The 🔥Roasting🔥 of The Shield Hero

In which I spend 50 minutes analyzing how and why The Rising of The Shield Hero is a pretty okay Isekai anime. Mostly.
Sponsored by Gfuel. By One, Get One free this memorial day week at gfuel.com/
Chapters:
0:00 The Elephant in the Room
6:47 A Found Family You Can Buy
18:27 Gfuel
19:35 With Heroes Like These, Who Needs Villains?
27:28 Okay Maybe We Still Need Some Villains
36:04 On The Grind
#Anime #ShieldHero #Roast
Support me on Patreon: / mothersbasement
Subscribe to Mother's Basement for anime and gaming videos every week: kzbin.info_...
Validate me!
Follow me on twitter: / g0ffthew
Also on facebook: / mothersbasementofficial
And check out my Steam Curator page: steamcommunity.com/groups/moth...
and the new Mother's Basement Subreddit: / mothersbasement
In the depths of his Mother's Basement, Geoff Thew creates videos analyzing the storytelling techniques of anime and video games. He has been named the number one Worst KZbin Anime Reviewer by The Top Tens.

[@GippyHappy]

"Owning people is wrong" "Well that's just like, your opinion, man."

[@slevinchannel7589]

It truly is depressing how many anime try to "Um, Actually!" literal Slavery. "But he's really nice to his slave that the writer clearly ships him with, so it's okay!" Your mother should have swallowed you. !!!

[@schizophrenic_rambler]

I mean, if the hero of prophecy who was summoned from another dimension was framed as a rapper by a fire-crotch harlot who everyone believes in for some reason despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that it's a bold faced lie, and has no one to follow him while the only thing he has is a sheld the size of a saucer that impedes him from cutting butter with a knife, it'd be better to give him slaves than for us to become slaves to the demons or just outright fertilizer. But yeah, under other circumstances it would be wrong.

[@theunhappygamer1744]

yeah man. They like being owned. So that makes it ok.

[@OceanFragments]

CONTEXTUALLY SPEAKING, Most isekais do this to indulge concerning fantasies. Naofumi does it because he literally cannot function without a DPS and initially he has really solid reason not to trust people, so he relies on the safety provided by the slave crest. He never treats Raphtalia as either a sexual object or a slave, opting to be more of an adoptive father and giving her freedom and agency from sitting in a cage or having a worse life. The crest later becomes integrated into the shield as a partywide buff, as well as a symbolic gesture of trust as he never uses it (save like one time for good reason) so people start taking it on to get those benefits. Slavery is never justified, but by his actions, Naofumi is not a slaver, he's a liberator.

[@shamrockgaming9505]

contextually speaking he should've done literally anything else@@OceanFragments

[@Mahbu]

I am so glad I am not the only one who thinks the "isekai protag gets slaves but it's okay he's a good guy" trope is utterly insane.

[@michaelholtke4445]

I've dropped so many animes when this trope gets introduced

[@tommihommi1]

Japan has a completely fucked up relationship with: Slavery Sexuality Children Sexual slavery of children

[@Sandman382]

Eh. I think the trope is fine to some extent. Mostly because they DO treat them well, paying the slavers isn't necessarily a great thing but if that's how you can save someone from a bad situation and put them in a good one its fine. Some even have whole bits around trying to figure out how to break slavery that's just a forever thing in that setting. There's also the fact that in like 60-70% of these settings where a MC gets a slave slavery is closer to indentured servitude and criminal labor with only the 'truly evil' slavers dealing in illegal slaves who the MC will of course flatten and save the victims of.....and not only indentured servitude but perfected indentured servitude where it actually works and isn't just someone scamming someone into being a slave with no chance of escape, laws that require they be treated well or they get freed, laws that require them to be paid appropriately for their services and as such can free themselves eventually if they want to (they generally don't for various reasons in these but that's a different kettle). Shield hero is one of the WORSE slavery systems in isekai stories I've read. :P At least among any that aren't just 18+ stories. It honestly feels like a lot of these worlds use slavery largely to go 'See slavery doesn't have to be bad. Its just that our world is full of straight up horrible people.' and even so the protagonist usually goes a step beyond whatever the locals do with slaves(usually as simple as having them sit at the same table and eat at the same time as well as the same food. Which is really more of a general servant thing but I guess slaves get a step down from servant food normally?) Now is it strange that a large amount of Japanese media is trying to make good slavery? Yeah, yeah that's kinda....fucky. But that's probably mostly a fetish thing which isn't great but....yeah still fucky.

[@Vanastar]

@@michaelholtke4445 It's genuinely concerning to me. Like, why do *so many* Japanese authors include it? Quite apart from spoiling every story it comes up in for me, it's kinda fucking me up that the stories get so popular internationally.

[@Sobepome]

@@Sandman382 Nah, it's not fine. We don't need to reopen the slavery issue, especially when it's the only thing setting it aside from generic isekai. That's just shock value at that point.

[@Cthulhululu]

The trope of "no i choose to remain enslaved to this person because i like it that way" hurts my soul every time

[@slevinchannel7589]

Shhh, dont say this too loud in modern commentsectionssss. You will be chased outtt

[@justine4581]

​@@slevinchannel7589 W-what?

[@schizophrenic_rambler]

The oath is objectively better than willing slavery

[@ElijahtheSaint]

Even though it's a part of reality, and it's not just something that they made up for the show?

[@schizophrenic_rambler]

@@ElijahtheSaint you don't need to be a slave to be loyal to someone, and treating it as a good thing is just wrong on many, many levels. Slavery is a thing of the past for good reasons, and it's not really a good idea to have slavery in MMOs, especially not if players can have them. I've never ever heard of anyone willingly being a slave, and I think I have a good idea why.

[@elrapido5150]

It is sad that this series can't just let kids be adopted children, and seemingly have to dance around them being romantic partners.

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

"The protagonist can't have childern! It is unrelable to our target audience! Have them want to suck his cock instead!" - someone from the Anime/Manga/ light novel industry, probably

[@mariox204]

To be positive in this case he has 2 and one is just a kid that really likes pull wagons

[@Ligmamonkey]

usagi drop flashbacks

[@theunhappygamer1744]

@@mariox204 well even the one that just likes to pull wagons is being chased around by a weird older guy. And there is more than two now, including a blind child who likes to sleep in his bed.

[@mariox204]

@@theunhappygamer1744 i would say that a 50% of adoptive incest isnt that bad if i didnt read the novels and knew that isnt 50%

[@kainepeterson6638]

Shield hero: owns slaves Skeleton Knight: frees slaves, allows them to beat the *absolute shit* out of their former owner

[@thefanwithoutaface8105]

Shield Hero: Guy who has next to zero offensive abilities and needs Slaves to help fight, while using his magic to ensrue they level up crazy fast Skeleton Knight: Stupidly OP who starts out on God Mode right out the gate and can own anyone who tries to stop him. Try again chief.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

@@thefanwithoutaface8105 Falls apart when Shield Hero guy does become OP Skeleton Knight stays bae SUCK IT

[@thefanwithoutaface8105]

@@elvingearmasterirma7241 Except no it doesn't as the Slave Shield grants both exp and power boosts to ensure Raphtalia and Filo, who are doing most of the fighting, have as many advantages as possible.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

@@thefanwithoutaface8105 AND THEYRE STILL SLAVES _oof_

[@thefanwithoutaface8105]

@@elvingearmasterirma7241 In name only. They only wear the mark for the power up, that's it. You just like to point that out because it bugs you so much. Not my fault.

[@brandonhughes4076]

"No romantic interest in his slave daughters" It is baffling that this is one of this show's _better_ points

[@user-tp5sg3zt2f]

Naofumi and Raphtalia do get into a romantic relationship with each other and even had a talk about marriage in volume 22 of The light novels

[@brandonhughes4076]

@@user-tp5sg3zt2f ah, so not only does have slave daughters, he’s probably going to marry one of them. How wonderful.

[@LoveofFunk]

@@user-tp5sg3zt2f WHAT? NOOOOOOO

[@lyellCrookshanks]

​@@user-tp5sg3zt2f nu

[@gangrenousgandalf2102]

@@user-tp5sg3zt2f MADLAD DID IT THE BALL HAS BEEN USAGI DROPPED, TRASH HAS RISEN ΚΎΡΙΕ ΕΛΈΗΣΟΝ

[@ivyward1393]

honestly the amount of sex slavery in isekai anime really reminds me of comfort women in ww2

[@gabriellebertrand3054]

I was thinking the same thing - it’s also similar to Japan’s culture of forced sex work in the Edo Red Light Districts

[@stillcantbesilencedevennow]

It's ALMOST like Japan is f*cked up.... Weird. Back to watching videos describing the Japanese obsession with "gimp wrestling". Lol

[@providence1961]

I recommend you to read the book titled Anti-Japanese Tribalism, it debunked thoroughly exaggerated and fabricated historical fictions regarding Japan and WW2, written by South Korean Professor Lee, Young Hoon. In now days Japan is one of the safest countries for women. Of course every existing country has it's own dark sides. However G7 countries including Japan are obviously the most civilized countries in Human history. That is why many people around the world wanting to move to those G7 countries even if they could risk their lives. P.S. if you don't mind please research about what South Korean soldiers committed against innocent Vietnamese women in Vietnam war and Soveit soldiers committed against innocent German women in East Germany after the capitulation of Nazi Germany.

[@validark]

​@@providence1961lets not move the goal post here dude literally every country in the world has a war crime or two under its belt op

[@providence1961]

@@validark Yes sir or madam! Japan and Germany gave tremendous reparations to South Korea and Poland etc. However, South Korea and Russia or most of existing countries never gave any legal reparations to the victims. It is wrong to blame the countries where already gave tremendous reparations.

[@connerrose6116]

The fact that he buys a slave doesn’t really bother me since he's supposed to be at his lowest point and it could have been a set up for character growth later on. The fact that they keep using the slave crest is what's weird and uncomfortable. There's no justifiable reason for it, especially since the previous shield hero is a hero to oppressed people

[@schizophrenic_rambler]

I'm not sure of the morality but this feels like the pokerus thing. Slaves share XP between kills, so you could potentially have an army of a few dozen slaves that go from level 5 to 100 in a couple weeks of grinding, and since the slavery thing can be undone it's somewhat meaningless in the long run as long as it does happen once the demon lord gets sealed or something. This is considering Naofumi for some reason only "hires" anime girls, imagine if they were actual monsters, I definitely wouldn't want to be anywhere near an army made of Emerald Weapons.

[@connerrose6116]

@schizophrenic_rambler Even still, that is all an excuse made by the author to justify the slave crest thing. In-world justifications don't make it any less weird and uncomfortable cause the author still came up with excuses to continue using the slave crests. If he needed to find ways for them to get stronger faster, he could have thought up a much less creepy way of doing it.

[@schizophrenic_rambler]

@@connerrose6116 I guess you're right, it could've worked if it was like the party system in most RPGs that allows for customization and in MMOs where players can team up and share xp. That or if they made it a plot point acknowledging how truly horrible it is and had permanent effects, but the trope has worn out and it's not shocking anymore, it's just disgusting.

[@christianweibrecht6555]

@notaperson4877 while that is true, my question is why so many viewers love slave girls Hopefully one day a respectable channel does a deep dive on The real world phenomenon that caused this trend.

[@Milady7021]

​@@christianweibrecht6555 guaranteed loyalty and safety are pretty appealing to people with trust issues, cause magically enslaved girls can`t dump you like your ex did for whatever reason. Or your friend who broke a promise or hangs out with someone more fun. Or a parent that abandoned you or just wasn`t attentive enough. Or it might be a reflexive from all the modern systems with "choice without choice", cause Japanese entertainment industry has many shared traits with slavery, and normalizing your trauma is a bad coping mechanism that still takes place.

[@matias1278]

My problem with shield hero is that EVERYONE outside Naofumi's circle will behave like either someone with brain damage or cartoonishly evil.

[@thabangpatiko9869]

That because the writers know nothing about characterization

[@ignatius929]

@@thabangpatiko9869 and doesn’t bother to learn because they realise most people would buy their book.

[@linkskywalker5417]

Funny you mention cartoonishly evil because technically, anime also encompasses cartoons. And why shouldn't animation, cartoons and anime alike, have cartoonishly evil villains and cartoonishly good guys?

[@matias1278]

@@linkskywalker5417 Im pretty sure everyone can understand what i mean by cartoonishly evil. The current villain of shield hero feels pretty similar to villains you see in comedy shows like konosuba. The difference is, konosuba started as a comedy, while shield hero started on a kinda serious note.

[@linkskywalker5417]

@@matias1278 Thing is, Judge Doom was cartoonishly evil and he scared the shit out of kids, so they have a place even in serious animes.

[@KigaiOkasu]

“Filo is the best part of every action scene!” Translation: “I love every moment where Motoyasu gets kicked in the crotch!”

[@4ncientGu150]

Lol

[@dynamicworlds1]

Ngl, if they made a slapstic comedy spin-off where Motoyasu got kicked in the crotch in every episode, I would so watch that!

[@LowTier4Life]

@@dynamicworlds1 Instead we get a spinoff where Motoyasu is the MC and gets time traveled back to the start of the series and goes out of his way to change the story so that Naofumi doesn't get falsely accused and changes other story beats

[@kingofflamingos4344]

@@LowTier4Life that actually sound.....well I haven't seen it, but I bet it's nice right?

