With the premiere date for the second season of The Rising of the Shield Hero fast approaching, another trailer has been released to get isekai fans hyped.
The trailer, which is available on Kadokawa's official YouTube account, further teases what the story has in store for Naofumi and his traveling companions. While it features a slightly more hopeful tone than some of the other Rising of the Shield Hero trailers, it also includes glimpses of the anime's fantastical but bloody combat.
The Rising of the Shield Hero is based on the isekai light novels of the same name by Aneko Yusagi. The series was first published in 2012 as a web novel on the user-generated publishing site Shōsetsuka ni Narō before it was later acquired and re-published by Media Factory. The story follows protagonist Naofumi as he is transported to another world to become one of its Cardinal Heroes and battle against interdimensional monsters known as Waves. Currently, there are over three million copies of the novels in circulation.
Season 1 of The Rising of the Shield Hero debuted in January 2019. While it initially provoked controversy in North America for its depiction of slavery and its usage of a false rape accusation in the plot, the anime went on to gain a passionate fan following and received generally positive reviews from critics.
Many members of the creative team from the first season are returning for the new season. This includes Keigo Koyanagi (Made in Abyss), who is in charge of the series composition, and Masahiro Suwa (Bungo Stray Dogs), who is designing the characters. Masato Jinbo (Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya) joins the team as the series' new director, replacing Takao Abo (Scorching Ping Pong Girls). Several voice actors from The Rising of the Shield Hero's first season like Kaito Ishikawa (My Hero Academia) and Asami Seto (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!) are reprising their roles as well.
The Rising of the Shield Hero isn't the only isekai series set to debut a second season this year; Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out my Defense is returning as well. A special image that featured both Naofumi and Bofuri's protagonist Maple was released to promote March 15 as "The Supreme Shield Day."
Season 2 of The Rising of the Shield Hero is scheduled to premiere on April 6, and Crunchyroll has confirmed that the anime's new episodes will appear on the streaming service shortly after they air in Japan.
Source: YouTube
