The Rising of the Shield Hero is a grim but exciting isekai action anime series that's due to return in the Spring 2022 anime season, and isekai fans everywhere will want a reminder of what kind of magical shields the protagonist Iwatani Naofumi actually has. He's the isekai Captain America, but with more variety.
Naofumi's shields are based on the materials and spells that he absorbs, similar to Rimuru Tempest using the Predator skill to absorb his enemies, and Naofumi's most powerful shield is the Rage Shield, part of the "wrath" series of shields. Its power and the tradeoffs involved should also remind Shield Hero fans of the berserker armor in the hit seinen series Berserk in more ways than one.
The Power Of Wrath In Shield Hero & Berserk
Both Naofumi and Guts are gritty and compelling antiheroes who are known for their proactive and tough mindsets, not for their warm and cuddly ways, although Naofumi does dote on Filo and Raphtalia. Naofumi and Guts are both hardened and scarred by their many rough experiences, and this reflects in their best weapons, which offer enormous power -- at a cost. Many anime heroes have a dark "inner monster" they can call upon for aid, such as Ryomen Sukuna or Hollow Ichigo, and the Rage Shield and the berserker armor suit are Naofumi's and Guts' own version of that.
The Rage Shield and the berserker armor are both potent weapons that channel the darkest side of their wielders, and these protagonists both view their rage-based weapons as emergency options, not standard weapons, as that power comes at a price. But at least the power is formidable, with Naofumi's Rage Shield being by far his best shield of all. Naofumi manifested it with his built-up anger at the king of Melromarc and his persistent misfortune during this isekai adventure, and that rage was brought to a boiling point when he thought a zombie dragon had eaten Filo alive.
Naofumi's Rage Shield has a mind of its own, encouraging him to give in to his wrathful side and channel it into extreme power, and Naofumi often listens. At one point, he absorbed the zombie dragon with that shield, boosting the Rage Shield's power even further, and it began speaking with the zombie dragon's voice. This shield can tear its enemies apart in battle and then finish them off with the fearsome Iron Maiden technique, although this technique didn't work on the mighty warrior Glass.
All this is similar to Guts' berserker armor suit, which is his second-best weapon behind his dragon slayer sword. With the suit, Guts is protected from harm from head to toe, and his speed and power are vastly improved. In fact, this suit can keep him in the fight despite exhaustion and injuries, which is a major advantage against most foes. Guts was therefore able to dispatch a massive Kraken in the Falcon of the "Millenium Empire" story arc, along with a swarm of crocodile monsters and one of Griffith's apostle minions.
The Cost Of The Rage Shield & Berserker Armor
Both the Rage Shield and the berserker armor suit come at a cost, as Naofumi and Guts both learned during their respective adventures. Naofumi and Guts are both angry and bitter antiheroes who were always driven by anger and spite anyway, and their best weapons magnify all that to an extreme degree. These heroes rarely tap into the power of friendship -- they channel the power of anger and defiance against worlds that abuse them regularly, and while they gain great power, they must also pay an appropriate cost.
Naofumi's Rage Shield does serious harm to its wielder, such as burning him alive, and he can't sustain that for long in battle. In fact, the second stage of the Rage Shield demands Naofumi's blood as payment, and Raphtalia and the others were shocked to see Naofumi's body bleeding all over as he wielded the Rage Shield in battle. Not only that, but the Rage Shield warps Naofumi's mind and twists it with anger, wrath and animal instincts, and he may become lost if this keeps up. Naofumi is determined to fight fire with fire, but it will cost him, and his ally Raphtalia can't bear the sight of it.
Meanwhile, Guts' berserker armor pushes his body far beyond its limits, which results in Guts' muscles and bones getting strained beyond repair. The berserker armor only nullifies Guts' sensation of pain rather than protects him from the pain's source, and Guts could easily lose himself to the armor's wrath and destroy himself completely while demolishing his foes. Guts wanted power, and he got it, but he is only human, and the berserker armor will gladly make him pay for it. Fortunately, Guts now has a party of his own, and characters such as Puck and Shierke are there to hold him back if the berserker armor tries to completely take Guts over.
