User reviews

Season 1 is great and somewhat new approach to the Isekai/video games genre (similar in concept to SAO), but Season 2 is very uneven at best. Half season full of plot holes and bad CGI, and second half of S2 feels like a whole new season, but creativity and originality is taken far back seat, and I'm being very polite about it.

S1 - 9/10 S2 - 6/10

Feel free to skip the very last episode of S2 as it's adds nothing of value. Basically it's collection of few cut scenes from S2. Nothing more.

Besides the tipical isekai theme, the series has a quick start with the characters accepting just from the first episode that they are in another world. This could seem bad for a development, but its very refreshing and let the series take another view (which is, of course, the main plot from the series). Our protagonist is betrayed from the very start and makes him to see the wonderful isekai world in which he was invoked as it is in reality, a normal kingdom with all its fails and trash. From that point our protagonist evolves in such a smooth way that you dont remember the last time he didnt taste food. the soundtrack is wonderful, following the pase of the series perfectly and the seiyu's have made an excelent job voicing naofumi, filo and the racoon loli. the animation is acceptable, with some fails, but those dont ruin the experience. my score for the series is 8,5/10 and as a personal opinion a 9/10

New and fresh anime. It gets interesting every chapter, and It's quite nice to see the development of the characters. Good animation, nice intro.

Definetely worth it if you are looking for something like SAO was supposed to be.

Since Berserk blasted its way to the top of the charts, there hasn't been a halfway decent fantasy anime out there... not until The Rise of the Shield Hero. This show excels at the fantasy setting. It's both fun, lighthearted and cheery, as well as dark, brooding and intense. After Berserk, been searching for a replacement fantasy anime series for the past 10 years. This is it. I'm impatiently waiting the next episodes. Well done, guys.

Best anime ever, I want season 2 soon great writer 10/10

Good anime and recomending it to everyone. Good storyline! Thank you!

Fantastic show!

Just got into it recently and got several episodes in. I've never read the light novels but this show hits all the marks and beyond for its genre. You don't even have to be that big into Isekai to really get a general feel for it.

Coming from a guy who rarely watches anime, this show keeps bringing me back for more. It's comparative to God of War (2018) and Game of Thrones. Such a great story about a guy who's lost it all in a parallel world and now has to rebuild his entire reputation from the ground up.

Each episode introduces something new and refreshing and it definitely keeps your attention.

Get into this show NOW!

Season 1 was good but I must say this series went down the wrong path in season 2. The acting just feels empty for season 2. It's like they were just trying to give screen time to every single character. The series is meant to be a journey for the shield hero. But season 2 just keeps introducing new characters who the viewers have no attachment to.

The animation is okay but the fights lost how intense they were in season 1. For example the fight between shield hero and glass in season 1 was awesome. But season 2 makes glass look like some side extra .

Season 2 of the shield hero was disappointing.

I suggest anyone who is reading this comment to start watching this masterpiece.I just loved the soundtracks, the story, the emotions and the concept of this anime.

The sheild hero is awesome even after so much of exploitation and false blames he still fights for good but because of this his trust towards other people has broken.

I am ANIME :zero Peace✌

If this isekai had only 1 season I would have give it a 10/10 rating. The revenge plot is great and refreshing from the other anime of the same genre. Episode 1 hook you up instantly and each episodes of season 1 are worth watching.

Sadly this anime went for a season 2 and 3 wich are both bland/generic isekai, I think the author didn't understand that what makes this worth it was the relationship between Naofumi/Raphtalia and the revenge plot. Raphtalia become so dull and only becole another member of Naofumi's harem (another problem with the Isekai genre), they keep feeding you new characters you don't care about and the main danger is completely forgotten (the waves of monsters ??? The reason why the MC is summoned in the first place ??)

I still give it a 6/10 because of the perfect first season.

English isn't my first language I hope this review was readable.

The first season was 10/10, but the second season, in comparison, is an abomination. As of right now, not a single episode of season 2 is worth watching. They are all dreadfully dull and watching them is a waste of time, but season 1 was good enough that I keep watching in hopes it'll get better.

I loved the first season so much. 10/10.

But the second season was straight horrible. The pacing was off, the dialogues bland, generic and childish. I really wanted to love the second season :(

First season amazing, the second season what the heck!!!! The second season is literally a remake of midway threw the first season. I feel ripped of and conned. If you seen the first season then you seen the second, no point in watching.

I liked how the humble beginnings of the main character came about. Despite the fictional theme, many will surely identify with the hero. This gave me a taste of online gaming (which I'm not very fond of) in a good way. The story didn't feel complete to me though, especially the end. I haven't read the manga version but I do hope a continuation/second season will be released soon after.

Naofumi Iwatani is an ordinary Japanese boy until he finds himself summoned to a fantasy universe to become one of four 'Legendary Heroes' and fight an upcoming threat. The others being summoned from three parallel universes. They all seem to be familiar with the world thanks to games they have played; Naofumi has no idea what is going on. Each hero is skilled with a specific item; the others are proficient with sword, spear and bow... he just has a shield. It soon becomes clear that many view the shield hero as useless and things go from bad to worse when he is accused of trying to rape the princess who had been working with him. Shunned my everybody he must train alone; he later earns enough to buy a demi-human slave, Raphtalia, and an egg that hatches to give a being that looks like a giant bird but talks and can transform into a girl, who he names Filo. With these companions he trains and must face a variety of threats... both monsters and human.

