Introduction
In a post-apocalyptic society, much of earthquake-riddled Japan has been left to ruin, resulting in an abundance of greenery. Governments manage much of the world's emissions, resulting in a massive class divide and economic disparity. The Japanese government launches "Project Atlas," a utopian city that will replace Tokyo but can only fit a certain amount of people. This limitation means that some people will have to live outside the city in jungles, as refugees.
However, with any flawed plan comes those who are willing to challenge it. These include Kuniko Houjou, an heir to a renegade town; Mikuni, a mysterious and powerful child kept in a secret temple; Kunihito Kusanagi, a soldier for the high-tech and exclusive monopoly Atlas; Karin Ishida, a genius economics whiz with her hand in markets across the world; and the villainous Ryouko Naruse, leading Atlas in its domination of this future world.
Can this group of rebels, forming a movement known as "Metal-Age," band together to demonstrate that inclusion and teamwork prevail over cruel segregation?
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience reviews
14 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Joe_Devaney
Overview:
The post-apocalyptic genre is one that has been done to death in just about every form of media you can think of, yet has proven to remain popular even to this day. "Shangri-La", an anime by Gonzo originally released in 2009, is one of the lesser known examples of the genre, and is in equal parts an example of what to do and what NOT to do with it. It's an intriguing series to be sure, but it never manages to make the most of that intrigue, and is a very mixed bag overall.
Story (6.5/10):
Set many years after an earthquake ravaged Japan, the human population has been split into two main factions- the elite, who live in a grand, futuristic tower named Atlas, and the refugees, who live a ramshackle town called Duomu and have to regularly take up arms in order to get through day by…
Read at the sourcepaintpixie
This anime had some potential, but...I just think it missed the mark.
The main character never really appealed to me at all. I cared about her the least of any of the characters in the show. She's bright, and sunny, and everybody loves her. She can do everything, be everything, always saves the day, etc. etc. She's boring. I didn't care about her at all. Some of the other characters were a little interesting, but you really don't learn enough about them to care too much about them by the end.
The story was interesting at times, but other times it dragged on. I think if there were more time spent on the inner-workings of Atlas, and less on international currency/economics, it would have made for a more interesting story. That entire branch of the story seemed like it could have been done…
Read at the sourcemouthpiece
Shangri-La came out at a time when people were finally beginning to realize what a crapfest studio GONZO was all along. It took them 10 years but after the repeated failures even the fanboys started to have their doubts. So as soon as this show is announced, most tried to find some hints that may lead to the series being good for a change. The cover picture sure didn’t look promising, since all we see is a pink-haired loli with a boomerang. But alas, the character designer is Renge Murata, who drew the casts of Last Exile and Blue Submarine No.6. With such a great character designer, this show can’t possibly fail!... Or that is what they thought. Silly gonzotards, this was the best claim they could come up with; anything vaguely reminded of Last Exile is auto-win. Since when was Last Exile…
Read at the sourceTevishSzat
To all the budding writers and screenwriters out there, I say this: there are a lot of models of what to do. No doubt you know them, stories you've watched or read that moved you, made you feel, or made you think. But if you ever need a sample of what not to do, or how to put things together wrong, I have good news! You've got Shangri-la.
In some ways, this is a hard one for me, because when I review something, even something bad, I'd rather be sparing with the vitriol. There are plenty of reviewers who curse a lot, or even come up with good creative smackdowns, so I try to keep a somewhat more academic tone. But there are only so many times I can say “That didn't work.” “Why was that here?” “That was pointless.” or other such critiques before the litany becomes nothing more than conceptu…
Read at the sourceHikiku11
This show is set in a time where the world would revolve around the carbon economy. In the same time period, Japan has built a city called Atlas which takes the form of a humongous reinforced fortress. Hojo Kuniko, the protagonist, wants her fellow Duomo island inhabitants to be able to have good lives in Atlas. However, the Japanese government would not readily open their doors literally and figuratively. This puts the government against the Metal Age, basically Duomo's anti-government faction. Then there are other parties, such as Carbon Tycoons (people who make their money off of playing with the carbon economy), a shrine organisation/following (Idk the correct term for it) and even three otaku old men. How would these parties act, interact and be related to one other?
The show was off…
Read at the sourceHiroShotgun
Shangri-La is a weird show to me because I honestly can't tell who this show is for. With a long list of story lines and plot threads all mashed up together, all trying to tell there own stories with varied tones and subject matter, you would think in all of that there would at least be something you can like about this show, or at very least something positive to take away from it. In actuality this show feels like what was intended to be many different ideas that were intended to have their own series devoted to them got crammed together like some sort of anime soup. I don't mean to take away from the writer though, in actuality I thought that many of the plot elements in this show had potential.
What could have been is sort of the tune I'll be singing to though. From the very start of…
Read at the sourcemillguy
I watched this show from start to finish because I thought the tropes were interesting and surprising, which a strange combination of post apocalyptic/ global crises type fiction and magic and science, featuring the unlikely protagonist who is something of a 14 year old terrorist leader in a short skirt.
