Anime Spotlight - The Rising of The Shield Hero
by ANN Staff,
- Premieres on January 9, 2019 (JST)

Key Staff
- Director: Takao Abo
- ("Eureka Seven (TV)" as episode director)
- Series Composition: Keigo Koyanagi
- ("Sirius the Jaeger (TV)" as series composition, "Blast of Tempest (TV)" as script)
Introduction
Distrust, doubt, suspicion. The entire world is the enemy.
Normal college student Naofumi Iwatani is summoned to another world when he encounters a strange book at the library. In this world, there are four heroes that hold one of four items: the sword, the spear, the bow, and the shield. He is given a mission: to eradicate the "Wave" that is throwing the world into chaos as the "Shield Hero."
Naofumi is able to hold his head high as he leaves for his grand adventure, his comrades at his side. However, just a few days after embarking, he is betrayed and his money and position are stolen from him.
Having lost his possessions and his trust in people, he employs the help of a slave girl named Raphtalia to attempt to stand up against the wave...
Will he be able to break through this hopeless situation?
The curtain rises on this fantasy story about a boy rising up after losing everything.
Character Names & Descriptions
![]() |
Naofumu Iwatani
Voice: Kaito Ishikawa The Hero of the Shield. He's actually just a 20-year-old otaku college student. He was summoned to another world after reading the book, "The Tome of the Four Holy Arms." He has great defense, but barely any offensive power. After losing all trust for people in the new world he was transported to, his usual cheerfulness has disappeared, and has been replaced with composure. |
![]() |
Raphtalia
Voice: Asami Seto A slave girl purchased by Naofumi who is part of the demi-human Racoon race. She has a very honest and pure personality, and stays with Naofumi as his sword out of her own will. |
![]() |
Filo
Voice: Rina Hidaka A being from the race of bird-like creatures called the Filolial. She is a Filolial Queen, and as such, she is extremely skilled at transforming into the form of a girl with wings on her back. She is also skilled with wind magic. She's a very energetic and happy girl, but also a glutton. |
![]() |
Ren Amaki
Voice: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka The Hero of the Sword. However, in the world he's from, he's just a 16-year-old high school student. He has a small build, but a very handsome face. Despite being an intellectual type, he is very prideful, and has a habit of looking down on others. |
![]() |
Motoyasu Kitamura
Voice: Makoto Takahashi The Hero of the Spear. However, in the world he's from, he's just a 21-year-old college student. He's quite the ladies' man, and the parties he goes to are filled with them. When there are women around he is unable to see anything else, leading him to being tricked very easily. |
![]() |
Itsuki Kawasumi
Voice: Yoshitaka Yamaya The Hero of the Bow. He is the smallest of the group, and is gentle but somewhat weak. However, he has the strongest sense of justice out of all the heroes. This sense of justice sometimes gets him into trouble when he can't see the other things happening around him. |
![]() |
Melty
Voice: Maaya Uchida A girl Naofumi met amongst a herd of Filolials. She's very serious and treasures her friends, but can also sometimes get emotional and childish. And, it appears she has a secret... |
Cast
- Naofumi Iwatani
- Kaito Ishikawa
- Raphtalia
- Asami Seto
- Ren Amaki
- Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
- Motoyasu Kitamura
- Makoto Takahashi
- Itsuki Kawasumi
- Yoshitaka Yamaya
- Filo
- Rina Hidaka
- Melty
- Maaya Uchida
Staff
- Original Work
- Aneko Yusagi (MF Books imprint's The Rising of The Shield Hero, published by Kadokawa Corporation)
- Original Illustrations
- Seira Minami
- Director
- Takao Abo
- Series Composition
- Keigo Koyanagi
- Character Design/Animation Director
- Masahiro Suwa
- Design Leader
- Takeshi Takakura
- Design Assistant
- Shinpei Wada
- Monster Design
- Ken Mori (Gift Animation)
- Action Setting
- Yuka Kuroda
- Color Design
- Anna Okamatsu (Kinema Citrus)
- Visual Advisor
- Osamu Matsuyama (Inspired)
- Art
- Shinsuke Kinoshita (Inspired), Sachiko (Inspired), Seiko Akashi (Studio Uni)
- 3D CG Director
- Yuushi Koshida (Orange)
- 2D Artist
- hydekick
- Motion Graphics
- Hidekatsu Uemura (Sublimation)
- Director of Photography
- Yukiyo Kajiwara (T2 Studio)
- Editing
- Hitomi Sudo (REAL-T)
- Sound Production
- Glovision
- Sound Director
- Fumiyuki Go (grooove)
- Music
- Kevin Penkin
- Music Producer
- Hiromitsu Iijima (IRMA LA DOUCE), Shunichi Uemura (Nippon Columbia)
- Animation Production
- Kinema Citrus
©2019 Aneko Yusagi/KADOKAWA/Shield Hero production committee