Hello and Project Nitsuj. Today we’re continuing our look at The Rising of the Shield Hero which has become one of the best animes to come out this year. Last time, we saw Naofumi and party get accused of a crime they didn’t commit and are now on the run from the kingdom and the 3 Idiots. Can Naofumi rise to occasion and come out on top. Let’s find out.
Opening and Ending Theme
The second opening is “Faith” by Madkid. This opening was alright. While I prefer the first opening over this one, I do think this one has some merit to it. Once again the singers are good and the lyrics match up perfectly with the series. My problem with this opening is that it lacks the same energy and excitement as the first opening.
Our second ending is “”Atashi ga Tonari ni Iru Uchi ni” by Chiai Fujikawa. I did find myself liking this ending a little more than the previous one but even then I’m really not into it as much as some of the other endings I’ve heard this year.
Episodes 14-18
In episode 14 having no other options, Naofumi and the others make their way to the queen. The only problem is the bitch has put all the guards on red alert so traveling through checkpoints will be hard (we can take them). They arrive in a domain where they meet Reichnott, the lord of the domain who is a friend of Melty as well as a supporter for demi-humans’ equal rights (save the animal ears and tails). He takes them back to his mansion where they stay for the night only for the next day to arrive and see they got trouble (no rest for the weary). A lord from a neighboring domain accused Reichnott of hiding our heroes (well he ain’t wrong) and arrested him on the spot (that’s some authority you have). We see that the lord is Rabier the same lord who captured Raphtalia when she was a child and turned her into a slave (well, now we know who to kill). The maids hide Naofumi and Raphtalia and Melty gives herself up in order to save the others. Melty gets taken back to Rabier’s domain and Naofumi and the others go to rescue her. They break into Rabier’s mansion and rescue Melty (scene here: https://youtu.be/QgsIkhXGGfc) where Raphtalia confronts her demon and we end on a cliffhanger with us wondering what she’ll do to him (will she be the bigger woman and let him go or will she get vengeance for everyone he’s wronged in the past. My advice, being the bigger man is overrated).
At the start of episode 15 Raphtalia decides to be the bigger woman and not kill Rabier (can you at least slice off an arm or something?). Rabier refuses to be disgraced by a demi-human and attacks Raphtalia where the two have a short fight which ends with Rabier tripping over his whip and falling out the window to his death (scene here: https://youtu.be/o7CvM7vQRWM. Okay no offence, but that was something I expected to see in a Goofy cartoon). After Rabier’s death, they go down into the dungeon to free the other slaves who are still alive. One of the survivors is Raphtalia’s childhood friend Keel but her other friend Rifana who had dreams of one day meeting the Shield Hero and marrying him wasn’t so lucky (scene here: https://youtu.be/2TeHMPKJGZQ). As they leave the dungeon, we see that Rabier somehow survived the fall and breaks a forbidden seal which unleashes a terrible CGI dinosaur (it looks cool but the CGI is so obvious). The dinosaur crushes Rabier (good luck surviving that) and Naofumi and the others get prepared to fight a dinosaur.
In episode 16 Naofumi’s party lures the dinosaur out to a lake where they fight it but their attacks do no damage. Just when Naofumi is about to use the rage shield (https://youtu.be/_Avn2nT16FA) a voice calls out to him telling not to use it. They all get surrounded by filolials (if this is supposed to be intimidating it’s not working) and then a giant filolial appears and just destroys the dinosaur like nothing (scene here: https://youtu.be/5WbdSGjzYJg, well that was embarrassing). The giant filolial takes human form in the appearance of a loli (I’m beginning to think all filolials are lolis and shotas in disguise) and introduces herself as Fitoria (get it, Victoria) the queen of all filolials. She was raised by a past shield hero centuries ago and has then been protecting the world despite not having any interest in humans whatsoever. She takes them back to her sanctuary where she and Naofumi have a one on one talk. She expresses her disappointment in Naofumi and the others for fighting amongst themselves (they started it) and tells him to make up with the others (fuck that noise and fuck them. The only way these 4 will make up is if they suffered a fraction of what Naofumi has suffered and the bitch gets crucified but even that death seems lenient). We also find out during their conversation that waves of calamity are appearing all over the world and that each hero was supposed to be summoned to a different country, build up their respective armies, and fight against the waves (then how do you explain all 4 heroes being summoned in the kingdom of assholes?). When Naofumi refuses to make up with the heroes (because they’re idiots and assholes) Fitoria decides that in order to protect the world she’ll just kill them and summon new heroes (well she came to that conclusion quick. That was like A to Z all while skipping the other letters).
