An Introduction On "Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari"
Hello, Anime fans. Today I want to write a review on "Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari" or also called "The rise of the Shield Hero". It belongs to the Seinen (young men) category, as well as romance, fantasy, action and adventure story type.
About:
"Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari" is a story about a protagonist, Neofumi, and three others being dragged into another world resembling that of a game. Their aim is to fight waves of monsters that attack the inhabitants of the world by appearing from the portal. Each of them has been equipped with holy weapons and also have the ability to form parties and level up. From the right are; Kitamura Motayasu-Spear Hero, Kawasumi Itsuki-Bow Hero, Amaki Ren-Sword Hero and Iwatani Neofumi-Shield Hero (bottom)
This story is unique because of the protagonist's inability to fight or to attack which makes him useless to be in a battle. Also, he is not depicted as a hero. Rather, he somewhat develops characters like that of a villain, though he is not the antagonist of the story. His life in a different world as the Shield Hero was not seen as a hero but a damnation by the people. To make matters worse, he was betrayed and robbed which made his villainous and untrustworthy in all eyes in the kingdom. However, it is required that all 4 heroes must defeat the waves that threaten the peace of the land, so he cannot be executed. Neofumi have a harder survival chance than the rest of the other heroes.
Character Backgrounds:
- Iwatani Neofumi- Age 20 and a university student was dragged into an old mysterious book while reading it in the library. After being dragged into the fantasy world, he was looked down from the beginning because he was a hated Shield Hero of the kingdom. As a Shield hero, he is unable to fight back despite having a good defense. Also, no one wants to party with him. This led him to a darker path which made him own a slave to fight for him. However, his shield has the ability to absorb properties and can change into shapes that provides attributes for different situations. He survives as a merchant, traveling around the kingdom selling products created from his "All Purpose Shield", while still being infamous. Even though he was repulsive and cold, he still retains his kind and caring self he once had for others.
- Raphtalia- She is a demi-human and also a slave to Neofumi. She is expected to serve as the Shield hero's offense or she would be hurt contract seal on her for disobeying. At first, she was little, weak, sickly and frightened at the sight of her new owner as she expected him to be just as bad as her previous. Because of the contract and her demi-human blood, her growth and skills matched her experiences. But it does not include the maturity of her mind/ mental state because she still thinks like a little girl. So she is mistaken for an adult on many occasions. She later has a better relationship with Neofumi as both of them open up slowly to each other. Now both of them (also Firo) are the only ones they completely trust. Later she gets stronger and better in combat and more reliable than before.
- Firo- She is a bird. More accurately she is an agile monster known as a Philorial. Her kind is domesticated coexist with people. They are reared for pulling carts and other farm activities. They are playful by nature and Firo is especially a chatterbox. But Firo is special because she belongs to the rare Alpha of the flock or also known as "The Legendary Queen of the Philorial" and only the queen can are very fluffy than the normal ones and also turn into a humanoid form (only as a little girl though). Adding to the list are two more special traits shared only by the queen. They have a very long lifespan and a monstrous appetite. Yup, they are usually hungry and can even finish eating a dragon. Philorials have bad blood with the dragon/ lizard race since ancient time, or so they say. And yes she may be a mascot character but she is stronger than the other heroes.
Thoughts:
The story focuses mostly on these three and so I thought it was better to write an introduction to you guys who haven't seen it yet. I highly recommend it for people who feel like having a hard time. They might just understand the character.
I love this kind of twist in a story. It really stands out above the rest of the old a cliche types. It does add the harsh reality of being accused and betrayed by our own party. The special thing about Neofumi is that his story really gets under our skin and sometimes attracts readers to become him or at least be in his shoes so that Raphtalia would be our saving grace. This is a genre with a dark twist to a good hero and I believe these types ought to shine more with all the creativity around. It feels like a realistic simulation with you itching to make your own decisions.
There weren't much of romance scenes. Raphtalia is devoted to Neofumi, however, he considers her to be still a child and his daughter as a responsibility and I quote from the manga, "...in lieu of your late parents."
I have to admit the manga had me reading it more than a couple of times. If you haven't read the manga, the link is right below me.
https://mangarock.com/manga/mrs-serie-241688
Also, there is an announcement that the animation would be released in the summer of 2018. Here is the link to the trailer at the bottom. So let me know what do you think in the comments below. So until next time and thank you for your time.