First Impressions / Log Horizon

「遠征軍」 (Ensei-gun)
“Expeditionary Force”

A speech leads to an expedition leads to a war. There are no grunts among adventurers, Lenessia. They’re all specialists, and they’re very, very good at what they do.

A Sense of Theatre

There is more to being a leader than being the best at what you do. Real leaders have to be good storytellers, able to tell their people what needs to be done in such a way that they want to follow them, even if it’s hard or dangerous or the benefits are uncertain and distant. Shiroe proved himself capable of that with one of a tyrant’s greatest weapons – a sense of theatre.

Notice how, with a snap, he turns the lights on above and illuminates himself with dark light from below. He was acting as the voice of selfishness, so he painted himself in ominous light (literally), both conveying the gravity of what he was saying while subtly insinuating that it’s not the “right” thing to do. Then Lenessia comes out, and the spotlights are on her! She is illuminated like an angel, and in armor that makes her look like a goddess of war. So there Lenessia stands, flanked by two of the most powerful adventurers in Akihabara, and she makes her plea. After all that, Lenessia didn’t have to give nearly as good of a speech as she did to move the audience. Shiroe set her up for a slam dunk.

It’s a good thing that Shiroe is using his evil mind for good, because he would be ridiculously dangerous is he went full tyrant. Well, more so than he already is.

Touno-sensei’s Speeches

Let’s get this out of the way – Lenessia’s speech wasn’t as great as Meido Ane’s speech in Maoyuu. Honestly though, the comparison is unfair. How is Lenessia supposed to compete when Meido Ane basically gave birth to Liberalism all in one go? The DNA that made that speech so great was still on display here, and from Shiroe’s sense of theatre to the words Lenessia spoke, it delivered.

It’s a fantasy of sorts, the idea that a politician – and a princess is a political figure, even if she doesn’t always realize it – would get up on stage and tell the truth. She openly admitted that the People of the Land were thinking of using the adventurers to defend themselves, and that it was disgraceful. Then she asked anyway, because she still wanted to save the people of Eastal. And she was rewarded for it! That’s the other side of the fantasy – that a politician will not be punished for telling the truth, because as much as we like to think they wouldn’t be, they frequently are. They tell the truth, we answer openly back…that’s the dream.

And what a dream it was! When their weapons thundered against the ground, their war horns blew, and they cheered for the hime-goddess who had captured their hearts…chills man, chills! This is it, this is the scale, this is the kind of thing I love to see! Rousing speeches, armies on the march, the fate of nations in the balance! This is one epic story right here!

Adventurers Are Specialists

The Cowen family are fast on their feet. First it was Lenessia, who realized another strength of adventurers – not only are they free, they’re smart. They understand tactics, they can all read, and they’re all very smart in the specific ways that their profession demands. Where Eastal has nobles, peasants, and soldiers who do nothing but fight, every single adventurer is a specialist, many times more dangerous than a Person of the Land of equal level would be, even discounting their inability to die. As one who identifies primarily with the adventurers, it gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling that you get when your nation does something great. They may be vicious, battle-crazy bastards, but they’re our vicious, battle-crazy bastards, and they’re very good at what they do.

A Pact & a Treaty

The other sharp Cowen was the old man himself. He finally realized that the adventurers of Akihabara are too powerful to be absorbed into Eastal – if they were, they would upset the delicate balance they’ve set up, and besides they have a completely different system of governance. They shouldn’t be treated as a new city to be absorbed into Eastal, but a neighboring nation…and if that’s so, it’s better that they be allies. A non-aggression pact and a trade treaty are excellent first steps.

Two points here, both about Michitaka. One: He is a smart guy, in that he knows when to pass things off to someone even smarter. Henrietta, go! Two: His laziness came in handy. When Henrietta was pressing too hard about the inherent inequality in their defensive capabilities, Michitaka lightened the mood by basically saying $@%& it, we can’t decide anything else now anyway. One thing at a time, Henrietta. Or better yet, just make Shiroe deal with it when he gets back!

A Thousand Strong. This Is War!

