The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 1

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 1

The Rising of the Spirit Tortoise

The Rising of the Shield Hero is back with the first episode of Season 2, and I don’t remember anything about how the first season ended. A few minutes of recap at the start of this episode would have gone a long way — unless this season doesn’t pick up where the first left off.

What confused me most of all, though, were the characters who I don’t remember. The new green-haired girl, Rishia, for example. I don’t remember ever seeing her before; I have no idea who she is. All I know is what was said in this episode, that she used to be a member of the Bow Hero’s party.

I also don’t remember the old woman who was training Rishia at the start. And, I don’t remember the cute pink-haired knight we saw for a moment. But I certainly hope to see more of her.

Malty "Myne" Melromarc from the anime series The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 1
Malty “Myne” Melromarc

One thing I did remember, however, was that Myne has the best character design of the entire series. But, even Myne’s presence was confusing because Crunchyroll’s subtitles called her “Slut.” Wasn’t she renamed to “Bitch?”

Either way, I thought it was amusing that Motoyasu actually called her by that name. As far as I know, there’s nothing forcing him to follow along with that punishment of hers.

Anyway, in this episode, we’re told that a creature known as the Spirit Tortoise has awoken and needs to be defeated before it destroys the world or something. But, of course, the only Hero to agree to help out is Naofumi, because all the other heroes are just cartoon villains.

Their reasoning was just “the right thing would be to help, so we’re going to do the opposite of that.” I’d forgotten how poorly written the characters are in this series.

Naofumi’s New Slave

Before I watched this episode, I had seen a picture of when Rishia asks Naofumi to make her his slave. Obviously, my immediate reaction was that this is going to be a great episode. What could be better than Naofumi enslaving another cute girl?

I’m sure this episode is going to set off another round of people feigning disgust at the fact that this series includes slavery. So, allow me to make it clear that I don’t care. I’m not going to sit here and kink shame an anime character just for wanting to be Naofumi’s slave.

Something I will say was a bit odd was how excited Raphtalia was to recruit another girl to be Naofumi’s slave. I understand where Raphtalia is coming from. But, she seems a little too accepting of slavery as a valid system.

Rishia's stats after becoming Naofumi's slave from the anime series The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 1
Rishia’s stats after becoming Naofumi’s slave

Also, when we got to see Rishia’s stats after she became Naofumi’s slave, I noticed that Filo isn’t listed as a slave. I forgot that was the case. And if I’m remembering correctly, Filo is next in line to be the Queen of the Filolials after Fitoria dies.

Speaking of Filo, we can also see that she’s the highest level of Naofumi’s party. I guess she gains experience at a faster rate than both Naofumi and Raphtalia. Or, maybe she just kills more mobs than either of them does.

Going back to Rishia, though, she’s the lowest level of the party and is also said to have low stats for her level. We also don’t know if she has any special skills (she probably doesn’t). All we see on her status screen are what qualifies as her disobeying her master and her party settings.

Can You Return a Defective Slave?

When all I knew about Rishia was what she looked like and that she was Naofumi’s new slave, I was pumped. But, as it became clear what kind of person Rishia was, I lost interest in her. In fact, I think Naofumi should break his contract with her and get rid of her.

Let’s go over what we know about Rishia based solely on this episode (since I don’t remember her from the first season). She’s weak and useless to the point the Bow Hero kicked her out of his party and Naofumi was surprised she could even hold a weapon.

Rishia also claims that magic is more her style. But, Naofumi already has Melty if he wants a mage in his party. And I think we can safely assume Melty is the more proficient mage of the two.

Rishia talking to Naofumi from the anime series The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 1
Rishia talking to Naofumi

Also, Rishia’s just annoying. She’s a crybaby and she makes weird noises that Naofumi has told her to stop making. I don’t think any characters in this series are particularly good. However, Rishia is definitely the worst of Naofumi’s party members (Melty included).

But, potentially the worst thing about Rishia is that she continuously disrespects her master. She uses the honorific -san after his name rather than -sama. She doesn’t listen to his orders. And she keeps talking about how she wants to serve the Bow Hero. She serves the Shield Hero now and she’d better start showing him some respect.

Imagine if you forged a master-slave contract with someone and then they started acting that way towards you. If she likes the Bow Hero so much, maybe she should have begged to be his slave instead. Naofumi only enslaved her out of the goodness of his heart and this is how she repays him?

Conclusion

What do you think of The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 1? Do you remember anything about how the previous season ended? Which character would you like to enslave? And what’s your opinion on Rishia? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 2 is available now.

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