Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Shangri-La Frontier
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Azure Chrysanthemum
Posts: 115 |
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I thoroughly enjoyed this episode but I have an extremely minor and petty nitpick. He should be taking WAY more tries to clear some of these things especially since he's dramatically underleveled for the content he's running and has gear restrictions on top of that. I get the skill factor and I do appreciate it, but in comparison it took the top players in the world 1,032 attempts to clear the most recent Ultimate Raid in FFXIV. Obviously VR MMO, can full-dodge no-sell content, and the content was probably intended for more casual players (maybe? It's a unique event so I have no idea how the devs would have scaled the difficulty to be honest), but he should have probably ate shit a whole lot more.
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OpenYourEels4TheNextFeels
Posts: 58 |
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So this week's episode cut out something in the middle that I assume is going to be moved to a bit later.
My prediction is it will go: spoiler[Sunraku VS. Clown Spider] -> Cut in here the segment of spoiler[Pencilgon meeting with Asura Kai, which will now end with it showing her sending the message Sunraku receives after beating the Clown Spider] -> then cut back to spoiler[the introduction of Oicazzo's SLF avatar alongside receiving Pencilgon's message]. Side note: if anyone wants to know what the item description for Sunraku's new gear was in the manga: spoiler["Item Name: Ritual Medjed Keffiyeh. A hood used by the beastmen races for religious rites. Prevents all motions of skills using the arms, making it unsuitable for battle. Any beast who leans of the person inside is already on their way to the land of the dead."] |
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T3rmidor
Posts: 62 |
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malvarez1
Posts: 1694 |
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Honestly, people should enjoy the low-key stuff while they can.
I promise, the action heats up later…we legit get a fight scene that lasts over ten chapters coming up. |
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OpenYourEels4TheNextFeels
Posts: 58 |
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Unsurprisingly (to me at least), the main critique for the episode is a direct result of deviating from the manga. As I mentioned yesterday, I have a guess as to where/why they're moving the spoiler[ Pencilgon meets with the rest of Asura Kai] scene, but it's movement very much does rob the series of (IMO) a perfectly timed hook that would have kept the viewer more engaged in the story (though your mileage may vary on how much it engages you), and given the viewer a better idea of where things are going. I just hope they don't take too long to add it back in.[/quote] |
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Fugaz-Star
Posts: 23 |
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Over my decades watching anime I've grown to like animes where there's lots at stake, so even though this anime's animation looks cool, it is quite boring to me. No matter how you slice it, at the end of the day is just a dude playing a video game. It's like watching a streamer on Twitch
I couldn't but chuckle how they make it look like he's going through a rough time trying to beat that last Tree monster. I couldn't feel any intensity at all out of that battle. I wouldn't mind the aspect of it being just a dude playing videogames, if they'd put more emphasis on the love interest and his school life. But they've been dragging that for quite some time and I feel it's possible they won't even develop their relationship before the season ends. |
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Cryten
 Posts: 993 |
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I got along with the episode. In a VR game world, demonstrating abilities and fighting challanges to set up future developments is a must or the main character starts coming off as pulling things out of their arse. And I enjoy his fighting spirit.
Though I must admit that I found the idea of this trash connoisseur giving up in the middle of a fight genuinely odd. This is a person who finds exploits and wrestles with the controls to the world worst designed games with impossible glitched enemies. Why would he be put off by a potential death by overwhelming stats? I think the scene would of done better to call back to his explorative roots finding his way through said trash games. Instead it blames the trash games for an apathetic attitude. It does not mesh with how the player has behaved. Well other than that one time he gave up because he couldnt move in mid air. That also felt odd, why would he not try and learn like he has done on all those trash games. He is a gamer, he knows how to embrace death like he has already done before in game. |
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Azure Chrysanthemum
Posts: 115 |
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Oh I totally get and am generally on board with what they're going for which is why I said it was extremely minor and petty. Basically they just should have inflated those death numbers a bit while he was making his way through. The reaction to the bird had my wife and I both dying though, it was an incredibly relatable gamer moment and I say this as the woman who was banned by said wife from Starcraft II because of how much rage it induced in me. |
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2522 |
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Ep9- Really appreciate the sense of humor the writer has in contrasting appearances and personality. Got quite the kick out of Attack Master, the much-feared fighter, skipping and hopping in glee at "having a friend" in Sanraku and the post-credit expose of Kuon Amane "just another murder-filled day...tee-hee!"