[@tanuki01]

The way this show is described is like delicious chocolate chips buried in a mound of dung

[@guillermopena8412]

Yeah, the whole slavery thing would be easier to ignore if only they had omitted 3 things: 1) The fact that Raphtalia willingly and gladly goes back to being a slave. 2) The fact that Naufumi forces every person that joins his party to become his slaves to ensure trusts. And 3) The fact that the in-universe game mechanics actually rewards having slaves by giving stats and xp boosts to the slaves! By doing these 3 things, the author is effectively saying that: Being enslaved is a good thing as long as the slave owner is nice. That the healthiest relationships are those in which you have superiority in the power dynamic. And that slavery is actually EMPOWERING TO THE SLAVES! No. Just. No! This show really did not need this trope at all! Wtf!?

[@darkpyro786]

How long is it gonna take people to realize these isekai light novel authors are societal rejects for a good reason lmao. Nearly every single one has a loli as a love interest/sexualizes them. They were never able to take control of their own lives so they resort to creating a fictional world where their self insert mc is OP and has women under their thumb. Except the only women they can write that way have to be underdeveloped/weak-willed/over-reliant. The classic deep-rooted mysogynistic mindset mixed with power and inferiority complexes is pretty much all I see now. Knowing these I've pretty much written the light-novel to anime isekai genre off for now lol

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@darkpyro786 Anime fans hate self-criticism, even the supposedly woke ones

[@AkaiKnight]

Sounds like it came straight out of pro slavery propaganda in the civil war era

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@yogialamsyah8429 No there's slavery because most otaku are future rapists

[@thabangpatiko9869]

The worst thing is that in order to make the male protagonist look clean the female characters are portrayed as insane Because there is no sane person who will willing choose to be a salve just their master is good instead of choosing freedom

[@BjornTorbs]

props to Naofumi's English VA. bro is just the epitome of a shifty, edgy, batman-OC that he manages to nail Naofumi perfectly with that one slavery defense line

[@eldritchomen]

Yeah, billy kametz was an absolutely amazing VA in everything I've ever seen him in (even if the role isn't,,, the most flattering, like naofumi) Sadly he's passed away though :(

[@kingsleycy3450]

Billy Kametz also gave an iconic performance as Josuke from Diamond is unbreakable- a way cooler character than Naofumi

[@lord_ozymandias]

@@eldritchomenbilly played him?? oh dear. i knew him as macaque in lego monkie kid. that guy was everywhere

[@eldritchomen]

@@lord_ozymandias yeaaah he did I knew him mainly as Ran from Epic7 (bc I like ran,,, when he's written consistently,,,) but his voice is recognizable for me wherever it is. Really depressing that he's gone

[@kichiroumitsurugi4363]

​@@lord_ozymandiasHe also played Maruki in Persona 5 Royal

[@xenasBS]

The shock-titty-tattoo reminds me of an argument people make about real life slavery. That argument being that, though some slaves acted as if they really liked their masters... They did so under the constant knowledge that disobeying, or putting their masters in a bad mood even, could lead to physical punishment. Or being shipped off to a plantation away from your family. Or having your kids taken away. Or being killed. A "good" relationship with your slaves does not make you a good slavemaster. There are no good slavemasters. Which shouldn't need to be explained 🙄

[@valritz1489]

Similarly, there's no such thing as a "good" slave position. Doesn't matter if you're in the fields or in the house, you and your kids and your spouse are still someone else's property.

[@The_Bird_Bird_Harder]

@@valritz1489 Enter Thomas Jefferson, who simply cognitive dissonanced his way past this, by just not thinking his slaves were slaves anymore if he let them make his bath.

[@valritz1489]

@@The_Bird_Bird_Harder Yeah, TJ was a lot of things, and "wishful thinker" was like 80% of them.

[@taoiseachjager9643]

The stock titty tattoo solves the single largest anxeity facing slave societies, servile insurection. Figuring out how to keep slaves loyal is something slave societies wrote a lot about. Most Solutions to this problem involved some level of good Testament for slaves. The roman book "res rusticae" by columella argues that the best way to keep slaves loyal is to give this some hope of a better future, namely through offering Potential freedom. A roman could at any point free his slave, and under roman law a slave that reached the age of 55(i think) would be set free. Another recomendation is to give women as a prize to slaves and to allow slaves to Start families. Women could be given as rewards for loyal slaves, and it was thought giving rowdy slaves wives was a method of inspiring loyalty because then the slave holder could use the family as a insurance against disloyalty. Being able to magicaly compel complete loyalty removes perhaps the only incentive slave holders have to show any degree of kindness to slaves. The only thing left is the monitary incentive to at least keep the slave alive. Rising of the shield hero does not seem to think about the implications of the titty tattoo at all which makes the text's "slavery is not that bad actually" angle significantly more creepy.

[@Maddinhpws]

Depends on the society. In some societies it really comes down to whether you could be free in the first place. So you may better be off enslaved than not enslaved as whatever would come to you when not enslaved might be worse.

[@Ghost77731]

"How absurdly proud Naufumi seems to be of himself for coming up with the same prank we all pulled on our pokemon rivals at age 6" Had me fuckin dying bro

[@Oxygen1004]

It's the simple joys in life.

[@invismilkman4618]

My favorite genre of isekai anime is “slavery is bad so I shall become powerful to stop injustice! …by buying several slaves and using them to move up in the social hierarchy so that I can associate with the rich elites and then I will definitely end all the social issues and not just mess around with my good friends who I definitely don’t sleep with”

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

Ascendance of a bookworm lol

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

​@@DKNguyen3.1415is that really what happens in the show? I was kinda of interested in watching

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

@pedroafonsopinheiro9874 In that society, orphans are not considered people until they are baptized at a certain age. Even after baptism they remain grey clergy which serve the noble blue clergy. They can also be bought and sold to the nobility. They all only survive off the leftovers of the blue clergy but the church is understaffed on blue clergy so the unbaptized orphans are starving live in terrible conditions locked up in the orphanage. Myne ends up becoming the orphanage director and tries to protect them from being sold (especially the women since they can be sold for sexual purposes) but she needs a way to have them be self-sufficient so they can be fed. To that end she has them work in in her papermaking workshop which (at least in the books) she admits is shady child labour. At various points she appoints or purchases some girls from the orphanage to serve her which will protect them from being purchased by less savoury people. At another time she enables a man from the orphanage to have his freedom purchased by a village so he can marry one of the village girls. On the whole, it is very much a world where you can't just instantly sweep away the way society works. It doesn't matter if you're a commoner or noble trying to do the right thing since the other nobles will retaliate and crush you and what you're trying to protect if you too abruptly and overtly go against their interests. It's a good show and light novel with a very carefully thought out story.

[@iButt]

Raphtalia choosing to become a slave again makes it less fucked up in-universe, but significantly more fucked up irl. These are characters, not people, and all their decisions and personality traits are decided on by the author. Who decided that the main love interest, who is also *mentally 10 years old* and the main source of fan-service, SHOULD be a slave to the main character. The titty tattoo doesn't even come up again as a relevant point for Raphtalia specifically, so there's no plot relevance to fall back on here. The author clearly just has a power dynamic fetish, which isn't the *worst* thing ever, especially by Isekai mangaka standards, but it's just very... ew.

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

I still think the worse thing is turning a fat bird into a loli for his harem. Was bad enough author felt the need to add the fat bird to the harem at all

[@mateushenriquepinheiro3197]

"Don't worry guys, she aged both mentally and physically so she is of legal age" Which one matters more? chronological age or biological age? No matter which one you choose it will still be a child one way or the other

[@Toshimi1043]

"...less fucked up in-universe, but significantly more fucked up irl." "all their decisions and personality traits are decided on by the author." That sums up the Thermian argument perfectly.

[@maxwellsmith9988]

I think it's worse because of the whole "slavery was beneficial to slaves" idea.

[@_caith]

you do realize that the author didn't write that though? That never even happened in the novel. Admittedly it was even worse in the very very beginning, but that was the whole point of him being broken physical, mentally and emotionally. Its only when she sticks around after the duel, that he changes his outlook on life. And way way later, once he isn't morally "growing" but genuinely outgrown it starts to haunt him just how messed up that was, and essentially brings up a whole social therapy arc. Also the titty tattoo never happened. Blame fanservice. 'power dynamic fetish' is absolutely correct for the first 3 volumes. There are 22 volumes. Volume 12~13 are literally trying to not only undo his past misogyny mistakes of the past, but that also starts the final core plot of the whole story, where he realizes that single common thread ran through not only his fuckups, but also those of the other 3 heroes, started to paint the picture that maybe they arent comically evil, but purposely led into the worst possible scenario by someone they unconditionally trust. Just saying, but this novel has one of the few main villains I respect for being genuinely capable, going so far as to purposely make mistakes and then comically hide them, to make everything think they've seen through them.

[@timothymclean]

It's weird to me that the fake rape accusation is considered _the_ elephant in the room, when I've never heard of that plot point and would have assumed the slavery was the elephant in the room. And even then, I hadn't heard about how he abused the agony-inducing slave tattoos. Why does this room have so many elephants?

[@Zarastro54]

It’s probably become a bigger elephant because of the Depp v Heard trial.

[@chasrobinson4493]

How big is this room?

[@wawfleu]

Most people who watch anime care more about false rape accusations then slavery

[@theuncannydag]

The elephants are big tidded kemono girls & this is a slave waifu zoo

[@Ash_Wen-li]

false accusations are a much more relevant issue than slavery. In the West people don't really own slaves and we can accept it as part of the world the characters live in

[@mariinito4291]

As someone already said "To make the Shield Hero look good, the author made all the other characters dumb"

[@eaahabis]

That's often the problem with most Isekai and why I love Mushoku Tensei so much

[@Revealingstorm.]

@@eaahabis mushoku Tensei has a whole host of other problems. I would argue it's worse in ways. The main character is a pedophile and a groomer. I dropped it pretty early because the show wasn't showing him in a bad light and even encouraging the grooming.

[@gildedphoenix]

For anime, I agree, but in LN, Naofumi's not so better than the rest.

[@ardi08]

@@eaahabis Like MT even have good side characters or well-thought villains

[@xxvaltielxx1789]

@@eaahabis MC had seggs with a minor, he had his previous memories, so that's a big no no, doesn't matter if he was younger than her in his new life There, MT is no better (I don't hate MT)

[@MoikaSwirl_]

I hate how fanfic writers are better at humanising the characters and making this story more realistic

[@BJGvideos]

That's generally how it goes.

[@gabrote42]

Depends. Ifyou have good criteria for what to read, it can seem that way. If not, you'll be wading through so much crap that Clutch Cargo will look like Ed, Edd, 'n Eddy in termsof quality. Unless you check a small fandom like Ghost Trick's

[@panonymousbloom5405]

​@@BJGvideosyup. Fanfic gets so much bad rep because of wattpad badboy stereotypes but in my experience, like, 80% character building comes from from it, and a lot of ff is waaay better than your average show. ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠∵⁠ ⁠)⁠┌

[@janinebelleestrada7096]

Because in fanfiction you tend to compensate on what is lacking on the story that you love or like. Like how I compensate the lack of gay stuff in naruto wherein I bridged that desire to the medium of journalism and literally submit gay fanfiction Naruto comics that are found at the back of every issue of magazine handed out. It was a one shot all most of the girls requested for more and the men requested a gl one. Im not gonna do it again though because it was a weekly issue of 13 pages and it made me depressed all throughout my four years in high school. This is why I gave up my dream of becoming a comic artist and shift programs halfway the semester to bussiness marketing instead.

[@CandyAmble]

who is a fan??

[@HeSheXie]

I hate the fanservice they keep playing into with Raphtalia. I don't care if she was de-aged or whatever. They tell us she's ten and then give us some gross reverse loli pandering that makes my skin crawl. And it doesn't matter how "good" a master you have. Being a slave with a good master is like only having to eat half a turd instead of a full one.

[@my_girl_seraphine5294]

Agreed

[@baonguyenxuanthai711]

i agree with this 100%

[@TARINunit9]

In the early episodes, you're not supposed to like the slavery. When Shieldbro first buys Raphtalia, you're not supposed to be thinking "oh it's justified because he's a good master." You're supposed to be thinking "wow, he's so desperate he's resorting to slavery to get by." In the later episodes, yeah things get more uncomfortable. Raphtalia willingly keeps her slave brand, which is supposed to be a political move to keep her legal protections (as a freeman she's at risk of getting lynched) but the writers can't help themselves and present it as a love confession

[@nowaylater6950]

It's basically pedophilia on extra steps. I prefer 19+ years old legal loli instead of matured 10 years old girl. Fck it, even 1000 year old loli is even better than sh1t like 5-10 years old with 'mature' body.

[@Ninja18Pl]

Who asked who cares if their 10 or 5 their animated we need fanservice 😂😂

[@malum9478]

hearing the main character basically say "calm down libtard, don't you know slavery's legal?" is some next level sociology understanding by the ever understanding japanese. jfc.

[@amiablereaper]

Don't blame Japan as a country or culture for this. Or did you forget about Game of Thrones?

[@fortniteballs57]

@@amiablereaper tf Game of Thrones has to do with that

[@yawningabyss681]

@@amiablereaper Game of Thrones doesn't try to justify slavery or make it seem ok? The difference in how slavery is treated in this show v.s GoT is pretty huge.

[@SavagePassion666]

@@amiablereaper You're right. It's the shitbag writers who should be taken behind the woodshed for this. Good point.

[@wumbojet]

​@@amiablereaperone of the protagonists heavily depicted as a heroine has "Breaker of chains" as part of her title because he freed a whole country worth of slaves.

