In an Isekai anime, heroes are summoned to a parallel world to fulfill a mission. However, what makes The Rising of the Shield Hero different from most is that it features four legendary heroes from different parallel worlds. Though these heroes may all possess unique weapons and abilities, one of them still dominates the others. Read on to find out who!
Are you a fan of Isekai anime consisting of powerful heroes summoned from a different world? Then, The Rising of the Shield Hero might just be next on your watch list. The popular isekai series by Aneko Yusagi continues to thrive as the story never betrayed the expectations of fans.
The series has numerous memorable and strong characters. It follows the story of Naofumi Iwatani who suddenly wakes up in a different world as one of the Cardinal Heroes. Furthermore, legendary heroes are also referred to as Cardinal or Holy heroes. This is because of the various religious groups centering on the legendary weapons. These legendary weapons were created to save the people by putting an end to the Waves of Calamity.
Aside from the cardinal heroes, the series also has the so-called Vassal Heroes who wield weapons that aim to provide assistance to the legendary heroes. There is a massive difference between the Legendary heroes and the Vassal heroes. The former chooses its heroes and must stick with him/her until the end, while the latter does not mind who wields them as long as there is no chosen hero. With the release of The Rising of Shield Hero Season two last April 2022, we came to know more about the other heroes during the recent Arc:
SPOILER WARNING: Read at your own discretion. This part contains information regarding The Rising of the Shield Hero season two and recent manga chapters.
Hence, to further know the strongest hero in the anime adaptation of the series. We have made a list of all the current heroes and ranked them according to their strengths.
Here is a list of the strongest heroes in the Rising of the Shield Hero:
10. Vassal: Boat Hero
In season two, we were able to meet the wielder of the vassal boat. He is the leader of the Library Rabbit species. After being separated from Raphtalia, Naofumi asked for Kizuna’s help (a legendary hero in Glass‘ world) to reassure the safety of his comrade. Kizuna immediately requested her people to call out Ethnobalt. Ethnobalt then made a shikigami or familiar to help them find Raphtalia, and after learning her location. They all went there using Ethnobalt’s vassal boat.
Moreover, the vassal boat is consists of various movement skills that allow Ethnobalt to float and transport his allies. However, in terms of strength, his vassal weapon has a very weak attack. Ethnobaly didn’t grow much in strength compared to his wide knowledge because of his species. SPOILER! We may not have seen the full strength of Ethnobalt as the Boat Hero; however, in the recent manga chapters, he is the new wielder of the Vassal Book allowing him to use offensive attacks.
9. Vassal: Katana Hero
Naofumi’s beloved ally is chosen as the Katana Hero in Glass’ world. Just after acquiring the vassal katana, Raphtalia proves that she was chosen for a reason. Naofumi’s party went after Kyo (the former holder of the vassal book) to end his mischievous acts. However, they weren’t able to maintain their current levels, which reverted her to her younger form, and was still at level one. But, she quickly regained her power when she became the Katana Hero.
When she got separated from Naofumi, she fatedly meets L’arc, Glass, and Therese. They all worked together to save Glass’ world. As they were hoping to advance their strengths and reunite with their finds. Hoping to only witness the ceremony for the vassal katana, Raphtalia clueless stands there as the vassal chooses her. In order to avoid getting her friends getting involved, she went off running and decides to fight the villains herself. As the wielder of the Vassal Katana, Raphtalia is indeed a very skilled swordsman.
8. Legendary: Hunting Hero
The hunting hero, Kizuna Kazayama, saves Naofumi and his friends at Infinite Labyrinth. Kizuna is one of the legendary heroes in Glass’ world. She was introduced in The Rising of the Shield Hero season two and played a vital role in the success of the mission. Kizuna’s connections with her friends paved way for Naofumi to build deeper connections with L’arc, Glass, and Therese.
Although the hunting hero is unable to hurt someone physically with her weapon. Her skills and strengths as a legendary hero are unquestionable as she cleverly uses her surroundings to fight his enemies. I mean, she wouldn’t have survived all alone in the Infinite Labyrinth if she was weak, right?
7. Legendary: Sword Hero
Ren Amaki is one of the heroes summoned to Raphtalia’s world. Ren is seen as a very small-talk kind of guy and is considered a loner. Even though the Cardinal heroes have their own party, Ren believes that it’s only him against the world. He only considers help from his comrade if the monsters are too strong for him. This led him to one of his biggest mistakes, which is the Zombie Dragon.
