Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

The Four Cardinal Heroes are a group of ordinary men from modern-day Japan summoned to the kingdom of Melromarc to become its saviors. Melromarc is a country plagued by the Waves of Catastrophe that have repeatedly ravaged the land and brought disaster to its citizens for centuries. The four heroes are respectively bestowed a sword, spear, bow, and shield to vanquish these Waves. Naofumi Iwatani, an otaku, becomes cursed with the fate of being the "Shield Hero." Armed with only a measly shield, Naofumi is belittled and ridiculed by his fellow heroes and the kingdom's people due to his weak offensive capabilities and lackluster personality.

When the heroes are provided with resources and comrades to train with, Naofumi sets out with the only person willing to train alongside him, Malty Melromarc. He is soon betrayed by her, however, and becomes falsely accused of taking advantage of her. Naofumi then becomes heavily discriminated against and hated by the people of Melromarc for something he didn't do. With a raging storm of hurt and mistrust in his heart, Naofumi begins his journey of strengthening himself and his reputation. Further along however, the difficulty of being on his own sets in, so Naofumi buys a demi-human slave on the verge of death named Raphtalia to accompany him on his travels.

As the Waves approach the kingdom, Naofumi and Raphtalia must fight for the survival of the kingdom and protect the people of Melromarc from their ill-fated future.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Raphtalia Main

Seto, Asami Japanese

Iwatani, Naofumi Main

Ishikawa, Kaito Japanese

Filo Main

Hidaka, Rina Japanese

Melromarc, Melty Q Supporting

Uchida, Maaya Japanese

Melromarc, Mirelia Q Supporting

Inoue, Kikuko Japanese

Glass Supporting

Han, Megumi Japanese

Elhart Supporting

Yasumoto, Hiroki Japanese

Melromarc, Malty S Supporting

Bridcutt, Sarah Emi Japanese

Fitoria Supporting

Tange, Sakura Japanese

Amaki, Ren Supporting

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Tanaka, Shou Producer

Ogata, Mitsuhiro Producer

Tokumura, Kenichi Producer

Reviews

Jun 26, 2019

HellLyter

Recommended

We've come to a point in the anime industry where isekai anime are immediately judged just for being isekai. Due to the apparent "overuse" and "unoriginality" of the genre, some individuals will make a big deal about it or not even watch an anime at all simply because of the genre, even if the isekai elements have essentially no bearing on the narrative whatsoever, as is the case with The Rising of the Shield Hero. Yes, Shield Hero is an isekai, but don't let that blind you from seeing the true themes and merit of this show. At its core, this is an anime all ... about friendship, perseverance, and what it means to truly be a hero.

*Notice: Updated thoughts at the bottom*

It's also a cleverly disguised loli harem series too. Crazy, right? But I'll save explaining this shocking revelation for later. Oh, the suspense!

I know I just started off by saying not to judge Shield Hero just for being an isekai, but it honestly does have a stereotypical fantasy setting. Heroes are summoned to another world that's suspiciously designed just like a video game with the task of saving the world from monsters. Yeah, I've totally never heard that one before! But what really matters is execution, which Shield Hero completely nails. After starting off quite harmless with everything going fine and dandy for Naofumi, the recently dubbed shield hero, things take a dark turn after one of the most controversial occurrences in modern anime goes down. He gets accused of rape. Because of the current state of our real world society, the false rape allocations against Naofumi by the bitchy princess Malty struck a cord with many people and caused lots of heated debates on the topic. I say keep reality and fiction separate, and I personally think that this was a great way to swiftly introduce the central conflict between Naofumi and basically everyone else. Everyone essentially berates and shames the poor dude, leaving him a little broken on the inside. In the span of a single episode, Malty, the king, and the other three heroes summoned to the world are set up to be extremely hatable characters, and it just works. It's honestly as good of an introduction as you can get in a fantasy series.

What I love the most about Naofumi is how he deals with the crappy lot in life he ended up with. He transforms from a happy go lucky protagonist to a more cynical guy who only seems to care about personal gain, and I feel like this is a pretty realistic shift considering what he's gone through. He even ends up purchasing a demi-human slave! I thought only bad guys did that! This of course is where the anime starts to really get good, because of how great Shield Hero portrays the relationship between Naofumi and his slave raccoon loli Raphtalia. You can tell that Raphtalia has gone through some pretty messed up stuff, which the anime touches on in later episodes. It seems like Naofumi treats her a bit harshly at first, but you can quickly tell that he's actually giving her some tough love and training her to become stronger and to get over her fears. Heck, she even upgrades from a loli to a woman, that's how effective his training is!