This is it, this is what I loved about old school late 90’s / early 2000’s MMORPGs. I primarily played Everquest from that era and World or Warcraft (vanilla only) from the next generation, and though I enjoyed raiding in WoW (back when I had the time for that), leading 40 people into battle was nothing like working alongside 100+ in the average raid in EQ. That wasn’t even necessarily for a special raid, that happened all the time! It’s that feeling of working alongside so many other living, breathing, thinking human beings that made them grand. WoW only ever came close to that during the big events, but even those weren’t the same. Scripted isn’t the same. It’s the events like the ones we saw this episode, where everything is driven by the players and so many of them are working together that really got my blood boiling. And this was that, but 1200 players strong!

Then there was Krusty’s final line: “Kill them all.” That’s what’s so great about a story like this. We can cheer to that! We can get excited! Even in a world where the game has become reality, the goblins are all infinitely respawning demi-humans who are bent on destroying humanity and all near-human creatures, and I do believe that means killing them is okay. That’s the glory of video games, when you can go on a rampage and not feel a lick of guilt. Even here, we can revel in it. Let the war begin! These goblins are screwed!

Looking Ahead – Protecting Someone

If you don’t have a bad feeling about next episode, you probably should. Protecting someone, even if they have to die? Guuuuuuhhh!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Shiroe’s sense of theatre + Lenessia’s stirring speech leads the adventurers to a war they’ll happily fight. It’s event time! #loghorizon 18

Random thoughts:

  • Daaaamn, Soujirou attracts a harem quickly. Someone kill that man, he’s a danger to us all. Also, I’m shamelessly jealous!!
  • Another thing I liked was how lively Akiba has gotten. It really feels like home now.
  • I like the little details, like how Lenessia’s armor apparently only shows her legs because she’s tall. It’s a bug, not a feature…but it’s one I like!
  • Even the PKers have jobs now. See what I mean about the little details?
  • I want to be squeezed so hard by Marie-nee I can’t breathe…
  • So apparently twelve adventurers are going to be guarding Lenessia during the battle. Suuuucks! They get stuck on NPC escort duty while everyone else gets to have fun. And she’s only what, like Lv 12? Hopefully her pathing is good, otherwise she’s going to–oh, right. She’s a human. I forgot. Too many games, too many games…

Check out my blog about storytelling and the fantasy novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: I can quit anytime, so I don’t have to, Admiration & those who try, Dogfights, battleships, & sword fights, and Combo counter update – It’s going well, it’s going not so well. My current combo counter: Editing chain, 22 days long. Writing chain, 5 days long.

 

Preview

128 Comments

    4. dude the one who say that lenessia hime you are blind , or you only watch SAO and SAO and SAO too much ! i have watch like 150+ anime now and dam i dare say Asuna don’t even pop up , eucliwood she is!

      PeTdo
      Reply

  4. Great episode I must say, also

    -I spy a slight panty shot on lenessia
    -lol at the Man With A Mission cameo among the adventurers
    -and do i see a confession from rudy in the preview there?

    lol
    Reply

  6. Ignoring the numerous flaws of how the politics was handled here (it’s fantasy, nothing else needs to be said :P), this was a pretty good episode all around, and about bloody time we get to some blood letting. Disagree on the princess being a goddess of war though Stilts, definitely more in line of a Valkyrie as her armour indicates. She’s not leading the adventurers off to war as much as she is unleashing the most powerful of them onto an unsuspecting enemy. Funny too how she looks a little like Lenneth in that armour.

    Also I think it’s pretty damn clear to us anime-only viewers which character is going to die here in the near future 😛

    Pancakes
    Reply

    1. I think he called her a goddess of war because, at least in the sub I saw, someone referred to her as that pretty much in the show. Her armor is obviously valkyrie armor, it’s even called that.

      That aside, I think people (not you specifically, your comment just made me think) are sort of looking at the politics the wrong way. This is very good politics. It’s just not real. But the thing is it’s not real even in the show. It’s not as though the show is saying a bunch of hard-nosed politicians suddenly decided honesty is a virtue.

      This is a young girl who knows nothing about politics appealing to (mostly) young people who also know nothing and are in a game that they are playing in order to imagine themselves as heroes. Honestly probably would be the best idea here and the likelihood of it going south at this stage is minimal. It’s very well done IN THE SITUATION, I just think some people last week were trying too hard to compare it to real politics, which simply isn’t the same.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

    2. It’s why I included the fantasy caveat there, you can only relate Log Horizon’s politics so much to real world examples. Hell the concept of diplomacy even being covered is pretty damn amazing in of itself.

