Shangri-La Frontier Review: Ranging From Those Of An Excellent Level To Those That Are Really Bad

Writer: Katarina

Where To Read: Shōsetsuka ni Narō

Ratings: 4/5 [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Directly from the pages of Weekly Shonen Magazine, Panini Comics presents Shangri-La Frontier. Born as a series of Japanese web novels. Scripted by Katarina and drawn by Ryosuke Fuji, the first chapter was presented on the occasion of the Free Comic Book Day 2021, immediately meeting a large number of fans ready to continue reading. The most curious will not be disappointed: from Thursday 31 March a flocked variant cover of the first issue and an Expansion Pass edition, which includes a variant and a booklet, are available in the comic shop and on the Panini.it website.  of unpublished stories to discover all the background of the manga.

Shangri-La Frontier Review: The Plot

Rakuro Hizutome, our protagonist, is a high school student who is interested in only one thing: finding “shit video games” and completing them. His is a real fixation, he mainly enjoys exploiting bugs to devise winning strategies and get the best possible results. In the world of gamers he is known and respected for his skills as a tireless fighter. The experience made with the virtual reality of “ugly” video games allows him to quickly adapt to new proposals and therefore to finish, in a short time, the video games that most people abandon in disgust.

Unfortunately for our Rakuro, even the “shit games” sooner or later end and so what to do? Here comes a proposal from his videogames seller: why not try the best game on the market? So our protagonist accepts the proposal and tries his hand at something different than usual. Rakuro is captivated by the infinite possibility of customization, by the thousands of skills to choose from and by the fluidity of the movements that he is able to perform. Then he chooses a bird mask with blue feathers, a pair of shorts and his character is ready.

From the very first chapters we discover what happens to a player like Rakuro, used to finding and managing bugs to win, when he plays the best product on the market. He discovers hidden quests and encounters unique monsters from the earliest levels. Here Shangri-La Frontier becomes our protagonist’s new obsession.

Shangri-La Frontier Review And Analysis

More and more often there are works that combine the mechanics of video games with the world of Japanese manga or Korean manhwa; Solo Leveling is one of the most striking examples that has conquered the Italian market. In Shangri-La Frontier we go to play video games, ranging from those of the highest level to the really bad ones.

The story is simply that of a boy playing a video game; it might be trivial, but it’s really his strong point. This is a particular video game that rewards players who love to challenge the system and try their hand at impossible feats. The level and power of a character are important, but the skills of knowing how to make the most of your character and his strengths become essential to excel.

Rakuro’s first challenge is certainly to deal with people who have characters that are decidedly more experienced and powerful than his; this is a feature that immediately entices the reader to cheer on our protagonist. The description and use of skills, which are usually always mangy to explain while reading a manga, are treated in a very simple way, so as not to burden the story with useless things. In fact, the story flows lightly as in a fantasy tale of the most exciting, thanks also to the fact that Rakuro does not allow himself particular moments of pause and always points to the next goal without ever stopping.

The main characters are well cared for and with a good characterization that does not lack a funny or zany side. This allows the author to play down some moments that could become too serious and bore the reader. The boards instead are entrusted to Fuji Ryosuke who gives us a clean line and clearly attributable to the canonical Japanese school.

Shangri-La Frontier Review: The Last Words

Potentially this work can come from anywhere. The story is very beautiful, exciting and the plots related to the video game are totally occupying the story, but let’s not forget that in the next volumes there could be possible repercussions in the real world. If the fast pace that characterized the first volume of this manga were to remain constant, then I’m sure Shangri-La Frontier will have a bright future.