings.
Very true! Or rather I guess it was telling in the guise of something silly when they’re really tossing out exposition that will likely be plot-important in the near future.
As long as they continue explaining more of the world, that’s good. But I still feel like it’s a tad slow.
also, enabling PvP inside their Guild Halls.. Hamelin has it Active, thats why it is not so Easy to save them.. High levlers “guarding” Low Levels not to Escape.. Are “Golden Birdcage” Prison
Perhaps, he Buy out the Guild Hall Building, and rent the Rooms for Guild he trust. So he will became the Mayor of the City or so…
He will raise to be a “Prime Minister” of the Game, or of the City
mm no Chaotic Good.. those are “free spirits”.. they don’t really plan ahead (more impulsive).
he fits more into “Neutral Good” territory: normally acts altruistically and he follows his conscience .. even if it would clash against the rules .. a Neutral Good character can even bend or break the laws .. if it means doing the right thing (they also don’t suffer from breaking the laws.. as least not as much as lawful chars)
Think of Spiderman, Dumbledore, James T. Kirk, Gandalf.
Well, while franchise is as a way to collect money in real world, it cannot be used here.
Remember that there aren’t any laws in Elder Tales now. What’s the point of making franchise if your partners would’ve just stole/sell the production method and/or withhold paying the franchising fee? There aren’t any laws nor cop/police reinforcing the franchise/copyright laws here. Reinforcing it themselves is also impossible, since Log Horizon+Crescent is just two small guilds after all.
And, well, how many people can Shiroe be trusted now? any members of DTP is very trustworthy, but there couldn’t be that many of them logged in, right? I mean, from the flashback, I don’t see DTP having that many member
And while they can make it that the franchisee just sold the end product and not involved in the cooking themselves, they will encounter the same problem. The supply (Nyanta and his chef co.) cannot match the demands. Hiring new sub job chefs also means bringing in spies, as well. just hiring trustworthy chefs will also limit the number of applicants. The production method will definitely be spread with franchising, one way or another, so franchise is out with the time limit they have.
However, rest assured, from what I gather from the LN infos, the next episodes will definitely reveal why Shiroe is called ‘the black hearted glasses’.
A certain amount of trust is required, which is why I was talking about bringing people into his overall plan rather than working with those who are just in it for the money. It’s true that the word would eventually get out that way as well though, but I figure that’s going to happen regardless.
I’m mostly still thinking about this in true business terms though, and of course the money is only part of the equation. I’m excited to see what the master strategist has in mind!
If some Guilds can be at easy in some directions, they can focus on what it is important. If you Trust someone, then there is some weight lifted of your shoulders. Of course, the trust must be deep
The overall goal of the plan it to bring order to Elder Tale. Thus even if someone else starts making Crescent Burgers, it will benefit to the overall plan. Shiro’s plan is set up so that it doesn’t matter because they’ll already be on the phase of the plan that doesn’t even matter regarding food stuffs.
If Shiroe’s crazy enough, he might even buy the whole Akihabara and create his own empire where he can set the rules and laws wherein nobody will get oppressed.
After this episodes, I seem to like Marie and Henrietta (Umeko!) more. Naotsugu has always been craving for a woman but he seems neutral on Marie, I think it’d make a more interesting couple than the little kid on Marie’s guild. And finally, we get to see Akatsuki in the dress!
what the hell Naotsugu! I thought you’re a pervert, grab those massive plot already! you’re in her room
alone! nobody would know! lol
…waiting patiently for a doujinshi of that scene…
and poor Akatsuki, running around like a scared cat
He’s a pervert, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a gentleman as well. I can’t see Naotsugu doing something untoward towards a lady unless her permission is given. He’s too much of an adult for that.
https://randomc.net/image/Log%20Horizon/Log%20Horizon%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
More West Wind Brigade please.
Funny you should mention that since an anon has started translating the West Wind Brigade manga. He’s done the first two chapters now.
Yeah we are getting lucky with translators for this series, thats actually how I knew who they were.
I’m having trouble wrapping my brain around how the Crescent Moon burger production business actually works. Leave aside the question of how you can end up with a normal-tasting hamburger starting with a boar rather than a cow. I get that you can’t kill the boar out in the field because it will vanish into sparklies and leave you with only an “ingredient” item. But doesn’t the same thing happen if you take it home and slaughter it in the kitchen? And where do they get the flour and yeast, etc, to make all those burger buns?
