History Characters / TheRisingOfTheShieldHeroNaofumiIwatani

** He doesn't recruit Ren's teammates out of respect for their UndyingLoyalty to him.

** He's outraged over the fact that he's been summoned to another world to fight for them, yet he shows no problem with purchasing a slave, thereby doing the very thing he hates the King for (forcing someone to fight against their will). Fortunately, he grows out of this, and after she declares her loyalty to him, she's pretty much a slave in name only.

-->'''Naofumi:''' Did it ever occur to you that maybe [[WrongGenreSavvy you're trying too hard to be some super-cool secret vigilante]], and [[FailureHero you're not very good at it]]?

** Wrath. Not only does it make him susceptible to the Rage Shield, but it sometimes causes him to lash out at people at the worst possible time, a prime example being when he decides that '''the middle of a battlefield''' is an appropriate time and place to chew out his fellow Heroes for their lack of consideration of the consequences of their actions.

** For all the crap he gives his fellow Heroes about not considering the consequences of their actions, he has his own moments. First, there's him writing off Melty as being no different from her father and sister despite clear evidence to the contrary [[note]] Stopping a pointless duel between him and Motoyasu and reprimanding Malty for starting a fight between two Heroes for her own amusement [[/note]]. While he did have his reasons, dismissing Melty as someone not to be trusted ultimately did nothing but make things more difficult for her and the Queen, which the latter calls him out for in the novels. Then there's him deciding '''the middle of a battlefield''' is an appropriate place to start dishing out TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to his fellow Heroes. Yes, he lost his temper and was trying to get them to understand the situation they were in, but the point still stands because wasting time arguing allowed the Pope to recharge his weapon and attack them. For added salt in the wound, he had the gall to tell Itsuki he should have thought about what his actions would mean in the end, something he clearly didn't think about before starting that petty argument.

** For all the crap he gives his fellow Heroes about not considering the consequences of their actions, he really isn't much better in that regard. First, there's him writing off Melty as being no different from her father and sister despite clear evidence to the contrary [[note]] Stopping a pointless duel between him and Motoyasu and reprimanding Malty for starting a fight between two Heroes for her own amusement [[/note]]. While he did have his reasons, dismissing Melty as someone not to be trusted ultimately did nothing but make things more difficult for her and the Queen, which the latter calls him out for in the novels. Then there's him deciding '''the middle of a battlefield''' is an appropriate place to start dishing out TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to his fellow Heroes. Yes, he lost his temper and was trying to get them to understand the situation they were in, but the point still stands because wasting time arguing allowed the Pope to recharge his weapon and attack them. For added salt in the wound, he had the gall to tell Itsuki he should have thought about what his actions would mean in the end, something he clearly didn't think about before starting that petty argument.
** He often complains about how almost nobody calls him by his real name, with it being one of the main reasons he hates Malty. And yet there's very few people he calls by their real names and he refers to everyone else by [[TheNicknamer whatever childish nickname he comes up with]], [[HeyYou if that]]. This gets even worse when he accuses Melty of this by pointing out that despite her annoyance at him calling her "Second Princess", she keeps calling him "Shield Hero", ignoring the fact that she was calling him "Shield Hero" because that's what everyone calls him while he was just calling her "Second Princess" out of misplaced spite, despite it having been proven beyond doubt that she ''is'' a good person.

* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: The Brooding Boy to Raphtalia's Gentle Girl. Malty's betrayal and the very poor treatment most of the people in the fantasy world give him have made Naofumi jaded, antisocial and highly troubled. Raphtalia offers her maximum support to Naofumi and comforts him with her love and kindness, which lets Naofumi know he has someone he can trust fully.

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Rishia, Sadina, and even [[spoiler:the Spirit of the Shield itself]] know that Naofumi cares for Raphtalia more deeply than he lets on. It takes [[spoiler:Atla's dying words]] to finally open his eyes.
* EveryoneHasStandards:

* FatalFlaw: He has several:
** Apathy. While initially pissed by the fact that he was so EasilyCondemned as a criminal, after Raphtalia showed that she's truly on his side, he simply StoppedCaring and decided that if everyone's going to treat him like the "bad guy", [[ThenLetMeBeEvil there's no point in trying to be anything else]]. Problem is, choosing to act according to how he's treated and not being able to accept or even recognize sincere gratitude just makes it that much easier for the King, Malty and the Church to manipulate the masses. It also means he doesn't bother trying to disprove Malty's "brainwashing shield" accusation despite the obvious holes in it (he says one thing and then just gives up) and after the second Wave he decides that there's no point in trying to reason with his fellow Heroes and resolves to stop the rest of the Waves by himself, not being able to see that he's completely in over his head in attempting such. It takes a chance encounter with Fitoria for him to finally realise how unhealthy and detrimental this attitude is, and even then it takes a while for him to grow out of it completely, as he's still quick to write off Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu as lost causes (though [[SurroundedByIdiots not without reason]]).
** While his [[TheParanoiac paranoia]]'s understandable given what Malty did to him, it causes him to jump to rash conclusions about people based on very little evidence, like when [[PsychologicalProjection he dismisses Melty as no different from her father and sister for no reason other than she's related to them]]. He's called out on this by Queen Mirelia in the novels, since his attitude ultimately did nothing but make things more difficult for everyone involved, himself included.
** His tendency to use just about any ability he can get his hands on leads to him utilizing several highly dangerous abilities despite warnings from characters like Fitoria, which would have gotten him killed several times over if it weren't for outside help.
** Not only does Naofumi's wrath make him susceptible to the Rage Shield, but it sometimes causes him to lash out at people at the worst possible time, a prime example being when he decides that '''the middle of a battlefield''' is an appropriate time and place to chew out his fellow Heroes for their lack of consideration of the consequences of their actions.