And then after Naofumi gets further put down by the kingdom, it's Raphtalia who saves him from completely falling into despair. That's why their relationship is great, because they both help and in some ways even complete each other. Plus it's handled in a completely unconventional way too. You'd think that Naofumi would release Raphtalia from being a slave, but neither of them in fact want that, to the shock of the Spear Hero and others. Of course the writing here can be viewed as dangerous as it seems to present slavery in a positive light, but I think this situation should be kept separate from reality and that the morally grey approach works in the anime's favor. It's little things like this that make Rising of the Shield Hero really stand out.

One thing that could weaken your interest in this anime would be how quickly you get annoyed at the constant degradation of Naofumi, because his defamation continues far after Raphtalia saves him, and is the primary conflict in the anime. This isn't a show about a hero fighting against monsters. No, this is an anime about a man fighting against the people who should be his allies. I've seen people say that they've gotten exasperated over how much Naofumi gets put down, but I'd have to disagree. This anime makes you really dislike characters who shouldn't actually be villains at all, yet are set up like it due to their poor choices and actions. And shouldn't a good antagonist be someone that viewers are meant to despise and root for the protagonist to overcome? Shield Hero does just that, and I think that the central conflict is handled and eventually resolved quite well.

Of course, there's more going on than just that. Throughout his journey Naofumi encounters two more loli party members. Lucky him. The first is Filo, a cleverly named filolial who Naofumi basically raised from birth after purchasing her as an egg. She has two forms. The first is her angel-like loli form, and the second is her super fluffy giant chicken-like beast form. What can I say, she's absolutely adorable in both forms. She does lots of useful things like draw the wagon, beat up cgi monsters, and kick the Spear Hero in his balls. Also, like Raphtalia, Filo develops a strong bond with Naofumi in which they build off of each other to further evolve as characters. Filo also develops a cute rivalry with Raphtalia over Naofumi's affections, which is pretty humorous. The final girl to complete Naofumi's holy loli triad is Melty, the younger sister of Malty and heir to the throne. Because Naofumi has the most hostility towards royalty, his interaction with Melty sets up an interesting dynamic. They gradually learn to trust and rely on each other, and by consistently helping Melty, we can further see just how much of a hero Naofumi really is. Melty also has my favorite character design in the show, and despite being nobility, Melty's cuteness just makes my heart melt.

These characters travel together cleaning up the messes of the other three so called heroes all while being defamed and hunted by the government. Yet despite his annoyance at and mistrust of everyone outside of his party, Naofumi keeps persevering, which is quite admirable. Though you know what I think gives him strength? The lolis. You may have noticed that all three main girls are lolis. "B-But Raphtalia isn't!" Wrong! She may have evolved from her loli body, but she says that she still has the age and mentality of a child. This is a clever technique by the writer to hide the fact that Naofumi has obtained a loli harem. And just like your typical harem, all three girls have a thing for Naofumi and go all blushy blush when they're around him. And just like a harem protagonist, Naofumi seems completely oblivious to their advances. The author knew that he'd be labeled a degenerate for making a loli harem series, so he masqueraded his fantasy as an isekai anime. It's simply brilliant honestly. Or maybe I'm just completely wrong. Yeah, it's probably the latter...but you never know...

Madkid was asked to RISE to the occasion and perform both opening theme songs. To be honest, my FAITH in their ability to deliver quality music wasn't too high since I'm personally not a big fan of their style, but they did a good job here.

Yes, the show does have its share of flaws. For one, I do feel like episode 21 should have been the season finale, since there was a transition of arcs after it, which to me was a pretty odd design choice considering that the anime only had a few more episodes left. Shield Hero definitely has its share of technical issues as well. In some cases character designs and movements just looked a little sloppy. And the cgi used on some of the creatures just didn't look that good.

