Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero

Is this kind of story where someone from another world is transported to a fantasy world over used? Yes Does that effect this anime story negatively? No In my opinion, as someone who rarely reads manga, the first episode of this show made me WANT to read its manga. From doing so I can tell you a few things; First off the anime grows the characters more with a handful of scenes without deviating too much from the manga. Besides Filo, a lot of the characters are fleshed out fairly well for a first season. I will say you get a better feeling for the other heroes andtheir parties in the manga more but besides that I was really impressed. I do worry that it'll go the harem route but so far the main character doesn't have any perverted thoughts or tendencies toward his female companions. There aren't a lot of "fan service" scenes which is nice and it focuses to really flesh out the world it's set in.
Some might say it is very black and white because of how things are betrayed but it's not. There is a lot of grey in this anime that even the main hero has trouble with. The feelings and thought processes behind actions are complex so it's interesting to watch the characters grow.

I sincerely can not wait for the next season and hope that you're able to watch this show with an open mind because yes it does sport a lot of the cliches on the outside but deeper in ... well you'll be entertained! I promise!