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EP. REVIEW: Shangri-La Frontier


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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18454
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 9:02 am Reply with quote
Yeah, the almost complete lack of an evident plot so far doesn't matter when the series looks this good and delivers this well on battle design and execution. (The wolf fight sequence in ep 3 was intense and exciting on a level that I don't think I've seen this year outside of DanMachi.) It also helps that the MC is approaching everything with an almost giddy level of enthusiasm.

And while I'll agree that this series does feel like it's aimed at hard-core MMO gamers, I don't think you have to be one to appreciate it. I don't consider myself one, but this title is still solidly on my view list for this season; A Certain Dude's VRMMO Life, OTOH, isn't.
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zab_san



Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 11:48 am Reply with quote
This show has been a blast. It's not so heavy-handed and brooding as something like Sword Art Online (though I'm only comparing them as "Man-Enters-VR-Game" genre) but it's also full of self-monologuing and expository dialogue as the MC explains just about everything he does each episode.
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jdnation



Joined: 15 May 2007
Posts: 2118
PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 12:13 pm Reply with quote
Pretty entertaining so far.

Shows of this genre are a dine a dozen, so it'll take a lot or a special something to impress.

Thus far the production is good. As mentioned, there isn't much of any complex story, but we are eager to know what makes this game AAA-tier versus the other crud out there from his perspective. Also will that girl finally meet him? My guess is that it will be the unresolved gag of the season.
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Leviathonlx1



Joined: 10 Dec 2018
Posts: 209
PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 2:45 pm Reply with quote
It really helps that you can tell the author is an actual gamer.
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malvarez1



Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Posts: 2111
PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 4:13 pm Reply with quote
I've been seeing a lot of people across the net saying that this show somehow feels "different" from other light novel video game/MMORPG anime, and I'm shocked no one has brought it up, but I think the reason is that even though this technically began a light novel, it's taking more cues from the manga adaption, which is a Weekly Shonen manga.

So in a way, it's vibe is less SAO or Log Horizon and more, well, Naruto (awful example, but I couldn't think of any mainstream Shonen manga that take place in a game for the most part)
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LegionWrex



Joined: 29 Sep 2023
Posts: 22
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 7:56 pm Reply with quote
One of the things that I really loved about the newest episode in particular is how it managed to keep our hero realistically strong when compared to other protagonists of his ilk. I like the fact he's not completely infallible, and the way the show manages to keep the tension at a decent high despite it clearly being a video game is great.

It's just a fun time though. I can't say it's particularly intelligent in terms of it's "themes" or "ideas" (they are there but they are basic stuff) but it's certainly great popcorn material, it's hilarious, and the animation, direction, and VA work are all stellar.
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garfield15



Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1534
PostPosted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 11:41 pm Reply with quote
malvarez1 wrote:
I've been seeing a lot of people across the net saying that this show somehow feels "different" from other light novel video game/MMORPG anime, and I'm shocked no one has brought it up, but I think the reason is that even though this technically began a light novel, it's taking more cues from the manga adaption, which is a Weekly Shonen manga.

So in a way, it's vibe is less SAO or Log Horizon and more, well, Naruto (awful example, but I couldn't think of any mainstream Shonen manga that take place in a game for the most part)


Actually it's main source is specifically a web novel, not a light novel. Usually the adaptation process goes WN->LN->Manga/Anime, leaning toward manga adaptation first yet the anime usually choosing to adapt the LN version of events because that's the more curated version.

But SLF does not have an LN so the process here is WN->Manga->Anime. This probably is the main reason it feels that way because the anime is more or less adapting a shounen manga here.
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stefand



Joined: 24 Mar 2015
Posts: 56
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Fri Oct 20, 2023 11:48 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Yeah, the almost complete lack of an evident plot so far doesn't matter when the series looks this good and delivers this well on battle design and execution.

That summarises, why i won't continue the show after 1 Episode. For me great animation and design is always a nice addon, but never the reason i watch a show.
And I have difficulties to get invested in the battles, if the worst that can happen is, that the hero has to go back to the last save point. SAO was interesting, as long as Kirito could really die in the game.
The missing plot and supension could be counterbalanced by interesting characters, but i must admit, also this is missing for me, at least after the firs episode.
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Sekaro



Joined: 12 Nov 2018
Posts: 392
PostPosted: Wed Oct 25, 2023 9:17 pm Reply with quote
I swear if they turn the "Girl missing the MC at every turn" into a running gag then it'll be just like Iruma & Eiko all over again Laughing
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doomrider7



Joined: 17 Sep 2006
Posts: 109
PostPosted: Thu Oct 26, 2023 4:09 pm Reply with quote
LegionWrex wrote:
One of the things that I really loved about the newest episode in particular is how it managed to keep our hero realistically strong when compared to other protagonists of his ilk. I like the fact he's not completely infallible, and the way the show manages to keep the tension at a decent high despite it clearly being a video game is great.

