The Rising of the Shield Hero Episode 23 – Cal Mira Archipelago starts off on the ship to Cal Mira, in which Naofumi once again runs into L’arc, the adventurer that he ran into from the previous episode.
This episode was pretty light-hearted, mostly just focusing on Naofumi’s time with L’Arc and Therese. L’Arc and Therese prove to be very likable characters right off the bat. It’s pretty obvious that there’s more to them than meets the eye, but for now I guess we’ll just have to assume that they’re just genuine adventurers. Well, that is until they learn the truth about Naofumi being the shield hero. It’d be interesting to see how they’ll react once they learn the truth.
To be honest, I think they’d be great additions to Naomi’s squad. Although, it is pretty odd that they keep running into each other. I’d get suspicious of that if that was me.
Anyways, aside from the other heroes being turned into comic relief, most of the episode was just highlighting the many rules and nature of the islands. After having a fun time grinding levels and a lively meal, Naofumi feels happy and fulfilled for the first time in this world. Which was pretty cool to see. It felt like filler for most of the episode, with the classic beach scenes and everything. Things didn’t get interesting until the squad learned of an hourglass hidden underneath a sunken palace.
Overall, it was a pretty chill episode, setting things up for the next wave. Of course, aside from the impending wave, I’d like to learn more about Therese, since aside from Naofumi, Filo and Raphtalia couldn’t understand her, so she must be from another land.
