Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

Shield Hero is one of those going in I wasn’t really sure what to expect since it was based off a Isekai Light Novel series. And at the time I had also just got done reading about 16 chapters Arifureta which was basically every Isekai trope ever. So I wasn’t too keen on reading yet another Isekai, but at the same time I was open minded enough to give it a shot, and also because Condifiction is pretty darn good at recommending me only the best Anime and Manga. But I do want to say right now that this is an incomplete review, the manga is nowhere near being finished and these are my thoughts after reading just 36 chapters of the manga. So because of this I will not be giving this manga a score, I will be instead giving this manga a recommendation of a “Go Out Of Your Way To Read It”, “Read” or a “Skip”. Enjoy the video everyone!

Background

The Rising of the Shield Hero’s story is by Yusagi Aneko, who is known for the Light Novel Ore dake Kasereru Class Teni. Originally this manga is actually based off the original Light Novel The Rising of the Shield Hero. And since we’re here already, this manga has a ridiculously long title of “The Rising of the Shield Hero: The Manga Companion”. As you can guess, this is simply another option to consume this series if you want to. I personally have not read the Light Novel as of this time, but I may plan to if there is interest in doing so. But anyways, the art is also done by Kyu Aiya, She is known for; Mofu Men, Code Age Archives and Persona 4 Ultimate manga. Shield Hero’s Light Novel was originally published in 2013, while the alternate Manga version has been published since 2014 in Comic Flapper. Currently at the time of this writing there are 17 volumes of The Rising of The Shield Hero. There is also an anime adaptation announced and is will be handled by the same studio who did Made in Abyss, Kinema Citrus.

Story

Shield Hero is a tale you wouldn’t expect would be so good with the other “Other World” trope that has been driven into the ground in the last couple of years. But Shield Hero, while being an “Other World” manga and having many RPG inspired elements like the mentions of XP and frequent mention of quests. Shield Hero really isn’t taking those aspects and making it the whole manga. Instead, Shield Hero is more about a tale of Revenge and Redemption after a brutal betrayal from an allie. But not only that, it’s about Naofumi finding himself in this new world and raising Raphtalia and Firo correctly as before they were both slaves. I won’t say this story is one of the best manga ever, but I will say it’s one of the best “Other World” manga out there right now. And with its eventual anime adaption it may take the top spot that Re:Zero currently occupies.

Let’s now talk about the most controversial topic when people bring up this series, and that’s Raphtalia’s age versus her actual appearance. So let’s do a little set up here before get into the details. Raphtalia is in reality a 10 year old girl, and because of the way the world works, when leveling up Raphtalia grows in physical age. To put it simply, the higher level she is, the more matured her body becomes. This to me is actually pretty great, it’s a unique character that has the body of an adult, but is a kid in mind and age. But here is where the problem starts to arise and something I hope they don’t do. It’s obvious through the writing on the series that Raphtalia is “the one” for Naofumi. Naofumi doesn’t reciprocate yet in the series, but it’s made apparent that Raphtalia likes Naofumi. Naofumi is 20 years old, double the age of Raphtalia. Now you see the problem and why I hope they don’t go down this route where Naofumi starts banging a 10 year old. This has already made me a little uncomfortable, but depending on how it’s handled it can make or break the story between the two. Because right now in the series their partnership is quite enjoyable, I enjoy their interactions as characters. And thankfully right now these little glimpses of this are very small and hard to gauge exactly where it’s headed. But if Naofumi and Raphtalia start bangin’ when she’s just 10, I may have to lower my final rating once this series is finished.
But there is one thing that I think at the beginning may turn people away. And that’s the fact that there is no real explanation as to why Naofumi is summoned. It seems like the author really just wanted to rush the very beginning because the beginning of Isekai are usually such a drag and cliched. But this one I have a feeling the author felt by doing this he would please the readers of this manga and opted to just go ahead and skip the beginning. To me this is a HUGE problem in the beginning. Now I know what you’re saying “Re:Zero never introduced Subaru and opted to rush past the beginning”. To which I have to say it makes sense with that series, as Subaru’s backstory being a mystery is one of the reasons for Subaru being so compelling. With Naofumi I wanted that little bit of extra characterization for him in the sense of a backstory. I just can’t get fully invested in him, and he’s not a Subaru type. Like I said, it’s a huge problem and it feels amateur and rushed.

But, if you’re into the Isekai genre of manga or Light Novel, then you’ll enjoy your time with Shield Hero. It’s a well paced story with great characters and it knows when and when not to introduce elements or plot point to not rush and overwhelm the reader. But the one thing I do dislike is sometimes the scale of the things that happen do feel a little unimportant when they should be huge altering things. For example, they summon a huge dangerous ass T-Rex that before in the past was extremely destructive. But it doesn’t feel that way, sure they explain what this creature did, but it doesn’t come off as world altering as it should be. But other than that it’s a very well rounded fun manga that has a pretty complex story that in the future will seem to delve into different countries and their own politics. For example, they teased one country that is ran by Demi-humans and uses Humans as slaves. I hope they go to those places too, as I want to see how they’d handle not only from a writing perspective, but from a character perspective as Naofumi has a squad of only Demi-Humans.

