20 Thrilling Anime Like Shangri-La Frontier That You Need to Watch

If you loved Shangri-La Frontier for its immersive gaming world, overpowered protagonist, and exhilarating action, then you're in for a treat! This anime blends RPG mechanics with intense battles and a gripping storyline, making it a must-watch for gamers and anime fans alike. But what if you’re craving more series with similar themes? Whether you're looking for more virtual reality adventures, OP protagonists, or deep dive RPG elements, we've got you covered. Here are 20 anime like Shangri-La Frontier that you won’t want to miss!


20 anime like Shangri-La Frontier 

No. Anime
20 Full Dive: The Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life!
19 Infinite Dendrogram
18 A Playthrough of a Certain Dude's VRMMO Life
17 BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.
16 Log Horizon
15 Accel World
14 I'm Standing on a Million Lives
13 The King's Avatar
12 No Game No Life
11 Overlord
10 Demon Lord, Retry!
9 Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody
8 Good Night World
7 Monster Strike
6 Quality Assurance in Another World
5 Delicious in Dungeon
4 Liar Liar
3 Battle Game in 5 Seconds
2 Gods' Game We Play
1 Sword Art Online


20. Full Dive: The Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier than Real Life!

Ten years ago, at the peak of the VRMMO development industry, a game titled "Kiwame Quest" entered the scene with potential like no other. Boasting a colossal total of 10 sexdecillion branches of possible story scenarios, this game pursued ultimate realism, ranging from humanlike NPCs to the perfect replication of all senses and physical abilities. But it soon became apparent that the game was too realistic, and the popularity of VRMMOs in general gradually began to plunge.

At present, due to an accident a few years prior, the high school student Hiroshi Yuuki now immerses himself in full-dive RPGs as a form of escapism. After failing to acquire the latest version of his favorite game, Hiroshi stumbles upon a game shop and meets its beautiful clerk Reona Kisaragi who convinces him to buy a copy of Kiwame Quest so that they can play together.

The first time Hiroshi plays the game, he marvels at the realism it offers. However, his astonishment is short-lived as he sets off a series of misfortunes, quickly realizing that the game is even worse than his already stressful life. Nevertheless, Hiroshi still finds himself logging on again despite his growing contempt for the game. With no do-overs in his current disadvantageous situation, Hiroshi only has one goal—clearing the game!


19. Infinite Dendrogram


In the year 2043, , the world's first successful full-dive VRMMO was released. In addition to its ability to perfectly simulate the five senses, along with its many other amazing features, the game promised to offer players a world full of infinite possibilities. Nearly two years later, soon-to-be college freshman, Reiji Mukudori, is finally able to buy a copy of the game and start playing. With some help from his experienced older brother, Shuu, and his partner Embryo, Reiji embarks on an adventure into the world of . Just what will he discover and encounter in this game world known for its incredible realism and infinite possibilities?

18. A Playthrough of a Certain Dude's VRMMO Life


A new type of VRMMO called "One More Free Life Online" is out. He logs in as a young boy avatar called "Earth." Taichi Tanaka has a regular office job and enjoys playing video games in his free time. In a world where the player is free to do as they wish, he decides to master a skill that's been deemed to be useless! He makes potions that are too much of a hassle to make, cooks food that is excessively too good, and uses bizarre original weapons to hunt monsters...


17. BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.


After an enthusiastic invitation from her friend, Kaede Honjou reluctantly agrees to try New World Online: a very popular VRMMO played by thousands of people across Japan. Naming her in-game character Maple, she sets out on her journey. As a complete novice to such games, she allocates all of her stat points into vitality, desiring to not get hurt. With not a single point in any other stat, Maple has extraordinarily high defense, but she can't move quickly or hit hard.

This does not end badly for her, however. Due to her high defense, Maple acquires overpowered skills such as Total Defense, Poison Immunity, and Devour. These skills, along with the incredibly powerful items she obtains, allow her to obliterate most enemies in a single hit. After only a few days of playing the game, Maple claims third place in a server-wide event, gaining a reputation as a player who is both unkillable and absurdly powerful.

Despite her overpowered character, Kaede has much to learn. As she progresses through the game, she meets new friends and acquaintances, helping her complete new levels and events. Through all of her adventures, she may even pick up some other crazy skills that exceed all expectations.


