Shield Hero S3

Raphtalia Must Be Protected at All Costs!

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

The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 12

Raphtalia is one of the best waifus in the history of the Isekai genre. She’s beautiful, kind, and strong, and she was the big reason that Naofumi never entirely gave into the despair from his early days as the Shield Hero. While Naofumi either ignores or remains oblivious that she’s in love with him (for now), he will still go to war against anyone who would hurt her. That is precisely what happens in the final episode of this season of Shield Hero. When an entire country targets Raphtalia for reasons straight out of Game of Thrones, Naofumi marches to war.

A Ridiculous Misunderstanding

Having spent the entire season tracking down the three Cardinal Heroes and setting them straight, things seem to finally be going right for Naofumi. The Heroes are cooperating, Lulorona Village is flourishing despite some setbacks, and everyone’s getting stronger. Gaelion’s even started teaching Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Sadeena how to use Dragon Veins. Things finally seem to be doing well for the Shield Hero.

Then, due to a ridiculous misunderstanding, the Heroes get caught in another conflict.

It all started when Naofumi asked Erhard to make Raphtalia a Miko Outfit based on the one she wore in Glass’ world. While the anime doesn’t explain why he did this, the Light Novel’s do: because he thought she looked cute. It was for cosplay, plain and simple. However, when Sadeena comes back and sees Raphtalia wearing it, she freaks out and begs her to take it off.

Then, all hell breaks loose as the village comes under attack from demihuman ninjas.

Q’Ten Lo and their Stupidity 

The ninjas prove tough enough to fight on even ground with the Cardinal and Vassal Heroes, cancelling their powers. It takes everyone’s help to take them down, but then they blow themselves up before they can talk. And the whole time, they were going about “Heavenly Emperor” and not letting Raphtalia claim it. Thankfully, no one dies, but one kid’s left in bad shape.

Afterwards, Sadeena took everyone aside and explained everything. To the east of Melromarc is the country of Q’Ten Lo, which is a stand-in for Feudal Japan, complete with an Emperor and isolationist policies. In the past, the royal family went through a whole Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon scenario, fighting and killing to decide the next Heavenly Emperor. By the time the dust settled, only two people were left, and one of them was Raphtalia’s father. He and her Mom didn’t want to get involved in that nonsense, so they bailed and moved to Melromarc before she was born. Sadeena, whose family had guarded the royal family for generations, went with them. In other words, Raphtalia is a Princess, and those assassin’s tried to kill her to prevent her from claiming the throne.

It turns out, the Q’Ten Lo government had had assassin’s watching Raphtalia and her parents all her life, ready to kill her at a moment’s notice. And when they saw her wearing that miko outfit, they misunderstood it for her gunning for the throne and overreacted by picking a fight with her and the Cardinal Heroes. Like idiots. Like a bunch of idiots. 

A Pissed off Naofumi Goes to War

So, let’s look at the evidence:

  1. A bunch of Assassin’s overreacted to Raphtalia’s innocent cosplaying (because Naofumi thought she looked cute.)
  2. They attacked Raphtalia, her village, and the people in it.
  3. They tried to kill three of the Cardinal Heroes, the one’s supposed to save their world from the Waves, which would screw over everyone.
  4. By doing so, they risked an international incident with Melromarc.

The thing that Naofumi cares the most about, though? These people knew about everything that Raphtalia went through. Losing her parents to the Waves. How she and her friends got enslaved with many of them dying. They knew about everything she went through before she met Naofumi and since, and didn’t do a thing to help her. 

Naofumi’s response: he’s going to war. 

While revenge is a part of Naofumi’s decision (and in this case, an understandable response), there’s logic behind it. This country was willing to kill the people meant to save their world for reasons that, in the grand scheme of things, are incredibly petty and stupid. In addition, the Phoenix, the next of the beasts after the Spirit Tortoise, will revive in two months. They can’t afford to be distracted like this. So, Naofumi tells everyone present that they’re headed to Q’ten Lo to put their leaders in their place. However, to get there, they must first travel to the one nation Q’ten Lo interacts with: Siltvelt. AKA, the land that worships the Shield Hero like a God. Thus, the season ends with Naofumi flying ahead on Gaelion to give the others a spot to teleport. 

Things are about to get Game of Thrones in here.

