The Rising of the Shield Hero Producer Addresses Anime’s Global Success

The Rising of the Shield Hero may have finished its first season, but the anime series was so successful that it was confirmed for not just a second season, but a third as well. Recently, we had the opportunity to attend the recent Crunchyroll Expo and talk about the series with the producer Junichiro Tamura about the success of the anime that sees a random “otaku” placed into an alternate reality where he takes the role of the “Shield Hero”.

When asked about the success of the series, as well as the overwhelmingly positive response from fans overall, Junichiro had this to say about the story of Iwatani and Raphtalia attempting to traverse their way through the medieval fantasy setting:

“From the beginning, I thought that the original would be enjoyable not only for the fans in Japan, but fans all over the world. I am very happy that the anime title is also well accepted/received. There are some differences between the original novels and comics, but each has its own good/unique points, thus you will enjoy each version. I will do my best to create the series you all will enjoy.”

The Rising of the Shield Hero was originally based on a light novel series, following our protagonist as he was given the “short end of the stick” in a number of different ways. Naofumi went from something of a worried, anxious teenager when he first arrived in this brand new world to a stoic, bitter hero after he went through a series of terrible events as he tried to establish himself.

When he arrived in this new world, that has a number of similarities to that of an MMORPG video game, the Shield Hero was joined by three other heroes that each had weapons specific to them. While a shield was at first a pretty lame weapon for Naofumi, he eventually got the hang of things and has become something of a force in this strange new universe.

What do you think of the success of the Rising of the Shield Hero? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Shield Hero!

Originally conceived by Aneko Yusagi in 2013, The Rising of the Shield Hero’s anime is produced by Kinema Citrus. The series is described as such: “Iwatani Naofumi, a run-of-the-mill otaku, finds a book in the library that summons him to another world. He is tasked with joining the sword, spear, and bow as one of the Four Cardinal Heroes and fighting the Waves of Catastrophe as the Shield Hero. Excited by the prospect of a grand adventure, Naofumi sets off with his party. However, merely a few days later, he is betrayed and loses all his money, dignity, and respect. Unable to trust anyone anymore, he employs a slave named Raphtalia and takes on the Waves and the world. But will he really find a way to overturn this desperate situation?”