First Impressions / Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari

OP Sequence

OP: 「RISE」by MADKID

“The Slave Girl”


「奴隷の少女」 (Dorei no Shoujo)

Last week, I praised Kinema Citrus and Kevin Penkin for bringing Shield Hero to life, complete with high quality visuals, atmospheric OST and incredible attention to detail. Nothing changes this week. Unlike many other series in a similar vein, we can clearly see the UI isn’t merely an afterthought meant to invoke RPG vibes. It’s extremely detailed and crisp, possessing the kind of polish you’d expect from an AAA game. The visual specs on these herbs and mined ores made me want to pick up my 3DS and bash out an JRPG in my backlog. That’s how much it tickled my RPG itch, and it wasn’t simply a feast for the eyes. Every desperate climax was also backed up by phenomenal music, while calming scenes were illuminated by tranquil scores. This is full-on immersion we’re talking about here and a beautiful dream realised I’d never hoped to have with adaptations. But let’s stop beating around the bush and address the elephant in the room. But some people might feel uncomfortable with the introduction of slavery, especially since we’re talking about child slavery of all things AND our protagonist’s actions during the episode were ethically dubious. But I’d ask people to make a consequentialist observation – that generally positive outcomes could be used to justify these questionable means. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Raphtalia – The Slave with PTSD:

Unable to fend for himself, Naofumi decides to purchase a slave because there’s almost no other viable way of growing stronger and surviving. Despite being given the choice of a significantly powerful werewolf that would make fighting the waves a breeze, he cites money as being an issue. So he buys a demi-human child who suffers from coughing fits and PTSD. Her name? Raphtalia. She’s definitely a cutie but there’s a lot more than meets the eye. We discover that she’s a survivor from the First Wave that decimated portions of the continent. Monsters destroyed her village and worst of all, they brutally murdered Raphtalia’s parents before her very eyes. It’s no wonder that she suffers from PTSD and is afflicted by survivor’s guilt. To top it all off, she was captured and made a slave, experiencing horrific treatment at the hands of her previous master. I think it’s safe to say she’s had it worse than Naofumi.

Naofumi – A Master of Questionable Means?:

After becoming Naofumi’s slave, Raphtalia’s thrown straight out of the frying pan and into the fire. He frequently uses the slave seal as a means of torturing her into compliance – namely killing monsters for him. Her free will and capacity for self-determination are entirely undermined and she’s forced to confront her traumas in ways that completely goes past her comfort zone. Also, he consistently uses emotional blackmail to get what he wants out of her – “I’ll abandon you if you don’t fight for me“. Obviously he hasn’t had a great time since entering this fantasy world. But it doesn’t mean Naofumi should project his pent up anger for everyone else towards Raphtalia. That said, Naofumi’s nowhere near the absolute worst, considering he’s not beating her up or exploiting her. Perhaps he’s become an extremely jaded adventurer, yet he remains truly kind deep down inside. He did not pick Raphtalia over the werewolf simply because she was cheaper. Rather, he saw a frightened, young girl and sought to save her from a terrible plight. Most importantly, he’s displayed real sensitivity towards her needs. e.g. feeding her nice food, concocting medicine for her illness, buying her the toy that she wanted, etc.

His actions continue to speak favourably for his behalf. When Raphtalia woke up screaming during the night, reliving the moment her parents died, his immediate reaction was to hug and reassure her. In a life or death situation, Raphtalia is forced to confront her fears. A two-headed dog appears, reminding her of the very monster that killed her parents, sending her into something of a catatonic state. At first, Naofumi seems frustrated that she cannot be of use. But he relinquishes control over her so that she could escape while he sacrifices himself to buy time. He might not admit it, but he does care about Raphtalia and these sentiments are reciprocated too. Not wanting to lose Naofumi in a similar way to her parents, Raphtalia confronts these fears of her own volition and strikes two true blows to defeat the monster.