The Next Season Should be Fun

Full disclosure: I’m a fan of stories that have political intrigue in the vein of Game of Thrones. Since the show ended, though, I’ve also come to love these stories for another reason: to laugh at how trivial, petty, and stupid the scheming is.

No, really. After seeing how badly Westeros was ravaged from people fighting over a throne that, in the end, no one claimed, made me realize how pointless the whole thing was. Especially given how the entire thing took place while an army of ice zombies gathered in the far north. Replace the White Walkers with the Waves of Catastrophe and the Phoenix, and the Shield Hero deals with the same thing. They’re ready to destroy the world, and idiots in power are playing politics. And unlike Jon Snow, Naofumi has far less tolerance for their nonsense.

So, whenever the next season comes around, we’ll see Naofumi going to the country that worships him and then overthrowing a country dumb enough to make an enemy out of him. Not a bad way to end the season.

As for the season, it doesn’t quite reach the height of excitement that the first season did. Nor did it have quite as interesting a premise as the second season (even if several factors ruined it). However, this season feels like it was meant to be a breather before a potentially big storm. The storm in question being what will go down in Q’ten Lo.

I’m looking forward to it, regardless. 

Also, I’m with Naofumi on this. Anyone who tries to hurt Raphtalia will suffer. Like these two.

Itsuki Needs to Get Some Sense Knocked Into Him

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 10 Review

Two Cardinal Heroes down, one to go. Naofumi managed to find Ren and Motoyasu and, more or less, got them under control. However, there’s still one Hero unaccounted for: Itsuki, the Bow Hero obsessed with being this symbol of “Hidden Justice.” Or, in other words, he’s a kid who’s trying too hard to be Batman, but he’s coming off as Red Hood or Damian. If Naofumi and the others want to help Itsuki, talking won’t work for him. They’ll have to use force, no matter how much his former companion, Rishia, might not like it.

It’s worth it. He needs to get taken down a peg for his own good.

“Perfect Hidden Justice” Sounds So Cringe

Thanks to the Gaelion debacle, Naofumi sends Filo and Melty out to gain more levels to compensate for the loss. Beyond that, though, life in Naofumi’s village has returned to normal. The peace proves short-lived, though, when S’yne (conveniently away fighting in the arena) returns with surprising news: she’s found Itsuki.ย 

Ever since the Spirit Tortoise incident, Itsuki has handled things very poorly. Rather than figure out what he did wrong, he decided to double down on his negative traits and step into full-on cringe territory. Now he’s fighting in the arenas as the gladiator “Perfect Hidden Justice,” a name everyone agrees is cringe. Worse, when Rishia tries to talk to him, he slaps her out of the way, much to everyone’s disgust.

Itsuki’s Paradoxical Hero Complex

This is something other than what gets touched upon in the anime, but web and light novels gave us greater insight into the character of the Three Cardinal Heroes. In Itsuki’s case, he’s a contradiction. On the one hand, he wants to be like Batman or Spider-Man and deliver justice from the shadows. On the other hand, he also wants people to sing his praises and to look cool while saving the day. This contradiction makes him very ineffective as a hero; he has a bunch of insecurities, and unlike Naofumi, he’s not with people with his best interests at heart. At least not anymore. Now, he’s working with the personification of the corrupt elite, Witch. She and the rest of his party have him fight in the arena to get money to save slave children. However, no, but Itsuki buys that. Witch is using the cash for herself.

What’s incredibly frustrating about this is that Itsuki should have no excuse to listen to Witch. He knows that she framed Naofumi; the slave crest the Queen put on her made it clear she’s a liar. Yet she continues to get away with this well past the point where she can. Either she’s got a silver tongue on the level of Starscream, or the Heroes mental states are so fragile since the Spirit Tortoise that they’ll listen to anyone who says anything nice to them. 

It also doesn’t help that Itsuki’s unlocked his cursed series for his bow.

Rishia Steps Up to Knock Some Sense into Itsuki

So, to recap, Itsuki’s unlocked his cursed bow and is being strung along by the Witch. He’s entirely given in to his delusions of being a Batman, but he’s coming off as a Damian or Red Hood. And he’s using an alias that sounds like an edge-lord would come up with. As Atla points out, there’s only one way to make Itsuki see reason: they have to beat him up. 

