ログ・ホライズン5 アキバの街の日曜日

Log Horizon #5

by Mamare Touno, Kazuhiro Hara (Illustrator), 橙乃ままれ

In the sort of autumn afternoon that leaves maidens sighing, new enemies arrives in Akiba! And these enemies are more terrifying than any monster--they're human. Worse, their target is the very system at the heart of the city--the Round Table Council! Will the tenuous government that Shiroe's worked so hard to build survive this latest threat?

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Japanese Literature, Japan, Fiction, Science Fiction

371 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2011

About the author

Name (in native language): 橙乃 ままれ

Mamare Touno real name is Daisuke Umezu (梅津 大輔, Umezu Daisuke).

Blog: m2lade JAM

Reviews

[Brandon Varnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

To watch me gush and make a fool of myself, click on Log Horizon Volume 5 to see my Youtube review.

Log Horizon volume 5 continues the tale of Shiro, leader of the guild Log Horizon, as he and a whole host of other characters try to live their new lives inside of a video game... well, I think they're inside of a video game. It hasn't been explained yet whether they are in a video game, or if they were just sent to a world that's very similar to the game.

This particular volume deals with the Libra Festival, which is the first celebration that the Adventurers are creating and therefore an important event. Shiro and the other members of the Round Table Council are hard at work. Meanwhile, Akatsuki, his faithful ninja assassin/bodyguard, and Minami, a middle schooler and one of Log Horizon's newest guild members, are vying for his affection... which results in more trouble than it's really worth—for Shiro, that is.

There is a lot going on in this volume, and not just with Shiro. This volume has a tendancy to bounce between a variety of characters. We get to see Princess Raynesia, the daughter of a Duke and a People of the Earth, as she prepares the ball, which will be held during the festival as a way to thank the Adventurers for their help in routing the goblin army that was invading Eastal, the League of Free Cities. Of course, at her side is Krusty, the leader of DDD, one of the top raiding guilds within Akiba. We also see Marielle and Henrietta, Serara and Nyanta, and a bunch of other people as they prepare for the festival.

I actually quite enjoyed getting so many different perspectives. One thing that I've noticed is that no one person can ever have all the answers, and to get a clearer picture of any situation, you generally have to see things from multiple perspectives. Log Horizon seems to embody this belief and takes it to a level that I haven't seen done in a light novel very often.

Two of the things that Log Horizon is greatest at are also present in this volume: detailed world building mechanics and politics. We learn a bit more about character customization, or rather, what sort of spells and abilities specific character types have. On top of that, we get a bit more in depth in the political situation within Akiba later on when we're introduced to Lord Malves, a nobleman from Westlande.

We also get some interesting shifts on the romance front with the creation of a strange love triangle between Shiro, Akatsuki, and Minami. I'm not really sure what to think about this. On the one hand, I am a self-professed lover of romance. On the other, it doesn't feel like Touno Mamare has much experience in that department. He does a decent enough job of creating personal problems that come from two girls who are romantically attached to the same guy, but the actual romance itself has the typical and cliched feel of a forced anime romance. The biggest problem is with the dialogue. I think if the dialogue between these three flowed a bit more smoothly, it would have fixed most of the issue. The dynamic between them is interesting and works, but that dialogue...

Anyway, there were a few areas in this story that I feel could have been done better. One is the lack of foreshadowing. We're introduced to several revelations and new elements within this series that seem to come out of left field. There was no foreshadowing to introduce these elements either. This makes it feel like Mamare Touno only thought of adding these details in at that moment instead of like that's what he'd been thinking of all along. Considering the amount of thought and detail put into the creation of the world Shiro and the others live in, it felt very half-assed.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started out kind of slow, felt very slice-of-life and I was wondering what to think of it. But as this volume progressed there were some changes to that feel and some interesting things going on.

Shiroe and a harem? I really hope it doesn't devolve into that, but there are some definite love interests. It is definitely a change for him to seemingly start noticing them. I myself am Team Akatsuki.

So the Libra Festival is upon Akiba and it has exploded from a small exhibition from the small/medium sized guilds showing off their wares to a city-wide rave with people of the earth visiting from near and far. Of course all does not go smoothly and that's really where the book picks up. Not that it was bad before this, but I found it got significantly more interesting once Shiroe realizes something' up and starts doing something about it.

Verdict: It's Log Horizon, if you've come this far you're likely to enjoy it. If you're looking ahead, for shame, pick up the earlier volumes and start reading!

[Jennifer Linsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you, like I, were exposed to Log Horizon first through the medium of the anime series, you already know the story of this book -- it's the Libra Festival, the first matsuri the stranded adventurers throw in Akihabara after the Calamity.

But while you may know the bones, the joy of reading these light novels is the expansion of themes and subtleties that were not, and could not have been, brought out in that medium -- character's thoughts, motivations, decisions.

