How the Shield Hero Director and Producer Pushed to Do the Series Justice

ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2023 sponsored by Yen Press and Ize Press!

In season three of The Rising of The Shield Hero, Naofumi and the gang must learn to put aside some of their differences with the other Cardinal Heroes to prepare for the next major threat. However, such a feat might be far more complex than previously imagined. At Anime NYC, Anime News Network had the opportunity to speak with the director of season three, Hitoshi Haga, and anime series producer, Kōsuke Arai. This new chapter in the life of the Shield Hero may come with new challenges for the character, but our guests were very clear about how they wanted to put out an adaptation that did the series and fans justice by sharing as much behind-the-scenes content as possible.

Director Haga opens season three with an intense action scene in the middle of an underground arena. During the behind-the-scenes panel at Anime NYC, we got a glimpse at some of the animation in-betweens that made up those gripping action scenes. I appreciated Haga and Arai's willingness to share many technical aspects with actual B-roll footage of the early animation and how it compared to the final cuts. Learning how the staff used image boarding to help cultivate the world was fun, as well as how the Filo dance scene (very popular in Japan) from episode four was made.

Being the third season in an ongoing franchise comes with natural stipulations. Not only is there a lot of informed history that gets carried over to the events that occur during this season, but season three specifically follows some significant events that occurred in season two. Despite that, Director Haga hopes that season three functions as both a continuation and a standalone season that could attract new fans. There was a lot of discussion between him and the rest of the production staff regarding where season three should end and what content gets adapted from the original light novels.

"There's a lot of discussion, a lot of active thinking that goes into this process. But it has to have a human aspect. If it's just a list of chronological events being featured, it's going to be like a history book. That's not what we want to produce," Haga stated.

Like most other anime, production on season three is a team effort that includes insight from light novel author Aneko Yusagi regarding what to keep and leave out. Yusagi reviews "all of the screenplay and the line drawings," according to Arai. "So if the author feels like something is not aligned, there will be a discussion. If the staff share the reason for their choices, the author is usually very happy to accept the suggestion and work together for an aligned vision. They come to the shows of the opening and ending acts and are very much involved as team players in the process."

Plus, Yusagi isn't above suggesting some changes to Shield Hero for the anime. Arai shared that Yusagi wanted the Spear Hero Motoyasu to "go far over the edge in season three."

Haga explained that much time was spent dissecting the original work and the thoughtfulness of what to include in the anime adaptation to the point where the staff could pinpoint specific scenes in the light novels by memory. Haga participated in directing some of the episodes in season one, and you can feel his overwhelming desire to bring this world to life. He explained, "I studied the content and studied the world. So when I was allowed to direct season three, I wanted to bring myself and my style into the series and the content."

I was blown away at the animation quality of season three as soon as it started airing. This makes sense, considering that Haga brings roughly forty years of industry experience to this project.

"One of the things that's important to me is to capture the world as it is with the wave of calamity; the trouble, the hunger, the sadness of the world that exists so that the heroes can shine. It's because the people are suffering that a hero is needed. Capturing the trouble and suffering the world is in was very important for me to get the story up and going and allow for the heroes to have a place here."

Season three focuses on the other heroes, as well as Naofumi. It's natural to emphasize the stories' more human elements, especially since our heroes must atone or go through an arc that forces them to confront their weaknesses. Haga relates to the three heroes, sharing that "their flaws and weaknesses are all a little bit reflected from me, so I project a bit of my weakness in all three of those characters." However, he also feels these heroes' characteristics can be found in anyone.

"Motoyasu loves girls, and who doesn't!? Ren is arrogant and greedy. We're all a little arrogant, and we're all a little greedy. We want people to listen to what we have to say. Without giving any spoilers, the Bow Hero also has a flaw that we all have. If you look inside yourself, I bet we can find a little of each of them in you, too."