Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero

So, this week, I was deciding to do a little "project" for shield hero which required me to revisit the series again. This time around, I chose the dub version to give it a try and to give it a proper review. I must say there were some things I did forget or did not originally notice compared to the first time I watched the series. Story: 7/10 The title of the story basically explains what the series about, the rising of the shield hero. Unlike other isekai's, this one takes a tragic turn afor Naofumi (the Shield Hero). Bright eyed and naive, he believes hewill have a wonderful adventure from the many light novels he has read about isekais. But, the other heroes, Kirito look-alike (Sword Hero), hero-wannabe (Bow Hero), and dense simp (Spear Hero), already look down on him for not having any knowledge about how this world seems to be like a video game. Already, rumors spread that Naofumi has no knowledge of the world or the country that they arrived in and the king also could care less for him.
The first episode which is the longest one sadly, shows off the world to show how fantasy like it is. But, it also sets up the downfall for the Naofumi as one character accuses him of attempted rape. Because they live in a matriarchy, this act of attempted rape is punishable by death. However, they cannot kill a hero nor can they return them to their original worlds. For the time being, Naofumi attains a bad reputation, loses his money, and is unable to effectively grind because he does not have any attacks since he cannot hold any other weapon besides a shield.
The 20 episodes really show off Naofumi less as a hero and more as a traveling business man. His major conflicts involve the character who accused him of rape, Malty, who is also the princess of the nation. Naofumi acquires a slave raccoon girl who turns into a 17 year-old because of her being a non-human, a chocobo knockoff bird that turns into a a little girl who is supposedly the next queen of her species, and the youngest and next princess in line of the throne in the nation that hates him.
The story consists of him traveling through the nation trying to level up to face off against "Waves", giant portals in the sky that release monster and undead. But, the story takes a weird turn as it just suddenly throws the 3 Hero church, which worships every hero except the Shield, and the Pope as a main bad force which just felt like an overused trope. Shortly after, Naofumi's reputation is cleaned and he prevents the execution of the king and Malty. It shows his progression of showing mercy but he does carry the trait of giving them hell as he seeks to change the kings name to "trash" and Malty's name to "bitch" Afterwards, Naofumi finds others that are heros from other worlds. It sets up hype for the next season. The idea that there are more to these "Waves" than just monsters attacking. The anime is one of few shows that had really pulled me into its manga.
Art: 7/10
After rewatching the series, I actually dropped a point for the art quality. The series initially had some great art and interesting designs for the characters and buildings. However, like other shows, it relies heavily on CGI for majority of large groups of soldiers and/or for big monsters. They decided to use CGI for a zombie dragon, a freakin dinosaur, and a narwhal monster. The CGI is noticeable but I feel that it is not as bad compared to other CGI works like Arfureta, Overlord, or Reincarnated Slime. It was interesting to see the way Naofumi struggling with his anger as if he was on a stage and the light was shining down on him.
I feel like the art was much better than other shows. It started off well but slowly lost the same feel towards the end of the show.
Sound: 8/10
Hearing both sub and dub, I have to say the sub is much better by a small margin. The VA's in the sub sound like they match the age of the characters. Though, I do like Melty voice change as he tries to sound mature. And the OP sound ridiculous in the dub versus the sub. But, the dub did allow me to appreciate the soundtrack of the shield hero and both versions really had powerful emotion as Naofumi expressed his rage. But, I was not a fan of Filo's dub VA and some of Naofumi's lines in dub sounded forced.
Character 7/10
I am a sucker for when characters get very angry and are about to go full demon.
Naofumi: I find it really believable for his initial reaction to getting isekaied. He thinks it will be fun and then he gets thrown to the wolves. I loved his rage moments as he begins to lose himself. I wished he did lose himself to his rage but having your friends hold you back works too I guess. As time goes on, he is distrustful of others and learns to gain his own money. He develops his own power and soon matures. He becomes more of a father figure for his allies.
Raphtalia: I loved and felt bad for Raphtalia. She lost her family, sold to an abusive owner, lost her best friend, on the brink of death. She was "saved" by Naofumi and and treated better than others who are slaves. She saw the good in Naofumi and stuck by his side. Additionally, she comes to terms with her past and seeks to make sure no one else has to experience what she had to. Having said that, I was not a fan with Raphtalia soon developing a love interest in Naofumi. It was much better to see them as a daughter-father relationship. Instead, she thinks about marrying him and becomes embarrassed of kissing because she may get pregnant. Remind you, she was a little girl but soon "leveled up" because of Naofumi so I will excuse the kissing pregnant thing but still, ridiculous.
Filo & Melty: These two are just the cute side of this show. They do not really develop much. Filo does battle against another person who is the same as her but it felt lackluster and not fulfilling for he character growth. Melty is just oblivious to her own country's issues and desires to learn of them but nothing really develops from there. I feel that the only purpose they served was to entertain lolicons. Hopefully, the manga/anime will develop them more.
Heroes, king, Malty: Each hero has one distinct trait about them which makes them irritating. One wants to be a hero, another is trying to be a lone wolf inside a video game, and the other is just a simp. No real development on these characters as they tend to bicker with each other. Spear Hero is the densest dumbass of the lot. They just feel one sided. The king and Malty really do a good job on infuriating the shield hero and the audience. There seems to be history with the king and the shield heros from the past but nothing else is told. For this anime season, there are barely any development for these characters but I have hopes that future seasons will develop them properly.
Enjoyment: 10/10
Despite the flaws of the show, I really enjoy the anger that leaks from Naofumi. It reminds me of Naruto turning into nine tails or ichigo transforming into a hollow. I have loved the first OP song to shield hero and really enjoyed the soundtrack.
Overall: this show gets an 8/10 for me. It sets itself from other isekai a little bit and it has a great OP. However, many characters development are not fulfilling and the CGI is not really special. For people that enjoy some shounen or isekai stuff, I offer you the Rising of the Shield Hero.