[@FlubbedPig]

Very minor complaint, but it's always bugged the absolute hell out of me that despite being the "Shield Hero", Naofumi's most frequent role in combat is not as a tank. More often then not, his huge variety of magical shields makes him essentially the party's caster.

[@thedarklordx]

That's an interesting observation. Never thought about that before.

[@nobalkain624]

I am sure he would have remained a Tank if he was not forced to find a way to survive himself. He was forced to think outside the box and use anything and everything to survive. If the other Heroes had bothered to listen to him when he was trying to tell them they could use one anothers power-ups I am sure they would have just as many crazy powers and he could simply be a Tank again.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Yeah, it’s kinda funny that, of the four heroes, he’s meant to be the only one who isn’t explicitly DPS. That’s kinda dumb.

[@troljynx9953]

Don't worry about it, it's definitely not a minor detail...

[@valletas]

Reminds me of how in monster hunter the support weapon can easily do the most damage if you use it the right way The hunting horn is slow, clunky but its buffs are extremely powerfull

[@enomiellanidrac9137]

About the second elephant in the room it must be said it is far worse in the novel that the anime let you believe: Naofumi is shown as guenuienly traumatized by the initial events and as a result extremely gynophobic and misogynic, he clearly state that he chose Raphtalia because she was a girl and so if he had to buy a slave it might as well be one that reminds him of "the bitch that betrayed him" (which at this point is any female) so he would have no remorse and even feel good if he has to abuse her. From the internal monologue missing in the anime we understand that what is shown as acts of kindness (buying her a ball, giving her the lunch she wants) is in his mind done to keep her efficient so he can rentabilize his purchasse and it's not before the "duel" with the spear hero, where he think he'll be left alone again to have Raphtalia still sticks with him instead , that he begins to recorver from it and gradually change his perspective and it's because of Raphtalia's benevolence in this instance that he will make better moral choice later in the show such as helping improve the condition of demi-human. So in the novel the "Rising" of Naofumi is truly rising from his morally lowest point.

[@GamingWithHajimemes]

If she wasn't a slave but an equal after that actually sounds really fucking cool for a villainous anti hero arc. I really want to read that now-

[@JaneDoe-kj2ny]

@@GamingWithHajimemes feel like it makes it more intriging with the slave aspect

[@Jamazed]

@@GamingWithHajimemes After buying her and her almost dying, I thought the campfire scene would convince him to realize he still had his humanity left and would release the slave seal himself - maybe even let her leave and eventually meet her again. I facepalmed so hard at what actually happened and how re-enslaving her was shown as a good thing that everyone was onboard for.

[@GamingWithHajimemes]

@@Jamazed Yeah. I'm guessing they did it just to be sorta edgy for some reason. Either that or fetish pandering.

[@MufinMcFlufin]

@@Jamazed I don't recall what happened in the anime, but in the LNs he is fine with her being an equal and joining his party voluntarily and tries to convince her not to get another seal (albeit he doesn't try very hard). She insists on the seal because she feels he couldn't fully trust her otherwise because of his past trauma. She trusts him and wants him to have no reason to distrust her, so she makes that choice. I'll be the first to admit it's messed up in a few ways (he concedes, allows her to continue that mentality, etc.), but I don't think that specific part is as bad as most people say.

[@misterduch7904]

The concept is interesting, however it falls flat pretty quickly once you realise that our "shield hero", who should mostly act as a tank with a few support abilities based on him...only having a shield, is instead primarily a caster with some of the highest damage outputs across the other heroes. It's just one of the many flaws of the story, but it's a pretty good indicator for the rest of them I think

[@dubiousdeliquite6641]

In the first half they were really creative with the way he and raphtalia fought together and how he used his shields, honestly his duel with the spear hero is my favorite fight in the series. I wish he didnt get as many offensive shields though The berserk shield is good because its the whole point of the curse series, and it makes some cool moments The snake bite one would be ok if it was more about debuffing rather than outright attacking The ghoul one is a cool concept of draining mana rather than dealing damage, so that one is good But the dog one is too much, he doesnt need something so directly offensive

[@SinHurr]

It was just written by someone who knew Symphony of the Night's best weapon.

[@Demonsta]

It's funny to me as an mmo player when this is actually a balancing pitfall I've seen a lot of cheap or rushed games fall into. Giving the tank high DPS so he can compete for aggro rather than, you know, weighting the enmity of his attacks or improving taunts. Then every PvP zone is just flooded with unkillable yet deadly paladins shit talking your mom while invulnerable lmao.

[@simonhenriqueesilvalima90]

​@@SinHurr Shield Rod+Alucard's Shield.

[@vaiyt]

Gamers would have the shield hero figured out in 15 seconds. The other three guys must have been total scrubs irl.

[@Mirvana]

Just once, I wanna see the isekai that includes slavery have the MC just go full "Murdertown, Population: Slave Traders", instead of "oh well if everyone ELSE is doing it too..."

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Yeah, Naofumi could’ve just recruited all the freed slaves and become a bandit king, that’d be sick.

[@Nopeasaurus]

A isekai where they free the slaves? I'm sorry you ask for too much. I believe the door is that way. -->

[@Vanreis]

There is one now if there wasn't before - Skeleton Knight in Another World.

[@Chuckakhan]

John brown: the anime yeah I want that so much

[@toptextbottomtext3062]

*AWAY DOWN SOUTH IN THE LAND OF TRAITORS*

[@ragnarokaeon8242]

"It's like digimon. They just have a different word. And that word is slave." That broke me.

[@anothersome1552]

Naofumi: Gets accused of rape Also Naofumi: "let me buy myself a slave Girl"

[@raincandy1653]

In the light novels he specifically bought Raphtaillia because she's a girl and the woman who accused him of grape is a girl so he wanted to make Raphtaillia suffer

[@nobalkain624]

True, but he never acts on those thoughts. It shows how messed up this whole thing has made his thoughts, but he is unable to follow through with them. Even to the point that he was willing to sacrifice himself against the Multi Headed Dog Monster to let her escape when she was not willing to fight, even when shocked.

[@fourthmatchflame]

@@nobalkain624 still bad. just... a bit less so.

[@nobalkain624]

@@fourthmatchflame Yes, but the whole situation isnt meant to be seen as a good thing. I can also understand if its just not something one can handle. I hope you have found something you do enjoy. Great thing about Anime is that there is so much everyone is bound to find something they do like.

[@fourthmatchflame]

@@nobalkain624 i get that but still. its a bit much.

[@fourthmatchflame]

@@nobalkain624 like, im a fan of some pretty eadgy shit, but is the "Buying a female slave to vaciursly punish this entirely unreated woman" really nessacary? id aruge its not considering the anime cut it.

[@bretsheeley4034]

It always frustrated me that he was criticized for having slaves by the king. Dude, if you hate slavery that much... BAN IT! You're the damn king! Also, I can't be a fan of the queen either, because if she's the one truly in charge, then she's also the one who hasn't illegalized the slavery!

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

According to other people who can actually be asked to read the light novel, the institution of slavery was, apparently, on its way out. But thanks to Naofumi and his “rising”, slavery will go on to prosper as an industry for generations to come. What a hero.

[@aquamarinerose5405]

"Ban it! you're the king!" Considering the history of slavery, it's not that easy.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

@@aquamarinerose5405 Right, because, famously, the people with institutional power HATED slavery, right? Get real.

[@aquamarinerose5405]

​@@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick I mean that's its own issue with the writing, but look at something like US history. Multiple founding fathers took some issue with slavery, seeing it as wrong even as they themselves owned slaves (Such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington), but despite having some level of "Institutional Power" they chose to instead drop the issue, hoping the next generation would figure out a better answer... but instead, the tensions just kept heating up until it eventually boiled over in Civil War.

[@nobalkain624]

@@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick Trying to have a discussion with you is like talking to argue with a 5 year old, not worth the headache.

[@cestina9833]

The shield hero could have been sooo much better, but honestly I enjoyed the begining of the first season. The thing I hate the most is the fact that the other heros are so generic and boring

[@Scoonga_Doonga]

And the fact they they're all represented as fuckers whereas the MC is a messiah who can do no wrong

[@AqwDragulum]

Same. It feels like a drag waiting for their character developments

[@cestina9833]

@@Scoonga_Doonga yeah, of course we will be rooting to Naofumi, the others are trash!

[@GoinGreninja]

Agreed. Yes, the other heros are jerks and all but for how long will they stay so? They're supposed to be heroes, after all and they've to get off their high horse eventually and learn humility, I believe.

[@NotADoge3]

Basically yes.

[@britnicox3929]

It’s so weird that they have Naofumi be noble in almost every single aspect and then add slavery in as part of his story. It either intentionally or unintentionally implies that it’s the most practical and pragmatic considering he’s the man who is defending it and is the one lecturing the others on their actions as if he knows better than them. I can’t imagine the mental gymnastics that are required to both be someone who builds up the little people to be independent and also thinking it’s valid to own slaves and taking away their independence and free will. The math ain’t mathing

[@noobfart]

he doesnt think of it that way, because "he would free them if they just ask" someone used to how slavery works would point out how in a general sense it doesnt work out and theyre just lucky (plot) that nothing bad has happened yet, but explain the mechanics and what the slavery system does to someone like lets say goku, and he would be more than happy for it. and he actually does partially get over his trust issues as early as raphtalia's second slave mark but does it anyways because of the boosts conclusion: he trusts himself to not to act like a jerk and mess up on it, the other characters he also ends up enslaving reluctantly accept because of the boosts and their trust in him, but explain the situation to a bystander and itd end up seriously wrong ...if the story ended with that it wouldve been a lot more better, but it actually seems like its actually condoning slavery... although its done in a way that could easily be interpreted as sarcasm so this matter is purely subjective so its simultaneously the best and the worst anime of 2019

[@bestaround3323]

​@noobfart But isn't making slavery the main way his companions grow stronger a pretty mixed message at best? As it basically says that slavery is okay if "the slaves are better off for it." Which was one of the arguments used for slavery.

[@marthedge]

@@bestaround3323 As far as Naofumi goes he still allows free will and his involvement is slavery is as benevolent as he could have humanly managed. He didn't have much choice considering how he was forced into using that underhanded method by the society that was basically raised to shit on the shield hero. It's less of a "message" and more of making the setting and making the best out of a bad situation. Slaves are party members, his shield benefits would be conferred to party members regardless of slavery. Naofumi early on has severe trust issues which is why he stoops to the slave crest in the first place. If there was a message it's that people can't grow stronger alone. Every time he uses the cursed shield(s), a power that lets him fight alone, he gets swallowed by that power and he's usually worse for it. He's not a perfect person by any means, he has personality issues he has to get over in order to use that shield power in a more heroic fashion. I can't critique beyond them trying to handle the giant turtle in the LN or after his fight with the demon dragon in the anime, as I got **really** tired of him babysitting the other 3 heroes who are all real pieces of work themselves. But Naofumi is someone that is a work in progress, slow as he may be to do so. It's never portrayed as a good thing.

[@noobfart]

@@bestaround3323 im just explaining what hes thinking, not defending him

[@sheepj2464]

@@bestaround3323his slaves can leave, and she would have died or been graped , so yea getting a little beat up isn’t so bad for freedom and self defence

[@thebrokenforgottenandlost4273]

After having Naofumi’s new party members be lolis three times in a row I was so excited when he teamed up with two real adults in the last arc and was so damn defeated when they turned out to be evil

[@KuroshiKun]

Then you might like season 3 then b/c spoilers! They're not lol

[@gruenenator]

"Jeff, they're not chocobos, they're filolials." "I know. So anyway, about the chocobos...." Lmao, absolutely perfect.

[@Ramsey276one]

Indeed XD

[@opstellar]

[lists a whole bunch of neat things about Season 1] "And it's got chocobo races!"

[@bluespaceman7937]

Good way to be funny about it.

[@matthewpopow6647]

"Oh... right... there were TWO elephants...FU..."

[@ShinryuZensen]

Funny Thing, the novel actually explains why they look like Chocobos. Because they were CREATED by a hero from Japan. Who probably played FF and liked those and ( probably unwillingly, at least this is what happened with Mamoru ) designed like that.

[@MrMovieMaker116]

Fun fact: Naofumi was all for killing the king and Melty in the light novel. The queen refused which led to the childish name change.

[@aguywithalotofopinions412]

Which would make more sense since she’s their mother/wife and he’s their mortal enemy

[@TheThebigice]

@@aguywithalotofopinions412 and then its later revealed that malty was unwillingly possessed by a shard of an evil god which is why she acts so insanely evil and does stuff like lie when she knows she'll get shocked. And no one cares. not even her mother, she's still treated like a bad person.

[@nobalkain624]

No she wanted them to live because she felt death was to good for them. After thinking about it he agreed, she did not refuse as it was still his choice.

[@nobalkain624]

@@TheThebigice That was only in the Web Novel. It has yet to be revealed if she is or is not in the LN. So far it has just been shown that she is a pawn of the Evil God.

[@TheEmolano]

They imply it in the anime, he did it to please the queen

[@wasteofgooglesspace]

Why didn't they just have him resort to shady jobs due to his reputation and inability to fight. Then have raphtalia be a gift from his slave trader boss. Then his boss forces him to enact the same thing that happened to raphtalia in front of her, and that is where he draws the line and runs away with her. Now you have them even more down bad with literally everyone now against them.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

It's also what most people would fucking do if they felt they had their country against them. They wouldn't buy slaves. It's fetish shit and everyone here knows it.

