What D&D Alignment is Naofumi? (Shield Hero)

Today we’re determining the D&D character alignment of Naofumi from The Rising of Shield Hero!
Written by - ‪@TheLoadingCrew‬ & ‪@JackieM00se‬
Edited by - ‪@JackieM00se‬
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#dnd #naofumi #shieldhero

[@cdesigner9178]

For me, I get that the show has a LOT of problems. What I like about it is that the whole world basically turns against him for no reason, putting him in a really dark spot. But then it shows him healing. Raphtalia and Filo, while they have their issues, were some of the best things to happen to Naofumi. Sure, they could have gone down the path that Redo of Healer did, where they stay on their revenge and continue to never really feel better because of it. However, we instead have a story where someone who was greatly abused and had the world turn on them for no reason slowly but surely heal from it. He remains scarred; we never get to see the version of Naofumi before the betrayal in Episode 1 again. He also often has trouble trusting those who actually want to help him. But he does heal. He learns to trust those around him, including letting some people into his circle of trust that he never would have opened up to. The anime adaptation isn't the best, but at the very least, the original story is about healing and growing and becoming a hero for a world that, frankly, doesn't deserve it. But he becomes the hero anyways, not for the world that betrayed him, but for the people he cares about. That's what I like about the series.

[@ratee7]

I feel the exact same thing

[@AraumC]

Honestly, I don't like that "everyone is against him" thing. It'd be one thing to be widely disliked unfairly with the odds against him so we sympathize, it's another to have LITERALLY EVERYONE HATE HIM AS HE'S PUT IT THE WORST POSSIBE SITUATION, LOOK HOW SCARRED HE IS, DON'T YOU JUST FEEL SO BAD????!!!! And when he's not in the dumps, he's on the opposite extreme of everything going perfectly.

[@russeshe001]

@@AraumC To be entirely fair, it isn't "literally everyone". Even when he's at his worst and has the least to his name, the blacksmith he goes to is willing to work with him and hear him out, and becomes a very close friend for example. It just feels like it's everyone because he's constantly forced to put up with the, in the grand scheme, very small part of the world that specifically hates him on religious and political grounds.

[@soulsurvivor8293]

​@@russeshe001 True, it was even conveyed well in the Anime that it was specifically most of the Kingdom of Melromarc that turned against him. Given Melromarc is a Matriarchal Kingdom, the weight of a womans word is generally worth more than that of a mans. Addionally the King was a well liked & highly respected War Hero. He was blind to Myne's deceptions due to his love & favour for Myne. The King also specifically had a hatred for The Shield Hero in general, which was eluded to be due to some conflict with previous Shield Hero. So the King was always going to take Myne's word at face value. As he was well liked and respected by a good portion of Melromarc, the majority of the citizens and especially the Nobility believed the Kings decree on the matter. Were it not for the fact the Queen was away meeting with the Rulers of other Kindoms, she would have been able to keep the King and Myne from making such an accusation against Naofumi without evidence. Though the initial reason she was away was to make formal arrangements with the Rulers of the other Kingdoms about who would summon which Hero. However, she was forced to spend more time away smoothing things over with the other Rulers, because the King and Three Heroes Church summoned all four Heroes. Which clearly became a diplomatic disaster the Queen had to resolve. The execution scene added was an understandable decision for the adaptation. It helped the audience to soften thier opinion of Naofumi and see him as a decent person. As this was after watching him almost become a merciless sociopath because of Myne's accusation, the King's bias and Three Heroes Church's traitorous actions. You could even see how hesitant the Queen was to execute them, she was visibly angry at them both for what they did, justifiably so. But she knew executing them was going to cause more problems overall in Melromarc. I frankly don't think the Anime adaption and changes made ruin the overarching story or diminish the pain & suffering Naofumi experienced in season 1. We can see how he's been changed and scarred by the whole experience, even now he doesn't trust most people and is not willing to entertain the notion of romantically involving himself with anyone. We see him suffer severe blowback effects while using the Shield of Wrath, sure we don't get a full statistical breakdown of exactly what damage the curse of using it's skills does to him. But we also don't get much of his or anyone elses statistics in detail in general anyway. Visually, we can see it's causing massive debuffs and long lasting curse effects that weaken him. That's intuitively enough information to know it's a bad Idea to use it. We even get well written exposition on how the highest grade holy water isn't enough to remove all of the Curses effects when he wakes up after the fight with the Arch Bishop. All I'm saying is, there's enough information to figure it all out without having a full statistical breakdown thrown in our face. Speaking generally about parts being shifted around, omitted for time and altered; It's inevitable that it will happen to better suit the medium. Such things are to be expected when adaptating a story from another medium like Manga &/or Light Novel to Anime. The pacing in the earlier arc of season 2 is undeniably and obviously increased. With many story beats being omitted completely and others being rushed through to get to the Arc in Kisuna/Glass's World. I understand why they did that for the Anime, the Training and Spirit Tortoise Arcs were quite long, explored & developed other characters outside of Naofumi's path through the those Arcs and was generally slow paced & didn't progress the story much. It's sad to see it rushed through. Though these Arc's arre quite drawn out and is covered from numerous other characters peespectives. The Anime has had us almost exclusively following Naofumi's perspective throughout the entire show. So to start following other characters for extended periods out of nowhere would likely discourage viewers from watching more than the way they rushed through it. Yes, there is a lot of great content thatfleshes out the other Heroes more and even covers some other characters in the Spirit Tortoise Arc & the Pre-Spirit Tortoise training Arc. Like Eclaire for example, the Pre-Spirit Tortoise Training Arc not included in the Anime would have properly introduced her into the story with her Dual with Ren where he was not allowed to use Sword Skill Abilities and just fight Eclaire with his Sword itself. Which was a brilliant pretext to show the other Heroes that they are lacking in combat ability beyond spamming Weapon Skills. As despite their high levels and numerous Weapon Skill Abilities, they were utterly helpless against Glass and her fellow Vassal Weapon Heroes from the other world. Only Naofumi, his Party members and the genius level strategy used by Rishia held their own against them. All of whom were considerably lower levels compared to the rest of the Cardinal Heroes and the rest of their party memebers. That was enough to show the Queen that the other Heroes didn't know how to fight and needed training. However, the arc's are an exceptionally protratlcted period of time where we are not following Naofumi or seeing things from his perspeftive. So it's understandable that it wouldn't be able to be well adapted to the main story presentd in Anime format. Its unfortunate, but understandable. Personally, I'd like to see them make Spin-offs where they follow each of the four Heroes from the start of the story. Would be interesting to see how they viewed all of the event's, get their full backstories from their versions of Japan and see their adventures throughout the story. As we know Ren was the most sceptical and reasonable one of the other three. It would be great to see his perspective of the events that took place. Motoyasu, given how he died in his Japan, was quick to side with and avoid conflict with Myne. Even see how he is cautiously trying to help Rishia when she was upset about being kicked from her Party. Palming the responsibility off to Naofumi as quickly as could when Naofumi appeared. And later on after Myne betrays and leaves him, when he unlocks the Cursed Spear of Lust. Seeing his perspective of all women become hideous pigs (except his Angel Filo). Would be great to get Itsuki's perspective of Naofumi kicking in his door after talking with Rishia, get that epic scene where Itsuki unloads all his best Bow Skills on Naofumi and he just tanks it dispite him being a much lower level and still suffering the numerous negative curse effects of using the Shield of Wraths Skills. Hearing Itsuki's internal thoughts when Naofumi just grabs his arrow out of the air and snaps it like a twig would be awesome.