      The rustling of jimmies most likely comes from us of the post-teen crowd with some knowledge of or experience in politics and political theory. There will always be those who always try to draw comparisons between dichotomous subjects as it often allows for better holistic understanding. Make that doubly so when you start using ideological frames of reference. Nothing wrong with it, but it can get out of hand like it did last week.

      For me personally the eye twitching comes not from the actions of princess, but the more “official” negotiations between the nobility and Council. That, however, is probably my vanity speaking in what I would do in that situation rather than a critique of the results. Definitely the mark of a good series though when these topics are popping up and being thoroughly discussed, especially in what is essentially a childrens show.

      Pancakes
      Reply

  7. You see Lealoch and Ligh Yagami this is what happens when you use the magnificent bastard manipulative powers for good!. I had a huge grim smile on my face the entire episode, poor goblins, they´re just 200 thousand against an army led by Krusty (huge blood knight) and Shiroe (the villan in glasses) as strategist, they don´t stand a chance!. Did you see Krusty´s smile at the end? If someone smiled to me like that I would run for the hills and never stop, I get the feeling that Krusty´s true personality is show really hard in the next episodes.

    haseo0408
    Reply

  9. This episode turned out a lot better than I expected (specially after the past few episodes where a lot of stuff was left out :p). There were a few details that felt kind of of out of place (mainly due to me having read the novel, as well as the anime changing things in contradictory and unexplained ways, like what’s with the fireworks out of nowhere? :p), but I was surprised by how well some scenes were shown (the whole speech scene, the Soujirou scene, and more Lenessia is always fun XD), even if there were some changes.

    Will see how well next episode will turn out when the battle starts big time. Hope the censorship won’t be too bad, and we get to see them kick goblin butt.

    x
    Reply

    1. I’m glad they had her comment on the state of women in adventurer society. I didn’t think they would since it could easily overshadow other things, but it would be a huge wake up call for a medieval princess to meet ‘modern’ women who are doing pretty much all the same things as the men around them.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

      2. I think when I saw the character creation screen in Baldur’s Gate where it stated explictily that women can do any and whatever class of characters that I understood the games became the most gender-equal places in the world.

        ewok40k
        Reply

  11. Hime-san calls herself a coward… Lenessia, you have no idea how brave you are. Anyone can simply not be afraid of something: in some cases that’s just called being stupid. Courage is when you’re afraid of something, yet do it anyway because you believe it needs to be done. You showed courage last week, when, despite being terrified and certain you were going to mess up, you walked into the conference and declared you were going to Akiba. You showed it again this week when, despite your fear, you stood up in front of everyone and told them the truth of what was going on and openly asked for their help.

    Twice now you have faced something that terrified you in order to do what you believed was right. That was courage, Princess. You are not a coward.

    Wanderer
    Reply

  14. This might be a small detail, but it’s so subtley placed that I didn’t quite catch it until I rewatched the episode several times later. (LOVED this episode, epic in so many ways.)

    When the kids give Lenessia the Crescent Moon Burger, that was on Shiroe’s orders. This was evidenced when the chunk of meat drops onto her dress, and he shows up behind her in Dark Shiroe mode with the valkryie suit.

    While the anime does a great job with story exposition, it also pays attention to the small things, and I gotta give kudos to the studio. It makes the anime so much more enjoyable. Reminds me Hataraku Maou-sama in that aspect.

    Islidox
    Reply

    1. I think it was mostly so that they’d have some food, not just so she’s stain her dress. He could easily have gotten her to change (by, you know, asking) regardless of that. That’s the simplest answer, and simple is usually best.

      Stilts
      Reply

      2. But by having mess-prone food brought to a noble lady who most definitely would not have encountered a hamburger before, it was very highly likely that a mess was going to occur. A mess would necessitate Lenessia having to change into whatever outfit is provided, and any small chance of her refusing (what’s wrong with my current beautiful dress?) gets squashed.

        Sure, it’s not a sure-fire thing and maybe she would’ve changed clothes anyway, but I agree with Rob and Islidox that it’s something that the Villain in Glasses would do in order to make things more likely to tip further in his favor, however small.

        Monimonika
        Reply

      3. A plan which wouldn’t work if she ate over a table or put a handkerchief on her lap or anything else 😛 You’re thinking too much into it when it’s not necessary. Beware of thinking that Shiroe plans for EVERYTHING…he plans for a lot, but if you think everything is going according to his plan then he’ll never have any challenges and can never be surprised. And where’s the fun in that?

