English Dub Review: Rising of the Shield Hero “Footprints of the Spirit Tortoise”

Overview

The leaders of all the nations’ militaries gather in the Spirit Tortoise Kingdom. Naofumi is there as well and promises to offer his help as one of the heroes. But just before they decide on a plan, a mysterious woman appears…

Our Take

It’s abundantly clear that these country/kingdom leaders need some type of plan, not just petty squabbling over who gets the most credit or who gets to defeat the Spirit Tortoise. Naofumi thinking the same way I would in that situation. Telling those bureaucrats to get their shit together if they want the shield hero’s help. All their posturing and politics come across as ridiculous while people’s lives are literally at stake. And rightfully so, Naofumi leaves the meeting like a boss until they come up with an actual plan. Then we meet the character from the cliffhanger of the first episode ending who goes by the name of “Ost Horai” whose introduction does complicate things…

Ost as a character isn’t just some royal concubine or regent but an actual familiar of the Spirit Tortoise. whose singular purpose is to cause war through manipulation and subterfuge that way the Spirit Tortoise can absorb souls without having to do destructive Kaiju things but at the cost of an immense amount of lives. Which almost makes it feel pointless to even try and stop the waves. Even crueler is that if the four cardinal heroes can’t stop the waves head-on as their job would become the same as the Spirit Tortoise. To collect souls by killing people which would stop the waves. It’s pretty messed up to think about. But according to Ost this time around, the Spirit Tortoise didn’t awaken on its own, someone brought it back for their own goals and we the audience can briefly see that a mysterious dude is pulling the strings…

Overall, the lore reveals regarding the Spirit Tortoise was quite good, and the proceedings felt like a bit of an info dump followed by a little drama with the bickering of strategies. As far as I can tell, Raphtalia is always good at getting to the calmer side of Naofumi and getting him to see things differently by suggesting to construct a legit plan with the other leaders. The pacing wasn’t great but I’m excited to see where we are heading this season when it comes to the fights and the story.