[@flarerazor4972]

The execution scene was in my opinion a SLAP in the face and assassinated the character of the Queen compared to the original in the LN the Queen actually persuades Naofumi to change the execution to name changes and titles stripped revealing a cunning nature to the woman.

[@NekoYuki]

However, she is ALREADY shown as being cunning. She doesn't *need* that scene to be revealed as cunning as she is. She shows it in many other ways, even before-hand. That said, yeah, it kiiiiind of was a trash scene... hehehe, get it.

[@pixelchrome2]

​@@NekoYukibecause king is now called "trash"?

[@NekoYuki]

@@pixelchrome2Yes.

[@pixelchrome2]

@@NekoYuki my brain just realized that puns exist and I started laughing

[@silverdust4197]

By the way , The reprise of the Spear hero is very good . YES , really . if i where to somewhat unfairly simplify it , i would say basically comedy re-zero After the character growth (and the curse they never bothered to fix of making him always see women as pigs , besides the few he has a positive opinion of ) He is killed but finds himself stuck on a time loop where it resets whenever one of the heroes dies . He tries to help , Naofumi , but something usually turns south .

[@tega8404]

I've read it, too. I wonder if it is going to have an adaptation to

[@smile-zw2gh]

yes! it’s the best. it comply re-contextualizes the first few arcs by showing just how lucky shield boy realy was when spear boy tries to remake those condtions over and over. best redemtion arc ever.

[@eyevou]

I read the entire WN but just couldn't find the strength to read a story based on Motoyasu.

[@felipealbertoperezcollado9885]

As someone who has read the wn, i liked more the motoyasu spin-off than the ending of the wn

[@AgentXA564]

I agree with you about the anime. It starts out well, but then it drops the ball. The worst changes start at the end of season 1 in my opinion. At the manga, Naofumi spares the princess and king because the queen convinces him that he'd get better revenge by keeping them alive since they'd suffer more rather than get a quick death. In the anime, they make him more heroic. Then, season 2 dropped the ball completely. The manga still has its problems, but the anime is definitely a bad adaptation, especially season 2.

[@TheLoadingCrew]

I had no idea! thank you!

[@AgentXA564]

@@TheLoadingCrew No problem.

[@OrochiKitsune]

Yeah, there's changes to the anime that undercut a lot of what made the LN and Manga actually compelling, on top of this Season 2 is just a mess for...a lot of reasons.

[@bradleybourgeois4710]

Actually, another reason the King couldn't be killed was because he was a famous war hero and killing him would have lead to public outcry. The was queen also more involved in punishing both her husband an Mein/Bitch/Whore/Witch, which made the scene in the original light novel and manga more interesting.

[@Dadan-dan]

And if Stuart's rant is anything to go by (didn't watch the anime, only manga/LN), they didn't bother to explain that the Rage/Wrath/Whatever Shield is *cursed*, it not only damage him and whoever it touch, but using it's skill throws his stats back to level 1 (IIRC), so it does have a heavy payment to effectivly make him a single shot nuke.

[@Lightmagician60]

in the manga and LN Naofumi insisted on the Death Penalty, until the Queen asked for a more Merciful punishment. and Naofumi then decides to change the punishment to the Humiliation. as to reflect the treatment their false claims did to him

[@SgtDaza1997]

I wish that did happen in the anime but it didn't making that moment very interesting to read

[@broEye1]

Part of me almost wants to see a Malty/Myne alignment analysis. Even though I know it would legitimately be nothing but an endless repetition of "Chaotic Evil". And that's just the anime version, as they did indeed cut out a lot of stuff. Even cut out the person who ends up killing her in the end. In the LN, Motoyasu has a chapter focused on him and his party. All the girls in his party just stand back and swap between telling him how awesome he is and demanding that he do things for them. He frequently picks up other young female adventurers, but they never stick around long. On such example is Rino, a young lady delighted to travel with the great Spear Hero. She's very unsure about the dynamics she sees with the rest of the girls and him, but she's not brave enough to tell him. Then she disappears and Myne and her posse say she felt she "didn't fit in". Motoyasu then goes for a walk and hears some moans, quickly determining there's a brothel nearby and he's got no business telling people they can't make a living that way. Then he notices that the voice is screaming "No" and begging the client to stop, and he immediately concludes this must be some fancy play and applauding the prostitute's acting skill. Then he realizes that this prostitute he's overhearing sounds exactly like Rino. But of course that can't be right, there's no way Rino would do something like that. He later on goes to that cave with monsters that say things you'd hate to hear, and he overhears the ladies complaining about what a tool he is, how annoying his sexual harassment is, and then laughing about how easy it was to trick Rino into walking into that brothel and not even noticing until the slave seal was put on her. He instantly concludes that every last word of this is the work of one of those monsters and forgets all about it. It eventually turns out to have all been true though. And the queen managed to deal with some of these brothels that enslaved girls, freeing Rino and others and even giving them special positions. Rino is thus given a mission to find Myne and find a chance to deal with her. She doesn't even bother to disguise herself or change her name because she realizes there's no way she'd remember any particular person she'd ruined. She still managed to keep the act pretty well, seeming to be a loyal ally of B!tch's when Naofumi fights her, right up until she comes up when B!tch is in trouble and instead of helping stabs her through the back.

[@TheMelnTeam]

You'd get some neutral/lawful evil too. Some of her actions are just spite/being evil for evil's sake, but others are done to achieve some tangible benefit...in some cases specifically by abusing the law etc. She's a bit too over the top evil on the whole to make it out of chaotic, but there'd definitely be some lawful/neutral evil dings too. Probably not enough material though.

[@Zulooth1]

Admittedly the punishment for the Rage Shield was less apparent in the anime but in the light novel it was terrible.

[@jakexx2]

well compared to the others his is being let off easy one of them completely resets their level

[@Zulooth1]

@@jakexx2 true his rage only cursed his and his parties stats. When they got the curse removed the stats went back to normal.

[@slowbro7944]

@@Zulooth1 i mean one ability straight up almost killed just using it by making him just shoot blood out everywhere, to the point that he never uses the later abilities of the wrath shield in fear that it would kill him

[@Ultima_Z]

Since I suck at explaining things, I really can't put into words on exactly why I love this show. I just like what I like. Your dislike of this show isn't going to diminish my love for it in anyway whatsoever. So there's no hard feelings or hurt emotions on my end. I still really liked the video, and I'm looking forward to your future videos. Especially the Fate/Stay Night videos.

