Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

(This review may contain minor spoilers. Please continue reading at the risk of spoilers.)

As I was reading the first chapter, I was thinking, Is this just a typical seinen manga about some random person travelling to another world? But boy, was I wrong about this one. It illustrated the meaning of how it was to be downgraded by society but with the essence of fantasy in a different world.

I was captivated by the story. It started with a simple cliché, that somehow lead into something much greater that makes me love this manga so much. It demonstrated the meaning of betrayal and what it meant to be isolated and hated by others, and the meaning of warmth, strength and love, all in a few chapters.

The art is beautifully illustrated to capture most of what is showcased in this manga, but I believe it doesn`t really capture a true battle scene. However, it was able to fully illustrate the characters emotions and feelings; in all aspects. Like Raphtalia`s loyalty and respect towards Naofumi, and Naofumi`s depression and lack of love in the world; for he was being hated by many around him.

As Naofumi started as an ordinary person and has now evolved into the new person he is, I believe he went through massive events that helped change his character throughout the story. He was betrayed and played by a thief and degraded by those around him, and that rendered him unable to see and enjoy the beauty of life. But that all changed as he met Rapthalia, who later becomes his slave, as he is unable to wield weapons other than his shield.

After the harsh life Raphtalia has lead so far, she was bought by Naofumi, the shield hero. She was afraid of killing monsters at first, but she learned to trust Naofumi and feel needed as she was not treated so before. She tries her best to become of good use to Naofumi, as she learns that he will be the one to protect the people during the Calamity. She goes under a giant growth spurt, and because of that attracts danger to Naofumi but that allows him to be able to experience and see the beauty of the world.

I, personally enjoyed this manga, and those hoping to read the manga, I will tell you this manga has its ups and downs but its REALLY worth it. Even with 8 chapters translated so far, it really surpassed some seinen mangas with more than 20 chapters out there.

(If I made any mistakes, please tell me and I will correct them immediately.)

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This is my first review and I really hope I help anyone looking for insight on this manga. I will portray my own thoughts as a critic and hopefully you agree with and enjoy reading my review.

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

Story: 8.5
A seinen fantasy manga about a boy who get sucked into a fantasy game-like world full of magic and swordplay. Right from the start I can't say I haven't seen this before in a seinen manga. My first though was "ugh...here we go again" but there is a lot more to it than that. The story really drives that harshness of society, betrayal, and the importance of relying on someone. I have to say that the turn of events and journey of the main characters deserves at least an 7, the only thing holding it back being unoriginal. I give the story an 8.5 for it really keeps readers engaged and has incredible flow that doesnt skip a beat and makes everything happening quite logical even though the story itself is a fantasy genre.


Art: 8
Here in 2014 I can say the artwork for manga has gone up considerably in the last few years and unfortunatley...so have the standards. The art in this manga is very clear and well detailed. Did I read the first chapter go " holy F@$% this art is @#$%ing amazing"....no I didn't. I dont really think you can really give art a 10 because you know...its art..... so ill give it an 8 because thats what it is....."very good", this is not a bad thing it is only because nothing stood out in terms of art so dont take it the wrong way.

Character: 9
Ok, so this category right here is why I like Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari as much as I do. Here's why;
1. The characters themselves are quite unique. Im not talking just about the two main characters you'll automatically fall in love with but some of the side characters are really unique as well. Some are hateful and become compassionate, while some are compassionate and become hateful. There are characters that will make you smile and some that will make you furious. I think that when characters bring out emotions within a reader, you have something quite special.
2. The interactions between the characters is logical, realistic, and touching. The thought process of the characters is logical as nothing the characters do doesn't make sense. The interaction between the two main characters is so good and well though-out it really makes this manga what it is.
The characters make you feel and it's almost as if they are real people. For this reason I give it a 9.