* SelfMadeMan: The other heroes all receive significant funding and rewards from the King for their deeds which allow them to comfortably afford the best equipment and other luxuries without having to do anything for it, other than just fighting off the Waves. Naofumi's starter money is invalidated by Malty's treachery forcing him to start off with literally just the Legendary Shield and the clothes on his back. He subsequently receives very little in the way of compensation compared to the other heroes at the best of times or nothing at all if the King's court can help it. To make a living, he turns to trade, selling monster parts, then later potions, as well as his own services as a monster slayer and healer. This helps him improve his reputation little by little and leaves him with a far better understanding of the world than the other heroes. This is illustrated when Motoyasu, [[TreacherousAdvisor at Malty's behest]], attempts to introduce an entry and exit tax of fifty silver coins in a village. Naofumi, who actually knows the value of money for the common man, is well aware of how absolutely exorbitant that price is, while the spoiled and arrogant Motoyasu seems to be completely unaware that a night's stay at an inn, complete with food, is a minuscule fraction of that amount.

* TheoryTunnelVision: Once Naofumi has made up his mind about something, it takes an awful lot to get him to change it. While he does attempt to reach out to his fellow Heroes at first, after the second Wave, he becomes convinced that they're lost causes and resolves to fight off the rest of the Waves without them, severely overestimating his party's capabilities in the process. He also believes that there's no point in trying to clear his name despite many people recognizing on their own that he's not the horrible person the people in the Capital make him out to be. And that's not even getting into his belief that just because [[HateSink Malty]] and [[TheCaligula the King]] are awful people that [[GuiltByAssociation makes anyone related to them awful by default]], which causes serious friction between him and [[NiceGirl Melty]] at first.

** [[TheParanoiac Paranoia]]. While understandable given what Malty did to him, it causes him to jump to rash conclusions about people based on very little evidence, like when [[PsychologicalProjection he dismisses Melty as no different from her father and sister for no reason other than she's related to them]]. He's called out on this by Queen Mirelia in the novels, since his attitude ultimately did nothing but make things more difficult for everyone involved, himself included.
** His tendency to use just about any ability he can get his hands on. This leads to him utilizing several highly dangerous abilities despite warnings from characters like Fitoria, which would have gotten him killed several times over if it weren't for outside help.
** Wrath. Not only does it make him susceptible to the Rage Shield, but it sometimes causes him to lash out at people at the worst possible time, a prime example being when he decides that '''the middle of a battlefield''' is an appropriate time and place to chew out his fellow Heroes for their lack of consideration of the consequences of their actions.

* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Zig-zagged with Motoyasu. Naofumi initially seems to be the roguish to Motoyasu's noble, as has a more unkempt and harsh demeanor while also being more of a ByronicHero who is distrusted by the citizens. Whereas Motoyasu frequently boasts about chivalry like a KnightInShiningArmor. However, Motoyasu is also a HandsomeLech and PrinceCharmingWannabe who cares more about being seen as a hero than actually helping others and is often very entitled and selfish. Naofumi on the other hand, despite being a CelibateHero is much chivalrous though pragmatic in his dealings with others as long as they prove to be worthy of his respect and trust. This is especially true once Naofumi's name is cleared by the Queen. In short, Naofumi is a KnightInSourArmor who loses some of the sourness over time, while Motoyasu is a wannabe KnightInShiningArmor.

** Apathy. While initially pissed by the fact that he was so EasilyCondemned as a criminal, after Raphtalia showed that she's truly on his side, he simply StoppedCaring and decided that if everyone's going to treat him like the "bad guy", there's no point in trying to be anything else. Problem is, choosing to act according to how he's treated, to the point of not being able to recognize or even accept sincere gratitude, just makes it that much easier for the King, Malty and the Church to manipulate the masses. It also means he doesn't bother trying to disprove Malty's "brainwashing shield" accusation despite the obvious holes in it (he says one thing and then just gives up) and after the second Wave he decides that there's no point in trying to reason with his fellow Heroes and resolves to stop the rest of the Waves by himself, not being able to see that he's completely in over his head in attempting such. It takes a chance encounter with Fitoria for him to finally realise how unhealthy and detrimental this attitude is, and even then it takes a while for him to grow out of it completely, as he's still quick to write off Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu as lost causes (though [[SurroundedByIdiots not without reason]]).

** {{Wrath}}. Not only does it make him susceptible to the Rage Shield, but it sometimes causes him to lash out at people at the worst possible time, a prime example being when he decides that '''the middle of a battlefield''' is an appropriate time and place to chew out his fellow Heroes for their lack of consideration of the consequences of their actions.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: Played with and then ultimately subverted. While the nobility and other heroes hate him originally, the fact that he's the only one doing a proper job of protecting the peasantry makes the people love him. [[spoiler:Once Mirelia returns, the truth about him is revealed and his reputation gets even better.]]

* HypocriticalHumor: When Naofumi first gets his hands on the Light Novel that transports him to the other world, he sees a girl that he says "looks kind of bitchy." After he ends up in said other world, he meets a girl that looks exactly like the one portrayed in the novel, only this time, Naofumi is smitten in love with her. This girl is Malty, and she is, indeed, quite bitchy.

* TokenEvilTeammate: ''Heavily'' subverted. The Melromarc Kingdom has ancient beliefs that the Shield Hero is this when it comes to the Four Cardinal Heros, hence why the Church only worships three of the heroes, Shield Hero excluded. He even gets the nickname "The Devil of the Shield." However, the Shield Hero was never evil, and the ''real'' reason that Melromarc hates him so much is because he shows kindness towards Demihumans, [[FantasticRacism whom the Kingdom is prejudiced against]]. Noafumi is actually the most competent of the Four Heroes, and although he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, he's still the most morally righteous of the four.

* CombatPragmatist: A necessity when most of his attacks are effectively useless. Can't attack? Lob monsters at them.

** In the anime, Naofumi stops Malty and Aultcray's execution, which Mirelia was the one to propose, due to a precognition the night before and under the fear that [[HeWhoFightsMonsters he might become just like them]]. He also notices when Malty is begging him to save her that her Slave Crest was dormant, meaning that she can beg to a man she tried to kill and be genuine because she doesn't care. This leads him to stop their deaths and decide on their name change by thinking as dying being too light a punishment. In the light novel (and the manga, too, but the light novel is the source material) Naofumi was adamant about putting them to death after Malty tried to ask him to forgive them and take the moral high ground, which Naofumi saw the hypocrisy in due to what he'd suffered with them. Mirelia is forced to agree with Malty about the repercussions of the deaths of royalty and suggests they be given a life not worth living, which leads to Naofumi deciding on the name change.

