Honestly, I cannot believe how I have never heard of Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari before. A "real world" rpg setting is exactly what I like. And the different approach on this theme by making the main character to blame for everything just shows that not every rpg is all fun and games.

Story: 8
Art: 8
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 10

An overall score of 9. It is clear the manga seems marvelous from my opinion, so let me explain why.

We start off with Iwatani Naofumi reading books at the library. Suddenly, a book falls on his head. Intrigued he starts to read it, only to stumble upon blank pages after which he is sucked in the book and into this hellhole. As soon as he is transported, he is disdained, looked down upon and seen as inferior, purely because he has become the shield hero, who is seen as the weakest of the 4 heroes. He hears he is one of the 4 heroes, together with a sword, spear and bow hero who have to save this world from a recurring calamity. They are all appointed a group of people who will help them on their journey. And then it all goes downhill from here as he is falsely accused of rape, hated by the populace, deprived from his posessions and has to work his way up from nothing but his perseverance and his shield. It feels slightly like a Berserk setting, but it plays off nicely, because we can then see his true character traits.
We follow Naofumi and his increasing hate toward this world and its people as he is constantly betrayed and left behind. He embarks on quests similar to many rpg's: defeating monsters, obtaining items and receiving rewards, but what makes this story a bit different is how he knows little of rpg's and cannot attack with shields and therefore cannot kill monsters to gain exp and level up. Which is how Raphtalia enters the story.

Raphtalia is a prime example of character development. She starts off as a slave, a weak and timid tanuki girl (who is too darn cute! Kanna from Kobayashi shi no maid dragon pales in comparison, even though Raph is not overly pushed into your face), who often has panic attacks and is afraid of most humans due to a dark past. But she slowly grows into a reliable companion, capable of protecting Naofumi when needed. They share the hateful trait toward the world, which strengthens their bond and eventual mutual trust. I must say, next to Sakugari Hanamichi from Slam Dunk, Raphtalia has the best character development I have ever seen. Truly baffling.
Because Naofumi was enticed into buying an egg containing a native animal, a bird named Firo enters the story, who quickly grows (figuratively and literally) into a capable partner who keeps acting like a child because of her legitimate young age, even though she gains the ability to speak rather quickly.

The trio keep engaging in battles with the other heroes who refuse to listen to Naofumi's arguments and continue to disdain him. Every negative rumour that they catch wind of is immediately redirected toward Naofumi who reacts and clashes with them. These clashes are the reason Naofumi hates the other heroes and the people around them who do nothing to help him even when it is evident the battle is extremely unfair. However, rest assured. There are a few moments of reprisal in which Naofumi gains the upper hand and oh my, those moments are so satisfying, savourable, so fantastic, I couldn't help but laugh out loud with a typical evil protagonist laugh. Damn, that feels so good to come back at those guys after all this time. Truly, the writers and artists depict them so well, you can't help but hate them.

Finally, the art. This is a minor point in my review. Because this is a monthly manga, expect some smooth and clear artwork. At times it is actually quite simple with just a fading background color and sometimes it is truly detailed and gorgeous. Those moments raise the art rating slightly, because the overall character, monster and buildings design is pleasing to the eye. The reasonably often occurring simple background is forgiven for the often 40+ pages which not many monthly manga have.

Naofumi is a hateful, but logical person. And with reason. This makes him so likeable, even though he has a nasty attitude against others. He learned not to trust anyone else and considers his actions before performing them. His major flaw however, is his denseness on love affairs. Because he keeps thinking he leaves the world soon and wants to leave it as a better place, he tries his best to make it an enjoyable and lasting time for his companions. But he sees them as his children or anything similar, which is why he remains oblivious to the subtle hints of Raphtalia and others. Now that is something I would rather not see, as there are more than enough of those typical dense main characters and I hoped Naofumi was different. Nevertheless, apart from that, he remains the best male character in the story.

Overall, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari was an absolute blast to read. I could personally identify myself with Naofumi and his actions. Man, it is liberating to see someone actually stand up to despicable characters and tell them in their face what's up. This, combined with great character developement and respectable artwork adds up to a fantastic story with good pacing which I simply could not put down. I was planning to sleep early in the evening, but this manga kept me sleep deprived in a good way. Such a shame that it updates so slowly, because I want to keep reading this and see if the world becomes anything less unfair for the shield hero Naofumi.