LN Readers, what can we expect this season? Is it worth the wait?

Of course the first season were the best but all of sudden in second and third season they rush everything but it wasn't that bad I enjoy it.
Well the anime is ahead of the manga.

I only find the writting kind of stupid that all heroes fall for Malty traps is not even funny. Come on the author could came up with a better idea to unlocked all those chaos series based on 7 sins.

is there even a story anymore? I feel like season 1 was a focused idea that started and ended then and there. Ever since then, what have we really been doing?

If you found season 3 mid, you can drop it. Cause I believe you're gonna find every season from here henceforth mid (from your own POV perhaps). What's the point in you looking forward to season 4 when you didn't enjoy season 3?

i was really surprised to see this even had a season 4 coming lmao

Like, what is the story even "about" at this point? judging from the above post, the revenge fantasy ended, and now the rest of the story is just... meaningless stupid bullshit?

imagine watching LN trash lol. these people can't write, or else they would have written a manga.

If that's what you believe, bud. I honestly could not care. I said what I said. S2 and S3 were inferior to S1, animation wise? story wise? You're free to believe that. It's not my business but I'll respect that. S2 mainly because if how it cut things and the CGI turtle too I think. Yes, I love Rising of the Shield Hero and my rating for all 3 seasons isn't cause of blind glazing, I simply rated them based on quality. S2 cutting out content didn't bother me cause I wasn't reading the manga or LN or WN then plus I looked last the CGI turtle. I've seen way way worse and back then, it didn't bother me.
S3 was slightly better and the story and animation had me hooked.
So it's fine if you find them whatever it is, not my biz. I gave them the rating I gave them and that won't change.
I am hyped af for s4 and that won't change regardless of what anyone says too.
Clear enough?

Of course the first season were the best but all of sudden in second and third season they rush everything but it wasn't that bad I enjoy it.
Well the anime is ahead of the manga.

I only find the writting kind of stupid that all heroes fall for Malty traps is not even funny. Come on the author could came up with a better idea to unlocked all those chaos series based on 7 sins.

there are total 22 arcs, season 3 ended at arc 16, which means season 4 will begin at arc 17, the counterattack arc, not sure why people here say that it is "deviating from the plot", the anime is just an adaption of the source material, it follows the plot exactly as it is, and you dont need to be a light novel reader to know that, can just look up the arc numbers and episode adaptions in the wikia fandom

The same things are going to happen in S4 as in S3 because they're both part of the same big arc.
The Phoenix fight and a major death should be he highlight in S4, but I'm skeptical because I didn't like any of the fights in S3.
The problem is the studio, they're very bad at adapting the source material...

As an anime only is the LN better? I know S2 was utter garbage and S3 was able to at least bring back that joy from S1, but I feel like after all these seasons we are loosing the plot and drive to go foward. Is this also the case for the LN or is it just a bad adaptation?

@Darkzepheran I get that feeling. This part does feel like random plot hooks, but the political elements and world-building do start connecting more after this season. It's not groundbreaking storytelling, but it's solid comfort isekai that finds its direction again. If you're enjoying the characters, it's worth pushing through. This season will have more action compared to the last, plus new characters joining Naofumi's party, so there's definitely stuff to look forward to.

@IdleBrick thanks for letting me know! Also should I give the LN a go? Is it worth the read?

@IdleBrick thanks for letting me know! Also should I give the LN a go? Is it worth the read?

@Darkzepheran I found the LN enjoyable to read, and it obviously goes into way more detail compared to the TV animation, which skips a lot of stuff to fit it into 12 episodes. I would hold off reading it until after this season has finished airing. If you're still invested in the series and want to know what happens next, you can either just carry on from where the anime left off or read the entirety (though I personally find reading from the beginning too much effort).

@IdleBrick Thanks for letting me know thanks

The main plot was beating the waves. But we have some royal problems to solve and phoenix to beat before that. So I don't know how they are going to fit it in the next season, 12 episodes is obviously not enough. And don't forget all these characters subplots we have.

@donslockz Ahh the waves. The last time the waves appeared Shield Hero was still a good anime. And after S2's great beast we're still waiting for the next great beast and we're in the middle of S4 now. And we're still doing pointless things that amount to nothing.

