The Rising of the Shield Hero: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Iwatani Naofumi, a run-of-the-mill otaku, finds a book in the library that summons him to another world. He is tasked with joining the sword, spear, and bow as one of the Four Cardinal Heroes and fighting the Waves of Catastrophe as the Shield Hero. Excited by the prospect of a grand adventure, Naofumi sets off with his party. However, merely a few days later, he is betrayed and loses all his money, dignity, and respect. Unable to trust anyone anymore, he employs a slave named Raphtalia and takes on the Waves and the world. But will he really find a way to overturn this desperate situation?

Series details

• Title: The Rising of the Shield Hero
• Format: Animation
• Language: Japanese
• Genres: Action, Adventure, Anime, Fantasy
• Premiere date: 2019-01-02
• Status in TVmaze: Running
• Network listed by TVmaze: AT-X
• Network country: Japan
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 7.2/10
• TVMaze ID: 40140
• TVDB ID: 353712

Cast and credited roles

• Kaito Ishikawa — Naofumi Iwatani
• Asami Seto — Raphtalia
• Rina Hidaka — Filo
• Yoshitsugu Matsuoka — Ren Amaki
• Maaya Uchida — Melty Q. Melromarc
• Natsuko Hara — Rishia Ivyred
• Sarah Emi Bridcutt — Myne Sophia
• Yoshitaka Yamaya — Itsuki Kawasumi
• Makoto Takahashi — Motoyasu Kitamura
• Kikuko Inoue — Queen Mirellia Q. Melromarc
• Ruriko Aoki — Eclair Seaetto
• Konomi Kohara — Atla Fayon

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2019-01-02; final listed air date 2019-06-26.
• Season 2: premiered 2022-04-06; final listed air date 2022-06-29; episode order: 13.
• Season 3: premiered 2023-10-06; final listed air date 2023-12-22; episode order: 12.
• Season 4: premiered 2025-07-09; final listed air date 2025-09-24.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Rising of the Shield Hero on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.