(L) Log Horizon (novel)

[tsunade666]

Originally Posted by aohige

I think there's some confusion there

Spoiler:

Two of them - one is Akatsuki of course.
Minori isn't paired with her twin brother, no incest here.
She has hots for Shiroe.

The other two girls are... and this may be a surprise, but Henrietta from Crescent Moon.
The secretary looking lady who wanted to hug Akatsuki in the anime.

And the last is a female seductress who rules the player city of Minami.
She's completely batshit insane.

oh.... so they are twin. No wonder they look alike

Nazuna is the fox lady right?

I love the dance of Henrietta and Shiroe in vol 3. Akatsuki too danced in this volume.

I will wait for summary of what's happening.


Kanami is the one shown in the op? the who who has straw hat or whatever hat that is, she also looks like a miko but when the silhouette of tea party was shown. She was the one who has a katana right? She looks the genki type of character.

And the female seductress... the one who has cat/dog ears in vol 5?

What's the connection of Tohya, Minori and Shiroe? because it looks like he knows them when he mention it when his browsing his friend list.

What are the class types?

Assasin
Cleric
Bard
Enchanter
Guardian

[aohige]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

Nazuna is the fox lady right?

Kanami is the one shown in the op? the who who has straw hat or whatever hat that is, she also looks like a miko but when the silhouette of tea party was shown. She was the one who has a katana right? She looks the genki type of character.

Yes to both

And the female seductress... the one who has cat/dog ears in vol 5?

Yes, but she's actually a fox woman.

What's the connection of Tohya, Minori and Shiroe? because it looks like he knows them when he mention it when his browsing his friend list.

The twins are newbies to the game, and Shiroe is their mentor.
You see them several times in the episode holding hands.
As for the story... well, it'll be one of the main focus of the story from around episode 5 to 8 or so

What are the class types?

Assasin
Cleric
Bard
Enchanter
Guardian

Tanks:
Guardian - a standard defensive warrior class. 1h+shield or 2h. Toughest tanks all around.
Samurai - Japanese localized class, uses katana, cannot equip shield, but has very damaging one hit attacks.
Monk - Highest agility, dodge, and resistance. Specializes in avoiding damage instead of tanking all. Fast barrage of combo attacks

Physical DPS:
Assassin - highest physical dps class, low armor. Glass canon. Ninja.
Swashbuckler - Well balanced swordsman, moderate DPS and defense. Dual wielding.
Bard - Can fight melee or ranged, and uses music for continuous party buffs.

Mage DPS:
Sorcerer - Highest magic DPS, rivals the Assassin. High range of magic, and specialize in AoE as well
Summoner - Summons mythical creatures to fight. Because of the high number of pets in the game, they are one of the most versatile classes around, and generally have no weakness. Awesome for soloing.
Enchanter - A support mage. Lowest DPS around, frail, and nearly impossible to solo, making it the least popular class. However their buffs and supports are extremely useful in raids, and their spells cost low MP for long term battles. They are also masters of crowd control. All this makes makes them an ideal raid-class.

Healers:
Cleric - Standard healer. Strongest healer for quick healing. They also have a pre-cast auto-heal skill that activates after the target takes damage.
Druid - Masters of HoT (heal over time). The most MP efficient healers around, and great for long-term battles. Also has various support skills.
Kannagi - Japanese shaman, a local class for Japanese servers. Protection healers. They specialize in skills to prevent damage in the first place. Has the lowest amount of actual healing of the healer classes.


The local classes Samurai and Kannagi are for the Japanese servers.
Presumably there are other local classes (Vikings for North European servers perhaps?) for each server.

[kuroishinigami]

Is there no archer class/range physical damage class in this game? Or that role is filled by bard?

[aohige]

Bard and Assassin can both equip bows.
But yeah, Bard basically doubles as an archer class

[Krono]

Originally Posted by aohige

Yes, it's not a harem story. However, Shiroe does get pretty popular with bunch of girls....

Spoiler:

Three of the main female characters are attracted to him, and another, an arch villain.

Spoiler:

I'm fairly certain that's sufficient that we can expect the word harem to be thrown around in connection with the series. As far as some people are concerned, multiple girls attracted to the main character = harem, regardless of whether or not it meets any other criteria for a harem story.

[aohige]

It's really the volume and impression.

There's so many canon pairings of other main characters, that Shiroe himself's situation is less focused and trivial.
Pretty much every other prominent guys and gals gets a mate.
It also helps that while Shiroe is the protagonist, Log Horizon leans towards the nature of Ensemble casting with less focus on the protagonist.

Well, ignoring Sojirou who needs to explode and die.

