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EP. REVIEW: Shangri-La Frontier Season 2


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TheReticent



Joined: 24 May 2024
Posts: 14
PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2024 7:12 am Reply with quote
Glad to have SLF back for another run! I know some of the critics here weren't too keen on the pacing, but I for one don't mind the story taking its time. It fits nicely into the low-stakes, comfort food, popcorn watch category at the end of a long day. Production values are great, and the characters are always a joy to watch. It just feels (in a good way) like I'm watching a favorite streamer do a Let's Play, and they can make even grinding and side-quests feel like something more.

Also, note to the producers: if you ever need an extended filler arc to let the source material catch up, I will happily watch the misadventures of Sunraku doing a Let's Play of any of those crappy VR games we keep hearing about.
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MemoBookworm



Joined: 09 Jul 2015
Posts: 30
PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2024 2:32 pm Reply with quote
I loved the Wethermon fight, but for me the core of this show has always been the character interactions and in particular the banter between Sunraku, Arthur and Oikatzo. It feels so refreshing after watching similar videogame style shows where everything and everyone revolves around a bland wish-fullfillment character. Almost like watching an entertaining group of streamers. So personally I don't really mind the slower bits as long as the character dynamics are on point. (I particularly liked the bit this episode where Sunraku realises Animalia is only after Emul and immediately sacrifices her to save himself.)
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4472
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Mon Nov 04, 2024 5:01 pm Reply with quote
MemoBookworm wrote:
I loved the Wethermon fight, but for me the core of this show has always been the character interactions and in particular the banter between Sunraku, Arthur and Oikatzo. It feels so refreshing after watching similar videogame style shows where everything and everyone revolves around a bland wish-fullfillment character. Almost like watching an entertaining group of streamers. So personally I don't really mind the slower bits as long as the character dynamics are on point. (I particularly liked the bit this episode where Sunraku realises Animalia is only after Emul and immediately sacrifices her to save himself.)



and he's a literal DEAD BIRDMAN if vash or the king ever found out about that!
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2696
PostPosted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 3:23 pm Reply with quote
TheReticent wrote:
...Also, note to the producers: if you ever need an extended filler arc to let the source material catch up, I will happily watch the misadventures of Sunraku doing a Let's Play of any of those crappy VR games we keep hearing about.
Well, Ep31/S2-Ep6 indicates your wish was heard! While parts have been in the S2 opener since the beginning, we see now how the Nephilim Hollow Arc/game segue happened. Since the announcement last week I was wondering how they could do that without having a big "left-turn" away from the current story trajectory but they managed to make it seem "organic". Now I wonder who the Ninja Girl is and where she and her Emil-alike Bunny Samurai come in? Hope these don't distract too much...
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njprogfan
Collector Extraordinaire



Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 1233
Location: A River Named Toms
PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2024 8:52 am Reply with quote
I totally agree with your review of Episode 31, I was almost yelling at my screen when it was revealed Bilac upgraded. It was so nonchalantly done, (she's such a great character) and I wanted to storm. Her reactions almost made up for it, but that second half took me right out of the episode. The only series I enjoyed that compares to power suit game anime is Accel World, and this does not come close. Hopefully the series will get back on track next episode because it's such a fun series, but this episode was a disappointment.
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malvarez1



Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Posts: 2151
PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2024 9:07 am Reply with quote
As a manga reader, I can say that this mecha game does introduce some things that’ll be important later.

Heads up though; this won’t be the last time the main plot is interrupted by an entirely separate game…although the next time arguably justifies itself more.
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MemoBookworm



Joined: 09 Jul 2015
Posts: 30
PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2024 10:06 am Reply with quote
Unpopular opinion: The fact that this isn't a "trapped in a game world" show has meant from the beginning I've been wondering if we'd get side plots with Sunraku playing other games and I've been interested in how that would look.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7424
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2024 10:11 am Reply with quote
I don't really see the big deal. We've seen Sunraku either revisit his memories of an old game or just start playing an old game to draw inspiration before, this is no different. I don't mind these side stories being inserted, we knew going into this that he's a hardcore gamer, it would be weird for him to stick to just one game even if that game is the center of the show.

I do agree that the battery suddenly being fixed was weird. I think we expected it to be fixed on screen and not while he's busy killing scorpions.