16. Log Horizon

In the blink of an eye, thirty thousand bewildered Japanese gamers are whisked from their everyday lives into the world of the popular MMORPG, Elder Tale, after the game's latest update—unable to log out. Among them is the socially awkward college student Shiroe, whose confusion and shock lasts only a moment as, a veteran of the game, he immediately sets out to explore the limits of his new reality.

Shiroe must learn to live in this new world, leading others and negotiating with the NPC "natives" in order to bring stability to the virtual city of Akihabara. He is joined by his unfortunate friend Naotsugu, having logged in for the first time in years only to find himself trapped, and Akatsuki, a petite but fierce assassin who labels Shiroe as her master. A tale of fantasy, adventure, and politics, Log Horizon explores the elements of gaming through the eyes of a master strategist who attempts to make the best of a puzzling situation.


15. Accel World

Haruyuki Arita is an overweight, bullied middle schooler who finds solace in playing online games. But his life takes a drastic turn one day, when he finds that all his high scores have been topped by Kuroyukihime, the popular vice president of the student council. She then invites him to the student lounge and introduces him to "Brain Burst," a program which allows the users to accelerate their brain waves to the point where time seems to stop. Brain Burst also functions as an augmented reality fighting game, and in order to get more points to accelerate, users must win duels against other players. However, if a user loses all their points, they will also lose access to Brain Burst forever.

Kuroyukihime explains that she chose to show Haruyuki the program because she needs his help. She wants to meet the creator of Brain Burst and uncover the reason of why it was created, but that's easier said than done; to do so, she must defeat the "Six Kings of Pure Color," powerful faction leaders within the game, and reach level 10, the highest level attainable. After the girl helps Haruyuki overcome the bullies that torment him, he vows to help her realize her goal, and so begins the duo's fight to reach the top.


14. I'm Standing on a Million Lives


Yuusuke Yotsuya has always disliked Tokyo, but he especially hates the people who live in it. He would rather thrive in a virtual world than try to get along with those around him. At the end of one school day, he sees the popular athlete Iu Shindou talking to Kusue Hakozaki, who spends less time in school due to illness. But when he looks away from the two and back again, they have seemingly disappeared.

Mere moments later, Yotsuya enters a state of free-fall, and the world begins to change around him. Dropping into a large pool of water, the first thing he sees when he comes to his senses is an assortment of enormous monsters. He soon finds out that he has been brought into a game world by Shindou and Hakozaki and that he must complete a quest within 14 days.

There is one thing that separates this world from the real world: anyone who dies will be brought back to life in 30 seconds as long as one party member is alive. Tasked with numerous quests that increase in difficulty over time, Yotsuya, Shindou, and Hakozaki attempt to discover the mystery behind the perplexing game world.


13. The King's Avatar


Widely regarded as a trailblazer and top-tier professional player in the online multiplayer game Glory, Ye Xiu is dubbed the "Battle God" for his skills and contributions to the game over the years. However, when forced to retire from the team and to leave his gaming career behind, he finds work at a nearby internet café. There, when Glory launches its tenth server, he throws himself into the game once more using a new character named "Lord Grim."

Ye Xiu's early achievements on the new server immediately catch the attention of many players, as well as the big guilds, leaving them to wonder about the identity of this exceptional player. However, while he possesses ten years of experience and in-depth knowledge, starting afresh with neither sponsors nor a team in a game that has changed over the years presents numerous challenges. Along with talented new comrades, Ye Xiu once again dedicates himself to traversing the path to Glory's summit!


12. No Game No Life


Sixteen sentient races inhabit Disboard, a world overseen by Tet, the One True God. The lowest of the sixteen—Imanity—consists of humans, a race with no affinity for magic. In a place where everything is decided through simple games, humankind seems to have no way out of their predicament—but the arrival of two outsiders poses a change.

On Earth, stepsiblings Sora and Shiro are two inseparable shut-ins who dominate various online games under the username "Blank." While notorious on the internet, the pair believe that life is merely another dull game. However, after responding to a message from an unknown user, they are suddenly transported to Disboard. The mysterious sender turns out to be Tet, who informs them about the world's absolute rules. After Tet leaves, Sora and Shiro begin their search for more information and a place to stay, taking them to Elkia—Imanity's only remaining kingdom.