The 'regular people caught in a fantasy world' genre is pretty crowded so a series has to do something interesting to make it stand out... I think this succeeds. Typically the protagonist would be powerful and popular but having him despised by almost everybody makes an interesting change. While this means early episodes are fairly downbeat they feature enough drama to keep one interested. When Raphtalia and Filo join the story things get more jolly thanks to their upbeat personalities. The story provides plenty of action with a good variety of threats and some nice twists. The animation is of a high quality and the characters are suitably distinctive. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of the genre although I'd caution that certain themes may bother some viewers.

A great anime you never get bored watching this Keeps you interested in ir

This is the best anime of all time. Forget about every other anime. This is the best. I'd give it above a 10/10 if I could. I don't want to spoil anything just watch it.

As of me first writing this review, only two episodes have been released. I'll probably update and edit this review once season one is over.

The animation in this show is just absolutely spectacular. The visuals are gorgeous and the constant fluidity of character motions is impressive. The voice acting is on point, as well as the sound design. The characters are interesting and I was fascinated for the entire runtime of episode one. The second episode, while standard length, was still entertaining.

*a few episodes later*

Why are most of the animals in this show bad CG?

This show is just slow. Probably wouldn't be still watching if I hadn't read the manga and knew what was going to happen. Honestly this show could've been a lot better.

*after season one finale*

ok that was pretty good. I would recommend. be warned as It is slow.

If you were disappointed in Sword Art Online - as I was - then this is the anime for you. As other reviewers have said, this anime is what SAO should have been. From the beginning this series had me hooked.

Sure, there are some over-the-top (e.g. killer penguins and rabbits) or cliche moments, but overall it's really good. There's a good mix of sad and happy moments, which I really appreciated and enjoyed.

I hope season two will be as good.

Outside the context of this type of anime, going to a magical world can be traumatizing, selfish and non-altruistic actions, this anime builds its script and characters very well, giving the right depth with a tone of emotion.

It's really worth watching, and Raphtalia is incredible.

This Isekai surely does it's job showing the other world. It was amazing, the storyline and the character development were brilliant.

One the isekai anime from 2019, I'd say it's one of the better shows in the genre. To begin with, during the first few episodes, it seemed obvious of the pitfall the protagonist was going to face. But despite that, the overall drama was done well in those episodes, and pretty much enjoyed the growth relating the protagonist Naofumi and his team.

An anime made by the studio, Kinema Citrus, I took up 'The Rising of the Shield Hero (will be referring as Shield Hero)', because of the studio's reputation from its previous amazing production of the anime, Made in Abyss. Appreciating the wonderful art and music from Made in Abyss, Shield Hero had both. Kevin Penkin returning with another score, I'd say that the music was decent, but not great. It doesn't come close to Penkin's work in Made in Abyss. As for the graphics, Shield Hero has indeed better art and character design than many others in its genre. Character designs were decent enough and can appreciate Kinema Citrus's effort into it.

Now, regarding the story, despite being an isekai, it has its own sets of original ideas, with more than simple plots into it. There's no point in discussing the story, but on average I can say it's decent and enjoyable. But the one thing I did not appreciate much as the other factors were the characters. I'm not saying they are bad. As a matter of fact, they are much better than the original SAO (and the only SAO I've watched. Rest are intolerable), where the characters were simply horrible. The characters in Shield Hero lacked characteristic ingenuity, which is a common occurrence in other isekais, the ones which are average. In other words, the writing had less life into it. Naofumi and Raphtalia, being the stars of the show, have the most described writing, detailing their characteristics, and yet there's a blandness in them every so often. The lack of character dynamics and the delivery of often monotonous dialogues.

Dialogues were often monotonous, cliché and within rare times downright cringe. For the most part, I did not feel the depth within the characters, which connect viewers to these characters' lives.

It can be believed that isekai are inspired by the RPG/JRPG games from the olden days, but speaking of those games, many of them had amazing script throughout the story. Indeed, old 8/16-bit games (Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda) have inspired new original stories into full-on Television series, but fundamental qualities are there no more.

Some of the originality concepts of Shield Hero also comes into question, when Filo, one of the protagonist's companions is a downright a Chocobo rip-off. Who cares if she has a human side? That's just fanservice anyway. Braggy/cocky characters with literally no cognitive abilities to think, are another stereotype shared with other trash isekai shows.

Unlike Made in Abyss, Kinema Citrus has done a poorer job in the production. Fast-paced plot amongst the episodes often left me wondering when the protagonist lands in a new location without any indication. That also included in the build-up of suspense during action sequences. The script is partly to blame for this.

But despite its pitfalls, Shield Hero is one of the good anime of 2019, if not great. Despite the pitfalls, Kinema Citrus had done a better job than other isekai anime.

It was an overall good experience, and look forward to the show's coming seasons. Hoping the writing and overall character dynamics would improve, it would be a better show to watch. Shield Hero can be said pretty much a common man's isekai starter.

Overall: 7/10

I might be jumping the gun calling this a masterpiece when only 4 episodes are out but it is truly amazing. The voice, animation and just all around it really is a good anime. I can say it's really good and I've watched over 100 animes. Recommend it a lot.