Characterizations

Shield Hero though is a surprisingly nuanced series in my opinion, let’s take for example our main character Naofumi. He’s a man that was betrayed at his most vulnerable point, not even 24 hours spent in the new world he was just learning. He was taken advantage of, and because of this the story really revolves around that one pivotal moment. Everything from then on (so far) has the Shield Hero and his companions doing anything they can to get Redemption. Because of this we get to experience some really great moments in the story, for example, I love the first chapters that focus on Raphtalia. She is a young demi-human who has obviously experienced some terrible things in her young life, being tortured, her parents being killed. The things Naofumi takes for granted, Raphtalia cherishes. The first time she eats a full meal, she doesn’t know what to think, she’s confused. She thinks, “Why would Naofumi do this for me?” many times during these initial chapters she’s introduced. Because of this we can really appreciate and get behind this character, Raphtalia. She’s had a tragic history, she’s cursed, it’s not a story most would want to experience for themselves, but a nice underdog story.



Another Underdog story is Naofumi though, continuing on with him like I said before he was betrayed and now spends his time going back and forth on whether to be what the people now expect of the Shield Hero, or be a better man, taking the high road. Morally speaking, Naofumi does some really awful stuff to people, demanding a reward from a poor town that could barely afford it and had to collect money from everyone to reach his demands. But you learn that throughout Naofumi is man that truly has a heart of gold that he grows into throughout the series. Chapter 1-5 Naofumi is completely different from Chapter 20-30 Naofumi so to speak. Naofumi in a way is a character that doesn’t understand his own rage either, this is presented throughout the manga multiple times. Moments where Naofumi is consumed by rage are great because we get to what Naofumi truly feels. This is because throughout the manga the reader gets the sense that Naofumi isn’t kinda an asshole, but at the same time you don’t get the feeling he’s expressing even half of what he truly feels. He’s in many ways mysterious because of this, but mysterious in this way only though. When it comes to revenge and rage, he is 100% transparent.

Continuing with Naofumi, I think his arc is one that so far is extremely compelling. Outcasted as the Shield Hero, Naofumi is forced to grit his teeth and deal with the lies told about him. Even when he seemingly has friends, that may I add visibly show they deeply care about him. He still feels so betrayed by watch happened in the first chapter that he never really opens up at all. Even when he is raising Raphtalia in the beginning he still treats her harshly, and she may be the closest person to Naofumi. He even seemingly takes on the “burden” (saying that in air quotes) of raising Raphtalia as his own daughter. It goes to show that Naofumi is a person that will take on the burdens of others, or just soldier on and try to bury whatever he felt and continue with what he needs to do. It’s a pretty great character in that way, because that’s kinda what being a human is about. You have to just deal with life and move on as best as you can.

Another character we can talk about before moving on is Firo. Now surprisingly this character paper should be one of the worst characters of this series. “A Bird that eventually turns into a young lady and looks like an angel”. Well that doesn’t seem compelling at all, how does that even work? Well her character thought great explanation and writing turns out to be the most fun of the characters. She was an egg purchased from the same slave trader Naofumi bought Raphtalia from who hatched and turns into a legendary breed of Philo Rial that can turn into a human whenever she wants. She has no real tragic back story, and she is the most pure of the characters, which also fits into her design of an angel (which by the way is a great character design). In a way she serves to be the comedic relief of the series as sometimes this manga can get a little dark at times. Later on though in the series her character really does shine in some great moments. No spoilers of course, but Firo has an appetite and Pilo Rial are known to be able to eat almost anything. That is all.

Art

Kyu Aiya does an amazing job with the art direction here. This may be the most crisp manga I’ve read in a good while. Everything is clear, and even in action scenes where it’s ramped up to 11, you can still easily make things out, even distant actions. Backgrounds are even better too, for example there is a pub they regularly go too and every time they go there it’s incredibly detailed. Even simple things like a camp fire shared by a weak Raphtalia and Naofumi is great to look at. You can see how the light of the first fills the panel, but at the same not too much. Giving this scene more depth to it overall.

Character designs are a real treat though, in my opinion, the best design overall is Firo. Firo in her Philo Rial form looks like a fat Chocobo, which if you don’t know, Fat Chocobo’s are the cutest things on to ever be thought up. So Firo kinda follows that example, she’s a giant bird who absolutely loves to pull carts and eats anything organic. In this form, the art design for her is really well done. We can see feathers, her claws which are detailed and her stupid bird face which is totally not a Chocobo you guys.