Nothing much really happens in episode 17. Fitoria holds Melty hostage and demands a fight with Filo saying that if she loses she’ll kill Naofumi and the other heroes (could you kill the bitch while you’re at it?). Filo is clearly outmatched, but through perseverance she manages to past Fitoria’s test. Fitoria then gives Filo a crown naming her the next queen of the filolials (scene here: https://youtu.be/38CVFpTIzmQ). Later on, Naofumi agrees to try and make up with the other heroes and Fitoria gives Naofumi an enhancement to slow down the corrosion of the rage shield which if he continues to use it will kill him (what choice does he have? The other heroes suck and the church won’t let him upgrade).
In episode 18 Naofumi actually keeps his promise to Fitoria and goes to talk to the other 3 heroes. Unfortunately, the first hero he comes across is Motoyasu (he really does have the worst luck) who won’t listen to a thing he says and accuses him of killing Itsuki and Ren (alright, 2 down. One more and one bitch to go). A fight breaks out between Naofumi’s party and Motoyasu’s party where Naofumi’s party wins but are trapped inside the bitch’s electric cage (scene here: https://youtu.be/SbRu5CvDSUA. (Shizuku): If this was an MMA fight, I’d throw the bitch on the ground and keep punching her until my hand broke. Then I’d switch over to the other hand and keep punching. (Nitsuj):. . .My God, I think I just got a boner from what you just said. (Shizuku): My work here is done). Filo hears something off in the distance, gathers everyone around Naofumi, and tells him to put up multiple shields as something is about to hit them hard. Naofumi listens to Filo and thank God he did, because a powerful spell from the sky strikes all of them and pretty much obliterates everything around them. Thanks to Naofumi’s shields they survived and we find out that the blast came from the pope, Balmus (https://youtu.be/inurD24S944, never trust a man who keeps his eyes closed all the time). Balmus and the followers of the church of the 3 heroes have come to kill Naofumi, his party, and Motoyasu’s party as well (yay). Why the idiot and the bitch even though they were collaborating with the bitch from the start? Well they want to kill Motoyasu because they feel that he’s a fake hero since he unleashed a dangerous monster on the world. The other heroes are also considered fake heroes because they keep fucking up. As for the bitch, the church wants to rule the country which means the royal family has got to go (scene here: https://youtu.be/rxqVrh3GZh8. Oh no, a religious figure has gone mad with power and is going against the teachings of his religion for a cause he believes is for the greater good).
So the fight against Balmus begins in episode 19 where he brings out the holy weapon which is a replica of the legendary weapons (minus the shield because devil). With a weapon like this you have to wonder why this world summoned the heroes in the first place (because they’re lazy), well the answer to that is the weapon requires a buttload of mana to use it and Balmus has a lot of followers there who will gladly give up their mana to defeat the devil and the fake heroes (whoops to ology). Motoyasu tries to take down Balmus himself but if you’ve been paying attention you would know that he’s useless. Itsuki and Ren arrive on the scene surviving the assassination attempt by the church and they all say they have to team up to win (oh that’s rich coming from you guys). Naofumi also agrees to team up with them but not before giving them a piece of his mind saying that this whole mess is their fault (oh hell yeah, there’s no doubt about that) and that in his eyes they are no better than Balmus (if anything they’re worse than Balmus. Balmus is just a man blinded by his faith, Motoyasu and the others are idiots who never used common sense and didn’t understand the responsibility of their titles, and the bitch is just a bitch who should have gotten the belt a long time ago). However, despite all their fuck-ups, Naofumi will work with them just this once (scene here: https://youtu.be/a0QijpdR1Gk).
The fight against Balmus comes to an end in episode 20 as the 4 Heroes and their companions team up to take down Balmus but it’s ultimately Naofumi who uses his cursed shield, manages to keep his sanity, and unleash an attack that destroys the holy weapon and eats Balmus whole (scene here: https://youtu.be/QC0yO5H_1xU). The only downside to this attack is that Naofumi might have killed himself but luckily the queen arrives with her army to bring this battle to an end (could have used you like an episode ago) and swears to save Naofumi’s life.