I see this a lot - people saying S2 was the worst and S3 was mid, whenever I hear this its a telltale sign of an internet dweller parroting another person's opinion because I've been hearing the same thing from everyone. What baffles me is that S2 even after the CGI still had some serious things going on and the second half at least did grip me somewhat. But S3? man oh man right after finishing it I didn't even remember what happened in that season, it was such a complete nothingburger. Is CGI so bad that people are willing to call a terrible season like S3 mid while calling S2 the worst?

Shield Hero has turned into such a disaster that I'm pretty sure I can make a 4 hour youtube video essay about how Shield Hero fell off. And I'm not even saying this as someone who like to hate on popular things. It completely forgot everything it used to be about and then devolved into all these side quests that is completely unrelated to the main quest. Its like roaming all over skyrim doing quests and 200 hours later remembering oh shit, they summoned me to high hrothgar long time ago. I'm just sad that a great series turned into something so shitty and baffled by the people still thinking its great.

@RustyCookies Well, if you're no longer interested to the point of not paying attention to the story, even if the anime has a new season that's MUCH better than the first, you still won't like it.

About season 3, yes, the story was weak for most of the season, but the action, direction, and especially the animation were spectacular, and I'm not talking about my opinion, The direction in season 3 is the best among all the Shield Hero seasons, Now, about the 3D, that's debatable.

Finally, this is a forum created to discuss the light novel, not for you to complain about the anime, Your complaints apply to all the isekai that had a decline or change in quality, like Re:Zero Season 2 and Season 3, Mushoku Season 2, and Konosuba Season 3.
So, if the anime was as bad as you said, there would be no reason for you to watch it, much less to complain about other people finding what you find bad good. 🎉

@Desmascarado Ah a rant about complaining again when I clearly said I'm not here to hate just reminisce the past. My reply literally started saying Ahh, the waves. Well its not like I expect anything from MAL users. This is a forum created to discuss the light novels but its still a forum on the anime page not the light novel page, and since there is no law against it I can do whatever I want. But the fact that I'm talking to a Shield Hero season 3 enjoyer I already am wasting my time because no way is it going to turn into anything fruitful.

Finally, I care most about the story and the characters when I watch an anime, not useless production value wasted on something non deserving. Re:Zero, Mushoku Tensei, Konosuba all maintained their well told story and well crafted characters even after the first season, the decline in production value was there but was very minimal. When I'm "complaining" about shield hero I am actually just sad that the story completely lost its direction, instead focusing on the waves or the great beasts it starting doing meaningless stuff. I haven't felt anything towards the characters since random fodders started appearing since S2. I mean cmon the other heroes that were supposed to be a force that hated the shield hero all came crawling to his feet and now are just brainless plastic dolls, myne appeared for a bit then disappeared in S3. All the interesting elements that were part of S1 are no longer prevalent.

Now I know I am going to get flak for everything I said, so I'm going to use the age old defense - its all my subjective opinion. And I can say these things because the thread started because OP was concerned about if things were going to turn around in season 4 and I am a lowly dweller coming here to reminisce the past. that's all.

Fun fact: don't take everything as an attack. Something most people do here. Maybe not everyone that says something different from what you expect is not actually an angry loser on the other end trying to make people mad or trying to talk shit and make people feel bad. Maybe sometimes they are just talking, and you can do the same, talk to them like a normal human being and have a conversation not a duel.

@RustyCookies Honestly, I think any discussion can be fruitful, it just depends on how much you're willing to discuss it, but it was quite clear that you're open to discussion, even if you sneered at me by saying things like "MAL users" or "fan of the third season."

Regarding Re:Zero, Mushoku, and Konosuba, when I mentioned them, I said that your criticism of Shield Hero could be applied to them.
In other words, you can say that the production, story, characters, or anything else has declined with the new seasons, which makes your criticism of Shield Hero just a generic complaint that exists in all of the anime mentioned.

I'm sorry, but criticizing or disagreeing is not an offense, nor is "taking it as an attack."
My impression so far is that this was a normal discussion. If I offended you, I apologize, and don't worry, I don't interpret disagreements as attacks, and you should do the same. 👍