 With this show's premise, it really makes it work to have fun and lean into the absurdity...
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Cryten
Posts: 993 |
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I think I have reached the point where I am more interesting in Rakuro's interactions with other people than the combat scenarios. Still enjoy the animation and fights but seeing him bounce off other people hold my attention more.
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doomrider7
Posts: 93 |
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Still not really sure what the reviewer is looking for with this series because they seem to pretty much be phoning in every review.
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Sekaro
Posts: 352 |
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I'm curious to know what the reviewer counts as "background character" material because it seemed pretty obvious that the blond chick & Arthur are gonna be part of the main cast considering what we've seen in the OP & ED.
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Covnam
 Posts: 3666 |
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I loved the musical forging scene. It made me long for more musical style anime series. I'm sure there are others, but the only one I could think of off the top of my head was Nerima Daikon Bros.
It's obviously not the focus of the show, but it'd be nice if we end up getting a few more scenes like this 
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Emerje
 Posts: 7343 Location: Maine |
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MrAJCosplay, I don't like being critical of reviewers, but please write more. What you're doing isn't reviewing, you're just writing the most basic summary of what happened in the episode the fastest way possible followed by a score. Two paragraphs are a forum post. Be insightful, tell use what you felt, talk about how this was built up by previous episode or possibly foreshadows future events. Talk about the animation, what was good, what was bad. Talk about the music, what it made you feel. You spoke well about the Boss' song in this episode, do more of that!
I'm sure you can write, it isn't easy to get a job here (I know that from experience, I have one review on the site [I'll never say what on] I wrote some 20 years ago that was long and rambling, that then editor Jon "Miagi" Mays was very kind about, though I clearly didn't get the job ). Go look at the other reviews here, get inspired, build on your points, be yourself and write like you're having a one sided conversation. And if you still think you can only write two paragraphs about an episode, maybe watch it again.
Again, I'm not saying "stop reviewing" I'm saying "do more". I'm not being sarcastic, I know you can do it. 
Anyway... MAAAAAN, that song! That was such a brilliant moment in this episode that I quite frankly didn't think this show had in it. I don't know how the manga handled it, manga writers aren't necessarily lyricists, but I can't help but think this episode must have nailed the vibe the original was going for. It was quite a bit longer than I thought it would me, every time he paused I thought it was over, but then it just kept going. But it didn't drag. If at any point I checked the clock it was because I couldn't believe how much time this moment, in this weird MMORPG based anime, was being given. The fact that they actually framed an entire episode around a singing blacksmith rabbit will definitely be one of my most memorable moments of the year! I think I'm starting understand how unique NPCs and monsters work. It seems like before players came along the world was just its own living place. I get the impression that these aren't just scenarios that they're living but things they actually experienced in real time in the past. Wethermon's backstory is just his life and a real curse that he brought upon himself. Same for the Boss and his seemingly never ending family (where's the mother(s)?) and the story he told about that wood wizard from a few episodes ago. If what Emul said is true about unique characters dying for good then that doesn't really bode well for her. You better keep some revival items on you, Sunraku, don't you let that rabbit girl die on us! Emerje |
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Cryten
Posts: 993 |
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It is Mr AJ's style to be short and concise. That said his average of 3 paragraphs is just 1 below the sites total average of 4 paragraphs per review. He does offer his opinion in the reviews it is just not debated over by himself which is a style used by many others on the site.
I do find myself wanting a bit more on the 2 paragraph weeks but I do believe the reviews on offer are of a good quality. Onto the show: Yes I adored the musical number, shows you can do a lot with a good actor and sound track. Emul remains a highlight of the show for me and I favor her remaining in bunny form and being a goof. You better protect her Rakuro. @Emerje I believe the game can generate new NPC's for different users of the same Unique Scenarios since it was made clear to others can do unique scenarios if they know how to trigger them. But the individual NPCs have been said to have but a single life. So it makes sense the Unique monsters have a proper history to them. It is like a VR Dive Isekai in the way it is making the npc's out to have their own fleshed out personalities and the question of sentience. |
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