Anyhow, seems to me Shiroe could go a long way towards his goal of a contented populace by setting up not so much a franchise system but an permanent guild of bakers + restaurant chefs to keep people fed and happy.
Remember that this is aired on an educational channel, so bursting into treats might be a form of censorship.
They took the boars to chefs. I guess if chefs process it they can make more than if they just kill it in battle.
About the other ingredients: what do you think Marielle signed those paperworks for?
Shiroe’s friends can go out and hunt boars (and chickens etc). Is there a level 90 Miller out there somewhere who has been harvesting and milling in-game wheat to make flour that Shiroe can buy? I don’t see how paperwork has any relevance here. I’m not asking how they pay for it, I’m just puzzled where it comes from.
@r3dking If you go back to the MMO roots there are many ways the can get the other ingredients. Wheat, maybe gather in the field and mill like you said.
Or buy the flour from NPC stores? We’ve been shown they act more like humans than game NPCs so buying wholesale maybe instead of clicking a menu you need to manually submit paperwork maybe?
Also we have seen the preview where they will negotiate with other 3 big guilds which are crafting/merchant guilds.
I love log horizon now 😀 as the series unfolded, i was kind of hesistant to watch this, and the only motivation was that the author was the same author for maou yuusha, and that was quite an enjoyable series that focuses on economy and business like spice and wolf but as i watched on, it got me completely sucked into the series, and i am now enjoying every little detail that has gone into the writing! and as a bonus, akatsuki is just so moe, it’s dangerous for me, as with charlotte in IS and myucel (I think) from outbreak company. the level of HGNNN is too damn high!! XD. anyways looking forward to next week!
And now you know why I picked up this series…all three of those series, as a matter of fact! Plus all the plot and other stuff too (‘cept for IS, which is all Char).
But seriously, Akatsuki x Myuseru x Char doujins pleeeeease!
There’s a lot of ‘plot’ in IS where char keeps the cookies.
Akatsuki x Myuseru x Char doujins? Mind blown. HNNNNNNNNGG
Shiroe you bastard! You sold Akatsuki not once but twice! But we got to see her in a pretty dress so I forgive you. XD
And yet she remains his loyal follower despite that.
That’s some hardcore feels she has for Shiroe.
Perhaps he thinks of do her a good think, to show her the Way of being Ladylike
That’s NOT Shiroe, that’s Haraguro Magane: The Four-Eye Villain.
I don’t think Shiroe wants to buy an entire building, guild hall or something like that, he wants to grab attention, look at how quickly the news spread about real tasting food. Now that Shiroe has all the powerful guilds’ attention in Akihabara, I wonder how he’ll use it…
How about buying the whole Guild building?
Thing is he’s likely aiming at controlling Akihabara. The food thing is just the first step, but since the secret to it can be discovered if other chefs research it it would be unwise to put everything on that. Shiroe needs a bigger chip to hold hostage against the other guilds.
Their guild halls are more likely that chip.
Watching it again more thoroughly, I agree it makes more sense that he’d buy out an entire guild hall to exploit the bigger guilds, but still 5 mil still seems quite far off, I’m curious as to how he’ll come up with the money, I feel food will most definitely play an important role in the coming episodes…
I really like that this show has both good female and male characters that contribute.
Anime tends to (not always) be one or the other. Shounen/action shows tend to primarily have male characters with female characters as mostly eye-candy. Harem shows (including for some reason SAO) tend to have primarily female characters with a couple of male characters sprinkled in.
It’s nice to have a show that has both male and female characters with a variety of relationships in play: romantic pairings, old friends, new friends, etc.
And the continued use of the Debauchery Tea Party as a way to give the world a kind of depth and history is very well done.
I have nothing to add but to say that I agree!
I like the way they went about explaining the guild hall system. Instead of a simple lecture or monologue which might blow over your head, it was incorporated during the comedic, light-hearted Henrietta/Akatsuki scene.
“It can only be entered by guild members!”
“I set it so skills can’t be used here”
“I can also set combat permissions individually”
Fast forwarding to the second half, where we see Minori trapped toiling away in the guild hall with Shiroe unable to enter… You’d instantly get it – no exposition needed. Well done by the director.
