The Rising of the Shield Hero

Review of the anime The Rising of the Shield Hero: Naofumi is summoned as the weakest hero and betrayed by everyone only helped by Raphtalia.

The story begins when a group of young people from different parts of the world (but they speak the same language) are transported to save the kingdom of Melromarc from "waves" of monster attacks. Each one represents a cardinal hero with a specific weapon for their use. Thus, we have the Sword Hero, the Spear Hero, the Bow Hero, and Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero. 

Each hero apparently possesses very high attack abilities thanks to the weapon they wield. All except Naofumi, the Shield Hero, who can't fight effectively with just a shield and can't switch to or use any other weapon. Things get even worse when his money is stolen and he discovers that everyone in the kingdom, including the King and his daughter, despises and belittles him at every turn.

The four heroes discover that things work as if it were a video game. Because of his difficulty in combat, Naofumi decides to increase his level as the Shield Heroand, to assist him, he buys a slave to serve as his sword. So he goes to see the town's slave trader and acquires Raphtalia. Then he goes to the city's shop to get armor and potions.

Meanwhile, Naofumi's reputation plummets, and he is accused of cheating and holding Raphtalia captive for his own personal gratification. The other heroes can't believe Naofumi would do such a thing, but they take sides with the King's daughter, who has joined the spear hero's group. Raphtalia gains her freedom only to freely join and fight for the shield hero again.

As Naofumi progresses and levels up, his team is joined by Filo, a monster egg that Naofumi bought from the slave trader. After hatching, she takes on both a human form and the form of a bird of the Filolial species, and she also assists Naofumi in battles.

He is also joined by Melty, the king's second daughter, who is more understanding than her older sister. Naofumi rescued her from a kidnapping attempt, after which they became a team. Melty has an interest in Filolial birds and enjoys traveling.

Every now and then, the heroes are transported to certain areas to fight against the monsters. Dispersed along in this world there are hourglasses to meassure the time between fights. Things get complicated when the time between waves gets shorter and shorter, and when they encounter a woman "boss," which they can't defeat.  Naofumi, despite being considered the weakest hero, has become the strongest, although he must work as a team with all the other heroes to save Melromarc.

Personal comment:

The Rise of the Shield Hero is a good anime, although I was a little bothered by the theme of the first half of the anime, as the hate towards Naofumi is very intense and reciprocal . Once that part was over, I liked the friendship and dynamic with Raphtalia, who is clearly in love with Naofumi.

The anime has more seasons (season 4 just finished airing), so this is only the beginning of the story. They still need to explain the reason for the monster wave attacks on this world.