Highlights
- The four legendary heroes in Rising of the Shield Hero are chosen by the ancient spirits that reside within their weapons, not by the people of the Kingdom of Melromarc.
- Each legendary hero has two vassal weapons that assist them in combat, and these vassal weapons choose their wielders based on their heroic qualities, regardless of their origin.
- The shield hero, despised by the nation of Melromarc, is highly regarded in the demi-human nation of Siltvelt, leading to the deification of the other three heroes in Melromarc and the shield hero in Siltvelt.
Nowadays, the series talks about the four legendary heroes just like any other characters in the series. In reality, there are so many interesting things about these heroes that make them way more interesting than any other characters. So, from the system behind these heroes to how the people deified them, this is all you need to know about the four legendary heroes in Rising of the Shield Hero.
By the way, the original light novel of this series has gone way further than the anime adaptation. As such, there are so many details about this topic available in the light novel. However, to avoid spoiling the series for those who prefer to watch the anime version, this article will only take a handful of information from the light novels and focus more on the things that have already been mentioned in the anime.
Summoning The Legendary Heroes
Many people thought that the people from the Kingdom of Melromarc were the ones solely responsible for summoning the four legendary heroes from the other world. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It is actually the weapons themselves that choose and summon their wielders. You see, the true nature of the legendary weapons are in fact ancient spirits who took on the form of weapons eons ago. This is why, other than their official legendary names, these weapons are also called the four Holy Weapons. Likewise, those who are chosen to wield them are also called the four Holy Heroes.
The true purpose of the legendary weapons is to stop the waves of calamity and to defeat the Guardian Beasts should they ever awaken from their slumber. Since nobody has ever managed to fully stop the waves of calamity, the weapons kept on summoning one hero after another to fulfill their objectives throughout the ages. That means Naofumi and the three other legendary heroes are not the first heroes to be summoned by the weapons. They are simply the latest generation of legendary heroes.
It’s unclear how many heroes in total had been summoned by the legendary weapons. After all, there’s hardly any individual information about the previous heroes. However, there were some details about one of the most well-known shield heroes of the past. Like Naofumi, he was also summoned from Japan. His name was Mamoru Shirono. He was summoned to Siltran, an ancient nation that no longer exists today.
Legendary Heroes and Their Vassal Weapons
No matter how strong the legendary heroes may be, they cannot fight against the recurring waves of calamity by themselves. That’s why for every Legendary Weapon, there are two Vassal Weapons to assist it. These vassal weapons work in perfect harmony with their legendary weapons, enhancing each other’s power when they are together in combat. For the Legendary Shield, its vassal weapons are Vassal Claw and Vassal Hammer. Those who wield these vassal weapons are called Claw Hero and Hammer Hero.
Just like the Legendary weapons, vassal weapons also choose their wielders. The difference lies in how they chose their wielders. The legendary weapons will summon their wielders from another world. For some unknown reason, however, they never pick a resident of their world as the hero. On the contrary, the vassal weapons don’t really care where the wielders come from. As long as the person has the quality to be a hero, the vassal weapons will acknowledge them as heroes.
That is why Raphtalia can wield the vassal katana and become the katana hero despite not being from the same world as the vassal katana itself. This unique principle is also the reason why the vassal heroes may not be on the same side as their respective legendary heroes. They may even end up facing each other in battle.
Both Legendary and Vassal Weapons are instruments for good. Unfortunately, sometimes the hearts of the heroes who wield them can be corrupted, which leads to them using the weapons for evil purposes. In such instances, the weapons will resist the hero as best as they can until they can finally be freed from their evil wielders. This is what happened to the main antagonist of the second season of Rising of the Shield Hero, Kyo the Book Hero.
The Deification of the Legendary Heroes
It is believed that the demi-human nation of Siltvelt is a successor of Siltran. After all, Mamoru was known to be the savior of the demi-humans, which is why the shield hero is still highly regarded in Siltvelt to this day. On the contrary, Mamoru was despised by the nation of Melromarc. A hatred that persists to this day. That’s why Melromarc prefers to give their love to the other three heroes instead. Over time, the feeling of love and admiration takes an extreme form. The heroes that they adore turn into the Gods that they worship.
As supporters of the three heroes, the people of Melromarc founded the Church of the Three Heroes. A place where they pray and sing praises to the Bow Hero, Sword Hero, and Spear Hero while condemning the existence of the Shield Hero. At the other end of the spectrum is the Church of the Shield Hero in the demi-human nation of Siltvelt. While the people of Siltvelt do not openly condemn the three heroes or the human race in general, they still consider them to be the inferior race, which is basically the total opposite of Melromarc.
When it comes to the four legendary heroes, there’s still so much more interesting stuff to talk about. However, rather than jumping straight into the spoiler territory, this limited amount of information should be enough to satisfy our curiosity regarding this fascinating topic. But if you feel intrigued and can’t wait for the anime to catch up, then feel free to dive into the original light novel series.
Rising of the Shield Hero is available to stream on Crunchyroll.