He may be a Cardinal hero; however, this doesn’t mean that he is strong enough. The legendary sword grants him strong offensive attacks, but this was still not enough as his one-man attitude always gets in the way. As the Sword Hero, he is still legendary in some ways as he can use the extent of his skills in a battle, especially when the Bow Hero backs him up.
6. Legendary: Bow Hero
The former master of Rishia Ivyed is the wielder of the Legendary Bow, Itsuki Kawasumi. Unlike the three other Cardinal heroes, Itsuki is the only one among them who already possessed power. He came from an alternate Japan that has espers. This allows him to manifest some of his innate powers to accurately aim his target and further increased his strength as the Bow Hero. In his mind, he is the strongest Cardinal Hero which is why he would go to lengths to kill corrupt nobles and save the people just to soothe his ego.
5. Legendary: Spear Hero
This Cardinal Hero is probably the most hated among all the Legendary heroes for bullying the protagonist in season one. Motoyasu Kitamura is the wielder of the legendary spear. Motoyasu was first shown as the strongest among the summoned heroes.
He continuously tries to reach his full potential by any means. Despite his arrogance and boastfulness, he is still a powerful hero, especially since the spear provides him with a lot of combat skills. However, these skills of his were not enough when the other Cardinal heroes face the Spirit Tortoise except for Naofumi.
4. Vassal: Scythe Hero
L’Arc Berg Sickle is from a different world. In the final wave of season one, he and his team went to Raphtalia’s world to kill the Cardinal Heroes. The Holy Heroes had to work together in order to stop them from reaching their goal. However, he later worked together with Naofumi’s party and befriends him in season two resulting in their constant bantering.
As the chosen wielder of the scythe weapon, L’arc can undoubtedly fight and stand a chance against Naofumi and his party. The young king’s capability in wielding the vassal weapon makes him one of the toughest heroes in the series.
3. Vassal: Fan Hero
This vassal hero was once feared by the heroes in Raphtalia’s world because of her undeniable combat abilities. She may appear stiff and cold; however, this powerful hero has the biggest heart for her best friend, Kizuna. The undeniable strength of Glass is not only because of her wielding the vassal fan for she is also a spiritual being.
With the ability to break Naofumi’s prison without any sweat, Glass is worthy of being a vassal hero. The combination of her vassal weapon and spiritual powers allows her to unlock his abilities to give his enemies a hard time. But, if not for her Soul Power, Glass wouldn’t be as strong as she is now.
2. Vassal: Carriage Hero
The one and only Filolial queen possess power like no other. The phrase ‘small but terrible’ is truly fitting to Fitoria. In seasons one and two of The Rising of the Shield Hero, Fitoria demonstrated her immeasurable strength which in season one Naofumi cannot even handle. Fitoria is the wielder of the lost carriage vassal here as it has been eventually forgotten. She also revealed that she was a former ally of the previous shield hero, Mamuro Shirono.
Fitoria’s power is just like that of Ethnobalt. However, she can launch more powerful offensive and defensive attacks even when she is in her human form. In season two episode six, she helps slay the Spirit Tortoise and protected the soldiers who were trying to fight it. With her immense magical powers, Fitoria is willing to resort to any chance just to protect her world and its people.
1. Legendary: Shield Hero
Yes, the strongest hero of all is none other than our protagonist, Naofumi Iwatani. Although in season one Naofumi wouldn’t stand against Fitoria and Glass, he keeps on unlocking shields that make him stronger than he was. Like his fellow Cardinal Heroes, Naofumi is also eager in leveling up his ability; however, he is not that desperate. Naofumi’s shield was considered useless, and weak as it only has defensive attacks, but this is no longer true.
Unlocking the Wrath Shield allowed him to overpower any foe but it also carried disadvantages on his part as this shield stemmed from hatred. In season two episode six, Ost gave Naofumi a massive powerup as he unlocks the powerful Spirit Turtle’s Heart Shield. Lastly, in the original manga, Naofumi has already obtained one of the Blessed Series, the Shield of Compassion allowing him to balance his wrath curse.
Hence, in future anime adaptations, fans will witness again a stronger version of the Shield Hero. In almost every battlefield he had fought, Naofumi keeps on unlocking shield skills, and continuously upgrades his abilities as a hero making him the strongest of them all.
Read More: Does Rishia Like Itsuki in the Rising of Shield Hero?