Because of Naofumi being unconventionally weak, these kind of situations that an isekai protagonist should ordinarily plough through become high stakes. This makes for genuinely exciting fights where everything could potentially be on the line. And under life or death situations, there’s ample opportunity to further characterisation because people are truly put to the test. Raphtalia was able to overcome such an obstacle through her own self-determination, and it’s a vital cornerstone of her character development, demonstrating tenacity and bravery. Having emphatically overcome her trauma and assuming she will have no further problems killing monsters, it will be interesting to see where their adventure goes

Concluding Thoughts:

To make it absolutely clear, I’m by no means advocating for slavery, so much as making a critical exception due to fictitious circumstances. Throughout this post, I’ve spoken frequently about how Raphtalia has benefitted and gone on to live a happier life, as a result of being Naofumi’s slave. But equally, Naofumi smiled pleasantly for the first time since that fateful night where he was betrayed. Clearly, Raphtalia’s companionship has done wonders for his emotional state, even if his problems haven’t been magically fixed. From Raphtalia’s flashback, it should be noted that the Shield Hero seemed to be held in high regard by the demi-humans. Perhaps seeking out a country of demi-humans could allow Naofumi to start off from scratch and receive better treatment? That’s merely food for thought. Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss about the episode. As always, thanks for reading my post. See you next week, and I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did!

Quick Impression of the OP/ED Themes:

OP: 6.5/10. Crisp visuals, fluid animation and excellent depictions of various characters, especially the heroes. Music had its good moments but was mostly mediocre. I’m personally not a very big fan of dubstep/rap.

ED: 8.7/10. Loved the textured artstyle, liked the gentle music, and the animated sequences conveyed a symbolic message about Naofumi and Raphtalia venturing the desert while only needing each other.

ED Sequence

ED: 「きみの名前」 (Kimi no Namae) by 藤川千愛 (Chiai Fujikawa)

88 Comments

  1. Maybe it was because they had to move things along, but Naofumi was nicer to Raphtalia a lot faster than in the manga. He was never mean to her, but did go through a few days of being cold and getting used to her instead of immediately buying her a kid’s meal. Don’t think he was ever that comforting before the dog, either.

    So, not terrible rushing, and I know we can’t get the same pace of Ep.1 in just the usual 20 minutes, but I hope it doesn’t get any worse. Pretty good otherwise, though!

    Aex
    Reply

    1. The 1st isekai WN to introduce slavery in general was Isekai Meikyuu de Harem wo, whose MC purchased slave girls to serve as companions and warrior backup during his dungeon dives. That said, the plot structure was mostly a combo of SOL interactions/dungeon crawl,and the MC was big on getting consent from his girls before doing anything sexual with them.

      zztop
      Reply

      3. @zztop: true, but even if you try to make that perfectly valid distinction most people will still bite your head off and pour lava down your throat. People don’t care about circumstances, intentions, time-period, etc. Slavery = Evil! The End!

        While I agree with that statement as a whole, distinctions are important.

        Aex
        Reply

  4. Anyone can say whatever they want about this show, but anyone who negatively criticizes the audio coming from it is in bitter denial.

    Openings and endings are subjective. Personally, I think the opening is good and the ending is great. The latter really does sound like Raphtalia’s thoughts about Naofumi.

    https://randomc.net/image/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari%20-%20ED%20-%20Large%2003.jpg

    The voice casting is spot on the the voice acting itself is terrific. Noticed the different audio filters used in the changing environments? And the soundtrack….. well is like the backbone of the narrative really. It usually is the plot and it still is but the effectiveness of it makes this show special compared to the rest.

    Honestly, I think Naofumi is a Catch-22 and I can’t really fault him for his actions. This world ain’t the same utopian world of SLIME where good deeds are rewarded, and warring factions can instantly unite to form a nation after a major confrontation. Retribution and animosity doesn’t fade so easily. Manipulation and betrayals are rife in this world. Rimuru’s philosophy won’t work here.

    Lastly, I sure do hope Kinema Citrus retains the dark, dangerous, and mildly gory narrative presentation of this show. Simply because apart from the soundtrack, it’s the show’s greatest strength.

    https://randomc.net/image/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2013.jpg

    SpitFire
    Reply

  5. Despite being given the choice of a significantly powerful werewolf that would make fighting the waves a breeze, he cites money as being an issue.

    The price was 15 gold in a world where the last episode set the king’s monthly stipend as 600 to 800 silver. Even if he hadn’t lost that, money is definitely the issue. As he notes, the vendor was sizing him up.

    Why he chose who he did was all in his eyes and face when he first sees her but it will be interesting to see if the show ever explicitly spells that out.