[@nerdkingalpha4958]

For me it's naofumi's growth as a character, and the narrative of how he came to be respected and that his hard work pays off

[@asrieldreemurr7229]

So a few things I'd want to point out that I've noticed as a Shield Hero enjoyer is that the Wrath Shield, formerly dubbed Rage Shield, actually had big consequences physically, mentally and emotionally. Physically it was his exhaustion after using it every time until he adjusted to it's power, mentally he had to struggle to stay in control of what he thought was the dragons rage but was actually his own at how awful his life in the world had been up to that point and emotionally for much the same reason as mentally, as he, again, had to deal with his rage consuming him and forcing doubt, dread and hatred into his heart at all those around him indiscriminately unless someone he truly trusted and cared for brought him out of that. The execution was poorly done in the anime from what I've heard, as I'm an anime only. To my knowledge the execution in the manga was actually much more the Queens idea than it was shown to be, to the point Naofumi actually HAD to step in or else she'd take her own life afterward because she was still killing her own husband and daughter. That and the trial not being "fair" is a mixed bag. Yes it wasn't fair because she already intended to execute them here but it was also still fair in that they had a trial and for insurance for if they lied, they had a slave crest applied to them and a VERY strong one at that, enough so that, I think, it could have actually killed them outright had they gone far enough. The harem bit I agree is kinda stupid, very much so. The little slow burn romance between Naofumi and Raphtalia with Naofumi still warming up to her and struggling not to see her as his daughter of sorts seeing as he did kinda raise her is cute. Though the debate on her age... That's a can of worms I won't get into because I feel like the lore for the demi human race as a whole is wack. Overall I still like the show, despite plot holes and downsides. Season 2 was... A season... But season 1 and 3 I've enjoyed. Or, well, what dub there is for season 3 so far. Depending on where this season ends I might pick up the LN or read the VN off some website, I'm not sure yet. I just know that I've enjoyed the moments when Naofumi has used the rage shield and pulled out curse series attacks, which admittedly only happened twice and only one of them had actual HUGE consequences for his health for a bit, seeing as it almost killed him. Raphtalia is just adorable, Filo is derpy but I like her character so far, Melty is, I swear on everything I love, Hanabi Hyuga from Naruto when she becomes friends/rivals with Konohamaru and Raphy is the biggest ball of fluff and I want to give her all the pats. Seeing your thoughts on how Naofumi fits into the alignment charts was interesting and I can honestly say I'm excited for the Raphtalia video, but I do have to ask; will it be just season 1 Raphtalia or will it include season 2? Either way, still very excited!

[@blueredlover1060]

It actually lowers his stats through a curse, in addition to the struggles he has with controlling the situations when he uses it. The execution was in no small part his choice. The Queen wanted him to do what he did, but he was the one with the ultimate power in that situation. The harem is overdone in the light novels, so the anime follows suit with it. Demihumans are really weird with aging, and, yeah, it's a can of worms. They grow up two ways, and that fact really makes me not like wanting Raphtalia as a waifu. I actively choose the only two that we know are of age (the Queen and Sadeena), which leads to some shenanigans in later volumes. Which would be spoilers of the major variety.

[@GrimHeaperThe]

Right, a few things about the rage shield. There is more to it than being shown with the other heroes later even in the anime. The shield has serious effects that the anime doesn't cover and it's something you'd actively never want to use. It's a cursed weapon basically. 3.5e dnd levels of cursed. The other? Naofumi is a one woman man and we should all know which one that is. Also, the revenge is a lot longer. Bitch lives up to her name.

[@TheGamingplayer12]

I really like how Naofumi gets to become the true hero he should’ve been allowed to be at the start while the others start having to actually struggle with hardship for once getting just a taste of what Naofumi had to go through which is why I’m fine with how season one ends and how season 2 went tbh but maybe it’s just me

[@bradleybourgeois4710]

Personally, I like the The Rising of the Shield Hero SERIES for a few reasons: 1. Naofumi and His Compassion: What I like about Naofumi is that while goes through a traumatic event, he doesn't lose his compassion, which I feel tend to be the trend for a lot of protagonists that go through trauma is them just becoming jerks that just lash out at other people derserving or not. Even when he's at his lowest he doesn't abuse Raphtalia, he just honestly says what he bought her for and makes it clear that he needs her to do without compromise. His compassion is made the most clear when dealing with those that treat him well and are suffering like him (his frienship with the blacksmith, helping the both the old woman and refugees when he realizes how bad their situation is, and ensuring the saftey of the soldiers who want to fight along side him to name a few). He only really shows his ugly side when dealing with the source of trauma (the Melromarc Royalty and the other heroes, particulary Mein and Motayatsu). Overall, I feel that the Naofumi's journey is to ensure that compassion isn't eclipsed by his trauma, at least for me. 2. Worldbuilding: Shield Hero has an interesting world with a lot of interesting facets such as it's magic system, especially regarding the four cardinal weapons, and exploration is the relations in the worlds of Shield Hero. The weapons are crafted to each of the heroes' personalities and general interests. Naofumi's is build around gather supplies from the world around him and using them to strengthen his shield; Ren's is build around cloning weapons based on their power and adding points to strengthen it; Itsuki's is build around using an items rarity and enchanments to power it up; and Motayatsu's is structured around weapon mastery and crafting using items to empower the weapon. Each factor gives a lot of insight to the people that use the weapons are and make the them more interesting. As for the world itself, there's a lot of intregue, such as the fact that some other countries have the situation between the demi-humans and humans flipped in some countries. Rather than just slapping demi-humans with the title of slave race, it reveal that it not like that everywhere, as countries like Shieldvelt are demi-human countries that have humans as slaves instead. It helps adds a bit of nuance and keeps the show in its more grey sense of univeral morality. 3. Carthartic Villians: The villians of the series are bastards and get away with doing a lot of evil actions, such as Mein and Raphtalia's former master. So, whenever they get beaten down it is very satisfying to watch, the former being a perfect example. She has constantly gone out of her way to ensure that everyone, especially Naofumi, suffers for the sake of petty revenage and her own amusement. When she is punished at any point within the series, it's satisfying to watch her squirm and show how pathetic she is without any power over others. Is the anime the best way to enjoy this series, propably not as it tends to speed up Naofumi's development and leave out important and interesting details. Nor is the series itself perfect with Naofumi being deprived of any male party members until far into the series and having him develop a harem as oppose to a single love interest. Regardless, the series itself is definately fun and worth a read of the light novels or manga at the least.

[@blueredlover1060]

To be fair to Naofumi, Filo could have just as easily been a male filolial. Her gender could have been a full on coin flip and nothing significant would have changed. The only other two regular travelling companions are Melty, who kinda has to be female in order to rise to the throne, and Rishia, who I feel like could have been another coin flip when it comes to her gender. I completely get what you're saying when it comes to the harem aspect, but 3 of his 4 regular companions could very easily have been the opposite gender, and not much would have changed in the story.

[@bradleybourgeois4710]

@@blueredlover1060 Good point, but they didn't even need to swap any of the girls genders: they just needed to add a guy or two to avoid it being a case of Naofumi having an army of potential lovers he just ignores and more of a family unit. Like the pro demi-human noble that governed raphtalia's village, he could of had a demi-human bastartd son that Naofumi helps and has him join the party or Naofumi saves a guy also shown by society and Naofumi them support or even social redemption and earns the person's loyalty. I just would have loved if it didn't take until half the series for Naofumi to form friends with other guys, which would make sense given that Malty ruined his views on romance in general due to her betrayal.

