The new hit anime The Rising of the Shield Hero is an action-packed isekai show, where four cardinal heroes are summoned from another world (Earth) to defend a medieval fantasy world from a series of apocalyptic monster Waves. Among those four heroes is the rogue Naofumi Iwatani, bearer of many magical shields.
But Naofumi isn't alone. The other heroes can use a spear, sword, and bow, and they make up the offensive power of this theoretical team of four. Along the way, they make new allies and enemies, and some are quite powerful. Not counting the Pope (who channels on the power of others), who are the ten most powerful fighters as of Season 1's ending?
10 Raphtalia
Raphtalia is absolutely adorable, and Naofumi went a long way to rescue her from bondage and suffering. He treated her roughly at first, but now she is a free woman and a fierce fighter — a loyal one, too.
Raphtalia is acrobatic, quick in combat, and she favors swords in a fight. Best of all, despite her lack of serious magic, she's fearless and will attack legendary villains without a second's hesitation. She's right to call herself Naofumi's sword.
9 Ren Amaki
Ren is one of the four cardinal heroes summoned from Japan to the kingdom of Melromarc, tasked with protecting the kingdom from the monster Waves. To that end, Ten was given a sword, and he can charge right into combat with the Bow Hero backing him up.
Ren's a skilled fighter, but he's also somewhat careless as he goes around fighting monsters (such as when he left that dragon corpse to rot). He even clashed with the Pope, but he stood no real chance against that kind of power. Still, his potential is probably high.
8 Itsuki Kawasumi
Another of the four cardinal heroes, Itsuki was gifted with a magical bow and arrow to fight monsters from a distance. He makes for good backup to the Spear and Sword Heroes, and he fought well in the battle against Glass, L'Arc, and others.
Like the other heroes, Isuki's full potential doesn't seem to be fully realized yet, but fortunately, he should have some time to grind more levels and unlock some serious arrows. He's also a pretty nice guy, too.
7 Filo
Another adorable member of Naofumi's party. In fact, she's known him for her whole life, since Naofumi bought her egg and watched as she hatched. He's imprinted onto her as the mother bird, and she can transform into her bird form.
In combat, Filo can fly around and move at high speeds, not to mention deliver some heavy kicks with her talons. To boost her power even more, Naofumi bought some steel casings to fit over Filo's talons like a set of swords.
6 Motoyasu Kitamura
Meet the Spear Hero. Deep down, Motoyasu is a decent person, but it's tough to tell since he's also vain and thinks too highly of himself. Still, he seems to have some charisma, and acts as a leader for the Bow and Sword Heroes, leading the battle against the Waves in Naofumi's absence.
Fortunately, Motoyasu can back up his boastful words. His spear has a lot of combat power, and it's clear that Motoyasu has been training like crazy and leveling up to realize that weapon's full potential. He and Myne make for an elegant team against the Waves, against Naofumi's party, and against hostile heroes from other worlds.
5 L'Arc Berg
The red-headed man known as L'Arc is in fact a hero too, but he's from another world, and he is openly hostile to Melromarc's own heroes. At first, he struck up a friendship with Naofumi and fought alongside him to slay monsters, but that partnership didn't last.
Now, L'Arc is ready to defend his own world, and he's a vicious fighter with his scary scythe weapon. In fact, even when everyone in Naofumi's party fights together, he can fend them all off, but he did take a few scratches in the process. He's a tough one, all right.
4 Therese Alexanderite
This young woman is L'Arc's partner and she's a hero from another world. But she doesn't pack all those gems because they're pretty; she is a Jewel, and she uses the gems to channel her incredible combat power. Therese is a mage and she backs up L'Arc in combat with serious skill.
During the battle onboard a ship, Therese easily used her jewel powers to counteract a platoon of archers, and she dealt some heavy damage to the Melromarc ships in the area. She partly owes her power to Naofumi, who granted her a useful item while they were teammates.
3 Naofumi Iwatani
The one and only Shield Hero. He was ostracized after being framed for a crime, but that didn't deter him. Naofumi learned the full depths of his shield's power, and uses a staggering variety of shield types (and some limited offensive power) during his adventures.
He also recruited Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty to his party, acting as their defender during combat. Whatever you throw at him, he can block it, and he's got a sharp tactical mind that can unlock the route to victory.
2 Fitoria
She is a Filolial like Naofumi's own Filo is, but these two bird-ladies are in entirely different leagues. Filo is a mere child, and that fact is made starkly clear when she dueled Fitoria inside a magical dome.
Fitoria is the queen of all Filolials, and can effortlessly launch powerful magic from her hands while in human form. Filo didn't stand a chance, and even Naofumi was easily pushed back and knocked into submission when Fitoria's power was demonstrated.
1 Glass
Much like L'Arc, Glass is a hero from another world. She is fully ready and willing to take on the four cardinal heroes to save her own world. During her first appearance during a Wave, Glass used traditional Japanese fans to utterly devastate the opposition.
In fact, Naofumi's party only survived because the Wave ended and Glass' time was up. She appeared during a later Wave, and she easily took on many opponents at once, including the cardinal heroes. Glass also demonstrated the power to shatter Naofumi's prison-shields with practically no effort. She's beautiful and deadly.