Why You Should Read/Watch The Rising Of The Shield Hero

The world of manga finds its origin in Japan and is an equally popular entertainment form just like western comics. Each of the manga and anime has there distinguishing qualities. Caught between exceptional illustrations and experimental tropes these comic-like canon of work open the way for newer artists. There are many more amazing and popular manga than the ones we are talking about today. But let’s find out ‘Why you should read/watch The Rising Of The Shield Hero’.

In the close-knit anime-loving community, people have an eye for detail, and impressive illustrations and want diverse narrations. The Rising of The Shield Hero is one of the popular manga, light novel, and anime franchises that gained equal ounces of popularity and controversy. Aneko Yusagi wrote this dark fantasy isekai manga and originally published it as a web novel around the year 2015. And later its light novel and anime version followed. There are several chapters in the manga and light novel versions. And 2 seasons in anime production release as recorded in 2019.

Let alone fantasy elements the manga/light novel/anime has its take on some real issues as well that leads it to face detestation from people within and outside of the anime community. The series revolves around the life of a regular Japanese boy named Naofumi who gets summoned to an unknown era and becomes a Shield Hero. Where others have incredible powers this main character is adept only at defense techniques. Beginning from transportation to a new world to fighting demonic hordes there are many classic fantasy elements. It is a rising story as the title suggests because the main character is subjected to many tortures until he becomes better than the others in the story.

Is the Rising of The Shield Hero manga worth reading? If this is the question that comes to your head then here are some points that might help you find your point of view on this manga.

The manga version came in much before the anime production. Similar to the culture of converting your interesting reads into watchable form comes forth with challenges. The original manga was very popular even without the release of anime. Part of its popularity is its great writing and the rest is due to the concerning controversies. Altogether this is a great manga read if you are ready to give in a little freedom of thought to the dark aspects included in it.

The Story of The Rising of the Shield Hero

The mention of controversy in the story is their recurring thought while we talk of the Rising of the Shield Hero; so let’s begin with this point. This story overview is inclusive of a spoiler.

Rising of the Shield Hero as it chronicles the life of Naofumi, discusses the dark aspects of his struggle story. In other manga/anime that focuses on the rising of a hero trope, the challenges are mostly restricted to powerlessness or emotional vulnerability. But the story of Naofumi begins with false accusations of a woman’s assault. With the binary existence of hideous attackers and mistaken victims, it is difficult to decide right from wrong. Similarly, the false victimization adds a dark intense premise to the story. Aneko Yusagi has entirely taken up this serious issue with a lesser acknowledged medium (for opinion) like manga.

Empathy for Naofumi (Main Character)

There are multiple reasons for the fans of this manga to empathize with the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani. Firstly, in the new world, he is involuntarily included with 3 other men for a heroic purpose. And among other attacking weapons like sword, spear, and bow, he is chosen the one to be with a shield, like more of a defensive hero. Surely a defensive shield hero does not sound like an op/magnificent stature. That makes Naofumi feel weaker than the others. At the same time, the fans feel bad for him.

More than that the false accusations and their following consequence generate pity for him. However, these low points in the story of Naofumi are highly essential points for the plot development.

Unique Challenges with Unique Opponents

Naofumi is in a one against the world battle. In other similar Japanese manga, the central conflict majorly hits the hero. Whereas a dark isekai like this manga, pits the hero against unique challenges and unique opponents. The biggest battle addressed in the manga is against the system and presumptions of people. The lead character Naofumi in no way gets a supportive side character camp during much of his journey. With the worst possible odds in life the hero has the goal to regain his lost respect; probably a rarely explored aspect in the manga world.

Reality connection/ relatability

As earlier said the struggle within the story is much closer to reality than thought so is the high-reliability factor. Betrayal, downfall, self-doubt, and isolation are some of the emotive themes that connect us to the manga. The amazing character development with time and experience has a semblance of reality. Some of the dark themes might be a triggering point for some readers but the illustrative beauty of pain in the manga hits the string of emotions within each heart.

Additionally, the art carries forward the action well in the story. Apart from the emotional battles, there are real ones too. This manga is a great read despite its minor shortcomings and opposing point of view on certain issues.

The Rising of the Shield Hero is a worth-watching anime because the story gets even better in the visuals of this adaptation.

A production company named Kinema Citrus is the studio behind the successful visual version of the story. The series was much anticipated by western audiences and later subject to scrutiny for some representations. In totality, the 2 seasons released till now have 38 episodes in total. The game like the background in Rising of the Shield Hero was a nostalgia trip for viewers who have previously loved anime Sword Art Online.

In terms of how anime improved Rising of the Shield Hero, there are some alterations within the compelling narrative. A lot of the shortcomings of the light novel or manga have been revised in the anime version. Originally, in the manga, people put empathize with Naofumi but he is not likable unlike in the anime. Providing more space for the bond of the four heroes in anime makes the betrayal even more heartbreaking. Both the dark and appreciable aspects of side characters.

An anime adaptation of Rising of the Shield Hero refines the rough edges in the source manga/light novel. The work done on animation is decent. It may not match the levels of excellence like One Piece, Chainsaw Man, or Overlord; still, the story is interesting to watch. As dark as the anime gets the frames justify the intensity that Aneko Yusagi intended. Even though the goal of source manga was to put forth a point regarding real issues. The anime Rising of the Shield Hero has done a better job of doing so.

Keeping aside the controversies, there is a lot of good storytelling that you can experience from the anime. The light novel/manga version has over 300 chapters as of 2022 and if you just want to watch the story as a binge watcher go ahead with the anime. Web portals like Crunchyroll and Netflix have the Rising of the Shield Hero anime available.

Bonus Recommendations-

Some Similar Isekai Anime: Isekai Quartet (Comedy), That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime(Fantasy), Skeleton Knight In Another World (Game World), Log Horizon (Game World Fantasy)