        Stilts
        Reply

      4. At 4:50, the black-haired ekf-girl in the purple tunic responds to the overalls-guy’s question with, “Shiroe asked me to bring them (the crescent moon burgers).” 25 seconds later, as Raynessia is fretting about the morsel of food that dropped, Shiroe appears behind her with impeccable timing and in “dark Shiroe” mood.

        Keikaku doori.

        Islidox
        Reply

      5. Stilts: “…if you think everything is going according to his plan…”

        But I didn’t say that. You skipped all the parts where I said: “highly likely”, “not a sure-fire thing”, and “more likely to tip further in his favor, however small”. How is it not fun when long shots (or not-so-long shots) fortuitously pay out, even if the success of a big plan does not hinge on them?

        You have to read and reply to a lot of comments, so I’m not too surprised or upset you may have missed those words in my comment and replied to a completely different message than what was typed.

        Now I’m off to read your latest Log Horizon review because you write great reviews. 😀

        Monimonika
        Reply

    1. Agreed. I actually lead some pick up raids in EQ when I was trying to get into a bigger guild and needed to get keyed. I can’t even begin to explain how frustrating that was. Herding cats would have been easier…and considering I lead later raids as well, I did that too!

      Stilts
      Reply

  16. I think its pretty interesting that the adventurers have accepted the NPCs as living beings, but I think its important to note that how will the adventurers feel when they eventually find out why they were trapped in the world and possibly get out. Because even when the people of that world react and act like regular humans, it is still a world dictated by a game.

    Dualash
    Reply

    1. I think at this point we have no idea how much this world is ‘dictated by a game.’ It seems very arbitrary. I think a better way to put it would be that basically it’s a completely different world. The rules are not the same. And it will be interesting to see how whatever actually happened to the adventurers will affect their relationship with the Landers

      KaleRylan
      Reply

      1. Lol, yeah I mean the world still controls some aspects of the world like cooking and crafting, but in some sense the world is so complicated, what with the memory loss risk and immediate discussion about political tactics, that it doesn’t feel like a game anymore (and truth be told I don’t know if I like that since its seems the conflicts were straightened out really fast). Anyhow, we’ll have to see how the people of the land and the adventurers play out.

        Dualash
        Reply

  18. Hmm, It’s quite an engaging episode. Princess Raynesia exhorting the adventurers to help her “defend their freedom.” You could just see how she views with respect the vast gulf in belief systems between the Adventurers and Landers.

    “What does it mean to be a noble if even ordinary soldiers are this knowledgeable?” The old feudal system and the republic of the the adventurers really does stand out here.

    Anyways yeah everyone went for Souji LOL. The West Wind Brigade members were all jelly. I think Soujirou leveled up his Pheromones skill just a teensie bit too high…XD

    Beware, the “Berserker” has come! I really like these types xP

    Also the band members of Man with a Mission (the guys who sing the OP song database) are in the episode lol them wolves in the speech audience.

    Also that preview. “Chasing after them” is so appropriate. If I didn’t know what was going to happen, I’d be even more sad. ;_;

    Netto
    Reply

    1. Quick note: Akihabara isn’t a republic. The Round Table all sort of elected themselves without any kind of vote. It’s something like a benevolent oligarchy, with Shiroe and Krusty acting as benevolent tyrants. Which more or less works because they have limited power and they’re not abusing it so far. It’s not a democracy though.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. This is one of those debates that cropped up because there are some alternative forms of governance that would be debated otherwise. One argues that the guilds act as a representative of the players in the council. Though I would admit that the RT is more like a confederation of guilds. Still I just brought up the idea of it as a republic because it is a lot more representative of the wills of the players compared to an alternative form of governance that could otherwise have formed, AKA a one guild/party system with the specialized skills previously attributed to certain guilds subordinate to a single centralized bureaucracy.

        Netto
        Reply

      2. I think you are trying to hard to define something that is transitional and should be left undefined. Aki is at best in a proto-government stage, with everything in a tentative state. Which is why dealing with them diplomatically is such a huge risk. If the Round Table is foolish enough to make a draconian or vastly unpopular decision, they would quickly find themselves out on their collective posteriors. If you really must give a name to the type of social organization they have at the moment, it would be best to call it a loose Confederation.

