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The Rising of the Shield Hero
First light novel volume cover, featuring Naofumi Iwatani (left), Raphtalia (middle), and Myne Sophia (top-right)
盾の勇者の成り上がり (Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari)
Genre	Dark fantasy Isekai
Novel series
Written by	Aneko Yusagi
Published by	Shōsetsuka ni Narō
Original run	2012 – present
Light novel
Written by	Aneko Yusagi
Illustrated by	Seira Minami
Published by	Media Factory
English publisher	NA: One Peace Books
Imprint	MF Books
Demographic	Male
Original run	August 22, 2013 – present
Volumes	22 (List of volumes)
Manga
Written by	Aiya Kyū
Published by	Media Factory
English publisher	NA: One Peace Books
Magazine	Monthly Comic Flapper
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	February 5, 2014 – present
Volumes	26 (List of volumes)
Manga
The Reprise of the Spear Hero
Written by	Neet
Published by	Media Factory
English publisher	NA: One Peace Books
Imprint	MF Comics
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	August 21, 2017 – January 26, 2023
Volumes	11 (List of volumes)
Light novel
The Reprise of the Spear Hero
Written by	Aneko Yusagi
Illustrated by	Minami Seira
Published by	Media Factory
English publisher	NA: One Peace Books
Imprint	MF Books
Demographic	Male
Original run	September 25, 2017 – present
Volumes	5 (List of volumes)
Further information Anime television series Directed by Takao Abo (S1) Masato Jinbo (S2) Hitoshi Haga (S3) Produced by List Hiroyasu Taniguchi Kenichi Tokumura Nobuhiko Kurosu Toyokazu Nakahigashi Yasuhiro Nakajima Junichirou Tamura (S1) Mitsuhiro Ogata (S1) Naoki Kishida (S1–2) Shou Nakata (S1–2) Takashi Tachizaki (S1–2) Yutaka Kashiwagi (S1–2) Masakatsu Umeda (S2) Kousuke Arai (S2–3) Aya Iizuka (S3) Masashi Hirayama (S3) Written by Keigo Koyonagi Kinema Citrus (S3) Music by Kevin Penkin Studio Kinema Citrus DR Movie (S2) Licensed by Crunchyroll SEA: Plus Media Networks Asia Original network AT-X, Tokyo MX, TVA, KBS, SUN, TVQ, BS11 English network SEA: Aniplus Asia Original run January 9, 2019 – present Episodes 50 (List of episodes) Manga Tate no Yūsha no to aru Ichi Nichi Written by Akagashi Published by Kadokawa Magazine Comic Dengeki Daioh "g" Demographic Shōnen Original run September 27, 2018 – June 27, 2020 Volumes 3 (List of volumes) Manga Tate no Yūsha no Oshinagaki Written by Tendou Akano Published by Kadokawa Imprint MF Comics Demographic Seinen Original run August 21, 2019 – present Volumes 7 (List of volumes)
Anime and manga portal

The Rising of the Shield Hero (Japanese: 盾の勇者の成り上がり, Hepburn: Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari) is a Japanese light novel series written by Aneko Yusagi. Originally published as a web novel in the user-generated novel site Shōsetsuka ni Narō, the series has since been published by Media Factory with an expanded story-line featuring illustrations by Seira Minami. As of June 25, 2019, 22 volumes have been published.

The novel series was adapted into a manga series by Aiya Kyū and published by Media Factory, with 26 tankōbon volumes released as of October 22, 2024. Both the novel and manga series were licensed by One Peace Books and were published in North America starting in September 2015. The 25-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Kinema Citrus aired from January to June 2019. A second season, co-produced by DR Movie, aired from April to June 2022. A third season aired from October to December 2023. A fourth season has been announced.

Plot

Naofumi Iwatani, an easygoing Japanese youth, was summoned into a parallel world along with three other young Japanese men from parallel universes to become the world's Cardinal Heroes and fight inter-dimensional hordes of monsters called Waves. Only by constantly fighting against the waves can they return to their own world. Each of the heroes were respectively equipped with their own legendary equipment when summoned. Naofumi happened to receive the Legendary Shield, the sole defensive equipment, while the other heroes received respectively a sword, a spear, and a bow, weapons meant for attack. Furthermore, the “status magic” all four also have make it like they are in a computer game, except Naofumi is the only member of the group who hasn’t played one. Because of these differences, he quickly is considered weak, and so as the other heroes are fully supported by the kingdom and gain several strong allies each, Naofumi's luck turns to the worse after his single companion, revealed to be the kingdom's princess, betrays him, steals all his belongings, and leaves him devoid of all assistance and supplies by framing him of sexually assaulting her.