[@blueredlover1060]

@@bradleybourgeois4710 I get that, but like I said, the genders of the characters don't really affect the story in any meaningful way beyond Melty's. Plus, none of his party is exactly of age, except Rishia. I worry for the people who find even the leveled up Raphtalia attractive, since she's still 10, even grown like that. Melty is literally 10 to 12. Filo is like 6 months old at the end of the first season.

[@quincykunz3481]

I think there was a good idea in the rage shield that wasn't handled well. The idea of presenting the hero a selfish choice that let's them overcome thier struggles and physical weakness at the cost of being physically destructive to those around them and emotionally destructive to themselves has legs. And in the early parts of the show we could believe that naofumi could come to rely on this problematic power to offset being treated like shit. As a metaphor for addiction and self-pity, it isn't terrible. The problem is that it is completely unexplained and results in few real consequences.

[@cobbwebster]

I'm so excited, I waited a few months for this vid. Thank you so much. Have a blessed Christmas

[@nerdkingalpha4958]

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS! SHIELD HERO WAS MY FIRST ANIME AND ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!

[@nerdkingalpha4958]

After finishing the video, i've gotta say I'm impressed. So many people just hate this show for what feels like no reason and just yell on and on about how it sucks. Your criticism however was fair and opened my mind a bit. I personally felt that the excecution worked slightly better when there was less of the show and it was new, because it felt like this huge moment of catharsis, of all the unjust evils getting their just desserts and humiliation. I personally feel that the other three heroes are annoying weak during the show as a whole, but i love the character growth and moments the show delivers

[@DirranProductions]

Have you started the LN?

[@HyenaPlayGames]

And for season 2+ I do recommend using the Manga as the main material, as the anime butchered the source material and tried to do a speedrun of that arc.

[@zwei3179]

Season 4 is going to be insane, as its going be more of season 1 but max up to the 20

[@DirranProductions]

The LN was the source, and while the manga did better than the anime it still skipped a lot.

[@linksstruepower7443]

"On the first day of Xmas, the Loading Crew gave to me; An Isekai hero grinding EXP!" I will admit, I agree with a lot of what you said. What made the show engaging was his constant struggle and the small wins that made the people slowly decide he was a man worth following. The moment the Queen and country clear things up, it feels like the collective IQ of the whole show, aside from anyone the Queen, goes out the door as everyone just asks Naofumi what to do. But I don't hate the rage shield, no lie, I could see that the author was running out of ideas on how to creatively have Naofumi win, so rather than limp along, FUCK IT! DBZ power up. Moving on. See you in the next video with the second verse

[@dogomicdogersonthethird9471]

Honestly I love the show but this put it in a way I never really had words for before. I’ve rewatched the first bits of the show many times because it’s really interesting but my enjoyment always peters out after a while. This is the perfect way to describe the show honestly

[@lunatic0verlord10]

10:26 Gotta give him props for taking all that effort to give clothes to a girl who doesn't understand why it'd be bad to just wander around without clothes and whose transformations destroy her clothes. Lesser guys would've just seen that as an excuse to not give her clothes and, well, enjoy the sight (assuming they don't stoop down to worse fun). I mean, honestly, the Healer Hero wouldn't have gone through all that.

[@dillonchaddick695]

I actually made the legendary weapons from this series as homebrew items and made the transformations connected to the roll of a die based on the number of transformations I gave them. I even made the stronger forms at the highest possible rolls so the big powerful transformations are more rewarding to achieve. I also put more limitations and consequences to using those powerful forms.

[@joshuasnow6430]

Agreed with all the alignment points but the execution one, especially when you leave out the pretty big point that the Queen doesn’t want her own husband and daughter killed, you can visibly see her shaking in fear over making the decision to execute them. Naofumi only does that act because A he gets to still have a little revenge on them, and their influence is massively reduced after this, and B so that the queen didn’t have to go through on it, he did all of that for her and her family. Neutral good

[@dejinnthedjinn5311]

Hoo boy, this is gonna be interesting.

[@МолчаливыйКлинок]

I personally liked this series as I didn't care about the "dark traumatized antihero" thing. For me it was obvious that Naofumi is a good man in a really bad situation. He was hurt and backed into a corner, but with help of those that care about him, he endured. Hell, I desided to watch the anime, just because I liked Naofumi's armor. He always felt like a grumpy, tired young dad, than anything else. And I have a soft spot for those kind of characters. After the trial, I just continued to watch now healed mc do their hero thing in the world that actually is worth saving.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

That's exactly WHY the show turning against its own premise hurts the story. Because it was obvious that Naofumi is a fundamentally good person in a very bad situation, and had the mental fortitude to not let his suffering change that fact. I was promised a story about how trauma, bad luck, and a world out to get you don't give you an excuse to be a shitty person. And instead I was given the same old trite "nothing is bad forever" plotline that I can't stand. Some people don't have the good fortune of being gifted a happy life by fate. And I wished for so long that there was a story about a good person in a situation like that. And for just a brief period, this series gave me hope that this story would be told, only for that hope to be dashed.

[@spencersholden]

13:41 to be fair, Naofumi does come to hate it too. And move on from it in later seasons if I remember correctly.

[@HyenaPlayGames]

If I recall, at least in the manga, Naofumi is the one to ask for the execution of the King and the Princess, and only after he notices the queen would kill herself after the execution that he decides to do the Name Change punishment.

[@tatersalad76]

I will say in regards to the Wrath Shield that I like it as a powerup because it inverts his entire build. As opposed to being a selfless defender, it turns him into a self-destructive monster that endangers his party. And the Spirit Tortoise shield is immediately unusable in Season 3. The Wrath Shield actually ends up screwing the party over because of how strong it is in the latest fight. But to each their own

[@timothywashburn8218]

I think you would enjoy a fanfiction called Diligence of the Shield Hero by Allen Blaster. Originally it was Hope of the Shield, and it kicks off just a bit sooner with Naofumi overhearing Myne discussing her scheme with a member of the church. It is more about healing than revenge, but all of the hero's grow and fall at different points. Also thanks for explaining the anime. I can't find it legally and refuse to pirate.

[@bradleybourgeois4710]

Definately worth a read. While differing from the source amterial a bit it is a good fanfiction that improves upon the original, such as making Naofumi develop a relationship with Raphtalia earlier, making the family unit between the three original members of Naofumi's team (He's the dad, Raphtalia the mom, and Filo is their kid), and allowing the other heroes to grow sooner, especially Ren and Itsuki.

[@chriswedemann8599]

My first time seeing the Rage Shield, I immediately thought of Berserk. A cursed artifact that grants power and may cause you to kill both friend and foe? I love it! In theory, that’s _everything_ I love. In practice, it falls so short that it becomes a comedically tragic spectacle.

[@reaper_l3667]

My favorite part was when Naofumi was cleaning up the other heroes messes.

[@hirosoli]

I think its more like Naofumi grows to actually like the world he's been isekaid to. He sees a bunch of people who've been beaten down like him and realizes he has the power to help. Also, I love Naofumi gets the old DnD reward of a fiefdom.

