Log Horizon's Portrayal of Colonization

As I read about European colonization of the Americas for this week’s reading, I realized that the TV show Log Horizon bears many similarities to the pattern of European colonization. Log Horizon’s plot revolves around large amount of people being transported from the real world to a new world in the video game Elder Tale in an event known as the “Catastrophe,” and it follows the characters as they build a fully functioning society in this world. The interaction between the transported people and the world of Elder Tale is not only very similar to European colonization, but it also helps explain some of the attitudes Europeans had towards colonization.

The world of Elder Tale has geography identical to that of Earth. When Elder Tale was just a game and not its own world, there were many NPCs, called “people of the land,” who were background characters in the game, which none of the players really paid attention to. However, when the players, called “adventurers,” were transported into the game world, these people of the land became real humans just as sentient as the adventurers, with their own lives and thoughts. Furthermore, the people of the land had many lives before the adventurers came. Therefore, to the people of the land, the adventurers had seemingly appeared out of thin air. The people of the land are analogous to the Native Americans during European colonization of America, and this will be explored in greater detail later.

When the characters all arrive in Elder Tale, the players are split up into five major cities in Japan. Each city and its surrounding area has its own unique government and ruling parties. I believe that, to an extent, the cities of Akihabara and Susukino can be compared to the colonists from England and Spain, which can be seen in how the two cities operate. First, the narrative is told from the perspective of the people of Akihabara, which should be kept in mind when considering how the show perceives groups of people outside of Akihabara. The people who landed in Akihabara had not immediately consolidated a functioning government and presence after the catastrophe. It would not be until the formation of the Round Table when a government would be established in this city. I perceive this as being similar to the early colonization of England. As described both in class and in the textbook, the first English colony Jamestown could not establish a lasting society and did not have a presence in the Americas. Only when later colonies were established would England have a functioning colony in North America. Similarly, when the adventurers first arrived in Akihabara, they were in a state of chaos, and society quickly collapsed. Order was only established when outside guilds entered Akihabara to form the Round Table, the government of Akihabara.

In contrast, immediately after the catastrophe, Susukino immediately set up its own government. From Akihabara’s (and by extension the show’s) perspective, Susukino’s government appeared oppressive towards both its citizens and the people of the land. Therefore, some of the people in Akihabara tried to get people to join them by saying that they were going to save both adventurers and People of the Land from Susukino’s oppression. In this way, Susukino is similar to the Spanish empire because Susukino was one of the first cities to set up a functioning government and society in the new world of Elder Tale, similar to how the Spanish Empire was one of the first to set up its colonies in the New World. Furthermore, some of the English colonists declared that they wanted to save the Native Americans from Spanish oppression, which is similar to Akihabara’s ostensible desire to save the adventurers and people of the land from Susukino. In particular, recall that Hakluyt, an English scholar, fervently said that “the Indians of the New World were ‘crying out to us . . . to come and help’” (Give me Liberty, 57). In Log Horizon, the protagonist detected cries of help from Susukino, and he even sent a rescue mission there, which has a similar sentiment to Hakluyt’s words.

Interactions between Akihabara (and most likely the other four big cities, but the anime mainly focuses on Akihabara) and the People of the Land are reminiscent of the interactions between European colonists and Native Americans. From early on it is noted that the adventurers possess far more physical and magical strength than the People of the Land. This is similar to the advantage Europeans had over Native Americans due to more advanced technology and weapons. Among the nobility of the People of the Land, some wanted to repel the adventurers, but the majority of them believed that it was in their best interest to remain friendly and form alliances. This corresponds to how many Native American tribes were relatively friendly with adventurers, forming economic relationships, yet many other tribes were violent through incidents such as the Pequot rebellion. However, one notable difference in Log Horizon is that, as far as Season 1, there was never an incident of People of the Land violently attacking/rebelling against the adventurers.

There is a major turning point in Log Horizon that bears similarities to the interaction between Pocahontas and English colonists. What had transpired in “real life” was that Powhatan had captured John Smith and planned to execute him, but Pocahontas had convinced Powhatan to release him, and Pocahontas eventually married John Rolfe. This story made Pocahontas famous and made her a symbol of European and Native American amity. Now, what happened in Log Horizon was that the members of the Round Table (the governing body of Akihabara) convened in the capital of Eastal (one of the nations for the People of the Land). Meanwhile, the nobility of Eastal had several meetings regarding what to do about the adventurers. The general consensus among the nobility was to reject the adventurers from the capital. However, the princess of Eastal, Lenessia, was able to convince the nobles to accept the adventurers and encouraged the two parties to work together. Lenessia rescued the representatives of the Round Table from potential confinement by the People of the Land, which is analogous to Pocahontas saving John Smith from execution. Furthermore, Pocahontas’ marriage with John Rolfe is very similar to Lenessia’s relationship with Krusty, one of the leaders of the Round Table. Although their relationship is never officially confirmed in the first season, it is heavily implied that both have some level of attractiveness towards each other, and this relationship had been verified through several events throughout the first season. For one final connection, recall that Pocahontas had taken a voyage to England and had symbolized harmony between the Native Americans and the colonists. In Log Horizon, Lenessia, escorted by Krusty, made a trip to Akihabara, and the speech she gave there was representative of a unified cause between the adventurers and the People of the Land.

With this in mind, we can get a better idea of the European colonists’ treatment towards the Native Americans. From our current open-minded society, it may be difficult to comprehend the varying attitudes of colonists towards the natives. For example, William Penn established Pennsylvania with the goal for colonists to coexist with Native Americans. On the other end of the spectrum, Bacon’s Rebellion was partially motivated by the desire to displace Native Americans from their land so that farmers could obtain more land, described by the textbook as a “call for the removal of all Indians from the colony” (Give me Liberty, 107). Although Bacon’s reaction towards natives may seem irrational to our current society, we can better understand the Europeans’ perspectives by considering the analogy between Native Americans and People of the Land in Log Horizon.

Many of the adventurers of Log Horizon believed that the People of the Land should still be treated as mere NPCs of a game. Even from the very beginning of the Catastrophe, the People of the Land were already displaced from their homes because of the adventurers’ actions, whether intentional or not. No matter how much evidence was against the adventurers’ beliefs, many adventurers still held that they were the only “true” people - after all, only the adventurers had arrived from the “real” world - and the People of the Land should just be treated as an afterthought. In addition, the adventurers possessed far greater physical and magical abilities than the People of the Land, analogous to the European technological advantage. The adventurers' possession of magical powers can be compared to the early European colonists’ belief that they were blessed from God to enlighten this foreign land. Since the adventurers had magic, strength, and even resurrection, the adventurers came to consider themselves as far superior to the People of the Land. Similarly, since the Europeans had both technology and God’s will on their side, they believed they were superior to the Native Americans, which they believed to justify their unfair treatment of the native population. By presenting the TV show from the perspective of colonists from our modern society in the face of an unknown land and people, Log Horizon establishes a better understanding of the attitudes and inevitable prejudice between colonists and the indigenous people during colonization of the New World.

Sources: GML, log-horizon.wikia.com