There are better solutions than this, but it’s their best. When people can’t see eye-to-eye or reason in real life and fiction, settling things with fists and weapons might be the only option left. It’s like when Naruto had to defeat Sasuke at the end ofย Narutoย to get him to see reason. Except in this case, Rishia is Naruto, and Itsuki is Sasuke.ย 

The decision to have Rishia fight Itsuki is important on several levels. Rishia has always struggled with self-esteem, which Itsuki and his party made worse. She’s grown more substantial and more confident since Naofumi’s group took her in, but beating Itsuki will prove to herself how strong she’s gotten. Additionally, losing to the person he thought was weak might be the reality check Itsuki needs. 

Gearing Up For the Season Finale

This episode was a pause for what was to come. Itsuki is the last of the three heroes Naofumi needs to help see sense, thus the toughest. Motoyasu buckled after Witch, and the other girls turned their backs on him. Ren went through that bandit phase, but Eclair beat him and Wyndia helped him start to come to terms with his past mistakes. However, Itsuki pushed away the one person who could help him, Rishia. Now, Rishia needs to beat him to bring him to his senses. It happens a lot in anime, but the emotional weight of a friend fighting another friend to save them from themselves works. 

There are only two episodes left in the season, and I’m hoping that the next episode gives us a good showing. It’s time for Itsuki to get help, whether he wants it or not. That, and his alias is super-cringe.

I Give “Perfect Hidden Justice” a 4/5

Dragon Emperor Dungeon Boss Fight

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The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 9 Review

Last week, things weren’t looking good for Naofumi and his allies. Their baby dragon, Gaelion, got possessed by the spirits of two angry adults. Filo’s being used as an unwilling battery as they drain her levels like a parasite. The whole group’s barely hanging on against this pseudo-dungeon boss. And like the boss to any dungeon in an MMORPG, everyone has to work together to slay the dragon.

This might be among the best fights of the entire season.

First Step to Beating the Boss: Find the Weakspot

With the Dragon Emperor bearing down on them with its flames, Naofumi’s barely able to keep everyone alive. It’s only thanks to a well-placed attack by Atla that they managed to escape with their lives. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that by the next day, the dragon will have drained all of Filo’s XP. To make matters worse, Atla, the only one who can hurt it, can’t do so without risking her own life. As everyone regroups and re-strategizes, though, we get a better look at her past through flashbacks.

Gaelion Was a Great Dad

As Wyndia explained, Gaelion is her adoptive father; her biological father died from injuries while (likely) fleeing slavers or persecution. He only lived long enough to tell Gaelion her name.

What follows is one of the most genuinely heartwarming moments of the season. There are a plethora of examples of real-life babies raised by animals, and while Gaelion’s considered sentient, he still counts. Seeing him try in vain to soothe a crying baby Wyndia with raw fish (and treasure) is something plenty of dad’s can relate to. And seeing Wyndia imitate Gaelion’s roar tugs at the heartstrings. It goes a long way to show how important they were to each other, and only makes what happened all the more tragic.

There is a point to this flashback, though. Wyndia remembers that she accidentally discovered her Dad’s weak-spot: an upside-down scale on his chest.

So now, they have to hit that.

Might Not be an MMORPG, But It can Still Play Like One

Shield Hero has made no attempts to hide its MMORPG influences from day one; that’s a known fact. At the same time, it’s also made it clear that, while some aspects of it function like an MMORPG, real life is still real life, as the heroes have all had to learn. In the case of fights like the one against the reborn Dragon Emperor, though, the show knows how to play its roots to its advantage.

Anyone who’s played MMO’s like World of Warcraft, Star Wars: the Old Republic, and more know what the final boss of a dungeon’s like. It’s a fight that tests them to their limits and requires perfect teamwork and not pulling a Leeroy Jenkins. Thankfully, not only did Naofumi’s group come to play, but so did the animation.

The fight that follows, while not quite as tense as the previous episode, makes up for things with letting everyone get at least one good hit in. However, despite everything, it’s not until Atla and Fohl show up that the tide truly turns. It shows that the studio put much of its budget into Atla’s final attack, because it is breathtaking to watch.

In the end, Naofumi and others manage to free Gaelion jr. and Filo from the Dragon Emperor, and Sadeena rips its core out. Boss fight won!

