Shangri-La Frontier is one of the most undervalued series streaming on Crunchyroll today. Despite the clear effort put in by both the voice actors and Studio C2C, the anime has generated little buzz. This could be for many reasons, like the series’ overall lower stakes when compared to most of its competitors. Shangri-La Frontier is a simple VR game and, unlike Sword Art Online, dying in the game doesn’t affect his overall health. This change of pace was likely enough for some viewers to become disenfranchised by the anime. Nevertheless, Sunraku’s progress through the game is compelling in a different way.

Sunraku’s ultimate goal, as an avid gamer, is to defeat any game as quickly as possible. On his journey, he encounters several opponents that temporarily halt his progression, but he easily overtakes them. However, the battles never feature any gore despite their extensive choreography, leading many anime viewers to assume Shangri-La Frontier is meant for children. Yet, the series’ risqué humor would likely be too much for a younger audience to watch or understand. Overall, despite an overwhelming number of positive reviews, Shangri-La Frontier remains massively underrated.

Shangri-La Frontier Has Lower Stakes Than Many of Its Isekai Competitors

The Lack of Life-Altering Stakes Is Off-Putting For Certain Viewers

The majority of Shangri-La Frontier takes place within various vast VR game worlds. Rakuro Hizutome’s favorite game has become the title series as he quickly ascends to the pinnacle of what the game offers as Sunraku. Using his expertise from other games and his access to unique scenarios, Sunraku quickly becomes one of the best players in the game. However, some isekai anime fans could’ve been turned off by the series’ lack of stakes.

Some viewers likely couldn’t make it through a few episodes, let alone to the second season. While Sunraku dies several times throughout his Shangri-La Frontier career, death has little to no effect on his progress. Sunraku does learn from his deaths, though, which is more than most isekai anime characters can do. Although he rarely leaves the game, Rakuro has been known to switch games or log out once he needs a break, allowing the anime to remain fresh despite highlighting the same game for two seasons.

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Shangri-La Frontier Tackles a Unique Theme Unseen in Most Isekai Anime

In a series like Shangri-La Frontier, it would be easy to villainize the game developers. Instead, this anime is making sure they’re round characters.

Shangri-La Frontier does have a lack of consequences, yet the series uses the concept to its advantage. Sunraku rarely loses due to his gaming skills, but that strength comes with the lessons learned with every loss. He is scarcely defeated by the same enemy twice and learns from every fight like a mental Zenkai Boost. Yet, that doesn’t mean death within the game is completely devoid of ramifications.

One of Shangri-La Frontier’s major plot points revolves around Sunraku’s recurring conflict with Lycagon. He receives Lycagon’s Mark, a curse, after losing to the Seven Colossi for the first time. Sunraku spends most of the anime trying to rid himself of the debilitating debuff. The mark only seems to grow stronger as Sunraku defeats more powerful enemies. Nevertheless, one circumstance causes in-game deaths to become more suspenseful.

If a character who has killed another player-character in Shangri-La Frontier dies, they risk receiving a massive penalty. Characters willing to risk a penalty are slightly more believable than actual in-game psychopaths like in Sword Art Online,​​​​​​ who are prepared to end another person’s life. These simple distinctions provide opportunities for world-building and character development. Sunraku’s consistent ally, Pencilgon, is a reformed Player Killer and her arc is one of the most compelling parts of the anime.

Season 1 Doesn’t Explore the World of Shangri-La Frontier Enough

Sunraku’s Playstyle Makes Him Initially Appear As the Only Important Character

Since Sunraku’s initial primary goal is to enjoy playing Shangri-La Frontier, his ambitions aren’t always clear. This has been a turnoff for many people attempting to begin the series. However, after receiving Lycagon’s Mark, he attains an additional goal of permanently defeating The Nightslayer and the rest of the Seven Colossi. Thankfully, Sunraku doesn’t have to do this alone.

Although Sunraku originally treated Shangri-La Frontier as a solo act, he has learned the benefits of in-game friendships. He never would’ve defeated or even heard of Weathermon the Tombguard without Arthur Pencilgon and Oikatzo’s help. Sunraku’s early playstyle led many to believe the series would lack a compelling cast of characters. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

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From Gun Gale Online to Full Dive, anime has plenty of underrated series for fans of Shangri-La Frontier to check out if they want the same feeling.

Shangri-La Frontier has an engaging variety of both NPC and player characters. Each player-character has a distinct and important reason for playing the game. Each NPC is either overtly interesting or deeply mysterious. The voice actors of both the English and Japanese dubs seemingly enjoy the show as they give some of the most entertaining performances of modern anime. Eric Vale does a truly amazing job of adapting Sunraku’s quirky personality.

