The Rising of the Shield Hero

Finally, one very well made fantasy anime that, towards the end, lives up to its premature abandonment of replicating negativity and pessimism in the opening. The story of Naofumi, a reviled hero who comes by nothing easily, is refreshing in his bitterness, disdain for virtue, and successfully models the cruel injustice of life. You'll find yourself raging with him at the unkindness around him, fleeing from places where incessant gossip spreads everywhere, and wrestling with a fate that, unlike the other heroes, has given you a far inferior tool to fight with. Indeed, I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the stirring character of this untrusting anti-hero, and I liked that his consistently but rarely displayed humanity was constantly getting beaten down as if by a gang of thugs in a dark alley. Because of this, Naofumi's sourness and disgust was believable for half the series, and suitably complemented by the contrasting positive duo of the overly perfect Raphtalia and the childish Filo. By the end, you discover that the whole plot has deeper mythological roots, and I'm thrilled with myself for recognizing Penkin's music from the first notes. So what’s wrong with it? I feel like a bit of a killjoy, but I wished we had stuck with the main character's suffering longer. The grilling wasn't quite seen all the way through to my taste, and in the moments when even that wasn’t happening, it was sadly packed with filler. For 2/3 of the anime you feel that it's not just about our group, the other heroes are also working on their development with different missions, only to return at the very end to the stereotypes of substandard, dim-witted whippersnappers. Then we start focusing more on the shōnen-esque multiplication of abilities with suitably bland names and I started getting the unfortunate feeling that the protagonist was obnoxiously invincible. Why be generic like other, more consumer-friendly isekai? Well, I guess I just answered my own question. But it's their loss, because Shield Hero was definitely aiming for higher standards. But what isn't can still be, and I'll probably give the next season a chance. Just shy of 4 stars (18/01/2022)