[@SinHurr]

⭐Competent writing ⭐

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@SinHurr Also OP has like actual morals unlike a good chunk of anime writers

[@SinHurr]

@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 Equal parts sad and true.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

@@SinHurr Sadly when you live in a restrictive culture like Japan's you end up overcompensating in the opposite direction

[@bdpickett]

So glad there are Isekai out there that not only don't indulge in the "slavery is legal here, so it's okay" BS, but actively denounce it. Big shout-out to Sword-Dad Shishou for straight up murdering his wielder/daughter's owner before burning the contract to set her free and your boy, Arc, for spending most of the first season of his show actively fighting against the slave trade of the world he ended up in.

[@syweb2]

What show is Arc from?

[@bdpickett]

@@syweb2 Skeleton Knight in Another World.

[@gangrenousgandalf2102]

I once read a story where radical abolitionist John Brown got reincarnated and tries to free all the slaves of that world

[@ElvenRaptor]

If you're so offended by slavery, don't try to censor it in anime. Go out and fight here in the real world.

[@ButterflyScarlet]

@@ElvenRaptor Idk how to tell you this but it is in fact possible to do two things at the same time. We can call out the prevalence of (predominantly female) slavery in media and also try to combat IRL instances in whatever ways we can. Try again.

[@NinjaMan47]

I think it is safe to assume what everyone points to for the decline: 1. The Protagonist stopped being the Man against the System once the Queen cleaned house; and he fell into the position as the only competent hero who is singlehandedly holding the line. Like every OP Isekai protag ever. 2. Raphtalia was downgraded to a just another follower instead of as the heavy damage dealer for the Shield Hero. She loses her critical role as more people are added and our Protag gets more ways to fight directly. Just like every Isekai ever. Edit: Felt the need to add a third big one to his after going back into the series. 3. Naufumi himself. What set this boy apart from other Isekai protagonists was his pathological fear of betrayal. That was what gave any excuse for resorting to Slave Brands. This was best shown in Episode 4 and the duel between Shield and Spear. He had this irrational fear of being betrayed and abandoned that overriddes everything he does. That is why Raphtalia goes out of her way to get the brand reapplied; she know that mentally he literally is incapable of fully trusting her without it. Great stuff; at least until he starts recovering emotionally and we never see that same type of primal fear of betrayal from him as in Episode 4. For reference look at a different show: 'Overly-cautious Hero' has a Protagonist who we learn near the end has an overriding pathological fear of losing friends in battle. He never makes that explicit but that colors everything he is doing, from trying to refuse comrades entirely to doing everything himself. Naufumi could have kept that edge to him, always having this irrational fear of betrayal from anyone he doesn't have total authority over. And I do mean everyone, from the Blacksmith to the Slave-dealer. But no, he is basically a standard cynical everyman protag who is also keeping Slavegirls because now they *want* to remain his Slaves. Oof.

[@saiyanfang1047]

1. The LN had a little more involvement in rising the other heroes to that level. 2. Raphtalia and the rest of the party get more powerful and Naofumi becomes an actual support. 3. The slave crest actually gives a stat and exp buff. That's why he keeps using it.

[@TGameDev]

they might as well of just made him Captain America at this point.

[@Cj1207]

@@TGameDev LMFAO TRUEEEE

[@MrGksarathy]

I've heard that Naofumi sacrifices all of his attacking abilities in the LN by the end, so...

[@schris3]

Yeah, Shield Hero downgraded with each passing episode to a generic Isekai. Raphtalia being the proof for being downgraded to being a potential love interest, and in the fighting department now that we have Filo dealing a good chunk of the damage to bosses, Raphtalia now is just the finisher.

[@USBearForce]

What’s frustrating about Naofumi and Raphtalia’s relationship is that their character flaws have a twisted, toxic synergy, but the story has never taken advantage of it. He’s afraid of being betrayed, she’s afraid of being abandoned. Their master-slave relationship, as screwed up as it is, plays off of these faults. Even if he doesn’t take advantage of it, Naofumi still has all the power in their relationship, he does have the ability to compel Raphtalia to stay by his side. Raphtalia, on the other hand, is scared of being alone. She desperately wants to have some connection to Naofumi, even being his property is better than nothing. They’re both damaged individuals, he can’t function in a relationship where he doesn’t have her on a leash, she sees that leash as a lifeline. The story has all this at its disposal and has done absolutely nothing with it. *THAT* is what’s so frustrating about “Shield Hero” to me.

[@nobalkain624]

In the LN Naofumi does struggle with all of this a lot more. Anime just doesnt have the time too deal with Internal Dialog. Its just the limitation of taking any written work into this kind of medium. So if you honestly want to see more of this play out in the story I suggest picking it up.

[@ClockworkGearhead]

No. It _had the potential for it._ Their characters simply made their shortcomings a positive, instead.

[@voltairespuppet]

She was given the out when the slave curse was removed and the shield hero was curled up in a ball. She came back because she recognised his pain, not because he was the easy option; she could have gone with the spear hero for the easy option.

[@hornetsilksong]

I like the interesting ideas in this anime but I wish they made the crest more of a mutual pact/contract mechanic rather than a taboo irl topic. Why'd the author build a found family daughters dynamic...then also add a sprinkle of unfortunate harem implications anyway. Why even have Raphtalia start out as a child. Why not have her start out as an adult in the beginning of the story if the author plans to pair them romantically later. This anime is good by isekai standards, I liked it when it came out. But the bar for isekai anime is so low anyway.

[@rocker1407]

Wait until you see episode 10 of season 2 -- that put a huge wrinkle in that dynamic and it almost has to be addressed either in the last 3 eps of s2 or in the (already confirmed) season 3.

[@tetsujin_144]

10:23 - "Raphtalia chooses to get her shock-collar titty tattoo put back on..." I really hated that. Raphtalia got emancipated and Naofumi could not handle it AT ALL. He was freaking out thinking she'd abandon him. She had no intention to do so of course, but he seemingly couldn't be OK with the possibility that she might change her mind at some point. He was only happy once the status quo, of him not only having her support but of having power over her, was restored. It felt like it could have been a real moment of growth, but instead it just turned into a cheap excuse for why her role as a "slave" is OK - because at that point she chose to stick to it. But what would that mean if she changed her mind later? I dunno, there are things I enjoy about Shield Hero, but certain things about it just kind of bug me and this is one of them.

[@nobalkain624]

Keep in mind that by the time this happens in the Show only about a Month has passed since the Accusations that ruined his Life. It would take anyone a long time before getting over something like that, and thats after things get better. At this point everyone still thinks he did it and treats him like Trash. Also its explained better in the LN because in it they have a discussion where he tells her not to do it, but she says she wants to because she knows deep down he is still dealing with the Trauma and currently would be unable to fully trust anyone. Dont know if you really care, but thought I would let you know anyways. Hope this helps explain it a bit better to anyone who does.

[@tetsujin_144]

@@nobalkain624 Well you know, I talked about how I read the scene, it's fair to point out different ways of looking at it

[@nobalkain624]

@@tetsujin_144 That it is, just though I would share the more detailed info from the LN.

[@tetsujin_144]

@@nobalkain624 Sure, I getcha.

[@GameCat16]

It's been a while since I watched the anime, but I recall Raphtalia insisting upon it, while Naofumi only told her that it wasn't necessary anymore. (still carries some strange implications, given that the author keeps writing slave crests onto waifus, but that's a different matter).

[@Modie]

You know, I thought the anime started out strong. Naive Naofumi gets betrayed and they really show that he at the bottom. I even didn't mind him buying a slave at this point, because it was shown that it was his only option, that it wasn't his first choice and the way they portrayed it made it look like the disgusting practice that it is. They showed well that he does it out of necessity and not to downplay the system. They even then have episode 4 which should have been the turning point in that story where they both see they don't need to have the slave-master relationship. Maybe even add an arc where Naofumi is then confronted with the fact that he helped a slave trader get back into business. Like he is always the one lecturing others that they only see this as some sort of game and not a world with living people, so it would have been perfect to showcase that he also made mistakes and he now had to resolve them. Maybe even the other heroes could have been helpful in that. So that they are not just fodder that do nothing, but who help him become a better person the same way he should help them become better people. But all this didn't happen. Instead, they redo the slave seal, they buy even more things from the slave trader, enslave the chocobo as well (fun thing that people seem to have forgotten that Filo is also his slave) and in S2, they make another girl into Naofumi's slave. I don't care that there is a justification in that she levels faster if she is considered his slave. This plot point should have been addressed already and not made worse and worse.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

Maybe they shouldn't have put the character in a situation where slavery was justified

[@Vile_Oreo]

Apparently, the other three heroes actually did get their own arcs in the manga/light novel and those arcs happened before during and after the spirit tortoise. For some bizarre reason, the anime director just completely dropped them. The second season of the anime actually dropped a lot of interesting plot points for no good reason.

[@blueriverbane69]

Which is especially dumb bc the Spirit Tortoise is SO BORING TO FOCUS ON

[@KumaChrisVT]

Anime drop things all the time in order to fit more story in. The truth is that studios never know how much of a show they will get to make, so they try to get in as much story as possible in a short amount of time so they can try to end each season at a spot where it would be OK if they never got the chance to work on it further. Sadly that means A LOT of anime get content cut, but I would rather some anime cut content then never getting a completed story.

[@christianmorrow807]

Yeah the anime cuts out a lot of material and nuance I think I’ll just stick with the LN maybe the manga from here on out

[@Ramsey276one]

*WHY?!*

[@KumaChrisVT]

@@christianmorrow807 a lot of anime cut content like this one does, just like how movies adaptations of books will cut content in order to fit a runtime. They either show everything and risk not finishing the story, or cut content and leave a good story for people who doesnt care if they cut content.

[@NecroCritic]

You know, I always saw the other three heroes as parodies of the typical Isekai Protagonist archetypes. Ren is the brooding edgelord who is "so cool because he's indifferent to everyone" while having the personality of wet cardboard. Itsuki is the optimistic "chosen one" with a strong sense of justice, as well as an ego the size of Texas thanks to his hero complex. And Motoyasu is the loser harem protagonist who has gorgeous women fawning over him because the plot says so, despite the fact that his picture is in the dictionary next to the word "Incel". Also, the second season has been INFINITELY better since they finally killed that stupid turtle.

[@EarlZero0]

Thing is if shield hero is trying to take itself seriously they should not be parodies

[@NecroCritic]

@@EarlZero0 A parody can still be serious. Just look at Watchmen.

[@fanofmetal1]

@@NecroCritic Gintama is pretty serious about its parodies.

[@whatisupmyfellowamericans8808]

Oh, if the anime sticks to the source material, you are going to **hate** the big flying fucking bird(s)

[@ram3n161]

It got better after that but it still wasn't very good.

[@captain_buggles]

My biggest two issues (I couldn't even finish 12 episodes, just for transparency), besides the Elephants, are both about Raphtalia: 1: Raphtalia would've been better if she didn't have the ability to grow up rapidly. Not only that, but so would the worldbuilding. Why the hell aren't her kind the dominant race with an ability that seems to make them objectively superior to humans? There easily could've been a cultural taboo on making your children do it, and/or literal mental/biological long-term downsides. If you still want the older form, I would just make it explicitly a fake illusion that she uses like a coping mechanism, both to feel more confident and in hopes it makes people take her more seriously. 2: She shouldn't have become basically a whole different and suddenly way more positive and upbeat character once she got "older". Yeah, you change as you mature, but things like what she went through stick with you for life and even straight up alter how your brain ends up wiring itself. I think the happier persona should've been like, super obviously fake, while her real self would be a more stoic, cynical, irritable type who struggles with a lot of repressed anger and really feels constantly paranoid and on edge, but wants to put on a happy face just so Naofumi will approve of her. I think she'd have a lot of repressed misanthropy that she chooses to reverse onto herself, and urges for violence and revenge that she sees as proof she's a "monster". Essentially, Big Raphtalia should've been more just... crudely and sloppily plastered over what is very obviously still just a scared, traumatized little girl.

[@lawrencehan7385]

this so much

[@soniasun2692]

I could not agree more

[@hazavair5755]

But then we wouldn't have a bland main girl who is attached to the heros groin and can wear swimsuits for fanservice

[@Ozarka0]

Underrated comment.

[@marlonbryanmunoznunez3179]

You just made Raphtalia an intriguing and engaging character in just five paragraphs.

[@JobyPlays]

For me specifically, it goes to too many places that I just have to "overlook" or "look around" for me to enjoy. To each their own though.

[@nobalkain624]

I really wish more people thought this same way. If you dont like something just move on. Let those who do just enjoy it.

[@mmdrein]

When S1 aired it was my "guilty pleasure" show. Yeah there's a lot of elephants to ignore, but it was a fun ride once I turned my brain off. Then S2 started with another slave acquisition and immediately went into the most boring arc in any show ever. Dropped it like a hot potato. (edited for spelling)

[@maxm1157]

literally i did the exact same thing

[@quackdoescrck3009]

wait for this arc to end it gets better tbh

[@itsmefm]

I guess I completely blocked out the fact that the annoying idiot Rishia became Naofumi's slave omllll

[@zachrohler1047]

I mean the slave thing is more of a stat and exp buff than anything

[@MfundoTenza]

Same, felt like I was watching paint dry every episode

[@willofbob]

Despite the thesis of the video being "Shield Hero isn't that bad, actually," I definitely left with a lot less interest than I had at the start. I was never particularly interested in watching Shield Hero, but Geoff, my brother in Haruhi, that's a lot of elephants.

