The latest episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 3 that aired on Friday caused a lot of controversy. Even though most of the episode was fruitless, the ending took away all the great artwork and layouts I had seen before. While I usually dig into the positives of each episode, which I’ll still do here, it’s time we discuss what happened in this episode, which took everything away Another thing I love about it.
The Motoyasu Controversy
Let’s get right to it—Motoyasu needs to be stripped of his hero title and thrown somewhere far away from wherever Filo goes. Shield Hero was one of the last series I expected to go down the pedophilia route but here we are. The final moment between Motoyasu and Filo was completely unnecessary. It adds nothing to the plot and trying to cover it up with a bit of humor is like placing a bright yellow sticky note with a smiley face on top of a pile of horse manure.
No amount of humor can take away the disgusting fact that Motoyasu, a grown man, is infatuated with Filo, a child. Once again… Filo is a child! It would be one thing if Motoyasu saw Filo at the end of the episode and used her singing as inspiration to protect her and help Naofumi prepare for the Phoenix, but acted bluntly as if she belonged about him as a partner and bowing to Naofumi begging him to “marry” his “daughter” only adds to the creepiness that was already going too far in the first place.
I don’t blame the anime production team for this, because the source material is the source material. But it’s just the anime, if this is how it plays out in the light novel, I only have one question—why? All the paths Motoyasu could take and he chose to be a pedophile? I don’t want to hear anything about the trauma he went through or how “B****” broke him, or whatever it may be. There’s no reason for this and it’s even more disappointing when someone praises the series’ wonderful cast of characters.
Furthermore, who is this for? What audience do characters like him attract other than people like him? I can’t even imagine there are shippers out there who are like “Yeah, Motoyasu and Filo make a nice couple.” I feel shivery and sick even thinking about it. Shield Hero had me enjoying the ending of this episode. While I really hope things will turn around, I said the same thing about Rudeus in the recent installment of Mushoku Tensei only to be disappointed again and again…
My positive hope for this in comparison to Mushoku Tensei is that Naofumi and Raphtalia are very protective of Filo and she is not a main character like Rudeus. So I need those two to get really serious about Motoyasu’s actions and attitude or just not see him for the rest of the trip, at least for a very long time. It’s time we stop giving characters like him a pass in storytelling. If you introduce someone like him, get rid of him. Give us that ultimate satisfaction.
Manufacture
Look, controversy aside, I don’t want to let it overshadow the work of the staff. The artwork and animation of this episode is amazing. As weird and random as Filo’s “idol moment” is, this one also makes no sense in the story arc, but it’s done wonderfully. But I will say what I love most about Shield Hero in this episode that I usually don’t give credit for is the scene at the beginning of the episode. It ends with classic Shield Hero close-ups, but it’s interesting to see the surroundings set the tone as an introduction to certain scenes.
Episode director and storyboard artist Shunsuke Takarai overall did a great job for his feature debut. I don’t think there was anything special necessarily related to the production of the episode, but there’s no denying that it was a huge leap forward from the previous season. A lot of character close-ups also look sharp in this episode. Unfortunately, we once again have photos where Raphtalia has no tail (look very closely at the bottom left photo above). I don’t know how the production staff overlooked this simple but important detail. But going forward I hope it has been fixed.
Our poor eyes also had to witness the reincarnation of the CGI turtle in this episode and what’s worse is that it was surrounded by Motoyasu and his group’s fight, if you want to call it it is like that. I wouldn’t say that the production dwindled as the episode went on because the camera angles used during Ren and Naofumi’s argument at the bar were great and the voice acting was also excellent. When you can feel the tension rising as the argument lasts longer, the writing is working. Then B***** showing up and making Ren her new pawn was a twist I definitely wasn’t expecting.
Missed moments
And this is also what I hate about the ending of the episode, it takes away everything that happened before. Murder Pierrot (clown) appears in Noafumi’s village looking like a child desperately in need of food but then he rejects her with a cold heart in typical Naofumi fashion. So not only do we have the nagging concern about her knowing where the village is and who is there, but also the issue of whether she has bad intentions or good intentions.
Also, what is the purpose of this? bring Elena back from Motoyasu to find her? Will she have a larger role in the future or will she just be a supporting character in episodes and stories, for goodness sake? Not saying that the moment spent with her wasn’t necessary or anything, it was just another thing that Shield Hero stacked on top of the many things that needed attention that I described in my previous article. As the clock keeps ticking until Naofumi and company have to face Phoenix, it seems like more and more intractable problems keep arising.
Another overlooked topic of debate that I haven’t seen discussed much is B****’s lies about being assaulted, especially by Naofumi. She lied about it so much that she actually believed what she was saying. Not only is it a middle finger to women who have gone through that and were not believed, but it is also a ray of light to those who have been falsely accused of the same. So that aspect of Naofumi’s character is certainly a rare one in the giant cesspool of so many fantasy-isekai protagonists.
But her moment was also a dangerous one for the handful of fans who sat there and used her as a poster child for why “women cannot be trusted.” Aside from what happened at the end, there were a lot of very disturbing moments in this episode of Shield Heroes that took away from the moments I loved so much. At this point, she doesn’t even see me as a villain, she’s more like a lingering headache that won’t go away.
Rising of the Shield Hero Season 3 – Episode 4 Recap
It’s time to take a deep breath, leave this episode, and move on. Shield Hero has bounced back for me after a lackluster Season 2. Everything so far this season is on track to really deliver some high quality moments. But if the dispute between Motoyasu and Filo continues into this episode, it will be difficult to enjoy the series for the rest of the season.
Even if series creator Aneko Yusagi intended to make Motoyasu a hated character, there are many different ways he could be written. Raphtalia taking him down at the end of the episode didn’t help me at all. He should have gotten worse…a lot worse. It sucks to see a series that I thought had its best season premiere fall apart so quickly.
Episode 4 rating: 5/10
If you think episode 4 of The Rising of the Shield Heroes season 3 deserves to be in the top 10 in our next weekly poll, then be sure to vote for it! Episode 5 will air on Friday, November 3. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime with English subtitles.
Image via Crunchyroll
©2021 Aneko Yusagi/KADOKAWA/Shield Hero S3 Production Committee