The Rising of the Shield Hero

If you were disappointed in Sword Art Online - as I was - then this is the anime for you. As other reviewers have said, this anime is what SAO should have been. From the beginning this series had me hooked.

Sure, there are some over-the-top (e.g. killer penguins and rabbits) or cliche moments, but overall it's really good. There's a good mix of sad and happy moments, which I really appreciated and enjoyed.

I hope season two will be as good.

Outside the context of this type of anime, going to a magical world can be traumatizing, selfish and non-altruistic actions, this anime builds its script and characters very well, giving the right depth with a tone of emotion.

It's really worth watching, and Raphtalia is incredible.

I liked how the humble beginnings of the main character came about. Despite the fictional theme, many will surely identify with the hero. This gave me a taste of online gaming (which I'm not very fond of) in a good way. The story didn't feel complete to me though, especially the end. I haven't read the manga version but I do hope a continuation/second season will be released soon after.

New and fresh anime. It gets interesting every chapter, and It's quite nice to see the development of the characters. Good animation, nice intro.

Definetely worth it if you are looking for something like SAO was supposed to be.

Besides the tipical isekai theme, the series has a quick start with the characters accepting just from the first episode that they are in another world. This could seem bad for a development, but its very refreshing and let the series take another view (which is, of course, the main plot from the series). Our protagonist is betrayed from the very start and makes him to see the wonderful isekai world in which he was invoked as it is in reality, a normal kingdom with all its fails and trash. From that point our protagonist evolves in such a smooth way that you dont remember the last time he didnt taste food. the soundtrack is wonderful, following the pase of the series perfectly and the seiyu's have made an excelent job voicing naofumi, filo and the racoon loli. the animation is acceptable, with some fails, but those dont ruin the experience. my score for the series is 8,5/10 and as a personal opinion a 9/10