Add the first few seconds of the episode where Shiroe explains that most if not all guilds use the Guild hall which also has the storage and bank. Rub that you can buy any building if you got the money. And sprinkle the last few seconds of evil Shiroe staring at the guild hall. And you can’t have any more blatant in your face exposition as to what he is aiming next…
Well, he still have the problem to the Remaining Guild members, that lose their HQ. Roaming in the City.
But then, in the City fights are not permitted, only place where you can get PvP was inside the Guild Halls…
Nice Move…
But, i doubt the kicked out Guilds will leave peaceful the City, well i am curios
as before, LH is funny and becoming more fun to watch.
but this time the course of events is becoming more intense as Shiroe plan taking shape. we know shiroe is far great strategist foresee “threats” for the plan, like those who plan to investigate about the food. he is probably ready. besides, we still haven’t seen nothing from the actions of Akatsuki and some other things going on. but you’re right – he’ll need to surpass his strategist ability this time.
I am must bring a point or two here:
let;s start with the twins. clearly they are included in shiroe plan (which we all sure wonder about as a whole). operation “saving twins” is on the way hah?
but one should wonder..what’s prevent him taking his fellows and simply infiltrate the bad ones and kick their asses?he can do it..doesn’t he? they kicked the ass of the PKs a few eps ago..so what’s the problem?my guess is it suppose to create some kind of impact for his next-next step..right?
and that’s not all..shiroe is resolved about saving the world.
I would not describe it as a “messiah” complex – wanting to save the twins and the world..but I am still not sure about his motive-force. let me make the point more clear – it’s different between help fixing the world, rather than take control. by force or even not by force. is he ready for the implications of the “aftermath”? I don’t know…
last thing here – can anyone tell me what’s with the blood? we haven’t seen that before..right?so why now?
random thoughts:
1. Akatsuki in a dress?*nosebleed*
2. Serara: “Nyanta is so wonderful” *in a cute voice*. oh damit, you’re wonderful too! go ahead!make a move! but wait…Nyanta is probably the “oldest” in the group..and Serara is so young..is that will make a lolicon?Noooooooo
3. so it’s fits – Marie x Naotsugu OSU!
4. Soujiro – the power to attract the ladies is much more important than physical strength!
5. what’s with the fall season and glasses? all the devils are with glasses? 😛
To answer your question, Shiroe and co can’t infiltrate because combat is banned in the city in general, and within the confines of a guildhall that guild controls every parameter, including who can engage in combat – meaning they can set it so that only certain of their guild members can fight and ALL non-guild members cannot. Shiroe & co would be defenseless if they could even get in, which they can’t.
I like to think of Shiroe as a natural villain with the morals of a good guy. He’s basically using villainous tactics to do positive things. It’s a treat to see : )
I don’t know…what’s the problem to make them go out of the city same as he did with PKs?
sure he can do such thing. maybe the way to do it is through food?
BTW, I think that the thing with Hermlin (or whatever that bad guys guild name is) are only part of his big plan. they are only part of the problem in Akihabara IMHO
The situation is different, getting them out of the city and beating them doesn’t really solve his problem. He needs to somehow free their guild prisoners. But they’re in the guild hall and he can’t affect the guild hall (yet).
I still don’t get what exactly his plan is, but I’m excited to see.
And I agree that Hamelin (it’s a pied piper reference) is only part of the problem. They basically said that last time. The issue seems to be mostly that power has started dictating the rules in Akihabara. I’m interested to see how he’s going to upset the power structure while at the same time destroying/exiling/defeating Hamelin.
Thats the thing, just beating up Hamelin members outside of town would not free the beginners or stop them from being exploited. Shiroe has to find a way to coerce them into stopping on their own.
oh, you already answered. I didn’t see this.
OK, now I got that. thanks guys.
so all that left to me is the thing with the blood. when the twin-girl stitched something, she bleed a little due to the needle. but in the major fights we haven’t seen any blood or something…maybe it’s because the action is auto-self or because it’s inside the town or something..
perhaps a side effect of “pvp enabled = Blood core”
Liking the venture into economics, reminds me Spice and the Wolf and Maoyuu as you mentioned Stilts. Shiroe’s second stage is likely to involve a property purchase as people have mentioned, but it won’t be the guild building. It was mentioned that both rooms and buildings can be bought, for a significant fee. The 5 million is likely for a building, I expect a more moderate purchase of, say, Hamelin’s guild room (I seriously doubt a room would cost 5 million even here).
