Literature Season 2: Rough Start But Quickly Improves
Shield Hero is one of my favorite anime. Still, my expectations for S2 were a lot lower having read the manga, specifically regarding the Spirit Tortoise Arc and how long the anime would focus on it. Ultimately, the series exceeded my expectations. Aside from the inconsistent animation and a couple of plot contrivances like Ost's memory of important details regarding the Spirit Tortoise, the series still holds up well. The sound design, music, and voice acting are all up to par, both the dub and sub. However, it saddens me that the late Billy Kametz will never get to reprise his role as Naofumi.
The first half of the series isn't spectacular but has its moments. However, I don't feel there was any way to make the Spirit Tortoise Arc better without changing it entirely.
I appreciate that they skipped the training arc, as it really had no purpose outside of introducing a couple of new characters and concepts and setting up the three stooges' demise, which took way too long. The anime sums it up within a few minutes and clarifies that some time has passed.
Thankfully Rishia is given an arc where she's motivated to become more useful. Still, the payoff isn't as good as it could've been because they were spread too thin.
Ep 6 and on is when the series starts returning to S1 quality. Naofumi still isn't flawless, and I liked how his use of the Wrath Shield led to some consequences. His vices aren't glorified or ignored like in many other edgy isekai but are shown to be dangerous if he lets them get out of control. Giving added weight to the theme of rising above hate.
Raphtalia receives the spotlight and develops further towards becoming a hero in her own right, on equal footing with Naofumi, no longer simply his sword. Glass's world and its cast are explored in just enough detail to give them some excellent depth without dwelling too much on it. Particularly Kizuna, as she's easily the most likable character other than Naofumi for me. The best part is the new female characters aren't love interests for Naofumi but Fire-Forged Friends. Even the harem antics have been downplayed a ton due to the increased focus on the plot.
As for the season's villain, Kyo, he's above average, if only due to his dialogue being rather amusing and easy to hate. He's definitely more entertaining than he was in the LN and manga. He's no Malty, but he gets the job done.
Finally, I liked that they addressed the slavery concerns posed by critics by making Rishia choose to get the slave crest without Naofumi's input. Emphasizing the Shield's ability to strengthen them through the slave contract. Even the penultimate episode addresses it further and reconstructs the justification in Naofumi's favor. It's a nice touch, especially since the manga and LN didn't handle that aspect well.
Another aspect I appreciated from S1, which is carried over here in S2, is the lack of fanservice. There's really only one or two scenes.
Overall, if you were a fan of S1, you'll love S2 except for the initial road bumps. If you didn't like S1, S2 wouldn't change your mind. Regardless, I'm excited for S3.
Literature Hating its Way to the Top.
The Rising of the Shield Hero (RSH) is the Count of Monte Cristo, if nobles grabbed some random on dude on the street, gave him the title of Count and allowed him enjoy the luxuries for a day, then kicked him in the balls and took everything away, with said character swearing revenge on them all. In other words, it's hilarious. Revenge and isekai don't mix well, because revenge stories require certain build up of pathos before the fall, while isekai immediately hand over the gratification of being unique and powerful, when the person was so much less in the previous world. Its dumb that the protagonist acts like he knows nothing but anger and despair, when a week prior, he was just an average college student browsing a library.
Some people say this show might be good without Naofumi falsely being accused of rape, but when you examine the other aspects of the show, its as generic as fantasy can get. "An ancient evil is rising again and only heroes can save us". When I watch the anime, I feel like I'm watching the opening to the Shining Force game I played back in the 90s. Which brings us to the driving force of the series, hate. The main character's primary motivation for doing anything is to get back at the "Bitch" that ruined his life by accusing him of rape, by which I mean the new brief life of power as opposed to the nearly twenty years he discarded at the drop of a hat. Overall, it doesn't really fit with the general setting. Hate works with stories of despair and depression, such as Berserk and Shingeki no Kyojin. However, even in those examples the plot points out how this behavior is flawed and self-destructive. RSH is more light-hearted, but staunchly obsesses over this hatred which undercuts the more light-hearted content in the series.
It would be one thing if hatred was just Naofumi's hat. A thing that the other hero characters would have to work around while they traveled on a quest. But the author really wants the audience to empathize only with Naofumi, so he transforms the remaining heroes into a mean girls posse with the competency level of the Three Stooges. Naofumi is persistently angry, juvenile, and obsessive, but these qualities don't translate into flaws the way you'd naturally expect. He is rebellious yet enforces order, vindictive yet empathetic, described as a lone wolf yet draws harem members like a magnet pulls iron. The author puts a lot of positive traits on Naofumi, without significant build up, and in a bizarre form of balance forces the negative traits on the other heroes, to the point that I wonder how any of the other heroes can even dress themselves let alone do anything. For example, while Naofumi travels with several underaged girls, it’s his rival Motoyasu, the spear hero, that is explicitly and unashamedly, a lolicon. Villains in the series exist to be hated, lacking sympathetic or cool traits fueling Naofumi's desire to purge the world of those he does not agree with,
The show has an uncomfortably negative perspective on the female gender. The most significant female characters are conspicuously underaged and submit Naofumi's directions on a regular basis. Meanwhile, the female character that is closest to Naofumi in age and one of the only ones that is independent is Malty, a shallow villain that hurts the protagonist early on and is then repeatedly used as a punching bag for Naofumi's gratification. I wouldn't say she's unintentionally sympathetic, as she's more of a caricature then anything else, but her general lack of capability and being a target of Naofumi's ire makes me wonder if she's a placeholder for women and female traits the author disliked in real life.