[@lansygamer2665]

I like it because the first few episodes hooked me, and I've used some of it's worldbuilding in D&D settings. That's my attachment to it.

[@Kahrah1]

I love these takes on one of my favorite shows

[@robertsilvermyst7325]

I love seasons 1 & 3 of the anime, as Naofimi does act in a more realistic way to his situation. I do agree the rage shield does detract from the story, though I wouldn't call him bleeding out to death after the Pope fight a mere nap.

[@stalwartteakettlepotato9879]

Owning slaves is lawful neutral

[@shawngill9286]

i mean how i understand it it was not to save himself the guilt it was to prevent the queen having to kill her husband and child

[@LoliFoxQueen]

i cant hear the word hoopla anymore without the clip from the russian badger's vid where his friend was doing battledroid voice changers and yelled out HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA in a B1 voice.

[@eyevou]

The author has a really good way of building things up just to pull the rug out. If I had to describe the plot going forward it would be: "Nothing good lasts forever."

[@siriantostreams]

The curse of the shield lowers all stats by 30%

[@Sarge1886]

I’m actually fine with the execution scene for a number of reasons. It maintains some villains both of whom make a meaningful return in the 3rd season. It also spares the one noble Naofumi actually respects, the Queen. According to a-source-vs-anime-video-whose-name-I-forget, she had overtly hinted to Naofumi that she would off herself after her husband and daughter had been executed, represented clearly by her dropping a dagger after Naofumi stepped in

[@nero-jacob-kurotama2692]

The Bow, Spear and Sword heroes actually get their own curse series weapons with their own set of drawbacks Naofumi got off easily by suffering stat debuffs.

[@ericschuller908]

I actually got into this show because of the abridged version of it. Motoyasu dying by way of fucking a toaster was great way to introduce us to a moronic character who just devolves into a conspiracy theorist dumbass of every flavor was a fucking delight in the parody!

[@Cearns9219]

I can see where you are coming from in regards to the Wrath Shield and what happens in the execution scene. The Wrath Shield does feel like an instant win button, especially in season 1, but personally, I don't see it that way. It's shown in the show that the danger itself becomes less about the physical consequences, even though it still takes a toll on him, and more about the effects it has on his mind. The more times he relies on it, the more likely he is to give in to its malice, almost like succumbing to the dark side of the force. Plus, in seasons 2 & 3, certain villains know about his Wrath Shield and try to bait him into using it and then turn its effects and powers against him. As for the execution scene, Naofumi mostly did what he did for the Queen's sake. She does admit later on that if he did nothing, she would've offered her own life in exchange for the King's and Myne's. Also, the Queen putting both the King and Myne on trial the way that she did was to primarily expose the wrongdoings that both had been committing while she was away from the kingdom. The kingdom of Melromarc was established to be a matriarchy after all, and what both the King did and allow Myne to do was a complete abuse of power. However, for what it's worth, I won't spoil anything, but Naofumi's actions during the trial do come up again later and will bite him in the butt. In conclusion, I do see your points on these topics, but I respectfully disagree. That being said, I loved your video, and I look forward to the rest of D&December. Keep up the good work. 😁

[@HyenaPlayGames]

I think Respite of the Spear Hero is way more funny and "interesting" as Motoyasu has a literal kill-on-sight mentality there

[@kennethmorgan8795]

RIP Billy Kametz... gone too soon my guy.

[@silverbane266]

I think we can all agree that one of the best parts of shield hero was season one. My favorite of it is when Naofumi went up against spear hero for the first time. God that had my blood boiling about the princess and king manipulated the hero to the point where he dueled him. But that was so good! The emotions, the dialog, the fight, the creativity and the scene of Raphtalia showing she wont leave his side after all he did for her. I love season one. Its my favorite. I havent seen the other seasons yet but didnt sound like i missed anything good xD

[@danthespaceman9747]

Honestly I would've Rathered a video on Re:Zero, but this is fine too Actually, _will_ you do a video for Re:Zero? I think it'd be fun to examine Subaru's character and actions through D&D alignments.

[@DrWarman86]

The lore of the hero’s they all have the ability to use sin weapons. The real cost of these weapons is your soul. The sword hero unlocks Envy the bow unlocks pride and the spear unlocks lust I believe. It starts to change who you are.

[@colerulz13]

I absolutely love the music design on the t-rex scene because at first I thought it was the shield was blaring an alarm warning the danger. it felt seemless

[@TheEmperorGulcasa]

As someone who read the original web novel to completion, I agree that the show basically has an amazing premise and initial arc, and then just kinda fizzles out and loses it's way eventually. The web novel eventually gets very silly by the end, but I heard that the LN revises a lot of the base premise and later arc trajectory. Still, it kind of stops being a unique rage against society revenge story fairly early on once the Shield hero is put in the superior position and it becomes much more an ordinary isekai. Still, by the time the main plot had fizzled out, I enjoyed the main cast enough to stick it out even as the story got increasingly goofy. Still do like the main lineup and initial hook, even if it wasn't a perfect show. I even loved a later arc where for some reason he took control of some dungeon place and basically became Dr. Wily for a bit. It was completely nonsensical, but it was a funny scenario with characters I still liked.

[@ArmoredGaming1990]

You forgot to mention how he found out that you can use other hero’s power-up systems if you believe they will work.

[@yonatanalyagon5065]

Here's the fun part of the anime never did that 😭

[@jragonthedragon3055]

I think it is funny how he misspells Myne as "Mien"

[@TheLoadingCrew]

it's how the wiki spelled it??? I think?

[@jragonthedragon3055]

@@TheLoadingCrew That makes it even funnier since if you were to watch the sub instead. It is just Myne consistently.

[@zorokid]

Glad to see you're back! And im back to begging for Lina inverse Lol

[@blueredlover1060]

In the light novels, Naofumi is the definition of Chaotic Good. He's going to help out whoever he can, but he's also going to make sure that he gets paid for the work, whenever possible.

[@matthewsimmons9277]

Actually the main reason that malty is the way she is doesn’t have to do with her father. Her soul is a fragment of the goddess of betrayal which is the entity responsible for the waves.

[@thegloriousryan8981]

Y'know, I kinda don't like that. Shows often do this thing where they explain that the reason somebody was morally questionable is they were posessed by a demon or something, in an effort to make them more redeemable. But the thing is, there ARE just bad people. Normally it's caused by trauma or something from childhood, but that isn't always the case, and making a character that is meant to be hated suddenly justified in existence by a supernatural force that couldn't have been guessed in a million years just feels like bad writing.

[@zealthethornydragon]

thats only in the web novel. the light novel doesn't have that plot point and malty is just a bitch ass whore by nature and spoiled nurturing

[@jaystewart1420]

It's not a possession. Her soul literally is corrupted so she will betray everything she holds dear. It's a form of self destructive behavior that if not actively addressed destroys lives.

[@thegloriousryan8981]

@@jaystewart1420 My point wasn't around possession specifically, it was more around the supernatural justification of being a bad person. Regardless of if it's "soul corruption", or possession, or "bloodline", or whatever.

[@D1i1s1]

@@thegloriousryan8981 That's Web Novel stuff that never made it into the light novel, which the anime (sometimes badly) adapts. At this point in time bitch is simply a horrible person without any excuses.

