Log Horizon Season 2 Part 1 was a massive disappointment when I watched it a few months ago, but I tried to remain optimistic that the second cour would be a return to form, and studio Deen managed to pull it off. Although still not quite as good as season 1, this release, available on both DVD and blu-ray from MVM, is more worthy of the Log Horizon name than the previous release.
“Episodes 14-25 of the second season of the Japanese anime based on the novels by Mamare Touno. Having been transported into ‘Elder Tales’, a popular online RPG, Shiroe (voice of Takuma Terashima) and his friends Naotsugu (Tomoaki Maeno) and Akatsuki (Emiri Kato) continue to navigate their way through this new reality which is full of dangers. With winter approaching, the group must decide if they will remain in the city of Akihabara or venture out into the vast world of ‘Elder Tales’ once more. The episodes are: ‘Go East! Kanami!’, ‘Setting Off!’, ‘Daytime Vampire’, ‘Odyssey Knights’, ‘When the Concert Ends’, ‘The Red Night’, ‘Birthday Song’, ‘The Sparrows Stretch Their Wings’, ‘Strangers’, ‘Isaac and Iserus’, ‘A Moth’s Eternal Sleep’ and ‘Pioneers’.”- MVM Entertainment
This season opens up with an episode that focuses on a new group of characters, including former leader of the Debauchery Tea Party, Kanami. Being located in a different part of the world to Shiroe and his current friends, Kanami’s group are only around for this one episode, and a small appearance in the season finale; this is a shame as the characters are incredibly likeable. The main focus of this half-season is on the younger guildmates of Log Horizon. Shiroe sends them on a quest to collect items needed to create a magic bag: an item that enables one to carry a large number of items. It’s only a simple quest, with the children merely travelling to a town to kill wyverns, It’s a nice change of pace to see the kids attempt a quest by themselves. I’m not a particular fan of the kids and their appearances earlier in the show, but this is a story that holds up pretty well.
The remainder of the series is, unfortunately, rather open-ended, with the original source material drying up around episode 21. Studio Deen’s anime apparently does match the light novels, but the ending of the anime doesn’t really resolve anything, and it’s unlikely we’ll see a third season, so I’d have preferred some sort of ending, even if it were anime original. The dub is still typical fare for ADR Director Kyle Jones, unimpressive and barely indicative of legitimate human interaction. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a genuinely good Kyle Jones dub. The Japanese track is, however, still a great effort from the cast, and that extends to the younger members of Log Horizon, notably Eriko Matsui’s performance as Isuzu; Isuzu’s character development throughout this release really allowed the voice actor to come into her own.
I was disappointed with Season 2 Part 1, but this half-season is considerably more worthy of your time. Sure, the ending is a little too open, but at least the light novels are being released by Yen Press in English so we can continue following the story rather than miss out. The only bonus features on this release are the standard Sentai extras – textless Opening and Ending songs.