The isekai genre of anime is a popular one, with noteworthy titles like Sword Art Online and KonoSuba putting it on the map in a big way. This genre can be silly or serious, and one of the grittier titles is The Rising of the Shield Hero. In this show, four young men are summoned to a fantasy realm as the four Cardinal Heroes, and they must save the entire world from invading monsters called Waves.
Naofumi Iwatani can only use shields, and he's exiled after false accusations are made against him. He can't fight alone, though; he buys a demihuman slave girl named Raphtalia and makes her his companion, but she soon becomes much more of a friend. In what ways is Raphtalia the best part of Shield Hero, and how is it Naofumi?
10 Raphtalia: Courage At Swordpoint
Raphtalia was once helpless and frightened, as she had to witness her friends and family being abducted by slavers. But once she joined Naofumi's side, she became a fighter, and her fear soon melted away.
Now, Raphtalia can use a sword with great skill and finesse, despite not being the Sword Hero, and she will leap right into the fray on Naofumi's command to serve as his sword arm. She and Filo together can take the fight to just about anyone.
9 Naofumi: Plans Ahead
Naofumi's offensive power is practically zero, since he is the Shield Hero and is operating separately from the Sword, Bow, and Spear Heroes. He makes up for that in a variety of ways, like with his careful planning.
He won't take a single step without thinking it through and weighing the odds, and he even factors in his finances and timetables when planning something. He's not the type to just charge in or trust his gut, and this has gotten him far.
8 Raphtalia: Survived Hardships
When Raphtalia was young, she lived in a village with her fellow demihumans and they eked out a tough life out there. Soon, soldiers from the capital arrived and the villagers were glad to see them. Then the soldiers attacked.
The town was ransacked. and many demihumans were either killed or locked in carts and sent off to the dungeons or to slavers. It was a cruel fate, but to her credit, Raphtalia survived all this and even escaped. That's deeply admirable.
7 Naofumi: No Collateral Damage
Naofumi isn't the only hero operating out there, but he is the only one who is careful about it. The Sword, Spear, and Bow Heroes are fighting any and all monsters they can, and they tend to get sloppy about it, causing accidental harm to the townsfolk.
Not Naofumi. In fact, he realized that a slain dragon was poisoning a nearby town (due to the other Heroes), and after being promised compensation, he took care of that carcass and restored everyone's health. The other Heroes never thought to do that.
6 Raphtalia: Freed Her Friends
Raphtalia's life is largely defined by her suffering at the hands of slavers, and her hopeful response to this is largely what makes her the best part of Shield Hero. She has moved on, and is ready to protect anyone else from suffering that fate.
She also found a number of demihuman captives in a dungeon, and freed all the survivors, including Keel. Raphtalia has taken back her people, and she did it practically all on her own. It brought her a great deal of relief, though she mourns her old friend Rifana, who didn't survive.
5 Naofumi: Exploring The Possibilities
All four Cardinal Heroes can and should find ways to upgrade their equipment as they level up, and Naofumi takes this to extraordinary new heights. He's not content with his dinky first shield; he's got to upgrade that thing, fast.
It's fun to watch Naofumi be so resourceful, and fit every possible element and monster ability he finds into that shield to unlock new powers. He can even combine them and create mild offensive abilities via snakes, or create spheres that can trap an opponent, shield style.
4 Raphtalia: Confronting Her Nemesis
At some point, Raphtalia came face to face with Idol Rapier, a cruel and wealthy man who makes slavery his trade. He has tormented the demihuman people for years, and finally, Raphtalia has a chance for revenge.
She soon has him at her mercy, but with Naofumi's help, she realizes that killing him won't bring her peace. She flings him out the window, and it's good that she realizes that blood for blood isn't always the best route. Raphtalia is strong for other, nobler reasons.
3 Naofumi: Lectured The Other Heroes
The other three Heroes are busy too, but they are careless about how they go about their business. They overthrew a king but failed to help the people there, and of course there's the diseased dragon corpse that made an entire village sick.
Naofumi didn't just fix those problems; he confronted the Bow and Sword Heroes and sternly explained all of this, which shocked them. It's good to see Naofumi set them straight and help them become more responsible people. That's the first step toward reuniting the four Cardinal Heroes.
2 Raphtalia: Her Romantic Feelings
Both Raphtalia and Filo are the cutest members of Naofumi's party, and while Filo has more of a moe thing going on, Raphtalia is s kindhearted girl with a crush and the desire to prove it. It's not unlike a rom-com situation.
Raphtalia's affection for Naofumi provides some much-needed comic relief as she pulls it off just right.
1 Naofumi: He'll Do Anything
Naofumi is unfairly exiled and demonized, yet he doesn't turn evil. The opposite, he will do whatever it takes to complete the mission.
By now, Naofumi has a tough, "you'd better make it worth my while" attitude, and nothing is out of the question, from buying a slave and freeing her to attacking nobles to using low-level monsters to intimidate people. It's dark stuff, but it's fascinating to see Naofumi cross these lines when other isekai heroes would refuse to.