Episode 21 starts with Naofumi waking up in the infirmary after being asleep for 3 whole days. While his life isn’t in any danger his body will need about a month to heal up. He receives a visit from Mirelia the queen herself who tells him everything. Before Naofumi was summoned, Mirelia took part in an international forum to combat the waves. The original plan was for each major nation to summon a hero, train them, and then fight the waves together (sounds like a solid plan. Each nation gets one hero and doesn’t hold all the power over the heroes and invade other nations). However, the king, the bitch, and the church went behind Mirelia’s back and summoned the heroes thus pissing off the other nations and she had to go around and put out the fires. Mirelia tried to keep her husband and the bitch under control by having a noble watch over them but he got killed in the first wave, so the king and the bitch became free to do whatever they wanted and Naofumi got the full brunt of it. Mirelia now wants to make things right by giving Naofumi a reward of 500 gold coins (you think gold is gonna make up for all the shit he went through?), clearing his name, and punishing the king and bitch (it’s a start). The next day, Mirelia holds a huge meeting for everyone in the kingdom to see (ohh~, this is going to be good *grabs a bowl of popcorn*) as the trial of the bitch and the king gets underway. Where even despite the fact that the bitch has a slave seal put on her to stop her from lying, she still chooses to lie and cling to her innocence (my God woman you’ve been caught, just confess your crimes and take them). Naofumi’s named gets cleared and Mirelia sentences the king and the bitch to death (yeah! Woaahhhhhh! Now we have a lot of options here. There’s the burned at a stake death, crucifixion, ripped apart by wild animals, the iron maiden, or one of my favorites, ripped apart by horses running in the opposite direction). As they set up the guillotine (oh~ a classic), the bitch in act of desperation actually calls out to Naofumi for help (after all the shit she put him through she has the gall to actually call out to him for help. This girl is fucked up beyond belief). Naofumi stops the execution (he’s not thinking with his penis. This is gonna be good. I promise you) saying that the bitch’s skin is too thick that even the guillotine couldn’t cut through her (the king on the other hand, let’s test that theory). While Naofumi would love nothing more to see these two die he knows it won’t make him happy (how does one’s death make up for a life of humiliation, trauma and suffering?). Instead, he demands that the bitch’s name be changed to Bitch (with Slut as her adventure name. Wow, I was ahead of my time) and the king’s named be changed to Trash and in return they’ll be allowed to live. Mirelia agrees with this and the execution is cancelled (scene here: https://youtu.be/t8wf0zmJlO8, and I have to admit this is another scene that’s done better here than in the manga. In the manga the trial is held in private without the public seeing it. Here, everyone in the kingdom sees the trial and it’s done perfectly). Mirelia also abolishes the church of the three heroes and creates the church of the four heroes. Naofumi takes his leave saying that he’ll continue to work with the kingdom to fight the waves and receives a hero’s goodbye with his name cleared and the trust of the people at his back.
At the start of episode 22 Raphtalia and Filo finally upgrade but due the items they’ve been using they can’t upgrade to the class that they would like to (scene here: https://youtu.be/1Voq-LMBjGM). Later on, Mirelia holds a party for the heroes when really it’s a summit for the heroes to come together and share information with each other as they’ll be heading to Cal Mira (the best way to describe this place is imagine a secret dungeon where you gain extra experience for every monster you kill). At first nobody wants to share information (because Naofumi hates them and because they’re all idiots) until Mirelia says that if they don’t start sharing, they’re all going to die except for Naofumi (which is true. Last, I check the only person left standing after the last wave was Naofumi. Which tells me that you three dumbasses need all the help in the world if you wanna survive). They all want to know where Naofumi got his cheating shield (we keep telling you, it’s not cheating it’s called hard work. God, how do you guys wake up in the morning and get dressed, all by yourselves?) but Naofumi won’t talk unless they talk. So, they talk first and once again act all high and mighty with the only useful information we get out of them is that Naofumi can copy other shields just by touching (well this will come in handy when we go shopping). The three idiots start arguing amongst themselves as they have different ideas on how to get stronger and Naofumi takes his leave calling them a lost cause. Meanwhile, at the party, one of Itsuki’s party members insults Naofumi and Raphtalia takes exception to it and a fight breaks out between the two (scene here: https://youtu.be/hdjBdULgfIs). Also, the bitch tried to poison Naofumi’s food only to get caught by Melty (why are we letting this bitch run around freely, lock her up. She’s tried to overthrow the kingdom and is a pathological liar. She cannot be trusted at all). The next day Naofumi goes to the blacksmith’s shop to test out what the idiots told him and it works (scene here: https://youtu.be/UtfFLybFmLs, I’ll be damned. I guess even a broken clock can be right twice a day). After that, they head out to board a ship that will take to Cal Mira but along the way they stop at the remains of Raphtalia’s village where Naofumi promises not to leave them.
