As Pope Balmus attempts to eviscerate the Cardinal Heroes, a few surprises appear and we’re clued in that Naofumi may get some reinforcements.
| Network | |
| Crunchyroll | |
| Director(s) | Abo Takao |
| Writer(s) | Koyanagi Keigo |
| Air Date | 5/15/2019 |
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The Cardinal Weapon Replica: Pope Balmus, Melty, Naofumi
While the Rage Shield is able to protect everyone, Naofumi’s arms are becoming numb from keeping it up. Which makes Pope Balmus revealing he has found a legendary, and supposedly lost weapon which replicates the Cardinal Weapons of the heroes, dangerous. Especially since, between Melty and Pope Balmus, we see how much mana and power the weapon can produce.
Guess Who Shows Up: Itsuki, Ren, Naofumi, Myne, Motoyasu
Despite allegedly being killed, Ren and Itsuki show up and not the Queen’s punitive force is on the way. Now, as for how they survived? Basically, the queen’s shadows and Ren doesn’t provide much details beyond that. So all we know is someone setup Ren and Itsuki, they nearly died, the shadows of the Queen saved them, and assumingly told them where the other heroes are. Leading to the idea that now they will join forces to fight the Pope.
Problem is with that, Naofumi wants to be petty. He’d rather work with his team, and when called out on that, he lays out everyone. He calls out Motoyasu being a puppet for Myne and her using how trusted the heroes were for her own gains. With Ren, he notes him leaving that dragon half alive and thinking the world they are in is a video game where things just disappear when defeated. Lastly, he calls out Itsuki for overthrowing a local ruler.
This leads to the accused bickering amongst themselves, perhaps to lessen their role on the Pope’s rise and the situation they’re in. Which gives the Pope more than enough time to recover after the attacks Ren and Itsuki flung, which did so much more damage than Motoyasu did, even when he did a combo attack.
Keeping Promises: Naofumi, Fitoria
But rather than let them bicker until they end up killed, Naofumi honors his promise to Fitoria, and while noting his peers aren’t forgiven, he is now willing to work with them.
Highlights
Naofumi Calling Out Nearly Every Incident His Peers Caused
While this gathering of the Cardinal Heroes feels rather late in the season, at least considering there are 6 episodes left, you have to be glad it happened. For now maybe they can reconcile, Naofumi and his team can level up, and we can perhaps get to know the other heroes. Not to imply we have learned all that much about Naofumi’s life. Like the rest of the heroes, his life before being transported hasn’t been noted since the premiere.
Yet, with one less obstacle, there is hope that some of the things which we haven’t gotten to see are addressed. Particularly getting to know the queen and also seeing other countries since it feels like we’ve been waiting on that for at least 5 episodes, if not more.
On The Fence
Recognizing The Power Of The Rage Shield Is Beyond Naofumi’s Level, How Was He Able To Defend Against Those Attacks?
Here is my thing, the Pope likely is way beyond everyone’s level and between his followers and the replica weapon, how was Naofumi able to protect everyone? Especially against multiple attacks without going into that dark mode? And while, yes, they mention his arm was getting numb, you’d think more would be hurting after the onslaught of attacks he had defended everyone from. Unless this is an example of how cardinal weapons are weaker when amongst each other, making the shield a bit more formidable than it would be if Pope Balmus was using a separate weapon.
