Log Horizon 2 Ep. 11: Say my name, say my name

All I’m askin’ is for a lil’ respect!

– Apparently, Shiroe is doing more shotcalling this time around. The raid member who comes to this conclusion also speculates that the previous wipe has allowed everyone to grow closer as a team. I’m sure William’s speech played a part in that, but even so, does that include Demikas?

– In any case, I’m nevertheless surprised to hear that Shiroe’s noticeably talking more in their second attempt. It’s fine if he’s talking more simply because they need more communication, but that’s not all it is. The anime tries to play it up as if Shiroe has had a major change in character — that Shiroe now trusts the rest of the raid group. If that’s the case, then I don’t know… I think that’s a little silly. Yes, I knew he kept his cards close to his chest in the past, and that he has since resolved to change this about himself, but I thought that this only applied to the big picture stuff, i.e. why he’s even doing this raid to begin with. I just don’t see how not trusting your raiders with the details about your overall plans has anything to do with the in-raid shotcalling. Even if I don’t trust the people around me, if we’re in a team, I’d still do everything in my power to help us succeed. I figured someone as smart as Shiroe would at least realize this.

– “You can’t be friends with someone you dislike. But you can’t keep hating a comrade in arms.” Ehehehe, I don’t think so, but we’ll just leave it at that.

– Also, somehow accepting that they’re all game freaks is somehow bolstering their teamwork. Eh…

– I also find it hard to believe that these raid members are thinking such inspiring thoughts in the middle of a raid. I know the show wants to seem hopeful and uplifting, but from a practical point of view, it’s a little ridiculous. If this raid is as hard as the the anime wants to portray, no one would have the luxury to pontificate on what the raid group means to them. It takes me out of the story. You don’t even have to have raid experience. Seriously, anything that requires 100% of your concentration will do. Whether it’s the final seconds of a tied basketball game or the final section of the SATs, few people would act like, this much less an entire raid group.

– I don’t know what Demikas is griping about. If you’re an asshole, no one’s going to like you. Big surprise there, buddy.

– So the fancy new strategy is…!

Just split up to tackle the other bosses. This way, you don’t have to fight three of them in the same room. Well… I mean, this game has been through how many expansions? And this is the first time they’ve had to do this?

– Well, at least the special effects in this week’s episode look a little more legit than it has in the past.

– That hand.

– Speaking of which, Tetra announces that she’s going to join Log Horizon. She’s kind of an annoying character, though. I don’t know why she’s trying so hard to be as stereotypically girly as possible. It’s like she has to overcompensate or something. Seeing as how this is based on an MMO, maybe it’s a guy pretending to be a girl. It’s funny, though. I know a lot of girls will play as a male avatar just to avoid being harassed in-game, which is kind of like Akatsuki’s original situation, I guess. Then there are guys who play as girls just to try and get money or free items from unsuspecting players who think finding true love in a video game isn’t a one in a thousand chance. Tetra doesn’t seem malicious, though.

– In terms of raiding strategy, the show had on training wheels before the wipe.

Now that we’ve gotten to the point where the raid group is actually sending a tank and two healers to hold one boss off to the side, I’d still say we’re only at a basic level. It’s too bad, really. The show has to start from the ground up for the sake of the non-MMO viewers in the audience. I totally get that. Nevertheless, the whole thing is just kind of boring to someone like me who has done raids before. Maybe it would made more sense if these players had not started out at such a high level. After all, having such high-level characters merely sets the expectation in my mind that they should be experienced veterans at this MMO business.

– This game has some huge cooldowns. Six hundred seconds for a healing spell? Shaving two whole minutes off with a single buff? Goddamn. Then again, this is more like old school MMOs than the current generation, where everything comes out fast and often.

– All of a sudden, the Shadow Vanguard shows up anyway. Apparently, the main raid boss has been damaging itself over and over to create these annoying, little adds. Oh, what’s a raid to do…?

– Demikas ends up getting hate (or aggro) on all of the adds to pull them away from the rest of the raid group, but not before dragging Shiroe, i.e. the raid’s shotcalling leader along with him. Welp.

– Somehow, the guy drags Shiroe all the way to the goal of the entire dungeon. Uh, if it was this easy, then why didn’t they just try this in the first place? Anyway, Demikas simply wants Shiroe to respect him enough to say his name. Meh.

– The doors open, and Shiroe comes face to face with what is supposedly the source of the world’s money. And as it turns out, Kinjo and some winged raid boss have just been sitting here, waiting for our hero to arrive.

– Anyway, aside from Shiroe’s incessant narration, the episode wasn’t bad. A little basic in terms of raiding, but oh well. I don’t think I can expect much on that front.