        Chemdem
        Reply

      3. Yeah, it’s a twisty sort of system. Because all of them except for Shiroe acquired their positions back when it was a game. Which means that while they weren’t voted in they were leaders by consent of the members of their guilds since guilds people don’t like simply collapse.

        And as others have said, the round table is basically a loose confederation of the otherwise self-governing guilds. For the most part though, it seems like it’s fairly close to ‘actual’ democracy as opposed to representative democracy. The population of Akihabara is small enough that any complaints can just be raised directly so they don’t need to worry about other things.

        I’d say at this stage there’s no large-scale government system that compares because their population is minuscule so they don’t need one. However, Stilts is correct, it is not a republic as it has no elected representatives.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

    2. it is benevolent dictatorship

      behind the power of the RT is Shiroe threat of blackballing anyone who breaks the law. Just because the laws make sense doesn’t change the fact that RT is a dictatorship.

      One man one vote, Shiroe is the man with the Vote.

      Xellos^_-
      Reply

      2. Hey, I did the comparison back in episode when the Round Table was formed!
        Yes Vetinari definitely would have many similar traits with Shiroe.
        For example, talent for finding right men for any job, like Krusty to lead the army, and Henrietta to manage economic side of his Master Plan (TM) for getting control of Akihabara…

        ewok40k
        Reply

  19. Been waiting for this part ever since they casted Ise Mariya as Lenessia. This part to be exact, was done really well. Her voice rose up a pitch for a moment which emphasized that Lenessia really wanted to protect her people. The hint of desperation and conviction was there. Add the amazing OST from one of my favorite composers, Takanashi Yasuharu, and it was pretty moving. I’d definitely help her no matter what.
    I haven’t really participated in raids on the MMOs I’ve played but it must be tough to command a lot of players. Can’t wait for Krusty to unleash himself in the battle and prove why he’s called “Berserker”.

    belatkuro
    Reply

  20. This wasn’t included in this episode:
    Mitchi and Duke were discussing and arguing things for hours, till Henrietta enters and offers food. Mitchi then begs for help. Then she simplifies the problem of both side that lead to mutual agreement.

    Shiroe was saying that Akiba doesn’t need the help of Maihama/PotL. The reasoning was, he was cornering our cute lazy princess so she would plead more and appear more desperate for help. Which, in return, would incite the feelings of the adventurers to help more.

    Ungas123
    Reply

    1. Frankly in both cases I like how the anime did it better. Michitaka having a political argument for hours seems silly, he’s not the type. And the Shiroe thing in the anime was a case of ‘less is more’ IMO.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

    2. no, you’re wrong there. I did not recall such and I double checked as well. the meeting may have started between the Duke and Michitaka without Henrietta but she comes in very shortly after in the LN. plus, what would they be arguing about for hours? just a heads up

      GoXDS
      Reply

      1. to clarify, the text might’ve been a bit confusing; however, I took it to mean the meeting they were in before before Raynesia came. for one, Mitchitaka is not fit for such a discussion as you mentioned. second, the text didn’t imply any a skip in time plus before their conversation, Mitchitaka took note of the Duke still holding up after the long meeting (but he was still inviting the Duke in to another room so he was referring to the previous meeting). lastly, who would bring in provisions FIVE hours later?

        GoXDS
        Reply

      1. I picked up on what Shiroe was doing on stage, but mostly in the sense that my feelings were manipulated just like the adventurer audience’s feelings were into seeing Lenessia’s plea in a more sympathetic light. Nice contrast there, Shiroe!

        Monimonika
        Reply

  21. I absolutely love the world building in this show. The characters have come so far since the beginning.

    These people started the show as confused young people shaking in corners and killing each other and now they’ve built a functioning industrial nation that is sending a expeditionary force to reinforce a neighboring country via a steamship they built themselves all while negotiating some form of trade/nonaggression treaty.

    Even if every episode isn’t full of action, the arc of the story has come so far, much further than many shows ever go in their full run, and we still have a fourth to go.

    KaleRylan
    Reply

  24. Hmm, I’ve been thinking this for a while now but how is Marielle a guild leader when she’s so useless? She’s lazy, doesn’t appear to have any fighting prowess and the few thing she HAS done has been by instructions of someone else. She didn’t even help train the kids, she was just chilling sunbathing. Has the anime skipped something about her or is it all about the nee-san aura and the kansaiben?

