The Rising of the Shield Hero (Season One) – Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

Naofumi Iwatani was summoned to a new world as one of the Four Cardinal Heroes tasked with saving it from the Waves of Catastrophe. So, if he’s one of the heroes, why is everyone treating him like garbage?

The Rising of the Shield Hero (Season One) – Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

What did you watch?

Back in the summer of 2019, I watched The Rising of the Shield Hero. It wasn’t long after it had finished airing and the controversial opinions about the show’s content were still buzzing around. Much like Goblin Slayer, this piqued my interest and just like Goblin Slayer, I believe the anger aimed at The Rising of the Shield Hero to be laughably ridiculous. It seems to me that people are just searching for things to be angry about and I have no time for this sort of “righteous” indignation. Anyhow, I never got around to reviewing the series and as season two is imminent, I thought it was high time that I did just that. So, I rewatched it and finally reviewed it.

What happened?

Naofumi Iwatani was summoned to the nation of Melromarc in a fantasy world as the Shield Hero, one of the Four Cardinal Heroes destined to save this world from the Waves of Catastrophe. He was shocked but also quite excited at the prospects of this new adventure. However, the other three heroes were a little less enthusiastic. In fact, they were kind of rude and pushy. After meeting with the King and learning of their mission, the four heroes were given funds and a party, although Naofumi only ended up with one party member.

After his first day getting used to the world and attempting to build his stats, Naofumi retired to his bed. The next morning, his world would be flipped upside down, ransacked, and then dragged through the streets for all to see. His party member, Myne accused him of attempting to sexually assault her. She lied before the King and Naofumi’s adventure hit a massive speed bump. He was angry that no one believed him. Naofumi stormed out, forced to go it alone with no money and only the equipment he had on his back. This was not the adventure he was expecting.

What did you think?

This series is fantastic. One thing that I believe shows just how you know a series is good is whether it makes you feel anything. The Rising of the Shield Hero takes you through a range of emotions. The absolute shock of what’s happening to Naofumi at the beginning is unreal and it just gets worse and worse. Then, when he is cheated out of a victory in the duel with Motoyasu, you feel all the fury that Naofumi was dealing with. I was livid. How could they keep cheating and keep getting away with it? If I had a magical shield, I would have unlocked the Rage series too. Then, as the series goes on, you see things slowly improve… Well, some things. Ultimately, it was a very satisfying journey and I can’t wait for the second season to begin.

What was your favourite moment?

I’m not quite sure how to pick a favourite moment, but the first appearance of Glass was insanely good. The way she swept in and one-shotted a boss that had been given the other heroes a lot of trouble was awesome. Then, she basically confirmed what we’d all been thinking that Naofumi is the only one worth the title hero and the others are pathetic. This combined with the second appearance of Glass where we learn that she is from another world that is also fighting the Waves of Catastrophe lifted this story to another level. This was a dimension that I think no one was expecting and it was amazing. There are no limits to where this story can go now.

What was your least favourite moment?

Whilst I hated what happened to Naofumi, it made the first part of the story that much better. Sorry, Naofumi. There were a couple of things that I touched on in the episode posts and one that I went on about for quite a while which was the battle tactics when fighting the Pope. However, the one thing that still annoys me is that Myne and the King were not given an appropriate punishment. It wasn’t just what they did to Naofumi as their actions would have cost numerous lives and severely damaged diplomatic relations with the other nations. There’s no way giving them stupid names is enough to make up for what they did.

Who was your favourite character?

I love Naofumi as a character because we got to see his full range. From the moment when he arrived, we saw how exciting this was for him. We then got to see it savagely pulled away from him. He became bitter and resentful. He had to do things he wouldn’t normally have done just to survive. But then, as he progressed we saw how his close allies made him stronger and gave him the strength to put himself in harm’s way. He is willing to sacrifice his life for Raphtalia and Filo. Then, by the end, he’s learnt that he needs them as much as they need him. For the first time in ages, he can see a future that isn’t filled with darkness.

Who was your least favourite character?

One thing that is prevalent in this series is that there are a lot of crappy characters. Not in the sense of development, but just that they are awful people. No one quite personifies this statement more than Myne. She is disgusting and the worst part is she is completely unrepentant. She has no remorse for what she did to Naofumi or anyone else. This is one of the reasons she needed a much more severe punishment. Maybe not execution, but she should not be allowed to roam free. She’s far too dangerous.

Would you like some more?

As soon as I realised the second season was approaching, I knew that I had to get around to rewatching and reviewing this series. If that’s not a big enough hint, then I don’t know what is. I loved this series and cannot wait for more. This series is epic. It is everything a fantasy story can be and more while using a number of more modern aspects. I’ve been watching this and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime of late and both have been great examples of what an Isekai story can be. Some may look down on the genre, but when it’s done well, it’s as good as any other genre.

What have you learned?

Here we go again. I’m going to talk about the importance of characters… However, this time, I want to focus on the journey and by that, I mean their emotional development. The Rising of the Shield Hero did an incredible job of making us feel what Naofumi felt. Achieving that is no small feat and it requires a lot of work to replicate. One way that it worked here was how it just kept piling more and more on to Naofumi. It was exhausting and infuriating that he had to go through so much with no one speaking up for him.

The fact that we saw Naofumi’s spirit crushed over and over until he was permanently angry and suspicious of others made his journey back that much more satisfying. Of course, he’s still not there yet. Yes, he has a few around him that he trusts and he seems to be getting better and believing in others again, but his shield is up and it’s going to take a long time before he’s even close to where he was at the beginning if he ever will get back to that state. I’d argue that too much has happened for that. There’s a long way to go yet and I will be there for the duration. This is a great series.

Other Posts in the Series

Series Information

English Title	The Rising of the Shield Hero
Japanese Title	Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari
Genres	Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Isekai,

Anime

Season One

Season	Season One
Released	Winter 2019, Spring 2019
Animation Studios	Kinema Citrus
Episodes	25
1-4	The Fall of the Shield Hero!
5-8	It’s Definitely Not a Game!
9-12	The Making of a Hero!
13-16	Lies, Disinformation, and Deception!
17-20	Strategy and Tactics 101!
21-25	Heroes from Another World!

Season Two

Season	Season Two
Released	Spring 2022
Animation Studios	Kinema Citrus, DR Movie
Episodes	13

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