    Dave
    Reply

    1. Despite being given the choice of a significantly powerful werewolf that would make fighting the waves a breeze, he cites money as being an issue.

      More explicitly, we’re able to determine from this, and the previous, episode, that the exchange rate between coin types is 100:1. That is, 100 copper to 1 silver, and 100 silver to 1 gold.

      So the price of the werewolf — 15 gold — is equivalent to 1500 silver. Naofumi had a total of 40 silver at the time (31 paid for Raphtalia, 6 for the weapon and armor, and 3 leftover when they went to get a meal).

      So “money being an issue” for the werewolf is a vast understatement. Even the ridiculous 800 silver he was given by the king in the first episode is barely half the cost of the werewolf.

      David
      Reply

  6. Given the amount of human trafficking in history and still touched on frequently in Asian historical dramas and novels, this is not really uncomfortable for its intended audience at all. People used to sell themselves and their children to get a bite to eat.

    InstantNoodles
    Reply

    3. If you’re not an absolute neophyte in world travel (and I don’t mean visiting the tourist Potemkin villages most people visit), you’ll eventually see slaves – REAL slaves, not the phony stand-ins the Left holds out as “Modern slavery”.

      Many a soldier, sailor or Marine, like myself, visiting Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, for example, had to be briefed not to look directly at the Muslim slaves (of multiple apparent races) – because the manservant slaves, and female concubines (I do not include the “Wives”, but that is debatable), could be punished severely if caught looking at strangers. However, truth be told, these slaves were outwardly – even lavishly – well taken care of.

      This is the misconception (and conceit) many people have about Slavery – Past and Present – thinking it was culturally “full of abuse” and “torture” – a misconception borne of worldly and historical ignorance.

      Slaves WERE punished, but just like most people in a civilized society (and slavery is a part of civilized culture, from Babylon to Rome to Present Day, so deal with it), black slaves were punished by their Masters for mostly for legitimate crimes such as murder, assault, rape, thievery, (black slaves mostly had their own possessions as a very practical matter) etc, as well as sloth (not earning one’s keep, which “Freedom” would have rewarded with starvation or a life of parasitism).

      Then – as now – most “crimes” against blacks – including black slaves – were committed by other blacks. Another misconception? (or deliberate historic omission) Very often, delinquent blacks were “disciplined” by the senior Manservant aka another black slave (sometimes a freeman). It VERY rarely got to the point of the Master himself or his white charge de affairs, let alone the local white authorities, having to intervene, because if it got to that point, it was serious and had to become something “official”. It was not unusual for a white Owner to have to plead the case of his delinquent Slave, lest he be deprived of his property’s service.

      For some reason, America’s current “idiot crowd” has strange illusions about head honcho white Southern Masters whipping black slaves daily (or even yearly) as if degrading and mistreating valuable assets and “property” is what made the South one of the most prosperous regions on the planet at the time.

      Newsflash: Slave owners treated slaves as just that – valuable property to be invested in, who’s injury and degradation meant loss of productivity, morale, and reputation in Southern Society. Mishandling Slaves (and brutal treatment was considered exactly that) was considered a stain on your Honor. No CEO of a company coming out to mistreat his “employees” (valuable assets) and use unsavory tactics (by American standards, in mid 19th century or 21st century culture), was looked well upon. Nor would any other CEO of a reputable business deal with someone who does so. It was the same in 19th century American South. Abolitionist and modern claims to the contrary are just that – claims.

      Imagine Don Cheadle’s shock when he learned that his ancestor was owned by “Redskins” who typically enslaved other Redskins as well as blacks, in an tribal culture that would CANNIBALIZE their slaves when the winters got too rough.

      People’s ignorance can make for some head-slapping moments. For what it’s worth, some people like Cheadle seem humble enough to learn more about history, as a result (more than I can say for most).

      Slaves are very expensive property, especially in “Maintenance”, far moreso than “payroll” today, and in many cultures and sub-cultures, are treated variably throughout history largely depending on the organizational and societal wealth of the civilization.

      “Redskins” and Indian tribes were relatively poor compared to Southern White and Plantation owners.