While critics might say Sunraku’s playthrough is all over the place, the spontaneous journey perfectly matches his usual erratic thought process. Rakuro Hizutome rarely plays a game as it’s intended to be played and often uses a game’s exploits to succeed. His gameplay in Shangri-La Frontier has been more traditional, but he still outperforms many regular players by going off the beaten path.

Sunraku, like many impatient gamers, skips the tutorial. Abandoning the first town seems to work surprisingly well for the protagonist since he reaches level 99 in only a month. Psyger-0, another highly ranked player, comments on how Rakuro Hizutome is one of the only people who could accomplish this monumental task.

Many People Assume Shangri-La Frontier Is Targeted Toward Children

The Battles and Characters Have Fantastic Depth Without Graphic Violence

Since Shangri-La Frontier takes place in a video game, there is little to no graphic violence. All the blood shown in the series is heavily stylized to accommodate the video game aesthetic. The relative lack of gore has caused many viewers to assume the isekai anime is simple or geared towards children. This assumption has led them to largely avoid the anime’s second season. However, the assertion couldn’t be further from the truth. The overlooked anime constantly features funny but slightly mature humor. Many battles could also be too intense for a younger audience.

Shangri-La Frontier proves there doesn’t need to be blood for an engaging duel. Sunraku and his party regularly display some of the best fight choreography of any recent series. Each battle is comparatively low stakes, they stand out even among Shangri-La Frontier’s notable competitors. Almost every boss or monster has an interesting design. Moreover, due to the creative nature of the anime, it can feature a variety of conflicts.

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Every Other Game in Shangri-La Frontier So Far, Explained

Although the isekai’s main focus remains Shangri-La Frontier, the anime features several other interesting and important VR games.

There is more than one VR game Sunraku plays throughout the unfortunately neglected anime. The variety of games allows the series to transition from mech battles to RPG-style combat within a few episodes. Yet, none of the games in Shangri-La Frontier display any gore. This controversial choice might be off-putting to some, but has allowed the series to remain distinct. Several modern anime mistakenly rely on bloodshed to captivate their audience.

Every battle in Shangri-La Frontier is creatively executed or fascinating to watch. Sunraku’s unconventional fighting status causes each of the many encounters to feel equally unique. The variety of games means the skirmishes never grow truly stale. While Sunraku can be slightly overpowered at times, he earns this status due to his extensive gaming habits. Even Oikatzo, controlled by a professional gamer, is blown away by Sunraku’s impressive reaction time. Yet, this accomplishment is earned through effort and experience, as Rakuro Hizutome has beaten many of the worst and most challenging games.

Shangri-La Frontier Is One Of The Most Underrated Isekai Anime Currently Streaming

The Anime Series Is Rarely Talked About Despite Being Widely Beloved

Shangri-La Frontier remains one of the most underrated anime that is currently streaming. The anime’s second season has generated little buzz. While many of the series’ issues have caused the audience to stop watching before the second season, Shangri-La Frontier has only improved as the isekai has progressed. The second season features some of the most engaging voice-acting and battle choreography of any competing series, yet the anime is rarely discussed outside niche forums.

Sunraku’s Journey might be slightly difficult to follow initially. However, Sunraku develops clearer goals as he deepens his understanding of the popular game. Much of his character development comes later in the series when he is forced to work with other characters to progress. Season 2 demonstrates this growth further as Sunraku deals with another character gaining access to Rabituza. Sunraku is initially upset at this revelation but quickly learns to trust in such a powerful and skilled ally.

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How Shangri-La Frontier’s Female Characters Stand Out in Isekai Anime

Shangri-La Frontier has plenty of women in the supporting cast. These characters are shown to be dynamic and have an impact on the plot.

Many viewers stopped watching around the time Weathermon the Tombguard was defeated, because of the isekai anime series’ many every-changing concepts. Nevertheless, that remains a large turning point for Shangri-La Frontier. Sunraku only grows as a character once The Tombguard is defeated, and he is forced to share with others.

One of his moments of greatest change comes when Sunraku forms a party with his closest rivals, Arthur Pencilgon and Oikatzo. However, this change came too late for many viewers, who became disenfranchised by Sunraku’s journey before it had a chance to begin. Although Shangri-La Frontier season 2 has received tons of positive reviews, it is unfortunately being ignored by anime fans everywhere.

Shangri-La Frontier

Release Date

October 1, 2023

• Yuma Uchida

  Sunraku / Rakuro Hizutome

• Azumi Waki

  Psyger-0 / Rei Saiga

• Yoko Hikasa

  Arthur Pencilgon / Towa Amane

• 

  Makoto Koichi

  OiKatzo / Kei Uomi