The Rising of the Shield Hero has a surprisingly decent narrative that touches upon themes that lesser anime in the genre don't even bother to mention. You know, a lot of isekai protagonists tend to act like the three cardinal heroes. They're ecstatic about living in a fantasy world and think everything revolves around them. But Naofumi is different. He keeps getting back up after getting knocked down. He may seem like he takes advantage of others, but he always has everyone's best interests at heart. He genuinely cares about his party. And even if he doesn't get any appreciation for his good deeds, he still always does the right thing. And that's what makes this shield bro a true hero...

*Edit with current thoughts*

...except I don't think that anymore at all haha. Naofumi can go join the ranks of hundreds of other bland isekai protagonists.

I revisited this series and wow, I have to say I'm disappointed. I don't usually do this, but I have to decrease my initial score of the show and disagree with a lot of what I wrote above. Naofumi's character is actually quite bland and he never receives useful development. The revenge plot is really mediocre, hollow, and relies solely on the "shock value" and "big moments". The way that slavery is handled is atrocious, and I'm kinda disappointed in myself for even attempting to defend its usage and execution as adding "depth" to the anime. Yes, it's just fiction, but that doesn't excuse trying to rationalize it as acceptable. The female characters are also painstakingly one note and dedicated to Naofumi with nary a shard of originality. Plus the 2nd half of the anime is a complete snooze fest. All around a mediocre experience.

I'm going to keep what I wrote above since I don't believe in changing one's work. It's how I felt then, so I have to deal with it. Just know that it's a lot more positive of a take then how I feel about Shield Hero now. I'd say the show is a 5/10 right now for me personally. Hope you're still able to enjoy it though!

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jun 26, 2019

Veronin

Mixed Feelings

Tate no Yuusha is a thundering disappointment for many fans of the isekai genre. And for those who would not have labeled themselves as such, Tate no Yuusha is a testament to their dislike or indifference, being yet another mediocre, soulless title lurching and tossing throughout a tired genre that is swiftly approaching its death throes. In truth, Tate no Yuusha doesn't please much of anybody.

If there is a reason Tate no Yuusha ever stood out in the first place, it is because of the protagonist and the appalling situation he is soon forced into. Though isekai anime taking a turn for the dark ... are hardly rare, the abject betrayal Naofumi faces is not the treatment one would expect for someone abducted from their world and supposedly re-branded a "hero". The corrupt, contemptible society he is forced to fight for is not what you might anticipate from a genre where the setting— the fantasy— is meant to be an escape from the monotony of the real world. Instead, it turns out things in Naofumi's new world may actually be far worse than they ever were in his old one. A fantasy turned nightmare.

The whole 'twist', I suppose— if you could call it that— was a success in the eyes of many. It turned another forgettable, run-of-the-mill anime into something a bit more engaging, and gave many a reason for the viewer to empathise with Naofumi, through joining in his hatred for society and his potential quest for revenge. Whether these themes were ever fully realised, or even handled well, may well be a different story entirely.

See, Tate no Yuusha never actually takes things further than 'corruption sucks' and 'I'm mad— grr, watch my flames of anger.' The king is inherently evil because of a small grudge. Myne is verminous scum merely because... wait, there is no actual reason. Motoyasu, the spear hero, is a gullible idiot who likes to womanise and that is all there is behind his punch-able little face. Raphtalia is a benevolent mary sue who will not utter or even think a bad thought, her almost immediately (and incomprehensibly) falling in love with Naofumi, thus existing as waifu material for those who like to rescue their damsels from distress. Filo is pure fodder for lolicons and a relentless annoyance for anyone who is not. The list goes on. The only one who still has potential is the Queen, but considering the path the show has trodden thus far, it would be illogical to assume a second season would fare her any better. Tate no Yuusha's characters, though they may initially show promise, are quickly cast aside and made merely to be fanservice or vehicles to drive Naofumi's hatred along, however the writer's whims may fancy.

Oh, you wanted to see the anime tackle issues surrounding the slave trade, and Naofumi's moral dilemma of having taken part in an evil system yet saved someone as a direct result of it? Sorry - I have disappointing news. Did you want to see the politics, heck, even geography of the world explored with more than two lines of dialogue? Nope. Not here. Everything in Tate no Yuusha is surface level. It has the facade of maturity, but in reality is about as mature as a 1999 Slipknot album.

