The official website of the television anime adaptation of Katarina's web novel "Shangri-La Frontier" revealed on Sunday the fourth key visual for the anime, along with the newly announced cast and a preview of the new arc titled "Shigan Yori Ai wo Komete Hanataba wo" (A Bouquet of Flowers with Love from This World).
Among the additions to the previously announced cast are:
- Yuma Uchida as Sunraku/Rakurō Hizutome
- Azumi Waki as Psyger-0/Rei Saiga
- Yoko Hikasa as Arthur Pencilgon/Towa Amane
- Makoto Koichi as Oikatzo/Kei Uomi
- Rina Hidaka as Emul
- Yumiri Hanamori as Psyger-100
- Sayaka Senbongi as Animalia
- Seiichiro Yamashita as Orcelott
- Akio Ohtsuka as Viceash
The anime, which began airing on October 1 on the MBS/TBS networks, is scheduled to be broadcast for two consecutive cours. Crunchyroll is handling the anime's distribution during its broadcast.
Kodansha USA Publishing has released Ryōsuke Fuji's manga adaptation based on Katarina's web novel. The story follows Rakurō Hizutome, a second-year high school student whose only passion is finding "crappy games" to conquer. His gaming skills are unparalleled, and no game is too bad for his enjoyment. When faced with the new virtual reality game Shangri-La Frontier, Rakurō, an expert gamer, dives straight into action, but can he uncover all the hidden secrets in Shangri-La Frontier?
The anime is directed by Toshiyuki Kubooka (Harukana Receive, Wandering Witch – The Journey of Elaina) at C2C, with Hiroki Ikeshita as assistant director and Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Black Clover, Dropkick on My Devil!, Hetalia The Beautiful World, In the Land of Leadale, Record of Ragnarok) overseeing and writing the scripts. Ayumi Kurashima (DEVILMAN crybaby, Megalobox 2: Nomad) serves as the character designer and chief animation director, while monaca handles the musical composition.
FZMZ and CHiCO will contribute to the music, performing the opening theme "Broken Games" and the ending theme "Ace," respectively.
The novel series, initiated by Katarina on the Shōsetsu-ka ni Narō website in May 2017, follows the heroine Psyger-0, the top player in "Shangri-La Frontier." The manga, titled "Shangri-La Frontier ~Kusoge Hunter, Kamige ni Idoman to su~" (Shangri-La Frontier ~Crappy Game Hunter Challenges God-Tier Game~), was launched by Fuji in July 2020 in Weekly Shōnen magazine. Additionally, Netmarble Nexus is developing a game under the same title, which will be published by Netmarble.