[@huckthatdish]

Yeah that’s quite a few elephants. And not like some anime where the elephant happens and then isn’t really brought up again so you can kinda will yourself to ignore it. They really double triple and quadruple down on some of those elephants. Like having the protagonist give a speech and throw hands to defend the elephant is a little fucking much

[@timothymclean]

@@huckthatdish Ah, but you see, there are mechanical benefits to keeping the slaves enslaved. Thus, Naofumi is justified in keeping his slaves enslaved so he can keep giving them an XP bonus. This _definitely_ makes the elephant smaller instead of contributing to it.

[@huckthatdish]

@@timothymclean yeah I didn’t think about how convenient it is for the slave owner, that’s my bad

[@travonarmstrong6093]

@@timothymclean If slaves get XP bonuses, then why do we mainly see Naofumi using slaves? Wouldn't this "exploit" have been used by many adventurers long before Naofumi showed up? It really does feel like the author made the "XP bonus" thing just to have Naofumi be "just that awesome", when this one idea should change the setting dramatically if the story made even a lick of sense.

[@invisibleking726]

@@travonarmstrong6093 the stat bonus isn't a thing for any slave, it is a thing explicitly for slaves in the Shield Hero's party, being unlocked by studying the slave crest materials. The main reason behind Naofumi having his party members stay slaves was his paranoia caused by the initial events of the series. At the end of Season 1 he, and new members of his party, see it as a free stat boost to help his party members become more capable of fighting for themselves, at the cost of not being able to lie to Naofumi. Though Raph does strangely see it as a sign of her loyalty and dedication to him, which is probably from worshiping the Shield Hero growing up. None of this justifies it mind you, but it does give context to the "Hero" doing something evil. And many aspects of the Shield Hero anime were cut-out or condensed to the point of almost being a mask of the source material. Especially with the release of Season 2 where the director decided that the best way to adapt an okay arc, was to make it plain terrible, and skip over as much of it, and the events between it and the prior arc, as possible. (Including a quite important training arc which introduced new characters and ideas.)

[@salvadortoscano2534]

"Oh right, there were two elephants...FUCK" got me dying xD

[@joshmakarenko5809]

Shield Hero is like the McDonald's of anime/manga, you want it for the instant gratification, then realize after you just filled yourself with something that doesn't provide any substance

[@TheAxeLord47911]

Don’t insult McDonald’s like that. It’s bad for you and unhealthy like most fast food, but it’s fucking delicious. I’d argue that something like No Game, No Life is the McDonald’s of anime. Shield Hero is moreso like crappily made brussel sprouts greased in ranch seasoning. It tries to come off as more mature than it actually is, but what’s there in substance is straight up bad both for the shallow pandering and the surface-deep attempts at coming off as introspective.

[@evarchavex4800]

@@TheAxeLord47911 Salty, greasy day old (probably longer) food that's cooked in almost certainly a disgusting kitchen. That sounds about right for this show.

[@thecupcakemedjay3314]

I honestly really liked the idea of Naofumi being so desperate that he's driven to do something so horrible, and if the show had kept that kind of tone about it, it would have honestly been great. I really don't know why Raphtalia had to redo her slave collar tho. That kinda ruins it

[@weberman173]

as stupid as the reassons may sound there are a few raessons why raphtalia "had to redo the slave collar" first, it was forecfully removed, and leavig it off woudl kinda Give the win to the spear hero secondly, Naofumi still has trust issues, raphtalia knows that, its a stupid solution to it, but it works, Naofumi even says "you dont have to do this"(paraphrased) but it does help his "trust issues" thirdly, the slave crest provides Stat boosts, and not insiginficant ones at this point in the story as well, its a direct boost to their direct fighting power. lastly, it was "hers" it was, basically, one of the few decisions she coudl ever do for herself, and a decisiosns she KNOWS was done 100% out of free will, on her own acord, its somethign thats her,s and that she wont let anyone tak away

[@Basileus127]

Yeah, I wish it kept the desperate tone longer too. The anime partly messed up the part where Raphtalia had the crest put back on. Naofumi is a much "lighter" character in the anime and really seems over his major issues by that point, but in the novels he's still pretty messed up and still can't trust anyone at all. I recall the scene had a sadder tone in the novels too, with Raphtalia being melancholy that Naofumi can only trust slaves that can't lie. Also a brief handwave that since demihumans have no rights in the kingdom, it keeps her from being captured and enslaved again (especially by Malty who would want to get back at her). Still weird though.

[@timothymclean]

@@weberman173 1: I'm not sure you could have come up with a reason that paints Naofumi in a worse light. 2: Eh...no...that's a really stupid solution, one that values Naofumi not having to confront his flaws above women's autonomy. 3: This is where we come to the Thermian Argument. I can't speak for anyone else, but the question of whether Naofumi is a Good Guy or not only matters to me insofar as it influences criticism of the story he's in. Designing setting mechanics that make slavery metaphysically advantageous is a problem for the same reason that Naofumi verbally defending slavery is-both are authorial decisions that act to justify Naofumi's enslavement of a bunch of people. That's the problem, not whether slavery blackens Naofumi's soul and bars him from Anime Heaven.

[@prussianpolydactyl836]

@@weberman173 Also could be a fourth reason. The magic slave tattoo showed that Raphtalia was already the property of a slave owner. Without the marking, she would most likely recaptured and enslaved to someone else. She may have thought that her treatment under the Shield Hero was the best she could conceivably get in that kingdom.

[@notaninquisitor7274]

@@prussianpolydactyl836 the ol' "somebody was going to do it eventually so I better dibs on firsties because I am one of the good ones" argument. No, that is not a defense or justification to sane people.

[@Atlan03]

I still think it was an amazingly funny move to use Kiritos voice actor for Ren in the japanese dub. Shoves the comparison so much more in your face.

[@MexiPerplexi]

Wait, did they really!? That's amazing! xD

[@PUMA-qb2ru]

You can't make a japanese dub of something that is already japenese.

[@Rybread52]

@@PUMA-qb2ru You absolutely can re-dub a show that already has a dub. Not sure what that has to do with the original comment though.

[@PUMA-qb2ru]

@@Rybread52 I worded my comment incorrectly. What i meant, is that the shows original voice lines arent a dub. Since theyre original and intended to be used as original. If you didnt catch it, the original comment says "kiritos voice actor for Ren in the japanese dub" which CAN imply that he thinks the show is made in english and dubbed to japanese. I doubt that he does think that, but i wanted to clarify my thoughts either way

[@Rybread52]

@@PUMA-qb2ru The word 'dub' refers to recording voiceover, so the Japanese version IS a dub

[@justincain2702]

I read the Shield Hero LN when I was first learning Japanese and I thought for sure I was misunderstanding the word 奴隷, but then I kept reading and was like, "oh, no it definitely just means literal slave..."

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

Damn bro...

[@RunningWithRoses]

I thought with the slavery thing, that the whole outcast arc wouldve lasted longer and for naofumi to become more of an anti hero, fighting between wanting to be good and the horrors of the world, with him kind of going down both paths, like stealing, ransoming (which he does do), and embracing the rage shield more (do more with the fact its fucking sentient, please), ultimately making a choice between the road to redemption and heroism or embracing the dark that has swallowed him. instead, he just ends up like every other isekai protag: a wealthy, respected, harem owner.

[@smoncko6790]

"The king will be called Trash and Malty will be called B***h" is literally the gag from the end of Men in Tights. "From this day, all toilets in the kingdom shall be known as Johns!"

[@timothymclean]

There are two big differences. First, the structure is different-they don't change King John's name to "Toilet". Second, it's not actually a gag when Naofumi does it...which makes it a lot funnier, because Princess Bitch Whore's new names are _way_ too cruel to work as a joke.

[@DKNguyen3.1415]

Seriously why are they called John's?

[@Mark-fc7tu]

Naofumi wanting revenge for suffering from injustice was the main thing that everybody was interested in. Once he got his revenge, the plot just... kept going regardless.

[@Shadewaltz]

The part I liked was that when he GOT his revenge, it was wonderfully petty. Considering that it feels most revenge-type ones go for the boring option of outright torture or worse, changing their names to be insults and then going "Welp, I'm satisfied, let's go do the adventuring thing" was a highlight for me. And I'd have been okay with pivoting to that, except that what followed lacked any of weight of the first part, with nothing to replace it. Also when the heroes compare how to get stronger and it turns out they all shape their own development through their own preconceived notions of how the world is "supposed" to work was fascinating... but if that ever amounted to anything other than "huh that's weird, I guess everyone but me is stupid" it lost my interest before that happened.

[@Exel3nce]

@@Shadewaltz the conclusion to the revenge plot was just .... embarassing

[@Borderose]

I believe the Redo of a Healer author said something about that in his interview. A lot of revenge stories lose focus on the hate and vengeance wanking and start turning into generic harems instead.

[@Goat81093]

He didn't even get his revenge; After she ruined his life and his image, his big revenge was just him humiliating her by calling her a "bitch" in public, are you kidding me? Is he like 5 years old?

[@hhsdhhsss1522]

@@Borderose redo of healer is uniroincally worse than shield hero though

[@aaronbulmahn3817]

The problem with the shield hero is: ”Oh wow, that‘s s dire situation, how will he work his way uuuuu… never mind, he‘s brokenly op now“. And that‘s just by the design of his shield. If you can absorb and combine abilities, while all the other heroes get a one time super boost, it will not be long until the absorb and combine guy is op. This works for the slime isekai, cause it doesn‘t promise anything else. But this anime promise something entirely different. Furthermore the protagonist wants to be a person who just does what‘s necessary, but when all is said and done he‘s just a goody two shoe like nearly any other isekai protagonist except he‘s also a really bad person.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

The implication is that *all* of the heroes' abilities are the same way, the other 3 simply haven't bothered to learn how to maximize their abilities properly because they've never needed to. What they did without thought worked well, so they didn't think.

[@xenrusxenomorph2268]

I remember when I didn't know what "Usagi Drop" meant.... God that was a better day.

[@loturzelrestaurant]

11:40: For me, this Elephant is actually small-by-itself BUT an Amplifier-for-the-other-Issues.

[@xenrusxenomorph2268]

@@loturzelrestaurant I absolutely agree

[@loturzelrestaurant]

@@xenrusxenomorph2268 :)

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

Love when a cute anime about raising a kid turns into incestuous pedophile bait

[@Merrsharr]

Haven't watched the video yet and shall enjoy my minutes of blissful ignorance

[@CHEFPKR]

I treat Shield Hero like my trashy reality show I want to watch when I want to zone out. I don't watch reality TV, so shield hero it is.

[@mothersbasement]

That’s pretty much how I felt watching it. It was about all my brain could handle after the big move

[@loturzelrestaurant]

@@mothersbasement 4:24: Such unhealthy Narratives like the 1 debunked in the Video 'GOP vs Queer' by "Some More News"?

[@loturzelrestaurant]

@Tin Watchman No one's forcing you, especially seeing how i literally didnt ever talk to you, but yeah: It's a good video, take the recommendation or leave it. And a Summary is hard; just sayin'.

[@nelsinki5177]

@@mothersbasement Funny thing is... in the Rise of the Spear Hero Manga wich is the spin-off manga from the OG Series/Novel the main character is Motoyasu... and he doesn't change his worst traits that made him kinda despicable on this series... mostly... But... buuuuut... he becomes the best and the most entretaning of all the heroes on that story, also develops a moral code, a character development and the story is really really improved when they take even direct narrative flaws from even the first season episodes. They even redeem some of Naofumi's worst traits, Manga always wondering me on how an author perspective from a show can differ so much from another and can improve or ruin based on perspective. I really recomend you if you have time ''Rise of the Spear Hero''. Also, also... Some day ''What's an OP for Ranking of Kings opening 2'' I don't know why, but I feel it's one of the best openings ever.

[@ethanhorn6093]

@@mothersbasement I do have to ask, out of curiosity... How long did the shower take after writing and then expressing the part where you mockingly justify the show's slave bit... even in irony I feel extremely dirty after. watching it.

[@ShadowPa1adin]

48:51 What's so funny about this is that "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance" did the pretty much the same "Villains with good publicity convinces the masses that the Hero opposing them is actually a dangerous villain who you should avoid because he can brainwash you just like he did all those people who say he is not a villain"-thing but executed it so much better by having the whole thing fall-apart when the masses themselves gradually come to realize that it's bullshit early on in the series.

[@FelisImpurrator]

I dunno about that. Doesn't seem entirely realistic to me. [glances at America]

[@MCArt25]

I, too, remember how in DC the hero was a literal slave owner.

[@chackmete9942]

@@FelisImpurrator Reality is often stranger than fiction, my guy.

[@ShadowPa1adin]

@@MCArt25 I guess that also played a part in how much better executed it was.

[@MrGksarathy]

@@FelisImpurrator Yes, it is unrealistic that everyone would actually use their critical thinking skills, and I say that entirely sincerely.

[@leonielson7138]

Motoyatsu was a party leader in various MMOs, his focus on having fun with his online girlfriends. He was killed by two of his girlfriends who found out that he was cheating on them. Itsuki played single-player RPGs, his focus on building the best party, sometimes forcing NPCs to take disadvantageous roles to support his play style. He died investigating a murder. Ren played a VRMMO, focused on mastering the system and conquering the game ... Yea, he's Kirito - the writer even admitted it. He died to truck-kun. Naufumi was a guild master in various MMOs, his focus on making the game more fun for his online friends. He was transported to the new world by reading a book.