This is where the cooking campaign comes in. It’s designed to disturb the local situation and disorient everyone. Next episode’s bringing together of the crafting guilds is likely an attempt to buy off potential opponents through the standard divide and conquer, give them the cooking solution, and in return you refuse to cooperate with certain people/guilds. Then you use the gold obtained from the Crescent Moon stand to buy Hamelin’s base. Left with nowhere to turn they will do the only thing left: attack. Cue Shoujiro’s entrance. As he mentioned he’s a front line fighter, he wasn’t requested just for his womanizing. Shoujiro is going to be a key piece in extirpating Hamelin from Akihabara when it finally comes to physical blows as Shiroe currently lacks dedicated offensive fighters.
Of course I could be completely wrong, but it’s one of the more logically parsimonious options available when you’re looking to minimize collateral damage. It’s what comes after that’s up in the air story wise. Obviously there are going to be some Hamelin customers quite displeased with Log Horizon, it just remains to be seen exactly who.
Also has anyone else noticed the focus on glasses this year? I swear between scissors and glasses most series have at least one of these tropes covered in terms of comedy or plot.
Why give it? Why not SELL it? How much do you thin a guild will spend for such a knowledge?
5 million gold?
Oh yeah! Akatsuki in a maid outfit = instant win. Glad they did not keep us hanging this time around.
Sorry I meant waitress outfit. Akatsuki such a loli.
Although its just a minor detail, I’m glad that Soujirou answered to Shiroe that the game felt like a prison. Even though I like this show, I still question myself to how a lot of the players don’t ask themselves the question of what is happening in the real world or how they got in the game in the first place; Soujirou, in a way, puts a reminder that the world that they are living in is kind of forcing them to adapt, and to be the avatars that they chose in the game. (For Akatsuki, however, it’s to be a waitress XD)
I am surprised at how correct some of the guesses are with what Shiroe wants to purchase, it is totally brilliant and at the same time completely devious. I have a greater appreciation of why he is reputed to be the genius strategist, I totally love it – Major Spoiler!!
Show Spoiler ▼
Yep, there is a reason why Shiroe becomes known as a master manipulator.
Show Spoiler ▼
https://randomc.net/image/Log%20Horizon/Log%20Horizon%20-%2007%20-%20Large%2027.jpg
Ah! My Exhaustion if flying away!
*is flying
Man Log Horizon has had some absolutely amazing commentary on MMORPG ethics and politics, sparked my desire to get back into FFXIV about two weeks ago.
I’m caught up in everything, from the overall mystery of just what the Novasphere expansion was and how it worked to the events forthcoming with Shiroe’s intent to try and stabilize Akihabara.
I wish I had more insightful commentary but there wasn’t a whole crapton of stuff to comment on for me at least this episode. It’s a bummer Soujirou’s sister didn’t make the transfer as it’s clear that Shiroe really could use that guidance to some degree.
It pretty much sums up how our human nature works in light of a world with little to no rules. It’s great to see someone who starts to instill order/chaos in a world gone mad.
I enjoy the strong political emphasis. On both sides. Because yes, human nature creates people like Demikas and Hamelin, who without order do bad things. But human nature also creates people like Shiroe, who will fight to instill that order. After all, humans created society. So the capacity for every good thing is there too.
Pretty awesome episode. The looks of everyone tasting real food. Who would have thought that burgers and chicken strips can rule the world.
Wanna ask something.
Crescent Moon cafe prices are: Crescent Burger 15 gold, Super Crescent Burger for 30 gold. Fried Chicken(1 piece) 18 gold, (3 pieces) for 50 gold. Fish & Chips(small) 10 gold, (large) for 20 gold. Black Rose Tea(1 cup) 5 gold, (1 bottle) for 15 gold ; copypasta from LN.
Then we are taught that one-night stay on cheapest inn are 10 gold, NPC meals are 5 gold (so McCrescent are 3-6x normal), but still 10 gold are considered “chump change” and gold are so easy to obtain with no place to really spend it.
So, anyone think that the prices are still too low? Considered that they clearly need fast money, currently the only ones who know the secret of the food, and clearly will do something like franchise or something to multiple that money, shouldn’t they increase the price? Any opinion about that? Thanks in advance.
