Recap:With our heroes away from immediate harm they have taken a break from their journey to recuperate their strength before returning home.

Lifesong’s Thoughts: Log Horizon is really setting itself apart by making this world a real world instead of an MMO. Yes they may technically be trapped in an MMO, but it’s more like they are in a world that acts like an MMO. It’s a neat difference between this MMO story and others that have come before it. I especially loved the kids getting all excited to see a ninja. It’s the type of thing you would think should be common place in an MMO and yet it’s something very hard to get right in practice.

I loved the bit with the NPCs, Shiroe states that the people of the land are actually more normal than the adventures and there is some real truth to that. Most MMOs try to make the player feel like they are someone special in their world, but anyone whos played them enough knows that doesn’t really work out. NPCs are more like furniture than characters and the players that make up the world are all balanced to be about equally powerful in their own ways. It’s neat to see that theme played out and I hope it will continue to get focus.

Nyanta’s cooking ability suddenly makes him an incredibly valuable player. No longer will our heroes have to eat food that taste like nothing. I had hoped that his secret would be a bit more substantial, but I like the direction this anime is headed. Instead of clearing the dungeons to get out of the game, we are seeing a group of people forced to actually live in a world that’s like an MMO. It might not seem that different on paper, but it’s a big deal.

Looking forward it seems Shiroe has his work cut out for him. Child labor being a thing for low level players is gross and I can’t wait to see how he handles it, or really if he even takes it on headfirst or not.