The plot was often very decompressed and... weird, it was never clear where the writer was going with it... but by the end it all came together in a novelish sort of way.
In conclusion, I guess the series is good but not great.
Read at the sourceggultra2764
I didn't think I'd be hopping back to Shangri-La again. When I think of this series, I think wasted potential. A post-apocalyptic anime focused around themes such as reduction of a country's carbon footprint for economic stability and dealing with the corrupt creator of a utopian city would seem like interesting ideas on paper for an anime series. However, Shangri-La chooses to mix said ideas around while sticking to conventional territory in its focus on our lead heroine Kuniko and her comrades of the radical group called Metal Age. This results in some pretty mixed and often sloppy results as the anime attempts to spin mature storytelling with exploring the dark side of Atlas, yet also tries to pander to otaku and has some immature comical elements it usually incorporates into its episod…
Read at the sourcebedheadred
Sometime in the future, the Earth is ravaged by the effects of Global Warming. The flora fights back, violently overtaking civilization. In Japan, a perfect utopian society, Atlas, is built and shelters the chosen few, while the rest of society fend for themselves in the ruins of civilization. The global economy is based on carbon. The CO2 producing nations of the world owe large tax levies. Businessmen, hackers and terrorists alike battle for control of the global market and power.
The story revolves around a spirited young girl, Kuniko, who is heiress to a "terrorist" organization called Metal Age. Metal Age opposes the exclusionist principles of the Japanese government and wishes to protect all people by gaining access to the safety of Atlas. We follow Kuniko as she battles her persona…
Read at the sourcelakshika
i have never given an anime this much of a low rate,i don't know what happen to this anime it makes me so upset that i watched it.people who watched it said it was bad but i still wanted to give a chance but i was disappointed and felt like im watching a very sad bad joke.oh...boy.....i have never wrote a negative review and its harder than i thought coz we adore anime so much..ok to make it easy for everybody lets talk point by point..first the good points even though its not much.... 1-it has solid beginning,with mystery.
2-fantasticly interesting characters.
3-strong woman lead character.
4-good sounds(just good nothing else)
5-great voice actors.thats all now the bad ones... 1- the story unfolds its self but the mystery remains a mystery and the story is based on carbon index that i…
Read at the sourceFratele9
I find this anime extremely underrated.
This anime was outstanding and a jewel of the genre.
It is as enjoyable as it is clever, as fun as it is sad in a sense, and kept me hooked from start to end. It gives the Code Geass sort of feeling, so it was not a shock that I enjoyed it.
The only negative sides I really saw were that they could have developed a few of the characters a little more. But I see an unfathomable amount of potential in this series if they were to extend it, giving it a chance to do as such.
The plot itself was interesting and got complex at some times. But I like some complexity in plot lines, for it keeps the audience wondering, guessing, and wanting to know more. And this was the case with the beautifully drawn, beautifully enacted, and beautifully thought over Sh…
Read at the sourceArchaeon
Everybody knows of at least one anime that, while being rather decent for the most part, is sorely let down by certain rudimentary failings which a little more planning could have easily resolved, and it's unfortunate that as anime has gradually become more commercially viable, this phenomenon steadily been increasing. It's a sad fact though that one of the main avoidable flaws is also one that a little common sense could fix.
A case in point is Shangri-La.
Adapted from the manga of the same name, which in turn is an adaptation of a series of science fiction light novels by Ikegami Eiichi, the anime version is a reasonably good envisioning of the story. In what is effectively his first time directing a full series (movies notwithstanding), director Bessho Makoto has done a pretty decent…
Read at the sourceLuckyCeci
Story: It has a nice start, giving you a slight air of mystery while not overdoing it. I won't say it's the best plot I've seen but it's better than some of the animes I've seen. Plus, I do like some futuristic animes once in a while :)
Art: It's good, with some nice explosions and action scenes, but it's not terrific either. It's of average to me but I'm not the sort to be very picky on the subject.
Sound: I like the sounds but as I said with art, it's average.
Character: Kuniko is a cute and likable character but I think she's a bit too naive and foolish at her age of 18. The other characters are pretty good, with some nice backgrounds that are interesting, especially the cute Karin's.
Enjoyment: I did enjoy this show very much though I wish they did a better job with the ending, I j…
Read at the sourceCherryHawk
I happened to have caught the first episode of this anime on it's air date and I stuck it through all the way to the end. I must say that I am very pleased as upon finishing this anime I am left with that "epic journey" feeling. Well lets get to it...
STORY 6/10 - It was interesting, but I suppose I wouldn't say that it's breathtakingly captivating. Sometimes there will be discussions about the worlds fictional economy and to the less sophisticated the dialogue might go in one ear and out the other. Towards the middle you might feel the plot begins to go into tangents but it does eventually tie together. All in all, it had it's "awesome" moments and it's "touchy" moments, and as for the ending... it was good.
ART 8/10 - I'm personally not that nit-picky about this kind of stuff, but it l…
Read at the source