English Dub Review: Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table “The Duke of Akiba”

Overview (Possible Spoilers):

Picking up where last week ended, Eins the Guild Master of Honesty has become the Duke of Akiba. Shiroe and the rest of the Round Table Alliance try to figure out what ramifications this will have. Meanwhile, Rayneshia has her own issues trying to keep up with the events involving the new Duke and her upcoming marriage to the heir of the House of Saiguu.

Our Take:

When your story is almost entirely character interactions and political maneuvering, you’re going to have episodes like this week’s episode of Log Horizon. It’s clear that big things are going to pop off this season, but big things take time to develop. We are given a look into the machinations of Intix (Kaytha Coker) the true ruler of the West and Plant Hwyaden guild. Turns out she has a bone to pick with just about everyone and wants to better than everyone.

The last episode ended with Eins of Honesty guild being announced as the new Duke of Akiba. Now we need to learn what exactly this means for the Log Horizon guild. At the beginning of the episode, we see how most of the city is reacting and it’s overwhelmingly positive. Isuzu (Margaret McDonald) the bard of Log Horizon isn’t so sure and her doubts surface in a conversation with her friend. She notices her fellow guild member Rundelhaus Code (Tyler Galindo) helping out other people with random odd jobs. I really hope this romantic subplot between them actually goes somewhere this season. Seeing as how this is not a romance anime I doubt this or any of the romance subplots will get much room to grow.

This will probably be Shiroe’s biggest test as a tactician. Since he was the original creator of the Round Table Alliance, its possible destruction falls on his shoulders. Surprisingly, the Honesty Guild was still a part of the Alliance but come to the end of this all those bridges have been burnt. To be perfectly honest this episode serves as more of an appetizer. I can see how the pieces may fall in place and I am excited to see it. Shiroe is also a character that is very intriguing because this might be the most his back has been against the wall. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with within the coming weeks.

One of the last things I’ll cover from last week’s episode is Rayneshia’s marriage proposal. We would all like to see Krusty come back and resolve this whole situation but as I mentioned earlier it doesn’t seem like romance is a high priority. We haven’t exactly met her fiance so maybe he could end up being a good guy. Still, though, team Krusty all the way. All in all it was a decent episode that I think will show its importance later on as the season progresses.