Enjoyment:9
I really enjoyed being played by this author. He starts out generic and just rips up you emotions in a few chapters. It was awesome. Please do yourself a favor and read it. Please

Overall: 8.5
This manga is nothing revolutionary, but it is something special. I really believe this story belongs somewhere between very good and great. This manga is still in progress so hopeful they can bring it above the great line with the upcoming chapters. I can tell you one thing last thing.

If you finish this manga, I guarantee you'll want to read more.

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Ever since the first chapter was released, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari has been increasing exponentially in popularity. It is quickly rising up the ranks and it isn't very hard to see why.

Story: 9

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari is a story of betrayal, revenge, & redemption. The story follows Naofumi Iwatani as he is suddenly brought to another world. There he is deemed as the shield hero, the weakest of the 4 heroes due to lack of attacking power. Because of that, no one wants to be his companion and what's worse is, he's eventually betrayed and framed. Scorned and loathed by the people who were supposed to be his allies and the people who brought him in the first place, the once happy and caring otaku is now a mistrusting anti-hero hellbent on revenge.

As time goes on, he finds people who actually place their faith in him and see him as a hero. However, as a result of being betrayed, it's going to take a lot of work, before he warms up to anyone. Of course, he is slowly becoming the person he used to be. But there's still one problem, the fact of the matter is, he was betrayed and ridiculed. Who wouldn't be mad after those events? Will he truly live up to the name of a hero? Or will his desire for revenge never subside? Join Naofumi as he embarks on a journey to discover what it truly means, to be in a marching band. Sorry, I just couldn't control myself. Jokes aside, you will experience the adventure of a lifetime as Naofumi fluctuates between the borders of wanting to protect innocent citizens & his companions and wanting to kill those he hates with all his heart.

The story has plenty of action and brutal ones at that. Shield Hero (what I'll call the manga from now) isn't as soft as to not show the likes of blood & decapitation. It's just one big thrill ride; you anxiously wait for those who betrayed him to be killed in the worst ways possible. Nothing of the sort has happened so far, but it only makes your interest stronger. Now, you just can't wait for that time to come.

Just by reading the synopsis, you can already tell, there's going to be drama and there certainly is. We are given back-stories, current situations, etc. It makes for more compelling characters and senseless action is never fun.

Romance is definitely present in the manga. Currently, we only have things like blushing, but soon enough, you will get your ever so nice romance. At this rate, it seems like it's going to be a harem, so if that's not your cup of tea, I'd get off the train now.

Like every story, Shield Hero has flaws. The most one prominent one being that a lot of things that happen are cliche. You could even say it's predictable. But don't you tell me you don't want a heart-warming after everything the protagonist goes through. You know you want that cliche yet adorable moment. So it's flaw may not be as bad as it seems, it doesn't deteriorate the quality of the story by that much.

To sum things up, Shield Hero is a roller-coaster of emotions, supplier of top notch action, & generous giver of sweet romance.

Art: 9

The art has a shoujo feel to it. You can't deny that the main guys were drawn to be good looking and the main female lead has remnants of common female shoujo eyes. It's not a bad thing though, the art is actually great. The characters, the fights, the backgrounds, and especially Naofumi's feelings. Whenever he's pissed or angry, his face really shows it. You can tell how mad he is. You get a sense of his blood-lust.

Character: 9

I don't think the plot is the main reason as to why the manga got so popular, the plot isn't exactly new. With that being said, I'd give that award to the characters.

Naofumi isn't your typical shounen protagonist. He isn't crazy altruistic, he has a dark side filled with thoughts of revenge and selfishness. Yet, deep down, he's a caring guy. He just doesn't want to show it, in fear of being betrayed again. In short, Naofumi is a breath of fresh air.

Raphtalia, our main female protagonist, is a great female lead. She's caring and adorable. She's afraid of dying, but isn't afraid of fighting. It's nice to see a female lead who isn't completely useless. She's just a strong and nice girl who'd do anything for Naofumi.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Those who believed Naofumi committed heinous acts are absolutely hated by the readers. I hate them too, but if you really think it about it, their actions only make them human. Yeah, I hate those guys with every fiber of my being, but who's to say I wouldn't have reacted the same way they did? That goes for all of us. I'm sure a majority of us would've ended up as the enemies of Naofumi too. Everyone knows there's technically no benefits in helping someone who's ostracized and that's why bystanding is a common problem. The only difference between what happened in Shield Hero and what happens in real life is the supernatural aspect. Aside from that, their personalities, thoughts, and actions are all realistic.

