English Dub Review: Rising of the Shield Hero “A New Roar”

Overview

Mysterious monsters appear as Naofumi is preparing for the Next Wave. At the same time they show up, the Wave countdown stops. The Queen summons the Four Cardinal Heroes and tells them that the Spirit Tortoise has revived…

Our Take

After three long years, the Shield Hero has returned! It’s nice seeing Naofumi and the gang back being so much better treated, much of the dub cast remains the same with the exception of Naofumi now being voiced by Stephen Fu who replaces Billy Kametz of Jojo Part 4 fame due to health issues he’s currently facing. It’s a mostly relaxed start to the episode with Naofumi trying to build up Raphtalia’s village after it was rewarded to him for fighting the waves. Also, Rishia has joined Naofumi in an effort to prove her worth and get stronger since Itsuki the Bow hero views her as too weak after season one.

Rishia even goes so far as to enter a slave pact with Naofumi just to jump some levels. It feels weird but makes sense. Predictably, peace rarely has staying power as trouble always comes around. Strange new monsters proceed to attack Naofumi’s village and everywhere really. That doesn’t mean that they’ll have ample time to prepare for the next Wave apocalypse incoming: the Spirit Tortoise which in a nutshell is a Kaiju-like rampaging monstrosity, and there’s a high chance it’ll head right for the Melromarc Kingdom. You’d think the very same braggadocious piece of shit Heroes Itsuki, Ren, and Motoyasu would be on board fighting this thing, but they all outright reject except for Naofumi at least. Considering Filo’s queen Fitoria’s plea for the Heroes to work together to dispel the Spirit Tortoise, I’m not surprised that Naofumi is going at it alone with Raphtalia, Filo, and Rishia.

Overall this was a welcoming start to a new storyline. Rishia has potential as a character, but I don’t understand her logic. Even after getting kicked out from Itsuki’s party, she still wants to go back to this fucker? I don’t give two shits about her pining for him, or the other two douche-monkeys for that matter. The pacing was on the quick side and clashed at the end of the town. It felt nicely animated enough to showcase some of Naofumi’s new abilities with wrath shield and dark curse burning, while the appearance of the Spirit Tortoise is almost jarring to see as parts of the creature look like an oil painting attempting to blend in with CGI. At the very least the upcoming battle looks like is going to be badass. Plus judging from this new Intro, we might see new characters introduced as well, including that cliffhanger with a mysterious cloaked woman making an unusual request…