The Rising of the Shield Hero Producer Explains How Series Became an Anime

The Rising of the Shield Hero managed to be so successful that the anime franchise was renewed not just for a second season, but a third as well. Originally based on a series of light novels, the franchise has managed to create a world that has resonated with a large fanbase eager to see the next adventure for Naofumi and Raphtalia. We had the opportunity to sit down with one of the producers of the anime, Junichiro Tamura, at the recent Crunchyroll Expo to chat about how The Rising of the Shield Hero went from a novel series to an anime one.

Producer Junichiro Tamura didn’t just dive into the process of bringing the series to animated life, but also the challenges that the creative team encountered as they attempted to create a faithful anime adaptation:

“I wanted to animate the original novel because it is interesting and already appreciated in North America. The title has many characters, and the stage frequently changes as the characters including Naofumi continue travels. These conditions required us to do a lot of work when creating animations, but Kinema Citrus Co. did an amazing job with their full energy and resources, I believe it turned out very well. By the way, I would say this title is one of the tougher ones to create/produce. The more we have different characters and the more they go to various places, such as towns, dungeons, and islands, etc., we have to create each of these settings, respectively.”

While the world that Naofumi finds himself in is reminiscent to that of a massively multiplayer role playing game, it’s clear that the series differs strongly from that of such shows as Sword Art Online and Log Horizon to name a few.

What have been your favorite moments from The Rising of the Shield Hero? How did you feel about the first season? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the 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?”