Summary
Surviving The Game As A Barbarian throws shade at Rising of the Shield Hero by downplaying the importance of shields in its plot. The manhwa puts a unique spin on the Isekai genre by depicting Isekai heroes as “possessed evil spirits” who are instantly killed in the real world. Bjorn’s kindness towards a goblin in Surviving The Game As A Barbarian may be a response to the controversial relationship in Rising of the Shield Hero.
A new one Nha Ma call Survive the game like a barbarian not as controversial as the famous series Rise of the shield herobut it clearly cast a shadow on the famous isekai by portraying the shields before being far from what readers expected.
Rising of the Shield Hero is typical of the Isekai series in which the main character is given a skill or class that is supposed to be completely useless but in reality is not. In Naofumi’s case, he is given a seemingly useless weapon after arriving in the new world, and as a result, he quickly becomes the target of a grand conspiracy.
Upon learning how worthless the shields were, Naofumi mourned his fate and quickly tried to get rid of his weapon as his life spiraled out of control. Completely different approach in the manhwa Isekai Surviving The Game As A Barbarian by Han Tae-Soo and Jung Yun-Kang.
Surviving the game as a barbarian makes many subtle references to the rise of the Shield Hero
After taking Isekai to an impossible game called Dungeon and Stone, the now-named Bjorn Jandel the Barbarian remembers that the only way a Barbarian like him could survive was to start with a shield. Despite the fact that Bjorn actually chooses a shield and knows its importance unlike Naofumi, the manhwa does not focus on the shield in many chapters, except when Bjorn uses it to kill goblins. However, these instances are fleeting. Ironically, things get better for Bjorn a few chapters later when he equips a hammer, causing the shield to fade further into oblivion.
Besides this double subversion, Surviving The Game As A Barbarian also brings its own uniqueness to the oversaturated Isekai genre. Those living in the real world version of Dungeon and Stone have their own views on Isekai’s heroes. They were considered “possessed by evil spirits” and were killed immediately. This is understandably the first major form of conflict for Bjorn as he tries to act as if he’s not from another world, but fortunately for him, the Barbarians are not popular is too smart, so he can get away with asking questions and not raising red flags. This is a unique twist on summoning that is also used in Rising of the Shield Hero, but in that case, the summoners frame Naofumi and then attempt to kill him as an “evil spirit.” ”, thus establishing another connection between the two series.
Unlike Surviving The Game As A Barbarian’s explicit criticism of the relative importance of shields, few readers are familiar with Rise of the shield hero Bjorn’s kindness towards a targeted goblin can also be seen as a response to Naofumi’s controversial relationship with Raftalia in Rising of the Shield Hero. Manhwa Fans looking for an unusual Isekai story should definitely check it out Survive the game like a barbarian.