      The American South largely stands out for its historically luxurious treatment of its slaves because of its comparable material wealth, borne from its prosperous culture (Until it lost a war, of course). “Free” Indians (subcontinent) in the British Empire, for example, were no better off than the “Free” Irish, both of whom suffered far more indignity and poverty than did “Freemen” blacks in the American North, let alone “Unfree” slaves in the American South (and this is not to say that the British Empire was not WELL ahead of so many OTHER parts of the world in providing for their “underclasses” in places like East Asia).

      The North had a spectrum of black society, from the sparse relatively middle class to homeless and criminal blacks, while the South had a more evenly distributed quality of life that can be called “middle” to “lower” class slaves – a slave in the South could work his way from a laborer to the Majordomo and generational confidant of the House, in which case he was often given his Freedom by his Master, apprenticeship, even granted property and land (what could be owned varied depending on the locale – from French Louisiana to Virginia, the code, culture, and legalities were different, but generally speaking, if the newly freed slave had the standing of a reputable Master, practicality superceded legality).

      That’s what happens a lot in the history of Slavery: Masters, real Men, delegate the power accrued to those they think will benefit responsibly from it; it’s as counterproductive to force an ideal as powerful and perilous as Freedom on someone unworthy of it, as it is to withhold it from someone who is.

      One of the things that aren’t widely taught in American schools is how the material quality of life for “freed slaves” got extensively WORSE once they were “freed” from their Masters’ responsibility and left to fend for themselves. The Southern culture which necessitated and almost MANDATED that slave-owners provide for the needs and well-being of their slaves, both for economics and as a matter of honor and good societal standing, meant that slaves had materially better lives than black “freemen” who often lived in squalor in the North.

      So the South was less “industrially” wealthy than the North, but culturally inclined to provide for slaves.

      The North, though industrially superior, culturally left black “freemen” to fend for themselves, with what might euphemistically be called “mixed results”.

      We’re not talking morality, merely matters of fact. There are pros and cons to true “Freedom” – one of which is that being “Free” means that people are left to bear the consequences of their inadequacies and failures. Certain kinds of people just are NOT up to it. I’ve met people and even “Peoples” who really can’t handle the idea of “Freedom”, can’t take care of themselves, despite all the resources and charity in the world, and yet they act absolutely CLUELESS as to why they aren’t prospering.

      A VERY large proportion of the newly freed blacks were inadequate when it came to succeeding on their own; when they lost the structured lifestyle their masters provided in food, clothing, shelter, education, security (mostly against other blacks), etc. The lucky few who’s Masters hadn’t lost everything in the War (and didn’t get fleeced in Reconstruction) were able to maintain their slaves as “employees”. For most slaves, it was similar to any city-slicker who’s been employed in a company all their life, then watches their entire COUNTRY go belly-up, their entire INDUSTRY (not just their “company”) go out of business

      Jerry
      Reply

      1. Very insightful. My greatest fear (which seem to be coming realized)
        is that the SJW will rewrite history on matters like this and (at some
        point in the future) we’ll repeat that real history.

