Shangri-La Frontier: Kusoge Hunter, Kamige ni Idoman to su

High school student Rakurou Hizutome has a peculiar hobby of playing poorly made games—ones that are unbalanced or are filled with so many bugs that make them borderline unplayable. The few who share his hobby might recognize him by his in-game name, Sunraku. For his next game, Rakurou is recommended Shangri-La Frontier, a popular and well-received virtual reality game as a breather from the terrible games he has been playing recently.

Once he boots up the game, Rakurou decides to sell off most of his starting gear to gain extra money, leaving himself with only a pair of boxers, a bird mask, and some weapons. He is instantly hooked as he meticulously levels up his avatar. However, after encountering some intimidating monsters, he realizes that he may have underestimated the challenge that a mainstream game can offer. As Rakurou progresses, he must draw on all the skills he has perfected from his previous gaming experience. Before long, Sunraku's eccentric playstyle takes Shangri-La Frontier by storm.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hizutome, Rakurou Main

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Emul Supporting

Hidaka, Rina Japanese

Amane, Towa Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Saiga, Rei Supporting

Waki, Azumi Japanese

Vysache Supporting

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Hakamori no Wethermon Supporting

Hayami, Show Japanese

Uomi, Kei Supporting

Koichi, Makoto Japanese

Bilac Supporting

Tomita, Miyu Japanese

Saiga, Momo Supporting

Hanamori, Yumiri Japanese

Elke Supporting

Yasuno, Kiyono Japanese

Shimada, Yousuke Producer

Yamada, Ryousuke Producer

Hayasaka, Kazumasa Producer

Kubooka, Toshiyuki Director

Reviews

Mar 30, 2025

JadedJorj

Recommended

Absolutely in love with this series. The world-building is rich, the characters are full of personality, and the MC, Sunraku, is chaotic in the best quirky way possible. As someone who adores isekai but has been burned more than once (cough SAO cough), Shangri-La Frontier feels like a breath of fresh air.

What really makes this series stand out is that it doesn’t rely on the usual “I got hit by Truck-kun and now I’m a god in another world” formula. Instead, it drops us into a fully fleshed-out VR game world, and it respects the rules of its universe. The stakes feel high not because ... the world is ending, but because every boss fight matters to the characters—and by extension, to me as a viewer and an avid MMO player myself.

The pacing is also a standout. Every episode flows into the next with near-zero filler fluff, which makes it so easy to binge watch. I found myself watching “just one more” until I realized it was 2 a.m. and had to work the next day (No ragrets.) The art style is crisp and dynamic, and the battles are animated brilliantly with just the right amount of flair.

The characters aren’t unrelatable OP gamer gods—they’re flawed, funny, and actually feel like people you’d meet in a real MMO guild. Sunraku (the MC) in particular is refreshing: he’s got skills, sure, but he’s also impulsive, dorky, and kind of a menace to pixel society.

If you're into isekai but want something that plays with the formula in its own original way (like making trash games into high-stakes arenas), then this is it, chief.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 5, 2025

HeliusKontos

Mixed Feelings

To be honest I didn't pay much attention while watching this, but it really didn't matter that much..? Whenever I looked back the same things were happening as one to two episodes ago - MC fighting the same monsters or the same boss, doing the same motivational speech to himself as every other time he fights something stronger than him.

The visuals are really good, there are beautiful sceneries and ton of intense fight scenes. Another thing to appreciate is how the MC does lose a fight from time to time, but this positive is quickly mitigated by effectively zero death penalty and every other exclusive ... unique bonus event thrown in to help the MC.

It really just boils down to good fight scenes, there's not much to carry the story and the characters feel one dimensional. This is not for a lack of backstory, it's because they act one dimensional all the time other than when they're given their one or two moments to talk about something deep in a manner against their character.

In conclusion - this is the best anime I have watched while doing something else.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Aug 14, 2024

Caldog__

Not Recommended

This show must be some sort of deep state CIA psy-op to see just how much substance can be removed from a story without people losing interest. Whenever my opinion differs significantly from the general consensus I can understand what things people liked about the show even if I disagree. I truly can not fathom how anyone can enjoy any of this.

Characters are boring. Setting is boring. Music is boring. Plot is boring. Dialogue is almost exclusively wooden exposition or very forced humour. Stakes are non-existent as it is literally just people playing video games. If a character 'dies' they just respawn having lost a ... few minutes of progress. The lack of plot or stakes would be fitting for a slice of life but there is far too much action and the story takes itself way too seriously to realistically be called a slice of life. The world of Shangri-La Frontier fails at the bare minimum for an anime set in a video game: be more interesting than Sword Art Online.

On the topic of SAO, the show is filled with wish fulfilment such as the protagonist being le epic gamer who is just awesome at everything he plays and the cute girl who is love with him despite him not even knowing she exists. Does he even have irl friends? His 2 online friends use girl avatars to at least maintain the illusion of a harem. Maybe that is what people love about this show.

The action animation is the only thing keeping this from a 1. The production clearly started to struggle in its second half but even when only half watching in 2x speed the animation during the action was at worst above average. Good animation felt like more of an insult when its being used to produce something so mind-numbing. Can't imagine how poor the animation of season 2 will be after just 6 months between seasons. Even if the team performs a miracle and makes season 2 look good at the end of the day all that blood, sweat and tears will just be for Shangri-La Frontier.

If this review makes even 1 person reconsider watching this show then it will have been worth writing.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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