Raphtalia’s design is great too, she is a Demi-human from the raccoon race, and as far as I’m aware there aren’t too many raccoon anime boys/girls. So Raphtalia having Raccoon ears is a nice little change that’s refreshing. I also feel she’s heavily inspired by Holo, The Wise Wolf from the series Spice & Wolf. She has long flowing hair, a tail and protruding ears, but this is only in design only. In terms of personality, she’s a pretty innocent girl. Also, I like how she looks like she’s in her 20’s, but in reality because of how many times she’s leveled up, she just looks that and is actually just a 10 year old girl. I think this adds to not only her character because it’s interesting but it’s also a nice little tidbit of world building in the art. Sure you can be a 5 year old with a fully grown body if you level up enough. It makes sense logically and also within the world too, which is important.

Naofumi is pretty great too though, he’s a little generic starting out, but later on in the series he does seem to have more of a seasoned warrior look to him. I’m not saying I’m comparing Guts to Naofumi, but I am, and only in the sense that it follows the same progression visually, but much less extreme than Guts. But chapter 30 you can tell Naofumi is seasoned and he’s been through a bit. He doesn’t show scares or anything, but instead through his changing outfit and his Shield. Since his shield has different types depending on what the shield consumes and replicates, it changes the way it looks. So a good example, and a simple one is the Rope Shield. It’s basically as it sounds, it’s a rope shield that’s used to rappel, climb, or possibly tie up enemies. This is great visually though because with the way the art is so detailed with can see the finer intricacies going on here with each type of shield. Thinks like the jewel in the middle of the shield always being a main stay, or each version of the shield having certain visual accents that visually designate what kind of shield it is.


Final Rating

Shield Hero is for me one of my favorite experiences reading a manga. The story was incredibly easy to follow and while being layered presenting you the layers of it slowly enough for you to not be overwhelmed. The characters are great too, I especially love the demi-human characters a lot because they’re treated differently within the world, so they interact to it differently than say, Naofumi. Which is a testament to it’s overall quality in world building. Shield Hero isn’t going to be a revolutionary manga though, it doesn’t need to be it’s an Isekai for christ sake. But in my opinion, currently right now, Shield Hero is easily in the top 3 Isekai series I’ve ever read or watched, easily in some areas better than Re:Zero, which may be the best one. If you enjoy Isekai, then this manga will 100% be for you, and if you don’t enjoy them you may skip it. But I urge you all to find a copy of it or however you consume manga and read it.

The Rising of the Shield Hero gets a seal of approval by me, so read it!

Atypical male protagonist. Not stupid, not overly pure and kind, doesn't get duped easily, and so, is much less irritating to follow. Acts like a total jerk but we know he's actually a really good guy.

The main girl(s) isn't annoying at all. She's extremely strong, very sweet and doesn't act out for no reason, but expresses her opinions openly. She has a very good relationship with MC. (Platonic).

The premise is a fantasy/video game mashup but the story is executed realistically. The art is pleasant and doesn't distract from the story.

Overall the story, characters, and art are very compatible, and the premise is interesting and actually adds to the overall enjoyment, despite how frequently it's used in seinen and shounen.

One thing that could be said is that the story's representation of magic seems a bit silly sometimes. It seems like magic can solve basically any problem if you have enough money, and the all-encompassing power, convenient faultlessness, and ease of access to magic in the story is a bit excessive.

You would think the shameless incorporation of video game styles would take from the medieval themed manga but it doesn't. Actually the shamelessness saves it, having the characters themselves draw similarities between video games and the world, and the manga not trying to be subtle at all about the leveling system.

Many anime/manga have the "typical summoned to another world to save it from evil" setting, but this manga is an excellent exception.


Story: 9
4 "Heroes" are summoned from Earth to serve as champions and defeat waves of monsters threatening a kingdom. Each person starts with a legendary weapon, however, the protagonist starts off with a shield! He is very quickly betrayed by a "comrade" and is cast out and treated like garbage and seen with contempt. This is a very unique part of the story, with a betrayal so quickly in the story, not usual in a genre like this. There is a slight harem aspect to this manga, but I feel that is unique in the way that the protagonist have different bonds with each of them, instead of just seeing them as friends.

Art: 8
I'm not too much of an art fanatic, but the best part of this art, is when the protagonist glares or is angry. You can see the menacing look in his eyes and the anger he feels. You can feel his intense desire for vengeance, I can feel his emotions. Other than that, the non-human species are drawn very well and I have no complaints about the art.

Character: 10
There are many excellent characters in this story, but the protagonist is the best by far. Not many manga start off on a bad note, and we can slowly watch as the character's anger grows with each passing day. However, he never loses sight of himself, and he constantly strides to become more powerful to take vengeance on those who wronged him, and protect the new allies that begin to surround him.