[@slowbro7944]

motoyasu didn't have two girlfriends they were just people who had a crush on him and wanted him to choose one of them, tho they ended up both being yandere you got the cause of death for ren and itsuki swapped, plus it wasen't investigating a murder he saved his friend but got stabbed in the process

[@phastinemoon]

I think my biggest issue with the Elephant in the Room is not that it's included in the plot... It's the FRAMING. Let me explain: Framing is basically how the story implies that it wants you, the audience, to feel about anything that happens on screen. A guy hitting someone can be framed as cool and badass and showing that he's a tough hero, or it can be framed as him being violent and uncaring of other people, or it can be framed as him having a really bad day and spiraling in a self-destructive episode... all sorts of possibilities. And the framing of the Elephant in the Room with this show is... that the show seems really mean-spirited and nasty about the character of Myne. Especially given her ultimate 'punishment' -- like, how Naofumi opts to 'spare' them, with the nicknames... it's framed as funny, and cute, and not... y'know, like the show's writer was using it as a way to get back at every Hanako and Yuiko who turned him down and to call them 'bitch' and 'whore' as revenge. It's REALLY gross, but the show FRAMES it as though we should absolutely be siding with him. Anyway, that's my two cents, and I'm at least glad that someone else was talking about it.

[@baonguyenxuanthai711]

I agree with this 100%

[@Fearseblack]

Thank you for the definition, I actually something I'm not gonna lie. But that's not really that important. You guys take thing way too seriously, it's what the artist intended it to look like. There are different kinds of people out there and the MC is no saint. He could be jaded, which is part of the story. Go outside more

[@Maverick-7508]

Kinda funny since the author may be a woman...

[@Yo-tt9mt]

seriously, you have an issue with Myne, the literally stupidly evil villaines, but not the king who went through literally the same yet was less guilty because he only believed his daughter? you know, the guy thattreats him fairly early on but then hates him for doing that to his daughter. Is this a gender thing? because I cannot imagine why would you exclude him otherwise. And yes, usually people will think that death is worse than being called bitch, specially since she deserved some kind of punishment, you know she also tried to kill her sister? because she is stupidly evil you see ... Seriously I don't get you, are you androphobic or what? you even made a strawman of the auther saying "it as a way to get back at every Hanako and Yuiko who turned him down" like wow, your mental gymnastics to side with the woman villain who is portrayed as clearly evil are amazing. Do you identify yourself with her or what?

[@Toshimi1043]

Myne's punishments get worse. Like, Junko Furuta worse. And it gets framed as something someone can deserve. The narration tries to make Naofumi sound a little disturbed about it because the mass slave owner still has to be a "good guy," but the audience is expected to take enjoyment from it. Naofumi's reservations about the nature of Myne's "punishment" arranged by her own mother are mere lip service, as he lets it happen anyway. Just like how weak his "YoU dIdN't HaVe To Do ThAt" was when Raphtalia got her slave tattoo reapplied.

[@ziggytheassassin5835]

It took me 3 episodes into season one to realise that the main gimmick with shield hero is that every character is painfully stupid and pathetic except the protagonist.

[@asandax6]

Basically the real world then. A person is smart, People are stupid.

[@malum9478]

@@asandax6 damn bro so deep and im 14

[@EarlZero0]

Also comically evil, painfully comically evil

[@asandax6]

@@malum9478 That's great hopefully you'll grow into a person and not a "people".

[@EarlZero0]

@@asandax6 that saying is about how mobs can make people irrational, for shield hero it's just self centerism and shit writing it's not reflective of real life at all

[@GallowglassVT]

Honestly, I would have enjoyed the show if it wasn't for the biggest overarching problem with the entire plot and setting: the protagonist is only likeable because almost everyone else outside of his immediate circle, on both a personal and societal level, are almost comically evil. unless you're going full grimdark, which the show never fully commits to, that just reeks of lazy storytelling. Like, the lean towards mutual aid against reliance on predatory nobles and clergy is good, but I still think Naofumi is a dick.

[@xbyte00]

Exactly, everyone else is just evil and plain stupid, feels like the protag is the only actual living being in a world full of NPCs

[@aussiepuppet5250]

As someone who barely remembers having read the manga before the anime even came out (which was about up to the turtle arc and slightly after) this was one of my biggest criticisms. Naofumi is a slightly justified asshole with a bit of kindness, while everyone else is just a comically unrealistic asshole.

[@XPurpleVortex]

Would you not become a dick when the country that summoned you did so only to bully you and make your life hard? It’s also a lesson for him cause he clearly trusted too easily

[@ShadowPa1adin]

What's that saying again? "The easiest thing to write in the world is a villain that's easy to hate."

[@ralk7048]

Light novels, at least those on Syosetu can barely be called that, since anyone can write there, and most are very much written for self-entertainment. A lot are copy-and-paste, such as the latest "forsaken by guild/team but discover overpowered hidden talent" trend. I discussed how bad the plots can get with a friend, and we had the idea that the style of lazy Chaotic Stupid depiction of evil could be called "malicious will of the world" (rough translation), because the entire world seems hellbent on making the main cast suffer. There are more extreme examples of this kind of story that have been comicalized/printed as light novels, for example you could have a team of world-saving heroes torture and abuse the main character to an obscene level and everyone from a village peasant to the royal guard treat the main character like some kind of sub-human creature that needs to be put down. It's a bit of an extension from back in the day when people started to depict the hero in the "Hero vs Demon King" style stories as evil. The depiction of that evil gets simplified over time to the point that a "hero" could commit murder just because they want to see how well their new shiny sword cuts.

[@StonedHunter]

From the perspective of a person who's learned how to make games from the ground up...yeah no, trying to put all those mechanics together would take FOR-FREAKING-EVER and cost SO many tears. I'd be AMAZED if anyone ever managed it in a way that would actually be playable and enjoyable.

[@jamesbiggs8397]

In the other three's defense, I too would have a hard time believing the world I'm in is a real world when it literally runs on video game logic.

[@animeotaku307]

That’s one of my biggest gripes about recent isekai like this one. Having video game mechanics in what’s supposed to be another living, breathing world saps my suspension of disbelief. At that point, just have the characters stuck in a video game.

[@mr.e2239]

I honestly never understood the slave trope in anime. Mainly because destroying an institution of slavery in a other world and maybe one of those slaves joining him in that goal sounds like it could pure power fantasy if that is the intention of the work itself.

[@Thoralmir]

You only know slavery as an abstract conscept with an easy solution, having never had any first-hand experience with it yourself.

[@mr.e2239]

@@Thoralmir I was trying to say that if you are writing a power fantasy, destroying an intuition of slavery would lend greatly to that instead of keeping slaves but treating them nice. Obviously and in-depth look into slavery and what forms it could take could be a very interesting topic for a story to cover. Unless of course you are implying that slavery is at all a good institution. Which quite obviously it is not and it never will be.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

@@mr.e2239 depends on the power fantasy you're going for.

[@lucifer-librarian9562]

It is shown as soemthing heartwarming because of what it symbolizes. Translate it to our world and you get a high excutive and the people working under him, executives with way too much power on top of that. It shows the responsiblity of these people, sure Raphtalia may be the slave but he treats her well. As the story progresses it shows how much he cares about her. He could mistreat her and but he doesn't. He is above such petty things. Just lke Raphtalias freeing speech against the spear hero went. Naofumi has that power because he does not abuse it

[@mr.e2239]

​@@lucifer-librarian9562 You can get the same result without making her a slave of Naofumi (or more specifically making a subtle endorsement for the institution of slavery.) You could make her and escaped slave, or an orphan, or a refugee, or any number of things that would massively favor Naofumi in a power dynamic. I get what they were going for, the problem here is not a lack of understanding. The problem here is that execution leads to a subtle endorsement for slavery.

[@HeckleJeckle87]

I think I could more easily forgive the Shield Hero resorting to slavery out of desperation, IF the narrative did not constantly DEFEND slavery. Instead of saying, "yeah I bought a slave but what else was I supposed to do", he full on defends slavery as a concept. When Raphtalia has her slave brand removed she could have just chosen to STAY without having the brand. But know, the narrative defends slavery which is just, weird/wrong/I don't even know WHY

[@Oxygen1004]

Yeah, it especially got weird when he got the green haired girl as a slave too, that was even MORE unnecessary then Raphtalia

[@CherryAnime203]

@@Oxygen1004 It was so unnecessary that it’s just flat out fetishizing at that point. Down right horrible behavior and enabling.

[@biznessman5632]

In my opinion If a hero comes from a world where slavery is evil. And gets super powers in the new world and doesn't go out of his way to end slavery he is evil

[@thorinpalladino2826]

@@Oxygen1004 The anime glosses over the reason for that. There are actual mechanical benefits for being his slave. And he gives her the choice of become a slave and have stat boosts, or just be a party member. She chooses the stat boost.

[@frankwest5388]

@@thorinpalladino2826 They really should have focused into that "system exploits" narrative.

[@CandiceCotton]

I can't be the only one who thinks that, in a better show, the hero sparing a villain and instead having their name changed to an insult could be pretty funny. You know, if it was done in a way that didn't just make think the writer probably hates women.

[@CrimsonKamina]

“Found family? Yeah I found them at the market”

[@vicbaez]

amphibia did the whole "multiple heroes, they fight amongst them, but they are all heroes at the end" thing much much better.

[@leighmercadokfphrdept.2197]

It is kinda funny that Western version of modern Isekai is better than Japanese version of modern Isekai

[@playererror4044]

@@leighmercadokfphrdept.2197 Most Western Isekai aren't written with one hand busy under the desk.

[@leighmercadokfphrdept.2197]

@@playererror4044 Yeah that's true and I appreciate the effort they make unlike in Japan where they copypaste Isekai trope

[@perro692]

Amphibia does so much shit i wish other isekai did

[@wyattmilliken3320]

@@leighmercadokfphrdept.2197 Yeah that one example means as a whole it's better

[@lukeskywalker82]

SPOILER ALERT. I can forgive for Spear Hero not getting character development till Spirit Turtle Arc. Hell, even Bow Hero. After all, those two not only did they oppose Naofumi, they never showed any sort of regret for their actions even once. What I can't forgive is how the author did Ren Amaki dirty. Of all people, I genuinely hoped that he would end up much better than those two did, have a character development much sooner or even better join Naofumi in a quest or something I don't know. Because when Naofumi confronted him over his own fuck up over leaving the dragon corpse, he was the only one to show regret over his actions. It gave me hope that he would end up being smarter than the other two and end up in a better spot because of it. Then the spirit turtle arc happened and oh boy did I hate it. Not only does he agree with the other two to release the spirit turtle (still thinking that the world they're in is a game), not only do his companions die and he is in denial even as Naofumi confronts him about it. He ends up going to Malty for comfort. Of all people. Goddamit Aneko Yusagi. I know you wanna rub it in our faces that Naofumi is the only smart guy of the four but still!

[@lukeskywalker82]

@Existential Crisis Core on Infinite Earths my poor gamer boi 😭😭😭 I had such high hopes for him Also...revenge porn. Hm. I wouldn't really classify it as that... Then again when your benchmark what you classify as a revenge porn is something like Healing Hero Revenge barely anything can be classified as revenge porn. Still need bleach for what I saw.

[@kellamyoshikage286]

The first thing that came to mind for me from this mention of Amaki thinking he's hot shit, getting shown he's steaming shit, then not learning from it, was a porn game called Alfimia Tower. That's *also* an isekai, and one where all the humans were isekai'd in. Winning makes the winner stronger and the loser weaker, and one girl found a way to get stronger from her wins to the point the other side game overed. And well, the goddess says you get returned to your home world when you game over, and there's no reason to assume it's killing people, so why not kill everyone you can for their precious exp? She argues that she's not killing people both to other people and to herself, and she's strong enough to get away with it thanks to that powerleveling. It's only when you do finally beat her and you both learn a bit more about the world that she's forced to accept that she actually did kill people. And she actually does take this to heart, for her admittedly brief remaining screen time. The game doesn't go over the trauma that would cause or anything too much, since it moves on, but it's at least something.

[@troljynx9953]

That is EXACTLY, bit by bit and word by word my opinion on Ren, hell when seeing how much of a stuck up grudgeful guy Naofumi kept being even after beig told that he needed to stop grooming on the past and move on by actually start explaining why he is right instead of getting pissed and offended and just yelling back, I actually did like Ren more, he was the first to actively think there was something wrong about the accusations, think things over, never did antagonize Naofumi or even opposed him, listened to his advice and even felt regret over what he did, that was perfect ! Then they shoved THIS shit down my throat, and t this day I'm still feeling the taste of it, so bitter that to this day I still haven't touched anything Shield Hero related.

[@trashpanda6565]

I honestly understand this sentiment. I kinda forgot about the turtle in the light novels, but The Malty situation does make sorta sense in context, where she embeds herself in their lives while they’re in a vulnerable state, which does EVENTUALLY lead to them growing as characters from the experience. It actually happens to all the heroes later down the line. Just to be clear though, I haven’t watched the new season, so I don’t know how bad it was adapted.

