English Dub Review: The Rising of the Shield Hero “Everlasting Memory”

A new chapter, and a new opener to boot.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

With Naofumi on the run, things aren’t going to be quite as easy for the party that has proved themselves quite capable adventurers. They need a place to stay and find themselves arriving at a village nearby that might be sympathetic to their cause. Melty explains that, despite the way Melromarc treats demihumans, the lord here, Reichnott, treats demihumans like, well, humans. Out of nowhere, Reichnott appears and offers the party stay at his mansion, quick to offer his words of sympathy and support for Naofumi and his struggle.

The mansion is luxurious and inviting, which gives Naofumi and the others time to wind down for the night and dwell on their situation. Raphtalia remembers her traumatic past, while Melty reveals her inner guilt for not being able to do anything with her powers to help Naofumi and Raphtalia. Naofumi reassures her, but there is a deep desire for justice that emanates from Melty’s tiny form.

However, Melty soon finds herself in a situation that demands the use of her unique status. The mansion is invaded by Melromarc soldiers and Reichnott is overthrown from his lordship and captured. The soldiers are led by a noble named Idol Rabier, looking for Melty and Naofumi. Hiding in a closet, Naofumi and Raphtalia witness Melty give herself over to Rabier to save her friends, and she is escorted away by the corrupt noble and his men.

But, despite her sacrifice, Naofumi and the others decide they’re going to go save her from Rabier’s clutches. They ride up and saddle forth towards Rabier’s mansion, where Melty is being held. A mob of angry demihumans protesting for the return of their beloved lord provides an excellent distraction while the three heroes sneak their way inside.

Once in the mansion, the three of them plow through guards and walls to find their friend. Naofumi gets Melty’s location by threatening a guard with the bite of his venomous shield, which makes their search a lot easier. Once they arrive in Melty’s room, they see Rabier getting ready to murder Melty in cold blood. Raphtalia, feeling the desire for vengeance for her people within her, forcefully marches towards Rabier and brings him low. She brings her sword to his neck and contemplates what to do with the scoundrel.

Our Take:

On this week’s chapter of Shield Hero, unfolding Naofumi’s adventure further, we’re treated to a story that is both entertaining to watch and does well to build out the Shield Hero world even further than it already has. This episode does an excellent job of developing its characters while not shying away from filling out the crucial details of it’s world. Where the episode falls short, however, is in the pacing and dramatic strength of the episode. Too much of it is spent in dialogue sequences that go on and on and don’t provide enough to the story. Reichnott has also left mostly undeveloped as well as his township that he governs over. This leaves the episode feeling more average than anything, but on reflection, is still functional in the larger plot.

Anime, as always, is a visual medium and a lot of shows can’t seem to take full advantage of that concept. I don’t expect every show to be a visual masterpiece, but when you have the power of paint and picture, you don’t have to resort to the static constraints of the physical world. That means that scenes which don’t take advantage of the form feel worse off than if they had been done in live action. Barring a stronger visual style, music and acting can also be great ways to bring the audience deeper into the scene, so there really is no excuse for a boring episode of anime. Sadly, Shield Hero doesn’t have an excuse either and struggles under the weight of the lengthy dialogues between Raphtalia, Melty and Naofumi.

Despite that, though, there are still some strong moments that hold the episode together. Melty’s courage in allowing herself to be taken prisoner feels like a real moment of advancement for her character, and Raphtalia’s near-murder of Rabier makes for some powerful drama. Naofumi takes a back seat in this episode and that’s all right with me. Raphtalia is one of the better characters the show has given us so far, so any time developing her is time well spent.

Ultimately, I think Shield Hero is an anime with a good plot but lacks good ways to make involving episodes. The story is worth experiencing, but sometimes you get episodes like this that fall short a bit and don’t grab you for their runtime. That prevents me from finding that much enjoyment here. Shield Hero is a show that could learn to stop taking it’s time so much.