Shangri-La Frontier , published by Glénat editions, is a high-quality isekai that, from its first volume , conquered our editorial team. Its fifth volume closes the first story arc by offering an epic conclusion to the confrontation between our hero and Wezaemon, one of the seven Supremes, unique and formidable opponent but essential to the progression of our characters. Remarkable for its rhythm and graphics, this opus confirms the immense potential of this work and opens up new developments.
The Final Duel
Rakuro Hizutome, known as Sunraku, has finally found a game commensurate with his talent. Indeed, after scouring for hours the bad video games and developing his dexterity thanks to bugs of all kinds, he attacks the king of M.Mr.O.A.P.G, Shangri-La Frontier. The entire gaming community praises this game and calls it G.O.Has.T, Greatest of All Time. But this aura arouses the vigilance of Sunraku, scalded by his previous disillusionments. Yet, the game meets all his expectations and even more. He experiences defeat for the first time while rediscovering the pleasure of progressing in a well-written and well-designed universe. Everything this game offers puts his talents to the test. And that's what he was looking for. That's why with a vorpalin rabbit and a gamer friend, he set himself a colossal challenge: to triumph over one of the seven supremes, the most powerful opponents in the universe. 
Shangri-La Borderr: and epic will be your name
This volume is almost entirely devoted to the last acts of the face-to-face encounter with the samurai, guardian of the tomb. Visually, the pages are breathtakingly dynamic, rhythmic and creative. Screenwriter Katarina and artist Ryosuke Fuji are full of creativity to push our heroes to their limits. Because Wazaemon transforms and gains power with each of his reincarnations until reaching phase three his ultimate level. To defeat it, our heroes must play with their equipment, find the right balance between buff (enhancement of characteristics) and debuff (reduction of its same characteristics). As in the best parts of Baldur's Gate, our heroes are subject to tough choices. Indeed the weapons are not entirely positive: they will weaken the enemy while causing damage to our heroes. The screenwriter feeds his fiction from the entire world of video games to accentuate the realism of his story. 
The poetry of the sword
If action is at the heart of this volume, it does not spare very poetic passages. Wezaemon, a tribute to the mythical figure of the samurai, develops very artistic attacks such as the dreaded "superb blue sky". The same goes for the staging of this duel, sword against sword, worthy of the greatest chanbara. Double blade against Katana, sacrificial attack, nobility of defeat, all the magic of these sword movies irrigates the pages of Shangri-La Frontier. It is further strengthened by the morality of this fight. Without revealing the secrets, there is no real winner in this face-to-face. The enemy is freed from his oath and finds rest at the foot of the flowering tree. The beauty of these pages would almost tear out a tear as much by the finesse of the line as the reactions of our characters. Here we find a central element of shōnen since Saint Seiya : the enemy leads you on the path of your elevation. 
Shangri-La Frontier: the balances are broken
This fifth volume has a central place in the narrative cycle. It serves as a transition to a new phase. This is the challenge of the last quarter of this volume. For our heroes, victory comes at a price: their status evolves for better (their experience) and worse (they become even more tempting targets). They must once again look for new allies in the face of the horde of possible enemies. This victory also comes at a cost in the real world. If Shangri-La Frontier is an open world, its creators have scripted its organization and defined an order of passage. However, our heroes are a disruptive element that upsets the preconceived order. Ending on an unexpected cliffhanger, the series now involves the designers and promises nice developments on the design, the construction of video-game worlds. With its 5th volume, Shangri-La Frontier offers an over-vitaminized cocktail of twirling actions while hinting at the future developments of its world. Glénat holds with this series a must.