        mac65
        Reply

      2. Well this is just skewed historically speaking.

        A.) So slavery historically is very different in the rest of the world and history than it was in the US south (and Caribbean). A good comparison would be that to most of the world, a slave would be analogous to Indentured Servitude (except the willingly going into it). You become a slave, you do your time, you a freed. You were not a slave for life. There are civilizations where slaves were treated well. In most societies in history, slaves were a luxury item. They were a way to show off wealth instead of create wealth. (exceptions would be the US South, Caribbean, Rome, and Greece all of which had economies powered by slave labor and all treated them terribly).
        B.) The argument a freed black man was punishing a black slave makes the master’s culpability lessened is bogus . This argument would be like saying that Hitler was not responsible because the men under him performed the task. I’m pretty sure courts everywhere have found that the guy at the top is responsible often in what his subordinates do when done openly and repeatedly. If you want this in the format of cooperate bullshit you effused , the reasons for punishing a slave would be akin to a policy, and management, especially the top is responsible legally for policy creation and therefore are responsible when that policy is enforced openly and repeatedly over years.
        C.) The South maintained you had to feed, house, and make sure the slaves went to Church. They did not require anything beyond that, nor the quality of the housing or food. In fact if a black slave tried to learn his letters, he was publicly whipped. Not reading, but simply learning about your ABCs (Read about Frederick Douglas) . They were bought and sold at a moments notice and families routinely ripped apart. The only place they were treated worse was probably the Caribbean. Hell this very act actual stole away their ability to equip themselves to handle life after slavery. No one in the south was going to teach them. After all their society literally did not see black people as people, they were items.
        You are correct though, the North didn’t really wanna help the people they freed in the south after the war. There were factions in the north that were not sympathetic to the newly freed black people in the south, such as the mills who turned all that cotton into finished products. There was some discussion in congress (the Radical Republicans), however even that political faction, its hard to determine in their rhetoric was to help the black people or punish the the White landholders who were the primary instigators of the southern rebellion. Also the driving force behind the slaves becoming free, Abraham Lincoln was dead from an assassin. This froze the movement politically to help them.
        D.) Just because “it could be worse” is no valid justification. That’s like arguing the French revolution was better than other bloody revolutions because they used the guillotine instead of a firing squad and the guillotine is more humane! (seriously that was the reason for using it). This goes into the fact that you claim that you aren’t arguing for the morality it but make constant points in your statement arguing just that. Pick one or the other, don’t try to say you aren’t arguing something when what your writing seems to be doing just that.
        E.) Slavery can not be compared to a cooperation, as slaves have no power to change jobs or employers. Employers have to be nice to their employees because they can find other places to work. It’s why the offer perks like raises or health insurance and other stuff. If they didn’t have to worry about that, they probably wouldn’t give anything in the United States. A good thing to look up is cooperate welfare and who really benefits in the US.
        F.)So you are saying how slavery in the US was any better than certain “free people”. What was different is the Irish and Indian’s were subjects of exploitation for the British Imperial System. The US kind of fought this thing called the Revolutionary War to prevent this very thing. Black slaves were taken from their homes, sent around the world, had their identities stripped away from them, and were treated as items, not people. In those societies they were exploited en-mass by the state. The slaves in the US were exploited by individual people. This is a crucial distinction as talking about colonialism is a completely different can of worms that also isn’t pretty. Both exploit people without proper compensation, that is true though.
        G.) Again, Southern slave owners controlled their slaves legally, but also made sure that they could not function in the outside society by actually intentionally preventing them from any learning . This was to help prevent them from running away and man it worked really well as they still couldn’t get away post war . The slave owners were the ones responsible for them not being able to take care of themselves. What other option did they have other than return? They had no way of moving (not knowing how to get there, no money for transportation or food on the way, tons of uncertainty, and especially hard if they had a family. Post war there was not much change in conditions for the slaves who remained, the only difference was they were no longer legally slaves.
        Again it should be noted that the North didn’t do much to help, and they should be held accountable for not doing more to help the South post war and instead pushed punitive measures on it. That being said, who is to blame for the black communities conditions post war? Those who freed them or those who made them that way? Judging from modern societies reactions to various things, the person who commits a crime is responsible for the effects of that crime. You can blame those enforcing the laws of not doing enough to help the victim afterwards but that doesn’t diminish the roll of the offender.

        Honestly your rant sounds to me like either someone deliberately pushing an agenda or someone whose education is purely from one view point and thus not well backed up. Please read about Fredrick Douglas, or just slavery in general from the different sources. Just because you walked past a slave in real life has no bearing on the grasp you have about the history of slavery, nor its effects.

        Crispy
        Reply

      3. Crispy, better not buy any cheap clothes or chocolate or computers or cell phones then since they are largely slave labour. Companies like N****e send soldiers to villages in West Africa to kidnap children to work the chocolate plantations. We just hide our slavery better today.

        Mike
        Reply

  7. What if I say being a slave to God who has the most perfect of attributes that created the heavens and the earth and everything in it is of the highest status a human being can attain? I’d submit to that Master. Surely now you’d change your thoughts on the term ‘slavery’.

    saad
    Reply

    1. 1. Naofumi is not god or perfect.

      2. I’m agnostic with an inclination towards atheism. But I suppose if the absolute perfect being did exist and demanded me to be a slave I probably wouldn’t decline out of fear.

      Zaiden
      Reply

  8. “There is special place in hell” for anyone who goes against Raphtalia.

    https://randomc.net/image/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2017.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2018.jpg

    I’m not really into “must protect at all cost” memes since I think they are comical but I will join the “must protect Raphtalia” meme now.

    Entals
    Reply

      3. I seriously don’t think Naofumi’s relationship with Raphtalia can be called “slave labour” in the common reality americentric terms.