[FRS]

Thanks for the infos aohige, it's at time like this i wished i have the courage to learn japanese

[tsunade666]

Originally Posted by aohige

Well, ignoring Sojirou who needs to explode and die.

Too much girls for him

in vol 5. His surrounded by girls of all tropes

Originally Posted by Krono

Spoiler:

I'm fairly certain that's sufficient that we can expect the word harem to be thrown around in connection with the series. As far as some people are concerned, multiple girls attracted to the main character = harem, regardless of whether or not it meets any other criteria for a harem story.

Even so, I think its more likely a Shiroe and Akatsuki pair. Its leaning pretty much there from what I see. That's why I was surprised when aohige said Minori but then again in the OP. Akatsuki and Minori was shown but in the novel. It looks like the lower level members of log horizon are partying together to tackle dungeons to level up while the higher level one are in for the politics. Or more like Shiroe is busy organizing stuff. Pertaining to vol 3 where Shiroe and Akatsuki attend a dance party and the others are in dungeon hunting.

Is the other guy that has been researching on the mystery of the elder tale or how they were stuck there the same guy shown in vol 3? the one where he show Shiroe and Akatsuki into a library.


I'm confuse on how many characters there are.... but not as confusing on how large kyoukai senjou is. I still didn't remember all the other names aside from musashi student in that novel

[aohige]

Ok, got some break time from work.

Originally Posted by tsunade666

Information on the guild masters and their territory.

There are 11 guilds that make up the Round Table Committee.
How the committee came to being, well, enjoy the show.
It should happen within the first 10-12 episodes of the anime.
All the leaders of the 11 guilds are shown lined up in the Opening of the Anime, the scene where it pans out from Shiroe and showing 2 guild masters at a time.

Log Horizon:

Oceanic System:
The largest craftsmen guild in Akiba, with 5000 members. "Strong Armed" Michitaka is the guild leader. (The muscular blacksmith in the OP). The guild specializes in production.

The Rodrick Firm:
Craftsmen guild with 1900 members, led by "Fairy Alchemist" Rodrick. (The tall man with a white lab coat) He is a researcher for the most part, and his guild focus is more in research. Reserved, but intelligent man.

8th district shopping center:
700 members strong, this craftsmen guild is led by Charasin. (the merchant standing across from Michitaka)
Although a crating guild, 8th district focus more on merchants - art of selling and buying.

D.D.D.:
Akiba's largest raiding guild with 1500 members, led by "Berserker" Crusty. (The knight wearing glasses). Crusty is the most prominent character from the Round Table in the series, he will play huge roles int he latter half of the anime. Tall, handsome, scheming and teasing, smart and elegant, tsundere, generally a nice person, yet in battle he turns into a blood-seeking murderer lusting for blood. Hence the nickname "Berserker" which also happens to be his Job class. (I think Crusty is going to be a huge chick magnet with fangirls - he has like all the elements liked by them lol)
Crusty is a seasoned general for "Legion Raiding" of 96 members, and is the pillar of Akiba's army. The pyramid command chain is solid, and effectively organized like military. Due to both his personal effectiveness as well as political strength, he is appointed the representative of the Round Table.

Black Knights:
Although only 180 members strong, this elite battle-worn guild is led by "Blacksword" Issac. (The black knight in the OP) The guild only allows members over the level of 85, and generally unorganized. However, every member of the guild are seasoned vets which makes them a fearsome force.

Honesty:
One of the largest battle guilds in Akiba, at 750 members. Led by Eins.

West Wind Brigade:
Harem battle guild, led by Soujiro Seta (the young samurai standing across from Marielle). Protagonist of his own manga series, the young samurai is a chick magnet - and his guild consists of many beautiful girls attracted to Soujiro. Currently dating four of them. Around 60 members strong

Radio Market:
middle-sized guild in Akiba, led by "The retired" Akaneya Ichimonjinosuke (old samurai looking man). A rare "Machinery" smith. Generally known as an odd man, but liked by many.

Grandeur:
Another mid-sized guild, led by former Black Knight member "Canon Ball" Woodstock W. (the dwarf standing across from Akaneya) The guild is known for high level of network and connections with guilds through out Japan. Also known for their generosity and kindness towards free non-guild players.

The Crescent Moon Alliance:
Small guild of 30 members of so, (although they become quite mid-sized soon) led by "Akiba's Sun Flower" Marielle. Generous and kind towards everyone including newbies, and loved by all.


The last three guilds are far smaller than others, but were included because they needed a minority voice represented in the committee, and these three were influential.
Eins and Woodstock has had almost no role in the novels, so details on their personality and background is very low.
Aside from Shiroe, Crusty and Marielle has enjoyed the most spotlight, almost equally. Followed by Issac and the craftsmen trio, Charasin, Michitaka, and Rodrick.

