Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero
I thoroughly enjoyed his anime. I actually watched it two times back to back. And from the description you should know that things doesn't start off great for the MC. I would strongly suggest ignoring the lower scores that some people ahve given it, it was definitely one of the more enjoyable anime I have seen. I'd say it's my favorite isekai anime. I will talk about the 4 big bad points that some people are complaining about, but first the big points. I give the story and characters a 9, might be a bit much but asI said I enjoyed it very much. It goes well with the progression of the MC and his team. How the handles the bad hand that the new world gave him. How the grows to deal with this and try and heal form it. As well some of the other characters, namely his first companions/slave raphtalia. It also covers well how they both work to try to get past their own traumas. Though there are for sure characters I hated (the main antagonist) and some very annoying ones. But there definitely good ones.
The sound is a definite 9, the anime has a great soundtrack. I loved both of the Opening and Endings of the anime. The opening were great for a building song for the fighting. and the endings were calmer and more soothing to go with the character growing and recovering. It also had several insert songs that went amazingly with the scenes they were in. I had most of the music on my ipod just after I finished the season.
For the art I give it a 7, it was good (not bad) but wasn't amazing. It did have some bad animation moments for sure with the people background but it had it's great moments. It also had some great action scenes.
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I should say that the people complaining about the show being full of misogyny, slaver, another "boring isekai" and nothing but a cheap harm is wrong. (those the ones I am seeing a lot of).
Yes the women who falsely accuses him is one of the main bad people in the series, and her betrayal deeply affected the MC. But there are tons of good and strong Female characters, quite possibly more than men. And the main country is the opposite of a monarch where the queen as all the power.
It's not like the MC is attacking every women he meets or only blaming women, or the anime itself making a point of putting men over women in general. Most of the strongest characters in the show in fighting end up being women.
As for the harem part -- I have grown tired of anime's where the MC is loved by tons of women for no real reason other than being just nice. For example the anime "The Time I was Reincarnation as a Slime" has some good points and I like it but the harem aspect is just bad. The women have no reason to fall for the MC other than he is in charge, some go from strangers to worshiping him in an episode for nothing other than becoming allies.
For the shield hero the MC naofumi genuinely helps people, some of the main "harem" members he really turns their life around. He also becomes a solid hero and protects the people he cares for. In a realistic aspect it is easy to see why a character would like him.
For slavery -- the world is mostly a medieval world with magic and monsters added in. There was slavery back then so there is slavery in this world. I don't see what the problem people have with it is. It isn't slavery based on ethnicity but based on the species. So demi-humans making slaves of people and vice versa.
I think the show made good use of it as a solution to an MC that has been completely betrayed and has absolutely no trust in anyone anymore --- as a slave can't betray their master.
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It is different from other isekai's I have seen
All in all I think it was a great story with an interesting take. The MC doesn't get a happy start, he isn't over powered like Ainz from overlord or Slime from the anime mentioned above. On the contrary--- he is given every disadvantage. He is treated like a horrible criminal by people, and he has no attack power at ALL --let alone being Overpowered. As he is the shield hero he can't even pick up another weapon.
The MC has to deal with all of this and find a way to survive and thrive as the shield hero hated by most of the country he is in. All while trying to survive fighting monsters and people trying to make his life harder at every turn.
He also has to find creative way to handle battle as he is the shield hero, he learns to use everything he can to help him.
All in all I would definitely recommend this anime and I hope that it gets a second season