Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 4

Aiming to protect Raphtalia from the assassins of Q'ten Lo, Naofumi Iwatani travels with his friends to the eastern isolationist kingdom. On his way, Naofumi stops over in Siltvelt, a kingdom built by a former shield hero, where he is revered as a god and is offered a chance to rule the country.

Naofumi is unwilling to accept the position, preferring to continue his journey before the next wave of monsters threatens to destroy the world. Nevertheless, he finds himself embroiled in local political feuds. After he escapes from an assassination attempt, Naofumi decides to confront the leaders of Siltvelt, and this time, he is determined to show that old grudges and petty ambitions are nothing compared to his resolve to save the world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Raphtalia Main

Seto, Asami Japanese

Iwatani, Naofumi Main

Ishikawa, Kaito Japanese

Filo Main

Hidaka, Rina Japanese

Melromarc, Melty Q Supporting

Uchida, Maaya Japanese

Melromarc, Mirelia Q Supporting

Inoue, Kikuko Japanese

Elhart Supporting

Yasumoto, Hiroki Japanese

Melromarc, Malty S Supporting

Bridcutt, Sarah Emi Japanese

Atla Supporting

Kohara, Konomi Japanese

Fitoria Supporting

Tange, Sakura Japanese

Amaki, Ren Supporting

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Haga, Hitoshi Director

Gou, Fumiyuki Sound Director

Koyanagi, Keigo Script, Series Composition

Fujikawa, Chiai Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Nov 6, 2025

patkarunungan

Recommended

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 4 starts frustratingly slow, but it pays off with an important character development. Despite not many liking the first half, the action is worth it.

I like the second arc better as 1) Raphtalia becomes an important figure, 2) the action is great, 3) Q-Ten Lo is similar to Japan, and what happens after the season ends is similar to what happened in Japan during the 19th Century, in the Meiji Restoration.

I won't belabour the point about the visuals as it remains good, as the production is done primarily by Kinema Citrus.

Overall judgement of the series so far: It's ... ambitious in scope. I can imagine many more seasons. Perhaps there might still be a Shield Hero anime in the 2040s. The episodes might not be as long as One Piece, but for an isekai, it seems something comparable to it might happen.

The problem is that, from what I heard that the light novels do, the adaptations fail to convey fully what's good in the novels. It goes without saying (and I have not read the source material) that the inner monologues are probably cut down. The anime shows more of the action and fight scenes.

Also, if you're someone who has been following this anime since the release of Season 1 in 2019, it can be frustrating if the following season that's released after two years doesn't answer the questions raised in a season. (By the way, I binged Season 1 to Season 4 in a month.)

Season 2, for example, raises the possibility of Naofumi becoming a hero of many worlds. Season 3 and Season 4 don't follow up on this idea, and it remains hanging in the background.

Season 3 is garbage, even if it introduces certain characters and some progress in stats.

Season 4 is a nice side quest. We meet new characters, and Naofumi and the others' powers are upgraded.

In conclusion, if you're just looking for action, any season of The Rising of Shield Hero fits the bill. But if you're looking to have your questions answered, concerning the greater world and the overall plot, anime-only viewers are at a disadvantage, such that it makes more sense to binge the source material.

YMMV, but for the fight scenes alone, it's enough for me to recommend it. I did, however, acknowledge the issues that the series has overall.


NOTA BENE: A grade of 6 out of 10 means that I find this anime slightly above average, and I enjoyed watching it.

A 6 means a decent score and one notch above average. If you're the kind of viewer who treats anything below a 7 as irredeemable, I'd encourage a broader, more nuanced approach to rating.

My enjoyment spectrum lies from 4 to 10. If I have scored an anime below 4, I actively dislike it.

___________

Appendix: Summary of my ratings for all seasons

Season 1: 7 out of 10 (Recommended)

Season 2: 5 out of 10 (Mixed Feelings)

Season 3: 4 out of 10 (Mixed Feelings)

Season 4: 6 out of 10 (Recommended)

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 24, 2025

Eleiyas

Mixed Feelings

I think it speaks volumes when there are so few reviews for a show that is oft-touted as one of the big names in isekai.

I have just finished Season 4's 12th and final episode, and my thoughts on the series as a whole, are that "it exists". It is not as offensively bad as Season 2, but it is nowhere near as good as Season 1. Honestly, Shield Hero as a show, peaked in Season 1, fell into the Mariana Trench with Season 2, and has then spent the last 2 seasons trying to climb out of that deep chasm.