Emerje
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quentntarantado



Joined: 07 Jul 2018
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2024 11:17 am Reply with quote
I think Sunraku is acting perfectly normal. He won't go for the shortest, most plot-efficient solution. I've been a teenager, I observe teenagers. That's what they do.
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Kokuryu Daimao



Joined: 04 Sep 2017
Posts: 116
PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2024 4:40 pm Reply with quote
Sunraku at his core is a soloist gamer. He's not going to take the obvious easy route because that would involve getting help from others and putting himself in their debt. He's going to try to figure out how to do it himself , even if it means soloing a world class boss and not hesitate one bit. He thrives in the challenge of figuring it out, which is why he's regarded
as a trash game killer.

His switching to another game to decompress or process is also very common among gamers. EMPHASIS on Gamers.

We don't have spend every second in SLF. Nobody is "trapped" in the game, or "isekai'd" into the game world. The series exists in a regular world with cool game technology. It's made us aware of it since episode 1. By Occasionally showing us other games we see Sunraku's thought process and how those experiences shape his game play, so that when does things in SLF that others don't it seems earned and makes sense.
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OpenYourEels4TheNextFeels



Joined: 14 Nov 2023
Posts: 141
PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2024 7:27 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
It's so weird that this show has moments of filler like this, but they're such high-quality filler that it makes me more angry than if the show had budgetary issues. Why are we wasting so much time and animation here? I don't know how the story handles this in the original material, but unless this encounter in this Gundam knock-off video game ends up playing some kind of major part in Shangri-La Frontier, it just feels empty. Even if there are dedicated fans out there that want to tell me that this is important, there had to have been a more organic way for us to get here, right? I don't know, this just left me blinded with anger, and considering that we will still be in this completely separate game for what looks like another half-episode, I am not filled with any sense of joy.

Firstly, the only real "filler" the show has had to my knowledge was that one part of that one episode that focused on Rei and why she is into Sunraku in the first place, everything else is straight from the manga.
And IMO "gamer gets mad at something in the game he is playing, switches to playing another game for a bit to cool down" is one of the most organic things ever. It's just that no other game-playing anime/manga really ever does it as much as SLF does. Personally, I absolutely love the fact that Sunraku plays a bunch of different games throughout the series. For one thing it really drives home the "THIS IS NOT AN ISEKAI, IT'S LITERALLY JUST PEOPLE PLAYING VIDEO GAMES" thing. And also all the games shown are cool.
Also, given that the IRL creator has confirmed that they were majorly inspired by FromSoft games when making the world of SLF, it's much more likely inspired by Armored Core than being a "Gundam knock-off".
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Leviathonlx1



Joined: 10 Dec 2018
Posts: 211
PostPosted: Wed Nov 20, 2024 8:19 pm Reply with quote
I always fast forward any time this show does another game. As far as I'm aware nothing from them is ever that plot relevant.
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4472
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Thu Nov 21, 2024 12:06 am Reply with quote
njprogfan wrote:
I totally agree with your review of Episode 31, I was almost yelling at my screen when it was revealed Bilac upgraded. It was so nonchalantly done, (she's such a great character) and I wanted to storm. Her reactions almost made up for it, but that second half took me right out of the episode. The only series I enjoyed that compares to power suit game anime is Accel World, and this does not come close. Hopefully the series will get back on track next episode because it's such a fun series, but this episode was a disappointment.



not necessarily.

while i have no proof, i have a sneaky ass feeling that the number one player in that mecha game that was shown in the end credits is also the story developer/founder of SLF who was shown on ep 19 complaining about sunraku & his friends beating weathermon because the game balance lead nerfed (wbo she was bickering with as well) him into the ground!

i mean if were going by the same avatar facial expression like with pencilgon/towa amane, the resemblence between her and the SLF founder is identicial!

but its as i said, its only a theory. though since the series have given out hints that some players like pencilgon have the same facial avatar as in real life, it might be plausable a one!
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Ruhrpottpatriot



Joined: 26 Aug 2021
Posts: 68
PostPosted: Thu Nov 21, 2024 5:46 am Reply with quote
jr240483 wrote:
while i have no proof, i have a sneaky ass feeling that the number one player in that mecha game that was shown in the end credits is also the story developer/founder of SLF

Nope. Mordo is just a regular player.
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fhoosi



Joined: 27 May 2019
Posts: 41
PostPosted: Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:21 am Reply with quote
It's nice when a show doesn't rush and lets the story unfold at a comfortable pace, especially when it's something that feels like a cozy, easy watch. I agree—sometimes it's the simple, low-stakes fun that makes these kinds of shows so enjoyable. The mix of character-driven moments and relaxed pacing definitely gives it a unique charm, like hanging out with a familiar streamer. The idea of Sunraku doing a Let's Play sounds like a hilarious filler arc too! It’d definitely bring some fun dynamics and a lighthearted break while waiting for the plot to move forward.
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