Enjoyment: 10
I seriously love this genre and this story, and the plot for this manga is just superb. We have too many "nice guy" and "strong justice" characters whose only goal is to protect his friends. We get to see the genre from a whole new perspective and see how anger and rage can also be used as motivation for power.

Overall: 9
I love reading this manga, I stumbled upon it about 2 weeks ago, and I had caught up to the latest chapter in 2 days. I was so captured by the protagonist and how different he was from normal characters of the same genre. There is a few cliques that cannot be avoided, but I think that this manga has the potential to become an anime someday.

To be Straight and Honest at first I thought it would have cliche story-line "MC gets teleported to another world with super duper cheat skill and becomes an OP Bakemono"
Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari has been gaining a lot of popularity since the first chapter was released, So I thought to give it a try...

and man I could never have been anymore wrong about it..

Story: 7.5

This is story follows our MC Naofumi Iwatani who was summoned as the Shield Hero who is considered the weakest of all other heroes,whom society considered underrated and unwanted.After getting Betrayed by his first companion, he was loathed by the society because of a wrong accusation, walking on the path of Vengeance full of hatred, now unable to trust anyone our MC becomes an Anti-Hero.Then he meets Raphtalia whom he buys as a slave, initially she was afraid to attack on the beasts even a slime,but slowly she learned and started trusting Naofumi. She becomes salvation for him helping him control his hatred become calm and revert a little to his previous normal self, and slowly people start accepting him as a real Hero.

Art: 8

The Artwork in this manga is nicely detailed, the background and the fight scenes are great especially how the feelings of Naofumi and various characters are shown.

Character: 9

The Story sure is different but I would say the main and interesting thing are the characters. The character development is great, how the events change the mc and other characters :-
Naofumi who was a normal university student, otaku and typically unsocialable, friendly to those who are close to him, he is shown to be a little selfish but he is a kind person.
Then there is our female protagonist Raphtalia, she was scared of naofumi at first because of the mistreatment she got from her previous master which a little trauma...but seeing the kindness of Naofumi decides to fight for him and do anything to help him and there is Firo hatched from a demon egg she is a precious partner always ready to fight and protect her friends.

Overall : 8.5

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari is a really captivating manga. Story wise it is great and the flow of the story and character development is not rushed...which is a plus point.
I'm really enjoying this manga how the events are unfolding, It has got a little romantic touch too. The RPG setting and the art is really pleasing.
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Hope you found it helpful. :)

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari, or "Rising of the Shield Hero" is great when it needs to be, and sticks to the predictable formula the rest of the time. A main character who is easily sympathized with and an adorable supporting cast carry this manga to success.

Story: Iwatani Naofumi is one amongst a billion otaku protagonists, whose main purpose - with a bland appearance and personality - is to allow the reader to insert themselves into the story. That is until the generic hero story goes majorly awry. Rise of the Shield Hero doesn't delve too deeply into the realm of anti-heroism, but there is a pervading vindictiveness that shrouds each arc.

Art: Looks nice, at times determining exactly what was going on in a panel was confusing (probably just me).

Character: Despite his lack of flavor, I enjoyed Naofumi. He treads the line between righteous anger and petty revenge - perhaps a bit too much - but he has redeeming moments. The real stars of the show are Raphtalia and Firo, fulfilling the roles of waifu and comic relief at different times. Raphtailia is heartwarming and determined, but there really isn't much to her beyond the surface, similar to characters like Mikasa Ackerman. Firo is even more lacking in depth, but she's damned cute and provides much needed lightheartedness to the dour story. The antagonists are worthy of whatever comes to them because they are shown to be thoroughly despicable people. However, their exact motivations for being so evil are not adequately explained or justified.

Enjoyment: Considering how popular Rising of the Shield Hero is becoming, it is a breath of fresh air. The protagonist isn't a boring one dimensional do-gooder, and the supporting cast is entertaining. I would have continued reading to where it's currently at, but it's the middle of an arc and I'm too keen on this series to torture myself with waiting.

honestly, the best I've seen this season, I love its characters, the details with which it builds its history and fights, in addition to the relationships between the protagonists, no other anime this season I could do feel the same this season, I sincerely recommend it.


I love the construction of the story, both its opening and its ending fascinates me to listen to them and I do not jump to see the chapter or when it ends.

His characters are close to a little closer to what is the reality of a medieval world like that and the political and religious tensions that it has
I found this review

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.

