The Rising of the Shield Hero (Episodes 13-16) – Lies, Disinformation, and Deception!

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Title

Naofumi has been set up once more. This time he’s been accused of kidnapping Melty when he was trying to save her life. Someone really has it in for him and there are no prizes for guessing who!

The Rising of the Shield Hero (Episodes 13-16)

Episode 13 – The Devil of the Shield

Naofumi rescues Melty, but the whole incident was recorded and has now been altered to change the appearance of things. The images have been distributed to all the villages showing Naofumi kidnapping the Princess. With nowhere to go, they take to the mountains to escape from the country, but the guards are hot on their trail and it isn’t long before they are found. The other three heroes are there too, but when Melty tells them that she’s fine, Myne claims that Naofumi has a brainwashing shield. With no option to safely return Melty, Naofumi makes a run for it. Myne attempts to kill Melty before everyone’s eyes but is unsuccessful. Naofumi asks Ren to look into the truth and throws him the rosary of the Three Heroes Church.

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Episode 13 Naofumi Melty Filo and Raphtalia

Episode 14 – Everlasting Memory

After fleeing from Myne and her soldiers, Naofumi and his party find themselves in a domain ruled by one of Melty’s friends. He’s also fair to demi-humans which is why he was pushed to the outer realms of the kingdom. Luckily, he seems to be trustworthy and offers them a place to rest and recover. The next morning, however, he is taken away by the guards of another noble who is searching for the Shield Hero. Melty tells him that Naofumi has gone and that she demands he take her back to the Capital. The only problem is that he’s a psycho and has some history with Raphtalia. Naofumi and the others storm his castle in hopes of saving her.

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Episode 14 Raphtalia and Idol

Episode 15 – Raphtalia

Raphtalia finds herself face to face with the man who put her in chains, tortured her and her friends, and then sold her to the slave merchant. He’s killed many of her people and now he begs for her to spare him. Raphtalia is not in the mood to hear him beg and is about to kill him when Naofumi talks her down. He tells her she’s stronger mentally and physically now and would killing him really bring her any closure. She decides to spare him so that he can atone for his crimes, but he attacks once more, forcing her to defend herself and knock him out a window. Before leaving, they head to the underground cells in search of survivors…

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Episode 15 Naofumi and Raphtalia

Episode 16 – Filolial Queen

Somehow, Idol survived falling from the window and has broken some ancient seal in the hopes of destroying the Shield Hero. An ancient monster, imprisoned by heroes of the past awakens and begins to destroy the castle. Naofumi, Filo, Raphtalia, and Melty lead the monster out of the city and attempt to defeat it. However, a strange magical presence appears and then a Filolial ten times larger than Filo emerges from the lake. It attacks the monster, killing it with ease. Then, it transforms into a human form and informs Naofumi that they need to have a talk. She is the Filolial Queen and has been alive for centuries. Originally raised by one of the previous Heroes, she has been tasked with stopping the waves and if the heroes won’t cooperate, then it’s time to get some new heroes!

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Episode 16 The Filolial Queen

Lies, Disinformation, and Deception!

These three words are probably very well known as all have been used for political gain of late. You may also lump them together under the term “fake news”. Everyone knows what fake news is! Well, one of the consistent themes in The Rising of the Shield Hero has been the use of these devious and underhanded techniques. They’ve been going on since the first episode in one form or another. Some of it has been fairly subtle and other uses have been at the forefront.

We all know about Myne’s successful attempt to discredit the Shield Hero. She completely turned the other three heroes against him in one night and her boldness has only grown since then. Of course, Myne was behind the attempted murder of Melty, her little sister, but she also used magic to alter a recording of the incident to make it look like Naofumi kidnapped Melty. Myne has shown that she’s willing to lie and cheat in any manner necessary to achieve her goal.

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Episode 13 Myne

The King has been instrumental in giving Myne the authority she needed to achieve these results, but even he couldn’t have imagined that she would attempt to kill Melty. However, the King has been guilty are far worse crimes in my opinion. He orchestrated the summoning of all Four Cardinal Heroes at once and he did so when the Queen, his superior was away and couldn’t stop him. It was noted that it’s incredibly uncommon for one country to summon all four.

This was an incredible power grab by the King, depriving the other nations of a hero. On top of that, he’s willfully kept them in the dark about the true state of things. Until Naofumi spoke to Fitoria, the Filolial Queen, he had no idea that the Wave of Catastrophe was hitting other countries. I dare say the other heroes have even less of an idea. So far, they’ve defeated two waves in Melromarc, which means it’s safe to assume that there have been other waves attached to the other Dragon Hour Glasses.

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Episode 13 Ren Itsuki and Motoyasu

He has deliberately kept them in the dark about the true extent of the Wave of Catastrophe so that he can prioritise his own kingdom. His actions have no doubt killed many people from other countries and while this might benefit him now, I can’t help but feel like this is a short-sighted plan and will cause even further international strain. Even if they survive the waves, they will have made themselves some serious enemies.

I think this plays into the desire to stop Naofumi from making it to another nation. If he accesses their Dragon Hour Glass he would learn the truth and that may then enlighten the other Cardinal Heroes. However, with Myne’s help, he’s done a great job of discrediting Naofumi to the point that they don’t believe that he is capable of anything good. It’s been an exceptionally good smear campaign.

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Episode 16 Fitoria

I think that’s why this series hits home so well. It’s hard not to notice these parallels with the political landscape at present, even if it’s done subconsciously. The Rising of the Shield Hero taps into that feeling of being lied to and deceived. We see how unfair everything is for Naofumi and we experience that with him. A great story will make you feel something. There is little doubt that this series wants to draw out your fury. It makes you mad because it’s not that unbelievable for it to happen to you. Well, not the isekai part, of course.

One thing that annoyed me with this part was how Fitoria told Naofumi that it was up to him to make up with the other Cardinal Heroes. Similar to how Melty wanted him to apologise to the King. The only difference here, however, was that Fitoria told him that she knew what had happened and how he’d been treated but somehow still felt it was on him to make the change. Fitoria has the information to change everything and has done nothing with it.

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Episode 16 Fitoria's warning

Just knowing should have been enough for her to seek out the other heroes and put them straight. Why must Naofumi be the one to build the bridge that the others are so keen to destroy at any opportunity? Of course, we know that they can only summon another hero when all of these have been defeated so I understand Fitoria’s stance that she must destroy them if they cannot cooperate. With them all gone, another four could be summoned. It’s just unfortunate that the propaganda has got such a hold on them.

At least it looks like Ren and Itsuki are starting to think for themselves, but even then, their reluctance to believe that Naofumi may have been telling the truth is staggering. What has he got to do to gain their trust and show that he’s been the target of a diabolical smear campaign? Anyhow, these have been some fascinating elements to pull into a fantasy story and have taken this series to the upper levels of fantasy and isekai stories.

The Rising Of The Shield Hero Episode 16 Melty Naofumi and Raphtalia

Other Posts in the Series

Series Information

English TitleThe Rising of the Shield Hero
Japanese TitleTate no Yuusha no Nariagari
GenresActionAdventureDrama, FantasyIsekai,

Anime

Season One
SeasonSeason One
ReleasedWinter 2019, Spring 2019
Animation StudiosKinema Citrus
Episodes25
1-4The Fall of the Shield Hero!
5-8It’s Definitely Not a Game!
9-12The Making of a Hero!
13-16Lies, Disinformation, and Deception!
17-20Strategy and Tactics 101!
21-25Heroes from Another World!
Season Two
SeasonSeason Two
ReleasedSpring 2022
Animation StudiosKinema Citrus, DR Movie
Episodes13

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