The Rising of the Shield Hero Episode 18 Review: A Conspiracy Leak

Oh my god… things escalated during this week’s episode and made me want to cry a little for Naofumi. FINALLY all the frustration until this point that Naofumi has suffered, the false assumptions people have believed about him, some of that was finally lifted, and the true intentions of the Three Heroes’ Church were revealed. I feel relief for Naofumi!!

Japanese Original Title: 連なる陰謀

Plot

Fitoria drops off Naofumi and the others to the closet hero, in the hope that Naofumi can reconcile with the other heroes. He reaches a border checkpoint to get to the other side and there standing in their way is Motoyasu. He lashes out at Naofumi in anger believing Naofumi killed Ren and Itsuki, and Myne’s usual meddling stirs the situation even further. It’s not until an unprecedented attack is made on everyone, a shock to them of the villains behind it.

Episode Highlights

Meddling Myne: Every time this two-faced she-devil opens her mouth, the frustration is unreal… How much I want to shut her up. Myne is such a well-crafted character for you to hate on and I love this aspect. But during the events of this episode, I’m gonna cut her some slack a little, since she had no idea of the church’s intentions.

Pope Balmus: Rising Of The Shield Hero truly contains some evil, horrid people and that is a fantastic aspect about this series. Now we know the church and its people are plain old crazy. It was a stunned moment for everyone to learn what goes on behind closed doors. This has added a whole new dynamic to the plot. Tell you what, it was a pretty epic moment when that beam came crashing down out of nowhere and the trust Naofumi has in Filo and Raphtalia is adoring. Watching Naofumi at work using various shields to protect everyone… Ahh, that was such a good moment.

Some Relief: Naofumi stated a true fact during this episode: Motoyasu is truly an idiot. It was unbelievable to watch how this dumb blonde is easily manipulated. I laughed so hard when comes the moment he finds out that it wasn’t Naofumi who kill Ren and Itsuki. FINALLY, idiot Motoyasu has seen the bigger picture. TOOK LONG ENOUGH. I wanted to shed a tear or two for Naofumi. He must have felt some relief, despite the bad situation. It was such a long wait for a moment like this and for Naofumi to be relieved of the accusations against him.

Action: LOVED, LOVED the fights during this episode especially between Motoyasu and Naofumi’s parties. Even though Motoyasu’s level was higher of Naofumi’s, he lacked Naofumi’s experience. THAT attack combo from Naofumi, Filo, and Raphtalia was gold. Raphtalia struck Myne and we know she deserved some karma!!

Motoyasu Actor: I’ve been watching this series in the English dub, and I grew very fond of it. Xander Mobus who plays Motoyasu, a new actor I’m becoming familiar with, delivered a stelar performance. Projecting Motoyasu getting mad and angry made me think differently about his character since it was a passionate performance. I like an angry Motoyasu now; we should have more of that, indeed.

Themes and Trivia

Three Heroes Church: Recollecting back to last week’s episode, Fitoria said to Naofumi that he has either to sacrifice the world or people and that is a choice the heroes must make. Maybe when Fitoria meant by people was the Three Heroes Church. It was revealed that their hidden agenda was to overthrow royalty and create their own government.

Being Stronger: Naofumi was the clear winner here in beating Motoyasu and his party. Doesn’t matter how strong someone becomes. Nothing could ever beat real experience and hardships and that’s what Naofumi and his party have gone through. Experience is everything.

Comments

Intense episode… we’re getting into the real center of things now. I AM SO EXCITED!! This episode was just great and my heart sang for Naofumi since, finally, HIS INNOCENCE IS ACKNOWLEDGED. Though the situation wasn’t good for everyone, still couldn’t help but feel so happy for Naofumi. The true evil of this world is beginning to rear its ugly head. The only thing I was disappointed about in this episode was Filo not sending the pope flying. I wanted to see that so bad!!!

Motoyasu Is An Idiot

Ah, this week’s episode was just so good, great; I loved it. I don’t want to believe Itsuki and Ren dead. I didn’t like them at the start but I like them now. Past two of the episode they began to actually listen to Naofumi and who knows what’s happen to them. Ahhh give me next episode NOW!! This series is insanely good, it’s unbelievable.

Leave a comment below on your thoughts for Episode 18 and don’t forget to check out our other Spring 2019 review coverage!! Bookmark our previews tag to be the first to see the screenshots and read a summary of the next episode!

See you next for more Shield Hero!!

Next Time: The Four Cardinal Heroes (四聖勇者)