Earlier this year, Kadokawa officially announced The Rising of the Shield Season 4, and more recently, a new teaser visual was released along with the confirmation of the fourth season's July 2024 premiere. Now, the team behind the popular isekai anime series are getting ready to share more information about the highly-anticipated sequel, but fans will have to wait a few weeks.
Today, it was announced that more information for The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 4 anime will be revealed at the anime's upcoming SHIELD Fes ~ The LIVE of the Shield Hero ~ event on June 15, 2025, which will be held at the Shibuya Cultural Center Owada, Sakura Hall, in Tokyo, Japan. The event will feature the anime's Japanese voice cast, including:
Kaito Ishikawa (Naofumi)
Asami Seto (Raphtalia)
Natsuko Hara (Rishia)
Rina Hidaka (Filo)
Makoto Takahashi (Motoyasu, Spear Hero)
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Ren, Sword Hero)
In addition to the voice cast, there will also be live performances by MADKID and Chiai Fujikawa, who performed the opening and ending theme songs of The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 1.
Fans will be able to purchase on-site and streaming tickets on Thursday, April 10 at 1:00 p.m. JST, on a first-come, first-severed basis. International audiences will be able to purchase streaming tickets, so fans outside of Japan can watch it live but note that availability may vary depending on your region. Viewers outside of Japan are advised to confirmed accessibility through the confirmation link on the streaming service prior to purchasing.
You can check out the website for ticket purchase and international streaming availability check if you're interested.
The first season of The Rising of the Shield Hero aired from January to June 2019, and it consisted of 25 episodes. Studio Kinema Citrus produced animation under the direction of Takao Abo with series composition by Keigo Koyonagi. Season 2 aired from June 2022 for 13 episodes, and Korean DR movie animated the season, with Hitoshi Saga as director and Keigo Koyonagi as the series composition writer. Season 3 aired from October to December 2023, and Saga returned to direct it while Keigo also returned to work on both the scriptwriting and series composition.
What is The Rising of the Shield Hero about?
The Rising of the Shield Hero anime is based on the dark fantasy light novel series written by Aneko Yusagi and illustrated by Seira Minami, which follows the storytelling trope of the genre known as isekai, which means "different world" or "otherworld" in Japan, but it distinguishes itself in one unique way: The hero, Naofumi Iwatani, is swiftly met with disdain by the realm of fantasy he was supposed to save due to a false allegation of sexual misconduct. Media Factory has been publishing the light novels and the manga series by Aiya Kyu since 2014.
Crunchyroll provided a plot description for The Rising of the Shield Hero:
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 first three seasons of The Rising of the Shield Hero anime are now streaming on Crunchyroll, and you can check out more information about the isekai series in the anime's official website.
Source: Press Release