There, the duo encounters Stephanie Dola, an emotional girl vying for the kingdom's sovereignty. In desperation, she attempts to regain her father's throne, but her foolhardiness makes her goal unachievable. Inspired by the girl's motivation and passion, Sora and Shiro decide to aid Stephanie in getting Elkia back on its feet, ultimately aiming to become the new rulers of the enigmatic realm.



11. Overlord 


The final hour of the popular virtual reality game Yggdrasil has come. However, Momonga, a powerful wizard and master of the dark guild Ainz Ooal Gown, decides to spend his last few moments in the game as the servers begin to shut down. To his surprise, despite the clock having struck midnight, Momonga is still fully conscious as his character and, moreover, the non-player characters appear to have developed personalities of their own!

Confronted with this abnormal situation, Momonga commands his loyal servants to help him investigate and take control of this new world, with the hopes of figuring out what has caused this development and if there may be others in the same predicament.


10. Demon Lord, Retry!


Akira Oono is an ordinary working adult who manages the MMORPG Infinity Game. Fifteen years after creating the game, Oono decides to shut the servers down once and for all. However, as the clock strikes midnight, he somehow finds himself in the body of middle-aged Hakuto Kunai, Infinity Game's Demon Lord!

Soon after his mysterious transportation, he witnesses the demon Greole chasing after a little girl named Aku. Although he effortlessly dispatches the creature, Hakuto is still concerned; after all, he does not remember creating the girl or the demon! Doubting whether he truly is in the world of his creation, Hakuto decides to investigate. Bringing Aku along as his guide and companion, Hakuto sets out on a journey to find out exactly who or what summoned him to this fantasy world—all while leaving chaos and destruction in his wake.


9. Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody


Ichirou Suzuki, a programmer nearing his thirties, is drowning in work. Worn out, he eventually has a chance to catch up on sleep, only to wake up and discover himself in a fantasy RPG world, which is mashed together from the games he was debugging in reality. In this new place, he realizes that not only has his appearance changed to a younger version of himself, but his name has also changed to Satou, a nickname he used while running beta tests on games.

However, before Satou can fully grasp his situation, an army of lizardmen launch an assault on him. Forced to cast a powerful spell in retaliation, Satou wipes them out completely and his level is boosted to 310, effectively maximizing his stats. Now, as a high-leveled adventurer armed with a plethora of skills and no way to return to reality, Satou sets out to explore this magical new world.


8. Good Night World


In the online game "Planet," there is a powerful team of four players. This team goes by the name "The Akabane Family," and its members are a pseudo-family that only exists in the game. Although they aren't aware of it, these four players are actually a broken family in real life.

A shut-in older brother. A high-achieving younger brother. A father who is not respected by his own children. A mother who neglects her own household. They do not know the warmth of family. They also don't know that the warmth of their online family is only a passing feeling. And most of all, they don't know they are a real family.

Centered on the deeds of the Akabane Family in the online game "Planet," the story features battles against monsters, clashes with other guilds, and the machinations surrounding "Black Bird," the final objective of the game. The tale takes a major turn as it entangles the real world and this real family.


7. Monster Strike


Ren Homura has just moved back to his hometown of Kaminohara, but he isn't able to remember much about the time he spent there other than vague flashbacks. When he retrieves his cell phone which he had sent to a shop for repairs, he finds that a mysterious game titled “Monster Strike” has been installed on it. Unaware of its purpose or how it got there, Ren decides to open it, an action that will change his life forever as he finds himself suddenly attacked by a strange man.

Now trapped on the roof of his school which strangely has been designated as a "stage," Ren is shocked to see the man summon a realistic monster from the game, one that is more than capable of inflicting damage on a human. His only chance of getting out of this situation alive is by summoning the dragon Oragon, who tells Ren that he will crush the opposing monster for him. Unfortunately, it turns out that Oragon is a tiny dragon that is completely useless!


6. Quality Assurance in Another World


Nikola is just a village girl working at the inn...until the day dragons invade, and she meets Haga, a scholar of everything around him. He's a part of an elite society called "Seeker," created to address a series of maladies plaguing their usually peaceful world. But both Nikola and Haga have secrets they hide...ones that will change each other's very existence...


5. Delicious in Dungeon


Adventuring knight Laios Touden leads a small party through a seemingly endless dungeon, a subterranean maze full of dangerous monsters and precarious traps. Through the use of advanced magic, an explorer can sometimes be resurrected, allowing them to learn from past mistakes and give traversing the dungeon another go. However, when a powerful dragon eats Falin, Laios' spellcasting sister, she sends her brother and his companions back to the beginning to save them from permanent ends.

