The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep. 1 Review
When it first came out, I thought that The Rising of the Shield Hero was one of the best Isekai I’d ever seen. A story about a man summoned to another world as one of its four heroes, only to a.) get the one weapon that can’t attack, and b.) get framed for a crime he didn’t commit? A premise like that is why I would consider Shield Hero one of the Seven Holy Summits of Isekai. However, then came the second season and I was so…disappointed in it. It was too short, the Spirit Tortoise was nowhere near as scary as it should’ve been, and it skipped over a lot of details.
Yet, despite myself, I couldn’t help but step my toes back into the anime when the new season came out. Thus, here we are, back on that Shield Hero fix as Naofumi faces problems new and old.
Please let this be better than last time.
What’s Happened With Naofumi
At the end of the last season, Naofumi, Raphtalia, Filo, and Rishia returned from defeating Kyo in Glass’ world. They recovered the energy from the Spirit Tortoise and using it to protect Raphtalia’s world. Thus, they have a few months before the next Wave of Catastrophe. In addition, Naofumi’s efforts at rebuilding Lurolona Village (Raphtalia’s Hometown) are bearing fruit.
That’s the good news. There’s a lot of bad news, though, that the series spends plenty of time catching us up on.
Firstly, in the battle against Kyo, most of Naofumi’s party took a curse to them that lowered their stats for some time. That’s the least problematic issue, though. The second problem is that the other Cardinal heroes are missing. In the anime, it was stated at the end of the last season that they held off another Wave of Catastrophe, but that was an anime-only development and doesn’t line up with their character well. In the light novels and manga, they ran away after Naofumi left for Glass’ world. In addition, the Bitch formerly known as Princess Malty Melromarc (AKA the worst girl in anime history) is also missing. Considering the pain and chaos Bitch can cause, that’s not good.
In the more immediate future, though, there’s one concern of Naofumi’s that trumps all others. He made it his mission to find all the survivors from Raphtalia’s village and bring them home. The bad news is that every slave owner in Melromarc bought them all and took them abroad to be sold. Not wanting to let Raphtalia’s people to suffer any further, Naofumi and his party all set out abroad. Their destination: the merchant kingdom of Zeltrobe.
The Shield Hero is Good Again!
I will be upfront: I didn’t watch much of Season Two of Shield Hero, if at all. My disappointment in how bad the pacing and story-telling was too great. I had read ahead on the trip to Glass’ world and it was something that I’d been looking forward to seeing. What little I did see, though, disappointed me. There wasn’t nearly enough time to cover the world in the shortened season. In addition, the Spirit Tortoise in the anime felt like a massive disappointment. Allen Blaster’s writings had made it seem like it was terrifying. The one in the anime felt like a joke. All this was why I was so reluctant to get back into the anime.
I’m glad that I did, though. This first episode of this new season feels like a return to form for Shield Hero. The pacing alone is already better than what we got in the second season, and the fact that it’s putting more focus on the established cast is a massive blessing. I already knew from reading the manga that it would happen, but it was still a letdown seeing the lack of focus on the supporting cast in the first half of that season. It wasn’t fun to watch, and I’m glad that season three emphasizes how this is going to change.
Those looking forward to seeing the other Cardinal heroes, though, will have to wait a while. For now, the story’s focused on Naofumi finding Raphtalia’s people. Which brings us to the best part of the episode: the Coliseum. Naofumi, Filo, and Raphtalia all join in disguise to earn enough money to free everyone in one fell swoop. Getting to see the original trio fight in top form is a visual feast for the eyes. Not to mention that Naofumi rigs the fight to make them the underdogs and earn more money is classic Naofumi. That guy has the makings of a capitalist.
Welcome Back, Naofumi.
Besides marking a return to form, the episode also introduces us to two new characters that will become important in Naofumi’s story in the near future. Who they are I will not say, though.
If this is what we have to look forward to in the new season, then I think it’s safe to say that Shield Hero is back in full force. With Mushoku Tensei on vacation until the spring, I’ll need a good isekai to watch in the cold months to come. Welcome back, Shield Hero.
I Give “The Dark Coliseum” a 4/5
By the way, Allen Blaster has started up his Shield Hero fanfiction again after an extended hiatus! If you love Shield Hero, then you’re going to love Allen Blaster’s fanfic, Diligence of the Shield Hero. It’s extremely faithful to the characters and story while also adding a ton of new and interesting things. Go check out my interview with him if you have the time!