The Rising of the Shield Hero follows Naofumi, a high school student, into a world where he must fight as the Shield Hero to protect the world from the Waves of Calamity alongside his fellow Cardinal Heroes. Soon, Naofumi found himself betrayed and forced to navigate through this new world with the help of a demi-human, Raphtalia, and later a bird-esque, Filo. The three gained support from unexpected places and ultimately revealed the negative forces.
Speaking to CBR, The Rising of the Shield Hero's Japanese voice cast Kaito Ishikawa (Naofumi), Asami Seto (Raphtalia) and Rina Hidaka (Filo) provided some insight on voicing their characters and the substantial developments they experienced in Season 1. The actors also shared their individual mindsets as they went through those changes and what it was like working with their co-stars.
CBR: During the first season of Shield Hero, Naofumi goes through multiple versions of his shields. What emotional process did you go through to navigate the vocal differences you used per shield?
Kaito Ishikawa: I wasn't aware that I was changing my voice depending on the shield. If it sounds that way, I guess it is due to the emotion I was expressing at the moment.
Since Asami Seto and Rina Hidaka’s characters are very close to yours, what was it like working with them?
Ishikawa: I had met both of them for different recordings before, so I felt at ease. Once again, I was able to experience their amazing performance and learned a lot from them.
What was your favorite moment while voicing Naofumi’s character?
Ishikawa: The scene where he is saved by Raphtalia after the duel with the shield hero is impressive. It was the first time he was truly saved since he came to this world.
Raphtalia's character goes through significant character development in the first season. What do you think was the most interesting part of her change throughout the season?
Asami Seto: As a demi-human, Raphtalia's appearance has rapidly become more mature as her skill level has increased. Rather than trying to change her acting to match her appearance, I thought that if I kept in mind her deep-seated personality that sometimes can be immature with her quick temper and bluntness, I could show her growth naturally.
Who is your favorite character, besides Raphtalia?
Seto: More characters will appear in the future, but my favorite is still Filo. Cute, lovable, strong!
If you could give Raphtalia any advice, what would it be and why?
Seto: In the second season, she has started to express her opinions without hesitation to Naofumi, and there have been times when she has admonished Naofumi for his inappropriate behavior. So, she seems to have gained a sense of maturity. Raphtalia is growing up to be an honest and strong young lady, so I don't have a problem with her as she is.
What do you admire most about your character, Filo?
Rina Hidaka: When she's happy, sad, angry, sulking, etc... I think the charm of this character is that she has so many expressions. Even when there was no dialogue, Filo's facial expressions were constantly changing, and I felt a lot of love from the staff!
Melty and Filo have a very close relationship in the show. What was it like working with Maaya Uchida?
Hidaka: We’ve worked together before, and I was genuinely happy to be working with Maaya on this project. We often sat next to each other at the recording, and we had a lot of fun talking.
The Rising of the Shield Hero is now available on Crunchyroll.