[REVIEW] The Rising of the Shield Hero — The Adventure of the Weakest Hero

The Rising of the Shield Hero is one of the anime that will get a second season in April. The broadcast of the anime, which is also titled Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari, has definitely been waiting for fans, here. Moreover, the second season has been postponed several times.

Glancing at its first season, The Rising of the Shield Hero anime was first released on January 9, 2019. This isekai genre anime is immediately in demand because of its exciting and emotional storyline. This time, the author will review everything about the anime The Rising of the Shield Hero, starting from the story plot to directing. For those of you who want to watch, don’t forget to check the author’s review of The Rising of the Shield Hero first, OK!

Naofumi is taken to a foreign land to become a hero

This anime tells about a student named Naofumi Iwatani. Having an ordinary life, Naofumi is transported to another world after he accidentally reads a book in the library. Not only Naofumi, there are three other men who suffer the same fate, namely Ren Amaki, Itsuki Kawasumi, and Motoyasu Kitamura. The four of them were summoned to the land that Melromarc called the four legendary heroes. Heroes from spears, swords, arrows, and shields are also summoned to face a terrible disaster called a wave. Among the four legendary heroes, Naofumi gets the role of the shield hero.

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The shield hero became the weakest among the other four legendary heroes. Since his abilities are limited to protection, Naofumi must not use any weapons in battle and can only rely on his shield. This made many people discriminate against him, including the king. He didn’t get a partner; less money rations; and people quickly underestimated him for only armed with shields. Not to mention, he was betrayed and accused of a crime he had never committed before.

Feeling disappointed and angry, Naofumi chooses to travel alone without royal help. He also bought a slave named Raphtalia who he trained and took good care of. Little by little, Naofumi develops his powers and looks for new partners. He chooses to fight the waves with his friends even though the kingdom and other heroes often harass and give them trouble.

According to the author, the storyline of The Rising of the Shield Hero is indeed packed full of conflicts than other anime. In fact, since the first episode, Naofumi’s many problems make his character become damaged and it is difficult to interact with other characters. The story in this anime will inevitably make the audience also feel emotional when various problems are deliberately made by the government to bring down Naofumi. Aneki Yusagi as the author of the light novel series The Rising of the Shield Hero has indeed succeeded in providing a strong storyline so that many viewers are satisfied with the cultivation of this anime.

Betrayal and discrimination didn’t stop Naofumi from getting stronger

Naofumi as the main character is indeed the most hurt during this anime. He was forcibly summoned to a world completely foreign to him and asked to risk his life to protect the kingdom from the tidal wave. On the other hand, the Melromarc Kingdom did not value him at all simply because he was labeled as the weakest and had a shield as a weapon. All his efforts to develop were also so restricted that there was no other way for Naofumi than to go alone.

Naofumi’s character also experiences a crisis of trust because he has been betrayed and accused of a crime. Therefore, he is also very selective in cooperating and being arrogant towards others in order to protect himself. Luckily, Naofumi soon found other comrades he could rely on such as Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty.

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On the other hand, the supporting characters are always causing trouble and in the end it is Naofumi who has to clean up the mess. In fact, hero-class, such as Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu, also only boasted of their status as heroes, but were not strong enough to fight. Not to mention, these heroes were also easily instigated by Myne, the daughter of the king who also made Naofumi hated by all of Melromarc.

Attractive character design with dynamic animation from Kinema Citrus studio

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Kinema Citrus as the production house of The Rising of the Shield Hero is indeed quite successful in designing each character in this anime. Each character has its own uniqueness and their appearance does reflect their individual personality. Not only that, every expression made is very precise so that the emotions conveyed can also be felt by the audience.

In addition to an attractive design, the animation of this anime is no less cool, especially when the battle scene begins. To make some scenes appear smoothly, the production also uses CGI with the right portion and not excessive. Not surprisingly, Kinema Citrus is indeed quite good at working on fantasy genre anime. Several fantasy anime, such as Made in Abbys, .hack//Quantum, and Maruruk’s Everday, are also produced by this studio.

An addictive and passionate song is the mainstay of the Rising of the Shield Hero anime

This anime with a total of 25 episodes has two opening songs and two ending songs that fit the ears. For the opening song, MADKID performed the songs “Rise” and “Faith” with great enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Chiai Fujikawa delivered a calmer ending with the songs “Kimi no Namae” and “Atashi ga Tonari ni Iru Uchi ni”.

Interestingly, the voice actor for Raphtalia’s character, Asami Seto, apparently also contributed her golden voice to fill the ending song, you know. Even though he only appeared in episode four, Asami Seto sang the song “Falling Through Starlight” as the ending theme.

In addition to having five ear-catching and addictive songs, the sound effects in the battle as well as the accompanying songs also deserve appreciation. Thanks to the insert song that was made just right, the fantasy atmosphere in this anime became even more intense.

Takao Abo made an anime that managed to mess up the emotions of the audience

Yup, The Rising of the Shield Hero anime is indeed one of the anime that makes the writer quite excited about the storyline. With various conflicts that occurred, Takao Abo as the director of this anime managed to transform the exciting scenes in the novel into the anime version. The storyline which is quite dark is well poured on the animation and is supported by the right music. Even more surprising, The Rising of the Shield Hero is the first isekai anime genre that Abo has worked on.

“Yeah, it’s isekai, so there’s magic and such. I find myself drowning in the task of how best to adapt the setting and protagonist roles into anime.”

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However, Abo also had difficulty adapting the light novel story into an anime, which incidentally was mostly conveyed through writing. He also has to be careful in visualizing some things so that they are not different from the light novel version. No wonder, yes, with the totality of directing from Abo, The Rising of the Shield Hero is one of the isekai anime that is still popular today.

The Rising of the Shield Hero is one of the most anticipated anime this year. The first season of this anime has all the elements worked out perfectly, from the story, characters, graphic design, music, to mature direction. The author also gives plus points because this anime can make the audience become emotional with the conflicts that are presented. Overall, this anime deserves a 4.5/5 score from the author.

Don’t forget, the second season of The Rising of the Shield Hero anime will also be released on April 6, 2022. Are you also waiting for the continuation of this anime?