As the shield hero, Naofumi was given a very rough start as he was ostracized for his “weapon” and it created a lot of rage within our isekai protagonist. Thankfully with the help of Raphtalia and Filo, Naofumi’s inner rage began to settle down for a more tough-guy persona but in season 2 that rage is returning, and Naofumi kind of needed it.

Naofumi’s calm demeanor was a welcome sight for our Shield Hero but it also made him kind of soft in our honest opinion. Naofumi was quick to still get annoyed and often had a stoicism to him but season 2’s setting changed Naofumi to his old self. Filo was kidnapped by a merchant, and being treated poorly made our Shield Hero reignite his Wrath Shield and he was almost tempted to use it despite the risks we know come from the deadly shield. Naofumi needs to get tougher again as the situations he’s about to deal with—like rescuing Raphtalia—will push him to make tough decisions and he needs just a bit of that former anger he had.

The Spirit Tortoise was a solid enemy for Naofumi’s party to deal with in the opening episodes of season 2 but how our hero handled the fights felt…too familiar. Now that Naofumi and his party have been reduced to their initial levels in a new world—which also has changed their abilities and stats—Naofumi’s previous tactics aren’t going to cut it here. This new world has also given Naofumi new allies and new foes alike which keeps The Rising of the Shield Hero season 2 from feeling like a re-trend of season 1.

Kizuna Kazayama, the Hunt Hero, is the newest ally to join Naofumi after his party is initially trapped in a strange fake dimension that she too was tossed into. Kizuna’s weapon seems extremely powerful but as we discover, it gives her a big disadvantage as she can’t use it on human enemies. So while she has more levels than Naofumi in her world, she isn’t a saving grace in every battle. The new foes too, like Kyo—the Book Hero—and his companions also are showing that Naofumi will need to think differently to best survive this new landscape and return safely to his original summoned world.

Be honest with us, our fellow readers. How many of the scenarios in season 2 of Shield Hero were you able to figure out because you know what Naofumi and his party could do? Probably most of them and that is understandable. Now though, Naofumi is in a new world with new shields and even his allies have new stats/abilities. Can you still predict what will happen next? We’re sure that with this landscape very different from the previous one, every situation that’s been presented so far has become a bit harder to predict and that is why this new world was so necessary!