Considering demand >>> supply and their monopoly status, they should increase prices over time, if they were just in it for the money. However, I’d say their starting prices are reasonable since people were skeptical about paying even 15, and no one would have bought mush for 100 gold when you can get it for 5. Shiroe is probably also trying to give the people of Akiba a positive impression of Log Horizon/Crescent Moon, so he doesn’t want to be a dick and massively overcharge them just because he can.
Actually, from a pure economic standpoint, they should jack up the prices just the 2nd day. Give everyone a taste of the food, and then using the temporary monopoly(until someone else figures out the trick) to rake in as much as you can. As noted, many players don’t actually spend that much, while surely the higher level players make quite a bit more. They technically could’ve jacked up the price so only the top guilds/players can pay for it.
But alas, the point was never to maximize short term income for Shiroe. Therefore the price is certainly not what it should be under monopoly.
Hard to say until we know his full plan. Economically it doesn’t fit as of yet. If money’s so easy to get by fighting (at least in small amounts) then having this be so cheap would seriously mess with the markets.
But clearly there’s more to this than making players go fight 9 goblins to get a burger.
Not sure, but I think Shiroe pointed out that money is not the problem. And if ever they raise the prices to monopolize, they’d be no different from the bad guys. Adding to what SK said, they’re probably going for publicity making a good image for their guilds (Log Horizon/Crescent Moon Alliance and other guilds that helped) which is needed before they
take over Akihabaraproceed to the next step.If you do the Maths, it cost you 1050 gold coins a month to live in Akiba, buying only tasteless food, but if you have the chance to buy REAL food every day , the you will have to spends at least 3100 gold coins a month. In chapter 6, we can see that many players are really depressed to play the game but now there is an incentive to earn money.
Shiroe needs the money, but he also needs the people’s goodwill, and you don’t get that by price gouging, as my cell carrier persistently forgets.
Move to Korea. Cell carriers/internet/media (pretty much the same there) there want your business so much, they literally pay you hundreds of dollars to join their service.
My wife paid for at least two of our vacations by changing our media/phone crap regularly.
And yeah, your point is right on. Economics in video games will always be mildly broken, since monsters provide free cash which would upset the market value of anything.
What I’m curious about is how far this fledgling market economy will go when Shiroe is done with his plans. Will the whole thing just be dropped since he won the fight and saved the kids? Or will this lead to the construction of a functioning market in their new world?
Yes, all glasses character here are scary. Including the next one coming soon…
I feel sorry for Marie, I know it’s hard to be guild leader… O.O
Ah… the truth is finally revealed …. all meganes are EVIL! Kyoukai no Kanata I’m looking at you!
Back to the main topic. Gotta say, I’m loving the author of Log Horizon for constantly breaking the mold of our oh-so-standardized fantasy stereotypes.
An MC that uses his brain rather than his fist + not being so popular with the ladies. That alone was the one that won me over. If you add the intricate plot, a little bit of comedy here and there, and dash with some MMORPG goodness, then by gods I am in heaven!
This episode has removed what little reason I have for not making a fanfic out of Log Horizon! TIME TO MAKE PLOTS DAMN IT!
PS: Akatsuki + waitress has more than made up for the lack of sunday dress last episode
Am I the only one who thinks the plan is to buy the entirety Akihabara?
Too expensive. 5M wouldn’t translate into that. Also too small of a picture.
The plan is clearly to buy a building and make it into the Log Horizon Mall! With the Crescent Moon Cafe as their anchor tenant, they would attract other players with skills they can trade to open shop in the same building.
Since Shiroe, Akatsuki, Nyanta, and Serara are all paired up I like the Naotsugu x Marie pairing. The vibe between them is nice and their personalities fit so well with each other.
…plus Naotsugu needs loving too!
A perverted Naotsugu needs loving too. But he’s gotta pay!
On the subject of buying Real Estate, I believe the opening shows Shiroe doing exactly that near the end, with one of the very buildings seen in this episode.
The last few episodes showed that the bigger combat guilds were taking over the area, monopolizing hunting spots elbowing out smaller guilds. Shiroe in this episode has shown the crafting guilds that they can do things that are needed, skills are important now.
The other thing is that making money the defacto exchange currency again reduces the influence of Hamelin because there are now other things to trade besides the experience pots
This was my favorite episode of Log Horizon so far. There’s certainly been some funny moments and interesting battles along the way, but as Stilts puts it we finally addressed the elephant in the room and Shiroe’s beginning to act towards addressing that issue. It’s not quite the same as working on how do they “escape”, but it’s a good start IMO.
