Isekai Anime

The White Tiger Siblings of Fate!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 3 Review

Are some things fated to happen, or does everything in life happen because of coincidence? The idea of fate crops up a lot in fiction, with many people offering different takes on it. Some believe fate to be immovable. Others think that things happen by chance. In many stories though, things happen with such perfect timing that it can only be described as the work of fate. In this case, Naofumi’s party met a little white tiger and his sister. Not only do they become powerful allies, but have a surprising connection the man formerly known as King Aultcray Melromarc. 

Atla and Fohl, the White Tiger Siblings

After the battle with the white tiger boy in the arena, Naofumi and the others finally have enough money to free all the people from Raphtalia’s village. It’s unfortunate that the anime was unable to spend more time focusing on this moment beyond them returning to the village. However, the episode more than makes up for it by formally introducing us to the boy that Naofumi and his party fought. His name is Fohl, and he might be the strongest kid in the world.

As Naofumi discovers for himself, Fohl’s not a normal Demi-Human. He and his sister, Atla, are White Tiger, or Hakuko, Demi-Humans. They can level up faster than even other Demi-Humans can, and despite being a kid, Fohl’s stats are ridiculously high. Naofumi doesn’t hesitate to buy them both.

Those who know Naofumi know that he’s capable of great kindness, despite his demeanor saying otherwise. In this case, he earns the sibling’s eternal loyalty by giving the blind and sickly Atla a rare medicine that cures her debilitating illness. After that’s done, they both vow to help Naofumi no matter what.

It’s not until the end of the episode where the idea of fate comes into play. As the closing moments of the episode reveal, Atla and Fohl have a surprising connection to the ex-King of Melromarc, Trash. Naofumi’s one-time enemy is pratically in hysterics when he sees Fohl, and more importantly, Atla. As the Queen of Melromarc reveals, there’s a good reason.

For the sake of viewer’s suspense, it will not be revealed here. However, what the Queen tells Naofumi starts to put into perspective the reason why he hated Naofumi so much when he hadn’t done anything wrong. It doesn’t excuse his actions, but makes him feel a little more sympathetic. 

Lulorona Village is Growing Stronger

The other big highlight of the episode is getting to see how Lulorona Village is now coming together under Naofumi. All the remaining Demi-Human’s from the village are home, with Naofumi and his party keeping them safe. Much to Naofumi (and Raphtalia’s) dismay, though, Sadeena’s decided she’s fallen for Naofumi.

It’s not explained in the anime, but in the light novels, Sadeena or Raphtalia reveal that the former would only marry someone who can out-drink her. Since Naofumi shares another shield hero’s inability to get drunk, she thinks he’s perfect for her. Since Raphtalia already has her own feelings for Naofumi, it’s amusing seeing her get irritated with her big sister figure as she does. 

Naofumi is the Master of Karmic Clapbacks!

More importantly, though, the parts in Lulorona village show yet another example of fate in action. While Naofumi and the others are away, the village gets attacked by slavers. Thankfully, due to Fohl’s quick thinking, the heroes return and wipe the floor with all of them. It’s then that Raphtalia reveals that these are the very same soldiers that had abducted her and her friends the first time around. It seems they were foolish enough to try a second time.

Once again showing his ability to exercise the ultimate form of karma, Naofumi decides not to kill them. Instead, he sells them into slavery in Siltvelt, AKA the country that considers the Shield Hero a God. Pure. Karma. Never mess with the Shield Hero.

This episode wasn’t anywhere near as filled with action as the previous one. However, it makes up for it with the introduction of Atla and Fohl and the impact they have on the story. Both of them are going to become powerful allies to Naofumi as time goes on. In addition, knowing that Raphtalia was able to bring the ones who enslaved her to justice is a nice sense of closure. However, the next episode will raise the stakes with the attempts to capture the wayward Spear Hero, Motoyasu. Naofumi’s going to need all the luck he can get.

I Give “The White Tiger Siblings” a 4/5

Return of the Shield Hero is Upon Us!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , , , , , , ,

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!