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari is a great manga based on a web novel and it was truly one, if not the most favourite manga for some time because of the story and the main character.
Story may seem cliché as the setting which is used here is very common but it has some terrific moments.
What I liked in the main character is that he was presented as a normal boy. Well, of course he is MC so there has to be something special to him but what I meant by saying "normal" is the way in which he is presented. Normal boy in different world who is struggling to survive.
If I it was my favourite manga then why is the overall score so low ? Story. Story was killed by the manga adaptation. I read web novel after 20 chapters of manga or so, and I found out how much they've skipped. Whole story arc (200+ pages in A4 more or less), almost at the very beggining was reduced to not even a single page in manga adaptation. I had a feeling that they've cut it a bit but what they did with it is way beyond that.
If you can, read web novel, from what I see it is fully translated into english now, don't even bother with manga and the remnants of the plot. It is really not worth it as the plot is really one of the strongest pros here.

In the begining of the manga, i started to think it was a standart "reborn in another world" manga, but you discover that this manga is not so simple.It basically gives a slap on the face of the standart another world mangas, avoinding every cliche and making something diferent.The protagonist is also diferent and funny and not overpowered (well, not enough to be boring).I enjoyed the reading mostly because i like that travelling to another world thing, but usually the kind of manga that approuches this kind of theme is too cliche and has way too much fan-service.I like the way the protgonist is cold and carismatic at the same time,and i felt such joy when he got anger in a way that everyone could fell his fury (not in a cliche way, like he get a lot of power;no it is not like that)

Waste of time...
Besides starting as your generic edgy isekai manga the characters are just white and black, never gray.
MC will be the " good guy " who had to endure injustice. Meanwhile all the other characters will be jerks. They won't ever have any single redeeming quality.
Okay so let me explain a little bit further. Our MC is transferred into this stupid world with RPG elements (because otherwise how would you ride on isekai wave right?) along with 3 other people as heroes. I said heroes but only MC would be called hero. The other 3 are just useless piece of shi-
Well nevermind, I just find this wrong. They all should have been main characters of this story but instead they are all useless in battles and their personalities are trash.
The only good character is our almighty MC being a Gary Stu in every chapter of the series. Oh also let me tell you some of the MC's traits
-He is very good at cooking (because why not)
-Alcohol never affects him no matter how much he takes (he should have died at this point but no he didn't even get drunk)
-He is super strong and will gain stupid skills all the time that will save his ass later.

They have tried to make an edgy isekai but failed so they just threw a few "waifu" characters. Avoid this series

I think the best way I can describe reading this after watching the anime is... Disappointing?

The art isn't particularly bad or anything, it's just way too soft for the tone of the series. Even comparing it to the Light Novel cover materials you see how much softer the art style is. It more closely resembles an fanservice based idol series than a darker, plot-heavy series. The illustration feels kind of lacklustre and arguably lazy at times. A lot of the fight scenes lacked the impact the anime adaption was able to imbue into them. Great manga can manage to outperform or at least match animation, but this felt vastly inferior to me.

It's kind of hard to really pin down everything that felt bad about this adaption and I think a lot of it is arguably just preference than things one could argue as demonstrably bad. Either way, a very disappointing read for me.

At first glance this looks like your typical cliched isekai manga, I read the synopsis all like 'hero seeking revenge...?' 'he saves a slave girl...?' 'loli type characters everywhere?? no way this will be good' but thank the lord it was actually good, great even.

The main thing to take away from this manga is that yes, it does have cliched parts everywhere- However the execution of these cliches is done very well through realistic characters. Even the bad guys don't come off as that unrealistic since they aren't bad for the sake of it but are instead victims of deliberate misinformation, believing that they are actually in the right all along. The main characters' goals are continually being reached and are justified in the scope of the story. No character is there for the sake of it, nor any plot thread left behind. The hero's revenge is actually completely justified, the slave girl actually becomes a hero and not mere romantic sideplot, the loli type girls-- okay I can't really justify that but there's no fanservice and it's always cool to see a bunch of kids beat up monsters.

Another thing I need to point out is the main character's power: the shield. He also has some regenerative abilities but that is his main power and it does not change. Which is so so so nice to see because I'm just sick and tired of overpowered main characters with stats of 999 after like 2 chapters. The MC's powers can be unique at times but works with his weapon- for once it looks like the author actually planned the story with the heroes weapon in mind. Seeing him fight with a shield is not boring or frustrating but actually exciting to see as how he turns the battle in his favour.

If there's one word that would describe this manga it would be: satisfying. Wholly and completely satisfying. The villains get such a good end, each character's goals are reached (or close to it), and as a whole it's just an enjoyable read if you like isekai manga but are tired of all the fanservice or overpowered main characters. Give it a shot.

It was an amazing journey to be able to read and travel with the Shield hero. It was my first Web Novel and it was an eye opener. Thank you for this amazing experience. Hope the author could continue on the journey as he goes through the realm of Gods.

Do note that Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari has one of the most amazing stories that may seem norm at first but will completely change as soon as you get into it. The characters are lovable and the in depth of the world being describe leaves the reader's imagination wild. A very good storyline and a great moral to till the very end. I will certainly recommend this to everyone that has thread in to this genre and wants a great read.