Any fight scene, no matter how overwhelming and powerful the opponent, can, and will, be prematurely ended by Naofumi's anger turning him Super Saiyan. Whereas anime like JoJo will carefully construct the fights to be based on tactics and cleverness, Tate no Yuusha presents nothing except power levels. You can fast-forward through any climactic fight scene and have lost little to nothing of value, as all you ever need to know is that Naofumi got angry and won. Sure, there is a degree of self-awareness throughout the show, with characters remarking on how this power is essentially him "cheating". But when Naofumi attributes all his success to hard work and yet wins merely because of said mysterious power randomly appearing at the most convenient time— essentially a deus ex machina— you have to wonder what the hell he is even talking about.

If all you ever wanted to see was Naofumi take revenge against those who wronged him, then, I am sorry to say, but even that will lead you to much disappointment. On numerous occasions, when he is on the cusp of enacting his long-sought revenge, he takes the high road and proselytizes about how killing a bad person makes you just as bad as them, or whatever— the usual tripe you hear from lame, holier-than-thou anime protagonists. Since when was Naofumi ever supposed to be an idealistic person? Hadn't he lost all his faith in society, or even in morality itself after what he had experienced? Not only does this betray fans of the first several episodes, but it makes his character an inconsistent and incomprehensible mess. He plays hero when it is supposed to sound cool, and villain when it is convenient for him. By the time there actually is some sort of retribution for those who wronged him, it is too little too late, a thumbs-up, an "okay, cool" rather than anything deserving of applause. Tate no Yuusha surely and steadily loses its steam as the episodes blindly trudge by, and once its primary theme is lazily cast aside, there is no reason to care about what happens to a world where saving the day and being a 'hero' never even meant anything in the first place.

So there you go. Another trite isekai anime, popular mostly for its gimmicky nature, masquerading itself as mature merely because it has themes that are darker than is usual. Those who aren't fans of the genre will most likely have trusted their instincts and avoided this show, anyway, but for those who sit on the fence, and even for those who generally enjoy these sorts of shows, there is not much to be gained from Tate no Yuusha's feckless affairs. It makes me miss the flawed but ambitious Re:Zero, and Re:Zero is not an anime I had really imagined myself missing all that much.

And now I'm all out of words because I realise the next one of these— Arifureta— is down the corner, just a week's time away, with a premise that is almost word-for-word copy-paste of what is found in Tate no Yuusha.

It just doesn't end.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jun 26, 2019

Stark700

Not Recommended

If someone told me that we need a shield hero in some chaotic world filled with corruption and flaws, I’d be laughing. There’s a saying that not all heroes wear capes but now, we have one that wield a shield. Naofumi Iwatani, the present day otaku fits for a typical protagonist and in our modern times, his transportation to a fantasy world is an overused trope. There’s probably a good dozen shows I can think off from the top of my head with similar gimmicks. Naofumi happens to be the oddball armed with a shield than your RPG crafted sword.

Watching The Rising of the Shield ... Hero actually started out as a pleasant experience. Even with the amount of controversy before the first episode aired, I knew what to expect judging from the trailers and promotional content alone. But if we were to talk about controversy, the subject of betrayal and rape accusations comes to mind. It’s a sensible subject in both real world and fiction. However, this is merely a part of the plot that is necessary to adapt into the story for character progression. Either way, people will have strong opinions about that. Have those opinions.

Let's instead disregard the controversy and focus more on the characters and storytelling instead? The first few episodes spelled out with the introduction of four main heroes – the shield, sword, spear, and bow hero. As a double length special, it made sense to draw out as much as Naofumi’s character as possible. Initially, he is portrayed as a man with a sense of honor, dignity, and in general, level headed man with an open mind. After being betrayed and falsely accused by Myne, he became a mistrustful individual with a desire for revenge. At one point, he becomes self-loathing to the point where he loses purpose in this fictional world. After meeting the demi-human Raphtalia, he begins to reevaluate himself and find his purpose. Backtracking a few steps, it shouldn’t be hard to identify what kind of person Naofumi is. There are many ways to describe him and to me, he is more of a jaded anti-hero than your noble hero. Throughout the course of the story, Naofumi begins to trusts in others especially his own party consisting of Raphtalia, Firo, and Melty. Out of this group, Raphtalia evolves the most both physically and mentally. Originally, she is portrayed as a weak child with PTSD symptoms. But after coming in contact with Naofumi, she grows into a courageous fighter who manages to overcome her personal demons.

