Thoughts on the Rising of the Shield Hero

When the Rising of the Shield Hero first started airing around 2019 I pretty much ignored it cause I thought it was bad.

I watched the first few episodes cause I thought "why not, it has three seasons now and I have time to kill," and was pleasantly surprised when it was actually really interesting. Having the protagonist and hero betrayed in the very first episode was really novel to me, as the Rising of the Shield Hero is my first introduction to the idea of a revenge plot.

And it was going great! Seeing Naofumi Iwatani navigate this new world with his limited skill set (only being able to use the shield, losing the favor of the king and kingdom, ect.) and his descent into cynicism really hooked me onto the show.

What especially intrigued me though was Naofumi Iwatani and Raphtalia's relationship. To me it looked like a cycle of dehumnization. When Naofumi and the other heroes are summoned they're summoned for the sole purpose to fight off the Waves of Calamity, they're referred to as their weapons rather than their names (Spear Hero, Sword Hero, ect.) even after the King and council learn them, and it felt like they were all being stripped of their humanity in a way (Naofumi especially.)

When Naofumi buys Raphtalia and starts training her, it feels a lot like he's doing the same to her. Like, he refers to her by name, sure, but by keeping her as a slave, especially a demi-human slave, she's still dehumanized. It goes even further when Raphtalia is constantly told that if she doesn't fight, she'll be replaced. Intentionally or not (though I'm sure it is), Raphtalia serves more as a weapon than a person. She even says herself "I am your sword!"

Anyways, when the Rising of the Shield Hero started to go downhill to me was when Raphtalia basically evolved into a young woman, and developed romantic feelings for Naofoumi. Especially because while training her Naofumi seemed to flip flop between being a fatherly figure to her (buying her toys, taking care of her when she's sick, ect.) and being this ruthless militant esque mentor. I just couldn't do it, I'm not strong enough...

...that's all. I might come back to the Rising of the Shield hero but I most likely won't.

If you're curious, I think this tumblr post summarizes my thoughts a lot better than I did here. Also I think it just makes a really good point.