For now, this twelve episode third season felt like just a little taste of something far bigger and better, but it sucks to have to wait who knows how long just to take another small bite.
LOG HORIZON SEASON 2 FULL
My sincere hope, though I live in the real world and know this is very unlikely at this point, is that they'll drop at least one if not two full fledged 24 episode final seasons, conclude things the right way and let this lore rich, deep, ripe with potential series walk into the sunset the way it deserves to. If they're pumping out a mere 12 episodes every half decade or so, it's going to take a very long time to conclude all of this. I also fear that I'll be old or dead by the time this concludes. In the worst case scenario, maybe that day is today. My fear for this series as a whole is that it almost inevitably will not end in a satisfactory manner, and that's if it ends properly at all, as it's possible it may simply stop one day. Nevertheless, pacing issues, some characters and plot points being left behind, feeling there are too few episodes/not enough meat on the bone to justify a six year wait and a distinct lack of combat in the first half of the show are all valid criticisms one could direct at this season. I think the people creating this anime have done the very best they can with what they were given to work with. I'm a bit of an apologist as I know there are various issues out of the control of the creators of the anime such as a lack of source material, with the original Log Horizon web comic not being updated since 2018 and with no announcement regarding if or when it will continue, the author running into some fairly serious legal trouble and, of course, simply budget restraints from studios in what is, ultimately, a for-profit business. It's hard to know how much of that I should hold against the anime itself. Many characters and subplots are forced to take a back seat for the time being.
There simply isn't enough time to give all the meaningful characters meaningful screen time or to continue with all the previously established plot points. Normally, with a higher episode count, this isn't an issue at all and these arcs are a nice change of pace and a great opportunity to enhance the deep lore of the series and develop characters, but with just 12 episodes it feels like there is no choice but to cut corners, rush things and pick and choose who you want to feature. We waited six years to introduce all of two plot points essentially and the entire first half of this season is devoid of combat or dungeon exploring whatsoever. When the cast is this enormous and the pace is deliberately this slow, greatly exasperated in this case by the half decade long wait in between seasons 2 and 3, I can't help but be left feeling unfulfilled and wanting more. The first season of Log Horizon was a meaty, thorough 25 episodes, but since then seasons have been a mere 12 episodes each.
This final point is both its biggest strength and its biggest weakness and it's where I'd like to start out our discussion about the third season. It has a HUGE cast of characters and deliberately moves at a slow pace in order to develop those characters, develop the world itself and expand on the various systems both politically and in terms of gameplay going It has a consistently standout soundtrack and some pretty banging intro/outros that really get the juices flowing. It is well animated and features a vibrant, colorful, expansive world. The series does a number of things particularly well. I quite like Log Horizon and my overall feelings about the series as a whole really haven't changed much since I watched the very first season all those years ago.
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