Yusagi’s original novels include a shocking dearth of detailed description. So unlike many comparable hero-in-a-fantasy-world scenarios, Shield Hero turns its protagonist into a sort of anti-hero.
Many readers seem to excuse the “hero” Naofumi Iwatani’s cynical and even borderline unethical behavior by justifying it as a necessary and obligatory response to the harsh treatment he receives.
Where the Shield Hero series introduces its unique angle is in immediately turning the “hero” into an ostracized pariah, a young man who spitefully accepts his destined role as savior on behalf of a populace that doesn’t want him as its champion.
The novel series launches from the commonplace trope of the young protagonist transported from a mundane life to the role of a savior hero in an alternate fantasy-esque world. The first Rising of the Shield Hero manga is an unusual example of an adaptation that actually is superior to the original book.Īneko Yusagi’s Shield Hero web novel series has proven inexplicably popular with readers around the globe. But graphic artist Aiya Kyu’s manga adaptation of Aneko Yusagi’s Rising of the Shield Hero novel is an exception to the rule. And prose isn’t limited by running time or budget, so novels can depict an infinite amount of detail. While novels lack visual motion and color, and lack a soundtrack, prose is able to vividly describe a greater range of ideas than visuals alone can. The critique, “The book was better” is cliche because it’s typically true.