* AlmightyJanitor: And not by choice either. With the King refusing to give him any respect or acknowledgement in any form and his fellow heroes seeing him as next to useless, Naofumi is this in the grand scheme of things as he not only protects people from monsters (albeit, for a fee) restores crops, cures the sick and feeds the destitute, but also makes it clear he's not above going out of his way to fix their mistakes. He'll complain about it the whole way, and its not until the Queen returns to set things right that the "Janitor" part is undone.

* BabiesEverAfter: The Historical documents about his legacy reveals he went on to have children with [[spoiler:Raphtalia, Sadina and Melty]].

* BenevolentBoss: Even when he purchased Raphtalia, right after being framed by Myne and becoming warped and bitter, he was rather harsh, but still cared and treated her properly plus curing her sickness. [[spoiler:Later on, when he had started his own village and gathered up slaves to do work to prepare for the waves, they said the work they got was just the right amount and were not forced to do anything more than they can handle, not to mention they are ''gaga'' over their master's cooking; they were actually rather happy and content with their work. Although, Naofumi does try to look like an evil, cruel boss to make the impression that he's not a soft-hearted master. However, hilariously enough, seeing how hard and tirelessly Naofumi works and cooks for the village, some like Ren and Rishia have said that Naofumi could be considered the slaves' ''slave'' himself, much to his utter chagrin]].

* BrokenBird: Male example. The mistreatment he gets from the people of the other world and Malty's nasty betrayal changes the friendly and naïve guy hopeful for adventure into a brooding and cynical AntiHero who refuses to trust anyone but his slaves. He gradually recovers after he sees there's good and grateful people in the other world.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: The Brooding Boy to Raphtalia's Gentle Girl. Malty's betrayal and the very poor treatment most of the people in the fantasy world give him has made Naofumi jaded, antisocial and highly troubled. Raphtalia offers her maximum support to Naofumi and comforts him with her love and kindness, which lets Naofumi know he has someone he can trust fully.

* CassandraTruth: L'Arc initially thought Naofumi's only using the Shield Hero's name as an alias despite the latter's insistence that he ''is'' the Shield Hero. L'Arc even thought that Naofumi's use of the shield is just him going in-character.

** Naofumi was weak-willed and timid till he was betrayed by Myne which caused him to become aggressive, cynical, and pessimistic. Once he finds Raphtalia and he sees that she is truly his ally and that he's not alone in this world, he starts to trust at least some others again and protect her and Filo like his own family. Later on, after his his name is cleared by the queen, he's still a JerkWithAHeartOfGold but has more emotions than he used to and can fully trust the right people again.

** It’s stated at the beginning that while he does play MMO’s, he’s often more interested in trading and getting money then leveling up.

* CounterAttack: Naofumi's only way to deal damage, justified in that his only weapon is his shield, and his attack stats are very low. It would take several minutes of striking starting level {{Mook}}s if he wanted to kill by his own hand. Special mention goes to the Chimera Viper Shield, which summons a venomous snake to bite what physically attacks the shield.

** It's also deconstructed as one of the reasons why most of the royalty and the other Heroes callously treat him like shit, since they can only see the "crippling" part of his Legendary Shield's capabilities to the point of outright ignoring any evidence to the contrary.

* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: His use of the Wrath Shield turns into this. Not only does it run the risk of Naofumi losing himself and becoming a rage-filled individual hell-bent on destroying everything around him, anybody that tries to get near him gets afflicted with a high level curse. In addition, his Blood Sacrifice spell runs the risk of killing him by blood loss at worst or afflicting him with a high level curse that severely penalizes his stats at best.

* DoesntTrustThoseGuys: After being set up by Malty and King Aultcray, Naofumi develops a severe distrust towards the nobility. He immediately forbades Filo from interacting with Melty after learning that she's the Second Princess and initially is dismissive of Melty's requests for reconciliation. It takes a while for him to actually trust nobles because of both Melty and the Queen's efforts to rectify the situation caused by the other half of the royal family.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: Originally, he quickly finds out that despite being a "Hero", he's treated a lot differently than the other three guys who were summoned to the world. The king barely acknowledges him after he protests, and when some adventurers volunteer to join the heroes, none of them join him. Malty does briefly, but only so she could quickly pull a WoundedGazelleGambit against him after stealing his money and gear.

* TheEnemyWeaponsAreBetter: He is the [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe Shield Hero]], one of [[TheChosenOne The Four Cardinal Heroes]] meant to fight against the [[ApocalypseHow Waves of Calamity]] that threaten the world. However unlike the other Heroes who have skills and power suited for attacking, Naofumi's relies solely on [[StoneWall Defense]], meaning he has to rely on [[LittleBitBeastly Raphtalia]] and [[{{Mon}} Filo]] and the other members of his Party to pull the slack for him in taking down enemies and monsters to get stronger. Therefore, Naofumi has to resort to either purchasing better equipment or to scavenge the corpses of their fallen enemies in order for his party to get better armor and weapons to fight with.

** Despite Naofumi wanting to see Malty suffer, in the worst way, and for good reason, there is a limit to what even he can stomach. [[spoiler:When he was forced to watch King Faubley torture Witch to death to avoid provoking a war with Faubley, he was visibly disgusted, and had to ask the guard who was there as a witness (and holding a magic crystal recording him watching the scene) to fake him watching it to the end, and the guard agreed.]] Chapters 342-345 takes this up to eleven.

** He hates his fellow heroes and doesn't sugarcoat when they cause their own messes, especially after [[spoiler:the Spirit Tortoise]]. That said, he doesn't want them dead and empathizes with them [[spoiler:when Malty screws them over and they're soon brainwashed by their Curse Weapon series. He lets them move to his village permanently to recover, makes Ren a recurring teammate on his adventures, allows the newly-insane Motoyasu to take care of the town's filolials, and relieves Itsuki of the debt that Malty and his corrupt former party members forced on him.]]
* EvilWeapon: The Wrath Shield. Downplayed, as even though it's evil-looking (and grows to look more sinister the stronger it gets to the point where its lampshaded in-universe), it's more a physical manifestation of his sheer, unbridled hatred against the people who ruined his life, as well as what he wants to do to them via their attacks (hellfire, torture implements). However, it's also deconstructed as the Wrath Shield is more of a last resort weapon due to its heavy costs to use, and to the point where it also serves as a metaphor for Naofumi's need to control and focus his anger in the right direction if he wants to make proper use of it. Even then, there are times when its usage at full power leaves him and his allies far from unscathed, from suffering cursed burns due to accidental friendly fire to completely draining his MP and SP. It's latest form used against the Pope and the Spirit Turtle even had a real doozy of a drawback with it's NextTierPowerUp, as it required his blood to be violently drained from his body, followed by an exhaustion-induced coma, and finally a severe debuff on all his stats except his defense.