While not every character is likable, they are all well-written and for that, I will give this section a 9 by not including my personal feelings.

Overall: 9

Shield Hero is a riveting tale of betrayal, revenge, redemption, faith, love, action, and so much more. I assure you, reading Shield Hero is simply a wonderful experience. The story is so enticing, Naofumi's feelings of revenge will be passed on to you. You will be that close with the characters of the story.

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Only 10 english chapters are out but I only see positive reviews so I thought I'd share a "negative" opinion.

::: TL;DR :::
You should read/like this if:
-you don't look for depth
-you don't question character motives or plot
OR
-you have a victim/persecution complex

If the above is applicable then you'll see a cool anti-hero MC fighting constant adversity in a video game-esque world while slowly surrounding himself with a harem of cute girls.
If the above isn't applicable then you'll see a trite setting with characters and plot points so laughably shallow/incongruous it actually becomes painful to read a times.

Not trolling, I would bet there is a correlation between liking this manga and liking SAO. If someone knows how to figure that out using the MAL scores database then lmk.

::: Plot :::
Well your average guy gets summoned to a fantasy world with video game elements from opening a book... Hopefully that gets rationalized later, but I'd bet the true reason is to gain more otaku readers.

Once there he, along with 3 modern day gamers, is given the groundbreaking quest of defeating demons that will appear from some fissure. The twist is that, from the get-go, he is discriminated against and becomes unjustly hated by everyone within two chapters.

The twist should make the story more interesting; but the complete lack of rational thought/discussion from all the characters, which leads to events, makes it unbelievable and even comical. No one ever tries to use reason, the MC just goes straight into victim mode and just goes along with the madness whenever he has to give more than one sentence's worth of argument.

::: Characters :::
So an entire world (which you can technically leave without winning) you have absolutely no ties to despises you, you verbally express and emotionally feel hate towards it and its inhabitants whose behavior is just shy of spitting at you on sight, so what do you do?
Well you go through and carry out your given mission to save the world and anyone you encounter with absolutely no second thoughts... Wait what?

That's right the MC wears a perma scowl, constantly complains but pretty much does everything he can to be righteous. Sure he sometimes acts like a rebel, but you can bet he'll follow it up with 1000% righteousness without ever struggling between what is right/wrong.
He reminds me of a character from a manga (forgot which) that permanently glares and acts pissed off while going way overboard in helping anyone that needs it; however, that behavior was played for laughs in a comedy manga...

The other characters aren't really worth mentioning, just standard archetypes. Thus far there is only one known villain of questionable motive who just enjoys being evil to the MC while wearing a smile on their face.

Now in most stories, a random soldier will question an evil order and receive a menacing glare/threat before going through with it; it illustrates he, and likely other characters, don't enjoy persecuting the protagonist but do as they're told for self preservation.
Not here, you get to see an evil smile as an evil order is received; 99% of the population is comprised of sadistic evil dicks, only to the MC though.

::: Art :::
It looks fine? Not sure how you can really grade art sooo moving on.

::: Conclusion :::
Though I score it low and bash it for being shallow mainstream while trying to be edgy different, as mentioned earlier your personal enjoyment will depend on how much depth you want from your fiction. I wanted to bring up the negatives that I observed to go along with the glowing reviews in order to give a complete picture.

It's not a boring read and only somewhat painfully bad at times so I just turn my head off like when I watched SAO1, a show I kept watching, entertained, right up until the Asuna tentacle scene where I thought to myself: "Wow, was that even necessary? Did they really go there? I'm done."

The only problem is all the Fridge Logic you may experience after reading.

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