Originally Posted by tsunade666

Is the other guy that has been researching on the mystery of the elder tale or how they were stuck there the same guy shown in vol 3? the one where he show Shiroe and Akatsuki into a library.

This will be covered in episode 14 of the anime.

[tsunade666]

D.D.D. is the guild with the princess and the old man that looks like a king isn't it? Vol 4 is where they become important and it looks like a large scale battle to me.

Soujiro... >_> currently dating 4 of them. I don't know but if Naotsugu see him again he might hit him they didn't meet for 2 years to begin with. Or is Soujirou chick magnet since the tea party days.

[aohige]

The princess and her grandfather are not D.D.D. They are Earthling nobles.

Sou was a chick magnet since DTP days.
Nazuna, Saki, and Suzuna were DTP members who were with him during those days.
Nazuna and Saki followed Sojirou when he formed the West Wind Brigade, but no info on Suzuna.
Saki wasn't online when the Catastrophe happened, so she's not part of the Log Horizon stories.

[aohige]

I'll explain some of the backbone of the story and setting, without touching on too spoilerly stuff.
First, the world and how it's different from the MMORPG...

Much of the video game systems did carry over, but there's a slew of things that changed to make things more "real".

Earthlings: The most important change. They were NPC characters in the Elder Tale games.
However in this world, they are breathing, living, sentient natives. They have feelings, emotion, thoughts, and livelihood. Not robotic AIs.
The native Earthlings know the Adventurers (Players) are mighty heroes from another world, but that's about extent of their knowledge of them.

Unlike the Adventurers, an Earthling is not immortal. Once they die, that's it. They never come back. They are much weaker than Adventurers, and have very low levels. Even the mightiest of knights in most kingdoms are only like level 30-40. Commoners are generally below level 10s.

Another major difference.... this world of Theldesia has anywhere from 5~10x more Earthling population than the game. There's literally a million of them just in Japan.

The world: Elder Tales was created by using satellite image of the Earth, and using software to replicate its geographical shape. The world of Elder Tales is half distance of that of Earth - meaning, 1/4 the size. The environment is created by random generator software, and small Earthling villages were generated on the map all over the place as well.

The environments didn't have much of a meaning in the game, but now, they are alive and functional. The same goes for the villages. Each "server" handled different area. Japan and China have their own separate servers, Americas, North Europe, etc. But the world is all connected, and can be traveled between each other. However, you cannot communicate with other players on another server unless you yourself move there.

This rule has carried over into this world as well. Each server has different method of payment systems as well, some countries have monthly subscriptions and purchased packages, Korea has a freemium format, China has a daily basis payment option, etc. A large server such as China has tons of areas where players haven't explored yet. (mostly random generated anyways)

In general, where game rules exist they apply. But on things the game never touched upon, real physics apply.
It feels like forcing game system on a real world, or vice versa, forcing real physics on a game world.

[tsunade666]

So the earthlings are pretty much alive?

It really enforce the feeling of alternate world than them living inside the game.

If the princess is not member of D.D.D then ... what happen in vol 4?

Spoiler:

it looks like they are rallying the people for the war and why is the monster attacking them? also what happen in one of the illustration where it looks like Shiroe is containing some pillar and the others are badly wounded. It was also shown in the OP where the wizard/magician guy is dying and the spear user girl is crying for him.

and what happen in vol 5? where it looks like someone catch the Princess when she always fall. Who is the guy? he has bangles on. I thought its the 4 eyed freak of D.D.D.

How do they cross to the other part of the world if they are in separate server?

[aohige]

Princess is representing the Earthlings.
It's a climax after a political clash of the two races.
Crusty and the princess' relationship is... hard to explain. I'll just leave it at it's adorable.

As for crossing servers, you just walk. or swim. or fly. Like real world.
The physical location of data may move servers, but players won't really notice until they open their status screen or try to call a friend.
The transition is seamless. (Just like most MMO these days, which can transition seamlessly to another server)

As you can imagine, natives being real humans play a massive importance in the story.

[tsunade666]

So they travel literally when moving into another server? no portals? are the portals even been fix?..... that sucks if it remains the same. Its one of the good thing in MMORPG. Use portals or warp to travel fast but if that isn't an option and they are stuck in literal transportation.... that would be hard >_> and again a bit realistic but you know... having fantasy setting you will expect it to have fast transportation.

[aohige]

You.... can. If you're really, really daring.