I’m all for the business plot line since FOR ME (I know others may not agree), I’d rather not see 24-25 EPS of dungeon crawl. I’m a big fan of Spice & Wolf and Maoyuu Maou Yuusha manga so it fits in with my tastes as well. Speaking of tastes, watching everyone chow down on those burgers made me want one LOL. FWIW, totally on board for shipping Marie-nee – Naotsugu. I like Naotsugu – he’s been a dependable friend of Shiroe’s right from the start and made significant contributions time and time again. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think he tends to be overlooked a bit.
I agree – Naotsugu may be a shameless pervert, but he’s a good and reliable friend, and that’s worthy of praise in my book.
I love characters like Naotsugu. I think having a good ‘buddy’ character tends to bring out the best in a main characters. To quote the vandread dub, “friends are like mirrors, you can see yourself in them.”
Naotsugu and Shiroe make each other better characters, and in fiction that’s the best kind of friendship (also one of the best in real life).
@Stilts – One potential correction & two comments:
– What I’m glad to see is that Shiroe was thinking about, because I knew the Crescent Burgers alone would make them the money they need, and that the money isn’t the most important part anyway.
99% Sure that Shiroe said that selling burgers/food was NOT sufficient to raise the money needed. The demand might be there, but they can’t provide the supply (I think 1000/day was the limit). I would take too long by using this tactic alone. I’m sure he has some other idea(s) – perhaps “franchising” as you suggest (see below about that).
– He needs to declare who his enemies are by excluding them and mark his allies by including them… he should pull as many people into his conspiracy as he can trust and get them making money for the plan. That’ll mean sharing the plan with them too, of course.
Eventually yes, but I disagree with your implied timing – at least the way I read your statement. If I’m mistaken, then a lot of this becomes mute. :/ Rather than making any broad declarations, one thing he needs to do right away IMO is gather intel on all the guilds, and to the extent possible, all high level PC (say 80+ or 85+). “Know thy enemy”, but also “Know thy ally”. Accurate information is critical. Then identify the groups along the lines you described, but rather than rush out to make as many alliances as possible, I would take a much more surreptitious route until my core strength/overall plan foundation was established.
JMO, but I think making any broad declarations in the near future carries too much risk. Obviously trust is a big issue but you mentioned that so I’ll skip it. First, there is no point in declaring some guild an enemy until ALL your preparations are complete. Very basic tactic. Plus, clearly there are those who are not going to fight honorably. Log Horizon and Crescent Moon are too vulnerable at this stage IMO (e.g. another Serara type incident). Sure you could rescue them but it waste valuable time and may mean a guild battle before you are ready for one.
You also give your enemies early warning and more time to prepare and execute counter-measures – including persuading other potential allies not to join with you. Instead, let them blindly speculate as to your plans or sit idly by in ignorance until the very last moment. Perhaps worst of all, by declaring your enemies in bulk you give them great incentive to band together when that might not have been the case otherwise. Take them down individually according to plan while maintaining neutrality with the others (or continue attempts to persuade them to your cause) until the time is right. You might find that an original “enemy” guild has a sudden change of heart after witnessing your military prowess.
Therefore, initially I think making a few key core alliances with “boutique” guilds like Soujiro’s is the way to go. That’s an excellent alliance IMO. Small (less people = less risk of information leaks), but powerful (“bang for your buck” alliance) guild whose leader Shiroe knows fairly well. Not only does that provide a basis for trust, he’s been willing to follow Shiroe’s orders and knows how competent Shiroe is. At first I would focus on Guilds lead by former Tea Party members whose leader had a pretty good or better relationship with Shiroe. At the same time I would start to network and build relationships with desired guilds marked from my intel gathering.
As your plan unfolds and your core guild alliance foundation strengthens, then become more overt and aggressive about making alliances with other guilds. Once you have all your desired allies and preparations are complete, then approach the “enemy guilds” with your demands and negotiate from a position of strength. Finally, during the entire process, I would put an emphasis on training/leveling up non high level players within Crescent Moon and Log Horizon (presuming the twins will join Log Horizon).
– Past that, if I were in Shiroe’s shoes I know what I would do – franchise.
