Forum - View topicShangri-La Frontier (TV).
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Season 01: Shangri-La Frontier (TV) Season 02: Shangri-La Frontier (TV 2) Source: Web Novel / Manga (ongoing @ 14 volumes, written by Katarina, illustrated by Ryosuke Fuji) Demographic: Shounen Animation Studio: C2C Genres: action, adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy, romance Themes: gaming, magical creatures, MMORPG, monsters, satire, school, video games, virtual world Plot Summary: Second year high school student Rakurō Hizutome is interested in one thing only: finding "shitty games" and beating the crap out of them. His gaming skills are second to none, and no game is too bad for him to enjoy. So when he's introduced to the new VR game Shangri-La Frontier, he does what he does best—min-maxes and skips the prologue to jump straight into the action. But can even an expert gamer like Rakurō discover all the secrets that Shangri-La Frontier hides... Air Date & Platform: Season 01: October 1, 2023 (Sunday) Available on: Crunchyroll Season 02: October 2024 Available on: Crunchyroll Episode Count / Runtime: Season 01: 25 episodes Season 02: Pending Total: 25 episodes ---------------------------------- From the studio that did Handyman Saitou in Another World and Otaku Elf. Upon researching, I thought this was gonna' be an isekai into the game world like .hack or Overlord. But I think this might simply be about a guy mastering a video game, which actually seems kinda' cool. Will give this a watch. Last edited by Tony K. on Fri Apr 12, 2024 3:01 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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smurky turkey
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This one looks like a lot of fun.
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24157 |
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Loved both Handyman Saito and Otaku Elf, so absolutely have to check this one out.
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Edjwald
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I like VR anime, and this next season seems to be dipping back into that well while decreasing the number of factory made isekai a bit. Works for me.
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Edjwald
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I've got no complaints about the first episode. How did the protagonist put it? Something about the "Elation from rushing head first into a new world" give or take a word. I thought the show did a good job of that. In terms of gaming, the territory is familiar (though the vorpal bunny was a nice twist on the killer rabbit that I wasn't personally familiar with) but the real draw was imagining how cool it would be to experience the games we're familiar with as true VR experiences, which doesn't get old for me. It's surprising how many anime have a hard time nailing that feeling. I love Bofuri for just that reason even though cutesy kid anime aren't my favorite, but there have been a lot more misfires. This show wasn't one of them IMHO.
I am wondering if all that talk about divinity is hinting that there's more going on with this game than technological advances, but I'm okay either way. As long as it keeps this vibe going, this will probably be one of my faves.. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24157 |
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Episode 1
That was fun! As Edjwald pointed out, that first episode nicely captured the sensation of what it would be like to play a truly well done immersive VR game. I'm not a gamer (unless you consider Spider Solitaire - I kick ass on the medium level), but this made me wish that VR existed on this level. To tell you the truth, watching Rakuro play "Faila" put me in the mood for a series that was just about a dude playing various trash games, which this clearly is not going to be. I would have enjoyed seeing more of his having to deal with that irritating fairy - that was hilarious! I'm probably jinxing things, but this new season has gotten off to a strong start for me. Of the 7 new shows I've sampled, there's only been a single turd in the punch bowl: A Girl and Her Inappropriately Older Guard Pooch. It's looking like my goal of only following, say, 15 titles at most is in danger... |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2664 |
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Yup, I am really into it. Like those before me have said, it feels like a VR game that is actually fun to play. The game/world in it seems interesting and it also helps that it looks very beautiful. The combat gets the blood pumping and our mc is a gamer of rather refined tastes and style of play. I am interested in seeing more of the game and how birdhead will tackle the challenges he finds in it.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2664 |
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The second episode was once again a lot of fun. Hectic fights with a snake boss and goblins, mining while getting annoyed by mr frog, some village exploration and a unique monster popping up who looks a little nasty.
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Edjwald
Posts: 1586 |
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Yah, this show and Frieran are easily my favorite newcomers. The main voice actor seems to be having a blast, the animated action scenes are sweet, and the editing is tight. The story is fast paced without seeming scant.
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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I added satire as a theme descriptor, as I felt it making fun of "trash games" was a poke at parts of the gaming industry (and we don't see too many satires in general, so I thought it might fit this one). Although, the satire seems more prevalent in the first episode, and less so in the second. Guess we'll just have to see if it continues to occasionally keep poking fun at glitch-y games or not.
Any theories on the end of the episode with the Unique Monster appearing, but the computer reading 0 on its status screen? My gf and I think it might be some kind of AI adapting to Sunraku because he's so adept from his trash-game experiences. But it also makes me wonder why nobody was in the room monitoring the activity. Maybe the show is a little more sci-fi than we know and went all TRON and sucked the person into the digital realm? That'd be a neat twist. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24157 |
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Episode 2
Solid follow up to good first episode. I'm looking forward to the female Stan linking up with MC. Damn, girl's thirsty. I also like the very light dusting of hints that there is something more going on with SLF than just people having a rockin' fun immersive VR time. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1586 |
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Welp, I personally didn't see any additional clues as to what was going on with the unique monster or the world, Tony, but that feeling that something was up surely persisted.
This anime isn't formulaic as far as I can tell. I wasn't expecting the monster's curse, or that weird portal to be the land of the vorpal rabbits, which is cool. Now I'm wondering if those other characters in the OP are going to be other players or NPCs. Still loving it. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2664 |
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Yeah, it really is a crazy fun adventure thus far. We had one hell of a fight against the wolf, a curse and the bunnyworld. Seeing the wolf in action makes clear why not a single one of those unique monsters have been defeated yet. As for bunnyworld, seems like a fun place with a very imposing leader.
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11442 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Episode 03
Heck yeah, I kept wondering who Bunny Boss in the credits was, and we finally get to meet him at the end of this one, and he's voiced by Akio Ohtsuka, who's a VA boss in his own right  . While we didn't get any kind of explanation or clues for the whole Unique Monster thing, we get to see this whole Unique Event Bunnyworld. I was thinking the suit bunny in the credits was a player, but it looks like all of 'em will be NPCs.
Unironically, this show is getting me in the mood to pick up MMORPG and other fantasy type games. I have very little free time for those, nowadays, but maybe I'll dip back into Guild Wars 2, just to scratch the itch. The world of this game seems very rich, and I'm really liking all these little nuances. I'm not as much of a gamer, anymore, but I'm sure what anime-loving gamers that are watching this are liking it a lot. And we haven't even met some of the other supporting cast, yet. What an adventurous show, after just three episodes. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24157 |
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Man, I wish more fantasy-based shows, whether they be isekai or "trapped in a game" scenarios would take a page out of this show's playbook. It does two very simple things that make it stand out: 1) It doesn't make its MC OP to the point where every encounter is a complete breeze without any negative consequences and 2) it's not generic feeling. My only mini-beef so far is that I'm starting to have a sinking feeling that female Stan is never gonna meet up with Birdface...
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