The world of Log Horizon would fall apart without Shiroe. When all the characters of that world are initially locked into a game that they can't log out of, and even attempting to die doesn't get them out, the game of Elder Tale quickly devolved not into chaos, but into a world where most players didn't even want to interact with one another. It took Shiroe's quick thinking to form the beginnings of a society that players could actually attempt to enjoy.
Though he's not the most popular character in the anime, Shiroe is a pivotal one, and perhaps one of the more compelling leads for a power fantasy genre like the world of isekai.
10 VETERAN PLAYER
Shiroe’s experience with Elder Tale goes back several years, as he’s been playing the game since he was 15 years old. His talent in the game has been renowned for years now, and it’s a large part of why he hasn’t ever wanted to join a guild.
On the contrary, many of the guilds that have tried to get Shiroe to join often choose to try and take advantage of his knowledge rather than seek him out because they want him as a friend.
9 DEBAUCHERY TEA PARTY
Shiroe is a member of a legendary unofficial guild known as the Debauchery Tea Party. Shiroe was one of the group’s original members and served as the group’s strategist. They were never a proper guild, but everyone knew them for having been the guild best known for being the first ones to conquer special events and raids.
The fact that they weren’t a real guild and their numbers were so tiny made them both popular and resented at the same time.
8 OVERSKILL
After Elder Tale’s “upgrade,” players began learning abilities known as Overskills. These were skills that are classed as global-level magic abilities and depend on each person’s experimenting.
The Overskill for the isekai show's' hero is Contract Art Ceremony. It’s an incredibly powerful ability that Shiroe has used to alter how reality works. The first Contract Art helped Shiroe allow Rundelhaus Code to be capable of revival, the same as the other Adventurers.
7 REAL LIFE
Audiences have been introduced to Shiroe in real life, a privilege that does not extend to a lot of other characters. In real life, Shiroe is a graduate student that had a major in engineering.
This makes him about 23 years old, and he looks quite similar to his avatar in the game. Shiroe still wears glasses, and he still has a slender build, although he is slightly taller in the game.
6 HIS ALTERNATE SELF
Shiroe has an alternate character like most people in MMOs. His alternate has the rather obvious name Roe2, as in the “second Shiroe.” It’s a female alternate character that’s a summoner and exists on another server.
Other players shouldn’t ever actually see her since Shiroe is currently playing as his main character, but one of the “fools” who is part of the mythical third race has taken over the character's body.
5 VILLAIN IN GLASSES
Shiroe is known as the Villain in Glasses in the series. He has earned this name because he has no fear of using whatever he has to to get what he wants.
Shiroe is usually trying to get something that will benefit everyone, but this doesn’t help the perception. People find his ability to manipulate things to work in his favor to be rather scary, making him come off like a bad guy even though he’s kinder than most.
4 WAS A SHUT-IN
Kei has always been something of a shut-in in real life. When he was younger he didn’t have many friends, and his parents were often working, leaving him to get involved in Elder Tale.
Kei engaged in what’s known as the “hikikomori” lifestyle, which involves becoming socially withdrawn from other people. He rarely goes outside, instead choosing to throw himself into other passions.
3 ALSO KNOWN AS...
Shiroe’s Japanese voice actor is Takuma Terashima. Terashima has been involved in a number of anime of the years, including his time on Baby Steps, Recovery of an MMO Junkie, and 3D Kanojo: Real Girl.
Terashima is also a musician with three separate albums out already. In the English dub, Shiroe’s voice actor is Mike Yager, who’s done work on Black Bullet, Is it Wrong To Ask A Girl Out In A Dungeon, and Haikyuu!!.
2 LIKES HELPING YOUNGER PLAYERS
Despite Shiroe’s nature as more of a recluse, he’s very invested in helping other players when he doesn’t feel like he’s being used. This is why he was willing to help Touya and Minori, two of the beginner players in the game.
Right before all of them were trapped in Elder's Tale, Shiroe was actually teaching them how to play the game. In fact, part of what led to the creation of the Round Table was attempting to save them.
1 IS AN ENCHANTER
Shiroe is part of the Enchanter class, which is unique in the game as it’s not very useful on its own. Shiroe is probably one of the well-known Enchanters because most players prefer to go with other classes.
It specializes in using support abilities, and Shiroe concentrates on helping other players around him. This works with his best ability, known as Full Control Encounter, where he can understand a full thirty seconds ahead of time in combat.