As I said, Season 4 ... doesn't really do anything that I hated, but it also doesn't do anything daring, shocking, or, I feel, have any moments that harken back to the darker and grittier side of the story. It's a fairly cookie-cutter plot-line this time around.

The main plot of this Season, is that Naofumi wants to settle things in Q'Ten Lo, because the constant assassins that are being sent after them due to Raphtalia wearing a miko outfit, are interfering with the preparations to take on the next Guardian Beast, the Phoenix.
The first arc / half of the season is the gang traveling to Siltvelt and dealing with political issues therein, while the second arc / half is dedicated to sorting out the political issues within Q'Ten Lo.

Admittedly, it's a bit of a reductive way of looking at it, but that is what the story could be summed-up as; If I said anymore, it would probably spoil the entire season, so it does kind of prove that it's a very linear and cookie-cutter plot this time around.

This season also has a much heavier focus on Naofumi and Raphtalia, while a lot of the other cast-members get pretty heavily side-lined. Yes, it fits with the plot, but makes the show feel quite shallow. There are 2 cast members who have some growth in the Siltvelt arc (no spoilers), and Sadeena has screen-time in Q'Ten Lo (obviously), but a lot of time is spent developing a new character, and building up a cliché "evil figure".

Overall, as I said right at the start, this season "exists". It's not the worst Shield Hero offering, but it's not the best. The plot is linear and mostly predictable, with a few good moments and a couple of twists sprinkled in for good measure. The art and animation were decent, if not pretty good in some areas, while lacking at other certain moments.

I will solidify my opinion of this being a "middle of the road" Season, with a score of 6/10 "Fine" and Mixed Feelings.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 24, 2025

Chuy_diazz

Not Recommended

Funny

Sometimes you have to know when to stop. Whether it's the production making new seasons or us watching this.

Season 4 is like your ex who promised to change. You gave him another chance only to have him cheat on you again with your best friend.
Season 4 is like an open-world RPG where you focused so much on the side quests that by the time you wanted to get back to the main story, you were already bored.
Season 4 is like trying to wash a baby's diaper so he'll poop in it again, and all you have is a diaper with more poop.

To say this is ... bad is a pretty big understatement. The most accurate way to say it was disappointing is to say it was. The last season managed to overcome the impossible, which was the disastrous second season, and this fourth season was expected to resume the good path of its predecessor. What they actually created was a soulless and charisma-less product with a script weaker than I feel after losing 50/50 in any gacha. Initially, everything pointed to it being a purely political story arc with two "important" arcs to develop the furries who accompany our shield-bearing lukewarm. The first arc focused on the tiger furries Atla and Fohl, where the politics are left rather half-baked. The villain, instead of being an important political force, decides to be a punching bag. The problem is resolved with a duel instead of a battle at the negotiating table. Despite this, they could have salvaged the little good that was there, since this wasn't the important arc.
The important arc was QTen'Lo. Not only because it's Raphtalia's homeland, a character almost on par with the protagonist. It was an arc to learn about her family ties, her homeland, and to explore the character and allow her to grow mentally and psychologically while embroiled in a civil war. Plus, this nation had a lot of information regarding the weapon heroes and how to give them power-ups and information about waves. It seemed to be that resting point before entering a major boss. All that interesting stuff I mentioned was just shoved up their asses and they decided to make the most lukewarm and half-hearted arc possible. The script is garbage. A political arc without politics where once again the final villain is defeated in a fight. Only somehow they made it worse.
When you ask yourself, "What is a Deus Ex Machina?" Well, you get to the last episode of this piece of shit and you'll have a graphic representation. The season finale makes no sense whatsoever. Suddenly, the civil war became a three-way fight where a complete stranger pulled out of the ass of who knows who arrives to defeat the bad guy and help the good guys. At this point, I'd honestly prefer the author to come up to me, spit in my face, and tell me I'm a huge idiot for having my hopes up for something she wrote while kicking me four times in the shin.

My biggest piece of advice for anyone thinking of watching this is… After the first season, stop. Don't make the same mistake I did and continue beating yourself up with subpar products out of love for the franchise. And if you're wondering, yes, I will watch season 5. Don't be like me and have some self-respect.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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