    Sirius
    Reply

    1. Unless the LNs have additional info regarding it IMO it seems more like one of those guilds you join to be social, make friends, get to know how things work in game, and have fun wasting a bit of time (i.e an introductory guild) before moving off onto other things. You don’t really need a leader for that sort of thing except to be the face of the guild.

      Pancakes
      Reply

    2. to expand on what Pancakes said, yes the anime cut out a lot of her responsibilities. during the beach, she was actively healing the newbies when needed. during the attack, she was actively defending (and not just tripping and needing saving as in the anime).

      she may be lazy but she does do what’s needed when it’s needed (like the paperwork plus the meetings).

      lastly, Crescent Moon is not a battle guild. it’s much more like what Pancakes described. a family kind of guild. they’re just together to have fun, socialize, and help each out in a relaxed manner. guild leaders don’t necessarily have to be strong either. a good leader keeps the group strong (her smile!) even if that’s a bonus.

      GoXDS
      Reply

      1. That’s a good description IMO. Marielle has a natural “sunny” type of charisma. Some people just like hanging out with her, and non-hard core, relaxed type of guilds like Crescent Moon offer a nice alternative to hard-core playing guilds like Black Sword Knights for those who want that sort of thing. It’s also good guild for newbie players as Marielle has a motherly type of disposition towards younger players. She even mentally calls them “kids” at times.

        daikama
        Reply

    3. Yeah, what they said. You have to remember before they absorbed the Hamelin newbies, the Crescent Moon Alliance only had, IIRC, 13 members or something like that. This was not some sort of active, functioning guild of any real kind. It was just a small group of friends.

      Marielle was presumably kind of the ‘mood-maker’ of the group so she ended up the leader, or maybe it was her idea. I don’t think anyone, even Marielle, really expects her to be the next Krusty or Shiroe. She’s just a nice lady they enjoyed playing a game with. Because this was a game after all.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

    4. She is a mix of Kindergarten Mother, and have a Open Ear for their members. Well, she is Social. We just forgotten in these Days, that someone have a Ear to hear us out, to see in our Eyes when She agree or so.. No today we have our “handy/Tablets”. We are lacking in “humanity” social Contacts

      Germanguy
      Reply

    5. Though it’s gauche to quote myself…

      There is more to being a leader than being the best at what you do.

      When I was a guild leader in WoW (back when I had time for such things) I played a Mage, and I was often not the highest DPS or most useful mage around. I gave myself easy jobs because I would was commanding the battle rather than trying to amp out the most damage – that was a job for those who had nothing to do but focus on their damage output. A leader has more on his or her mind.

      Plus, as other commenters mentioned, Marielle is a mood maker who protects her casual-style guild and she’s a pure healer who needs someone to get hurt before she can start doing much of anything. She’s fine. She doesn’t need to be a hardcore badass like Krusty to still be a good leader in her own way.

      Stilts
      Reply

      2. They were when I played too, I was just busy. When the raids started going smoothly enough that I didn’t have to micromanage anything, I got to amp out the damage too! *cackles maniacally*

        Stilts
        Reply

  32. At this rate, the world will be advanced enough so that the events in Guilty Crown would take place in the Log Horizon universe.
    Even though the possibility is not high, and I am not sure if new characters can be born…
    But there is definitely a possibility space where that specific event take place.

    Clain
    Reply

    1. What does Guilty Crown have to do with this show at all? Wasn’t that a random anime-original series? Or am I remembering wrong? That’s one where the guy pulls weapons out of people’s chests and the show just went totally off the rails about a 1/3rd into it right?

      Because I don’t see how that’s connected at all.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  33. Lennesia in a Valkyrie Armor + Krusty in his Einherjar Armor
    I’m waiting for her to say “to my side my noble Einherjar”

    I really like the portrayal of the beginners this episode
    just what naotsugu and maryelle said … they play ET as a game for a long time, getting used to the POTL as humans really takes a while since they only knows them as NPC before
    but for the beginners, this lack o experience and knowledge in the game helps them adapt more to Elder Tales regarding to adventurer – landers relationship

    Exis
    Reply

  36. Man, you gotta love all those theatrics they used to get the point across. While the speech was indeed not at the level of Maoyuu’s, it didn’t matter because the scene was awesome either way. They knew exactly how to get the players riled up for something like this, and Lenessia played her role perfectly. Not to mention the courage she showed. She had the balls to go on a public stage and inspire a nation of kill-happy immortal adventurers to go fight for her, and all this despite the fact that nobody back home ever expected anything from her because she was born a woman. I mean, damn. And the reaction the adventurers showed was awesome too – them going apeshit, with battle-horns and all – gave me the chills. The kind of chills you get when you know you’re watching something epic.

