Season 1 |
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Episode Guide
25 Episodes
When we think about video game-themed anime, the first that comes to mind is Sword Art Online. It’s the most popular and has several seasons, so it’s hard not to be like that. Unfortunately, the series is very divisive nowadays. And that’s something I believe Shangri-La Frontier has to its advantage. It can attract some people who like SAO’s idea without putting off the ones who dislike it.
SLF follows Hizutome, a self-proclaimed trash gamer. His hobby is to play the worst games ever while using its bugs and making fun of them. But one day, he gets encouraged to play a god-tier game, Shangri-La Frontier, a VR RPG that lets the player venture through an enormous world.
The first episode is perfect at getting you into it. Hizutome, Sunraku inside the game, does well because he has a lot of experience playing games with horrible mechanics. So everything goes smoothly for him. That is until Lycagon, one of the seven strongest monsters, appears and crushes him in minutes. The figure of the massive and ominous black wolf destroying him won’t leave his mind, nor ours.
But thanks to that, Sunraku unlocks a new unique scenario: Rabituza. Besides giving him more challenges and missions, it gives him Emul, a small rabbit, as a partner. Their friendship is one of the best things about the anime. It’s great to see the development of their dynamic; how they begin to fight together, get closer, and share inside jokes. It’s a sweet and cute aspect you never get tired of.
Another advantage of it is that the show can create new characters anytime they need without giving any explanation. It’s also great at making them charismatic, so it makes things easier for Hizutome and us.
While Sunraku explores SLF with Emul, he also logs out and plays other games. That’s when the trash gamer aspect comes out, and we have some of the best jokes in the series. One of them is a fighting game so full of bugs that almost no one plays it. The writers and animators can be truly creative about the moves the characters will use and how they will be presented. That also helps change things up, not to make us bored of the main game.
One bad side is that it doesn’t happen so much. When you start watching, you think being a trash gamer will be an aspect that differentiates this anime from others. However, it’s often easy to forget this interest of Sunraku. If he talked about that more and played a few more bad games between Shangri-La Frontier, maybe there would also be more opportunities for jokes.
In actuality, it’d be nice to see more of what’s happening outside the game. We have Rei, a girl who knows Hizutome in real life and has a crush on him, his family, the game developers, and the shop owner. Even though all of these elements are there, the anime doesn’t seem so interested in exploring them either.
However, another good thing his love for trash games brings us is Katzo and Pencilgon, two of his game buddies. They also play SLF, but each has their own lives, objectives, and personalities. So it doesn’t feel like they are there just to help him.
By far, the best and most consistent element of SLF is its relatability. As someone who plays games, there are many moments you can easily see yourself in, which makes them even funnier. Sunraku’s squabbles with his friends are the best ones, like messing with someone who isn’t playing too well or joking about being a higher-level player.
They form their group in the game to defeat Wethermon, another unique monster, like Lycagon. He is a dead samurai with robotic armor, which is a great design. Their fight is definitely the best arc of the series. It has all the relatability and jokes that are always great but with many incredible action scenes.
They know Wethermon is far stronger than them, so Pencilgon elaborates a plan that might give them a winning chance. Besides saying more about how she acts in dangerous situations, it makes the situation more realistic. They shouldn’t be stronger than the monster, so they have to think of another way of fighting instead of suddenly becoming more powerful than him.
Also, the arc definitely wouldn’t be so enjoyable to watch if it didn’t have a beautiful and fluid animation. You can tell the animators outdone themselves there, and they should be very proud of themselves. Wethermon really steals the show, so the other unique monsters have a high bar to surpass.
It’s also great how they defeat one of the most powerful creatures in the game but the aime manages to still create challenges for them. For example, later Sunraku has to fight a skeleton boss that’s obviously way weaker than Wethermon. But the show makes their battle interesting by forcing Sunraku to use a brittle weapon, which only guarantees him a few hits.
One thing that holds the anime back a little is its pacing. Sometimes, it’s great. Other times, you watch an episode and already know you’ll forget most of it (even though you had fun).
All in all, the anime is incredibly fun, mainly for people who like games and can relate to all the frustrations, conflicts, and more. Also, it has a lot of potential with its other unique monsters and charismatic characters.
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Verdict - 8.5/10
8.5/10