So I found out that the first episode for The Rising of the Shield Hero/Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari has pre-aired and I must say, I enjoyed it a lot.
The Rising of the Shield Hero starts out like any other parallel game world anime does with Naofumi Iwatani, the typical otaku protagonist transport to another world. This time though there’s a twist to it. Three other student, Amaki Ren, Kitamura Motoyasu & Kawasumi Itsuki from three other versions of Japan also got transported to this world and each of them represent one of the four heroes of legend. While the other three seem to be capable people, able to deduce what’s happening, Naofumi is left a tad bit lost, mostly to use him in order to explain what’s happening in the world.
I really liked how the other three characters didn’t fall into the stereotypical roles of being confused and scared but instead demanded to know why they’re summoned and what their rewards would be. After the introductions, things start to take a funny turn for Naofumi. He’s immediately labeled the weakest due to his lack of offensive capability and apparent inexperience of combat. That quickly spreads across the kingdom and puts him at a disadvantage.
We then learn about these waves that seem to be threatening the world and the kingdom of Melromarc. Apparently, only the four heroes are able to do anything about it. After they explained what the reason for they summoning was, the team are advised to form into different parties as their weapons won’t allow them to be together while they’re leveling up.
This is where this goes south for Naofumi. After no one joined his team, a girl named Mein decides to join up with him. Things go well at first and Naofumi is experiencing the typical adventurer life. While that was going on, I knew that Mein was going to back-stab him. It was so painfully obvious and that ended up setting the premise for Naofumi savageness. After being framed from a crime that he clearly did not commit, they entire kingdom turns their back on him. Now forced to saved the very world that’s forsaken him, he becomes more cold, cunning and somewhat dark. It’s an interesting take on the transported to another world genre. Less comedic and more serious. And I like it. I can’t wait to see Naofumi pull up on the other heroes and whoop their asses. I mean, they’re not inherently bad, but they got that smug ass attitude that just needs to be smacked.
Overall, I was very impressed with the first episode. From start to finish, I was hooked and intrigued. The animations were great and I can’t wait to see more!