One of the very first things that I wanted to know before I read this amazing Novel was " Whats THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NOVEL AND THE MANGA " Then the question " WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WEBNOVEL AND THE LIGHT NOVEL", If you want to know just scroll down to the lower half of the review.
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Story and characters : the story about an average Otaku who is drawn to a world and becomes a hero and then is betrayed and becomes a hatefull cold amazing human being , One of the best traits about this novel/manga is that the protagonist is a character with so many human flaws , you sense he is a bastard from earth ,Not an imaginary character who is so Full of shit, the rest of the characters are unique in their own way breaking the forth wall sometimes , from a swindling merchant to a hero with big family .
The anime references are massive in this novel, specially those of the fist of the north star.Characters break into those with a natural flow , the writer has an amazing ability , and i cant wait for his next work.
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For story development , the story in the LN/MANGA is going smoothly and it is getting a good touch on the editing , the character development as an ending is so great with a really satisfying ending, you will never regret reading till the end .
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Art: as I read the webnovel, the art is acceptable although it isnt the best art but it was good.
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Enjoyment : The enjoyment in this novel is topnotch , it is really funny and energetic , something that i couldnt find in many mangas/novels and the best thing is that there are many side stories so the tale will never end such as that of christmas of the shield and the valentine version ,
most of my enjoyment came from FIROO-TANN !!! AND MOTOYASO , amazing characters, with amazing reactions, it was really fun to read and interact with each action , The romance only at the end, not ruining the story with uncalled for barfing romance , filled with heartwarming =chapters .
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should you waste your time reading this?
Yes you definitely should , its worth to read to the last chapter and never give up in the middle.
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Now answering your questions , the difference between the manga and LN ?
NONE
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But!! the LN and Web Novel is HUGE!!
Starting with this , The web novel is like the unattended side of the story filled with many events and things that you think is a waste of time, its funny but you will get to say what am I doing around vol 7-vol 12 .

The WN is full of thorns but reading it to the end is worth it as it is fully translated on websites and easy to get,the story if finished and its one hell of an ending , The ending in LN and Spine of story is almost the same , so it is a good read.
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FOR THE LIGHT NOVEL: (Spoilers alert)
Its currently on vol 6 JP and vol4 ENG, The story branches around the vol 2 in the LN AND MANGA as Naofumi goes across the borders to meet Raphs previous owner and get kiel (Loinclothed dog ) freed , which didnt happen in the WN as he bought Kiel from the slave dealer, Meeting FItoria the queen of filorials there ,who forces them to reconcile with the heroes which did not happen in the WN as She just tests Firos growth as a FILORIAL QUEEN.
I found info about meeting a vassal hero ,one of the seven heroes in cal mira island around vol4 which did not happen in The WN.
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SIMPLY: the web novel had many flaws such as not introducing the seven heroes earlier or not even giving info on them until later volumes, they needed to introduce new characters around vol4 and that change was made in the LN , Naofumi Never went to silt wilt or another demi human land (except zeltbur ) which was frustrating for me and looked like flaw for me ,After saying he would visit so many times, I hope they change that in the LN as they are solving so many flaws.
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In the end Thank you for reading atleast one of my words as I am but an amateur reviewer who enjoyed this Novel and still on the manga ,In the end I would like to say Fueeee!!

Spoiler free review:
With the release of the anime adaptation (with an amazing first episode btw) I finally decided to give Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari a read. I personally really enjoy Isekais and the first few chapters are one of the best out there for the Isekai genre. The story is quite different than other Isekais out there and it got me hooked with just the first few chapters. The MCs motives and story are also something I really enjoyed.



Minor spoiler:
Sadly after the first dozen chapters I started to realize that this Manga started to become a more and more generic Isekai with the typical harem scenario. But that sensation soon fades away and becomes something new and fresh once again. It was still a quite an enjoyable read with a dope story and art style.


Verdict:
Giving it a solid 9/10. <3

It's an interesting and different story from all the other adventure-action series. The characters are memorable and NOT ANNOYING. The relationships seems legit and the plot is definitely outstanding. The series has some minor issues but it's nothing to fret over. The art style is good, the main characters are likable, the plot is original, and I HIGHLY recommend it.



Summary:
Our hero finds himself in a game-like world where he and some others are heroes. Unfortunately he is betrayed and turns into a "villain." With the help of some people and monsters he is able to help innocent lives when the Royal Kingdom will not. He remains a villain in the eyes of the public but his heart is in a good place.

Will he succumb to his rage and betrayal or stay true to himself?

What would you do if you were transported to a different world to fight the monster? Would you die for people in a world you never know?