** The others are loved by Melromarc and are optimistic of their own future, while he was (initially) hated by the public due to being accused by [[ManipulativeBitch Malty/Myne/Bitch]] and developed JadeColoredGlasses. [[spoiler:Ironically, he winds up beloved while the other heroes have their reputation take a nosedive after the Spirit Turtle incident.]]

*** While Naofumi treats his party members like Raphtalia and Firo like his own surrogate family, Malty not only regularly booted out other members of Motoyasu's party without his awareness out of petty jealousy, she also actively plotted to murder her own biological sister Melty (whose just barely older than ten years old, no less!) in cold blood, to the point of trying to burn her alive with fire magic. Bonus points for irony in that it's implied Melty sees Naofumi as a protective older sibling instead of (or because of) Malty.

*** Naofumi fights as a defensive tank with healing and support magic at his disposal, while Malty is a fire mage that essentially uses Motoyasu as a meat shield while she hangs back with the rest of his party. While Naofumi also uses fire through his Wrath Shield, it's tempered by the love and care he has for his party, while it's obvious that Malty is [[TheSociopath incapable of feeling such things.]]

** Naofumi and the gang finally go to Siltvelt (a demi-human country), and are forced to put up with the citizens' overzealous worship of the Shield Hero and other inappropriate behavior. Why were they there? [[spoiler:To gain permission to travel to Q'ten Lo, an isolationist demi human country, and take down their government]]. Why did they need to do that? [[spoiler:Because Q'ten Lo sent assassins to attack the village and kill Raphtalia]]. Why would they do that? Because [[ItMakesSenseInContext Naofumi put Raphtalia in a miko outfit.]]

* GoodIsNotNice: Despite his ruthlessness and seemingly self-serving attitude, Naofumi is the only of the four summoned heroes who actually cares to do good and help people in trouble. He just doesn't like to show how benevolent he really is because he fears people might take advantage of him like Malty did.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Though rough around the edges, Naofumi is still a good guy at the end of the day. He even goes out of his way to clean up the other Heroes messes, albeit with a request for some compensation. It's just that after all the unjustified abuse and mistreatment heaped on him since day 3, he has no qualms about fighting dirty (against Motoyasu in a rigged duel), outright threatening to kill his enemies (like the King after he threatened his companions first), or [[spoiler:allowing Motoyasu and Malty to die at the hands of the power mad pope (since their stupidity led to them all being cornered in the first place, and Ren and Itsuki were seemingly dead anyway).]]

* GreenAndMean: Downplayed. His signature color is green, contrasting the other heroes and especially Motoyasu, but despite his reputation, he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who does what he can do be a hero.

** The king of Melromarc is outright dismissive of Naofumi as soon as he met him because he simply happened to be the chosen Hero of the Shield. Over the course of the story, he's done nothing but undermine Naofumi's accomplishments or outright try to prevent him from getting ahead in life. It turns out that the king was doing this because of his prejudice against Demi-humans, which the legend of the Shield Hero is mostly associated with. Whether the Shield Hero who was around when the two incidents that formed his prejudice happened either supported them, or at least did nothing to stop them is questionable, though it did involve his parents dying at the hands of the Hakuko (white tiger-based) Demihumans (his homeland, Faubrey had a treaty with Siltvelt, a Demihuman country, but there was no telling if those were rogue/renegade Hakuko who ignored the treaty or this was a sponsored operation by Siltvelt's ruler), and his blind sister being kidnapped by them later on (and he's made to believe they murdered her).

** Naofumi has a huge one after Malty turns on him at the beginning of the story. Unlike most examples of this trope, Naofumi's HeroicBSOD stays around for a while, and it isn't until people actually started treating him better that he got over it.
** Naofumi suffers another one after his first duel with Motoyasu, when Malty blatantly cheats to help her new boyfriend win and no one acknowledges it.

* HeroicWannabe: An inversion. Unlike the other heroes, Naofumi doesn't sell himself as a hero and, during his first few months of adventuring, actively fosters the reputation of a [[PunchClockHero guy who'll only offer his services]] for [[OnlyInItForTheMoney the right price]]. However, anybody who has spent more than 10 minutes with Naofumi know that he ''is'', deep down, a genuinely heroic person.

** [[IntrepidMerchant During Naofumi's travels between Waves]]; he went about cleaning up the messes left behind by the other Three Heroes and went the extra mile to leave the towns in a much-better state than how the previous Heroes left them. It's through his actions that earned him the respect and admiration of the public, along with the eternal ire of the Three Heroes Church over the successes of "The Devil of The Shield" [[SuperZeroes while at the same time the Three Heroes that they prayed to failed at nearly every possible turn.]]

* IKnowMortalKombat: DownplayedTrope. Unlike with the other Three Heroes who had used Gamer knowledge to various degrees of success or failure, Naofumi had gained plenty of experience from games in a leadership capacity within the [=MMOs=]' he had played: enough so that any Guilds that Naofumi lead in games were going to wind up in the '''Top 3''' on an entire Server. This translates well to his ability to command and create strategies to minimize losses and increase the chances for success.

