The following contains spoilers for Sesaon 2, Episode 2 of The Rising of the Shield Hero, "Footprints of the Spirit Tortoise," now streaming on Crunchyroll.

The second season of the popular isekai anime Rising of the Shield Hero is raising the stakes from Season 1 while introducing many new elements, from new members of Naofumi Iwatani's party to an entirely new kingdom named after the Spirit Tortoise. Now, to the protagonist's shock, he learns this realm is already populated with heroes beyond the four Cardinal Heroes.

Earlier in Shield Hero, Naofumi had been certain that he and the other three Cardinal Heroes were this world's last hope against the devastating Waves, but he was wrong. He catches wind of the Seven Star Heroes, and now it's anyone's guess as to what they can do and how much help they will provide in the battle against the Waves or the Spirit Tortoise -- but Naofumi can make an educated guess.

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Naofumi's allies

Naofumi's journey into the Spirit Tortoise kingdom rapidly expands the scope of Shield Hero, including many new allies both seen and unseen. He faces an Attack on Titan Rumbling-style threat of the titanic Spirit Tortoise but isn't certain if his small adventuring party will be sufficient to slay this monstrous beast. Even with a multi-national joint army at his back, Naofumi feels anxious about his odds against the mammoth threat -- but then Queen Mirellia Melromarc mentions another group that may be of assistance.

With a few casual lines, Queen Mirellia establishes the existence of the mysterious Seven Star Heroes. As she explains it, each member of this septet wields a unique vassal weapon, and some are native to this world while others had been summoned -- just like Naofumi in Season 1.

Naofumi, being his usual pragmatic self, asks how gifted these heroes are. The Queen estimates that, while powerful, none of them is as strong as any of the four Cardinal Heroes. On the plus side, there are seven of them instead of just four, and it's possible that they never heard princess Malty's slanderous lies about Naofumi. If so, the Seven Star Heroes may the perfect allies for Naofumi and his squad.

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Naofumi in meeting 2

Episode 2 does not provide any hint or preview of the Seven Star Heroes and their abilities, nor do they join Naofumi's joint army on the march to face the great Spirit Tortoise. Perhaps they will appear partway through the battle and give Naofumi his second wind with their unique weapons -- or one or more of them might simply appear in a later battle against all-new foes.

Travel is slow -- even with this isekai world's filolial-drawn carriages -- so the Seven Star Heroes might be too far away to aid them for now. Knowing Naofumi, he would criticize them for being too slow to help him in his most dire battle yet, and the Seven Star Heroes would get defensive and form a negative impression of him. Exchanges like that have taken place before in Shield Hero, so it might happen again.

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The addition of the Seven Star Heroes also raises the question of just how many special hero squads are scattered across this vast world, and what their themes might be like. Based on Naofumi's predictions in Episode 2, these seven new heroes will be defined by their weapons, similar to the antagonistic L'Arc with his scythe or the kimono-wearing Glass and her magical fan.

This may be Shield Hero's chance to explore all-new combat styles with weapons never before seen, possibly including flails, morning stars, tridents, or even nunchaku or brass knuckles, all jazzed up for fantasy action. This may be an exciting new way for the anime to further expand its cast of characters and combat system in the coming battles, to say the least. Season 2 is already proving full of surprises.