This is a story about a fantasy world which you need to fight the monster since you are summoned as a hero. This story starts as a simple fantasy game-like manga but it gets intense when we realize that the worst/ugliest creature in this world is not the monster but human themselves.

Betrayed by everyone in the world he has never been, the MC starts his journey with Demi-human and monsters. At least, they won't cheat him as certain someone.

Starting off in the summer of 2014, I was a very bored person. I had no job, not much to do, and overall I was pretty bored. Then however after browsing around on my manga app for my tablet, I noticed that there was a new manga that I hadn't seen before; Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari.

At the time, there was only three chapters, so there wasn't much to go off of, but those three chapters alone, hooked me in for a ride I wasn't expecting. A ride that would lead me to probably, my favorite series in all of manga. (Just a little heads up, much of my reasoning is backed by the light novel, so bear with me here. Also, some minor spoilers ahead.)

Story - 10
Starting off, you wouldn't expect much from the introduction; main character is forced into another world and is probably going to be wanting to get out because they are home sick. Well, that's a big FAT NO. It turns out that our main character, Naofumi, is off to a bad start which only gets worse as time goes on. The reasoning behind this bad start is quite unknown, in fact at the time of writing this, the manga itself hasn't even explained it in detail... yet.
So, starting off, we are looking at a main character who is broken and betrayed RIGHT at the start of his journey which sounds a bit cliche in a way, yet the manga pulls it off in unique way that eventually leads to quite possibly what Log Horizon would look like if you added in the corrupt politicians, plague, famine, death, etc etc. and the fact that the main character has a bit of a sadistic streak. So for that reason, and for what's coming up ahead, I score this section a 10/10.

Art - 9
For as much as I would like to give this section a 10/10, the art itself isn't all that unique. I mean yes, it's quite hilarious to see a manga version of (and I'm not lying here) Chocobos, and to see the occasional comedic relief panel, but for a manga that started in 2014 and is still on going here a year later with periodic releases of every month or twice a month (at least from what I can find raw or no), it's great, but not enough to give it a 10... Mostly because color pages are far and few between but are REALLY well done when seen.

Characters - 10
This is BY FAR the most interesting part of the story. The characters are unique in every sense imaginable, even the filler ones such as villagers have a unique story to them. Naofumi seems to be your typical Shounen character that would later develop into a Seinin guru of sorts, but they sort of skipped that whole starting off easy part. At first he seems hopeful and cheerful, but not even into the third chapter, that character is almost NEVER seen again. Right off the bat, our main character goes from happy, "Cool, I'm in a game!" main character to one that borders sadistic, yet caring and charismatic at the same time. This is especially shown when we meet our female lead Ralphtalia who would need a whole other section of her own when it comes to her development and relationship with our main character, but to keep it short and sweet: innocent, yet VERY "persuasive", even to the point she sometimes scares Naofumi. Then there's Firo who is also unique, however explaining her would spoil the fun in finding out who this third person of the main trio is.

Now that I've given a small overhead view of the main cast, looking over to the other 99.9% of the world of Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari, you have your run of the mill characters such as a black smith Naoufumi frequents who has quite the interesting back story, the magic shop owner, the apothecary, and the masochistic slave dealer that Naofumi has more than one run in with. All of whom have unique stories to them, and you begin to understand them more as the story progresses. (Sorry, but a lot of these things will be explained in later chapters, however there are subtle hints within what's out there at the moment.)

With the main story, it is QUITE clear people dislike... Actually, to be blunt, they HATE Naofumi, in fact, it gets to the point, the reader themselves pity him and grow to dislike the characters that hate Naofumi. However it gives a proper insight to how people think; "Our ruler says he is bad, so he must be bad." mob mentality, or as I prefer to call them, "Sheeple" since most of them, unless some sort of situation or event happens, have the same dislike of Naofumi as the ruler does. In fact the reasoning why this all started though, stems BEFORE chapter 1, however there's some pretty large spoilers in there, so I'll let the reader find out for their own... When the manga puts a spot light on it other than the small clues it gives out.

Enjoyment - 10
So as someone who was bored when they started this series, it would be fair to claim that there's a bit of bias as I write this section of the review, however anyone who has read the manga and/or the light/web novel (I am guilty of all three here...), would agree 100% that the story pulls you in within the first two or three chapters. It gets to the point, and we aren't just reading the manga, we are part of the manga and experiencing it first hand.
In fact, for me personally, it's gotten to the point that if there's no new chapters, I hunt down the raws for the manga, just so I can see how the story is progressing in the manga because I love this manga and series so much. It's one heck of a ride, and I hope people won't bail on it because of how long it takes in between chapters, which is reasonable considering most chapters are 35-50 pages a pop.

Overall - 10
Aside from the fact that the art is great looking, but common for the current time, this manga scores 10/10 across the board for me. The story is captivating and you can't put it down... well unless you reach chapter 16 since that's the latest chapter, but in a lot of cases people would go to Baka Tsuki to read the light novel online because the manga is slow to update, but it's glorious when it does.