Episode 23 starts Naofumi and the others going to their resting quarters on the ship. Once there, they meet two other adventurers named L’Arc and Therese. They seem to hit off well with L’Arc not believing that Naofumi is the Shield Hero due to all the rumors he’s heard (don’t believe everything you hear). They manage to reach Cal Mira where we see the three idiots got seasick on the journey there. They begin fighting monsters and leveling up where they actually gain new equipment and Naofumi actually deciphers some text on a boulder which gives Filo a power up (congratulations, Filo learned to Jump Good). The second day on the island they team up with L’Arc and Therese where they do make a good team (and it’s nice to see Naofumi befriend other people. Scene her: https://youtu.be/HQLh6ooaZGw). On the third day they decide to relax and hit the beach (where we finally get to see Raphtalia in a bikini. (Corbin): My life is complete). While there, Filo says she found another island at the bottom of the ocean and Naofumi decides to investigate this underwater island (scene here: Scene here: https://youtu.be/M25QnZ2sqt0). They reach the island and find a building with air inside where they discover a dragon hourglass (there’s more than one? Well Fitoria did say that the waves appear all over the world, could this be what she meant?). Naofumi’s shield resonates with the hourglass and he discovers that a wave will appear in 48 hours.
In episode 24 Naofumi quickly alerts Mirelia of the wave that will soon hit Cal Mira and she organizes an army to fight quickly (she’s efficient). The wave arrives where this time it takes place in the ocean and the boss this time is a giant monster fish. Despite level up the idiots do nothing to hurt the monster and even though Raphtalia manages to do some damage to the monster she can’t get close enough to deal a finishing blow. Luckily, L’Arc and Therese are there to fight where they combine their powers and manage to defeat the monster all by themselves (starting to think these guys should have been the heroes instead of the idiots). When Naofumi goes to thank them for their help they turn on him and attack the idiots (as great as that was, what the hell guys?). L’Arc and Therese reveal that they’re heroes from another world and just like this world their world is on the brink of destruction as well. The only way to save their world is for Naofumi and the idiots to die. Naofumi and his party take on L’Arc and Therese (scene here: https://youtu.be/hW0ZxUuvKi8. What about the idiots you ask? Different place but the same story, useless. You know, we should buy Naofumi a coupon booklet for massages because his back has really got to be killing him). Naofumi and his party are able to hold their own against L’Arc and Therese and when Melty joins the fight, the fight starts to swing their way until Glass shows up and she’s on L’Arc and Therese’s side (oh we’re screwed).
