The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 3 Review – Best In Show

Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 3 Review – Quick Summary

In The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 episode 3, “Shaking Land,” Eclair Seaetto led her mounted knights in one prong of the attack on the Spirit Tortoise. At the same time, Naofumi Iwatani and his team attacked from a different direction using different tactics. Their goal was to maneuver the Spirit Tortoise into position for the artillery and bombs to be effective. But the Spirit Tortoise proved wildly resistant. And that was before it unleashed a shocking capability! Can Naofumi and the armies prevail against the Spirit Tortoise? Or will they be lucky to leave the field alive?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Favorite Quote from The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 3

I don’t blame Rishia for her reaction at all! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

I don’t do this very often, but I’m going to choose an inarticulate sound instead of actual words for my favorite quote. I’m doing this because usually that kind of thing is played solely for laughs, and I liked how this moment had additional importance. Though I did think it was funny.

Raphtalia and Filo had just decapitated the Spirit Tortoise. They had considerable help from both Naofumi and Ost Horai. Before the battle, Ost let slip that as a familiar of the Spirit Tortoise, when it died, she would die, too. So Naofumi and his entire team stood mourning Ost’s fate. She had been a solid teammate.

Rishia Ivyred took it hardest of all. Filo noticed that the green-haired woman was sobbing. Someone handed Rishia a handkerchief, which she gratefully accepted. Then she noticed who had handed it to her.

“Eeeeeeeeeeee!” she screamed, seeing that Ost was the one (21:45). I thought it was funny because it was the first time I remember Rishia making an appropriate inarticulate sound (without being whiny). Also, it meant something very important for the plot. I enjoyed how the moment had multiple uses!

Best in Show Moment for The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 3

Eclair seemed surprised that Naofumi would make such a gesture. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup: From Humble Beginnings

One of my early complaints about The Rising of the Shield Hero’s first season was about Malty Melromarc. It wasn’t necessarily about what she did. It was about how she did it. The entire arc was just so unsubtle. Her arc in the first season nearly ruined the show for me because it painted the narrative as being unable to carry its own weight without resorting to crass shortcuts.

It portrayed her, and her father, as profoundly inept in the realm of politics. Given she was a Princess and he was the King, well, let’s just say it punched a hole right through the fabric of the world’s believability.

The show seemed to increasingly find its footing as the first season went on. By the end, I enjoyed it. But honestly, I was a little apprehensive about reviewing this season. Heck, I was worried about even watching it! But episode one and episode two built on the success of the back-half of the first season.

The world feels increasingly real and weighty. Get it? She was using gravity magic… Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

And then this episode came out.

Naofumi actually impressed me in this episode. He impressed Eclair Seaetto, too, and given her prowess and pride, I don’t think that’s easy to do.

The host prepared to act against the Spirit Tortoise. Eclair led the bulk of the military on a more or less frontal assault to first attract the creature’s attention, then lead it to a mountain pass where the artillery waited. Meanwhile, Naofumi and his special forces team, including Raphtalia, Filo, Ost Horai, Elrasla Grilaroc, and Rishia, prepared to go in a different direction.

Delivery: Naofumi’s Growth as a Leader

This was the episode where I began to think of them as special forces. Naofumi has managed to surround himself with a ton of talent!

Anyway, he asked Raphtalia if she’d help him with something. As the two huddled around a staff, the rest looked on with curiosity. They couldn’t figure out what he was up to. Finally, the he and Raphtalia straightened, and everyone else saw that they had affixed the Shield Hero’s flag to the staff. Raphtalia helping him hold it aloft, Naofumi told Filo to begin head out (I still think it’s funny that Filo pulls their wagon)/ They passed close to the Eclair’s advancing column of soldiers.

Rishia and Ost Horai didn’t know what Naofumi and Raphtalia were up to. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

I didn’t like what I saw as clumsy execution early in the first season. Here, I saw something completely different. At the sight of the flag, the soldiers cheered. They saw that the Shield Hero was going into battle beside them.

Eclair, seeing the soldiers’ reactions, seemed incredulous. “Amazing,” she said in appreciation (03:59). “He raised the morale of the troops just by doing that.”

It was good to see that Naofumi had not only learned something important for leadership. It was also good to see that he even thought of doing something like that. I can’t see the other three Cardinal Heroes being so mindful of the people around them.

And you know what else? It was cool seeing Naofumi get some of the recognition he deserved. 

What did you think of the fight to bring down the Spirit Tortoise? What were your favorite moments in the episode? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 3: Other Posts

Other Anime Sites

• Reddit: Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 – Episode 3 discussion
• RABUJOI: The Rising of the Shield Hero S2 – 03 – Turtle Soup
• Random Curiosity: Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 – 03

This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)

• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 1: A New Roar
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 2: Footprints of the Spirit Tortoise
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 3: Shaking Land
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 4: Ruins in the Fog
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 5: Ost Hourai
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 6: Racing to Catch Up
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 7: Infinite Labyrinth
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 8: A Parting in the Snow
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 9: Humming Fairy
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 10: Katana Hero
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 11: Kizuna
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 12: Reason to Fight
• The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 13: Flowers Offered in Recollection