[@dominikg1673]

OMG. XD Those idiots released Tortoise in WEB NOVEL, not in LN. XD This is one of the first major difference between both versions and first to be changing the light on the heroes. And this was a long ride, but those boys (beside Moto) changed to better people and Itsuki (IMHO) is the one really smart guy, who added most into 2nd arc in different world. Ren's character development is quite nice and progress steadily as well, but he needs a bit more time (he is youngest of them). "Harsh path" isn't enough to describe their hardships to being proper heroes. Moto is dumb, will be psychically crashed to no end. XD

[@witherkichian4867]

Honestly I loved the first season of the show. It was a pretty unique start for the protagonist to be the hated and outcasted one, to the point where they had to participate in a terrible action like slavery to even be able to participate in combat of the cruel world. I was always cheering for him to finally get revenge on everyone whoever wronged him. After he was able to finally clear his name, I kind of just unvibed with them as we turned from great concept to another meh fantasy. I think if it ended right there, with him finally being accepted back into society, it would be a great show, a solid 8/10.

[@kingsleycy3450]

When the show first aired I wondered if there were deeper meanings to Malty's motivation, like there were court intrigues we weren't privy to, or she was actually conspiring to steal the shield, or she was just plain broken. But that would make her an actual character. Malty existed just to antagonize Naofumi- and not even in a credible way. She never even once appeared as a dangerous threat against our shield guy

[@ElvenRaptor]

There's a twist concerning her character, but it's kinda key to understanding the greater scale of the story. You wanna know?

[@kingsleycy3450]

@@ElvenRaptor I read from an online forum that she is the avatar of an evil goddess or something, which if true, would make the writing even worse

[@nobody4248]

I feel like when it comes to slavery, the author wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted the protag to use slaves, without making him look evil, so they kept making up new justiffications.

[@Phos67]

Valid.

[@mogaming163]

Ngl I think they wrote raph as one then he used it an easy shortcut to skip grinding/leveling

[@e_x_c_u_b_i_t_o_r_ejiysb7169]

The author even added more bullshit excuse over time...

[@thomassantos3684]

This is exactly why I couldn't make it past the first season. I kept waiting for the author to make it clear that it was actually kind of shitty to enslave a little girl/force her to kill, rather than free her immediately and find a home for her. I understand that the MC is supposed to be edgy at the beginning due to the false allegations, but I saw some red flags that the slave thing wasn't written in as part of that personality flaw. I got worried when she got her "sexy" power up (which is already weird as shit since she is still a child), so I looked up if the story ever acknowledges that, yeah, the slavery idea was pretty awful, and turns out nope. Not only that, it seems like most Shield Hero fans just don't care at all. I understand that some people can just brush that stuff off, but I just can't. It makes me feel mildly sick.

[@ExeErdna]

@@thomassantos3684 It's because of plot and A LOT of the time with anime you have to ignore some crazy to enjoy the crazy.

[@NotSoMax]

Shield hero’s biggest fault is that it has a lot of interesting and honestly pretty good ideas that are completely squandered by their execution. It’s made significantly worse by the potential a story and world like that could’ve had. It ends up a pretty generic power fantasy isekai that doesn’t manage to execute its dumbest ideas well enough to qualify as dumb fun. It’s a show I want to be good, but can’t stand watching.

[@Axterix13]

It's like SAO. Just without an abridged version that improves upon it by addressing at least some of its issues.

[@diablo.the.cheater]

You are pretty wrong, it is a very deep isekai that executes its ideas masterfully, the novel at least, i did not watch the anime because i already readed the novel too many times. The slave thing is questionable... but it is more like a flaw for the MC, it is meant to show his lack of trust on everyone else, and his lack of self worth. It is meant to be a very deep trauma that he solves very slowly, so slowly in fact that you would need several seasons of the anime to show progress even if they animated at the fastest pace posible. It just has a very ultra slow start, setting up a lot of stuff that laster it delivers

[@artuno1207]

@@Axterix13 you bring up a good idea, an Abridged version with a great team like SWE could turn Shield Hero from squandered potential, to an amazing story. BRING SHIELD HERO THE JUSTICE IT DESERVES.

[@Melodyofthesea78]

@@artuno1207 Sheild Hero is fine the way it is. Although if they do a parody it should be exactly like Ghost story dub make it as insulting to everyone as possible. Make the adult babies throw a tantrum. Maybe hand out pacifiers oh wait most of you actually use pacifiers. Freaking weirdos go back to your checkbox.

[@Melodyofthesea78]

@@artuno1207 Then again comedy is dead. Any abridged anything they do will get dog piled or copyright striked.

[@Chaosqueenngami]

I could only barely make it through the first season when I realized that the only personality trait Naofumi has is being marginally better person than everyone else.

[@suspecthalo]

From what I've seen regarding the other 3 heroes. They seem to get a lot more characterization and interesting personalities in the light novel to the point they basically have to deal with their own problems to handle their own cursed weapons. Motoyasu also has a spin-off I believe.

[@nobalkain624]

Your correct. We should start seeing all this in Season 3.

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

I just wished we had seen more glimpses of their characters during seasons 1 and 2, at least from Ren and Itsuki since the anime did a pretty bad job of making them distinct from one another

[@theultimateshipperf.l.1186]

I haven't watched the anime but from what I am hearing it sounds like it would be a lot more interesting if they focused on the 4 main heroes and their perspectives and how they change as they spend more time in the world. Now that I think about it, an Isekai with 4 dudes who start out not knowing each other with different personalities and ideals eventually becoming bros as they travel together sounds much more interesting. I am tired of the whole 1 guy with multiple girls on adventures. How about some bromance for a change?

[@RoyalFusilier]

Isekai Lord of the Rings, I can dig it. Complete with them referencing the actual Lord of the Rings and going like "... and my axe!" while the people of the fantasy world look at them in utter confusion. More of that culture clash between feudal and modern would be a lot of fun too.

[@louaidz1929]

This sounds like a fun idea

[@theomegapotato370]

So something like Isekai FFXV

[@magiwastaken]

You may like "life with an ordinary guy who reincarnated into a total fantasy knockout". It's about two guys getting isekaid and uh... One of them turns into a girl... But like it's mostly bromance.

[@vincentmuyo]

There's Didn't I say to make my abilities average in my next life something or other that does it with girls. I'm not going to claim it's great and I would only claim it's good for the isekai genre. Which is a bit like grading on a curve. But I did enjoy the actual fantasy characters having character arcs and training/bonding with the isekai-heroine.

[@batriam5921]

The one thing that really annoys me is that they entirely drop him being the "SHIELD" hero. the first season starts with him being super weak and the whole point of him getting Raphtalia and Filo is to have someone that can fight for him since his power doesn't allow him to do so himself. So you expect something like Re:zero where you have a genuinely weak protagonist that has to win through wits, ingenuity and relying on others, slowly figuring out more tricks and ways to help the party while also helping them grow with him. And then they just introduce the rage shield so that whole premise is thrown out the window.

[@triggerfairy4070]

Kazuma gets by with just seems to be basic moveset like steal and snipe.

[@Samevi]

The Rage Shield / Shield of Wrath isn't nearly as powerful in the LN. It has offense, sure, but it's all counter-attacks (which other shields have) and special attacks (which take a massive toll on Naofumi such as a 50% stat decrease on every stat.) and despite being his strongest weapon, it's also got an incredible amount of drawbacks. Using it for too long can cause him to completely lose his mind, or inflict a curse on him that'll never heal which permanently cripples him. Speaking of curses, it does actually curse him every time he uses it -- not just the special attacks, just in general use. It's a shield Naofumi generally hates to use, but will use if nothing else seems to work.

[@armorfrogentertainment]

Subaru does eventually become powerful at the end of season 2, because he's earned the trust and loyalty of a certain spirit, I suppose.

[@sefishy999]

@@armorfrogentertainment I see what you did there

[@sul_9999]

@@armorfrogentertainment do you mean Beatrice? Kinda dozed off the last couple episodes

[@majorghoul9017]

If Shield Hero was about the demi human main characters being not slaves but adoptive children with no sexual interest in their father, that would be adorable and really cute

[@akarilight6331]

I literally started dying when I heard Geoff compare Raph and Filo to Digimon. That is the funniest analogy I've ever heard and it works so well

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

"Raphtalia-mon digivolves into.... Raccoon Waifumon!" "Filo-mon digivolves into.... Loli angelmon!"

[@FDSignifire]

What's that... you say someone else should tackle anime's sordid and uncomfortable history with race and slavery and while we're at it "pedialite" (Cracks knuckles)

[@muireannmc1056]

I'm so glad I've the notification bell turned on for your channel

[@NaritaZaraki]

Oh hell yeah!

[@daniekbote3525]

Holy crap let's go!

[@JackofHearts70]

Holy shit yes please

[@kiss-shot_is_bae]

Yes please

[@sativadiva2389]

As someone who's read a lot of the manga (i fell out during the spirit tortoise arc because it took too long to update) I didn't know until reading this comment section that something both the anime and manga never discuss is that Motoyasu and Melty literally sold women into sexual slavery to fund their adventures? Or that Ren's party died because he never trained with them and then abandoned them, which left them completely powerless to monsters? And then Motoyasu, literal sex trafficker and lolicon, is the guy that gets his own LN where he gets his own harem of Filos in the end? Lotta elephants here...

[@timothymclean]

I forget, is Melty the princess we're supposed to like or is she the princess subsequently known as bitch? I feel like I shouldn't have to ask that question, but look at the elephant in the room. No, not that one, the other one.

[@turtledude3537]

1. Motoyasu never actually knew about Malty selling Rino or any others into slavery, he just believed her when she made some BS lie for why they're gone. 2. I'm not really certain on the specifics of Ren's party dying, but what I do know is that they all died fighting the spirit tortoise. 3. Motoyasu doesn't get his "own harem of filolials" as you put it. If you actually looked at the LN or manga for that story, you'd realize that Motoyasu isn't exactly himself during the time period the story starts. I won't deny that Motoyasu's obsession over Filo is creepy, he doesn't act that way to other filolials, just Filo

[@liandoaethend2403]

@@turtledude3537 the more creepy part is that Filo looked like a child and act like a child And MotoyASSu atracted to her

[@Chuckakhan]

To be fair to Ren he does have mad survivors guilt, and the three heroes do go through character arcs.

[@turtledude3537]

@@liandoaethend2403 I won't deny saying he isn't perfect, that he doesn't have his bad moments, everyone does.

[@BaelPenrose]

"An actual ideal of a hero...minus all the things."

[@hunterfay9817]

On another note, one of the things that made me less interested in watching was how Naofumi starts using his shield less for defense, support, and utility, and just now has offensive abilities. Kind of negates the idea of him being the hero with a defensive piece of gear relying on allies to fight when he can now cast spells and use the rage shield to decimate enemies

[@baonguyenxuanthai711]

I agree

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

Tanks can be aggressive and powerful DPS But when the whole point of his legendary weapon and fuction is that he has to protect and empower others rather than just killing things with strong attacks, it really kills the concept that the story relies on

[@Aedlmonrl]

@@pedroafonsopinheiro9874 I thought that he would become kinda like a Demon Hunter tank spec type from World of Warcraft, but what we basically got was someone who just became a tanky dps that can do anything. Instead of having enough dps to not be useless and ggood defensive tactics, he turned into a bloody glass cannon but without the glass

[@joshlegacy1101]

As someone who's never watched Rising of the Shield Hero, it sounds like what makes this show so impressive is that it is competently made compared to most other Isekai anime...which just says a lot more about most other Isekai anime than it does this show specifically.

[@BalbazaktheGreat]

This sentence is depressing. Guess I'll just go rewatch Juuni Kokki...

[@joshlegacy1101]

@@BalbazaktheGreat There's good shows today, you don't have to go that far back.

[@BalbazaktheGreat]

@@joshlegacy1101 If you say so. I just want a good traditional fantasy - something with out all this "trapped in a game world" bullshit. I can do without the masterbatory power fantasy wankery as well.

[@ryangallagher8194]

I've watched it, and that's about right. It's competent and mostly fine in a genre of absolute trash. I won't even say it's particularly good, just baseline competent.

[@dvillines26]

There are good isekai, they're just generally not the ridiculous power fantasy ones. Though I would say Slime is probably the best of that sub-sub-genre over Shield Hero, it's still aggressively mid and anyone who tells you it's Great is tasteless as hell. Easy litmus test. should not be rating it above an 8. Ascendance of a Bookworm, Mushoku Tensei, Re:Zero, Drifters, and maybe Tsukimichi are the best recent isekai. I really liked Fantasy Bishoujo but it's a straight up comedy so ymmv, Cautious Hero and The Saint's Magic is Omnipotent are worth checking out. Some people swear by Grimgar. otherwise most of the good "isekai" is older. Or something that stretches the definition of isekai like Iruma-kun (which is straight up one of the best isekai if it is one). I haven't seen it, but people I trust say Overlord isn't actually good. Tanya the Evil and No Game No Life aren't good, by personal experience. So I'm a Spider and Realist Hero have their fans and their detractors so I guess it's worth at least seeing a few episodes to make up your mind.

[@Densoro]

"--Oh. Right. There were _two_ elephants. FFFFFFFFFFF" "THERE GOES MY HERO" This took me out lmfao

[@Densoro]

"Have their cake and f*** it too" lmfao

[@gb1234ist]

in the anime they are some very valid point of those elephants. while in the light novel Nofumi is pained and horrified that he has to use literal children as combatants to stay alive and go back home. He is disgusted with himself and hopes one day He wont need them. One of the reasons why He hates the world in particular. He knows its wrong, But with no choices... FYi slavery still bad and so are children soldiers.

