The young slave was beaten and starved in a slaver’s pen when Naofumi purchased her. He needed the help as the magic of his shield wouldn’t let him pick up a weapon. The hero needed someone to play offense even while he was forced to play defense. Naofumi gave her a lot of tough love, in the beginning, compelling her with the magic of her slave seal to kill simple monsters and even a two-headed beast. She grew and leveled up as she killed more and more monsters. Raphtalia’s attacks are straightforward, often charging in like the tip of a sword as much of the art imitates when you see her launching herself into battle.

The young tanuki had a nice life with her parents listening to stories of the previous Shield Hero and his love of the demi-humans. She watches her village get destroyed and her parents torn to pieces in front of her before falling off a cliff into the water below. Raphtalia is then pulled from the sea and placed in the bonds of slavery. The lord who buys her and other orphaned demi-humans is a sadist who enjoys inflicting torture. He discards her like a broken toy to a slave trader where she is likely to die in a cage and either be buried on a trash heap or fed to a monster. The tenacious tanuki clawed her way back when given a choice to fight or die and not only survived but flourished.

We love Raphatlia’s loyalty. She is not only Naofumi’s Sword but his steadfast companion. Yes, she is technically his slave. We can’t forget we are dealing with a medieval fantasy world where there is no 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution (which bans slavery). She was given “freedom” by being released by the slave seal but chose to have it reapplied. You could look at it as a contract seal if that makes you feel better. Naofumi, for all his gruff talk, has only treated her with respect and dignity. She returns that respect with loyalty and love. Raphtalia hasn’t figured out what shape her feelings toward Naofumi take yet. Are they saved and savior, child and parent, sword and shield, or woman and man? But we all have a feeling that it will be up to Naofumi to decide.

The young demi-tanuki was a heartbreaker at even a young age, adorable beyond words in her childlike state. She has big, furry round ears, big pink eyes, chestnut hair and a fluffy tail. She may level up and look more like an adult later in the story, but she still has some childlike tendencies, like a pout that could get you to march into hell with a smile on your face. Raphtalia doesn’t have much of a poker face. Well, that’s a bit misleading since it’s not her face that gives her away but her tail. We find that out early when Naofumi asks the childlike Raphtalia if she’d like a ball, she says no but her tail wags like an excited puppy. We’ve got to give some credit to the author for finding a way to shoehorn a beach scene into a medieval adventure anime. We know without that we’d only have fan art to speculate as to how amazingly cute a girl with tanuki ears and tail would look in a two-piece.