Mocked by the nobility and shunned by everyone from his fellow heroes to peasants, a now cynical Naofumi, with nothing but his legendary equipment and current outfit that he bought prior, is forced to train as a hero alone while working to make ends meet, until he buys from a slave trader a young tanuki demi-human girl named Raphtalia, and later an egg that hatches into a bird-like monster whom he names "Filo", both quickly growing into adulthood and becoming powerful warriors under his care. As they little by little gain the trust and gratitude of the people with their heroic actions, Naofumi and his companions work together to carry out their mission as saviors as they unravel the mystery of the Waves and the reason why they are a threat not only to their world, but to other worlds as well. This is not a story about revenge in another world, nor is it a story about how a hero is born, but a story about mutual redemption after establishing connections with companions.

Media

Light novel

Originally published as a web novel, the series has been re-written with an expanded story-line. The series is currently published by Media Factory and features illustrations by Seira Minami. As of June 25, 2019, 22 volumes have been published. The novel series and the spin-off novel The Reprise of the Spear Hero was licensed by One Peace Books.

Manga

The light novel series was adapted into a manga series by Aiya Kyū and published by Media Factory, with 26 tankōbon volumes released as of October 22, 2024. Both the novel and manga series were licensed by One Peace Books and were published in North America starting in September 2015.

Spin-off

A comedy spin-off series was released in the 61st issue of Kadokawa Dengeki Daioh G. The four-panel comedy manga, titled A Day in the Life of the Shield Hero (盾の勇者のとある一日, Tate no Yūsha no to Aru 1-Nichi), was drawn by Akagashi.

Anime

An anime adaptation was announced in June 2017. The television series is produced by Kinema Citrus and directed by Takao Abo, with Keigo Koyanagi handling series composition, Masahiro Suwa designing the characters, and Kevin Penkin composing the music. The series aired from January 9 to June 26, 2019, on AT-X and other channels. It ran for 25 episodes.

The first opening theme is "Rise", performed by Madkid, while the first ending theme is "Kimi no Namae" (きみの名前), performed by Chiai Fujikawa. The second opening theme is "Faith," performed by Madkid, while the second ending theme is "While I'm Next to You" (あたしが隣にいるうちに, Atashi ga Tonari ni Iru Uchi ni), performed by Fujikawa. For episode 4, Asami Seto sang an insert song titled "Falling Through Starlight" as her character Raphtalia. Both Crunchyroll and Funimation streamed the series. Crunchyroll streamed the show in both the original Japanese version and the English dub. Plus Media Networks Asia licensed the series in Southeast Asia and is streaming it on Aniplus Asia, iQIYI, bilibili, Netflix, and Disney+ Hotstar. Funimation started streaming the dub on May 1, 2019. Originally intending to air the English dub simultaneously with the original Japanese, Crunchyroll announced that there would be a two-week delay in the release of the English version on May 14, the day before episode 19, "The Four Cardinal Heroes", was scheduled to release.

At 2019's Crunchyroll Expo, it was announced that the series would receive a second and third season. Masato Jinbo replaced Takao Abo as director, and the rest of the staff members reprised their roles; Kinema Citrus is joined by DR Movie for animation production. During "Kadokawa Light Novel Expo 2020", it was originally revealed that the second season would premiere in October 2021, but it was later delayed. The second season aired from April 6 to June 29, 2022. It ran for 13 episodes. In Southeast Asia, Plus Media Networks Asia licensed the second season and is simulcasting it on Aniplus Asia, bilibili, IQIYI, and Netflix. The opening theme is "Bring Back", performed by Madkid, while the ending theme is "Yuzurenai" (ゆずれない), performed by Chiai Fujikawa. On May 2, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that the second season would begin airing its dub on May 4.