[@sam7559]

I like Shield Hero for the reason that it's not like Redo. I like stories where it does have the world suck but because of things like found family the hero is able to move forward, not become worse. As a light novel reader it is more interesting because you are able to have access to Naofumi's thoughts and just how close he was actually to becoming like Redo with things like shortly after getting Raphtaila thinking about abusing her as a proxy for Malty or how he was actually the one to push for the king and princess execution with the queen being able to negotiate down to the strip of titles and name.

[@sirrealgaming6913]

oh sick it's back Appreciate the vidyas

[@Grimmknight-ik4vf]

ok first of all the rage shield dose actually have major consequences its just that the anime never showed this and the turtle canon shield only ever gets used 3 times in the whole manga(not an angry comment just thought you should know)

[@seriodenoyarohi7403]

One thing I wanna point out that really sums up the main problem with the shield hero Anime. You know how many episodes it took to adapt the 3rd Volume of the Lightnovel? About 1.5. For comparison: Overlord usually takes 4, Eminence in Shadow Season 1 took 10 Episodes per Light Novel. (For reference Volume 3 is where Naofumy saves Melty and flees with her throughout the country) The Pacing of the show is comparable to the heartbeat of a flipping hummingbird. It just races from important plotpoint to plotpoint without caring for any World or Characterbuilding. I'm not going to claim that the Light Novel is perfect, but the Anime is one of the worst adaptation of it's given source material I have ever seen.

[@bman296]

I felt slightly dissatisfied with how swiftly the revenge part ended on Naofumi's part in Season 1. However....that being said, we know shes gonna try some shiet again and season 3 is proof of that. I also find that a balance between revenge but also moving on from that revenge is good. Naofumi still despises Myne but now that shes been exposed and has lost all authority, like what was done to him, he doesn't actively antagonize or try and destroy her. Just lets her wallow in it which is a fair revenge. However, now shes messing with the other three stooges so thats fun

[@kylepessell1350]

Personally I don't care too much for revenge plots so I was perfectly okay with the story pivoting in a different direction. I found it more interesting that Naofumi would go out of his way to forgive traumatic betrayals and not lose his moral compass too dramatically despite his circumstances. Continuing to focus on the petty revenge plot would take away from the expanding scope of the story and its worldbuilding so I think it was a necessary cut. Yeah it didn't have to be as abrupt as it was, especially in the anime adaptation, but I think viewing the story primarily as a revenge plot is a mistake. The power scaling could be handled better and it definitely creeps into power fantasy territory later on but it's hardly the worst example of it I've seen in isekai stories and I can remain interested in the larger picture of the world even if my investment in the growth of the main cast is weakened.

[@theHedgex1]

The rage shield making him evil should be a thing. Drowning him in what they think of him being right.

[@grimoiremaleficarum7378]

Honestly, I think the random Queen appearance can be salvaged with a simple switch. Flip the scripts. The King has limited power but great charisma and influence. The Queen would have all the power, but be a cold vacuum of a person. She'd be willing to kill her husband and daughter because she never really cared about either of them. Naofumi "saves" them because he wants them to go through what he did, being treated like less than garbage. Queen allows it and the two are cast out and renamed. You could even use this as a new hook to bring in a new faction at least partially led by the two in their own revenge quest.

[@RaulDiaz-mp8ms]

You just described the manga and light novel.

[@Hyperneosonic97]

Ironically, in the Manga/Light Novel, that's... almost exactly how it played out (The only difference was that the Queen _did_ legitimately care about her husband and daughter but felt their crimes were simply too great, before Naofumi stops her, suggesting the name-change as punishment).

[@TrixyTrixter]

From what I heard. In light novel naofumi had to be heavily convinced by the queen to not just execute them. Essentially convincing him that living would be worse than a quick death before he accepted it. Also fairly sure that even in the anime the queen just has all the power really. Her coming back from wherever she was is what removed the power the king had since hes only second to her.

[@Hyperneosonic97]

@@TrixyTrixter Yeah, the queen always had all the power, that bit was never in question- the reason she was out of the kingdom and unable to rule was because her husband summoning all four heroes (instead of the one per country that was initially agreed upon by the kingdoms) caused a political crisis that she had to manage lest Melromarc not get destroyed by all the other countries.

[@TrixyTrixter]

@@Hyperneosonic97 Ok thanks. Didn't know that was the exact reason.

[@TheKillerman3333]

the last second of this video was like a gut punch "nasumi is gay" like, now i need elaboration and a whole video explaining that!

[@RaidenKaiser]

Spear hero is like the ultimate tool lol

[@Ubermensch9240]

28:15 Ooh, I should make a sign like this. Would save me a ton of grief.

[@supremefankai5480]

Definitely a guilty pleasure kind of show, i keep watching simply because I want to know the ending.

[@KINFIN123]

I’m right there with you in that the Rage/Wrath shield was mishandled. I personally do enjoy that it was functionally him using cheat codes that he wasn’t supposed to have access to but that there was the threat of collateral, but you’re right, the collateral was never collateral enough. Having said that, the show is interesting to me on the grounds of world building and the fact that Naofumi was taught early that he’s allowed to push the dirty buttons. It’s clear by the end of season 2 that nobody in either world knows what the hell is actually going on, how the waves actually work, or what roles the heroes are supposed to play. And the fact that Naofumi’s natural gravitation toward being a parental figure to young women in precarious positions in life is what makes his willingness to play dirty so compelling. He has multiple young and impressionable people looking up to him, be it Raphtalia who he outright had said is like a daughter to him, Filo who he has been raising from birth, and more and more as time goes, all young, misguided, overlooked by society at large, and in need of a mentor and it makes for a juxtaposition against Naofumi!’s natural inclination to take shortcuts, use weapons he really shouldn’t be using, and cheat. Also, like, the supporting cast is great. I love Raphtalia and her evolution from cowardly child to respectable but naive knight to heroine in her own right. I love Filo and how the conditions of her birth have her pulled between her natural fun-loving childishness and her responsibility as a queen Filolial, I even enjoy Melty who, while she wasn’t properly established, is a great sorta anti villain in Naofumi’s eyes due to his hatred of nobility in spite of her good intentions. And even when Naofumi gets over his hatred of the nobility, Naofumi’s a man full of anger by nature, a powder keg that, no matter how much people try to prevent from exploding, is one rogue spark away from just saying fuck it and killing everyone around him. Is he supposed to be a support role? Yes. Is it annoying that he has the power to go on the offense? Yes. But on h other hand, the fact that it’s an option is why it’s so important he has a support network building up around him. Your complaints are absolutely valid, but I think the good parts outweigh the bad. This isn’t about an overpowered man building a harem, this is about an underpowered father figure building up a family so he doesn’t go on a rage filled bender and break shit.

