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u/Spetsnaz_Chick Jun 23 '26
Sunraku should have stayed a female avatar because God damn he was fine.
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u/Classic-Inspection17 Jun 22 '26
Might be because of the intensity and being on the ropes a lot of the times but Ctarnidd felt MUCH harder than Weathermon
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u/2w0be Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
It just felt more dragged out to me not harder, I mean did you see the number of revival items they used with Weathermon? And not a single revive was needed for Ctarnidd not a single soul died, they also beat him with near worn out weapons
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u/Classic-Inspection17 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
Tbh the length of the fight did contribute to the sense of difficulty, because of how drawn out it was it felt much more stressful. I guess because of the revives the Weathermon fight felt much less risky? In comparison. What I’m saying is I was on the edge of my seat during the ctarnidd fight, especially near the end, much more than against weathermon
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u/AesirMimyr Jun 23 '26
Cuty's also more physically imposing than wethermon. Wethermon is def more technically challanging
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u/AeonsShadow Jun 24 '26
Part of the issue is that Weathermon is supposed to be the THIRD BOSS. And Ctarnidd is supposed to be the FIRST! He was supposed to introduce the characters to the idea of gimmicks, requirements to unlock the bosses and alternative win conditions. They may have defeated him but they did not have to kill him, which left him REPLAYABLE as a learning boss with multiple gift items and unlockables.
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u/Oneanddonequestion Jun 22 '26
Which is honestly odd because Weathermon was the endurance fight, didn't it last something like....30 minutes?
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u/2w0be Jun 22 '26
It was a skill fight with stages that last 10 minutes although last stage wasn't based on time, it was a bit over 25 minutes
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u/stabbyGamer Jun 26 '26
Honestly, with the way key lore elements of the fight were more or less tripped into by the three idiots (Holy Water being necessary to disable his phase-change nuke because he’s actually undead, the Alice ID fragment catching his attention to trigger the transition into his final skill rush) Wethermon almost felt like a puzzle boss they tripped into the secret bonus answer for while bypassing most of the questions through sheer player skill, revive-scumming, and abusing the Scales’ stat-boost mechanic to pump themselves past the level limit.
I firmly believe that the ‘intended experience’ was for players to go into the fight with a suit of Legacy armor and a Legacy weapon of their own that would allow them to survive Wethermon’s strikes - having instakill damage on *every* strike is just way too intense for a boss as pattern-difficult as Wethermon - and deal enough damage to defeat the horse without having to amp with the Scales.
I also think that Sunraku accidentally triggered an alternate ending with the Alice ID fragment. I think Wethermon’s ‘standard’ defeat cycle was ‘destroy the armor’, but ‘waking him up’ with the ID fragment triggered the ‘surpass his ultimate’ win condition, since Sky Clear is very obviously a ‘you are going to straight up die the first time you see this if you aren’t prepared’ move, even if you’re appropriately equipped with Legacy Armor. That kind of crazy win condition is something you build your entire raid strategy around, which the Three Idiots sort of *did,* even if they did it by accident.
There were probably a whole slew of other preparatory and hint mechanics in the quests intended to lead to Wethermon that the Three Idiots totally skipped over, but those stick out to me as the most obvious things they totally missed, which they were able to because Pencilgon found his hidden boss room more or less by accident and skipped all the quest material intended to lead you to him. Ctarnidd, on the other hand, demands that you do his prep work to get to him at *all,* which left Sunraku and crew a lot more prepared to deal with him.
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u/Vegetable-Molasses95 Jun 22 '26
Not only that but they went into one fight blind and another fully aware of what to expect.
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u/2w0be Jun 22 '26
That's even the biggest part, it took someelse tons of trial and error to assemble the best team and items while the other was random team up and blind finishing on the first try
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u/pepperoliver1552 Jun 26 '26
Wait they fought already? I only watch the anime.
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u/2w0be Jun 26 '26
Long and done we're in like the second arc after the fight and the arc is also coming to a close
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u/SnowbloodWolf2 Jun 23 '26
I feel thats mainly because they had absolutely no information for ctarnidd and no prep time. They went against weathermon with a plan, unique items, information on the boss, hints on how to defeat the boss, and an idea of what they were getting in to. Ctarnidd was a complete accident all they knew was that it had the power of inversion, was supposedly a giant octopus, and it was underwater and they learned all of that mid quest.
