Anime fans have many shows to choose from well-nigh characters stuck in MMORPGs, and 1 of the most popular is Sword Art Online. Based on the novel serial by Reki Kawahara, the serial follows characters who suddenly find themselves trapped in a new virtual reality MMO called Sword Fine art Online, where if they die in the game, they dice 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 pop MMO Elder Tales end upwards trapped within the game world with the release of a new expansion pack. Both Sword Fine art Online and Log Horizon take similar bounds, but the questions still remainsーwhich one is the improve RPG based anime?

ten Sword Art Online: It Takes Place Over Several RPGs

Kirito vs death gun

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 equally ALfheim Online and Gun Gale Online. Since each of the games has different high concepts, this allows the viewers to come across the characters in new and dissimilar situations. This is a great fashion to proceed the series fresh over a long period of time.

9 Log Horizon: The Game Mechanics Are Stricter

log horizon

Sword Art Online sometimes ignores the game'southward 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 be inside of specific rules for how things work. It'south an interesting take on the death game isekai concept since information technology takes the story's RPG aspect much more than seriously.

8 Sword Art Online: Information technology'southward A Love Story Too

Sword Art Online Asuna and Kirito Boss Fight

While in that location'due south plenty of action and adventure in Sword Art Online, its emotional cadre is that of a love story. Kirito definitely has his fair share of girls in love with him over the class 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 go out live to be together.

7 Log Horizon: Information technology's Has More Politics Inside It

Anime Log Horizon 2 Peaceful Civilians

Log Horizon is really the consummate opposite of a love story. If Sword Fine art Online is more of a romance wrapped upwards in a genre story, Log Horizon is closer to the concepts toyed withinGame of Thrones. The serial features characters in a brand new state of affairs 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 actually fascinating mode.

6 Sword Fine art Online: The Action Is Exciting

Elucidator sword art online

Sword Fine art Online is definitely i of those serial where the bodily action moments and fight sequences are intentionally designed to be really fun to watch. Many part-playing games are designed this manner, too, with the big moves of the characters getting more than drama and blitheness than some of the smaller moves. From this perspective, SAO has many more heady scenes that keep viewers' attending, highlighting the unlike combat skills the characters have and the danger they're in in the game.

5 Log Horizon: The Fighting Is Strategy-Based

Log Horizon's head assassin

In many means, the differences betwixt Sword Art Online and Log Horizon come downwards to the different kinds of games they're seen to be playing. Where SAO might be seen more as an RPG focused on large, flashy moves and fun animation, Log Horizon might be ameliorate suited to someone who likes to play something like Concluding Fantasy Tactics, where the gameplay is focused on how to strategize in a item boxing and how each of the characters tin can contribute to it.

4 Sword Fine art Online: The Characters Are Trying To Win

Night Sky Sword

For the most part, in a death game isekai, the characters take to try to win the game to escape successfully. That ways working their manner through various levels and boss battles and trying to stay ahead of whatsoever new obstruction 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.

iii Log Horizon: The Focus Is On Living Inside The Game

Log Horizon

On the other hand, Log Horizon takes a scrap of a different arroyo to the concept of being trapped inside of an RPG. Where SAO characters are doing their best to try to exit and back to the real world, Log Horizon characters endeavour to figure out how to live in their new situation. That ways setting upwardly a society that works for everyone, figuring out who to put in charge of what, and adjusting to the way things are at present.

2 Sword Art Online: There's 1 Protagonist

kirito looking sad swort art online

While there are plenty of characters in Sword Art Online, all of whom have their ain things going on and their ain reasons for beingness there and reasons for trying to get out, ultimately Kirito is the protagonist, and he's the one that needs to fix everything past winning the game.

The narrower focus on him as the chief character makes it easy to follow a sometimes slightly disruptive or overly-complex serial past making information technology a story nearly one specific character.

1 Log Horizon: At that place's An Interesting Cast

Akatsuki, Henrietta, and the Princess

On the other manus, it is always fun to have many options for characters to follow. Shiroe is, of course, the main character in Log Horizon, and he'south 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 almost powerful person. In fact, information technology's usually when acting in tandem with his friends and party members that he's at his all-time as a player of the game or in combat.

NEXT: Log Horizon: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Akatsuki

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