The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 4

Episode 7

Wow, that was one of the fastest and most effective revolutions I've ever seen! Yes, I know that this is all just one step in a larger plan to overthrow the people in charge of Siltvelt, but everything just worked out perfectly here. It's funny that this episode doesn't waste any time in solving a problem and establishing the status quo after spending six episodes waiting for a damn boat. It feels like the plot just appeared out of nowhere, and yet I still somehow felt bored by everything that's going on.

That's because I don't understand what the stakes are. There's some good backstory about the lay of the land and its laws. Having a society that forbids killing anything is interesting, but it feels like a footnote rather than something that the show fully goes into. How does this affect society and economics? I assume the Siltvelt isn't allowed to have meat, or doesn't have any farms where you can kill animals, if they're not allowed to fish? But they also establish that they are a trade nation, which is also how they understand what's going on in the outside world, despite being very closed off. Are they allowed to trade meat and wares from animals that other people kill? This is the first time in a while that I think I would have liked a better idea of what this society is actually like, instead of just being thrown into “we need to topple the monarchy.”

Speaking of this plan, what exactly is it? Naofumi and the revolutionaries seem to have an understanding that they're after the same thing. They helped Naofumi in this episode to get rid of the barrier that was preventing them from meeting up with their friends. However, the revolutionaries want Raphtalia to take the throne because the person in charge sucks. Raphtalia doesn't want to take the throne, and the whole reason they're here is so she can make it very clear that she doesn't want to take the throne, and for people to stop sending assassins to kill her. So if they help with the revolution, what exactly comes after that? There wasn't a moment where it seemed like Naofumi was lying or anything like that, but he won't let Raphtalia suddenly become the new monarch of this land. What happens after the revolution, or has the show not thought that far yet? Seems a little irresponsible if you ask me.

I hope this isn't a repeat of what happened during season two, where the show is just speeding through the plot to the point where it's glossing over important details until the story decides they're relevant. I was a little concerned when Sadeena started talking about suddenly remembering things about people of the land. If she remembered anything before, she would've briefed everybody so they were all on the same page instead of flying so fast and loose. The action didn't even feel like it was that well communicated. Things are just sort of happening right now, and I have to wait for the show to decide when it feels like telling me what exactly happened instead of me being able to properly ascertain it myself. I guess there's no going back now that the cast has extensively attacked the main government body that oversees the land. I hope there is an actual plan moving forward.

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