Katarina's web novel, "Shangri-La Frontier: Crappy Game Hunter Challenges God-Tier Game" (シャングリラ・フロンティア〜クソゲーハンター、神ゲーに挑まんとす〜), has been a massive hit, not just with its original novel and manga adaptations, but also with its anime, which has been racking up rave reviews. The second season, which kicked off in October 2025, is still going strong!
In Episode 13, which aired earlier this month on January 5th, fans finally got to see the much-anticipated debut of the beloved character, Akitsu Akane. Her adorable appearance in the anime immediately sent fans into a frenzy, but one particular discussion quickly took over: Akane's uncanny resemblance to Toriko, the protagonist of "Toriko"!
One X (formerly Twitter) user pointed out the striking similarities: Akitsu Akane's blue hair paired with her orange outfit creates a color scheme almost identical to Toriko's. Plus, she has facial markings that look like scars, she's faced off against giant wolves, and she's even undergone a "gender change" (wink, wink). Could they be the same person?! (Okay, probably not, but the resemblance is wild!)
As soon as this comparison blew up, the internet, as it always does, delivered with some truly bizarre fan art. LOL!
Akane literally just made her anime debut, and she's already become the subject of this wild meme. This Toriko comparison might just be the first brain-melting meme of 2025!
And then there's the other comparison: some fans are even saying that the protagonist, Sunraku / Rakuro Hiyama, looks like Nitro from "Toriko." Come on, seriously?!
The whole thing got so out of hand that even the novel's author, Katarina, took to X to express their disbelief, exclaiming, "Please, no!" They added, "I'm already swamped and stuck on this insane deadline, and now you're tempting me with something as cool as 'Gourmet Hunter Akitsu Akane'?! And you had to show it to me, a die-hard 'Toriko' fan, of all people?!" The author also hilariously questioned, "And the protagonist looks like Nitro? What does that even mean? Is this for real?" It's safe to say Katarina was both amused and exasperated by the whole situation!
Seriously though, how can the adorable Akitsu Akane from the "Shangri-La Frontier" anime be compared to Toriko? Don't let these memes ruin her cuteness! Give us back our sweet Akitsu Akane!
via： togetter