Neha’s Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2 post inspired me to do a similar format with this post on my impressions of the first seven episodes of Shield Hero. Spoilers ahead.
Other titles: 盾の勇者の成り上がり Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari
Episode 1
Episode 1 of Shield Hero is 45 minutes long! That’s twice the length of a regular episode. I appreciated the lengthly episode because it showed Naofumi getting betrayed and outcasted. I saw the betrayal coming because there were a number of red flags.
I really enjoyed this episode because I’m interested in the theme of betrayal and it was interesting to see how Naofumi changed as a result of that experience. I liked seeing how Naofumi navigated the world by himself.
One of the things I like about this anime the most is the world, like the heroes’ technology, monsters, potions, and more. There’s a lot of world building and I think that’s fascinating.
Episode 2
It was about time for somebody to join Naofumi’s party. Raphtalia is so cute!
I did feel uncomfortable about the fact that Naofumi forced a little girl to kill monsters, especially monsters that killed her parents. I thought it was ethically wrong and was wondering why nobody really talked about it. I thought about dropping this series because of it, but decided to continue watching after a couple of friends encouraged me to continue Shield Hero. After this episode, it does get better and I am happy that I didn’t drop this series.
Episode 3
It was about time that we saw the other heroes! This was an action-filled episode which I enjoyed watching.
I wonder if the characters in the world know what ‘lolicon’ means.
Episode 4
This episode made me very angry. The king is so incompetent and I despise Malty so much. There really aren’t any likeable characters at this point besides Naofumi, Raphtalia and the blacksmith.
I feel like the spear hero is being pulled by strings like a puppet by Malty. I think that she pretends to be loyal to him and that she has an ulterior motive. This is just a guess, so I could be wrong about this.
The fact that Malty had to resort to cheating because she knew that the spear hero was going to lose the fight made me laugh. Then when the king and all his people turned a blindside to the cheating, I felt enraged. Let’s just say that I felt an array of emotions in this episode. I am glad that the other two heroes stood up for Naofumi, but I still don’t like them.
The ending of this episode was nice because it was a sweet moment of Naofumi and Raphtalia. It almost made me get over my rage over the episode. Raphtalia definitely matured a lot.
Episode 5
I really like Filo, the bird. I didn’t expect to see the spear hero and Malty so soon but it was sweet karma when Filo won against against the spear hero’s dragon. Again Malty resorted to cheating, but that’s not surprising.
Episode 6
Filo, the bird, turned into a cute girl! I guess anything can happen in anime. I liked Filo as a bird so nothing has changed. I do like Filo more than Raphtalia. I really liked Raphtalia in the beginning but she seems to be trying a little too hard to get Naofumi’s attention. Her feelings are valid, of course, but it’s getting a little annoying to watch…
I still think Naofumi is a really good person, especially when he helped the man with the sick mother. Although he did charge the man for 1 silver, Naofumi does need funds so I thought it was reasonable.
The tailor is awesome. I like her passion for sewing cute clothes and how she takes her client’s qualities and characteristics into consideration.
Episode 7
I think that Naofumi is very humble, as he does not openly tell the villagers that he is the shield hero or the person going around the villages healing people. Naofumi and his party had to fix the mess the spear hero created, which is not surprising because the spear hero is useless.
I felt more empathic towards Raphtalia because Filo declared that she wanted Naofumi to be her mate. I’m glad the two of them ended on good terms at the end of the episode because the petty drama was getting a little ridiculous.
Let me know if you want me to continue with this format with Shield Hero or other shows! I’m definitely going to continue watching Shield Hero and it’s one of the shows I look forward to the most at the moment.
Wretched and Divine 