English Dub Review: The Rising of the Shield Hero “The Ones We Must Protect”

Overview

Naofumi begins training in the Way of the Dragon Vein with Sadeena and Gaelion. Back at the village, the blacksmith Elhart pays a visit, bringing new equipment for Raphtalia. When she tries it on, it reveals a shocking secret about her past…


Our Take

 All four heroes are officially together, even if they’re all mentally broken in different ways (with Motoyasu being the most mentally fucked up of the three)… and they now have two months until they have to fight against the Phoenix. At least that’s what most of us thought was going to happen until Elhart the Blacksmith came to visit. All of it seems harmless at first given that Elhart is one of the few people Naofumi and his crew trust. And as a minor callback, he brings to Raphtalia the “Miko Outfit” (which resembles the traditional Japanese outfit of a shrine maiden) she wore in Season 2 which for some reason wasn’t compatible with her stats or abilities after going back to their home world, and Elhart did his best to fix that in the world they’re currently in.

At first, all of this seems harmless given that it’s just a dress. However the plot doesn’t pick up until Nadia/Sadeena takes notice of her wearing it and immediately tells Raphtalia to take it off, and that’s when shit begins to get super real when Demi-Human Ninja’s mercilessly attacking Naofumi’s village for possibly one of the most dumbest fucking reasons I’ve ever heard… But what unravels is a series of shocking revelations that Sadeena can reveal by explaining her history with Raphtalia’s family along with some shocking secrets which are all tied to Raphtalia’s past and her origins that not even she knew about until now. And with all of these twists also being tied with an entire Island Nation ruled by Demi-Humans, Naofumi is LAST PERSON they should piss off…

Overall, this was one hell of a weird-ass way to end a season. The proceedings got a bit repetitive with some of the plot beats, and the promotional material was a bit misleading in regards to the fate of a certain character who is seen in parts of the season, yet we don’t know if this change will happen or not. We did get a string of other plot threads that left me unsure if they’ll lead anywhere, and newly introduced characters that also leave me unsure if they’ll have a legit purpose somewhere down the line, but it certainly wasn’t boring. If Season 4 does happen, I’d love to see what direction it goes next!