Watching The Rising of the Shield Hero is a show tailored for persecution complexes. People as a whole are either against you or supporting you and such characters seem to act in extremes. It tries to normalize persistent hatred and makes other characters act worse to make an unlikable protagonist look better by comparison. It's bright and colorful, but the burning hatred that underlies the surface sucks any enjoyment the series has to offer. I've become less and less involved with anime and manga in recent years, and while part of that can be blamed on me having less time, seeing Shield Hero reach the top of the charts and as well as inspiring a wave of new manga involving spiteful, shallow protagonists has also contributed to me keeping my distance.
Literature The Excellence of Execution of Isekai Tropes
I dislike most isekai. Still, Shield Hero got me hooked through its Pragmatic Adaptation thereby improving the pacing. As a result, the World Building and characterization are done through Show, Don't Tell and avoids As You Know, making it more immersive. On top of that, the Fridge Brilliance and neat focus caused it to become one of my favorites. It does have its fair share of flaws, but don't let that turn you off from it.
The story is simple in structure and premise, but the Deconstructor Fleet adds a new layer to enjoy. At first, it feels like your generic RPG world, but the show reveals how that mindset is detrimental. The story also presents various fitting central themes to give depth, but are a bit too simple. The harem aspect is there, but it eschews ecchi Fanservice in favor of building a meaningful bond between them. Naofumi's Celibate Hero and Papa Wolf traits are a breath of fresh air. It also adds some pretty good comic relief through the banter between them. And combined with the Heartwarming Moments, it avoids being So Bleak, It's Boring. That said, its darker aspects cover a variety of (sometimes fleeting) topics.
Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Filo are unique in their portrayal. Naofumi will make pragmatic decisions that aren't always heroic. It also criticizes him for his cynicism, showing that he needs to mature. Raphtalia serves as the Action Girl Morality Pet, trying to convince Naofumi to act more like an Ideal Hero and abandon his Unscrupulous Hero tendencies. She's more than a love interest; her backstory was a Tear Jerker for me. Lastly, Filo lends a more nice lighthearted tone to the series. And I never thought watching a giant bird beating the shit out of enemies would be so entertaining.
For the supporting cast, Melty stands out most and is more than just a cute girl. While appropriately naive, there are signs of intelligence, tactfulness, and badassery. The other three heroes serve as deconstructions of protagonists you'd find in other isekai series. They're flawed but have room for growth, though they can be tough to stomach. Myne, while a Flat Character, has believable, but simplistic, motives that become clearer as the story progresses. While not creative, she's a convincing villain who doesn't overstay her welcome.
The OST is AMAZING. Remove it, and the show wouldn't be the same. It's what made certain moments Tear Jerkers or Heartwarming Moments. Also, the Englsih dub is the superior version, replacing it with the sub means losing a lot of value. Billy Kametz portrays Naofumi in a way that it's impossible for me to dislike him, but still acknowledge his flaws.
The animation is smooth; there's some off-putting CGI now and then, but for an isekai, it's pretty good. Action sequences are explosive, fluid, contain bits of engaging chatter, and even have aspects of strategy without going too deep into it therefore slowing the pace.
Shield Hero: give it a try, if you don't like it by the 4th episode, drop it.
Literature Down play a jerk sue and add lots of idiot antagonists
I saw the other two comments of the Rising Of the Shield Hero in hero, watched video clips of the Anime Series on Youtube, read reviews on the Anime on Myanimelist, read reviews on the manga, light novel, and web novel. I can now accurately rate this series as a 5/10 in my taste because of the massive information I have now seen. Warning, I will be adding stacked amount of spoilers for this show. Be warned.
Introduction Summary [[spoiler: In season one of the Rising of the Shield Hero or its first 4 volumes of the Light Novel follows the adventures of Naofumi Iwatani of getting revenge against both the Princess and the King. The reason why many people are hooked into this anime is because of the False Rape Accusation and seeing Naofumi rise against his adversaries. However, during his rise, he had committed some questionable crimes such as slavery, and child abuse early in the story. Later on the story, his crimes are glossed over to justify his behavior and his slave, Raphtalia becomes his loyal sidekick.
