Let’s get this out of the way we are going to be comparing them critically. How I feel about both shows personally isn’t going to be included(Or at the very least I will try to be as unbiased as possible).What also isn’t going to be included is the second arc of sao along with both of the second seasons of LH(Log Horizon) and SAO(Sword Art Online).Now that I got that out of the way I can tell you what categories both will be judged off of and try not to spoil much.We are going to be looking at characters, story, atmosphere, how well it panders to the targeted audience,presentation, and overall scores.
Story and Atmosphere:
Both follow an anti-social gamer that’s been trapped in a mmo, but that’s as far as the similarities go. SAO is about trying to get out without dying or else they will get killed in real life because of the nerve gear.Which is totally different to Log Horizon's route when they try to make use of the time they have when they are trapped.Meaning that the atmosphere in both shows are completely different.SAO is more of an action/adventure compared to LH’s more colorful and informative manner.Now let’s get to how both execute the premise.SAO executes the plot somewhat iffy to most people.Since the show takes a break and decides to not focus on the main plot. Now I do see where this is coming from.If they would go the same direction as the first few episodes it might’ve worked better.I just didn't mind much as I much as I could have, since SAO's filler did develop a few things along the way, which is more then I can say for most anime.So,I’ll at least give it credit for that.I also think the premise lends itself to be more interesting than LH’s since there’s more to work with on a dramatic standpoint.SAO has another shortcoming when the writers decide to make Kirito(main protagonist) so overpowered that it creates some plot holes in the story.Aside from that nothing else is really wrong with it.When it comes down to it the story still holds up.It has believable world building,well-written physiological elements,a beautiful romance,great action scenes,and a wonderful set-up.Trust me the good out weighs the negatives. As for LH only one problem with the story the humor, which isn’t only repetitive, but also cliched and poorly written.The biggest problem with this is that the story likes to push away it’s positive aspects to the side just to make room for some bad jokes that are repeated over and over again.Though LH has its positive sides too.Once again the positives outweigh the negatives. LH has great world building,a slow but satisfying set-up, well written strategies that’s thought up by ( the main protagonist) Shiroe and is very accurate to a mmo. SAO does have more problems than LH, but SAO also has far better points than LH, making it a tie.
LH:1 SAO:1
Characters:
As much as I enjoy stereo-types, I like characters to grow out of them.Which is kinda of disappointing when Log Horizon's development between characters doesn’t actually develop the character’s traits as much as the writers should have.Instead the character building doesn’t really do anything.For example we were told that one of the characters were disabled in real life before being trapped in a mmo, and that’s it. It wasn’t until near the end of the show when we really got some character building and development of value, that isn’t completely useless to both the character and the story. The developments that are presented are well-written and do hold up okay.It just would’ve been nicer if we got to see more of that in the beginning.Don’t get me wrong the characters here are well-written to an extent.Especially near the end of the show I just think the writers could’ve done better, so it wouldn’t end up as just okay.As for Sword Art Online I adore the character development there even if there wasn’t much of it. I do think that in SAO the development is well-written.All of it was subtle and done in a very different way then how characters from other shows are developed. You get to see the development through imagery and past conflicts only to be explained to you how the character changed after the fact.Now I can see this being a problem for some people since you have to look to catch, but there's some really creative character building in between that made up for it. So personally I wasn't bothered by it. SAO wins for being a lot more unique and subtle with the character building and development.
SAO:2 LH:1
How Well Both Shows Pander to Their Target Audience:
Let’s go over LH first.LH panders to its audience by game maniacs and world building.Which is where most of the best parts of LH comes from.As I mentioned before the world building in this anime is amazing it really suits the mmo setting and the show takes full advantage of it.The “People Of The Land” aka P.Cs becoming a part of the world with real emotions and thoughts, was a nice move on the writers part.I also like how the writers handle the politics of the mmo reality. I mean how the writers used their target audience to their advantage is ingenious and a really nice touch. Sadly though this is SAO”s weakest point. Since SAO is a shounen(a genre for young boys 9-14) it has to cut some of the quality.For example when I said Kirito was overpowered in a kind of stupid way I meant it. His plot armor will save him at the most convenient times and that happened like what three times in the entire show. I won’t exactly say there’s as much plot holes as most people think. In fact there’s very few the only thing you have to do to figure that out is to pay close attention, but there are times where there’ll be plot holes because of Kirito’s plot armor.LH wins by far, SAO’s writers sacrifice some things to appeal to an audience.While LH’s writer use the audience that LH is aimed at to it’s advantage.
