‘The Rising of the Shield Hero‘ is an anime from the animation studios DR Movie and Kinema Citrus. The show is based on the light novels by Japanese author Aneko Yusagi. It is an isekai, a science fiction fantasy where the protagonist is pulled into another world. It combines magic with video game-style abilities for its main characters. The second season had thirteen episodes.

Naofumi Iwatani (Stephen Fu) is summoned by the Melmorac Queen (Katelyn Gault) to help with the Spirit Turtois, a giant kaiju that threatens their world. With Raphtalia (Erica Mendez), Filo (Brianna Knickerbocker), Rishia (Kira Buckland), and Eclair (Dawn M. Bennett), they travel to a neighboring country to fight it, but encounter a mysterious woman named Ost (Amber Lee Connors) who has a strange connection to the creator. They also encounter an enemy named Kyo Ethnina (Sean Chiplock) who has a link to another world and a hero called Kizuna (Lizzie Freeman).

First of all, I have to say that Billy Kametz, who voiced Naofumi in the first season, tragically died after a battle with cancer. He will be sorely missed as the character and as a voice actor.

Stephen Fu takes over the role and he does a good job. While he honors the voice acting of his predecessor, he also gives his own spin on the character, making him less harsh and builds on the legacy of Naofumi set from the first season.

The rest of the cast also does a spot on job. Both the returning cast and new voice actors pulled out their best, making the season way better than it would have been without them.

Season two is basically divided into two arcs. The first involves the battle with the Spirit Turtois and it felt somewhat rushed. I liked the introduction of Eclair, who was pretty awesome. She did not go beyond this arc, but I liked her character. As I said, this arc went by very fast and I think it should have been a bit slower so you could digest it a bit.

As for the second arc, we see Naofumi and company enter a totally different world. It affects his group differently and we get to see Rishia grow a bit. She was annoying at first, but she quickly grew on me in this section of the season. I liked it much better as it put the Shield Hero’s group against a formidable and different foe.

With this in mind, I cannot wait for season three and what it will bring.

Check out the trailer below:

This review is based on the dub from Crunchyroll.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or novel you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my reviews of Spy X Family and the second season of Komi Can’t Communicate. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this one.

Connect with me on social media. Consider supporting StudioJake on Locals.