All this seems to draw in a lot of interest and honestly, I believe the first half of this show managed to capitalize on them rather effectively. Sure, there are despicable characters like Myne or gullible types such as the spear hero, Motoyasu. However, they didn’t truly make the show unwatchable. If you put yourself into the shoes of the creator, they probably created those two characters with the intention of getting the audience to hate them. I should say that’s no understatement because the bottom line is, there’s nothing likable about either Myne or Motoyasu. If we talk about Myne, she’s easily described as the bitch in sheep’s clothing. In other words, she wears a mask to hide her true nature. Have you ever met someone who pretended to be your friend to take advantage of you? Think of Myne. That’s what she is: a cunning, manipulative, and treacherous sociopath who uses whatever she can get her hands on for herself. Motoyasu isn’t much of a likeable person either with his ignorance and extreme gullibility. When it comes to women, he’s like a child who virtually believes what others tell him. This pretty much becomes a running gag in the show where Myne is able use him like a dog on a leash. It doesn’t help that he display borderline pedophilic tendencies towards characters such as Firo. It makes me want to puke and I don’t think anyone can find his interactions with Firo to be comfortable in any shape or form.

At some point in the show, I’m sure viewers will wonder if the other heroes will get any sort of character development. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. This season is called The Rising of the Shield Hero for a reason and most of the attention is focused on his group and party. Characters such as Raphtalia gets their development and background story because they are a central focus in the show. Others such as Ren and Itsuki are just part of the premise. Their background stories are not explored so don’t expect to get attached to them. This is another part where I believe the show suffers in terms of characterization. We don’t really understand their personalities besides what they show on the surface. Unlike Naofumi who finds a purpose in the story, it feels like most of the main supporting cast lacks one. Even characters such as Firo or Melty becomes more and more stale overtime. I mean, how many times do we need to see an oversized chicken pronounce her intentions to eat and fight? Don’t me wrong though, I want to see the main characters to develop but outside of Naofumi and Raphtalia, the others really doesn’t set a bar. To make matters worse, it seems the show loves to inject dialogues during mid-fights to drag out content. This is especially evident in later episodes where the charaters' dialogues are far overstretched than what they should be.

That also leads to how character relationships is presented as the storytelling unfolds. In fantasy adventures like this, there’s often times that when a male and female companion develop deeper feelings towards each other. Raphtalia has obvious feelings towards Naofumi for anyone who pays attention to her dialogues. She even shows jealousy towards Firo during their early encounters to see who can earn Naofumi’s attention. While it’s not truly love that Naofumi responds with, he does develop a deep trust for Raphtalia and Firo. Melty is a bit of an oddball in the group as this season shows that Naofumi regards her more of as a companion than a friend. Watching Naofumi’s character interactions within the group can be sometimes heartwarming while other times feel out of space. However, I do give praise to the voice acting talent of the show. They manage to grasp the character personalities in particular Naofumi and even someone as intolerable such as Myne.

The Rising of the Shield Hero is more of a dark fantasy so having a studio like Kinema Citrus working on this feels somewhat fitting. I would have preferred Wit Studio known for their more refined resume, but Kinema Citrus manages to work its magic for the adaptation. As a dark fantasy, there’s often violence that displays the cruelty of this parallel world. Character designs are in line with what you can picture from an isekai show. It adapts straight from the light novel (personally, I think the manga version is a poor example for its art style). As the shield hero, Naofumi’s most noticeable design is his character expressions that drastically changes. In the beginning, he is shown smiling with joy but this shifts into a more cynical expression. On the other hand, Raphtalia’s evolution from a child to an adult fighter shows her growth. She takes on an archetype heroine look with demi-human traits such as her ears and tail. Furthermore, characters such as Firo possesses animalistic traits designed to give them a more fantasy look. And finally, I should say the world building of this show does hold value although the anime adaptation only scratches more of the surface of their world.

Perhaps the most controversial isekai show of the year aired and we’re not even half way through 2019 yet. Looking at the future lineup will likely have fans talking more about the direction of modern fantasy isekai. For The Rising of the Shield Hero, this could have been an incredible anime for a dark adventure. The first half showed a lot of potential but most of that is weathered down by the repetitive storytelling themes and lack of characterization. There’s still plenty of more in the light novels so this anime only gives a taste for the audience. If only that taste didn’t turn from honey sweet to bitter sour.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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