There are these Fairy Ring portals all over the world that seemingly warps you to random spots in the world.
The destination changed every five minutes in the real world (which is every 1 hour in in-universe world), and the patterns were pretty much studied. You could go to a website that tracks which rings goes to where at any time of the day.
Since the adventurers have no web connection anymore, jumping into it is near-suicide now.

One New York player jumped into one after the Catastrophe, and ended up in middle of nowhereland in like, Mongolia or something. LOL.
Kanami saved his ass from there, on her journey back to Japan.

As for why the portals are broke, who knows.
In MMO it's a matter of convenience to have these around, but in the real world it's just too powerful and easy I guess.

Oh, another world detail.

The Catastrophe happened the moment the new expansion went live.
Like most MMO, the data for the expansion were downloaded on clients all over the world, but they didn't go live till that moment.
And since Japan is ahead of other servers in date time, it happened when Japanese expansion servers went live.

Technically Korea should also go live, but as far as I know Japan is the only server that has the patch live. Perhaps due to different payment method (Korea uses freemium model) the schedule for expansion live was different.

Which means, level 91+ content may only be available in the Japanese servers, and other servers may not even be able to level past 90.
Kanami heading to Japan is because she knows this, and the reason for this world wide disaster may lie in the Japanese servers.

I wonder once other players around the world figure this out, we may see flocks of players heading to the Japanese servers. In the harsh new world, raiding Lv100 content is going to make a crapload of difference. The Chinese server is in middle of power struggle between guilds, one of the prominent guild in the land got sick of that nonsense and traveled to another city, befriended the Earthlings there, and set a base of operations. I could see another guild like that instead heading to Japan, not so far away..

The Chinese wolf riders were pretty cool, I'd love to see them animated.
I'm hoping for an OVA series or something of the oversea spin-off.

[tsunade666]

So there are fast transportation but its suicide to use and Kanami is going back to japan to solve the mystery and level up. What group/guild is Kanami currently leading? Is she along when she travel to japan? that's what... suicidal?

What is the latest level Shiroe and the others? There is a boss that is level 95 in vol 4. Ruseato of seven prison. If they stay at level 90. The gap of 5 levels will be hard specially in boss battle.

The undine are sexy

[Krono]

Originally Posted by aohige

It's really the volume and impression.

There's so many canon pairings of other main characters, that Shiroe himself's situation is less focused and trivial.
Pretty much every other prominent guys and gals gets a mate.
It also helps that while Shiroe is the protagonist, Log Horizon leans towards the nature of Ensemble casting with less focus on the protagonist.

We shall see if that's enough to keep people from calling it a harem. I'm not optimistic.

Spoiler:

Especially given things like that "unofficial general info" crap reposted from 4chan. Bashing SAO while talking about how LH isn't a harem as one of the "comparisons" is pretty much begging SAO fans to start calling LH a harem the moment Shiroe hits three girls obviously attracted to him. It also builds people's expectations that the number won't rise above one girl attracted to him, lending to the possibility of people that would otherwise not be bother much remarking upon it specifically to counter the misleading information.

Originally Posted by tsunade666

Even so, I think its more likely a Shiroe and Akatsuki pair.

Be that as it may, SAO having a definitive pairing does not stop people who have seen the full series from still calling it a harem. As such I'm not optimistic about LH with less definitive pairings avoiding the term.

[tsunade666]

SAO is a harem and I won't deny that but for LogHora is probably different but I'll wait for more info but so far. I don't see any indication that's why I was surprised when aohige said that there are girls liking Shiroe. Soujirou is different because he has a guild of harem but for Shiroe, if you look at the novel. So far he is more like a politician >_> and really Shiroe and Akatsuki is a solid pair. So I can agree that its an OTP story.

Plus SAO has the new girl/harem theme to it with Kirito sticking his d/ck into new game. While I can't say the same for Shiroe.

Spoiler for ShiroexAkatsuki:

Spoiler for Shiroe looks good together with Henrietta:

But its more like a dance and they will just be friends and nothing more.

Spoiler for Soujirou:

This is the freaking chick magnet and harem king of the story. This is the guy that decide to create a guild with lots of beautiful girl -_-


Question. Is their appearance the same as their game character before the "live" or is it their real appearance in real world?

[aohige]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

Question. Is their appearance the same as their game character before the "live" or is it their real appearance in real world?

It's a mix. The appearance of the characters are generally based on the characters they created for the game, but their real-life facial features are reflected as well.
That's what Shiroe meant when he saw Naotsugu for the first time and said he's exactly him. They are friends in real-life, so they know each others faces.

Obviously if you chose a cat-men race or the opposite sex, there's probably less commonality between your real face and the characters. The game also don't really have any "ugly" people, so think of it like your face is the base but it may be beautified a bit.