Log Horizon

For the guild named Log Horizon, see Log Horizon (Guild).

The cover of the first volume

Log Horizon (ログ・ホライズン, Rogu・Horaizun^?) is a Japanese novel series by Mamare Touno. It was originally posted as a web novel on a site called Shōsetsuka ni Narō (Syosetu) starting in 2010, and was later officially published as a light novel by Enterbrain starting in 2011.

There have been four manga adaptations and two 25-episode anime adaptations. A third, 12-episode season aired from January to April 2021.

Plot

The story takes place in a universe where 30,000 Japanese players and several hundreds of thousand players worldwide are trapped in a fantasy online game world called Elder Tale. For these players, what was once a "sword-and-sorcery world" is now the "real world"! The main character is a male named Shiroe who teams up with his old friend Naotsugu and an assassin named Akatsuki as they try to survive in this new world.

Main Series

• Web novel (original, ongoing; currently on hiatus at 14 volumes)
• Light novel (finalized version of the web novel, ongoing; 11 volumes)

Main Series Adaptions

1. Anime
   • (Season 1) (25 episodes, complete; covers LN volumes 1-5)
   • Log Horizon 2 (Season 2) (25 episodes, complete; covers LN volumes 6-10)
   • Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table (Season 3) (12 episodes, complete, cover LN volume 11 and WN volumes 12 and 13)
2. Manga
   • Log Horizon manga (hiatus, 1 volume + 3 magazine-only chapters)
   • Log Horizon: Kanami, Go! East! manga (adaption of Go East, Kanami!; complete, 2 volumes)

Spin-offs

1. Manga
   • Honey Moon Logs manga (complete, 4 volumes)
   • Log Horizon: Nyanta's Fortune Recipes manga (complete, 6 volumes)
   • Log Horizon: West Wind Brigade manga (complete, 11 volumes)
   • Log Horizon Yonkoma Anthology manga (complete, 1 volume)
   • Log Horizon Anthology: We Are Guild Masters manga (complete, 1 volume)
2. Light Novel
   • Kushiyatama, Do Your Best! spin-off light novel (ongoing, 1 volume)
   • Log Horizon: New Land of Adventure spin-off light novel (1 volume)

Other Log Horizon Media

• Related to the anime:
  • Original Soundtrack 1
  • Original Soundtrack 2
  • Complete Settings Book - Character, monster, and location concept art and animation notes for Log Horizon.
  • Complete Settings Book 2015 - Concept art and animation notes for Log Horizon 2.
• Mobile Games:
  • Log Horizon: New Adventure Land - Gacha RPG browser game
  • Log Horizon: Escape the Lithograph of Dreaming - Gacha escape game app
• Log Horizon TRPG (tabletop role-playing game)
  • Log Horizon Database - Repository for the world of Log Horizon compiled for the TRPG.
• Re:Fraction - Real-life event in May 2018 to celebrate the Catastrophe day.
• Log Horizon: Illustrations by Hara Kazuhiro - An artbook containing 10 years' worth of Hara Kazuhiro's Log Horizon illustrations. The special edition also contains a drama CD.

Relationship with Fans

The relationship that the Log Horizon series has with its fanbase is quite remarkable. Mamare Touno is extremely receptive to fan feedback and contributions, oftentimes incorporating them into his work.

Almost all character items shown in light novel profiles were selected from twitter submissions, which can be seen in the Afterwords of each volume. Several notable characters in the light novel and anime were originally fan characters from popular fan fiction works. A few fan characters such as Riche, Rouge Vermillion, and Hiyoko were popular enough that they even made it onto the first official Character Popularity Poll.

In the Mamare Anthology, a fanbook created for and published by an annual gathering for fans of Mamare's works, the event's coordinator interviewed Mamare. At the end of the interview, he published notes on the Debauchery Tea Party's members; this information wasn't officially published until the release of Go East, Kanami!, which still lacks some information contained in the anthology.

Mamare is also aware of the series' overseas popularity. During Season 1's broadcast, Mamare held three Q&A sessions on 4chan to answer questions and give some more information about both himself and the series. He also made the Overseas Classes poll accessible in both Japanese and English, from which the regional classes were devised.