Isekai "Quartet" #4: The Rising Of the Shield Hero

SPOILER Warning, Weebotaks!

Today's Isekai series is what ends up putting the sarcastic quotation marks around "Quartet," Not only that, but it's kind of hard to talk about how good of a series it is, given some of the questionable subject matter that crops up in its plot. So in addition to the aforementioned SPOILERS, be warned of that in advance, as well. If you want to see what I'm talking about for yourselves, go watch The Rising Of the Shield Hero under the Crunchyroll banner on VRV, subbed or dubbed in qualities up to 1080p.

Also, hit those social media buttons and comment at the end of this post, not just on Facebook or Twitter.

The Rising Of the Shield Hero is unique among its peers in that the main character doesn't get isekai'd by dying. Instead, Naofumi Iwatani gets drawn into a parallel fantasy world by reading a book. You know, those physical media composed of sheets of compressed tree pulp with words printed on them? Usually, such protagonists get sucked in through manga, TV, or JRPGs that they spend their entire antisocial lives and unrealistically disposable income cultivating into habit. And before you ask: no, I did not think that I would be isekai'd into whatever gacha (gambling for content) game I was into at the time. I just had some sizable but inconsequential hole in my soul because reasons, and I was desperate to fill it...by throwing away every bit of financial common sense I had and making my life worse. So, yeah. Read a book. Or a blog. Especially this one. Please?
Anyway, Naofumi is the titular Shield Hero, one of four teenagers with attitude summoned by Zordon to save the new world from spatial anomalies and the monsters that come through them. I felt like making a Power Rangers joke, but the other three are the Spear Hero, who was tropishly and ironically stabbed to death; the Sword Hero, who died saving his childhood friend somehow; and the Bow Hero, who got hit by Truck-kun. Again, I ask for an anime about Murder Japan, because not everyone gets to find a magic portal by reading a mythology text.
So while the three dead otaku go around proving the law of unintended consequences because they only care about prestige and they think they've been reincarnated into a videogame with no real consequences, Naofumi gets betrayed by a two-faced princess and stripped of all that he owns when she accuses him of raping her. At the time of its broadcast premiere, Princess Malty S. "Myne" "Bitch" Melromarc made the number one spot on most Top Ten Worst Female Anime Characters lists. The rape accusation is untrue, of course, but with the entire country of Melromarc and its church turned against him because a past Shield Hero didn't like racism, Naofumi is left with literally nothing but to lean into his despicable reputation (NOTE: he does not become a rapist) by being angry and antisocial to keep others at a distance. That isn't to say he's opposed to questionable activities, though, as he buys a demihuman slave girl...who rapidly ages into a young woman and falls in love with him! Also, he hatches a mythical bird at one point, whom he uses as a cart horse despite the fact that she is sentient and has the power to shapeshift into a little girl. She claims to enjoy it, but that's still really fucking weird. As he and his...party...grow in strength and ability, Naofumi unlocks your typical, overpowered "Dark Mode" skills and grabs the attention of Princess Bitch's two sisters, who are plotting to restore the sullied name of the Shield Hero and overthrow their sister and father. Following several epic-looking battles and Filo (the bird girl) Team-Rocketing multiple scumbags in their...scumbags, the Church is defeated, Melromarc's racist king and morally bankrupt princess are dethroned (super-satisfying after almost an entire season of buildup), and one final--for now, I hope--spatial rift opens, revealing that the Four Heroes (but especially Naofumi because title character) aren't just defending the fantasy world from a Lovecraftian monster dimension, they are engaged in a multiversal war with isekai'd Heroes from another parallel reality! Yes, the story catalyst was a false rape accusation, and yes, the main character's party is built on animal-hybrid slavery and a Japanese depravity relationship. But the character progression, the fight visuals (sakuga, in the native tongue), Filo mule-kicking multiple fat-shamers in the groin so hard that they starburst on the horizon, the feeling of vicarious catharsis, and that season finale reveal (I kind of hate myself for saying this) are worth ignoring the questionable...Japanese-ness...of it all. For obvious reasons, The Rising Of the Shield Hero isn't for everyone. But if you're willing to judge the series solely on its merits, give it a watch.

Remember to hit those social media buttons and comment what a perverted hypocrite and degenerate gambler I am in the comments section below, and stay tuned for the final issue of Isekai "Quartet" next week, along with the final issue of Timely Thorsday and a Premium Access review of Black Widow.

As always, here's the list of links if you want to check out what these services have to offer:

* VRV (Crunchyroll, HiDIVE, and Rooster Teeth)
* Funimation
* Netflix
* Amazon Prime
* Hulu 👀

And here's my list of anime that I'm watching and/or plan to review in the future:
* Tower Of God, God Of High School, and Noblesse

                        (Anime-BAW, WebToon/Crunchyroll Originals)

* DanMachi/Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? franchise (Anime Spotlight)

* Single-entry (maybe)  Anime Spotlight reviews:

   - Jujutsu Kaisen

   - Black Clover

   - Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

   - What If A Kid From the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to A Starter Town?

   - Fire Force

   - Attack On Titan

   - So I'm A Spider, So What?

   - Dr. Stone

   - Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War

   - I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years And Maxed Out My Level

   - To Your Eternity

   - Tokyo Revengers

   - Wonder Egg Priority

   - Eighty-Six 86

   - Vivy: Fluorite Eyes' Song

AniMeister,
Out.