The Rising of the Shield Hero: Season Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

The Rising of the Shield Hero: Season Two Blu-ray Movie Review

The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2 continues the action-adventure of the popular anime series. Based on the Japanese light novel series written and created by Yusagi Aneko. The light novel series was also adapted into a manga by Aiya Kyu. Fans of action-packed adventure series with epic quests and action-packed journeys will find something to enjoy.

Executive produced by Asuka Yamazaki (Bibliophile Princess, Classroom of the Elite II), Fumihiko Shinozaki (Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon, Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World), Haruki Satomi (Midnight Occult Civil Servants, Strike Witches: Road to Berlin), Makoto Hojo (Plunderer, Kemono Michi: Rise Up), Masahide Tsuji (Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu, Steins;Gate 0), Satoshi Kobayashi (So I'm a Spider, So What?, How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?), Shō Tanaka (Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me, Osamake: Romcom Where The Childhood Friend Won't Lose), Shun'ichi Okabe (My Girlfriend is Shobitch, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt), Wan Jing Wang (Gibiate, A Couple of Cuckoos), Yoshiki Usa (Delicious in Dungeon, Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf), The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2 continues the epic journey of the first season. The series features animation production by DR Movie (Adachi and Shimamura, Hunter × Hunter) and Kinema Citrus (Black Bullet, Made in Abyss). Original character designs are by Seira Minami.

The second season of The Rising of Shield Hero premiered on Japanese television on April 6^th, 2022 and was broadcast through June 29^th, 2022. The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2 theme song performances are by MADKID (opening) and Chiai Fujikawa (ending). Produced by Kenichi Tokumura (BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense., Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me), Kōsuke Arai (Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp, She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man), Masakatsu Umeda (Date A Live V, Classroom of the Elite II), Naoki Kishida (Katana Maidens: Mini Toji, The Rising of The Shield Hero: Season 1), Nobuhiko Kurosu (Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World, The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter), Shigeki Fukaya (BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Season 2, RPG Real Estate), Sho Nakata (The Rising of The Shield Hero: Season 1), Takashi Tachizaki (Baka and Test - Summon the Beasts, Dusk maiden of Amnesia), Toyokazu Nakahigashi (Midnight Occult Civil Servants, Dropout Idol Fruit Tart), Yasuhiro Nakajima (Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Release the Spyce), and Yutaka Kashiwagi (Cutie Honey Universe, IRODUKU: The World in Colors). Featuring Japanese voice-performances by Kaito Ishikawa and Asami Seto.

Naofumi Iwatani (Kaito Ishikawa) returns for more adventures as the shield hero. Times have changed in some respects. Nonetheless, Naofumi discovers that despite some new discoveries some things never change and there is always room for a hero to stand tall and take a stance. Naofumi is encountering brand new worlds and fighting for the kingdom one day at a time.

Naofumi soon learns that Spirit Tortoise is newly freed. Naofumi wonders what caused the spirit to be unleashed. Was it just a mere accident? No, the Spirit Tortoise was set free by someone or something. The beast set forth because of a bigger plan that even Naofumi couldn’t foretell. Can Naofumi lead the way once more as the kingdom’s hero alongside the help of Raphtalia (Asami Seto)?

Naofumi Iwatani is a decent lead character for The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2. The character continues to be a headstrong character with a determination to see things through. Fans of the established franchise who appreciate the hero qualities of Naofumi will be glad the hero has returned for more epic adventures.

The character designs are reasonably well-done and add to the series sense of style. The character designs by Masahiro Suwa (Undead Murder Farce) are effective for the cast and aid the production aesthetic.  Naofumi Iwatani and Raphtalia have especially noteworthy designs as the lead characters featured on The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2.

