Two new collaboration illustrations have been unveiled for the ongoing second seasons of Shangri-La Frontier and Solo Leveling, which feature the respective protagonists of both series swapping blade weapons. Both illustrations feature the social media captions “Now, the hunt begins.”
An accompanying promotional video for both series was also released, featuring season two of Shangri-La Frontier’s second opening theme “Frontiers” by Awich and Solo Leveling season two’s opening theme “Reawaker” by Lisa (featuring Felix of Stray Kids).
Season two of Shangri-La Frontier first premiered in Japan on October 13, 2024 and will run for two consecutive cours consisting of 25 total episodes. The anime’s first season ran from October 2023 to March 2024 for 25 episodes. Crunchyroll, Muse Asia, and bilibili streamed the first season internationally, outside of Japan.
The anime is based on the adventure fantasy manga series, written by Katarina and illustrated by Ryosuke Fuji. It was first published in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine under the KC Deluxe label on July 15, 2020. Twenty-one tankobon volumes have been released as of February 2025.
The manga originally started as a Shosetsuka ni Naro web novel in May 2017. Kodansha USA releases the series in English for North America.
Crunchyroll is streaming Shangri-La Frontier outside of Japan, describing the main synopsis of the first season as:
“When was the last time I played a game that wasn’t crap?” This is a world in the near future where games that use display screens are classified as retro. Anything that can’t keep up with state-of-the-art VR technology is called a “crap game,” and you see a large number of crap games coming out.
Those who devote their lives to clearing these games are called “crap-game hunters,” and Rakuro Hizutome is one of them. The game he’s chosen to tackle next is Shangri-La Frontier, a “god-tier game” that has a total of thirty million players. Online friends… An expansive world… Encounters with rivals… These are changing Rakuro and all the other players’ fates! The best game adventure tale by the strongest “crap game” player begins now!
Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- began airing in Japan on January 4, 2025 and will broadcast for 13 episodes. The first season aired in Japan on January 6, 2024 and ended on March 31, 2024. A compilation film titled Solo Leveling -ReAwakening- screened in Japan from November 29, 2024 to December 12, 2024 and in North America on December 6, 2024.
The anime is based on the 2016 South Korean web novel written by Chugong and illustrated by the late Dubu (Redice Studio). A webtoon illustrated by the latter was released afterwards in 2018, releasing 13 volumes as of November 2024. H-Goon later took over the series’ webtoon adaptation in the latest volumes being published in Japan after Dubu’s passing. Yen Press has published both the web novel and webtoon in English print.
Crunchyroll is streaming Solo Leveling Season 2 -Arise from the Shadow- worldwide, along with bilibili and Netflix. The former describes the main synopsis as:
It’s been over ten years since gates that lead to another dimension have begun appearing across the world. The battles between the magic beasts inhabiting the dungeons through the gates and the human hunters who have awakened the abilities to fight them show no signs of ending. Ordinarily, a hunter’s abilities do not change upon awakening, with their rank never increasing. However, the low-ranked Sung Jinwoo, known as “The Weakest Hunter of All Mankind,” gained the ability to level up through battle during a raid on a double dungeon.
Having completed a job-change quest that earned him the job “Shadow Monarch” and command over an army of shadows, Jinwoo heads into battle seeking the ingredients for the Elixir of Life to save his sick mother.
Source: Shangri-La Frontier Official Twitter, Solo Leveling Official Twitter