And if you haven't watched the anime? I'm jealous of you getting to experience this wonderful tale for the first time.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so this one got weird for awhile. Was thoroughly uncomfortable during the Danceteria scene and for awhile afterward, but Touno's writing remained good and engaging throughout, and by the time I reached the end I was pretty excited about the story again. Really curious to see what happens with some themes/plot lines/characters introduced at the end of the book. Also I want to see more Calasin and Michitaka and Krusty. And I want more scenes with Shiroe, Michitaka, and Krusty all there at once, please!

[Mauricio Martínez · Rating 4 out of 5]

What looked like an innocent and filler part of the story turned out to be an great plot, with lots of character growth and development. Filled with intrigue and questions that are waiting for an answer. I liked it. Slower than the rest, but an effective unraveling.
I'll start the sixth one tomorrow, and afterwards watch the anime, cause the friend that lent me this novels doesn't have the last 4 ones =(

[Scott Mattson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Akiba is having a big festival. Lots of prep work is required to get it up and running. The newest members of the Log Horizon guild are trying to get their levels up. Some members of the ruling group of the the people of the land aren't too happy with the adventurers, and a new threat emerges at the end.

[Roxanne Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After establishing action and politics, we get to the romance part, where everybody's feelings are acknowledged. While not as thrilling as the big world-building of the previous novels, it's still very fun to understand more of our main characters, and where they stand with each other.

[Kayleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

[Monika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ta część była bardzo nudna. Nic się w sumie nie działo ważnego oprócz kilku ostatnich stron.

[Niquie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Random thoughts that could be spoilerish (?):

- Love square introduced (though one of the girls seems more fascinated by him than in love with him), too bad the guy is oblivious and always ends up thinking about her .
- Noa is absent for most of the book, he shows up maybe twice but has no real dialogue.
- Isu is really treating Rudy as her dog!
- Isu and Rudy get a chapter that ends with a hint that something isn't right and don't show up again for the rest of the book (I think?). Are they in trouble?
- Minoru is adorable and gets some nice character development. Henriette, Aka, & Ray get development too.
- This book has reaffirmed how much I love Minoru, please give her happiness and joy even if it's not with who she wishes it to be.
- A nefarious plot is hinted at for most of the novel, but it's more a political/economical-ish plot and gets mostly resolved.
- Does Shiroe not like Ray? I didn't fully get his logic for why she needs to hate him and whenever he talks about her he always seems to say things like beautiful girls get forgiven easily. Whats this weird resentment?
- Most of the book is spent preparing for a festival and enjoying the festival. It was surprisingly fun.
- More People of the Earth history is revealed, and the author has gotten a lot better at writing these scenes.
- The last chapter manages to be creepy, hint at a real plot, and change the tone of the book. It was nice the possibility of going home and even life in japan was mentioned, as well as potential storylines outside of Akiba.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the high intensity of the last volume, it was going to be difficult for this volume to maintain the same level of impact. Predictably, it didn't. Still, there were a few excellent character moments—mostly centered on Minori—and some character-related details that didn't make it into the anime but were nevertheless enlightening.

Most of the drop in rating (I gave the last volume 5 stars) is due to the romantic subplots that show up prominently in this volume. With so many of them intensifying at once, the emphasis placed on them feels a little forced. To be fair, there was a decent amount of variety, and each kind of affection was described in a fairly creative and interesting way; still, though, they just weren't to my taste. The very last section, in particular, felt more than a little heavy-handed in that regard.

One of my favorite parts of this volume was an additional section at the end, which listed the schedules of a typical day in the life of the major characters. I wish Henrietta's day had made it on there, but in general it was a cute little chart that added a bit of additional flavor to some of the cast.

[Kevin L-J · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started reading this one I had my doubts about how it would measure up to the previous, but I'm happy to say it's the best one yet.

The author's writing ability has improved as steadily as before, and the content in this one feels like the first one that fully utilizes the writren word to express the world and characters. The characters, in particular, had tons of internal monologue and development in a believable way even though the events weren't as world shaking. This is also the first book that shows notable changes from the anime adaptation, although they are small but organic changes.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love this series so much. It's like visiting old friends. And it's so fun to watch Shiroe work.

This volume focused a lot on the budding romance elements, but there were also actiony bits (even if the action is more psychological than physical this time around) and that confrontation at the end was downright chilling.

[Alec Rebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still can't get over how much I like this series..all the characters are fleshed out and interesting and the attention to detail is astounding! The time spent building up Akiba, as well as a looking at The Holy Westland Empire was cool too....really looking forward to the next volume.

[Andres Halden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically this entire book is a long lesson on economics and diplomacy. Just what I wanted.

[Nashoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good addition to the series. It was much more of a slice of life story in many ways but it had some major plot twists moving the story forward.