** His offensive abilities were originally lacking, and was one of the reasons why he was ignored and ridiculed. The very injustice and abuse heaped on him reaching its zenith via the rigged duel that threatened to take Raphtalia away led to the unlocking of the Curse Series, namely the [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Wrath Shield]], an evil power that turns him into more of a [[TheBerserker hard-hitting berserker.]] For bonus points, Naofumi looked like he was ''mere inches'' away from unleashing it on the King (one of the people unwittingly responsible for him unlocking it in the first place) in the anime after the latter stupidly threatened his companions.
** Despite being near-constantly accused of brainwashing people into serving him and maligned for it, he and his faction are the only ones who never do, while those that do the accusing are the ones actually guilty of it. What's more, [[spoiler:Itsuki is the one who gains the ability to brainwash others with his bow later on once he gives into despair and unlocks his own Curse Series, and even accuses Naofumi of it once more ''just after'' brainwashing one of his former companions with it.]]
** Despite being labeled as the "Devil of the Shield" by the Church of Three Heroes, Naofumi was not only the one doing a proper job as a hero, but even went out of his way to fix the messes caused by the other heroes. Even most of his skills and magic are mainly geared towards protection, healing, support, and utility. If he wasn't high off his own power, you'd almost expect the Pope to lampshade this himself before [[spoiler:trying to blast him and his party to bits.]]
** Finally, he is immediately thought of as the most incompetent of the four heroes because he is a light-novel otaku who hasn't played a single {{RPG}} in his entire life, in contrast to the other three who are explicitly gamers specializing in different forms of {{RPG}}s. He ends up being better and more competent than all of them simply because he had to learn everything first hand and not rely on stock {{RPG}} tropes.

* JadeColoredGlasses: Sees everyone out to get him and that the only one he can trust are slaves after what Malty did to him. The glasses are so thick that he loses his sense of taste and doesn't notice when Raphtalia grows up into a strapping young woman overnight, still seeing her as the little girl he first bought her as. Then Raphtalia restores his humanity at a celebration party...

** Although he can be rude towards his allies, he's still a compassionate man beneath it all. The reason he acts like a jerk is because of what happened between him and Malty and he doesn't want himself or anyone else around him to get tricked, turned on or taken advantage of.

* KickTheDog: Naofumi's actions in the early chapters/episodes don't tend to paint him in a positive light. While it's true he got a raw deal, in the LN it's revealed that the main reason he chose to purchase Raphtalia was to use her as an outlet to take out his rage against Myne. He got better in time but his early depiction still colors him in a negative light for some people. There's also how he initially forbade any kind of romantic relationships among the citizens of his village.
* KiManipulation: Eventually learns how to harness this along with Atla and Rishia. Good news is, one of its applications is nullifying one of his biggest weaknesses, attacks that work off the target's defense. Bad news is, he can only use it for defensive purposes due to the Shield's restrictions, so that means still having to rely on the Wrath Shield for more direct attacks.
* KleptomaniacHero: Thanks to the Shield's status as a MorphWeapon, Naofumi often put whatever material and shield he can put into his weapon to unlock more forms and abilities.

* LoserProtagonist: {{Deconstructed|CharacterArchetype}}. As the Shield Hero, Naofumi is heavily mistreated by pretty much everyone around him upon his arrival, to the point of being falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit not even a full day after arriving. By being labeled as a LoserProtagonist and never being given a reason why, he ends becoming an AntiHero who [[ThenLetMeBeEvil embraces the negative attitude thrust onto him]] and turns to only finding trust in people who are similarly mistreated by society. While this does make him stronger and he does soften up over time, he remains bitter and hateful towards those who accused him and those who believed them, making it nearly impossible for him to actually work with the other heroes. Fitoria later calls him out by saying that regardless of how justified his anger was, he's basically [[NotHelpingYourCase giving people further ammunition for treating him like crap]] since his ThenLetMeBeEvil approach has let his accusers get away with their lies, and that if he wants to stop being seen as a LoserProtagonist, he needs to prove he isn't one.

* MagikarpPower: While the Shield Hero's default stats are much lower than the other heroes, leveling up is way harder for him due to his nonexistent offensive power, and being falsely accused of assaulting Malty has robbed him of what little royal support he has, Naofumi slowly began to outclass the other heroes because unlike the other heroes, he was willing to put the work into getting stronger. He learned the ins and outs of Melromarc and his Legendary Shields' properties along with maxing out its abilities by collecting everything into his shield and testing the new shields properties out, he out-thinks his foes instead of [[AttackAttackAttack charging at them blindly]], is willing to work with his party instead of leaving them behind or making them do all the work, and is the first to unlock his Curse Series. Whenever he has to work with the other heroes, the disparity between him and them is even more obvious, with the Queen rightfully pointing out that Naofumi is the only one among them likely to survive the coming Waves if they don't start working together.

* MoralityChain: Ironically, ''the Shield itself,'' despite being the cause of a good deal of the problems Naofumi faces in Melromarc, is clearly this to him, especially in the early light novels, before he meets Raptalia. His inability to attack forces him to bargain and haggle with merchants for resources he needs to survive, as well as forces him to cooperate with others in a party to be at all efficient, despite his understandable misgivings with he idea after Malty's betrayal. Additionally, it prevents him from lashing out and directly hurting others around him to vent his frustrations with his [[TrappedInAnotherWorld current situation.]] Given the machinations of the Church of the Three heroes, if Naofumi had been able to attack on his own, they'd have had an easier time putting a negative spin on his reputation, but the same hurdles that handicap Naofumi's effectives as a solo hero also make it harder for his enemies to paint him as the 'Shield Demon' when he lacks the ability to directly harm others around him- indeed, they are only able to do so once Naofumi has gathered a party of allies who ''can'' attack under his command.
* MrViceGuy: Due to a mix of being a HeroWithBadPublicity and being forced to practice morally ambiguous things out of imposed limitations, Naofumi doesn't care as much of ''looking'' like a hero as the other heroes do. He is very cynical, is very open about how he'll only do hero work if there are some kind of tangible rewards waiting for him, he is willing to buy and own slaves and his most powerful weapon runs on ThePowerOfHate that could potentially hurt and kill his own allies. With that said, all of this stems from him being a realist. Unlike the other heroes, Naofumi understands that the world they're in has real, tangible consequences and isn't just an escapist fantasy where they could do whatever they want. Since he did not have the crown's aid after he was falsely accused of raping Malty, he had to learn how to conduct business, learn the language and learn how to craft-potions and accessories. When the people who need his help cannot pay his price with money, he is willing to barter with what they ''do'' have. While he practices slavery, he only did it because no one wanted to join his party (with one false exception, but it was a mere trio of shitty thieves that only really wanted to steal his remaining paltry possessions after he was falsely accused) and he has little to no offensive capability, and even then he acts less like their owner and more like their dad (especially since Raphtalia and Filo were children when he bought them) and will tend to their needs, fostering loyalty in him. All of this combined ironically makes him a better hero that Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu, all of whom had everything ''handed'' to them. In short, he's able to avoid letting his wrath be a FatalFlaw.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: It is theorized by Melty that the Church of the Three Heroes may have formed due to Naofumi's actions during their time travel to Mamoru's time line where Naofumi completely routed Piensa's forces from invading Siltran nation. If this hypothesis is true, then Naofumi is the reason for the shield hero to be called Devil of the shield.