[@sagiriizumi5865]

I agree with your criticism, I think shield hero suffers from a kind of "reverse cerebus syndrome" where it starts off as this gritty dark fantasy revenge story but after the queen shows up it sort of devolves into a much more generic save the day wish fulfillment story. I still enjoyed it anyway, but I agree that when it comes to revenge stories and questionable protagonists Redo does it FAR better than shield hero. Naofumi barely even counts as an antihero since he very rarely does anything questionable aside from buying a slave and shaking down a few merchants, in practice he is literally every fantasy hero ever except a bit more prickly and prone to anger, and he also demands compensation for saving the day. He will still save the day he will just complain and get mad about the incompetence of the other heroes, and then send you a bill for his services. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I mean there is a reason heroes are a popular character archetype but I feel like the author is trying to have their cake and eat it too. Have a gritty protag who is willing to do antihero things but also still ultimately be a good guy and a classical hero at heart. I still enjoyed Shield hero tho despite this and I think Naofumi is a strong character, someone who is willing to risk his life to save people who hated and rejected him and treated him cruelly is a powerful statement, but he also doesn't let people walk all over him either, he sets boundaries and is flexible in how he deals with situations, Naofumi is an interesting protagonist who straddles the line between hero and antihero. But that is not really what was advertised by the first few episodes. I think the biggest problem with Naofumi is basically false advertising, we were told this was going to be a gritty revenge story starring an antihero who is willing to do bad things to bad people, and we got that... to an extent. but then the second half of the show completely flips the script on this, and he behaves more like a traditional hero does. which again isn't a bad thing, heroes are cool, but this tone shift comes out of nowhere, it's like when you watch a show, and you can tell they fired all the writers and hired new ones mid season because the show feels completely different midway through.

[@ExDragonMaster]

To be fair, the anime does handle the shift rather poorly. In the manga (and in the light novel and web novel, presumably), he does become heroic, but much more mature. He's still traumatized and still has to work with what he's got to fight the oncoming waves; even if it means buying more slaves. "Bent, but not broken" sums him up very well. He doesn't succumb to the morally gray anti-hero trope. He becomes the traditional hero that moves beyond the trauma, but the trauma still shows itself (very reasonably so, usually).

[@bradleybourgeois4710]

I never felt that Shield Hero was a revenge story, but more of a Deconstruction of the Isekai fantasy. Normally, these stories run on pure video game logic, have the hero be treated be treated well because they have a unique trait and good qualities (being the chosen one, special power, being generous and nice, etc.), and generally have an ultimate evil that needs to be defeated to restore order, just to name a few. For the first one, while video game elements are used in the weapon system and power scaling, they don't replace actual skill with weapons or martial arts. The former are more of means of helping the heroes understand how to improve their weapons and assist them in party formation through a familiar medium, something that causes the other heroes fall behind Naofumi because they are too reliant on gaming logic over actual skill (Ex. Ren would have lost to the lower leveled Eclair in a sparing match had he not used his skills to do so, because when it comes to actual swordsmanship he's a novice). When talking about second point, Naofumi experience at being the shield hero is a miserable one. Due to being a symbol of demi-human worship in an racist human society, Naofumi is treated a pariah, which is not helped by is Malty's false rape accusation ruing his reputation and lack strength in both his and society's eyes. Even, when his situation improves he's generally viewed a more as an important asset than a person by those of authority and means of prestige by worshippers and greedy indivisuals, with only his party and friends caring about Naofumi the man rather the Shield Hero. Finally, while there are monsters and villians to fight, there isn't a prestiage holy kingdom that must be defended at all costs. The countries and worlds are just as flawed as our own and while defeating the villians remove a threat, it doesn't fix the world instantly, as only political reform can fix that. Ultimately, Shield Hero takes the isekai fantasy and grounds in to a more realistic take on how such a world would function rather than a revenage story upon those who have wronged him.

[@sagiriizumi5865]

@@bradleybourgeois4710 That is a very insightful take and I think this explains one of the reasons Shield Hero is still very good despite not fully delivering on the "revenge" aspect.

[@edwardnowakowski5990]

I’ll be honest, I 100% agree. The underdog story was good, but once he got the full support of the world behind him, it loses it’s fun

[@angrytheclown801]

Record of Lodoss War did the anger power better. When the berserker lost himself into the anger, he truly lost himself. He became a hazard to himself and his teammates, even almost killed the woman he loved simply because he saw only enemies in his rage and wasn't even capable of thought. Anger might have been his weapon, but it was an uncontrolled nuke that ultimately did him in.

[@TheMelnTeam]

Yeah. I think what bothers me about it (and also most people) is how it's pitched as a strong ability with horrible downsides if overused, but we're not shown that. Going berserk in Lodoss war definitely had pitfalls. A story could also incorporate a more typical implementation: you can break your normal limits while berserk and feel absolutely no fear, but doing this tends to injure the person doing it and they're less capable of making good tactical decisions. A *good* story that uses it that way will have it used or attempted in at least one or two ill-advised moments, requiring the person to be saved or getting them injured/killed etc...but still put the character in situations where it's tempting (and sometimes correct) to use it. If they made the stakes for the curse shield lower, but still detrimental, they could have actually written the negative consequences into the story. Like if it made the party weaker or disables them for a while, causing them to fail to save someone or handle another problem. Or if using it to win limited the growth of the person using it, which would make it reasonable the bird queen to warn against using it too much because it would make the party weaker long-term (plenty to convince a character to only use it when necessary).

[@idkmynameimjusthere57]

17:33 the fucking switch up broke me

[@adamloga3788]

Yeah, I gotta agree with everything you said. I actually started by reading an online translation of the Light Novel and while it's handled better than the anime, a lot of the same issues appear, at least in the version I was reading. Rage Shield is an I-win button with consequences that technically happen-Naofumi gets debuffed stats-but never in a way that actually affects him as we don't seem him struggling with or losing a fight that he should have won easily. For a supposedly matrilineal Kingdom-or to be technical, Queendom-it's really surprising how little the ACTUAL QUEEN is set up and how we never even get a hint that the King isn't supposed to have any actual power until she shows up and shuts him down. Admittedly, at least at first, we could say that he'd have all the noble loyal to him and not her nearby when he set up the Shield Hero, but I'd expect at least a few Nobles loyal to the Queen or even just willing to undermine Aultcray to provide some feasibly deniable aid or at least sound Naofumi out for some dirty jobs. All in all, even in LN form, I have to agree that this is a series that set up an interesting plot and then wasted it fairly quickly to get into the stereotypical Isekai Harem white noise. I'll never watch or read Re-do of Healer because I have no interest in following an Evil Protagonist on his journey, but if it had the integrity to stick to what it was supposed to be instead of devolving into the Power Fantasy White Noise that plagues Light Novels and Anime, then I must at least give it credit for that.

[@wajmgirl]

“And the Me Toos Naofumi…” Wow, that’s just… really tasteless. Holy shit.

[@DirranProductions]

Late to it, but the LN Hate Shield handled it far better. The stunt he pulled against Pope lost him 1/3 of his stats for six months. Also, does end up paying off somewhere around book 10.

[@williamaponte719]

As far as I’m concerned so long as it is clear that he comes from our world, the second he considered owning a slave he was immediately evil withno chance at redemption.