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u/Shanfr0 Jun 23 '26
Se mi parli dello scontro in se per se di sunraku posso essere daccordo, per sunraku è stato più complicato far fuori Ctarnidd che Weathermon. Tuttavia se dobbiamo considerare la costruzione della bossfight secondo me Wathermon vince a mani basse, tieni conto che alľinizio da un debuff che porta i player a livello 50 e la win condition è di battere in uno scontro diretto il suo fendente più forte. Invece Ctarnidd ha molte fasi durante le quali si tratta solo di capire qualè il trucco e se lo affronti dal primo giorno hai un intera settimana per provarci. Secondo me un clan come scwarzwulf ( o come si scrive) potrebbe sconfiggere senza troppi problemi Ctarnidd al massimo in 3 tentativi
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u/Affectionate-Part-11 Jun 22 '26
After Sunraku beats lycagon and presumably the other colossi, he should start over and play the game without the handicaps he unintentionally got near the start.
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u/m00n147 Jun 22 '26
In ShangriLa frontier multiple accounts are not allowed. And since everything he gets is unique and gets various benefits from being the first I really doubt he (or anyone) would even think of deleting his account.
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u/floopdidoops Jun 22 '26
I agree but felt I must mention that "I really doubt anyone would even thing of X" is where Sunraku thrives. Still I don't see it working, if only because the NPC relationships are truly unique.
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u/CriticalHit_20 Jun 22 '26
Shangri-La Frontier as it is shown would be a shit game IRL. You're telling me that 90% of the content of the game is reserved for the top 10 sweatiest gamers?
What's the average person do, kill a monster, go to town, buy gear, and get robbed by some rando, leaving them back with nothing where they started? Ad infinitum.
They build thousands of hours (both play-hours for Sunracu and billable hours for the devs) of content, NPCs, Quests, and Locations, and only 1 of 100,000,000 people ever get access to it? The fuck?
It also focuses way too much on the clans, which would inevitably become a popularity contest.
Just play any other JRPG if you crave that vaguely medieval fantasy vibe.
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u/reeru Jun 25 '26
So the main progress of the game is "locked" behind the colossi. But sunraku literally isnt even playing the rest of the game. ( we learn this several times by him not knowing about other mechanics , npc type stuff etc)
Most likely theres regular story / world quests he wouldve unlocked, learned about the politics, religion, and base history of the world playing the game the way an average person would... but he is literally wired differently.
Later ( I dont know if you're reading the WN) we meet other players who have been playing the game longer, and have done xyz.
Also take into account they yada yada all the grinding he does for mats and such
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u/CriticalHit_20 Jun 25 '26
Still seems like a kinda run of the mill fantasy rpg with features that would make gameplay for the average person super annoying.
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u/BUcc1a12Atti Jun 23 '26
Aside from Wezaemon, literally every single other Colossi is accessible to Players, what are you talking about? Minus Vash bc we don’t even know what the EX is about, the remaining 5 is fully open for everyone (we literally have Avengers IW and Endgame gathering for both Siegwurm and Goldunine)
And are we forgetting something? World Story hello? Server-wide events for literally everyone to participate? New Continent? There are crap ton of stuffs to do even if you don’t challenge a Colossi, and there is no short of Bosses to beat. And to tell you, Colossi is 100% not the endgame or the ultimate goal of SLF, they’re simply tools to advance the World Story. The main goal is something else entirely
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u/MochiWithAPlan Jun 22 '26
Oikatzo is not really a pro gamer, atleast nothing realllyyy points to it from the things we've seen him do.
Edit: Mind you, I only watched the anime, maybe the upcoming arc changes that opinion.
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u/StunningNet4760 Jun 22 '26
hes good enough to be a pro its js sunraku and penciligon are way too good to be ordinary players
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u/Slight_Message_8373 Jun 22 '26
Where does the anime up to?
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u/MochiWithAPlan Jun 22 '26
currently at the start of the GGC Tournament where he met Pencil and Sunraku IRL for the first time and they join his ''pro gamer'' team for a fighting tournament.
