The official The Rising of the Shield Hero website has revealed the total episode count of 25 for its first season. The anime adaptation of author Aneko Yusagi's fantasy light novel series will have four Blu-ray and DVD volumes with the following release dates: April 24, May 24, June 26 and July 24. The second episode will be out on January 16, still no word on the English simuldub of the series.
The English dub episode did not air due to "unforeseen circumstances". There is no further explanation of the issue but fans in Twitter are talking about Crunchyroll and their censoring problems. Some fans are even talking about the possibility of Crunchyroll changing up the dialogue in order to censor it and "suit western audiences". Check out the tweet down below and read what people are saying. Again, nothing official has been explained and there is no information on when the English dub will be streamed.
English Dub Cast
Naofumi Iwatani - Billy Kametz
Raphtalia - Erica Mendez
Filo - Brianna Knickerbocker
Ren Amaki - Alan Lee
Motoyasu Kitamura - Xander Mobus
Itsuki Kawasumi - Erik Scott Kimerer
Fellow anime streaming company, Funimation, also announced that it will be streaming the simuldub of the series but will not have the subtitled version available. The dub will premiere on the same day as Crunchyroll's, January 9.
The series is described as being a "2-cour" series. If a series is described as "Cour" it means that it will run for three months and have anywhere from 10 to 14 episodes, maybe even a full season. Shield Hero is a 2-cour series, so expect a minimum of 20 episodes.
New Japanese Cast
Sarah Emi Bridcutt
Yutaka Nakano
Hiroki Yasumoto
Kinema Citrus is behind the animated adaptation of the series of light novels by Yusagi Aneko. Takao Abo (Norn9) directs this animated series with a screenplay by Keigo Koyanagi (Regalia: The Three Sacred Stars). Masahiro Suwa, director of animation at Hitsugi no Chaika, is in charge of adapting the character designs of Minami Seira to the anime. Kevin Penkin is credited as the author of the musical composition.
Here are the previously-announced voice actors (Japanese) and their roles:
Asami Seto - Raphtalia
Kaito Ishikawa - Naofumi Iwatani
Makoto Takahashi - Motoyasu Kitamura
Yoshitaka Yamaya - Itsuki Kawasumi
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka - Ren Amaki
Yusagi Aneko writes and Seira Minami illustrates this series of light novels since 2012. The Kadokawa publishing house publishes this work under the seal of MF Bunko, which have released 19 volumes in Japan. An adaptation to the manga of this series by Kyu Aiya has been serialized since 2014 in the Comic Flapper magazine of Media Factory, of which there are already 10 compilation volumes.
Iwatani Naofumi, a run-of-the-mill otaku, finds a book in the library that summons him to another world. He is tasked with joining the sword, spear, and bow as one of the Four Cardinal Heroes and fighting the Waves of Catastrophe as the Shield Hero.Excited by the prospect of a grand adventure, Naofumi sets off with his party. However, merely a few days later, he is betrayed and loses all his money, dignity, and respect. Unable to trust anyone anymore, he employs a slave named Raphtalia and takes on the Waves and the world.But will he really find a way to overturn this desperate situation? The curtain rises on a fantasy adventure about the rise of a man who has lost it all.
The Rising of the Shield Hero is streaming its English subtitles in Crunchyroll