[@link_team3855]

you know. im start to see a pattern. Sick village. Fix problem. Repeat

[@Triforce_Gardian]

Shield Hero is my favorite Light Novel. I absolutely agree with your points in your rant to some degree. Thanks for acknowledging the LN is different because this ain’t nowhere near my favorite anime list. You had a very constructive good rant at the end and I hope my fellow SH Stans listened. THX for the good vid

[@Soloong_Gaybowzer]

The reason why I disagree with you on the execution scene is because Naufumi didn't spare Bitch and Trash because they deserved it or to ease his own conscience. He saw that the queen was about to offer up her own life or at least attempt suicide right after. He didn't spare their lives. He spared HER life.

[@ahrinightingale6825]

I’ve watched season 1 7? Maybe 9 times and yeah I understand all of your points of the good, the bad and the ugly because you’re spot on. Ima still watch it though

[@johnnydollar579]

I agree with what you said about the last few episodes they just killed my enjoyment of the show.

[@your_SecondShadow]

I get your points here kinda the main reason i moved to the manga as it actually has some of the light novel contexts and the art is also pretty good (and i know you hate it but the "Rage Shield" ended on being called the "Wrath Sheild" and in the light novel the other heros got their own sin series weaponry each getting two actually but i get the point of under punished especially compared to the other sins as some made the other heros lose their wills, level resets and even losing their experiences/memories)

[@WH40KHero]

Question: Didnt he get his stats lowered to the bottom of the barrel for a MONTH after abusing his Rage Shield in the fight with the pope, meaning he wouldnt be able to properly fight in the next upcoming wave? I think i remember something about that.

[@JoshtheOverlander]

"I watched Zero no Tsukaima! That show sucks, and I loved it!" Dude, same. It's been ages since I watched it, but I enjoyed it when I did, even in spite of *Louise* being the absolute worst.

[@fatalisblack7213]

I still await the completion of the isekai quartet with a DnD alignment of Tanya the Evil (name really gives it away) and Ainz from Overlord.

[@TempoLOOKING]

Or Shiro from Log Horizon.

[@SwordFighterDoggo]

18:00 Naofumi: fuck you, that's how

[@Thudd224]

I really hope you guys can cover tenchi from tenchi muyo. The guy is genuinely interesting. He became a fourth dimensional god, and gave it up to be with his group

[@tektonik4616]

bit late to the discussion, but yeah, I mostly agree with all of your points... I love the concept of the Rage Shield, just not the execution of it... honestly, if they established a more serious drawback to using it, or even just lean a bit harder into the idea of it supposedly "corrupting his mind" I'd be all for it... and yeah, the execution thing was bad, but it's better in the sub version than dub, and better still in the manga where it's basically "giving them death isn't harsh enough, let them live but suffer" but besides those two points, I wouldn't change Season 1 at all... Season 2 though... I'll save my thoughts on it for the eventual sequel you pull

[@AquaLantern]

"A bit late?" This video was uploaded today lol

[@Nitro89]

Naofumi i would say he is somewhere between lavful good and chaotic good

[@ExDragonMaster]

The anime drops the ball on so many points. And it usually comes at the cost of making Naofumi less realistic (making him more heroic instead of having realistic reactions) and screwing over the character development of everyone else (especially Raphtalia and Rishia). The most egregious example in this season being right after the queen condemns Trash and B tch to death. In the manga the queen says that if the two want to abate their execution, they would need an apology from all 4 heroes (including the shield hero). When B tch begs her case to Naofumi, he immediately says to execute them both. The queen actually has to dissuade Naofumi by proposing a fate that made them wish for death. That's when we later see the forced name change, and Naofumi relishes in it. Sure, the queen and Melty's appearances do serve as a semi deus ex machina for the revenge. But the way the plot was headed, I assume the author legitimately wanted to make the oncoming waves the true threat. And Naofumi now has a motivation to stop the oncoming waves - creating a home for Raphtalia and Filo to live in, should he either die or get transported back to his original world. He then goes for adopting survivors from Raphtalia's village and rebuilding that village. He has to use the slave system to get the survivors up to speed to do this. In essence, the series takes a mature adult turn in another direction. Naofumi has moved beyond vengeance and now has essentially has his motivation to continue fighting off the waves. He's matured tremendously through it. Raphtalia does as well. Granted, the trauma from the first season is still there. He still exhibits edgelord tendencies not just because he's an otaku, but because he's still traumatized. He still has trouble trusting people because of that trauma and the story arc in season 2 (L'arc and Therese). The fascination (for me, anyway) with the series no longer becomes the edgy (but very compelling) hook caused by B tch and Trash, but withe the character development everybody goes through.

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

I agree that the execution should have taken place. I, however, have a more mathematical view of Karma, and believe that Bitch should have been publicly humiliated as Naofumi was. Calling her by the more accurate name is not enough I.M.O.

[@triforceninja13]

Neutral Evil. This dude is no hero

[@Mellamogumbo]

Sorry for the little nitpick, but in the latter part of the video you mention that the queen was never mentioned before, but in the first episode it’s mentioned that the country is a matriarchy, you options are valid and fair just wanted to clarify that

[@TheLoadingCrew]

ah....well...fair enough

[@nintai6656]

The only setup for the queen was in the dialogue between the princess and the shield hero in episode 1 when she tried to get him drunk to frame him. When it didn’t work she said the nation was a “matriarchy” meaning ruled by a queen not a king. That was when intuitive enough minds would have known the king had no real power and if the queen was dead her daughter would take the throne not him. This was basically a subtle nod that something was off and there was karma brewing on the back burner. It was always there but easily overlooked and yeah, there is a lot about this series that you pointed out as flaws I didn’t consider at the time but now agree with. Either way I originally gave the series a 7/10 and stand by that. I’ve only ever seen 2 anime I can call unwatchable and even consider DBZ to be a good example of a bad anime because even a bad anime is still really fun to watch. For those wondering, SAO and FLCL were the 2 unwatchable series.

[@kratkartan1486]

I completely understand what you were going on about. There were some problem that I didn't like either, but what has kept me hooked is Naofumi himself. He's a snarky asshole a lot of the time, and for good reason. Even with a lot of the problems solved, he's still jaded. As a result, he acts as a mirror to the characters he's dealing with and can either be genuinely nice, or a rat bastard.

[@kristeenlivesay2664]

I really want to see some alignments for eminence in shadow.

[@ScamperBlazen]

OOF Zero's Familiar is a name I have NOT heard in a long time

[@themr.greenshow7144]

Power of love That bull s*** you the power of power

[@fenrir_wolf_god]

the rage shield actually gets interested in season 3 because all the heroes have something similar to it's based off the seven deadly sins

[@TheAngel277]

Honestly your criticism is very fair I didn't really think about that before. I love the gritty tone at the beginning and how much you just want him to get revenge. but I do think the show has a power problem where the other Heroes which have offensive weapons and are higher level just never get to do anything. I mean his companions which don't have special magical weapons somehow always manage to deal more damage.

[@bladestalker9365]

What are the things I love about the world? Building in this show is something that does. Get expanded later on in what is now season 3. Even that is still doesn't get enough time to really shot. I'm is how the curse series, causing the question the sentience of the weapons, but also how they appear to be based off the seven deadly sins or these 7 cardinals sins of lost wrath greed Pride, gluteny and so on. And how each hero does eventually get one? But again, like I said, in season 3. It doesn't get a lot time to shine