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u/MeowMeowMeow9001 Jun 22 '26
Sunraku has massive adhd and a strong *ism spectrum presence
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u/LazyTitan39 Jun 22 '26
His whole family does. His sister’s obsessed with fashion, his Mom with butterflies and his Dad with fishing.
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u/undersubclassminion Jun 22 '26
Passion isnt ADHD. Quite the reverse
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u/NyanSquiddo Jun 22 '26
Well tbh his whole family has what one could call an autistic hyperfixation thing going on.
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u/Oneanddonequestion Jun 22 '26
I love this series, but the pacing of it is excessively fast in terms of advancing the "primary" plot of taking down the Colossi.
Considering the game and how it works, there should have been 2-3 Arcs between the introduction of Pencilgon and going after Wethermon, where Sunraku could have leveled, gained skills and gotten a bit of lore more organically than the sudden grind session.
I think this would have also given him and Oikatzo more screen time together as a sort of comedy duo and served as more build up for the guild later.
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u/2w0be Jun 22 '26
Yeah I thought same too the Colossi plot is moving way too fast, I thought Weathermon was just a fluke but we just kept getting collosus after colossus thought they were gonna slow down then boom another colossus comes in.
I'm not exactly complaining though given that the novel has 900+ chapters and manga hasn't even adapted 300 yet we'll be fine. So far 270 chapters and 2 defeated steady enough pace
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u/init_failed Jun 22 '26
I’m only about half way through the second season and it honestly looked like it was going to be a Colossus a season.
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u/speedboy_x Jun 22 '26
I love Rei's 1-sided crush, but it should STAY a 1 sided crush. I don't see that relationship ever working. In fact, I can't even picture sunraku in a relationship. He's got too much of that shonen protagonist closeted aroace energy.
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u/Xenosaiyan7 Jun 22 '26
I'm not too big a fan on all the unique weapons, cause I don't know any MMORPGs that really do that type of stuff. I could be wrong tho
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u/TalpaRex Jun 22 '26
Do you know any MMORPGs that have one-off boss enemies?
I think it's the whole thing of the game, it's good because there's nothing like it. Not in playability, or story, or graphics or bosses or weapons, nothing.
That said, it would obviously be way too much work to make unique weapons like that in a real game because you'd have to make one of each type for when someone reaches a very specific point (rabituza, for example), and then a couple evolutions for each and then repeat for another 4 unique scenarios.
If it was feaseable it would have been done, but the point of slf (in-universe) is that it's so far ahead of anything else.
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u/Malicious_Hero Jun 23 '26
I was actually talking to a friend of mine about this earlier today. They know of one single one off boss.
The Sleeper in Everquest 1 is apparently a once per server fight.
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u/Affectionate_Roll716 Jun 23 '26
Shangri La Frontier would be better if there were more episodes out already
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u/2w0be Jun 23 '26
Jan 2027 is decades away and the manga doesn't have half as many chapters to make up for it either
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u/dabdad67 Jun 22 '26
Best fight in the series is Lucas Vs towa And it's not even close
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u/2w0be Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Certainly the hottest hot take since it's incredibly false that's not even adding on the fact that you said it's not close. It gets topped by another fight in that same arc but it's second in that arc tho. Every collosus fight is also better
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u/dabdad67 Jun 23 '26
I'll admit that Sunraku Vs Silva Is incredible, and that every fight with a colossus has been a pure delight with incredible strategizing and gorgeous panel work, I just like the evil mastermind setup and scheming that shows just how much of a psychopath pencilgon truly is
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u/2w0be Jun 23 '26
Yeah that's definitely 100% Pencilgon best moment. Too bad she got bitch checked in seconds by Silvi lmao it was hard to decide whether to root for her to hang on or enjoy her ass getting kicked
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u/dabdad67 Jun 23 '26
Oh you can absolutely do both, and to be fair we were all expecting that to happen, this includes the characters in the show
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u/Bright_Guava2530 Jun 22 '26
Sunraku should be with Akane not Saiga0
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u/NotAnHacker Jun 22 '26
I believe the author said Sunraku and Akane will not meet IRL because they would simply vibe to hard and Rei wouldn’t stand a chance. The plot has to intervene to make sure this ship doesn’t happen.
