The Rising of the Shield Hero

[unoduetre]

[mention=1132]Tanya[/mention]

And besides that, he really isn't a hero (yet?). (Of course it depends how one defines a hero. Is every protagonist a hero?) He could have done better. He just made many bad moral choices. But he may be a good person deep down. I think Raphtalia believes he is a good guy. I don't think I agree with her, but he may become one under her influence.

[unoduetre]

WARNING! A MIDDLE TO SERIOUS LEVEL SPOILER ABOUT THE STORY BEYOND THE CURRENT PROGRESS POINT OF THE ANIME BELOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

  Spoiler:  

It seems he'll own more slaves later in the story. I don't see any mentions of freeing them. That's not what a good person would do and I do not consider it a thing a hero would do.

And there are more reasons why he isn't a hero here: https://shield-hero.fandom.com/wiki/Naofumi_Iwatani

[Tanya]

That’s the web story, the anime is probably different, still similar though.

He isn’t a hero I’d admire. Though I don’t think I’d admire the others either.

[unoduetre]

Yeah, none of the "heroes" in this anime is actually a hero. That's probably also one of the points. It makes it interesting.

(I've changed the link in my previous post to the link about a general character description, not one related to the web novel. It's almost the same text.)

[Tanya]

They’re heroes, I won’t deny that. Righteous or noble heroes they are not.

They’re more interested in their own well being then others. It doesn’t change the fact they save thousands to millions of lives.

So they aren’t ideal heroes.

[unoduetre]

I think it's a matter of the definition of the word hero. Arguing about definitions is pointless for me. I think we agree that all of them made many bad moral choices. I'm fine with people using the word "hero" in different ways.

And of course one can argue whether their good deeds somehow erase their bad deeds or whether their good deeds are greater or less than their bad deeds. I think it's a matter of everyone's private evaluation of these.

The shield "hero" and the other "heroes" all did some bad things and some good things. They're grayscale.

Malty Melromarc, in comparison, probably did mostly bad things. Raphtalia, in comparison, probably did mostly good things. They're more black and white.

[Ryuuko]

Meaning, definition, and opinion seem to be interchanged frequently. In the end, opinions are what they are and not the formers.

It'll be interesting to see how the anime progresses. I'm actually not sure what to think of the last episode. So the next one might be my last.

[unoduetre]

[mention=705]Heldawn[/mention]

It's very similar here.

Personally, I do not have any sympathy towards Naofumi after his clear acknowledgement of his beliefs. And I do not share the ideals of Raphtalia. The way of thinking of both of these characters is very alien to me, so I'm not very interested in them. But the plot might still be interesting. The only character I feel some connection with is surprisingly Malty Melromarc, but this might be an illusion. It'd be cool if she were a winner at the end, but it's clear that it's impossible and she'll probably be "punished" at some point. I like smart villains.

[NataliaJulia]

I think he really wanted to be that stereotypical hero. He was an Otaku in the real word and I could see in the first episode that he was so exited. The thing is, pain changes people. I think of him not as a hero, but a human who experienced a lot. Everything what he did was in the order to survive and I can't blame him for that

[unoduetre]

I think he really wanted to be that stereotypical hero. He was an Otaku in the real word and I could see in the first episode that he was so exited. The thing is, pain changes people. I think of him not as a hero, but a human who experienced a lot. Everything what he did was in the order to survive and I can't blame him for that

Not everything. Some things he could have done differently. I blame him for not doing them differently. For example he could have freed Raphtalia. She was happy to join his team slave or not. That'd make him a true hero. He freely chose to be an opportunist instead. Even after choosing, he could have said he did it because the situation forced him to do it. But he acknowledged he fully supported the idea of her being his slave and had nothing against it to a point he wanted to fight with the spear "hero" over this matter.

Ok I'm flogging a dead horse. Everything what I wanted to say, I have said in one of the posts in this thread already. So I will now become silent about this matter.

[Tanya]

Pain, as in Despair, has been proven to change how people behave to the point of becoming villainous when there was no doubt upright and known for their moral choices previously.

It’s true these events could have instead strengthen his resolve but as stated he was a young man and was broken. Survival and Betrayal became prominent ideas to him. And yet while he believed everyone wanted to take advantage of him and ultimately betray him he was still kind to others, not everyone. But with that type of outlook other choices like the morale ones you speak of would have been suicidal in his eyes. Thus survival became a prominent staple for him because he felt survival was his only companion in the hellish environment he found himself in.

Freeing his slave ie not having someone who could fight meant he’d be dead once the next wave hit. He simply chose to live. It isn’t a moral choice, but it is human.

[unoduetre]

Q:

She was happy to join his team slave or not.

[Tanya]

He saved her life. It’s like an animal trait. If you adopt a pet that is sickly, feed it well, keep it safe, the animal becomes loyal too you and believes you are mostly benevolent even if you mistreat them. Simply put she became loyal to him and believes in him.

[NataliaJulia]

[mention=1132]Ryuuko[/mention] I agree
He bought her as a slave, but he never treated her like one. He took care of her and he used the spell when it was absolutely necessary to save their life. That spell wasn't a really bad thing. She had an anxiety and she was mentally broken. Even if he set her free she wouldn't have a normal life. He taught her how to survive and with the spell helped heal her trauma.

We all knew she would stay with him, but he was in situation where he wasn't mentally ready to trust someone. No one would be. The word "slave" itself made him feel safe around her.

[Momogari]

Even if he set her free she wouldn't have a normal life.

I feel like that was a big justification for slaveholders in 18th and 19th century US.

They can't take care of themselves, so we're doing a good thing, really.