Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero

The anime industry is already saturated with "isekai" themes left and right. Most are just copy+pasted from different animes, given a little twisted and aired to be a click-bait cash-cow. And where does Tate No Yuusha falls? Thankfully it is none of that. While the art is not that spectacular, the story and the characters are well-rounded. The main character is particularly dependent on his comrades and vice-versa. For once there is no OP individual that can take the world by himself. Character development is key in a great story and this anime delivers. The MC Naofumi became ashe is due to a lot of circumstances - he was bullied, ridiculed, discriminated for just being the "shield hero". A title or profession which he did not choose.

Naofumi is not your typical MC that speaks righteously about justice and freedom and all of that crap. He even regards himself as not a good guy to begin with. He just do what he thinks should be fair for him and others. Like delivering goods and services to those in need while earning a healthy profit to be able to live and support his group.

I know this is almost a year old anime but I felt it kinds of resonated with society especially in the present time. Before the pandemic, we held rock stars, idols, actors, sports stars and even youtubers in high regards to the point of being their heroes. Now, it is the medical health workers and even our delivery guys are more important than ever. Naofumi reminded me that we should be thankful for the hardships and struggles of those we just didn't pay much attention to in the past.

Can't wait for season 2.