* TheNicknamer: When he's not resorting to HeyYou, he comes up with nicknames for just about everyone based off of his first impression of them. He only calls a handful of people by their real names such as Raphtalia and Filo. Everyone else is fair game and several he only knows by the nicknames he created. [[HypocriticalHumor He doesn't like L'arc calling him "kiddo"]], and so he takes every opportunity to call him [[spoiler: "young master"]] in response.
* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Zig-zagged with Motoyasu. Naofumi initially seems to be the roguish to Motoyasu's noble, as has a more unkempt and harsh demeanor while also being more of an ByronicHero who is distrusted by the citizens. Whereas Motoyasu frequently boasts about chivalry like a KnightInShiningArmor. However, Motoyasu is also a HandsomeLech and PrinceCharmingWannabe who cares more about being seen as a hero than actually helping others and is often very entitled and selfish. Naofumi on the other hand, despite being a CelibateHero is much chivalrous though pragmagic in his dealings with others as long as they prove to be worthy of his respect and trust. This is especially true once Naofumi's name is cleared by the Queen. In short, Naofumi is a KnightInSourArmor who loses some of the sourness over time, while Motoyasu is a wannabe KnightInShiningArmor.
* NoSell: Naofumi's Defensive stats are so high that he can shrug off or flat out ignore most weaker attacks. His shield's magic also makes him immune to poison and curses.

** Seen in the trial of Malty and the King. He's ready to demand in the manga and light novel that the two be put to death for their crimes against him and Melromarc, but the Queen suggests making them suffer living hell instead of a too-quick-and-easy death. In the anime, he has a premonition of him demanding their executions, and it scares him. When the Queen is ready to execute them, he proposes they be stripped of their names instead, being renamed "Trash" (the former King) and "Bitch" (the former Malty) with her getting the extra indignity of being dubbed "Bitchie (manga)/Slut(anime)/Whore(English dub)" when adventuring.

* PersonalityPowers: [[spoiler:After Naofumi became the Mirror Vassal Hero of Glass's world, his friends note it suited him given how he always 'reflect' other people's treatment of him right back at them, insulting those whom insulted him first and helping those whom helped him]].

** He doesn't recruit Ren's teammates out of respect of their UndyingLoyalty to him.

* ThePowerOfFriendship: Due to his Shield being better suited for support, he often relies his teammates to do the fighting for him.
* ThePowerOfHate: What his Shield's Cursed Form runs on. It's also something that Raphtalia and Firo try to keep Naofumi from overdoing to a great extent, as he runs the risk of [[HeroicRROD great physical harm]] with each time he uses it.

* PunchClockHero: ZigZagged. Naofumi helps others when they need it, but is not above turning away from it if the personal cost is too great. He will also demand material compensation for his service instead of going for the standard ThinkNothingOfIt, which earns him the respect of a merchant he meets on his travels. He is also very flexible about ''how'' he gets paid. Any kind of material compensation is good enough; don't have 1 silver coin? How about goods worth about 1 silver coin? Naofumi has some villages running a tab; he collects payment for a delivery when he makes the next delivery.

* RedBaron: Aside from his actual title "Hero of the Shield", he went by the moniker "Devil of the Shield" because of the local CorruptChurch. He was also saddled with another title, "Savior with a Divine Fowl", because of his reputation of saving the downtrodden masses from hardship who also happened to have a divine looking bird as his pet/mount/beast of burden.

* RestoredMyFaithInHumanity: Raphtalia telling him "You didn't do it" at celebration banquet. Or rather restored his faith in women; it's a long time before he can trust anyone other than her and the Blacksmith.

* RightlySelfRighteous: He treats the other three Chosen Heroes dismissively at best and with outright contempt at the worst. When he does interact with them (usually because he's forced to), he doesn't sugarcoat how lackluster their abilities are, how many problems they cause that he has to fix, and how little help they are in a crisis. While Naofumi is a jackass about all this, he's also entirely right; the Sword, Spear, and Bow heroes are short-sighted, entitled, gullible, brainless, and incompetent. They not only cause as many (if not more) problems than they solve, but are of limited help in a disaster, meaning Naofumi usually has to shoulder everything himself. All that said, he does gets called out on his behavior because, whether he likes it or not, Naofumi DOES have to work alongside the other three heroes, and while his attitude isn't the main reason they can't get along, it definitely doesn't make things any easier.

* SelfMadeMan: The other heroes all receive significant funding and rewards from the King for their deeds which allow them to comfortably afford the best equipment and other luxuries without having to do anything for it, other than just fighting off the Waves. Naofumi's starter money is invalidated by Malty's treachery forcing him to start off with literally just the Legendary Shield and the clothes on his back. He subsequently receives very little in the way of compensation compared to the other heroes at the best of times or nothing at all if the King's court can help it. To make a living, he turns to trade, selling monster parts, then later potions, as well as his own services as monster slayer and healer. This helps him improve his reputation little by little and leaves him with a far better understanding of the world than the other heroes. This is illustrated when Motoyasu, [[TreacherousAdvisor at Malty's behest]], attempts to introduce an entry and exit tax of fifty silver coins in a village. Naofumi, who actually knows the value of money for the common man, is well aware of how absolutely exorbitant that price is, while the spoiled and arrogant Motoyasu seems to be completely unaware that a night's stay at an inn, complete with food, is a minuscule fraction of that amount.
** In addition, his skills as a trader, potion maker, and monster slayer eventually grant him and his party enough connections and income that they are able to afford high level equipment and items as well as afford to feed themselves well (especially Filo, who has the largest appetite among them) without needing financial support from the kingdom. Eventually, Naofumi becomes wealthy enough to be able to found his own village.

