It tried to do too many things at once, and most of the topics felt like they weren’t explored enough.
The anime would probably have been better if it stuck to the revenge premise but provided a more grounded take on it.
The Rising of the Shield Hero (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari) was initially hyped up to be one of the best isekai series out there.
If nothing else, the first season was certainly controversial: while some really enjoyed the series, others disagreed with the portrayal of slavery in the anime, as well as felt like it was just another revenge fantasy series.
The latter seasons were noticeably less popular, and there are many reasons for that — but the main one is that the anime wasn’t as good as people wanted it to be.
The anime felt like it tried to do everything
It felt like Shield Hero was trying to do too many things at once only to succeed at none of them. For a revenge series, the revenge part pretty much ended with season one, and in a way many fans considered too over-the-top and overblown. Yes, the topic still gets brought up occasionally, but it is no longer the main focus of the series.
Some people wanted the anime to be about a protagonist, who was initially considered weak, slowly working his way to the top. That didn’t end up being the case, either: Naofumi becomes powerful really quickly, and it’s obvious to everyone watching the anime — but not to most inhabitants of the world he was transported to, apparently.
Many themes ended up being underdeveloped
The anime doesn’t really explore any of its topics very well, which disappoints many fans. Want a darker and more mature take on an isekai? Yes, you see a lot of discrimination and injustice at first, but many characters feel like caricatures and simply don’t act in a believable way. Constant mood shifts between scenes certainly don’t help.
The anime probably suffered a lot from being hyped up too much by its source readers, who made people set unreasonable expectations for the anime. The actual series is not even bad: if nothing else, it’s pretty entertaining to see how Naofumi proceeds with his revenge.
More issues
However, there’s a bigger problem later in Shield Hero. Not only does the second season essentially get rid of the main selling point of the series, but it spends most of it on an arc that is hated even by the source readers.
The Spirit Turtle Arc is often considered way too dragged out and repetitive, and the anime made it even worse — the animation for that season was a huge downgrade from Season 1.
Overall, while Shield Hero isn’t terrible, it could have been much better if it stuck to its initial premise and had a more realistic take on injustice and discrimination. As is, it’s just another isekai series that was hyped up too much by the source readers — and we can’t blame the anime-only viewers for having a knee-jerk reaction to that hype.
Felt like it could’ve been much better? You’re not alone.
It tried to do too many things at once, and most of the topics felt like they weren’t explored enough.
The anime would probably have been better if it stuck to the revenge premise but provided a more grounded take on it.
The Rising of the Shield Hero (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari) was initially hyped up to be one of the best isekai series out there.
If nothing else, the first season was certainly controversial: while some really enjoyed the series, others disagreed with the portrayal of slavery in the anime, as well as felt like it was just another revenge fantasy series.
The latter seasons were noticeably less popular, and there are many reasons for that — but the main one is that the anime wasn’t as good as people wanted it to be.
The anime felt like it tried to do everything
It felt like Shield Hero was trying to do too many things at once only to succeed at none of them. For a revenge series, the revenge part pretty much ended with season one, and in a way many fans considered too over-the-top and overblown. Yes, the topic still gets brought up occasionally, but it is no longer the main focus of the series.
Some people wanted the anime to be about a protagonist, who was initially considered weak, slowly working his way to the top. That didn’t end up being the case, either: Naofumi becomes powerful really quickly, and it’s obvious to everyone watching the anime — but not to most inhabitants of the world he was transported to, apparently.
Many themes ended up being underdeveloped
The anime doesn’t really explore any of its topics very well, which disappoints many fans. Want a darker and more mature take on an isekai? Yes, you see a lot of discrimination and injustice at first, but many characters feel like caricatures and simply don’t act in a believable way. Constant mood shifts between scenes certainly don’t help.
The anime probably suffered a lot from being hyped up too much by its source readers, who made people set unreasonable expectations for the anime. The actual series is not even bad: if nothing else, it’s pretty entertaining to see how Naofumi proceeds with his revenge.
More issues
However, there’s a bigger problem later in Shield Hero. Not only does the second season essentially get rid of the main selling point of the series, but it spends most of it on an arc that is hated even by the source readers.
The Spirit Turtle Arc is often considered way too dragged out and repetitive, and the anime made it even worse — the animation for that season was a huge downgrade from Season 1.
Overall, while Shield Hero isn’t terrible, it could have been much better if it stuck to its initial premise and had a more realistic take on injustice and discrimination. As is, it’s just another isekai series that was hyped up too much by the source readers — and we can’t blame the anime-only viewers for having a knee-jerk reaction to that hype.