Raphtalia Raphtalia's trauma early on in the story are treated seriously because of her Dark and Troubled Past, but after episode 4, Raphtalia's Dark and Troubled Past barely affect her at all. She is later confronted of her past when she confronts Rabier, but the way Raphtalia's character arc starts and ends feels out of place. Her tragic past is eventually forgotten and is randomly brought up to deal with Rabier. The way the Rabier arc ends is lame because it ends in a Deus ex Machina. Here is how it ends in a Deus ex Machina: The gang of the Shield Hero is struggling to beat a out of nowhere Dinosaur, and do you want to know how the Dinosaur is defeated? The Dinosaur is defeated by an out of nowhere Fat Chocobo Queen (Fitoria actually) that immediately kills the Dinosaur.
Naofumi Iwatani As you can see in the title, I am implying that Naofumi is a Jerk Sue. Let me list my reasons as to why I think this way instead of just looking like a commenter Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch. My problem with Naofumi is that the story tries to make him a sympathetic guy who is struggling to survive in Melromarc. However, Naofumi's struggles are only active in the first 4 episodes of the Anime or Volume 1 of the Light Novel. After that, Naofumi basically becomes invincible and there is practically nothing you can do to defeat him (Unless you cheat of course, but thats unlikely to make him lose) . He basically gets lucky in getting a fat bird (Filo) and actually wins a race against Motoyasu, who is using a dragon. Realistically a dragon would probably beat a bird in normal circumstances, but because this is Naofumi's revenge, Naofumi and Filo win by sheer determination combined with skill. Later on in the series, Naofumi is confronted by antagonists that oppose him and he ends up being always right. Does that sound like a familiar description to a Gary Stu? Here are more reasons as to why I think that way. Because Naofumi Iwatani is always right, whatever gross crimes he commits are almost always justified. A gross crime he committed was basically sending the Hate Sink Malty Melromarc to get raped in an incredibly brutal fashion by a crazy king. I understand that Naofumi and the Queen are horrified, but their actions are portrayed as a necessary thing to get rid of Malty. I can only think that the only reason to get punish Malty this way instead of going through a simple execution was that the author wanted to squeeze in the Karma Houdini Warrenty. Also, by always being right, Naofumi never really develops into a character. He gets nicer, but whatever morally grey action he commits is never explored or makes him go through self-reflection to get better as a person. By being right, Naofumi's primary goal is to just prove that other characters are wrong and that he is always the right guy, only if you ignore whatever questionable actions he commits by the narrative. After the first four episodes of the anime or Volume one of the Light Novel, most of the morally grey moments are gone and Naofumi becomes a Unwanted Harem man whose party can basically defeat everyone despite the fact that the narrative tries to paint them as a party struggling to survive.
Fighting Strategies At first you may think that the fights are cool, but they aren't actually. Most of the fights consists of Naofumi winning through clever maneuvering. While that in itself is cool, most of Naofumi's fights are interrupted, cheated, or he is just fighting Idiot Heroes. The main reason Naofumi wins is because he takes the world seriously and he is able to utilize most of shield's skills, but overtime, his fights just become straight up repetitive. Let me summarize how fights happen in the Rising of the Shield Hero:
I will summarize the fighting strategies: Naofumi is a Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond, meaning he has average intelligence, fighting idiots with an IQ of 50 or less. This is why Naofumi basically outsmarts everyone. Everyone is just bad to make the protagonist good. It's just like those advertisements where a bad product is compared to a good product with the sole purpose of making the good product standout.
Antagonists The antagonists of the story are extremely bland and one-note. They only serve to make Naofumi angry and give him a reason to attain revenge. While Hate Sink antagonists are acceptable (Tropes Are Tools), almost everyone is a one-dimensional antagonist that make the battle between good and evil be Black-and-White Morality to make Naofumi righteous instead of developing both the villains and heroes. While I am aware that King Aulcray and the Three Heroes become better people, you the viewer, have to sit through 10+ volumes of their Idiot Plot decisions just to watch them get better. It's just best not to try justifying the Shield Hero series with Growing the Beard.
Season 2/Spirit Tortoise Arc The reason why it is considered to be incredibly boring was because there is no more vengeance. The entire arc consists of heroes repetitively fighting a giant turtle for many chapters or episodes. There isn't really any character development of Naofumi and his party because they are all fully developed during their time in season 1. The characters are mainly finding plot devices to kill the villain. The villain himself is also a one-dimensional character with none of his character motivations for his reasons of being evil.]]
Summary: It may have been long, but I have waited for far too long to vent my annoyance on this show. People may praise it, but I really only see a revenge fantasy for Jerk Sue Isekai protagonist fighting One-note Hate Sink antagonists whose sole purpose is to create Idiot Plots with nothing to gain for themselves. You'll enjoy PussInBootsTheLastWish Big Jack Horner way more.