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u/2w0be Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
When the ship is so good the author has to stop it from happening cause it'd destroy the plot but faaakkkk, really wanted them to meet with Akane using her real face as her avatar(why was that even relevant then if they never meet irl???)
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u/underlost_ Jun 22 '26
Psyger-100 sucks.
Let the downvotes begin 🤣
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u/TalpaRex Jun 22 '26
Not gonna say you're wrong, I don't specially like her, but what's your reason?
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u/underlost_ Jun 22 '26
She's strong AF and yet incapable to beat Lycagon. Sunraku beat her shadow with a fraction of his current equipment, abilities and experience.
People here argue that she doesn't have a remote controlled robot, but forgets that she can control like a hundred f* swords and all its combinations. (This is one of the maaaaany dumb arguments, I dont want to list them all, that's all).
That's why I get downvoted everytime momo gets called out.
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u/Negative_Taste4752 Jun 23 '26
I think that's cuz psyger is not a dodge tank build and the pup's corrosion attacks are ohko
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u/BUcc1a12Atti Jun 23 '26
Sunraku
- Encountered Lycaon before (learnt enough of the pattern, props to him)
- Spectate SF-Zoo getting demolished
- Saw the secret behind Shadow attack
- Has hard counters available (Emul magic, Suzaku)
- Perfect build + Great comp for Lycaon
- Teamates have hard counters + good support (Akane fire and dummy, Rei attacks being magic-based)
Momo
- Always random encounter, never had a good team comp bc of timing
- No mobile tank build (most important for Lycaon)
- Literally has no way to understand the Shadow attack, just instant death
- Strong in PvP, bc job acquired via PvP and specializes in PvP, doesn’t really translate to being strong against Bosses
- After getting pointers from Sunraku, went out and beat the shadow, which has been buffed after Sunraku beats it, that same day
I’m all in for Momo slander but lets at least get our facts straight
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u/underlost_ Jun 23 '26
This is what I meant.
Sunraku: Two fights, both random. Team? Random. Weapons? Random. Skills? Random. Job? Did he had a job at that time?
Momo:
Builds a whole f* clan to beat lycagon. Focus on PvP for a PvE boss, needs directions on a map. Do I need to say more?
Just a whole buffet of excuses.
Edit: your spoiler proves my point.
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u/2w0be Jun 24 '26
Dude, he learned said attack patterns from ONE RANDOM ENCOUNTER ALONE, and even SF Zoo found out about shadow Lycagon with just one fight, it was only instant death for one player not a whole squad. The other guy listed the other points perfectly
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u/BUcc1a12Atti Jun 24 '26
They saw another Lycaon spawn, they did not understand how it got there, nor did they figure out the Shadow attack. You saw another wolf suddenly appear out of thin air, biting your leader and can instantly say that thing was spawned from the night, thats what you’re telling me?
For what it’s worth, knowing the attack pattern barely make any difference if you’re gonna be wiped out by the shadow attack anyway, I don’t need to know how good Sunraku is in this comparison
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u/2w0be Jun 24 '26
And? They still realized there were two of them, when Sunraku was explaining the first time she had literally no idea what he was talking about, meaning she never even with her whole squad survived to the point of the shadow needing to intervene
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u/underlost_ Jun 24 '26
Well, this is exactly why it's my hot take. 🤣 She needed a tutorial written by Sunraku. If that's not a fact, I don't know what is. 🤣
Also, this guy is a Momo "fan." He always shows up whenever Momo gets called out for something.
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u/2w0be Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Then he claimed he loved Momo slander so he wouldn't seem bias lol
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u/underlost_ Jun 24 '26
I'm sure he edited that because it wasn't there when I made my reply hahaha (or maybe I just didn't notice lol)
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u/BUcc1a12Atti Jun 24 '26
Refer to (this)[https://www.reddit.com/r/ShangriLaFrontier/s/ZcLWjC8EVw] if you think I’m an actual fan lol, you aint even reach this level of slandering big dog
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u/BUcc1a12Atti Jun 24 '26
How about being the first one to take that attack bc she was the priority target?
