Anime fans have many shows to choose from about characters stuck in MMORPGs, and one of the most popular is Sword Art Online. Based on the novel series by Reki Kawahara, the series follows characters who suddenly find themselves trapped in a new virtual reality MMO called Sword Art Online, where if they die in the game, they die in real life.
But is SAO the best one? A solid contender to that throne is Log Horizon, which is based on Mamare Touno and has a similar premise. Players of the popular MMO Elder Tales end up trapped within the game world with the release of a new expansion pack. Both Sword Art Online and Log Horizon have similar premises, but the questions still remainsーwhich one is the better RPG based anime?
10 Sword Art Online: It Takes Place Over Several RPGs
Sword Art Online starts in the titular video game, but the characters eventually manage to escape it successfully. However, to continue the series, the characters participate in other virtual reality death games, such as ALfheim Online and Gun Gale Online. Since each of the games has different high concepts, this allows the viewers to see the characters in new and different situations. This is a great way to keep the series fresh over a long period of time.
9 Log Horizon: The Game Mechanics Are Stricter
Sword Art Online sometimes ignores the game's established mechanics to further the plot; Log Horizon sticks pretty closely to the laid-out rules for how the game is played. This keeps the series very focused on the gameplay itself and made sure the characters have to exist inside of specific rules for how things work. It’s an interesting take on the death game isekai concept since it takes the story's RPG aspect much more seriously.
8 Sword Art Online: It’s A Love Story As Well
While there’s plenty of action and adventure in Sword Art Online, its emotional core is that of a love story. Kirito definitely has his fair share of girls in love with him over the course of the series, but Asuna is the person he loves the most.
Their relationship is established very early on in the series. Just about everything they do together throughout the series is to protect each other and get out alive to be together.
7 Log Horizon: It’s Has More Politics Within It
Log Horizon is actually the complete opposite of a love story. If Sword Art Online is more of a romance wrapped up in a genre story, Log Horizon is closer to the concepts toyed within Game of Thrones. The series features characters in a brand new situation with no power dynamics in play. This means there are many opportunities for people to betray each other, form alliances, and generally play politics in a really fascinating way.
6 Sword Art Online: The Action Is Exciting
Sword Art Online is definitely one of those series where the actual action moments and fight sequences are intentionally designed to be really fun to watch. Many role-playing games are designed this way, too, with the big moves of the characters getting more drama and animation than some of the smaller moves. From this perspective, SAO has many more exciting scenes that keep viewers’ attention, highlighting the different combat skills the characters have and the danger they’re in in the game.
5 Log Horizon: The Fighting Is Strategy-Based
In many ways, the differences between Sword Art Online and Log Horizon come down to the different kinds of games they’re seen to be playing. Where SAO might be seen more as an RPG focused on big, flashy moves and fun animation, Log Horizon might be better suited to someone who likes to play something like Final Fantasy Tactics, where the gameplay is focused on how to strategize in a particular battle and how each of the characters can contribute to it.
4 Sword Art Online: The Characters Are Trying To Win
For the most part, in a death game isekai, the characters have to try to win the game to escape successfully. That means working their way through various levels and boss battles and trying to stay ahead of whatever new obstacle the game will throw at them. As a viewer, seeing an endpoint insight makes the series that much more fun to watch since they’re working toward a particular goal.
3 Log Horizon: The Focus Is On Living Inside The Game
On the other hand, Log Horizon takes a bit of a different approach to the concept of being trapped inside of an RPG. Where SAO characters are doing their best to try to get out and back to the real world, Log Horizon characters try to figure out how to live in their new situation. That means setting up a society that works for everyone, figuring out who to put in charge of what, and adjusting to the way things are now.
2 Sword Art Online: There’s One Protagonist
While there are plenty of characters in Sword Art Online, all of whom have their own things going on and their own reasons for being there and reasons for trying to get out, ultimately Kirito is the protagonist, and he’s the one that needs to fix everything by winning the game.
The narrower focus on him as the main character makes it easy to follow a sometimes slightly confusing or overly-complex series by making it a story about one specific character.
1 Log Horizon: There’s An Interesting Cast
On the other hand, it is always fun to have many options for characters to follow. Shiroe is, of course, the main character in Log Horizon, and he’s actually a lot like Kirito. But he’s not the only character, and the series doesn’t even really position him as the strongest fighter or most powerful person. In fact, it’s usually when acting in tandem with his friends and party members that he’s at his best as a player of the game or in combat.