    I have to give props to old man Cowen as well – his experience in dealing with people shows, and he’s a lot more modern thinking than you’d expect. Letting his granddaughter go off and to that, being adaptable in dealing with the adventurers, just being approachable in general (I can’t imagine the nobles just having a drink with them like that). It’s nice having a reasonable authority figure around.

    And I love the little details too. Cameo’s from characters from previous arcs, the way the city’s gottan so lively, the results of the invention of the steam machine alluded to earlier – all without explicitly pointing them out. A good case of show, don’t tell there. The current Akihabara seems like it’d be a fun place to live, especially compared to the mess it used to be.

    And now, onward, to battle! I’m a former WoW player, so raids were never as big as the EQ ones, but the feeling I get from this is more like the Wrathgate event from WotLK. A massive, game-changing event that made you feel part of an epic battle – in a sense, this battle is probably at the same level for the adventurers from a gamer viewpoint, so it’s no wonder they get excited. Either way, Log Horizon is now running on sheer unadulterated awesome, and I’m excited to see how this is all going to play out.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  38. Got to love the Adventurers’ reaction to Lenessia: “OMG it’s a real princess! OMG she talked to me”
    I would imagine that after Lenessia gets used to that, she’ll like adventurers more than the Lander nobles and their excessive flattery.

    Also, Soujiro’s regular harem being jealous was a nice touch, hopefully they’ll get some spotlight in future.

    Anonymosity
    Reply

  39. So next episodes we can expect the big fight? Hopefully, the budget will allow for some decent animation for a change without too many kids friendly cuts. Wish this aired at a later hour.

    boingman
    Reply

  40. When Henrietta was pressing too hard about the inherent inequality in their defensive capabilities, Michitaka lightened the mood by basically saying $@%& it, we can’t decide anything else now anyway.

    One thing to remember is that if I understand the princess correctly, her Shiro, and Crusty basically just got up and left the room to do what she asked and there’s no formal sign off from the other nobles on anything that happens from this point forward on her behalf.

    So, I think there was also a mutual acknowledgement of it being a: “better to ask forgiveness than permission” moment there too based on the reaction of Cowan to his comment. Otherwise, attempting to sort out a mutual defence pact/command structure now while armies are on the move free of political interference just risks bringing the march to a halt as everyone tries to establish the “rules”.

    Dave
    Reply

  41. To put it this way…
    not only adventurers are statwise stronger, and with respawn ability. They have been honing their killing abilities for decades or even hundreds of years (24 to 1 compression…) and slayed every possible monster of the land.
    In normal life warfare an ace with 5 kills in aerial combat is rare thing. Super-aces can have dozens or even hundreds of them.
    Average adventurer slays thousands of monsters every month of RL time.
    You get the idea.

    Also, I absolutely love Lenessia now. She might be too conscious of own flaws, but she’s smart, brave and honest. And she’s absolutely stunning in DAT ARMOR. Plus, she perfectly phrased her message, which boils down to this:
    “Help me, adventurers of Akihabara, you’re my only hope.”

    And then there is Krusty. He’s the Patton of the MMO’s with a simple, brutal and awesome inspiring speech:
    “Kill them all.”
    I pity the poor goblins that will cross his path because I know he won’t.

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. That’s a good way to put it. Even the low-level adventurers are basically hyper-aces, skill-wise. Then when you get to the high-level ones who have killed thousands, even millions of creatures and come out victorious more often than not…yeah. Their skills are polished to a mirror edge compared to the Landers.

      Stilts
      Reply

  42. Lenessia’s speech wasn’t as great as Meido Ane’s speech in Maoyuu. Honestly though, the comparison is unfair. How is Lenessia supposed to compete when Meido Ane basically gave birth to Liberalism all in one go?