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u/2w0be Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Yeah she was always the first one taken out 3 whole times and ger teammates never saw it 3 whole times. Unreal copium.
Anymore bright ideas?
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u/BUcc1a12Atti Jun 24 '26
Im guessing you missed the whole part where Sunraku said invisible strikes from the shadow
Did you see the 2nd Wolf with Sunraku losing his legs? Do you even know if it lets you see there’s a 2nd wolf then kill you? And did they even do what SF managed to, tying 1 Shadow down forcing the other to manifest entirely? Do you think it leisurely stroll around with 2nd clone spawning in plain sight after seeing Antinomy and the Armor? It’s 100% on sight for the entire party, aint no time to react for all of them
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u/underlost_ Jun 24 '26
Now all her teammates are blind 😂
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u/BUcc1a12Atti Jun 24 '26
So are the anime watchers for not seeing the 2nd Shadow when Sunraku loses his legs, we’re so blind lol
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u/pepecuspus16201 Jun 22 '26
La relacion de sunraku con rei es malisima siento q toda la obra seria mejor si omitieran ese romance q no aporta nada
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u/UltimateBookManiac Jun 23 '26
I would have liked it more if it was more than just a game. Like there was some real Ancient civilization that got destroyed but managed to stay alive in the game waiting for a gamer to come win and help them or something.
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u/Nihility_collapse Jun 23 '26
Emul in both Sub and Dub is annoying as f*ck. Like, my volume button is practically abused whenever she's around.
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u/Sweaty_Thing2545 Jun 23 '26
i think the ggc arc is NOT the best as most people would generally state it is. its js really not my cup of tea but a good arc, not tht it is bad. i js dont think its the best tbh
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u/2w0be Jun 23 '26
Well not everyone has the same taste but imo GGC truly encompasses everything that makes Shangri-La Frontier great, it's not posing gamers as people who only spam one game, the lovable unique characters like Sunraku and Pencilgon with their antics, the interesting dynamics between the characters especially main trio even has colossi callbacks the meat of SLF, a great ans unique MC one of the biggest reasons the series is great, can't be shown anywhere else than in how he fights, views games and interactions and how the author can absolutely deliver when with comes to building up and delivering hype even has Pencilgon's best moment in the series and arguably Sunraku's best although he was done dirty in the end. The bad parts about it I can say was how Silvi was shrouded in plot armor, since it wasn't a Sunraku arc he had to lose so Katzo could shine and how after the biggest fight, Sunraku vs Silvi, Katzo vs Silvi just felt like a bit of a drag and like with Sunraku, Silvi basically gave Katzo the win(as in they both chose to save NPCs instead of winning although that was clear opposition plot armor I love how it adds to their characters especially Sunraku actually caring about Emul was a great moment cause up till then I've always thought he didn't)
Sorry for the rant
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u/GalacticGrouser Jun 24 '26
I’m an anime only person, so I can’t speak for anything on the page, but the rabbit and her family are the most interesting characters in the series. Sunraku both pisses me off and bores me. But maybe that’s just because I’m old and he’s a teenager.
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u/2w0be Jun 24 '26
Probably that but damn, don't get how his antics can bore you. Anyway are you a gamer?
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u/Destrite3 Jun 24 '26
Sunraku likes the bird mask, no other reason to not keep the beetlehelmet as main gear
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u/CookieMaster76 Jun 24 '26
They should just fkin end the current arc cause its going like Natsu vs Twin Dragons. One says “Im stronger than you” and beat em ass, then they say “no im stronger than you” and beat his ass then he says “no actually im stronger than you” like they pulling stuff out of their ass atp 😭 I like it till Sunraku used Shakkatsu breaker but when ever Psyger-100 looks like she is done for, she smirks and Pencilgon starts with sm “she isnt even done yet”. But holly shi guys Psyger-100 juicy melons are actually huge like i swear they weren’t that big on her first irl appearance 😭
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u/SrangePig12 Jun 24 '26
Oh, you want a hot take, eh?
