The Strongest Characters in The Rising of the Shield Hero Anime So Far

The much-loved filolial Filo may look all sweet and innocent in her human form, but when she transforms, she packs quite the punch!

Filo is a filolial, which is a general working animal in the world of the Shield Hero (similar to horses in our world). However, it emerges that Filo is not your ordinary filolial, and possesses some unique abilities that even catch the attention of the Filolial Queen!

Even without her transformed strength, thanks to some magic upgrades and equipment, she’s able to deliver some heavy blows in her human form.

Out of all the non-Hero characters, few can hold their own as well as Raphtalia.

Unlike Heroes, who are given incredible weapons and skills, Raphtalia's abilities are largely down to hard training with Naofumi (and the levelling-up process of demi-humans).

In The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2, while stranded in Glass' world, she obtained the Vassal Katana and the powers that come with being the Katana Hero.

While she still doesn't have the strength compared to the more experienced Heroes, her skill with the sword means she's more than capable of putting up a fight or buying time against almost anyone on this list.

Related: Is The Rising of the Shield Hero's Manga or Light Novel Finished?

In the first season of The Rising of the Shield Hero, Ren emerges as the sanest of the other three Heroes. Unfortunately, that only gets you so far.

Ren Amaki is the Sword Hero, and while he has more power than the average Joe and commands respect, he doesn’t win many one-on-one duels in the first season. The big fight he does win, against a dragon, actually ends up being bad news for everyone else!

Unlike many of the Heroes, Ren tries at least to conduct himself in the right way most of the time. Still, he’s quite self-centred, which leads to him going off on his own regardless of the consequences for others.

Itsuki conducts himself with the belief that he’s the strongest Hero in the world. While he is certainly not that strong, he is up there.

Itsuki is the Bow Hero, which gives him a great advantage over long distances. However, he’s quite a diminutive figure compared to the other Heroes. There’s little evidence so far of his ability in close-quarters combat.

Similar to the other Heroes, Itsuki’s view of the world is somewhat skewed. He operates in search of praise and will go out of his way to achieve it, regardless of whether it’s the right thing for the world. As a result, he ends up in a lot of questionable places, at least as far as Naofumi’s concerned.

Discover: The Strongest Anime Characters of All Time

Most definitely the most scuffed of the world’s Heroes, Motoyasu has plenty of potential as an attacking force but often finds himself led down the wrong path.

Motoyasu is the Spear Hero. After Naofumi’s crew, he’s the person we see in combat more than anyone else – often against Naofumi himself. The Shield Hero always seems to have an answer, but we’ve seen Motoyasu cause a few problems so far, which suggests that he’s the strongest of the other three Heroes.

While his strength is clear to see, so are Motoyasu’s flaws. He has a serious complex surrounding women and tries to build a harem for himself, which is why Malty can manipulate him so effectively.

The queen of Melromarc is often a distant figure when it comes to combat. However, when needed, she shows her capable combat abilities.

Mirellia is one of the strongest magic users outside of the Heroes. When the Heroes find themselves trapped in their fight against the overpowered High Priest, it’s Mirellia’s ice magic that changes the tide of battle.

Granted, it’s not clear how Mirellia would handle herself in one-on-one combat. However, with her magic supported by an impeccable ability to command her army, she would certainly not be someone you want to be on the wrong side of.

S'yne Lokk is mysteriously introduced as the 'killer clown' at the beginning of Shield Hero Season 3. Behind the slightly corny name, however, is an extremely dangerous fighter.

Wielder of a Vassal Sewing Set from another world, S'yne has a strength comparable to the other Vassal Heroes despite losing power due to circumstances involving her home world.

S'yne is one of the most experienced Heroes in the series, having explored multiple different worlds before the events of Shield Hero. As a result, she pairs numerous offensive and defensive magic skills with a great deal of experience and know-how which allows her to challenge even Naofumi.

Also, while not introduced yet in the anime, S'yne's sister is one of the story's most powerful characters!

Related: The Waves in The Rising of the Shield Hero Explained

At the end of season one, we are introduced to a new group of Heroes from another world. L’Arc comes across as friendly to Naofumi at first, but he soon becomes a formidable foe.

L’Arc is the Scythe Hero of Glass' World and wields the giant weapon with great speed and accuracy, making him excellent in close-quarters combat.

Not only is he a good fighter by himself, but he also makes for a natural leader and combines well with the other Heroes from his world. If only the same could be said of the Heroes from Naofumi's world...

Out of all the characters from Glass' World, Therese is the most unexpected when it comes to fighting. However, she’s incredibly powerful!

Therese is not technically a hero like L’Arc and Glass as she doesn’t have any legendary weapon. Instead, she is a ‘Jewel’ and can claim energy from gemstones.

With the right accessories - which Naofumi unknowingly provides – she can gain enough magic power from gemstones to be on par with the legendary Heroes!

Beyond her excellent magical power, Therese is also deceptively strong. She’s definitely not someone you would want to fight one-on-one!

When Glass first appears, she looks set to be the main villain of the series. She wipes the floor with most of the world’s Heroes on her first visit, and only Naofumi manages to keep her at bay.

However, Glass is just an exceptionally strong Vassal Hero, using the Fan as her main weapon.

Many of her attacks resemble a dance, creating a devastating area of effect wherever she aims. She is very agile but often doesn’t need to move much given the strength of her opponents.

Glass is also an incredibly strong and self-determined character, often operating by herself and capable of taking a lot of hits before being subdued.

Our lead character often has to go further just to prove himself. As a result, despite his inherently defensive weapon, Naofumi has made it clear that he’s the strongest hero in his world in all aspects.

Naofumi is the titular Shield Hero, and the Legendary Shield has been levelled up to the point that it’s stacked with useful abilities, both offensively and defensively.

Naofumi also has access to a Cursed Shield, which at a cost to his health helps deliver immensely powerful attacks that can impact even the strongest of foes.

Naofumi’s fighting ability is helped by his general smarts, which stop him from falling for many of the tricks that hinder the other Heroes. He’s also incredibly determined, especially concerning his allies, which pushes him to go further for victory.

Her involvement in the story might be small compared to other characters, but even in her little time, Fitoria makes it clear that she’s the most powerful being in the world right now.

Fitoria is the Queen of the Filolials. Her appearance and abilities are similar to Filo’s, although much more powerful.

In her Filolial form, she is a giant bird that towers above forests and possesses incredible strength and magic. Even in her human form, she can move with immense speed and her magic skills make her almost impossible to beat single-handedly.

Fitoria conducts herself in the manner befitting of a Queen, but she can be ruthless also. Her loyalty is to the world and her previous master’s promise, and she doesn’t mind what happens to the current Heroes so long as that promise is kept.