“The Rising of the Shield Hero” overcomes some of the immutable traits of the generic isekai anime and is, not a refreshing take on the genre, but is a good take nonetheless. The story is similar to what you’ve probably seen a billion times - world is in danger; four heroes will appear and save it. That basically summarises the plot. Four “heroes” are summoned to an alternate world to try and stop the dark forces who are trying to eradicate said world. I have heroes in double quotes because they consist of two college students and two high school students, not the kind of people that comes to mind when hearing the word hero.
Here’s my first problem with the show. The four main characters show no confoundment when they are magically transported to a world different than their own. They all adjust to it as easily as adjusting to a new shirt that is ever so short. They simply accept their fate and are ready in minutes to risk their life and save a world with which they have no connection whatsoever. It’s like they’re the most complacent people in the universe. It is not yet explained as to why the heroes need to be summoned from a different world, because to me it seems like there are enough magicians and warriors in their own world who could help cull the demons.
Second problem – the setting. It’s set in medieval times (like the billion other isekai anime), but it doesn’t feel like it (like the billion other isekai anime). There is no atmosphere to encapsulate the feeling of medieval-ness. It basically feels like a village from the past or something.
Our story really starts when the shield hero, our main protagonist Naofumi, is incriminated of sexually assaulting his party member who also happened to be the King’s daughter. Everyone in the world, for some yet to be explained reason, had a deep-seated feeling of aversion for the shield hero from the beginning which is only augmented after hearing the about the harassment of the princess. The shield hero is kicked out of the palace and left alone to conquer his quest while avoiding everyone’s contempt.
The characters in this show are what differentiate it from other of it’s kind. Though there are some cardboard cut outs, the main characters, Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo are all disparate from the characters present in other isekai shows. Pro No.1 – the show eschews fanservice; this really shouldn’t be a pro, but given the current state of anime and fan-service, it is. At first, I perceived Naofumi as a typical insular otaku but there’s more to his character than just that. We see his compassion through his actions and not by monologue. His magnanimity is shown via his action of saving Raphtalia and is not just pushed onto the audience. Raphtalia, another character whose temperament is shown by actions she takes and not by monologue, is also a great character. She was a slave who was orphaned due to a demon Cerberus killing her parents and is rescued by Naofumi. We see this friendship develop between her and Naofumi which feels candid and not just some forced “nakama” shit. The character writing is eloquent and we have new character Filo introduced in episode 5. I hope she gets the same treatment as the rest of the characters and is not some expendable loli. Since we’re only 6 episodes in, other characters don’t get that much focus but that’s to be expected since we’re only 1/4th into the show.
The animation is awesome, the background looks realistic but the character animation is nothing to fawn over. The character animation is pretty untenable and sloppy at times but when it really matters, it gets better.
The music isn’t remarkable and with the exception of the opening, most of the pieces are instantly forgettable. Still, fire OP though.
I binged six episodes in two and a half hours and it was a ride. I’m gonna put this show on hold and binge it once it finishes airing. Overall, it’s a pretty good isekai (never thought I’d ever say this), and I hope the quality doesn’t degrade as the show goes on. I can’t put my finger on the one reason as to why I like this show, I just like it.