The animation remains one of the highlights of the adventure series. The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2 features compelling art direction by Masaru Satō (Armitage III, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor) and chief animation direction by Ga Young Park (Cardfight!! Vanguard Divinez, Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun), Jin Woo Woo (Hunter × Hunter, Hajime no Ippo Rising), Kōta Sera (Kaguya-sama: Love is War -Ultra Romantic-, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-), and Masahiro Suwa (Chaika - The Coffin Princess, Scorching Ping Pong Girls). The art style is one of the inherent strengths of the series. The animators did a solid job with the series – showcasing the adventure with compelling background animation and line art. A solid world-building style was used by the team of animators.

The cinematography by Yukiyo Kajiwara (A Lull in the Sea, Shirobako) adds to the aesthetic and style, too. The cinematography looks lush at times and darker and grittier when required, too. The style is more serious in tone as an action-adventure series and it makes the backbone of the series a lot more compelling. There are overcast skies and a sense of seriousness permeates the series style for much of the journey.

The score composed by Kevin Penkin (Made in Abyss, Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf) is a decent part of the series production. Penkin did a solid job with the background music – helping with enhancing the character moments and action scenes. The score isn’t as riveting as the best action scores. However, the music still adds some intensity to the action-adventure and the drama that unfolds.

Written by Keigo Koyanagi (Brave Bang Bravern!, Sirius the Jaeger), The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2 continues the darker style of the first season. Though the series occasionally has comedy and aims to entertain audiences with some stylistic changes, The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2 aims for the dark and grittier tone to achieve its adventure-setting. A lot of these elements are within the script and the dialogue.

Masato Jinbo (Restaurant to Another World, The Quintessential Quintuplets the Movie) directs. The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2 may have a different lead director than the first season but the series feels much the same with the action and adventure beats carrying on with a sense of grittiness and a sense of world-building. Jinbo has fun exploring the characters and the world of The Rising of Shield Hero.

The Rising of the Shield Hero: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. A quality high-definition presentation and one that benefits by showcasing a grittier style. The darker animation is highlighted well by the encoding.

One of the benefits of the physical media format is the superior video encoding. Streaming video services tend to offer audiences a lower video bit- rate with a more compressed image. Physical media, on the other hand, tends to provide a superior presentation with higher bit-rates and more quality video encoding. It is one of the strengths of the Blu-ray disc format and it has been one of the great selling points before streaming services even became a thing.

The Rising of the Shield Hero: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The audio encoding capably showcases the sound direction by Fumiyuki Go (Phantom of the Idol, World's End Harem). Dialogue is crisp and clear on the release. Soundstage sounds excellent and the stereo audio clarity is impressive. The score is well highlighted. Sound effects are integrated into the mix well.

Blu-ray offers a significant advantage over streaming video services with lossless audio encoding. For home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles seeking the best possible audio quality, Blu-ray provides improved audio quality and clarity that streaming video services don't provide. Streaming video platforms only provide lossy (non-lossless) audio quality and for those seeking the best possible presentation quality, the physical format has a distinct advantage.

The Rising of the Shield Hero: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The first-print run of the release includes a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover features unique key artwork that is different from the standard cover art that is featured underneath the slipcover. The combination of the slipcover and standard cover-art sleeve provides additional art (enhancing the packaging quality). Collectors appreciate the additional art work and it makes the collection look even nicer in hand. A well-done design by Crunchyroll.

On disc extras include:

Promo Videos (HD, 2:52)

Commercials (HD, 2:46)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:31)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

The one area of the release that could have used more improvement is the supplemental arena. The extras on-disc are sparse and not that interesting. The set only provides a few standard inclusions. Adding on audio commentary tracks, behind-the-scenes featurettes, cast/crew interviews, and photo galleries would have helped make the set feel more well-rounded and worthwhile in regards to bonus features. Alas, the set is close to barebones.

The Rising of the Shield Hero: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Rising of Shield Hero: Season 2 continues the journey of the series with more episodes featuring the hero Naofumi Iwatani. The series provides excellent animation and good production values. The Blu-ray release provides a solid high-definition presentation and lossless audio encoding. The first print run of the release also includes a nice-looking o-card slipcover. Recommended.