        But if you think black and white and see the word “slave” as absolute and can’t be stretchered and modified… that’s up to you. Linguistics is very complex and usually actions can’t be defined as an absolute black and white definition. Often, a word is more effective with support with context. The context between real slave labour and the actions of Naofumi’s action to Raphtalia is very different. It’s comparing reality and fiction.

        Entals
        Reply

  9. @Zaiden: do you know any good JRPGs for the 3DS? I’ve played some, but recently cannot find anything good.

    Otherwise, they actually toned-down Naofumi’s attitude when compared to the manga. In the manga he explicitly stated we would prefer a male slave due to his inability to trust women and then when he took Raphtalia, he thought to himself “she’s the same sex as that person” implying he couldn’t trust her or even that he could vent his frustrations on her. I guess the producers decided the issue was controversial enough as it is, so they decided to tone it down.

    Also, is it just me, but I thought Raphtalia was much cuter in the manga. Her face and features were much rounder and her hair was not so distracting. I could really sympathise with her much more in the manga because of that.

    Darklord
    Reply

    1. I’m currently playing through SMT IV. That one’s incredibly good, especially if you’re already familiar with the Persona franchise, and it’s cheap to purchase when on sale in the eShop. Same goes for Devil survivor 1 + 2. Monster Hunter: Stories has features Pokemon fans have been wanting for a long time, and offers different and refined enough mechanics to be its own thing. The Fire Emblem games are awesome and I’d suggest you start with Awakening.

      Otherwise come to the Discord. I could tell you one or two pieces of useful information that would be difficult to express in a public forum.

      Zaiden
      Reply

    2. Perhaps I exaggerated. But in the LN, one of the reasons he swayed around to purchasing Raphtalia despite loathing females was the thought that he couldnproject his anger towards Sophia onto her. The impression I get is that his reasons started off as being malicious but in the end, the kindness within him shone through.

      Zaiden
      Reply

    1. It kinda makes sense, though. All the kid’s meals he’s ever seen had the Japanese flag, not just a blank one, so he made Raphtalia’s blank flag Japan’s.

      And considering what he’s been through it’s easy to understand why he’d much rather be back in Japan, or at least bring the smallest bit of his old life into this fresh hell he’s stuck in.

      Aex
      Reply

      1. Yeah. But seems like our Shield Hero had an rough start with his Social skills. Seems like the “Slave” bring back a bit of Trust for him. At start he try to use force to overcome her fears, but in the end she choose to save him out of free will.. i am no expert in this, but it could had backfire greatly

        I just hope he put this grudge away for now. He has now an Life on his shoulders he cares about.. Thats why i think he choose her

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

      2. I mean, is this not the Secret of Imotos Animes? Where the MC take responsibility over someone other?

        Lets see. I think i can life with this anime. if i just skip the first episode. But lets see

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

  13. I was just reading the light novel, and Naofumi (with respect to Raphtalia) does not come off nearly as well as in the anime. He see her as a surrogate for Myne (the girl who robbed him) and at times thinks he’d be cheerful if she died. For example when picking her out:

    Yes, this thing was a woman, the same gender as that one that betrayed me. I looked into her scared eyes and immediately thought that I wanted to control her. I thought I could just pretend that I’d turned Myne into a slave… Even if the slave did end up dying, it might help me feel better.
    […]
    I looked at her quivering in fear and felt a wave of satisfaction wash over me. I imagined that other woman quivering in fear just like this, and it made me feel great.

    Two pages later, he’s buying her the kid’s meal (as in the anime), but still:

    “Anyway, eat up and get some strength. If you walk around all skinny like that, you’ll just due on me.”

    Even if she did die, I could use the money we made to buy a new slave.

    McFate
    Reply

    2. Yeah, it would be a lot more entertaining to read through a comment section where he doesn’t come off anywhere near as kindly. I suppose you shave off character development by avoiding it. But you also dodge controversy and make him more sympathetic. zztop pointed out Shield Hero is a concerted effort to carefully appeal to Western audiences, so at least they’re conscious about that one.

      Zaiden
      Reply

  14. If you ever find yourself writing, “I’m not advocating for slavery, BUT–” maybe rethink your life and everything that led to that point.