TBH, I have some doubts about that strategy. Franchising is a contractual arrangement and in this world there’s no legal system in place to enforce such contracts. So it all goes back to the “trust” issue which is fine, but even if it you pick only “trust worthy” groups, you still have a less than desirable bargaining position because of that. What profit percentage are guild really willing to give up in this type of situation? How will you enforce compliance – audit? That’s not realistic IMO. By creating franchises in the same city you also possibly undermine your own sales at some point (which you don’t have to share the profit).
Most importantly, franchising means revealing the “secret recipe”. Like you say, once that’s out then it’s pretty much over and at some point it will be discovered. Franchising results in exposing the “secret recipe” to a much larger group, and the more people who know, the less secure that secret is. There’s no patent law protecting you here, and the process, as you know, is easily duplicated. I think a better strategy is what we saw – use members from other ally guilds for tasks which don’t expose them to the “secret recipe” (i.e. sales/ marketing) which in turn frees up your people for core tasks such as cooking and gathering ingredients. I would also selectively (very selectively) seek out potential cooks from those not already in guilds (if any) and recruit them into Log Horizon or Crescent Moon.
On point one, I know Shiroe said that, which is why I was glad. I realized that before he said it, but it was clear once he did that he knew it all along, which is why he is the master strategist.
As for the second point, I skimmed your reply because I wasn’t talking about making any declarations. There’s no reason to openly declare war because words change the dynamic in a way that isn’t politically helpful, and because there’s no reason to declare war on someone who may be won over by further actions. What I meant was he needs to imply his declaration by acting in ways that make it clear who is on his side and who is being excluded. When a bunch of Akiba guilds are all working together with Log Horizon and others are pointedly not, war has been declared even if Shiroe doesn’t (and shouldn’t) waste time shouting it from the rooftops. He’s got too much else to do for that.
As for your third point, yes franchising has its problems. He’d need to trust the others, which is why I talked about bringing them into the overall plan. From what others commenters have said it sounds like he has a much bigger plan up his sleeves though, which I am thoroughly in favor of. Shiroe doesn’t need to build a burger empire, he needs to reshape the rules of the world. That takes a different level of strategy that I don’t want to delve into too much, mostly because I want to be surprised when Shiroe’s plan is unveiled 😀
And Shiroe is in a hurry to save the kids. He’s a strategist, so he’s unlikely to go in guns blazing or anything, but he is moving as fast as he presumably thinks he can.
I do think something ‘big’ will happen with the plan. I simply have zero clue what that will be. Alliance? Buying the guildhall? Who knows? But while it might be sneaky and underhanded, for the sake of drama I still think there’ll be some form of ‘pow’ moment.
Stilts – thanks for the reply. Sorry if the post was bit long, but I’m a sucker for these strategy scenarios. 😀
Regarding the second, point, I can understand how eventually a defined line between those who are working with Log Horizon and those who are not might appear, but I still think there’s a possibility that some of the other guilds might not view the situation as drastically as you suggest (i.e. “us vs. them” or “war declared”). A lot depends upon how Shiroe goes about it. If he starts making demands, then I certainly agree that the Log Horizon Alliance would appear threatening to non Alliance guilds.
OTOH, if he focuses on preparation/behind the scenes stuff, then I think the Alliance would be viewed as less threatening – more of establishing a large economic consortium. That was my main point. Delay any overt aggression until you are completely prepared. Be as covert as possible during the early stages, then maintain an “air of neutrality” (granted there might be exceptions such as the twins issue, but spin that as best you can) during the final stages of preparation. Do your utmost to keep the “enemy guilds” from understanding your true objective until you are fully prepared, then make your move. As Sun Tzu would say “all war is deception.”
As for the third point, where you and I differ is the part about bringing all these “trustworthy” guilds into the plan. Trust is something that isn’t always easy to ascertain, and important intel might leak unintentionally. The more people who know, the greater chance of having his ultimate goal revealed to all guilds. Forget the burger franchise stuff, that’s the real issue IMO – keeping Shiroe’s ultimate goal a secret until the appropriate time. I’m not saying that explaining the plan to a select few such as Soujiro is bad idea, but IMO that should be on a very limited basis initially.
For the reasons I noted in my first point above, strategically Shiroe can ill afford to give advance notice of his intentions to guilds which might oppose his ideas, especially in the early stages. In short, I would greatly limit who I told the true nature of my plans until the last possible moment minimize the risk of giving the opposition advance warning. JMO
Alucard’s voice, and now scary people with glowing glasses….I’m really being reminded of Hellsing now.
Also, LOVE that Osaka-ben.
