The Rising of the Shield Hero is an action-packed isekai anime where four cardinal heroes are summoned from another world (Earth) to defend a medieval fantasy world from a series of apocalyptic monster Waves. Among those four heroes is the rogue Naofumi Iwatani, bearer of many magical shields.
The other heroes can use a spear, sword, and bow, and they make up the offensive power of this theoretical team of four. Along the way, they make new allies and enemies, and some are quite powerful. These characters ranges from royalty, like Aultcray and Malty, to allies such as Raphtalia and Filo.
Updated on Dec. 10th, 2021, by Claris Lam: The Rising of the Shield Hero has an impressively strong cast at its disposal, but not all characters are created equal. For as powerful as Naofumi is, he's hardly the strongest character in a series full of potential powerhouses.
15 Aultcray Melromarc Became Unworthy Of Wielding The Vassal Staff
Aultcray used to be able to wield the Vassal Staff. This weapon had a wide variety of uses, but it mainly specialized in improving the user's magic. Unfortunately for Aultcray, he became unworthy of using the Vassal Staff after being manipulated by his daughter Malty. This made him one of the weakest characters despite his high position of power. While he eventually regained some form of glory in the light novel adaptation after being punished for his transgressions, the same could not be said for Aultcray's anime counterpart.
14 Malty S. Melromarc Relied On Magic And No Swordplay Despite Carrying A Sword
Malty might be a character that fans love to hate, but she is exceptionally powerful. Malty specialized in using fire-type magic, including using spells such as Zweite Fire and Drifa Hellfire. She could also use wind-type magic including Wing Blow.
Viewers noted that while Malty carried a sword, she rarely used it if at all. This implied that she used the sword as a last resort rather than as her primary weapon. Even though she was a decent fighter, Malty is one of the weaker ones featured in the series and is overshadowed by even her younger sister, Melty.
13 Biscas T. Balmus Wielded a Replica Of The Legendary Weapons, But Was Quickly Defeated
Biscas is the high Priest of the Church of Three Heroes, but he is fairly powerful in his way. He wielded a replica of the Legendary Weapons when facing everyone else in battle, and overwhelmed them until Naofumi managed to defeat him. Even though his battle was short-lived, Biscas was a fairly powerful foe overall despite being outnumbered at the time. Some viewers noted that Biscas never used the stylish replica weapon in its shield form and that he could have saved himself when Naofumi gave him the finishing blow.
12 Mirellia Q. Melromarc Can Use Ice-Type Magic And Overpower Biscas
The Queen, Mirellia Melromarc specializes in using ice-type magic. Many of her spells can slow down targets, capture them, stun them, or create massive flying blades to attack enemies. She was powerful enough to overpower Biscas, the High Priest of the Church of Three Heroes.
She also has an affinity with fire-type and water-type magic, but she mainly uses ice-type magic. Considering that she served as a strategist for the allied army, her strength makes sense.
11 Melty S. Melromarc Can Negate Fire With Her Water-Type Magic
Melty, Malty's younger sister, was much more action-oriented in the anime adaptation compared to the light novels. This gave her greater opportunities to show off her abilities, including using water-type magic. Not only can her water-type magic negate fire-type magic, she can use some of these spells to heal her allies, making her much more useful in the thick of combat. These skills proved to be extra-useful in the final two episodes when Naofumi and the rest of the party fought Glass.
10 Raphtalia Lacked Magic, But Was A Great Swordsman
Raphtalia is acrobatic, quick in combat, and she favors swords in a fight.
Best of all, despite her lack of serious magic, she's fearless and will attack legendary villains without a second's hesitation. She's right to call herself Naofumi's sword.
9 Ren Amaki Is One Of The Cardinal Heroes
Ren is one of the four cardinal heroes summoned from Japan to the kingdom of Melromarc, tasked with protecting the kingdom from the monster Waves. To that end, Ren was given a sword, and can charge right into combat with the Bow Hero backing him up.
Ren's a skilled fighter, but he's somewhat careless as he goes around fighting monsters (like when he left that dragon corpse to rot). He even clashed with the Pope, but stood no real chance against that kind of power. Still, his potential is high.
8 Itsuki Kawasumi Is AnoTher Cardinal Hero And A Great Bowman
Another of the four cardinal heroes, Itsuki was gifted a magical bow and arrow to fight monsters from a distance. He makes for good backup to the Spear and Sword Heroes, and fought well in the battle against Glass, L'Arc, and others.
Like the other heroes, Isuki's full potential doesn't seem to be fully realized yet. Fortunately, he has some time to grind more levels and unlock some serious arrows. He's also a pretty nice guy, too.
7 Filo Can Fly Fast In Her Bird Form And Attack Others With Talons
In combat, Filo can fly around and move at high speeds, not to mention deliver some heavy kicks with her talons. To boost her power even more, Naofumi bought some steel casings to fit over Filo's talons like a set of swords.
6 Motoyasu Kitamura Has Tons Of Training As the Spear Hero
Deep down, Motoyasu is a decent person, but it's tough to tell since he's also vain and thinks too highly of himself. Still, Motoyasu is charismatic and acts as a leader for the Bow and Sword Heroes, leading the battle against the Waves in Naofumi's absence.
Fortunately, Motoyasu can back up his boastful words. His spear has a lot of combat power, and it's clear that he's been training like crazy and leveling up to realize the weapon's full potential. He and Myne make for an elegant team against the Waves, Naofumi's party, and hostile heroes from other worlds.
5 L'Arc Berg Has An Incredibly Scary Scythe
L'Arc is a hero from another world and is openly hostile to Melromarc's heroes. He first struck up a friendship with Naofumi and fought alongside him to slay monsters, but that partnership didn't last. Now, L'Arc is ready to defend his world, and he's a vicious fighter with his scythe. Even when everyone in Naofumi's party fights together, L'arc can fend them all off. He's a tough one, all right.
4 Therese Alexanderite Can Use Gems To Channel Her Combat Power
Therese is L'Arc's partner and a hero from another world, but she doesn't pack all those gems because they're pretty. Therese is a Jewel and uses the gems to channel her incredible combat power. She is also a mage and backs up L'Arc in combat with serious skill.
During the battle onboard a ship, Therese easily used her jewel powers to counteract a platoon of archers, and she dealt some heavy damage to the Melromarc ships in the area. She partly owes her power to Naofumi, who granted her a useful item while they were teammates.
3 Naofumi Iwatani Used A Variety Of Shield Types To His Advantage
The one and only Shield Hero, Naofumi was ostracized after being framed for a crime, but that didn't deter him. Naofumi learned the full depths of his shield's power and uses a staggering variety of shield types during his adventures.
He also recruited Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty to his party, acting as their defender during combat. Naofumi can block anything thrown at him and he's got a sharp tactical mind that can unlock the route to victory.
2 Fitoria Is The Queen Of All Filolials
Fitoria is the queen of all Filolials, and can effortlessly launch powerful magic from her hands while in human form. Filo didn't stand a chance, and even Naofumi was easily pushed back & knocked into submission when Fitoria's power was demonstrated.
1 Glass Can Shatter Prison-Shields Effortlessly
Much like L'Arc, Glass is a hero from another world. She is fully ready and willing to take on the four cardinal heroes to save her world. During her first Wave, Glass used traditional Japanese fans to utterly devastate the opposition.
Naofumi's party only survived because the Wave ended and Glass' time was up. She appeared during a later Wave and took on many opponents at once, including the cardinal heroes. Glass also shattered Naofumi's prison-shields with practically no effort.