    It’s fine to enjoy the story here–I do–but you can do that AND recognize the reprehensible manner in which the author depicts slavery, as well as acknowledge the larger pattern in Japanese media that it’s a part of, and if you were really keep on thinking critically you might also muse on the problematic influence of these tropes on younger Western fans–you know, that portion of our community being driven increasingly to the far right, the people who are out there enthusiastically advocating for slavery in Twitter with their little frog and anime girl avatars.

    Arsene
    Reply

    1. If you ever find yourself thinking that you need go out of your way to virtue signal on how righteous you are by opposing fictional bad things that happen in a fantasy cartoon made for adults, then maybe you need to rethink your annoying and joyless puritanical beliefs that led you to that point.

      Remnos17
      Reply

    2. I believe I phrased that wrong in hindsight. Apologies.

      I don’t think Shield Hero advocates for slavery, so much as demonstrate why Naofumi really had no other choice but to resort to such unsavoury means.

      Zaiden
      Reply

    3. Funny, but when I read that line, my first thought was to wonder if we really have to explicitly tell the world that we’re not advocates of slavery. It’s a new world, I guess.

      Mockman
      Reply

  15. Raphtalia’s actually a lucky slave. She gets treated better than some employees…

    I think the treatment itself is more important than the brand. While Naofumi’s method seem harsh, I think it’s more like an incompetent drill sergeant than out of any form of malice. He’s in a rush, and I don’t think the stress is helping at all.

    That said, isn’t it strange that nobody wants to be in his party? Archers, mages and light fighters can really benefit from having a meat shield like him. Seems like all those volunteers only want to be carried.

    theirs
    Reply

    1. It’s nice to see someone recognize that a big part of why Naofumi acts like he does is because he’s stressed and, honestly, more than a little unstable. Too many people see the actions and don’t even try to look at the cause, which is that he apparently needs to save a world that hates him.

      There’s a reason no one’s joining him beyond the rape accusations, but we’ll get to that later. Right now all we should know is that people think he’s a lying, vile criminal and his (IMO justified) hostile attitude doesn’t help.

      Aex
      Reply

  16. I’m still unsure about following this series, but at very least this episode didn’t irk me like the last. I didn’t find myself skipping through awkward and what I considered to be VERY poorly written and cliche moments this time around. That’s not to say that this episode was great by any stretch, but I at least felt like it showed signs of what it maybe could become.

    I’m not opposed to characters being bad people in anime. but they have to be well executed, and this episode, I felt, was better in that regard.

    hjerry2000
    Reply

    1. If you really don’t enjoy this show, I don’t know why you’d continue to put yourself through the meat grinder, lol. I think Shield Hero is relatively well-written for a light novel, but as a piece of literature? Nah, pretty much all light novels are terribly written. Especially the overdone monologuing and dialoguing! Those are especially bad.

      But yeah, I’m here to tell you it won’t really get any better and that this series will play towards wish-fulfilment and revenge fantasy with twists here and there.

      Zaiden
      Reply

      1. I can live with that. Like I said, I didn’t hate this episode, and I didn’t hate all of the first episode either. I just hated all the stuff about the fake rape, and everyone just believing it no questions asked, just came off as really poorly written to me. After that was over, aside from a quick moment with the shopkeeper trying to change the price on him (luckily that was resolved quick), I was fine with it.
        As long as it’s more like this episode, I think I’ll be fine.

        hjerry2000
        Reply

    2. “and everyone just believing it no questions asked”

      You ever heard of Emmet Till? Ya know, men used to get KILLED for that sort of thing. It’s neither uncommon nor inaccurate.

      Remnos17
      Reply

  18. Slavery is disgusting period. This is not a worthy hero a tall. A true hero would not need a slave but instead overcome adversity and gather true companions to FREE the slaves. Not only that he torture the poor girl by forcing her to do what she does not want to do. That’s rape!

    ./virtues. Signaled.

    Duzz
    Reply

    2. He is not a wothy hero, at all. That’s actually a big part of the story, his path to redamption. This is not a fucking Arthuric legend, nor a chivalry tale. If you thought that, you are in the wrong place mate.

      Jon
      Reply

    3. Okay, lets’ suppose you’re in his shoes, how are you going to gather companions in that situation? I mean, he was accused of raping a lady & the court has given the verdict of him being guilty. Will there any decent man who will party up with a well known rapist?