* SlasherSmile: Whenever misfortune happens to those he hates, he naturally let's these out. [[LampshadeHanging People comment on it.]]

* StockLightNovelHero: Starts out as this, only to become a deconstruction when Malty's betrayal completely ruins his life and turns him into the familiar, miserable jerk. The trope slowly starts to become DoubleSubverted as the series continues, with Naofumi unlocking greater powers, gaining a harem of LoveInterests, and proving that he's a better hero than the other "heroes". In fact Naofumi would end up [[TropeCodifier codifying]] the Revenge Hero subtrope of a lightnovel hero.
* StoneWall: Standard as the Hero of the Shield. The Shield gives Naofumi incredible defensive and support powers, but outside of the [[ThePowerOfHate Wrath Shield]], he has only a handful of weak attacks. He is easily the slowest of the Heroes and his party, but he is so durable that despite being lower level then them with gear of lower quality then theirs, he is able to flat out tank most damage with ease. He takes this trope even further after he [[spoiler:becomes a god and sacrifices ''all'' attack abilities in exchange for a perfect defense]].

** This reaches it's logical conclusion past the (chronological) Third Wave in the web novel version, where the King thinks so little of him that he's convinced that Naofumi somehow stole power from the other heroes instead of working for it the hard way when he's the one who defeats the boss and fends off Glass. His dismissive behavior is little better in every other version too, as he just flatly demands how he became so strong, barely giving him any acknowledgement regardless and ignoring how his callous attempts to handicap him beforehand would make him decide to bluntly refuse. Fittingly, Naofumi's fed up response is to essentially tell the EntitledBastard to go fuck himself before leaving no worse for wear.

* SupportingProtagonist: Naofumi is this purely in terms of combat. While he acts as the main character in the narrative, since Naofumi is only allowed to wield his shield, he's not very good at offensive capabilities. That's why he has his party taking care the offense while he is on defense. With that said, Naofumi is an excellent defender and healer, which has made him a very valuable part of his party.

** [[spoiler:Fittingly, when he receives the Vassal Mirror, he gains the power to impower others with his cooking.]]

* SympatheticSlaveOwner: DoubleSubverted. Initially, Naofumi had no intention of being nice to his slave Raphtalia because his ability to trust and be kind was effectively shattered by [[TheSociopath Malty's]] FalseRapeAccusation, and everybody therefore easily turning against him. With no one to be his offense, being a complete StoneWall, his only option was buying a slave to be his offense. He was pretty harsh to the girl originally, making her fight against her will. Ironically, it's realizing she has her own trauma and problems that reawaken his humanity, after which this trope fully applies. This in turn leads to him further restoring his sense of trust and kindness when [[TheConscience Raphtalia]] vouches for [[UndyingLoyalty the real kind person that he is that everyone else says that he isn't]]. By the time he buys Filo, Naofumi treats his two slave girls more like his daughters and is constantly looking out for their well-being. Though despite his benevolence towards them, he still refers to himself as their Master.

* TeamDad: He is the oldest member of his party that acts as TheLeader and a SternTeacher to his teammates. While he can be rather gruff, he does show enough kindness to his party members to be mostly adored by them. It also helps that he did technically raise several of his party members.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: He hates the other Heroes and they hate him, but he can't go back home unless they finish their mission to stop the Wave Invasions so he's stuck having to cooperate with them. [[spoiler:After the trio are humbled by their Spirit Tortoise failure and Curse-Weapon manias, they become much more cooperative and allow Naofumi to be their leader. He in turn is strict with them, but learns to get along with each of them on different levels and grants them asylum in his village.]]

* TookALevelInCynic: At the start of the story, Naofumi's friendly, open, and optimistic, even if a little naive. Then along came a BitchInSheepsClothing who robbed, framed, and turned an entire kingdom against him. After that, he spends much of the story as a cynical, sadistic young man who believes that the world he is saving is nowhere near worth the pain it puts him through and develops something of an aversion to women. He also becomes very distrusting of others and is more than willing to use and carry out threats to get the information he needs.

* TookALevelInKindness: Something of an InUniverse example. When he first bought Raphtalia, he treated her coldly and ordered her via the slaves brand to do what he wanted, namely fighting, even as she tried and begged not to. However, once he saw that she suffered from nightmares over the death of her parents, he quickly changed to treating her like a real person, no doubt finding she was like him in that way. He did things like let her play like a child would, ordered her good food while he ate plain food, and went out of his way to work on a cure for her illness. It's worth noting that the next time he forces the slave brand, it's not because he is telling her to do something extreme, but instead trying to help her conquer her fears.

* UnwantedHarem: Over time, this includes Raphtalia, Filo, Melty, several other Demi-human females, and by the end of the series, is still growing.

* WeaponSpecialization: In the anime he tends to default to the Chimera Viper Shield in combat, as it's one of the few shields with a counterattack ability.
* WeakButSkilled: He's the lowest leveled Legendary Hero with virtually nonexistent offensive capabilities. He's also the most competent among the heroes because of his more diverse skill set, actual fighting experience, and practical knowledge of things like merchantry and crafting.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Briefly and {{Justified}}. Once people thought he was some kind of evil rapist, many shopkeepers refused to service him, nobody would party with him, and he had no equipment. To even be able to fight, he had to threaten shopkeepers to get a fair price, purchase a slave to have someone who could fight, and was forced to be rude to people who wouldn't bother dealing with him. All of this was so that he could protect the world from the Waves. It isn't until he starts to stop seeing the world as just a messed up place that he becomes more traditionally heroic.
* WeWantOurJerkBack: [[spoiler:When fighting Galeon a 2nd time,]] all of his anger and negative feelings got transferred out of him, leaving him behaving very similarly to Motoyasu and he even started to flirt with a few of the girls. His party at the time were so used to his anti-social behavior that when this happened, they were both shocked and disgusted.

