Anime Blu-ray Review: Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table The Complete Season
Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table The Complete Season is a two-disc set that includes all 12 episodes of the series. The set includes both the original Japanese audio with English subtitles and the English dub.
Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table The Complete Season
English Publisher: FUNimation Entertainment
Format: Blu-ray
Release Date: February 1, 2022
Six years had passed between the end of the second season of Log Horizon and the premiere of Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table. While the series does make some attempt to remind viewers of plot points from the previous two seasons, it can be hard to remember all the various storylines when there’s this much of a gap between watching the first two seasons and this one.
At the beginning of Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table, it’s established that a year has passed since the “Apocalypse.” Early on in the season, Eins (the guild master from Honesty) brings about the demise of the Round Table Conference as it had been established when he accepts a duke title from the Holy Empire Westeland and declares that he will establish the Government of Akiba.
Meanwhile, Princess Rayneshia learns that she is in an arranged engagement with the head of a noble family from the Holy Empire Westeland. Rayneshia rebuffs the engagement and declares that she wants to continue her work in Akiba with a restructured version of the Round Table Conference that would incorporate both adventurers and People of the Land. Shiroe suggests holding an election so the people of Akiba can decide what direction they want their government to go in. The political machinations in the first five episodes were interesting to watch, and the way the election episode was done was a lot different than I had expected, but I think the way it was handled worked well for the series. Not only did this section of the season provide some character development for both Eins and Rayneshia, but it also progressed the overall story in a realistic way.
Two episodes of the season also reveal what happened to Krusty after he disappeared from the Japan server during Log Horizon 2. I was really amused by Misa and Rieze putting on a puppet show in order to make sure that all of the characters they’re relaying Krusty’s message to understand what’s happening. I was glad to see that Krusty’s disappearance was touched on, and that we also got to see Kanami and her group appear again in the series.
Near the end of the season, the audience is introduced to Lelia and Litka Mofur, a pair of Wolf Fang Druid-Collector sisters, who are older characters from the earlier days of the game when players were sent out on clunky quests. Unfortunately, the sisters developed a bad reputation with players and were sealed off in a cave. The younger players, like Minori, had no idea these characters even existed. However, when Akiba is under attack from a Genius, they prove their worth and become important characters. The interactions the older players of the game have with Lelia and Litka make most of them re-think their attitudes toward these characters.
The final few episodes also focused on relationships, especially on Akatsuki and Minori’s interest in Shiroe. At the end of the final episode, Minori confesses her feelings to Shiroe, but he tells her that he’s in love with someone else. While this broke Minori’s heart, this was the most realistic way for this plot point to progress. While it’s not blatantly stated who Shiroe has fallen for, it seems safe to say that it’s Akatsuki.
Even though there were only 12 episodes, a lot of progress was made in the overall story. With the way the season ends, though, it’s clear that there should be another season at some point. Hopefully there won’t be another six year gap between seasons. If I had to say that Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table has a weakness, it’s the fact that the six year gap existed between seasons two and three. For viewers jumping back in after that long of a time, a lot of the first episode is spent trying to jog memories and remembering what happened previously, since the series itself only gives a quick recap. If you want to watch Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table and haven’t watched the first two seasons recently, I would highly suggest either re-watching them or finding a website with a decent summary of the first two seasons and reading it before jumping in.
When it comes to the Blu-ray release, it has 1080p High Definition 16:9 (HD Native) video. For audio, it includes Dolby TrueHD: English 5.1 and Dolby TrueHD: Japanese 2.0. I had no issues with either the video or audio quality on this release.
There are three bonus features included on this release. First is “Cast Commentary,” which runs for about 50 seconds. It has the Japanese voice actors for Shiroe and Akatsuki giving some remarks, and the feature has the original Japanese audio with English subtitles. Next is “Promo Videos,” which includes two of the Japanese promotional videos for Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table. Between the two videos, the feature runs a little over a minute in length. The final bonus feature is “Textless Opening Song,” which is a version of the opening without the credit text. But what baffles me here is the fact that there isn’t also a Textless Closing Song. My only thought is that for whatever reason, FUNimation Entertainment was unable to secure the rights for a textless version of the closing theme.
If you’re a fan of the Log Horizon franchise and want to own everything that has been released on home video, then Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table The Complete Season is worth purchasing and adding to your anime collection.
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