The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 4 Review – Best In Show

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

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 4 Review – Quick Summary

In The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 episode 4, “Ruins in the Fog,” Naofumi realized that his team’s job is not complete. Since Ost Horai, the Spirit Tortoise’s familiar, had not disappeared, that meant the Spirit Tortoise was not really dead. So, he took his team up onto the Spirit Tortoise’s shell in the hope of learning how to finally defeat the monster. Amid the wreckage of a village, they found something both shocking and terrible. Naofumi had to confront something from his past. Ost Horai and Rishia Ivyred also had to confront their own demons. What will the experience teach them? Will they find out how to defeat the Tortoise? And will Naofumi ever stop scandalizing Raphtalia?

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

Favorite Quote from The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 4

I’m not saying that Raphtalia is wrong. But, come on, she had to know that Naofumi is a practical sort of guy! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

I like Naofumi’s matter-of-fact attitude. He has the social grace of a cinder block, which I also appreciate. And yes, it’s because I sympathize with a fellow member of the cinder block club!

Towards the end of this episode, he and his team found a way to get inside the Spirit Tortoise’s body through a crack in the back wall of the temple. “Crack” might be the right term, because when Filo asked if they were really inside the Tortoise, Naofumi said yes, that they were probably in its equivalent of a large intestine. 

With a stern look, Raphtalia said, “Naofumi-sama, that’s disgusting” (19:27).

It didn’t help that he went on to wonder about what kind of excrement the Tortoise would produce since it ate souls. Seriously, what did Raphtalia expect? She’s been hanging out with the guy for quite some time. You’d think she’d be used to how he sees the world!

Best in Show Moment for The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 4

Ost Horai has captured my imagination. Glad to see her get some good lines in this episode! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup: Ost Horai’s View of the World

Ost Horai fascinates me. She’s powerful, she’s attractive, and she’s trying to do the right thing. As far as characters go, that’s a great combination! She exudes a mix of worldly wisdom, which she showed a couple of episodes ago when she told Rishia how easy it was to seduce men as part of her mission. At the same time, she’s emotionally naive. That mixture is the basis for my favorite moment of the episode.

They were camped out on the Tortoise’s back. I still chuckle when I remember  Eclair Seaetto’s reaction when she realized that Naofumi thought camping there would be a good idea. I mean, even the “dono” in her “Are you insane, Iwatani-dono?” couldn’t hide her contempt! Which was a marvelous contrast to Elrasla Grilaroc’s reaction, which was a laughing “Sleeping on a monster’s back? How brave you are!” I swear I detected zero sarcasm in her voice.

It was interesting to see how differently these two reacted. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Anyway. They were camped out. Rishia and Ost Horai looked affectionately at Raphtalia and Filo as they slept, sitting up and leaning against one another. Seeing them reminded Rishia of her own childhood, portions of which she related to the Spirit Tortoise’s familiar. She ended on a tearful note as she lamented that Itsuki Kawasumi had dismissed her from his party, because she had been so weak. That meant she could not pay him back for his kindness.

Delivery: Honesty is a Painful Policy

Ost Horai wanted to help the young woman, so she said (09:15), “Even if you had stayed with him, do you think you could’ve accomplished anything?”

From the look on Rishia’s face, Ost Horai might as well have punched her in the face. That was the familiar’s emotional naivety speaking. Immediately realizing her mistaken, Ost Horai apologized, then added (09:28), “I just thought that now, maybe you could accomplish something. You, who fought the Spirit Tortoise not as a comrade of the Bow Hero, but of the Shield Hero… I think that now, you could help the Bow Hero!”

At first, Rishia didn’t understand where Ost Horai was going. Understandable, given the circumstances! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Good save! The moment appealed to me because Ost Horai spoke from her heart, based on what she observed. It didn’t occur to her to sugar-coat it. They were comrades in arms, after all. They relied on each other during battle. It seems like the Spirit Tortoise familiar was well-acquainted with that idea.

What did you think of what they found in the temple? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to share and let me know in the comments!

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 4: Other Posts

Other Anime Sites

• Reddit: Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 – Episode 4 discussion
• RABUJOI: The Rising of the Shield Hero S2 – 04 – Part of the Gang
• Random Curiosity: Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 – 04

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