LH:2 SAO:2
Presentation:
Yes presentation is of course important when it comes to anime.Anime translates to animation, so it should at least matter to an extent if not more. Anyway LH is good in this department.The character designs are unique enough to stand out even if the designs look a bit weird because of the odd style.The dubbed voices are great for the most part.Mike Yager did an especially great job with Shiroe's character. I fell in love with it the second I heard it,his voice fits Shiroe’s character just too perfectly. I also like Jad Saxton’s voice(aka Akatsuki character),Shelley Carlene-Black(Henrietta) and Meg McDonald(The voice for Isuzu),they were really fun to watch and all them made a convincing performance.The animation is fluid enough...just eh for me.There wasn’t really anything I felt stood out or looked amazingly well, but it’s okay.The background designs are decent most of the time, there’s only like a couple of times where I can say it looked beautiful.The soundtrack isn’t anything past okay either, but it does at least fit the themes that LH was going for, so it’s a good soundtrack for the most part.As for SAO it’s not too shabby in this department either.In fact it’s probably even better at it than LH.The background designs in SAO look jaw-droppingly gorgeous, they are just so detailed and it feels like you actually are in SAO.The character designs are very detailed,distinct and recognizable the second you look at them. The soundtrack is also pretty, the Tender feeling,Crossing Field, At Our Parting,and In Your Past are only some of the great songs that fill SAO’s soundtrack.(Kajiura Yuki did the soundtrack btw) The dub voice actors also did a good job, Cherami Leigh (Asuna), Sarah Anne Willaims (Lisbeth) and Kelvin M. Connolly(Kayaba).The only dub actor that did bother me was Bryce Papenbrook for Kirito.I don’t know it just didn’t sit right with me how older his voice sounds than a 14 year old.SAO redeemed itself in the most perfect way possible, not that LH was bad, it’s just SAO was really redeemed in this round and took the lead.
SAO:3 LH:2
Overall Scores:
Story:
LH:9.2/10
SAO:9.2/10
Characters:
LH:6.5/10
SAO:9/10
Pandering:
LH:10/10
SAO:3.2/10
Presentation:
LH:7.2/10
SAO:10/10
Ending Score:
LH:9.2/10
SAO:9.4/10
Story and Atmosphere:
Both follow an anti-social gamer that’s been trapped in a mmo, but that’s as far as the similarities go. SAO is about trying to get out without dying or else they will get killed in real life because of the nerve gear.Which is totally different to Log Horizon's route when they try to make use of the time they have when they are trapped.Meaning that the atmosphere in both shows are completely different.SAO is more of an action/adventure compared to LH’s more colorful and informative manner.Now let’s get to how both execute the premise.SAO executes the plot somewhat iffy to most people.Since the show takes a break and decides to not focus on the main plot. Now I do see where this is coming from.If they would go the same direction as the first few episodes it might’ve worked better.I just didn't mind much as I much as I could have, since SAO's filler did develop a few things along the way, which is more then I can say for most anime.So,I’ll at least give it credit for that.I also think the premise lends itself to be more interesting than LH’s since there’s more to work with on a dramatic standpoint.SAO has another shortcoming when the writers decide to make Kirito(main protagonist) so overpowered that it creates some plot holes in the story.Aside from that nothing else is really wrong with it.When it comes down to it the story still holds up.It has believable world building,well-written physiological elements,a beautiful romance,great action scenes,and a wonderful set-up.Trust me the good out weighs the negatives. As for LH only one problem with the story the humor, which isn’t only repetitive, but also cliched and poorly written.The biggest problem with this is that the story likes to push away it’s positive aspects to the side just to make room for some bad jokes that are repeated over and over again.Though LH has its positive sides too.Once again the positives outweigh the negatives. LH has great world building,a slow but satisfying set-up, well written strategies that’s thought up by ( the main protagonist) Shiroe and is very accurate to a mmo. SAO does have more problems than LH, but SAO also has far better points than LH, making it a tie.
