The Rising of the Shield Hero S4 Ep 12 Review
It’s over, everyone. The liberation of Q’ten Lo is over, and Raptalia’s ancestral homeland is free. Sadly, anyone who hoped that things would end in a big, epic final battle like in a movie has had their hopes dashed. Instead of a great final battle, we have to settle for a more personal one as Raphtalia undergoes a great trial: earning the approval of her ancestors to lead the nation.
Good Riddance, Makina
So, to recap the end of the last episode, Shildina was possessed by the spirit of Raphtalia’s ancestor, the former Emperor(or Empress) of Q’ten Lo. Said ancestor then flew to the capital and killed the wicked Makina for her crimes against the nation. However, Makina had one last trick up her sleeve, using a failsafe she put in place to allow her soul to possess Shildina’s body. Fortunately, she’s about as smart as Bitch the Witch, so it doesn’t work. Some people might not like how anticlimactic this feels, but there really was no need for Naofumi and the others to fight Makina. She was a worthless piece of trash and she died like one.
The real focus of the episode, though, is what happens after that. Raphtalia’s ancestor is willing to give Shildina her body back, on one condition: she wants to scrap with Raphtalia. The logic behind this is simple. As Emperor, it will be Raphtalia’s duty to be strong enough to stop the Cardinal Heroes if they stray from good. So she needs to be strong enough to do that. Ergo, she needs to prove her strength.
Decent Fight!
The fight itself is actually pretty good, at least by the show’s standards. Raphtalia gets to show off how strong she really is, and we see how much she has to improve upon herself. At the same time, I can’t help but feel like the fighting has lost a bit of its edge. Then again, my standard might have gone up from watching other anime.
In any event, Raphtalia wins, and Shildina is freed. Which means that Q’ten Lo is now free!! However, it’s what happens next where the anime fumbles the bag.
We Missed Naofumi Preaching the word of Raph-Chan
In the light novels, after defeating Shildina and bringing the rebels in, Naofumi and the others go to capture the young Emperor, Raphtalia’s cousin, Ruftmilia. He tries to remain composed at first, but just like in the anime, Naofumi has Filo mess with him. The reason being that he wanted him to understand why forbidding people from fighting monsters in self-defense is a bad idea. Whereas the anime glosses over things, though, Filo pretends to try to eat the boy! It helps fake his death so they can take him away from Q’ten Lo, but it’s not as dramatic in the anime.
Also, it skips over the part where Ruftmilia takes an immediate liking to Raph-Chan. Which means that Naofumi now has a new member of the Church of Raph-Chan, much to the dismay of Raphtalia.
Next Season is Gonna be Crazy
Regardless, though, this brings an end to the big side quest that was Q’ten Lo. And that is basically what the entire season has amounted to: a major side quest. Because while all of this is happening, time is running out until the next of the Guardian Beasts emerges. That is when the fight to save the world will begin anew. And things are already being set in motion.
Elsewhere, a moment that should make people ecstatic takes place when Motoyasu corners and apparently kills Witch. Normally, that would leave people jumping for joy…or at least lamenting the waste of life. However, it happens far too easily for everyone to buy. And they’re right. Witch is still alive, and will likely return to cause trouble in the future.
And that brings us to what comes next, Season Five. The anime includes a teaser for the next season in its final moments, and from what we see, things are about to get bad for Naofumi. Very, very bad. I haven’t gotten that far in the light novels, but I’ve heard the stories about how bad things get.
