Iwatani Naofumi is an ordinary otaku who finds a manga in the library that summons him to another world. He is tasked with joining three others summoned to become the Four Cardinal Heroes to fight the Waves of Catastrophe as the Shield Hero. But while he is initially excited at going on a grand adventure, he soon finds himself robbed of his belongings outside the Shield and accused of rape by the woman adventurer who agreed to work with him. Losing trust in everyone he acquires a slave named Raphtalia to fight the Waves so he can return to his home world.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Appeal to Force: When a seller in the market tries ripping Naofumi off for his collection of balloon skins, he threatens him with various balloons still clinging to his body.
- Born Unlucky: Naofumi is quickly written off by the other Heroes because Shield-class characters are inherently lame. Word then very quickly spreads that he is less intimate with Melromarc's world and no one is willing to team up with him. When Myne teams up with him, she steals all of his belongings and falsely accuses him of rape For the Evulz, leaving him broke, unable to level-grind and unable to go back to his own world, trapped in a new world that now hates his guts with a weapon that everyone thinks makes him useless.
- False Rape Accusation: Naofumi is accused of rape by Myne, his attractive red-haired adventuring partner, and his pleas to the contrary are ignored. Even the blacksmith who was initially friendly toward him initially believes the slander, though he quickly realizes Naofumi is innocent. The accusation turns him against the King, the other Heroes, and most of the populace.
- Harem Seeker: Naofumi thinks that he could find a girlfriend in Melromarc when he was unable to in his own world. He soon gives this up when Myne betrays him.
- Human Traffickers: Played With - The kingdom Naofumi finds himself trapped in practices human supremacy and BeastMan and Demihuman are offered as slaves to perform menial labor or serve as body guards. They are sealed with a curse that forces obedience.
- At the end of the episode, Naofumi comes across a shady merchant offering slaves for sale. While Naofumi initially rejects the offer, when the Slave Trader points out that slaves cannot lie or betray their masters, Naofumi chooses to listen and looks over the slaves.
- Large Ham: Naofumi gives an over-the-top reaction in finding out just how lame being the Shield Hero is.
- The Multiverse: Overlaps with Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe with the first clue we get that the series has one is that each of the heroes come from a version of Japan where historical events happened differently along with various levels of technology or superpowers.Naofumi: So there are Parallel worlds, with Parallel Japans?
Motoyasu: I thought we might just be from different eras, but it would seem not. - Oh, Crap!: Naofumi when he realizes how insane and dangerous Malty really is after her False Rape Accusation.
- Otaku: It seems all four of the Heroes summoned to the fantasy world are otaku, with three of them having been exposed to this world through various forms of computer games or virtual reality.
- Trapped in Another World: Naofumi finds himself transported to another world where he's expected to help save the world from strange portals in the air that allow monsters to invade the world. After he is falsely accused of rape, he insists on being sent back home only to learn he can't be sent home until the Waves are defeated.
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu all dismiss Naofumi off because every game they're familiar with presents Shielder-types as the weakest, no "real gamer" ever playing them. They also equate to Naofumi's comparative lack of gamer knowledge as being a trait of being the Shield Hero.