Also, I dunno why, but I can’t shake the feeling that the opening, when they start with Shiroe and pan back through a bunch of other players finally ending with Akatsuki in a fighting pose, that that is the sort of graphic usually associated with villains. Like “here is the evil team you must defeat.”
I guess Shiroe will be taking up the position of antagonist in the story, but the whole story will be about him and Log Horizon winning.
Kinda like how Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was about Marche trying to destroy the world and the game is about him winning.
While it was sort of played off, my thought was that he intended to buy the rail station. Assuming a ‘purchased’ building becomes functional, instead of a decaying tower of moss (eg: the guild hall looks nice, the buildings near it not so much), functional transport to other areas would be *huge*. They’d be setting up Akiba as a trade city, and a trade city is where all the money flows, and thus all the rules are made. Connections to other cities, connections to other empires.. The person in control of all of that has incredible sway in the directions of things to come.
I would love this.
Instead of franchising Crescent moon burgers, wouldn’t the obvious choice be to start a Starbucks franchise? If the real world has taught us anything, it’s that overpriced coffee with exotic sounding names is how you truly make the big bucks.
I’m enjoying the heck out of this show, but I feel like I really need to put this anime on hold just to marathon the whole thing later. I can’t take the wait, the whole show feels like a game, like an episodic RPG of some sort.
I am now damn curious what is the “glasses villain” master plan. Money is apparently onlymeans to an end, and the fast food restaurant is only a first step. Due to limits of Crescent Moon processing ability, natural next step would be “franchising” – letting other guilds set up copycat shops under training with Nyanta for a cut of profits. With over 15k potential customers in Akiba alone, this will fill the “war chest” in no time. Assuming average spending of 40 gold per customer, and say, 25% share for Crescent Moon, this would easily net 150k gold daily, enough to meet the ridiculous 5kk gold goal within about month – and this assumes no other moneymaking schemes are in the works. But the BIG queston is what is the money for, what is the Grand Strategy?.
Other than that, Henrietta is my second fave character now, MBA real-life accountant who actually first proposed the fast food as moneymaking scheme. Plus she is hilarious with Akatsuki! (“My lord, you have sold me out- again!”)
I had went thought a lots of comments from the Log Horizons review posts & there’s a lot of complains of why there’s no lvl 91 yet but no real counter point of it anywhere so here my point of view of why there’s no lvl 91 yet:
To go from lvl 90 to 91 it is reasonable to expect one had to kills quite some numbers of monster that are lvl 90 or higher. & it should be even more of a grind-fest if one only kills monsters that are lower leveled.
Now, try to recall all the monsters that the lvl 90 main casts have faced, how much level are they? 30~60? How much XP those monsters can really give? You probably need to kill like thousands or even ten of thousands of them to get to lvl 91.
“Then what about those warrior guilds?” You might ask, “They must have make quite a progress right?” Not so, remember, at the start of the event – all players are teleport back to their main starter cities of five. More importantly town teleporters are now unusable.
Even if the players are doing their best to try & grind their way to lvl 91, with the starter level monsters around their cities? That going to take a while. “They could go to the higher lvl training grounds by foot?” Yeah right. Did you played any MMO or even something like Diablo? Now imagine walking from the starter area to the max level areas, yeah, don’t think so. Didn’t you saw how the main cast went from one starter area to another starter area in the anime. That take them weeks from here to there & back. & that with flying mounts.
Not to mentions maybe they know where’s the lvl 85~90 monsters are but how the hell they would know where’s the lvl 90 & above monsters areas are located? Remember, no Internets & dlc/extensions previews anymore. They would need to actually find the new contents area by foot – since clearly there’s no new portal gates opening anywhere.
& MORE IMPORTANTLY, this is all based on the fact that the players are already comfortable at fighting & killings monsters for real. Which is almost certain most of them aren’t. At least not enough to fight monsters with equal levels.
Did you play Call of Duty or Teamfortress 2 before? Try imagine yourself standing there gun in hand running & shooting. Getting shot, blow & burn for real. The pain & shock might very well scar you. Now try imagine going dungeoning for real – seeing most higher levels monster are in dungeons more than open spaces.
Dark corridors, alone in the dark, very much so surrounded by monsters unseen. The horrors that you might get eaten alive – even if you can respawn. Think Dead Space or Diablo but real. How do you expect normal people with no war background to do that?