The Rising of the Shield Hero began serialization on the web site Let's Become a Novelist in 2012, and was later published as a book. A manga version was released in 2014, and it is a hugely popular work with a total of over 3.3 million copies in circulation. It has been decided that it will be made into a two-season anime series starting in January 2019, and that the subtitled and dubbed versions will be simulcast on the overseas distribution site "Crunchyroll". This work is a reincarnation story that depicts the adventures of Iwatani Naofumi, who is summoned as the Shield Hero. In this article, we will introduce the Shield Hero, Iwatani Naofumi.
Summary of the Summoned Shield Hero Iwatani Naofumi
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / Shield Hero Production Committee
At the beginning of the story, Iwatani Naofumi was summoned as the Shield Hero. He was a 20-year-old college student and otaku who was reading a book called the Four Saints' Book of Warriors in the library. The moment he found a blank page, he was reincarnated into another world. In this parallel world, a story straight out of a book, Iwatani Naofumi is summoned as one of the four holy heroes, the Shield Hero, who protects the world from the threat of the waves. The Shield Hero has great defensive power, but no offensive power. He is also shunned by Orthoclay Melromarc 32, who summoned him, and the story begins with him being shunned by them after he is falsely accused of raping Iwatani's daughter, Myne Sphere.
What is the legendary weapon possessed by Iwatani Naofumi, the Shield Hero?
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
The legendary weapon, the shield. Originally called the Small Shield, this shield has been indispensable since its reincarnation, but it can actually absorb various things and gain their power to transform the shield. And the derived and transformed shield has various auxiliary benefits. Immediately after reincarnation, I went to the weapon shop and tried to get a sword, but due to a violation of the legendary weapon rules, I was not able to use any weapons other than the legendary weapons I possessed with the intention of fighting. As a result, I had to fight while absorbing and deriving various weapons into this legendary weapon. I couldn't even use joint locks.
Why is Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero, disliked?
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
Since being summoned to this world, Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero, has been chosen to wield one of the four highest holy weapons as one of the Four Holy Heroes, but he seems to be disliked in this country. Eventually, his position in the country was changed by Mirelia, who was both the queen and the rightful king, but before that, his reputation was very bad. In Melromarc, a religion called the Church of the Three Heroes has even appeared that worships all the heroes except for the Shield Hero. Why only the Shield Hero? The reason is that the Shield Hero several generations ago sided with the demi-humans. Originally, in this world, demi-humans and humans were in conflict, and Raphtalia, who travels with him, was also a demi-human and was sold to a slave trader. In fact, Siltveld, the country of demi-humans, treats humans as slaves and has a religion called the Shield Church.
Shield Hero - What about romance between Naofumi Iwatani and Raphtalia?
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
The Shield Hero acts alongside Raphtalia, but Raphtalia's level increases and her body becomes that of an adult. She has feelings for the Shield Hero, but the Shield Hero shows no signs of responding to her feelings. That's because after being summoned to this world, he was falsely accused of raping Mine Sphere, which has left him traumatized and caused him to no longer have such feelings towards women. He seems to be aware of Raphtalia's feelings, but finds them bothersome so he seems to want to leave her alone until peace is restored. Even though he has such a beautiful woman by his side... Trauma is scary.
The Shield Hero Iwatani Naofumi and the Curse Series
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
During a one-on-one battle with the Spear Hero, the Shield Hero is interrupted by Mine Sphere and loses. At that time, when he hates them and recognizes himself as evil, the conditions for this Curse Series are met and he becomes able to use the Curse Series. His driving force is likely negative emotions such as hatred. The first time he used it was when the corpse of a dragon defeated by the Hero of the Sword turned into a zombie, giving power and a curse to anyone who touched it, using the Curse Series Shield of Wrath. As he describes it as the flames of his own hatred, it was also the first shield to be equipped with the Shield Hero's offensive techniques. In the end, it was Filo who defeated the dragon, but during the battle, Raphtalia was seriously injured by the Shield of Wrath.
The Hero of the Shield Iwatani Naofumi, Scum and Bitch
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
The Church of the Three Heroes tried to kill the Shield Heroes, but the Four Holy Heroes cooperated and destroyed the plot for the first time. In fact, the Church of the Three Heroes had been in collusion with the acting king, Orthoclay Melromarc, and his daughter, Myne, for some time. In the midst of all this, Queen Mirellia made arrangements with the other countries and returned to her country. This country is originally the queen's country. In other words, the king is only an acting king. So Mirellia exposed the misdeeds of Orthoclay and Myne, the masterminds behind this turmoil, and made them kneel down before the Shield Hero in front of everyone. They were then told what would happen to them. They would be stripped of their royalty and their names would be changed. Orthoclay would be called scum, Myne would be called a bitch, and her name as an adventurer would be slut. From this point on, it became a crime to even call them by their original names.
The Rising of the Shield Hero Iwatani Summary
Source: The Rising of the Shield Hero © Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / The Shield Hero Production Committee
The Shield Hero is a protagonist with a kind side and a dark side, such as a desire for revenge and resentment. Perhaps in the battle in the world beyond the waves, the Curse Series, which is driven by hatred, and Raphtalia, who is said to have a curse. It seems that this will be involved in the story. I'm also curious about his future relationship with Filo, who is the polar opposite of him. There are some slight differences in the story between the novel and manga versions. I definitely recommend watching both the novel and manga versions, not just the anime.