In the final episode we start off with Naofumi’s party taking on Glass, L’Arc and Therese. Naofumi takes on Glass alone where he finds her weakness (SP attacks) and tries to get her to stop as he really doesn’t want to kill her. Glass wants to save the world she loves while Naofumi really doesn’t care that much for this world (it can burn in Hell for all he cares) but at the same time he has people in it that he cares about. Naofumi and Glass prepare to hit each with their best attacks as the wave is about to draw to close, but he receives help from Mirelia and a young girl named Lecia, a member of Itsuki’s party who use the barrels of alcohol to make Glass dizzy (wow, just like Raphtalia she’s a lightweight when it comes to drinking). This forces L’Arc and Theresa to step in and retreat with Glass as the wave draws to end (scene here: https://youtu.be/QhecAxzOR6Y. (Glass): We’ll meet again, Shield Hero). After the wave, Naofumi and the others remain on the island to relax for a few days and have a mini-vacation. Naofumi says he wants to expand the party and luck comes his way in the form of Lecia. They kind of skip over it but Lecia received a good amount of praise for her bravery in the wave which pissed off the rest of Itsuki’s party as well as Itsuki himself. So they accused her of breaking an accessory he liked which gave him the excuse he needed to kick her out of the party. Sad that the person she loves abandoned her, Lecia tried to drown herself in the ocean, only to get saved by Filo (after I assume, she tried to eat her). Naofumi invites her to join his party and prove Itsuki and those assholes wrong and she accepts (scene here: https://youtu.be/uXmlBM5xSrU). Naofumi finally asks Mirelia for his reward and what he asks for is lordship over the demi-human domain. That means Naofumi has become the lord over the domain where Raphtalia’s village once stood. He’s now rebuilding the village and establishing it as his own base to raise his own army, get stronger, and fight the waves. We get a little emotional moment between Naofumi and Raphtalia where she begs him not to leave even after the waves are gone and even though he doesn’t give a straight answer it seems like he might stay (you two would have the cutest kids). Everyone comes in to break up the moment and raise the flag to signal the start of their story (scene here: https://youtu.be/Lsmq4PjyPbU).
Final Thoughts
So that was the Rising of the Shield Hero and it’s a hit in my book. Just like the 4 isekai horsemen and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime, this anime shows us just how great isekai can be with it’s story, characters, and setting when time and effort is put into it. The story of Naofumi throughout the anime is done really well. We see him get betrayed and reach his lowest point only to rise up and keep moving forward thanks to his own strength and friends. One of Naofumi’s greatest strength is that he takes the time to learn what his skills are, puts in the hard work, and doesn’t treat this situation like a game. His situation is very relatable and you find yourself cheering for him as he’s been accused of something he didn’t commit and everyone around him is determined to keep him down and treat him like a bad guy when we know he’s not. You find yourself rooting for him so when he finally gets cleared of his accusations you cheer for him. Does his situation get better after this? A little, he still has to deal with 3 idiots who refuse to knowledge their mistakes, take the time to understand the world they’re in, and will continue to cause trouble that Naofumi will unfortunately have to clean up. Speaking of the 3 idiots, the anime does a good job at making us not like them as they keep repeating mistakes, not taking responsibility for their actions, and continue to treat this situation like a game. You honestly do feel and sympathize with Naofumi’s frustration with these idiots as you’ve dealt with people like them sometime in your life or have been in situation similar to what Naofumi’s going through. While Ren and Itsuki seem like they can redeem themselves somewhat and show some common sense, the most annoying of the bunch has to be Motoyasu. Every time this guy is on screen you just want to punch him in his face for how stupid he is. He allows himself to be easily swayed by others, not thinking for himself, and his whole white knight persona just pisses you off. Of course, the worst of the bunch has to be the bitch as she has got to be the most despicable woman I have ever seen in anime. The best girl of course has to be Raphtalia. Her relationship with Naofumi was great and their scene together in episode 4 was the best moment in the anime as this is where the anime went from good to being great for me. She’s definitely going to be everyone’s waifu of the year.
The main antagonist Glass is good as she’s not really a villain but rather a girl trying to save the world she loves. I can’t help but feel that Naofumi would be better off teaming up with them than with the 3 idiots. While the world itself isn’t all that creative or anything new it does seem to be structured well. I do wish we got a chance to see the other kingdoms as I’m curious to see what they think about the hero situation, how one kingdom controls them all, and what they’re doing to counter the waves. The action is decent with some pretty cool moves and visuals. I like how the battles play out like a fight in a RPG and one’s power level isn’t based on how high your level is, but rather how well you use your skills showing us that hard work and knowledge will always win out in the end. The animation is nothing special but it looks good and visually the areas that they go to do look nice from the building structures to the backgrounds and even to the monsters they face.
Final Score
The final score for Rising of the Shield Hero is a 9/10 with a must watch stamp of approval. This was a great anime that I urge everyone to check out if you haven’t already. At a time with everyone is becoming so critical about isekai anime this is an anime that shows us how great isekai anime can be and I hope a second season gets announced. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj where the next month is August and you know what that means. . .it’s arc month! Get ready for the Studio Trigger arc.
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