WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 37 of The Rising of the Shield Hero, "Reason to Fight," now streaming on Funimation, Crunchyroll & Hulu.
The Rising of the Shield Hero II has been a mix of positive & negative occurrences, all inching closer to the final episode of the season. Episode 36 revealed a new character, Yomogi, and her overly trusting nature towards Kyo Ethnina, the Book Vassal Hero. Towards the end of the episode, Yomogi finally saw Kyo for the villain he truly is after witnessing the Waves he created to wreak havoc and spread panic.
Episode 37 stretched out the Waves saga, forcing the hero party to split. One party is tasked with the goal of defeating Kyo, while the other battles the monsters that appeared from the Waves. The episode was a heated one that ended on a happy note, which should leave Shield Hero fans feeling good going forward.
The Naofumi-Kyo Flashback
First and foremost, The Rising of the Shield Hero is an Isekai anime, and a major feature of most Isekai shows is that the protagonists are summoned to another world without their consent. At the start of episode 37, TheRising of the Shield Hero revealed Naofumi and Kyo’s brief flashback of how they lived their lives before being summoned as heroes. Ironically, despite their opposing nature as Heroes, before they were summoned, both of them were “Otakus,” shut-in gamers that used their hobbies as tools for escapism from reality. However, Kyo's fate was worse. He almost committed suicide before he was summoned to another world as the Book Hero. And for this reason, Kyo swore to make his new life count, even if it meant using the Waves of Calamity to do that.
After the brief flashback, the Naofumi and his party members, alongside his party members, decided to go along with Ethnobalt, the Boat Vassal Weapon wielder, to find Kyo and put an end to his evil plans. Although Yomogi was first startled when she first witnessed Kyo's Waves plan to come to fruition, she quickly resolved to stop him and joined the Shield Hero party on their quest to defeat Kyo. After the party arrived at Kyo's hideout, with Ethnobalt making a rendezvous to meet with Kizuna and the rest, they met another twisted occurrence spearheaded by Kyo. In episode 36, Kazuki, Kyo's subordinate, died from an attack inflicted by Rapthalia. Kazuki’s subordinates, fueled by their desire to see Kazuki once more, allowed themselves to fall prey to Kyo’s plans.
Kyo succeeded in turning them into chimeras – half human & half beast. Still not realizing they were fooled by Kyo, Kazuki's subordinates still tried to attack the Shield Hero party, leading to the appearance of Kazuki's body being possessed by the Wielder of the Mirror Vassal Weapon. As the situation became complicated, the party decided to split; Rapthalia, Yomogi & Filo handled the Chimera and the Kazuki Homunculus, leaving Naofumi and Rishia to find and defeat Kyo.
The Fated Battle
Finally, episode 37 featured the long-awaited rematch between Rishia, Naofumi and Kyo. The battle starts as a mental one, with Kyo fueling Naofumi's anger, by telling him what he's used the Spirit Tortoise power to accomplish so far. He even hinted at his plan to use the Filolial Queen as fodder for his future plans, forcing Naofumi to use his Cursed Shield series. Kyo's twisted words triggered Naofumi, forcing him to lose his cool and use the Wrath Shield, which he promised never to use again. The Wrath Shield multiplied Naofumi's rage, forcing him to partially lose his sense of reasoning as he attacked even Rishia, his ally while saying dark, mean things to the green-haired girl.
Undeterred by the circumstance, Rishia still tried talking Naofumi out of his vengeful state, void of reason and battle intelligence. Regardless, it wasn't enough to bring Naofumi out of his rage-driven state – however, it put him in a state of confusion. In Naofumi's confused state, the wily Kyo tried to kill him. Fortunately, Rishia stopped him, reminding Kyo of their encounter while they were in the Spirit Tortoise. Fueled by frustration backed up by not being able to defeat Rishia, Kyo tried using Gravity magic – the power he gleaned from the Spirit Tortoise, but it wasn’t enough to stop Rishia.
A Happy Ending
Naofumi, in his confused state, almost fell prey to the Dragon powering the Cursed Shield series, but before he succumbed, Ost Hourai’s vestige appeared, enabling him to use the power he obtained from her in the Spirit Tortoise arc. Using this power, Naofumi attacked Kyo, but it wasn’t still enough to counter Kyo’s power. However, Rapthalia and Filo used the Mirror Vassal Weapon to multiply the effects of Naofumi's shield, leading to the death of Kyo. At last, Kyo was defeated by the joint efforts of Naofumi and the gang as they emerged victorious from the Waves saga since Kyo's demise stopped the Waves' occurrence.
At first, everyone assumed that Naofumi would have to wait until the next Waves appeared, so he would travel through them to get back to Melromarc. However, a better option shows up as Naofumi, Rapthalia, Filo, and Rishia are automatically sent back to their world, leaving Kizuna in warm tears due to their bittersweet departure. Naofumi returned to Melromarc and was awarded for his honorable efforts by the Queen. Episode 37 ended on a happy note that could have served as the perfect ending for the series. Fans can only wonder what the final episode of the season has in store for everyone.