So today I'd like to talk about Rising of the  Shield Hero. Shield Hero is a new Isekai anime airing this season that has many people
up in arms.
To sum up shield hero in the simplest
way possible it's like the snarky
pessimistic older brother of the slime
anime the main character now Naofumi Iwatani gets transported to a new world to find
out he is one of the four legendary
heroes that is destined to save their
world, except he's the most hated hero
with the most useless weapon. Whereas the
slime anime focuses on Rimuru's kindness and acceptance of others and building a
community. This is the opposite without
Naofumi being abandoned by the world and
brought down to his lowest low where he
must do whatever he needs to do in order
to survive. Okay, I could see what the
rising part comes in now, but where's the
dumpster fire? The controversy comes from the fact that a false rape accusation is
what sets Naofumi's journey in motion
and as if to twist the knife now Naofumi
circumstances leave him no other choice
but to buy a child slave to fight for
him. False rape accusations and child
slavery are definitely sensitive
subjects that should not be taken
lightly so I can see how this anime
would not be for everyone, and that's
okay! But the problem is when people
start advocating for censorship or when
it becomes a hysterical witch-hunt.
The show is already gathering negative
attention weeks before it released.
People on Twitter have been questioning
Crunchyroll's decision to co-fund the
show and promote it so heavily. Frankly,
I'm not surprised that they would. No
matter what agendas they may have at the end of the day they are still a business,
but what better way to promote a show
then through controversy? People eat it
right up! Just look at Goblin Slayer! It
was one of the most viewed anime of last
season, despite all the negativity it got
surrounding its first episode, or rather
because of all that attention negative
or positive it gets people to engage. For
example you clicked on this video
because either you were curious to know
why it's a dumpster fire or you were
ready to fight me on it. I made this
video because I'm tired of all the
controversy it all feels overblown as
someone who had previously read some of the web novels, I was looking forward to
this adaptation. Before I even had the
chance to sit down and watch it was
already being labeled worst anime of the
season by critics. It made me feel like I
was somehow a terrible person forever
even enjoying it, but then I realized:
Wait I'm not I have my own taste and
tolerances just like a critic has his
own. Yes they may have a mastery of words, and can eloquently articulate their
feelings about media, but keep in mind
it's all still subjective. They're not
beholden by some higher authority to be
completely unbiased and write reviews
that cater to all. Critics jobs are to
criticize. Sure each one has a different
but regardless of what it is the point
of view critic is to not pull your
punches. Think about it it's more
interesting for them to take a stance
even if it's extreme, because a it allows
them to be honest and B it gets a
reaction out of you. Who wants to read a
review that takes everyone side?
For example I've followed a specific critic
for a while that more often than not
trashes the show I enjoy, and will praise
another one that I can't even begin to
fathom how he would enjoy. So why do I
keep reading his stuff? Because I admire
the way he writes and he offers a
different perspective that challenges my
own. Make me want to understand how
people can engage with media so
differently and the beauty of it he can
still be wrong and I can still be wrong.
So if critics didn't like shield hero
then I respect their honesty, but now I'm
going to tell you what I enjoyed about
the first episode. If you haven't watched
it yet and want to avoid spoilers and
then jump ahead to this time stamp now.
I didn't find the episode to be anything
outstanding but that's actually how the
beginning of the story is. It was
completely faithful to the source
material with all of the misfortune
piling on top of Naofumi to set him up
for his journey. Well some things may
feel pretty unoriginal like the video
game menus and his ability to feed
materials to his shield to unlock other
abilities. I actually didn't mind it, but
I really enjoyed was a concept of the
legendary weapons and how each hero is
summon from an alternate Japan. It was
great seeing the four heroes come
together and discover that amongst themselves and how the other three
basically think they're just in a video
game. Which actually explained a lot
about the way they're acting. If we
analyze this very first scene after they
have all just arrived in the world.
Comparing all Naofumi's behavior to the
other three Naofumi looks confused and
out of place, which is an understandable
reaction to being teleported to another
world. While the other three seem
confident and demanding from the outset.
at first glance it just seems odd that
these characters who should know as
little as Naofumi would be acting
this way. The natural assumption is to
think though that they're just jerks, but
as it's revealed later they already know
about this world through the video games
they've played. Thus the reason for their
behavior is that they're playing the
roles they know best in order to win the
game. This might also explain whether a
characterization throughout the episode
seemed a bit one-dimensional. Naofumi's downfall comes from his lack of
knowledge about the world. Being the
shield hero makes him start at a
disadvantage. If he had known this coming in he would have been able to maneuver
himself to a better position, or at least
minimize the damage. Instead he gets
screwed over in the worst way possible.
The rest of the episode plays out in a
way that's supposed to capture Naofumi's descent at the bottom of
society. The bleakness of his situation
and the unsavoriness of his actions are
supposed to make you feel uncomfortable.
When he threatens the merchant with
orange balloons it makes sense because
this is what he has to do in order to
survive. But then the expression on his
face makes you question whether this is
really just about survival.
And then it goes to another extreme by
having him decide to buy a slave which
shows you that he's hit rock bottom.
Is this character even worth rooting for?
Well as the weapons merchants noticed
earlier there is good in Naofumi it's
just buried underneath all the hurt.
What I find refreshing about this isekai
is that it takes off the cheat codes and
placing the main character on the
hardest difficulty by allowing the main
characters to fall this low it will
serve as an opportunity to build his
character and show what he really stands
for once he sees past his bitterness.
What I enjoy about Naofumi himself is
that he is problematic, he's not a
clear-cut hero. His bitterness is nothing
to be admired, but at the same time it
makes him feel deeply flawed, and real. I
mean who wouldn't feel bitter?
The shield hero was blamed and condemned, without any evidence because they wanted
to see him fall. It was pretty obvious
throughout the episode that they had
preconceived notions about him so it's
pretty safe to assume that there was
more at play here, but does that justify
all his actions going forward? No, because
what makes a great character is not
someone who continues a cycle of cruelty,
by inflicting the same pain on others
but instead someone who proves him wrong
by getting the job done. Despite all of
their efforts to hinder him.
Without spoiling so much I also just enjoyed that Naofumi just doesn't give a
shit, and just does things his own way.
What does that say about me that my
tastes are terrible? Well if that's what
you think
sure but I'm just being honest and you
should be too. You have the right to
think for yourself and engage with media
how you want. Form your own opinion and
stand by it, instead of wasting your
energy trying to get other people to
conform to yours. Don't feel the need to
be validated by anyone, but ask yourself
questions find out why you like what you
like, and don't get me wrong debate is
great. When it's constructive. In a
community where our first instinct is to
call each other's tastes trash, when it
doesn't align with ours. No one wins.
It actually reminds me of this scene in
Devilman Crybaby
Just like this goes to an extreme to
capture the ugliness of humanity, there's
also a capacity to do better. So the next
time you're ready to die on a hill for
something that at the end of the day
doesn't really matter, ask yourself is it
worth it? And if you still purposely
throw yourself into the dumpster fire
then maybe you just love it. Hey guys,
what do you think is this whole
situation? Overblown? Or do you think
shield hero is truly offensive? Let me
know your thoughts in the comments below, and if you enjoyed this video give it a
like, and if you'd like to see more of my
content in the future then make sure you
hit that subscribe button, and don't
forget to ring the little bell next to
it to turn on notifications! Besides that
I'm OniMaru and I'll see you guys in
the next video.