The characters are amazing and unique, and you begin to understand them right off the bat, be it the Shield Hero Naofumi or the slave Ralphtalia, the chocobo Firo, or even John/Jane Doe that talks to any one of the trio since all of them have a unique story to be told, which makes it all the more enjoyable since it really feels like a JRPG or MMORPG where every character has something to say or tell.

So in the end, I score this series 10 out of 10 as the manga has plenty to offer, and if that's not enough the 378 chapter light novel that tells the ENTIRE story.

Also, for those who want a tl;dr version of this review: Read it, it's worth your time.

Never has the term "Never Judge A Book By It's Cover" been more literal than this story has any right to be.
What could have been a generic and unoriginal fantasy RPG story has crafted its self into an amazing concept which deals with an interesting topic not commonly brought up in Fantasy RPG: DISCRIMINATION

(risk of spoilers ahead)
Story:10
The plot starts with a otaku college student being brushed into a fantasy world with 3 other people to save this kingdom and be heralded as heroes.The main lead has given the weakest power(Shield) and has to proven himself from the bottom to the top.

While the beginning starts of kind of blah, it takes an interesting turn when the act of betrayal and discrimination plays into affect.The story doesn't focus on how great the hero is, but how he survives his everyday lives when labelled as a criminal.Each chapter has its own unique flavour and yet still has that captivating drive and alpha-dog nature which is makes it all the more enjoyable


Art:9
The art is great for what it is.It is drawn by the same person who did the Persona 4 manga, so its stands as feat with splash pages and unique monster characters images.However it isn't unique enough from any other similar manga to stand out much.But the arts has done its job pretty well

Characters:9
The main lead instantly became my favourite character in the story (first for me in any manga) as it proves something not many manga can do: show a balance of jerk and nice .This has more development and reasons to be a douche, and at same time comes of very likable in many places

The two other female leads also has been done nicely in setting their personalities as likable, cute and at the same time close to the lead.

The villains are delightfully hateable, the side characters have more characterization than they need to.My only issue is aging of the female lead, which came of as unnecessary and more perverted than it had any right to.But it can be easily ignored by her bubbly charm

Overall I feel this manga got me hooked on arrival.Its an seinen manga which delves into ostracization of the lead, in a way that the whole story depends on it rather than it being a plot-point.My little issues havent discouraged me in the least and I look forward to see where this series takes me

This is my first review and I really hope I help anyone looking for insight on this manga. I will portray my own thoughts as a critic and hopefully you agree with and enjoy reading my review.

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

Story: 8.5
A seinen fantasy manga about a boy who get sucked into a fantasy game-like world full of magic and swordplay. Right from the start I can't say I haven't seen this before in a seinen manga. My first though was "ugh...here we go again" but there is a lot more to it than that. The story really drives that harshness of society, betrayal, and the importance of relying on someone. I have to say that the turn of events and journey of the main characters deserves at least an 7, the only thing holding it back being unoriginal. I give the story an 8.5 for it really keeps readers engaged and has incredible flow that doesnt skip a beat and makes everything happening quite logical even though the story itself is a fantasy genre.


Art: 8
Here in 2014 I can say the artwork for manga has gone up considerably in the last few years and unfortunatley...so have the standards. The art in this manga is very clear and well detailed. Did I read the first chapter go " holy F@$% this art is @#$%ing amazing"....no I didn't. I dont really think you can really give art a 10 because you know...its art..... so ill give it an 8 because thats what it is....."very good", this is not a bad thing it is only because nothing stood out in terms of art so dont take it the wrong way.

Character: 9
Ok, so this category right here is why I like Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari as much as I do. Here's why;
1. The characters themselves are quite unique. Im not talking just about the two main characters you'll automatically fall in love with but some of the side characters are really unique as well. Some are hateful and become compassionate, while some are compassionate and become hateful. There are characters that will make you smile and some that will make you furious. I think that when characters bring out emotions within a reader, you have something quite special.
2. The interactions between the characters is logical, realistic, and touching. The thought process of the characters is logical as nothing the characters do doesn't make sense. The interaction between the two main characters is so good and well though-out it really makes this manga what it is.
The characters make you feel and it's almost as if they are real people. For this reason I give it a 9.

Enjoyment:9
I really enjoyed being played by this author. He starts out generic and just rips up you emotions in a few chapters. It was awesome. Please do yourself a favor and read it. Please

Overall: 8.5
This manga is nothing revolutionary, but it is something special. I really believe this story belongs somewhere between very good and great. This manga is still in progress so hopeful they can bring it above the great line with the upcoming chapters. I can tell you one thing last thing.

If you finish this manga, I guarantee you'll want to read more.