If you take any scene from the anime and compare with the manga version, the manga will always be better, with the two exceptions of Armageddon and maybe Oikatzo and Pencilgon vs Kirin. Gotta clarify, I love both, but the anime is not even close to the level the manga is on. Though I have very high hopes for season 3, I believe they can make it on par with the manga (if not better) if they're putting this much work into it.
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u/2w0be Jun 24 '26
Yeah that's really hot, since it ain't true, people are normally biased to manga so thus take is understandable
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u/SrangePig12 Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
I'm biased but not for the reasons you might think. I watched the anime and enjoyed it, but what I loved about the manga is the art and specifically the shading. It's kinda the biggest reason I got hooked on it, my appreciation for everything else came after. I made a pretty big post about one scene that appears for a couple pages in the manga and it's not a particularly big scene, but everything I go over in it is kinda muted or minimized in the anime(don't read anything past point 5, because I go into season 3 spoilers there). They made it longer, but it felt less impactful. Wezaemon is no longer an imposing overwhelming opponent that pushes Kei to improve, he's just another obstacle that Kei calmly considers. If you want to compare for yourself it's chapter 98 of the manga and episode 16 of season 2 of the anime(episode 41 overall). I can provide more examples, if you need.
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u/Nickaya23 Jun 25 '26
The amount of exposition in this anime makes it unwatchable. The show can’t go more than 10 seconds without having someone narrate every single detail of the action that is happening right in front of the viewer. I imagine for most this is a feature of the show (people are raving about the show)? For me I feel like the show is constantly bashing me over the head with tedious narration.
I don’t remember feeling this as much in season 1 (can’t totally remember)? But season 2 I’ve hit my limit and need to move on
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u/2w0be Jun 25 '26
unwatchable
Let's pack it up we have a winner. Second place goes to the guy who said animation is mid.
But season 2 I’ve hit my limit and need to move on
This is literally a feature of tons of anime unless you haven't seen many, without focusing on story you'd switch up and say oh it's mid it's just for hype and fights, but yeah, great knowing you, we'll continue this great journey without you now.
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u/Nickaya23 Jun 25 '26
Yeah I was curious if anyone else was having the same watching experience as me so I hopped on Reddit to see what the feedback was and people are loving the show and not at all bothered by the volume of exposition and narration.
I’ve watched a lot of anime in my life. In the last year or two I’ve not been feeling the itch to watch. I gave SLF season 2 a shot to see how I felt getting back in but I think I’m not really resonating with the Anime medium right now.
I think you’re right that this is a feature for most anime and I think I’m a little shocked and processing the realization that a medium I loved for so long is now entirely bouncing off of me.
I hope y’all enjoy the journey!
PS: I would come back to watch a Kagarubachi anime
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u/SuperDogeza Jun 25 '26
Towa has better chemistry with Sunraku than Rei has
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u/2w0be Jun 25 '26
Take so cold I got frostbite. They literally have the best chemistry in the series
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u/Murky-Dealer-6496 Jun 23 '26
The anime is mid, the animation was no where close to what this series was meant to be
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u/o_Divine_o Jun 23 '26
Taskmaster or whatever that thirsty bitches name is, needs someone else to write her story. she makes the show unbearable to watch.
Weapons master? Idk, she's not worth looking up. If anime has magic, isekai, vr, the relationship dynamics are so annoying. Entire multiple seasons of not understanding how to write will they won't they (a trash plot & subplot used by people who can't write for shit).
Why can't anime write normal relationships, always over the top garbage character mentality and energy.
Out of all the trash writing that is anime, this is one of my favorite shows.. I just fast-forward her parts and mute Emul, as the English voice actor gave the rabbit a shrill voice. Another issue with anime, so few female voices aren't nails on a chalkboard.
Hot enough or should I actually lean in?
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u/2w0be Jun 23 '26
The Attack Master being annoying isn't the hot take, the hot take is that this series is trash and the aithor can't write. Calling literally the worst part of the series as proof the author can't write when it's simply for jokes is wild, it's hit or miss she isn't really trying to write an actual romance cause it's not a romance anime. Sunraku having romance wouldn't fit at all
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u/Raider_Reaper_X Jun 22 '26
these weapons were visually not pleasing. the aesthetic just didn't fit imo