      And let’s suppose you somehow manage to gather companions, now how are you going to free those slaves? Raid the slave dealer’s bussiness?! Don’t forget that slavery IS legal in that world so doing that is no different than robbing a store according to their laws. You & all your companions will be arrested for that. And worst of all there’s no guarantee that the slaves you freed will lead a happy life at all. They may very well end up dying of starvation due to the lack of skills to survive OR they may get captured by just another slave dealer OR perhaps they will turn to crime to survive. Now, what a good deed you’ve done there.

      Seriously, I don’t see any better method to free them other than purchasing them & teaching them all the skills they need to survive.

      Ryuutobi
      Reply

    5. I want to point out that there’s a good chance this person is trolling.

      But to seriously address those points, there are famous and respected historical figures who were once slave owners. Another commenter pointed out that standards do vary across history and we typically judge people by the standards of their time.

      Zaiden
      Reply

  19. Social Justice Warriors be damned. The survival of fittest society is what makes this anime compelling and interesting compared to other animes in it’s genre.

    If you get offended or angry by a work of fiction manufactured in a person’s imagination, the solution is simple, STOP WATCHING IT. Stop wasting your time crying out the supposed injustice shown in an anime and ruining it for anyone else who don’t take an anime too seriously as if affect something in reality. There much worse depictions of actual misogyny and slavery out there.

    Euginge
    Reply

    1. I agree that if people are getting offended left and right, they should probably stop watching it. It really won’t get better and I can already imagine people getting more offended in the next episode post.

      Zaiden
      Reply

    1. He didn’t break the fourth wall. There’s no suggestion that Naofumi’s cognisant of the viewers on the other side of the screen. He did something that made him nostalgic solely based on how his character would react. Japan still exists, he’s been sent to another world where he’s been utterly vilified, and this nostalgic moment tells me he wants to get back home ASAP.

      Zaiden
      Reply

  22. Okay, this series has slaves as a plot device. So do thousands of other
    shows, even if they’re not properly called slaves. I’d much rather see
    slaves in this fantasy setting than in any real-world situation.

    I haven’t read the LN and this is my only source. But I gotta wonder if
    the shield is, in fact, the most powerful “device” in this fantasy world.
    He’s mocked and taking advantage for being the Shield bearer of the four.
    But look at what’s he’s accomplished so far with just the shield. He’s
    building a solid foundation of skills (although he can’t actively participate
    in offensive skills at the moment). Also, I believe, his choice of a very
    weak companion has the unintended consequence of earning (I think) half of
    her EXP. With a much stronger companion, maybe he’d earn less since the
    “kills” would be too easy for the level. Anyway, it’s a wild theory.

    Raphtalia’s flashback hinted that the Shield person was super-kind to demi-
    humans, and usually the supper-strong are the kindest (Overlord being the
    exception that proves the rule :)).

    I wonder, if at some point in the future, he’ll be able to wield a sword…

    Anyway, these 2 episodes were unexpectedly captivating. This is the kind of
    protagonist I wish existed in Re:Zero. Unless things go horribly wrong, this
    series has a lot of potential. And I really want to see him savor revenge
    against his other three “companions,” either by his hand or their own stupid karma.

    Looks like a must watch!

    mac65
    Reply

  23. @sadamitsu

    I seriously don’t think Naofumi’s relationship with Raphtalia can be called “slave labour” in the common reality americentric terms.

    But if you think black and white and see the word “slave” as absolute and can’t be stretchered and modified… that’s up to you. Linguistics is very complex and usually actions can’t be defined as an absolute black and white definition. Often, a word is more effective with support with context. The context between real slave labour and the actions of Naofumi’s action to Raphtalia is very different. It’s comparing reality and fiction.

    Entals
    Reply

  26. well finally got to watch Shield hero and boy does it rock !
    for one, the hero we got is not super strong, he is actually one of worst possible setups, 100% defence
    most game settings tanks and clerics do have at least some functional dps
    he has almost zero
    and then we have the emotional ride that tanuki girl is
    go get theose monster team naofumi and eventually get revenge on those assholes in the capital
    I just want to see them both hit lvl 75 and become unmovable rock and death incarnate, respectively
    also i love the balance stiked between naofumi’s practical, utulity look at his slave and genuine care that rises above that

    ewok40k
    Reply

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