[@jacobwilliams1223]

Light Novel still has him get more slave waifus, have said slave waifus willingly put their collars back on and way waaaayyy down the line even romance them so no, it still doesn't paint slavery in a bad light at the end of the day. The fact the series presents stat buff benefits to the slave system just highlights that.

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

I think it was in the manga version where they had him literally say to the Queen that he wanted to make an army of slave children, I showed that panel out of context to my brother and he said "Is this like Overlord? Is the bad guy the protagonist?" and I just found that hilarious

[@diogomelo7897]

@@pedroafonsopinheiro9874 I saw that part of the manga too, but right after there's he thinking that Raphtalia realizes what his true plan is, but it would be too embarassing for him to simply say it to the queen. And from the few scenes I saw in the manga, he looks way more disturbing and menancing compared to the anime

[@KaiTenSatsuma]

26:30 - I can't wait to see whether they get to the Light Novel Arc where the observation that the "Shield Hero Certainly doesn't have the power to brainwash anyone" is completely upturned when he finds an item that gives him the ability to *_literally brainwash anyone_* I hadn't gotten very far after that, the Village Building arc is just *_so fucking tedious_* that I dropped it altogether.

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

That Arc was supposed to be the 'good' ending of the original web novel, with Naofumi taking over the world and slaving everyone, but the author got so much backlash from fans that he to retcon that Naofumi was under the influence of the curse series

[@bowenorcutt78]

6:54 One could also say that the show quickly moves away from portraying it as morally questionable at best and kind of normalizes it by having the magical shock collar give stat boosts *and* casually having our hero slap one on his new party members.

[@Max_G4]

Well, Naofumi himself was pretty hesitant to do that and it was completely Raphtalia's idea (at least in the Anime, which is the only thing I watched, though it is a bit different in the LN from what I heard)

[@bowenorcutt78]

@@Max_G4 Yeah, he sure was reluctant when he decided to put one on Filo later.

[@Max_G4]

@@bowenorcutt78 As the audience, we didn't see any reaction by him for that one (at least in the Anime, where we only got a basic sumup of events)

[@GnarledStaff]

Yeah, the show changed opinions on the morality of slavery a little too fast for my liking.

[@Isabelle-mp8rk]

If it gives a stat boost why don't you equip one yourself Naofumi?

[@TheYashakage]

I was really convinced that bow hero and kirito were gonna become good supporting cast since they were at least willing to call out bs when it was 100% impossible to ignore. From my perspective it even seemed like kirito accepted that his actions with the dragon was a big oversight and seemed ticked he didn't realize that sooner. That along with the impression that both sword and bow had differing opinions (if only slightly) on whether to believe all the things shield hero says made me think there was gonna be some genuinely good character dynamics coming Then none of that happened and we went to fight a turtle

[@Pedro-yr8fl]

it does come, just... later And they do become somewhat interesting characters that develop not only because of naofumi but also because of the people they ignored/dismissed but hey, spear hero still everyone's punching bag

[@heechoonyeo4762]

The bow and sword heroes are not horrible, but they still have their flaws which are displayed in the ways they died. Ren died protecting his friend from a mugger, but if they hadn't ignored the warnings and news reports and decided to go down a different route things might have been better. He has a good heart but he sometimes fails to fully think about the consequences to his actions, which is displayed when he killed the dragon without disposing of the body. When he was told the villagers had suffered because if him, he genuinely want d to go there right then to apologise. As for Itsuki, he has an inferiority complex. In his world there are people born with special abilities, Itsuki is one of these people which was that he had very good aim and could handle a bow or aim projectiles really well, he had been special in a normal school but when he went to a school with other gifted people he began feeling inferior. This distracted him as he died being hit by a truck. Thus why Itsuki always wants to be better than others and can be jealous at times. As for Motoyasu, he is way too trusting and can't see a bad person for sh*t, he literally died to a yandere because he didn't realise how psychotic they were. Another reason why Naofumi just seems more suitable for being a hero is because he is, the weapons have different choices and the shield always gets its first choice, while the others get the second or third, who are still suited but have more flaws to work on.

[@Rynjinivar]

@@heechoonyeo4762 Wait, the other heroes all died to get Isekai'd? That in itself is kinda weird, since IIRC Naofumki basically got Pagemaster'd.

[@heechoonyeo4762]

@@Rynjinivar it is rather odd but yeah, Itsuki got hit by good ol' truck kun, Ren was stabbed protecting his friend and Motoyasu got murdered by a yandere

[@Khajitxi]

@@heechoonyeo4762 that also part of why they don’t take things seriously in this world. It’s either a weird dream they’re having, or them dying means nothing since they have a safety net. The author even trolls his audience later by making it turn out they were absolutely right about just restarting the “game” from a save file in the spin off.

[@messymatch6952]

41:34 I agree with you. Other three heros yelling the same types of attack names was cringing me every time 😬 compare to Noaufumi's battle strategies.

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

Yeah, although Naofumi also kind of spans the same five shield skills just in creative ways

[@bigfan10-gaming79]

Honestly I so wish the Producers of the Anime converted more of the Light Novel and Manga, so they actually showed the resolution to the Three Heroes being called out on incompetency and how that led to them running off when Mirellia brought up the Spirit Tortoise Seriously they didn't even depict their Parties abandoning them and Ren's being killed

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

That's why season 2 is so disappointing, they cutted everything that helped make this arc and future ones interesting

[@Maximara]

It is sad when some of the fanfictions (such as "Ambition of the Red Princess" and "Dishonored Princess") make more sense than the actual manga/anime as they give Malty S Melromarc some sense in palace politics and have her side with the Shield Hero because, unlike her canonical counterpart, she realizes she can use all the bad elements of her country to set the Shield Hero against her father, mother, and next in line for the throne.

[@baonguyenxuanthai711]

I agree with this 100%

[@ShinryuZensen]

It's implied in the novels actually. The manga and the anime omit a lot. And maybe the writers of the fanfictions know TOO MUCH about Bitch.

[@ApexGale]

Well, then that would fuck over the endgame of the story where a lot of shit is revealed. I won't go into it because of story spoilers, but I will just say the story reaches a fucking stupid level of writing and scaling.

[@Maximara]

@@ApexGale Basically Terrible Writing Advice come to life with many of the characters, to quote Yahtzee, "tragic sufferers of the stupid virus" (his review of Haze).

[@Maximara]

@@Toshimi1043 It _is_ so much better. Malty is such an idiot in the canonical material.

[@yotomoe5953]

I think one of the big takeaways of Shield Hero that MB touches on is there's a weird lack of nuance. Like one of the things that drew me in originally was the idea of an Isekai that really puts the main character on the backfoot. A weapon only useful for defense, No one joins his party, a false accusation making him a pariah. It's admittedly interesting! But then for almost the rest of the series the story goes out of its way to say "HE'S the good guy and everyone who doesn't agree with him is bad" Like, I can't say I'm a fan of slavery. But I can UNDERSTAND why someone in his position would be seduced by the concept. He's basically got a knife to his back and a very limited amount of time to save the world. It's kind of an interesting idea to bring up the idea of him doing a taboo and terrible things just to get ahead...on paper. But in practice the show bends over backwards to justify the act of owning and selling slaves, as if the author doesn't understand why slavery is bad. Like all I can think is that they're too afraid to actually make the main character do a bad thing or be a bad person. And I wouldn't mind HIM doubling down on his actions if the narrative didn't also double down. Everyone who brings up how and why it's wrong just kinda gets ignored or BTFO as if their concerns about him owning a human are unjustified. When MB described it as a power fantasy that really stuck out to me, cuz this screams "High Schooler who writes a story where he's right and all his bullies are wrong and stupid and evil". The popular hot girl is a transparently awful bitch, All the other boys are dumb, negligent and useless, never improve and unlike the main character don't read BOOKS which makes them inferior. Nobody improves because this story isn't about them. It's about how cool the main character is! He's never wrong. His shortcomings are minor and he easily works through them. He's justified in his actions cuz he's the only good guy of the three heroes. And like...despite the main draw being a story where the hero starts off losing he can't help but still get a lotta convenient idealized shit. His weapon does inherently provide him with more advantage than other people, but also he just HAPPENS to get a super rare Royal Choccobo. His party ends up being incredibly powerful to the point where they can easily beat the other 3 heroes despite them having WAY more resources, freedom and offensive weapons. I get that the point is Shield hero proving himself to be just as strong, but he ends up so far and away more competent than the others it's laughable. Worst of all it's just really dull. I lost interest about halfway through cuz at a certain point it was just the same repetitive bullshit.

[@nosferatu3726]

That's isekai for ya. If you were expecting anything you came to the wrong show. Quite sad really.

[@nosferatu3726]

@@yogialamsyah8429 will this friend be a male character with screen time and character agency or just another female that is used for the sake of slapping a cute girl on the cover so more people buy the light novel?

[@greytakerrev7147]

@@nosferatu3726 wow that’s pretty cynical. Clearly not your anime.

[@greytakerrev7147]

I disagree with this guys response I thought. It was great. However, no known media should make slavery look legalized. Unless your into that kind of thing.

[@nosferatu3726]

@@greytakerrev7147 I'm just really tired of isekai with this mindset. That the only good male is the main character and the rest are comically evil or just borderline useless regardless of their established capabilities. I've realised over time that isekai will never truly take itself seriously, not even in the one's I think are good like Re:zero and Konosuba. Because of this I find it hard to like Mushoku Tensei despite it having aspects of isekai I wish were in more isekai but also ultimately being very self indulgent and very gross at points ( if the elf girl was actually a boy I would have called it a great subversion of the childhood friend trope but since it was a girl it just means another one to add to the harem ).

[@ArthurBarnhart]

Your writing is absolutely amazing! I laughed the entire time (even when I probably shouldn’t lol)

[@johndoe3307]

I forgot how weird anime is until you broke it down in this roast. I couldn't stop laughing! God I love anime!

[@thedapperdolphin1590]

I mentally checked out of this show when the slave girl said something like, “If you really care about slaves then you would buy more slaves,” as some sort of “rebuttal” to the spear guy saying slavery is bad.

[@weberman173]

while i agree with oyu on that being "yikes".... from the perspective of the world they live in? thats a reasonable argument. Slavery is just "a thing they live with", slavery is bad, no questions asked, but a society, that lives with it, the best way, besides outright abolishment(whihc is hard to acomplish quickly especialy in a medieval society) to improve the lives of as many slaves as possible is to have someone who dosnt consider them "property" aquire them and treat them well,, its twisted, and dear god i m happy that it wasnt naofumi who said it, but from their view it makes sense

[@Sandman382]

@@weberman173 Not to mention his party has LITERALLY been selling off its members as slaves behind spear dickhead's back. Bitch goes out of her way to sell any girl that gets too much of his attention or falls behind to make money for the party and then tells him they left. While waving his spear saying its wrong and freeing slaves he's also making more slaves. It also DEFINITELY the case that she intended to re-enslave Raph at the earliest opportunity since she hates beastmen. She just wanted to fuck over Naofumi more along the way and get more money as well.

[@dracomurdock6349]

@@weberman173 Better would be to simply take the slaves from the slavers by force. Paying into the process supports the business model- theft doesn't. It would also completely circumvent the brand, which would help with the message.

[@frillspring]

@@weberman173 I get that _you_ understand slavery is wrong but I don't think the issue is "This isn't realistic for the characters!" It's more an issue on what the anime is promoting. Not only are the people in this anime who call out slavery presented as jerks, it's the protaginist and his slaves endorsing it. Like, I think if you can get behind reincarnation, magic, etc then having slavery be criminalized in your fantasy story isn't immersion-breaking.

[@dddmemaybe]

@@dracomurdock6349 He instantly becomes the enemy of ~50%+ of the human population in that fictional world and becomes option-locked and trolled with that due to the higher-level problem of the classical, fictional world-end scenario. He can free his slaves, he can't free other people's slaves until the waves are over, at least without starting a civil war during another, bigger war. edit: To reiterate, his only politically affordable option during the waves-crisis is to buy-and-release slaves using his own personally-gained currency from using his super-powers, per say.

[@CrouTheBlackwing]

"Regina George tormenting the peasantry" is the BEST deception of Myne I have ever heard, and I will never describe her with anything else from now on.

[@CrouTheBlackwing]

@Tin Watchman Malty's adventuring alias was actually Myne, originally

[@TheIntratec9]

What, no mention of the trial?

[@timothymclean]

@@CrouTheBlackwing Oh geez, that's confusing.

[@CrouTheBlackwing]

@@timothymclean Honestly, I never watched Ascendant Bookworm, so I didn't know the protag's name was Myne

[@timothymclean]

@@CrouTheBlackwing Not blaming you, just annoying that two isekai characters have the same name. It's not even a common name, it's just a few random sounds.

[@likenem]

We really need a Manga where John Brown gets Is isekai'd

[@slevinchannel7589]

!?!!?!?

[@likenem]

@@slevinchannel7589John Brown was an Abolitionist who fought in the Bleeding Kansas war to make it a free state and tried to start a slave revolt. Most sons died in the slave revolt and he was put to death.

[@slevinchannel7589]

@@likenem Hmmm. I was recently thining aout Albert Einstein cause 'Dr Stone' bought him up

[@Quote_Cannon]

There's a web novel about that exact premise, actually! You can find it on RoyalRoad as _His Soul is Marching On to Another World; or, the John Brown Isekai_ by The Cabbage Preacher. It's pretty good!

[@hellaspoicey2280]

15:33 “She’s such a chonkers of a chocobo” “But Jeff, they’re called filolials.” “I know..”😂😂😂