The wild ride to face a turtle gone mad continues with The Rising Of The Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 2. With Naofumi the only hero going against it, the situation looks dire. Let’s see where it leads in this review!
The Rising Of The Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 2 Overview
The Rising Of The Shield Hero Season 2 or Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 is an action, adventure, drama, fantasy, and most importantly, isekai anime that serves as the sequel to its highly acclaimed and fan favourite Season 1 that aired in 2019. The series is based upon a light novel written by Yusagi Aneko and illustrated by Minami Seira. You can read our review of the previous episode of the show right here.
The show’s second season is being adapted into anime by Studio Kinema Citrus, the same studio behind the show’s first season, and other highly acclaimed anime such as Made in Abyss and Barakamon. This season is directed by Masato Jinbo, an industry veteran who also directed shows such as Chaos Child and Restaurant to Another World. This episode of the show is also referred to as Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 Episode 2.
– Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 Episode 2 Review does not contain spoilers –
The Rising Of The Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 2 Review- Snooze
Sometimes, a show comes along that is effortlessly able to bring tears into your eyes in a standard episode where not much happens. Before this episode, Shield Hero wasn’t one of those anime, but now it is. There is just one small issue, however. It did manage to elicit some tears, but they were all out of boredom. That’s right, this episode was boring enough to bring one on the verge of tears and didn’t manage to do much else. It would have been one thing if it was bad and still worth talking about, but it isn’t. It was as plain and boring as you can get.
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Episodes full of dialogue and not much else is a common trope that many shows do, and it’s even prevalent in anime, thanks to Nisio Isin. However, the dialogue should be multifaceted and interesting, not just bland, empty words that mean nothing other than what they explicitly mean. There was no attempt to make this episode, which was 95% dialogue, any more interesting than watching paint dry. Despite its quantity, the dialogue felt hollow and pointless and didn’t manage to achieve its intended effect.
The show’s current direction is unnecessary at best and forced at worst. When people were concerned about the plot of this show not being as good as it was due to the main conflict being over, they were right. What’s happening right now feels like filler. Not the good Bleach kind of filler, either. It is stinky Naruto filler, and that’s as big of an insult anyone can throw at the show. The current happening doesn’t feel related to the show’s overall structure and plotline, which would be fine if it was entertaining. It isn’t.
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It doesn’t even seem to be doing anything for any of our main characters. Naofumi is as stoic and brooding as he has ever been, and the plot is seeing diminishing returns from his Rage Shield. Raphtalia is nothing but eye candy, Filo isn’t doing much, and Rishia isn’t being used in this particular story despite being a major spotlight holder. Several new characters have appeared out of thin air, and we haven’t had the chance to connect with them, but they are treated as generically as they can be. They are acting as fodder, death or otherwise, and aren’t worth wasting our time upon.
The music for this season is done by Kevin Penkin, who was also the music director for the masterpiece of the soundtrack that was Made in Abyss. You can hear his signature classical instruments in this soundtrack, and it naturally sounds amazing. However, when his serene and calming music played over the most boring anime scene this anime has ever had, it would have made the biggest insomniacs fall asleep like a baby. Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 2 (or Tate no Yuusha Season 2 Episode 2) was among the worst episodes the show has ever had.
Verdict
The Rising Of The Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 2 was a boring mess full of dialogue that didn’t say much, flat conflicts, and even worse interactions. The worst episode of the entire show so far by some distance has been experienced.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!