    This makes me wonder — how many other great speeches are there in anime? By “great speech” I don’t mean something that makes sense in-world and moves the plot forward, I mean something that speaks to _us_ as well as the characters. The only one I can think of that comes close to Meido Ane’s is Youko’s from Twelve Kingdoms, where she Show Spoiler ▼

    dbm
    Reply

    1. All great fiction speaks to us at some level, even if the specifics of what they’re saying don’t always translate as well as Meido Ane’s speech. I would put Toori’s speech from the end of Kyoukaisen S1 as a great one, because it speaks to the part of us that says Show Spoiler ▼

      Stilts
      Reply

  43. I got the chills watching this episode! It was so exciting I feel like I am also one of the adventurers that’s going to fight. I was yelling in my room when they were hitting their weapons to the ground!

    This is what I want to happen with the online games this days. A very wide event that includes this many players, a capable leader and a strong enemy!

    Can’t wait for the next episode. Let the raid begin!

    pahlavi5312
    Reply

  44. When everyone cheered after Lenessia’s speech, it really got me teary-eyed at how epic that scene was, with the weapon hitting and such. I don’t play MMORPGs so I’m a little blurry on the thought process of the Adventurers. Is it right to assume Crusty and Shiroe already anticipated that the Adventurers of Akihabara will no doubt answer Lenessia’s call for help? The reasons I can think of is:

    1.) Lenessia’s honesty, charisma, and for some beauty and cuteness, will get through to them. She really wasn’t beating around the bush.

    and

    2.) Shiroe clearly stated there was nothing to gain, so I assume that the Adventurers were itching for a major in-game event to test their skills (since I guess nothing major has happened in a while since they got trapped in the game), so they accepted. So in a way it’s the thrill of big fight that got them all hyped up.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

    1. Also I gotta say it’s great to see Akihabara so lively and prosperous now. And to think many episodes ago the streets were nearly empty, shady guilds were lurking about, and people looked unhappy and unenergetic.

      Zhinvu
      Reply

    2. They definitely anticipated that, if they pitched things right, the adventurers would bite. After all, Lenessia is giving them the one thing they really want – a sense of purpose, or really, some fun! They want an event, and if they can do it for an earnest, kawaii hime-sama? Easy sell.

      Stilts
      Reply

  45. It’s funny how statements like “Krusty’s one of the few who could lead so many players in a raid” is a real military achievement now, he’s like an actual famous commander. And them putting on a huge show for what would have been a typical “I am the princess of a kingdom that’s in danger, please help, brave Adventurer!” quest offering (except now made more complicated). And then of course there’s the goblin invasion itself, which is just a monster event gone haywire. But now it’s all real, of course!

    Despite being so steeped in politics and such, all those MMO ties put a smile on my face. You can tell where Mamare got the inspiration from, but then he’s able to turn them into compelling stories.

    That little throwaway line about how Lenessia couldn’t catch up to Shiroe’s walking speed might’ve been an Escort Quest joke, too.

    uru
    Reply

    1. Ahaha, I didn’t think about that being an escort quest joke! I assumed it was just because they’re much stronger than she is and not wearing a fashionable-but-not-at-all-practical dress, but it could be that too. Though like I said, she’d have to path into something weird, glitch out, and suddenly warp home for it to really feel like an escort quest to me -_-

      Stilts
      Reply

  46. lenessia’s grandfather is talking about having lenessia take resposibility after-ward , i guess lenessia you will have to marry Krusty!
    ps. if i am not wrong , rudy is likely to be people of the land in disguise, now i can say it , people die when they are killed! WOOP WOOP

    PeTdo
    Reply

    2. Umm… Winston Churchill was a man worthy of respect, but he was not some paragon of virtue and honesty. He had PLENTY of faults and sins and other things.

      In fact, he’s a perfect example of how in the real world, even the best politicians are pretty grey morally.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  50. I was looking forward to seeing the ship they would built,but DAMN was it awesome! Just add some cannons and torpedoes and they could dominate the seas! I was just thinking, the new expansion to Elder Tale was called the Nova-Sphere Pioneers, so is it possible that the expansion was what sent the Adventurers(Pioneers) into the world of Elder Tale(Nova-Sphere)?

    Reaper
    Reply

  52. Being an NHK production, I was pleasantly surprise by Krusty’s “Kill them all” line. It was a nice follow-up from Marielle and Naotsugu’s convosation about how it was hard for the experienced gamers to accept NPC as living, breathing people as compared to the newbies.

    Also, I want to take Lenessia home. Who would have thought a character that was introduced 10 episodes (or more) in would have the best development throughout the series.

    aeria
    Reply

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