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| Season/ Episode | Synopsis | Director, Writer, and Introduced Actors | Topics & Focused Characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Season 1, Episode 25 “The Rising of the Shield Hero” [Season Finale] | While The Rising of the Shield Hero technically comes to an end, it may actually be a new beginning. |
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| Season 1, Episode 24 “Guardians of Another World” | In its penultimate episode, L’Arc and Therese reveal their true selves and Glass makes a long-awaited appearance. |
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| Season 1, Episode 23 “Cal Mira Archipelago” | What begins as just a regular day of defeating monsters and the Cardinal Heroes bickering turns into a stark realization. |
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| Season 1, Episode 22 “Four Heroes Council” | Despite Naofumi’s name being cleared, there remains many issues keeping the Cardinal Heroes from being on the same page. |
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| Season 1, Episode 21 “Naofumi’s Triumphant Return” | In pursuit of making things right with Naofumi, Queen Mirellia Q. Melromarc seems willing to go to drastic means that even disturb Naofumi. |
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| Season 1, Episode 18 “A Conspiracy Linked” | The true mastermind behind Naofumi being harassed and treated like a social pariah reveals themselves to us. |
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| Season 1, Episode 19 “The Four Cardinal Heroes” | As Pope Balmus attempts to eviscerate the Cardinal Heroes, a few surprises appear and we’re clued in that Naofumi may get some reinforcements. |
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| Season 1, Episode 20 "Battle of Good and Evil" | As followers of the Pope die, so comes the question of whether or not one of the heroes may sacrifice themselves, Naofumi in particular, to save the rest? |
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| Season 1, Episode 15 “Raphtalia” | Raphtalia’s childhood up until when she was purchased by Naofumi is uncovered, and it is a tear-inducing tale. |
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| Season 1, Episode 16 “Filoial Queen” | Never mind the beasts from the last episode, all eyes are on the Filolial queen Fitoria. |
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| Season 1, Episode 17 “A Promise Made” | As Fitoria presents her ultimatum, the other heroes may have walked into a trap. |
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| Season 1, Episode 14 “Everlasting Memory” |  With being unable to cross into Siltvelt, the team encounters someone connected to Raphtalia’s past as someone’s slave. |
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| Season 1, Episode 13 “The Devil of the Shield” |  Are you tired of Myne? I’m tired of Myne, and luckily the heroes are reminded that she isn’t the benevolent person she pretends to be. |
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| Season 1, Episode 10 “In The Midst of Turmoil” | It seems Melty has a mission which could change Melromarc for better or worse. Also, Itsuki and Ren seem on the verge of fighting Naofumi. |
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| Season 1, Episode 11 “Catastrophe Returns” | While the 2nd wave has far more interesting battles than the first, it is the arrival of the character Glass that will be noteworthy. |
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| Season 1, Episode 12 “The Raven Invader” | While you may think the battle between the heroes and Glass would be the highlight of the episode, oh you got another thing coming! |
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| Season 1, Episode 9 “Melty” | Naofumi finds himself involved with a young girl named Melty, thanks to Filo, and he is under the impression she may bring nothing but trouble. |
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| Season 1, Episode 7 “The Savior of the Heavenly Fowl” | Raphtalia has it bad for Naofumi, as does Filo, and both are beginning to make plans on how to make him theirs. |
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| Season 1, Episode 8 “Curse Shield” | Remember that dragon Ren supposedly killed? Well, Naofumi and his girls end up having to face it because Ren didn’t finish the job. |
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| Season 1, Episode 6 “A New Comrade” | As Raphtalia gets jealous of Filo growing closer to Naofumi, we’re given an update on what the other heroes are doing. |
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| Season 1, Episode 5 “Filo” | We’re informally introduced to another kingdom this episode, alongside seeing that Myne and her father truly are trash. |
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| Season 1, Episode 4 “Lullaby at Dawn” | The Riding of the Shield Hero kicks things up a notch as Naofumi, once more, is coerced to play the villain thanks to Myne. |
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| Season 1, Episode 3 “Wave of Catastrophe” | Naofumi and Raphtalia experience their first demon wave, and Raphtalia begins to hear whispers of Naofumi’s past. |
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| Season 1, Episode 2 “The Slave Girl” | Naofumi gets his first follower and may begin to show the world the rumors about him are untrue. |
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The Rising of the Shield Hero lives up to what its trailer hyped and may provide oh so much more. |
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Recognizing The Power Of The Rage Shield Is Beyond Naofumi’s Level, How Was He Able To Defend Against Those Attacks? - 70%
Naofumi Calling Out Nearly Every Incident His Peers Caused - 80%
75%
Honestly, this show is starting to feel like it is dragging out everything it can to fill its episode count now. Which isn’t to say I don’t appreciate the mini-recap of why Naofumi was mad, but it isn’t like we aren’t well aware of the many reasons he has to be mad. Plus, while a lot can be done in 6 episodes, at the pace we’re on, I don’t think we’re going to see as much as was once presented as a possibility.