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Due to the CripplingOverspecialization forced upon him by the nature of his shield, Naofumi has had to rely on his party to attack for him. When forced into a situation when he has to face a threat head-on himself, he has proven to be resourceful and creative enough with what little he has to survive the encounter. This is most illustrated in his duel with Motoyasu, nearly winning through creative use of his various Hero Skills (his two-headed dog shield being his only attack-based shield he had at the time) and balloon monsters he keeps with him.

* WifeHusbandry: He took Raphtalia under his wing when she was still physically a child. While he intended to be a father figure for her, Raphtalia ended up falling in love with him. Although, Naofumi refuses to view her as anything but his adopted daughter, both because he still thinks of her as a child in an adult body and his trauma with Malty left him sour towards romance. [[spoiler:Eventually, he gives in to Raphtalia's affections and they marry.]]

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: During the conference with Mirelia and other three Heroes, Naofumi learns that the Legendary Weapons have several innate skills, including ingredient/material analysis, auto-crafting of items, teleporting to previous locations, and copying weapons. This rather annoys Naofumi since he had to learn all these skills the hard way due to the King and Malty screwing him over near the beginning.

* UnwantedHarem: Over time, this includes Raphtalia, Filo, Melty, several other Demi-human females, and by the end of the series, is still growing.

*** Naofumi's parents gave up on him early for being an otaku and focused on his younger brother's education, but after seeing how the pressure was getting to his brother that he was nearly DrivenToSuicide, Naofumi stepped in and introduced him to some videogames as a means of managing his stress: which led to Naofumi being rewarded with a higher allowance for helping out his little brother. Meanwhile, on top of spending the royal treasury on frivolous things, Malty was spoiled rotten by her father while her mother tried her damnedest to teach her humility as she groomed her younger sibling Melty for the throne. Malty responded by trying to kill the latter during the coup being staged by the Three Heroes church to have the throne to herself, only to be stripped of her princess title, renamed Bitch/Bitchie/Whore/Slut (depending on the version), and made to pay off a massive tab as punishment by her mother.

*** Naofumi's parents gave up on him early for being an otaku and focused on his brother's education, but rewarded him with a higher allowance for helping the latter when he was stressed out. Meanwhile, on top of spending the royal treasury on frivolous things, Malty was spoiled rotten by her father while her mother tried her damnedest to teach her humility as she groomed her younger sibling Melty for the throne. Malty responded by trying to kill the latter during the coup being staged by the Three Heroes church to have the throne to herself, only to be stripped of her princess title, renamed Bitch/Bitchie/Whore/Slut (depending on the version), and made to pay off a massive tab as punishment by her mother.

* IKnowMortalKombat: Unlike with the other Three Heroes who had used Gamer knowledge to various degrees of success or failure, Naofumi had gained plenty of experience from games in a leadership capacity within the [=MMOs=]' he had played. Enough so that any Guilds that Naofumi lead in games were going to wind up in the Top 3 on a Server.

* IKnowMortalKombat: Unlike with the other Three Heroes who had used Gamer knowledge to various degrees of success or failure, Naofumi had gained plenty of experience from games in a leadership capacity within the MMOs' he had played. Enough so that any Guilds that Naofumi lead in games were going to wind up in the Top 3 on a Server.

[[Characters/TheRisingOfTheShieldHeroMainCharacters Main Characters]] ('''Naofumi Iwatani''') | [[Characters/TheRisingOfTheShieldHeroAllies Naofumi's Allies]] | [[Characters/TheRisingOfTheShieldHeroThreeHeroes Three Heroes and Allies]] ([[Characters/TheRisingOfTheShieldHeroMotoyasuKitamura Motoyasu Kitamura]]) | [[Characters/TheRisingOfTheShieldHeroAntagonists Antagonists]] ([[Characters/TheRisingOfTheShieldHeroMaltyMelromarc Malty Melromarc]]) | [[Characters/TheRisingOfTheShieldHeroOther Other Characters]] ]] -]]]

** Also deconstructed since, in-between the inherent prejudice of Melromarc's royalty, the other heroes suffering from a severe case of WrongGenreSavvy, and his undeserved reputation as a cowardly rapist, this leads to them unfairly choosing to only see the "weak" part of this trope in him, belittling and mocking him for it as TheLoad of the four Heroes in the process, and refusing to lend him any help or credit no matter how hard he works to make do with what he has, how successful he ends up being for his hard work, or how much the citizens themselves ultimately acknowledge him as ATrueHero for helping them. [[spoiler:What's more, it turns out that certain elements of Melromarc ''wanted'' Naofumi to remain as weak and helpless as he was, and weren't happy when he managed to prosper under his own power regardless. It takes the Queen essentially brute-forcing the truth out of his two most adamant enemies that he starts getting the proper respect.]]

* NicenessDenial: Naofumi Iwatani develops a bitter streak early in the series and makes frequent use of this trope because he fears he would end up being a doormat for every one around him otherwise, particularly through the second half of the series. His close associates and those who are perceptive seem to see through his facade easily and it only gets more and more transparent as the series continues.

* MrViceGuy: Due to a mix of being a HeroWithBadPublicity and being forced to practice morally ambiguous things out of imposed limitations, Naofumi doesn't care as much of ''looking'' like a hero as the other heroes do. He is very cynical, is very open about how he'll only do hero work if there are some kind of tangible rewards waiting for him, he is willing to buy and own slaves and his most powerful weapon runs on ThePowerOfHate that could potentially hurt and kill his own allies. With that said, all of this stems from him being a realist. Unlike the other heroes, Naofumi understands that the world they're in has real, tangible consequences and isn't just an escapist fantasy where they could do whatever they want. Since he did not have the crown's aid after he was falsely accused of raping Malty, he had to learn how to conduct business, learn the language and learn how to craft-potions and accessories. When the people who need his help cannot pay his price with money, he is willing to barter with what they ''do'' have. While he practices slavery, he only did it because no one wanted to join his party (with one false exception, but it was a mere trio of shitty thieves that only really wanted to steal his remaining paltry possessions after he was falsely accused) and he has little to no offensive capability, and even then he acts less like their owner and more like their dad (especially since Raphtalia and Filo were children when he bought them) and will tend to their needs, fostering loyalty in him. All of this combined ironically makes him a better hero that Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu, all of whom had everything ''handed'' to them.