Though strapped for cash and equipment, Laios resolves to fight his way through the dungeon and rescue Falin before she can be digested by the dragon. Despite some of Laios' allies abandoning him, two remain by his side: elven mage Marcille Donato and halfling locksmith Chilchuck Tims. Due to their lack of funds, the party faces the daunting prospect of starving before being able to complete their quest. However, they find salvation in Senshi, a dwarven warrior with a penchant for cooking and safely eating defeated monsters.

With Senshi's culinary expertise, Laios and his companions struggle through the dungeon while learning about gourmet dining—and each other—along the way.


4. Liar Liar


Hiroto Shinohara is a new transfer student to Academy Island, where games determine student rankings. The more games won, the more stars a student has, with the highest ranking being that of a Seven Star. On Hiroto's first day, he accidentally antagonizes Sarasa Saionji, the so-called Empress of Academy Island and granddaughter of the island's head director. Forced into a game fueled by misunderstandings that he somehow ends up winning, he is thrust into a major bluff where he must lie about his ranking or risk expulsion from the school and island.

Fortunately, with the help of the mysterious Company headed by Shirayuki Himeji, Hiroto is not alone in his bluff. The Company will do everything in its power to help him cheat his way through the game challenges sent his way by students wanting to beat him. Though he is a One Star student, he must fight as though he is actually a Seven Star, and overcome insurmountable odds in his quest to search for a missing girl from his past.


3. Battle Game in 5 Seconds


Akira Shiroyanagi, a high schooler who loves games and Konpeito , has suddenly been dragged into a battlefield by a mysterious girl who calls herself Mion. The participants are told that they are "erased from the family register, involved in an experiment, and gained certain powers."

Akira is determined to win the game with his newfound powers and destroy the organization. Armed with a power no one expects and his "brain" skills, the new period of intelligence battle begins!


2. Gods' Game We Play


When Leoleshea, a dragon god, is accidentally awoken from her sleep within a glacier, she demands this era's very best game player be brought before her. After a year of waiting, she meets Fay Theo Philus, an apostle—a human granted a supernatural ability called an Arise and thus given permission to challenge the gods in games. Fay and Leoleshea realize they share a passion for games, whether it be with cards or a battle of wits with a god. Declaring that she likes this human, Leoleshea allows Fay to call her "Leshea" and team up with her to play in the gods' games.

Ever since the gods gave humans the ability to challenge them, they have promised to grant any wish after ten victories. Leshea desires to become an official god again, as she previously descended to the human world and lost her status as a divine being. Fay has only one goal: to find the woman who long ago taught him how to play games.

Though Leshea and Fay quickly prove themselves to be a capable team, the gods will not allow them ten victories so easily: every game has its own unique conditions and hidden rules. Together, the duo will have to act as a perfect team to finally achieve their goals.


1. Sword Art Online


Ever since the release of the innovative NerveGear, gamers from all around the globe have been given the opportunity to experience a completely immersive virtual reality. Sword Art Online , one of the most recent games on the console, offers a gateway into the wondrous world of Aincrad, a vivid, medieval landscape where users can do anything within the limits of imagination. With the release of this worldwide sensation, gaming has never felt more lifelike.

However, the idyllic fantasy rapidly becomes a brutal nightmare when SAO's creator traps thousands of players inside the game. The "log-out" function has been removed, with the only method of escape involving beating all of Aincrad's one hundred increasingly difficult levels. Adding to the struggle, any in-game death becomes permanent, ending the player's life in the real world.

While Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya was fortunate enough to be a beta-tester for the game, he quickly finds that despite his advantages, he cannot overcome SAO's challenges alone. Teaming up with Asuna Yuuki and other talented players, Kirito makes an effort to face the seemingly insurmountable trials head-on. But with difficult bosses and threatening dark cults impeding his progress, Kirito finds that such tasks are much easier said than done.

With so many fantastic anime capturing the thrill of gaming and adventure, there's no shortage of excitement after Shangri-La Frontier. Whether you prefer virtual reality escapades, hardcore RPG settings, or overpowered MCs taking on impossible challenges, this list has something for every fan. Which of these anime will you watch next? Let us know in the comments!

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