Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero
I'm going to keep this short as I can After the rise of Sword Art Online in 2012 and the gaining popularity of idea of being transported of the a fantasy world, tons of isekai LN's have been written and many have gotten anime adaptations of varying quality. The isekai genre of anime has become what some might call "oversaturated", with seasonal lineups being filled with isekais, causing anime watchers to become sick of them. Many isekais get unfair reviews, because of the bad rep that the genre gets. While reviews are mostly subjective, many viewers look at reviews before watchings shows and get a basic ideaof what the anime excels at and what it falls short in, and they might base their decision on whether to watch it or not off the reviews
Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari is a isekai with its own strengths and flaws.
1. The World
The world building in shield hero is decent. We get the basics of how the world works and some parts are expanded upon in varying ways. We have already seen the "another world" and it's rules and fantasy elements introduced in hundreds of other isekai anime, so keeping it short and simple in the beginning can be seen as a strength.
2. The Characters
Of course we have our main protagonist, Naofumi and his party. Naofumi is the run of the mill Otaku which we've seen a hundred times already. It does feel like sometimes we only relate to him out of sympathy for the unfairness he gets. He does lack in personality but overall is an acceptable character. Naofumi and his party are pretty likeable and you do seem to care for them more as the episodes go on. The main cast is given pretty good development, but the show does fall short in the side characters.
The other Cardinal Hero's, the King, Myne, and what feels like every single person Melromarc seems to hate Naofumi beyond reasonable lengths. It does feel forced upon in some cases. The King seems to hate him over a minor grudge for the Shield Hero, Myne is given no other reason for hating Naofumi and framing him. And the other Cardinal hero's stupidity (especially Motoyasu's) is just infuriating and forced upon at times.
3. The Story
We have the main "gimmick' of Naofumi having a Shield and only being able to defend. This is a double edged sword as it does get rid of the overpowered solo protagonist who destroys every villain in his path cliche, and it gives some variety to the fights. The shield gimmick is really a mixed bag of opinions as some say it's what makes the show unique and others make it out as an uncreative idea. It really seems to be a personal opinion on if the shield works in a story standpoint or if it does not.
(I'm not going to go over the actual story and events of the show for spoiler reasons)
The main plot of the show is fairly enjoyable and easy to understand, although at some moments predictable and susceptible to tropes.
4. Music and Sound Design
I'm not really a weeb who knows his stuff about music and sound design, but every anime fan can appreciate the use of music in anime along with the emotions and atmosphere it brings to the scenes. The OP's of Shield Hero (RISE and FAITH by MADKID) are fitting and catchy. Thats all I really have to say on this mater.
My verdict:
7/10
Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari is an enjoyable show to watch, with a good main cast, but slightly less appealing side characters. It has its own strengths and creativity in some parts, but falls shorts to some isekai tropes and cliches. If shows like Overlord, Re:Zero and Konosuba appealed to you, you will most likely find enjoyment in Shield Hero, and it is worth the watch.