Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero
(Possible spoilers, and spoilers for other shows) Well, it is definitely easy to see how people would have a bias with this show if they are isekai veterans. I happen to be one myself. The genre has picked up in attention and popularity like crazy the past few years, and it's easy to see why. Who hasn't dreamed about paying their favorite RPG a visit? I certainly have. Personally, I think it's great to see such an influx of different personalities and genres pouring into the isekai genre. There are comedies like Dungeon Meshi and Reborn as a Slime. And then you have deeper-rooted showssuch as Re:Zero and Rise of the Sword Hero. While this hasn't been my favorite isekai by any means - Re:Zero and I Don't Wanna Get Hurt, so I'll Max Defense have definitely taken that so far, possibly even Reborn as a Slime - I still think it has a good amount to show for it.
As a game system, it kind of sucks. I know plenty of other isekai that don't rely on having stat blocks, making it feel more integrated into the world. I only bring this up because Shield Hero is supposed to be an "I fell into another world" show as opposed to "I'm playing an MMORPG and these are my stats" sort of feel. It's sort of gimmicky, no? It also feels like a lot of the plot's problems would be solved by some damn open communication. I've always thought miscommunication was good in comedy's, not drama's.
However, the protagonist has this neat sort of anti-hero, shunned-by-the-world feel to him that most other isekai protags don't. Mr. You Know Who from SOA is overpowered and immediately liked by everyone. Although I have to say I'm not a HUGE fan of the whole "my entire party is made up of super cute girls uwu what should I do". The only saving grace for that element is the fact that Naofumi doesn't seem to pay that too much attention, so what's something. Regardless, there are a lot of elements that make you want to root for the Shield Hero as much as you want him to stop being a jerk. Real classic anti-hero stuff.
If you like imaginary worlds but want something a little more in depth and plot-heavy than some of the other ones out there, give this show a try. If not, there are plenty of others to choose from as well.