The Rising of the Shield Hero is an exciting fantasy isekai anime series that primarily takes place in a world threatened by the Waves. For unknown reasons, this supernatural phenomenon will regularly unleash armies of monsters onto the world, threatening nations such as the Kingdom of Melromarc. Only with the Four Cardinal Heroes' aid will the kingdom survive.
This means that contentious protagonist Naofumi Iwatani and his fellows must devise ever-stronger and fancier special attacks to survive the Waves and destroy their many enemies, and their loyal party members will do the same. And of course, Shield Hero's strongest enemies will have special attacks of their own in their quest to destroy the entire world. All these special attacks combine to make for some of isekai's best combat scenes of all.
10 Naofumi Iwatani's Wrath Shield Is Powerful But Scary
True to his title, the Shield Hero Naofumi only wields shields in battle, and shields aren't typically offensive weapons. For that reason, most of Naofumi's techniques aren't categorized as special attacks, though the inventive Naofumi found a few ways to create some offensive shields anyway.
One of Naofumi's special attacks can trap the enemy inside an iron maiden and demolish them inside. Then, he can use his strongest but riskiest special attack, the Wrath Shield, and vaporize an entire army of foes if he must. With the power of friendship, though, he might not need this special attack any longer.
9 Itsuki Kawasumi's Arrow Rain Can Hit Many Targets
The Bow Hero, the blond Itsuki Kawasumi, is the main ranged fighter of the four Cardinal Heroes. He is also rather flexible as a fighter, having some techniques that are effective against a single powerful target and other techniques designed for crowd control instead.
In a Wave battle, Itsuki's best technique is his arrow rain move, which allows him to rain dozens of arrows onto an area to dispatch many weaker foes at once. If Ran, Naofumi, or Motoyasu get mobbed, then arrow rain is the perfect special attack for the job.
8 Pope Biscas T. Balmus Can Replicate Weapons For Offense
The leader of the Church of Three Heroes, Pope Biscas T. Balmus, doesn't normally fight his battles himself. But late in Season 1 of Shield Hero, the Pope personally confronted the four Cardinal Heroes with hundreds of magical monks and nuns to back him up. His goal - to kill the four Cardinal Heroes.
Not only could the Pope summon a massive magical cathedral to trap his foes, but he can also replicate the Cardinal Heroes' signature weapons and use powerful mirage versions of them with his best special technique. He very nearly wiped out the heroes with his mirage sword and spear.
7 Kyo Ethnina Can Use Bird Of Flame
The villainous Kyo Ethnina uses a book vassal weapon to fight, but he's not exactly the "shy librarian" type of anime character. Intstead, Kyo is a schemer who likes to tinker with magical items and powers to get what he wants, including stealing a piece of the Spirit Tortoise's power.
If Kyo must fight, he can easily defend himself with his book and its magical power, even if Kyo never harnessed the book's full power. One of his flashiest and strongest special attacks, for example, is the Bird of Flame. It will conjure a huge phoenix of fire that will swoop down and destroy Kyo's enemies utterly.
6 Glass' Flower Wind Attack Can Chase The Target
The kimono-wearing warrior named Glass hails from a different world than the one Naofumi was summoned to, and in the eyes of her people, Glass is a hero who will save the world. But she was at odds with Naofumi for a time, meaning she was like a boss battle during the Waves.
Glass can use a variety of magical attacks with her fans, all of which are devastating. She is most fond of creating tornadoes, but she can also use the Flower Wind special attack to strike her enemy with a flowing energy flower that can home in on the target.
5 Motoyasu Kitamura Can Use A Second Javelin
The arrogant Spear Hero may be one of Shield Hero's least popular characters, but at least he can back up his big words in combat in the Waves. With his mighty spear, Motoyasu can deliver precise attacks that can pierce any enemy's defenses.
Motoyasu can use a magically enhanced spear attack, then follow up with his second javelin special attack to indeed create a secondary javelin that will ensure the enemy gets hit twice for double the damage. Doubling can be terrifyingly effective in the hands of a powerful warrior.
4 Ren Amaki's Crimson Sword Is Devastating
The Sword Hero is Ren Amaki, a cool and collected warrior who is like Kirito without the harem. His basic sword attacks are fairly effective against ordinary enemies, but during the climax of a Wave battle, Ren needs more. And he's got just the thing: his crimson sword special attack.
When used, crimson sword will charge Ren's weapon with energy and allow Ren to rapidly strike his foes with a flurry of blows, which is quite impressive. In the Shield Hero anime, this special attack also involves fire for some added flair.
3 Filo's Zweite Wing Cutter Strikes With Wind Power
Naofumi's companion Filo is a gifted child, a filolial hatchling who is destined to become the next filolial queen someday when she grows up. Until then, Filo is content to be Naofumi's loyal ally and subordinate, using her beak, claws, and wind-based magic to do her part in battle.
Filo can use magic to bolster her melee attack power and speed, but that's not all. Filo can also use zweite wing cutter to fling powerful air magic at her foes and shred them with sharp air currents, a much-needed ranged attack for Naofumi's party.
2 All Zweite Aqua Shot Is Princess Melty's Best Move So Far
The tsundere princess Melty Q Melromarc is sometimes a part of Naofumi's party and an upstanding member of the Melromarc royal family, like her mother Mirellia. Melty has low physical strength and stamina and can't easily use weapons, but she does have magic spells on her side.
Princess Melty tends to use water-based magic in battle, and her devastating all zweite aqua shot is her best move overall. With it, she can conjure several spheres of water and send them right at her enemy, an enhanced version of her more basic water attack.
1 Zweite Fire Squall Is Princess Malty's Best Spell For Combat
Princess Melty's scheming big sister Malty can also use elemental magic, except she focuses on fire and some wind-based magic instead. In a fight, Malty can use basic fire-based spells against weaker foes, but in a serious battle, she must call upon her best special attacks to win.
Malty can use the zweite fire squall special attack to obliterate her enemies with ease. This spell summons a rainstorm of fire on her foes, and only the strongest Shield Hero characters could survive such an attack. It's a shame that Malty uses her magic for evil instead of for good.