They’ve Got a Dragon Now!

So, despite having to say goodbye to her father for a second time, Wyndia manages to make peace with what happened, and starts to forgive Ren. The show makes it no secret that had Ren known the truth, he wouldn’t have fought Gaelion. Thus, it’s satisfying when afterwards, Naofumi tells the villagers, “you all duped Ren into killing that dragon for its treasure and steal his daughter. You brought this on yourself and got what you deserved.” Knowing what he can do to people who make him mad, they got off easy. It’s also satisfying to see Wyndia take the first steps to healing by thanking Ren for saving her.

Except the OG Gaelion isn’t gone for good. Part of his soul’s now rooming in Gaelion Jr.’s body, which he asks Naofumi to keep quiet about. Sadly for Filo, Jr isn’t giving the XP back, and who can blame him? He can turn into a dragon big enough for the heroes to ride!

Thus, the Sword Hero manages to make amends for one of his biggest mistakes, but the season’s not done yet. Itsuki’s still MIA, and the title for next week’s episode makes it clear the search for him’s about to start. 

This could be the hardest attempt yet.

I Give “Emperor Dragon” a 4.5/5

Wyndia and the Dragon. Her Story Revealed!

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

The Rising of the Shield Heroย S3 Ep 8

One minute, Naofumi and his party are cooing over their baby dragon, Gaelion. The next,ย it’s eaten the fused core of the dragonsย that Ren and Kizuna each killed. The latter is still mad at Ren and is ready to kill everyone. It seems their only hope lies in the dog girl, Wyndia, and her surprising connection to one of the dragons.ย 

How Did This Happen, Anyway?

The episode first establishes that the souls of two dead dragons possess Gaelion. As Rat explains, dragons inย Shield Heroย have an organ called a core that houses their memories. Since Gaelion is still young, the other two dragons overwrite his mind and body. In other words, he’s possessed and ready to kill anyone who comes near him.ย 

To make matters worse, Gaelion’s possession is taking its toll on Filo, who ate part of the core before. Now, Gaelion’s cursed Filo and started sapping her levels. The threat of the angry dragon and to Filo’s life is more than enough to prompt everyone to go after Gaelion. Thus, the group winds up traveling to the den of the dragon that Ren first killed.

Wyndia and Her Dragon Dad

While Ren’s slaying of the dragon and his careless decision to leave the body behind without burying it was already framed in a bad light, it’s only in this episode that the true extent of his mistake is laid bare thanks to Wyndia. As she reveals late in the episode, the dragon Ren killed and Naofumi fought as a zombie was her adoptive father, Gaelion. Worse, it’s revealed that after Ren killed her father, the villagers captured and sold her into slavery. They used his naivete for selfish purposes, leading to Wyndia’s distrust of Ren.ย 

The anime’s already well-established how the other three Cardinal Heroes have largely failed to live up to the mantle thrust upon them. They refused to work together, their pride kept them from listening to Naofumi, and they lost their parties and all trust. However, to know that Ren got tricked into making Wyndia an orphan and slave? That’s easily one of their biggest screw-ups. It also makes the sight of Naofumi’s group fighting the possessed Gaelion heartbreaking.

Return of the Dragon Emperor

Things only get worse as the party fights against the nowย massiveย dragon Gaelion’s become. Not only is it sapping Filo of her power, but it leads to her going berserk and running right toward the dragon. The group can only watch in horror as Gaelionย swallows her wholeย to absorb her power. It’s like Cell from theย Dragon Ballย franchise! Worse still, even though Wyndia gets through to her father, the dragon emperor that Kizuna slew becomes dominant, ready to conquer anew.

The upside (for the fans): the fight between the reborn dragon emperor and the combined hero party is the best fight of the season yet. Naofumi, Rapthalia, Ren, and everyone else pull out all the stops to fight against the monster. It’s visually stunning in a way that the series hasn’t been since the first season. You can tell that the studio wanted this fight to live up to the fan’s expectations. Unfortunately, it’s also a fight that needs to be resolved by the end of the episode.

Yes, the episode ends midway through the fight. With most of the group on the ropes and Naofumi barely hanging on, it’s an ideal cliffhanger. Waiting a whole week to find out what happens next will be torture!

I Give “Dragon’s Den” a 4.5/5