The third season is directed by Hitoshi Haga, with the rest of the staff from the previous season returning, with Alfredo Sirica and Natalie Jeffreys also joining as additional composers. It aired from October 6 to December 22, 2023. The opening theme is "Sin", performed by Madkid, while the ending theme is "Suki ni Natte wa Ikenai Riyū" (好きになってはいけない理由), performed by Chiai Fujikawa. On October 19, 2023, Crunchyroll announced that the third season would begin airing its dub the following day.

In January 2024, it was announced that a fourth season was in production.

Video games

A mobile game titled Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari Rerise (盾の勇者の成り上がり RERISE) was released for Android and iOS devices on February 24, 2021. An adaptation of the anime titled The Rising of the Shield Hero: Relive the Animation was released for Steam on September 24, 2019, for Android and iOS devices on October 24, 2019.

Reception

Sales and accolades

The light novel series had over 3.3 million volumes in print by December 2018, and the manga series had 1 million tankobon volumes in print by January 2019. By April 2019, the light novels and manga have sold a combined 6.2 million copies in Japan, after their sales increased by 1.2 million copies in two months, mainly due to the success of the anime series.

At the 4th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2020, the character Raphtalia was selected as Best Girl, while Billy Kametz was awarded the Best Voice Artist Performance (English) for his role as Naofumi Iwatani. Kevin Penkin was nominated in the Best Score category for his series' work.

Reception and controversy in North America

When the anime series began airing in North America, the first episode came under controversy. Several Anime News Network reviewers criticized the show for its framing of a false rape accusation, and the protagonist purchasing a girl as a slave was controversial. When the show's producer Junichiro Tamura was asked about it, he responded that there "have not been any controversies regarding the series in Japan, so it is difficult to say. In the case there were any controversy domestically, we will try to address all issues with the staff and people involved to bring our customers a better product the next time."

Reviews of subsequent episodes have been generally positive. Theron Martin of Anime News Network gave a rating of B− for the first two episodes, stating "the series looks like it's gotten over its initial problematic hump and should hopefully slide into a more agreeable story flow." He gave a B+ rating for the third episode, stating that "the series seems like it's angling to build Naofumi up more as a folk hero than the famously brazen heroes we're used to seeing in fantasy stories" and that "episode 3 gives the best argument to date for the series' possible potential."

The second season received heavy scrutiny from both the audience and reviewers due to its fast pacing and changes to the source material.

Notes

1. Formerly known as Funimation.

References

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External links

• Official web novel website (in Japanese)
• Official light novel website (in Japanese)
• Official manga website (in Japanese)
• Official anime website (in English)
• The Rising of the Shield Hero (light novel) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

v t e Kinema Citrus
Television series	Higepiyo (2009–2010) Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (2009) Oshiri Kajiri Mushi (2012–2015) Code:Breaker (2012) Yuyushiki (2013) Black Bullet (2014) Barakamon (2014) Is the Order a Rabbit?? (2015) Norn9 (2016) Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear (2016) Scorching Ping Pong Girls (2016) Made in Abyss (2017) Revue Starlight (2018) The Rising of the Shield Hero (2019) Show by Rock!! Mashumairesh!! (2020) Show By Rock!! Stars!! (2021) Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress (2021) The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 (2022) Cardfight!! Vanguard will+Dress (2022–2023) Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun (2022) My Happy Marriage (2023) The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 3 (2023) Cardfight!! Vanguard DivineZ (2024)
Films	Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows (2009) Neppu Kairiku Bushi Road (2013) Made in Abyss: Journey's Dawn (2019) Made in Abyss: Wandering Twilight (2019) Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul (2020) Revue Starlight Rondo Rondo Rondo (2020) Revue Starlight the Movie (2021)
OVAs/ONAs	.hack//Quantum (2010–2011) Busou Shinki (2011–2012) The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (2011–2012) Nagareboshi Lens (2012) Code:Breaker (2012–2013) Under the Dog (2016) Yuyushiki (2017) Star Wars: Visions ("The Village Bride"; 2023)
Category

v t e DR Movie
Television series	Elsword: El Lady (2017) Young Justice (Outsiders; 2019) The Rising of the Shield Hero (season 2; 2022) Terror Man (TBA)
Feature films	Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2006)
Category

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• 2019 controversies
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