It's just a fun time though. I can't say it's particularly intelligent in terms of it's "themes" or "ideas" (they are there but they are basic stuff) but it's certainly great popcorn material, it's hilarious, and the animation, direction, and VA work are all stellar.


I have REALLY grown to [expletive] hate this because it's little more the pseudo-intellectual nonsense to justify questioning why something exists instead of it just being something a creator wanted to make. Pieces of media don't(and frankly should never) need some deep, complex, philosophical, thesis to justify their existence.

stefand wrote:
Key wrote:
Yeah, the almost complete lack of an evident plot so far doesn't matter when the series looks this good and delivers this well on battle design and execution.

That summarises, why i won't continue the show after 1 Episode. For me great animation and design is always a nice addon, but never the reason i watch a show.
And I have difficulties to get invested in the battles, if the worst that can happen is, that the hero has to go back to the last save point. SAO was interesting, as long as Kirito could really die in the game.
The missing plot and supension could be counterbalanced by interesting characters, but i must admit, also this is missing for me, at least after the firs episode.


At this point, the whole "you die in the game, you die in real life" has entirely been runnto ground since...not even SAO actually, Dothack did it YEARS before SAO would ever be a thing and I've never understood the the whole need for "stakes" and "tension"(which this series does have in later arcs) for something to be worthy.
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Terraziel



Joined: 01 Jul 2023
Posts: 78
PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 2023 6:22 am Reply with quote
stefand wrote:
And I have difficulties to get invested in the battles, if the worst that can happen is, that the hero has to go back to the last save point. SAO was interesting, as long as Kirito could really die in the game.


Except ironically the very threat of real death gives the main characters super thick plot armour, which means there is even less tension.

In the "actually just a game" stories you can at least have unexpected outcomes.

Personally I think Log Horizon handled this best spoiler[, where they respawn but at the cost of it stealing their memories, gives a nice balance between the two.]
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Azure Chrysanthemum



Joined: 23 Apr 2023
Posts: 143
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2023 5:04 pm Reply with quote
My wife and I play FFXIV and we're having a great time with this one. It's like Bofuri but instead of starring cute girls it stars a sweaty Ultimate Raider. Amusingly I could see Rakuro getting along really well with Sally since they have the same general build/approach - having no health don't matter if you're too good to get hit.
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Romuska
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Joined: 02 Mar 2004
Posts: 811
PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2023 9:02 pm Reply with quote
This is definitely my comfort anime of the season. Plus it’s nice to see an MC that dresses his character the same way I dress mine in FFXIV.
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OpenYourEels4TheNextFeels



Joined: 14 Nov 2023
Posts: 133
PostPosted: Tue Nov 14, 2023 4:15 pm Reply with quote
I will at least say that the 2nd-9th fights just being explained and not actually being shown was at least keeping true to the manga, so getting to see even a bit of the toxic eagle fight in the after-credits SLF theatre mini was a treat for me (though I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't get even just a bit more of the robot fight to get a clearer idea of exactly what Sunraku was rambling about). Similarly, the added scenes with Psyger-0 were very welcome (though it is possible that the flashbacks are actually from the middle part of the manga I haven't read yet and/or the mini LN-esque bonus stories that are added in the volume releases that simply got moved up/actually visualized).

I am kind of annoyed though that the subs are localizing Psyger-0's title of the "Attack Holder" as "Attack Master", given:
    1. "Attack Master" sounds way more generic/way less cool than "Attack Holder"
    2. Sunraku being confused by the title makes less sense when it is something so generic as "Attack Master". He is mostly like familiar with the English word "master", and should therefore at least be able to come up with an assumption of what "Attack Master" roughly means, even if that assumption ends up being inaccurate. In comparison, "Attack Holder" has an unclear meaning to both Sunraku and the audience, so his confusion is way more understandable.
    3. We can literally hear the various Japanese VAs saying "Atakku Horudā". (I am okay with them changing Pencilgon's "Giant Killing" to "Giant Killer" because that's just fixing the grammar so it makes sense as a proper noun/epithet)
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2376
PostPosted: Tue Nov 14, 2023 4:21 pm Reply with quote
Sunraku really got shat on 111 times. No other VRMMO protagonist has suffered so much; not even Kirito.
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