LH:1 SAO:1
Characters:
As much as I enjoy stereo-types, I like characters to grow out of them.Which is kinda of disappointing when Log Horizon's development between characters doesn’t actually develop the character’s traits as much as the writers should have.Instead the character building doesn’t really do anything.For example we were told that one of the characters were disabled in real life before being trapped in a mmo, and that’s it. It wasn’t until near the end of the show when we really got some character building and development of value, that isn’t completely useless to both the character and the story. The developments that are presented are well-written and do hold up okay.It just would’ve been nicer if we got to see more of that in the beginning.Don’t get me wrong the characters here are well-written to an extent.Especially near the end of the show I just think the writers could’ve done better, so it wouldn’t end up as just okay.As for Sword Art Online I adore the character development there even if there wasn’t much of it. I do think that in SAO the development is well-written.All of it was subtle and done in a very different way then how characters from other shows are developed. You get to see the development through imagery and past conflicts only to be explained to you how the character changed after the fact.Now I can see this being a problem for some people since you have to look to catch, but there's some really creative character building in between that made up for it. So personally I wasn't bothered by it. SAO wins for being a lot more unique and subtle with the character building and development.
SAO:2 LH:1
How Well Both Shows Pander to Their Target Audience:
Let’s go over LH first.LH panders to its audience by game maniacs and world building.Which is where most of the best parts of LH comes from.As I mentioned before the world building in this anime is amazing it really suits the mmo setting and the show takes full advantage of it.The “People Of The Land” aka P.Cs becoming a part of the world with real emotions and thoughts, was a nice move on the writers part.I also like how the writers handle the politics of the mmo reality. I mean how the writers used their target audience to their advantage is ingenious and a really nice touch. Sadly though this is SAO”s weakest point. Since SAO is a shounen(a genre for young boys 9-14) it has to cut some of the quality.For example when I said Kirito was overpowered in a kind of stupid way I meant it. His plot armor will save him at the most convenient times and that happened like what three times in the entire show. I won’t exactly say there’s as much plot holes as most people think. In fact there’s very few the only thing you have to do to figure that out is to pay close attention, but there are times where there’ll be plot holes because of Kirito’s plot armor.LH wins by far, SAO’s writers sacrifice some things to appeal to an audience.While LH’s writer use the audience that LH is aimed at to it’s advantage.
LH:2 SAO:2
Presentation:
Yes presentation is of course important when it comes to anime.Anime translates to animation, so it should at least matter to an extent if not more. Anyway LH is good in this department.The character designs are unique enough to stand out even if the designs look a bit weird because of the odd style.The dubbed voices are great for the most part.Mike Yager did an especially great job with Shiroe's character. I fell in love with it the second I heard it,his voice fits Shiroe’s character just too perfectly. I also like Jad Saxton’s voice(aka Akatsuki character),Shelley Carlene-Black(Henrietta) and Meg McDonald(The voice for Isuzu),they were really fun to watch and all them made a convincing performance.The animation is fluid enough...just eh for me.There wasn’t really anything I felt stood out or looked amazingly well, but it’s okay.The background designs are decent most of the time, there’s only like a couple of times where I can say it looked beautiful.The soundtrack isn’t anything past okay either, but it does at least fit the themes that LH was going for, so it’s a good soundtrack for the most part.As for SAO it’s not too shabby in this department either.In fact it’s probably even better at it than LH.The background designs in SAO look jaw-droppingly gorgeous, they are just so detailed and it feels like you actually are in SAO.The character designs are very detailed,distinct and recognizable the second you look at them. The soundtrack is also pretty, the Tender feeling,Crossing Field, At Our Parting,and In Your Past are only some of the great songs that fill SAO’s soundtrack.(Kajiura Yuki did the soundtrack btw) The dub voice actors also did a good job, Cherami Leigh (Asuna), Sarah Anne Willaims (Lisbeth) and Kelvin M. Connolly(Kayaba).The only dub actor that did bother me was Bryce Papenbrook for Kirito.I don’t know it just didn’t sit right with me how older his voice sounds than a 14 year old.SAO redeemed itself in the most perfect way possible, not that LH was bad, it’s just SAO was really redeemed in this round and took the lead.
SAO:3 LH:2
Overall Scores:
Story:
LH:9.2/10
SAO:9.2/10
Characters:
LH:6.5/10
SAO:9/10
Pandering:
LH:10/10
SAO:3.2/10
Presentation:
LH:7.2/10
SAO:10/10
Ending Score:
LH:9.2/10
SAO:9.4/10
pic.#1
akane and kagome
