Like most isekai anime, Shield Hero involves many characters with unique connections to our protagonist. With so many possible endgames, who Naofumi ends up with in The Rising of the Shield Hero becomes an interesting question.
The Rising of the Shield Hero quickly became one of the most-loved isekai anime when it premiered in 2019, offering a slightly grittier and more realistic depiction of life for a hero in another world.
The Shield Hero anime is adapted from the light novel, which itself is an adaptation of the original web novel. Interestingly, Naofumi's romantic fate is different in both versions.
Related: The Strongest Characters in The Rising of the Shield Hero, Ranked
Who Does Naofumi End Up With in The Rising of the Shield Hero?
In terms of the accepted canon, Naofumi's fate lies with Raphtalia. However, there's more to it than that.
Shield Hero's storyline got some serious adjustments when being turned from a web novel on Shousetsuka ni Narou to a published light novel. A lot of the biggest changes involve how the story evolves and concludes, including the romantic fate of Naofumi and other characters.
Importantly, all changes were made by the author Aneko Yusagi. The light novels are seen as an improvement on the story (somewhat similar to the new Evangelion movies), and as such are considered the new canon.
As far as the light novel goes, the ship is definitely Naofumi and Raphtalia, even if other characters signal affection towards the Shield Hero. The anime will likely continue down this path, also.
This ship is quite different from what happened in the original Shield Hero, which essentially finishes with everyone in a harem!
Naofumi Married Melty in the Shield Hero Web Novel
In the web novel, Naofumi marries Princess Melty as part of a political ploy while still having relationships with other characters.
Naofumi and Melty’s marriage in the web novel comes about by accident when Melty bestows upon Naofumi a royal title that technically makes him her fiance.
In the light novel, the situation is tweaked slightly to avoid them ending up in this situation. Instead of it happening by accident, Queen Mirellia Q Melromarc proposes they get married and have children for political reasons – an idea that is rejected.
In all versions of the story, though, Melty often struggles to understand her feelings for Naofumi, which is to be expected given her age and position as a relatively sheltered royal.
All of Naofumi's Wives in the Web Novel
Naofumi has a lot of romantic relationships with different female characters in the web novels (and the other adaptations, too).
Some of the details are unclear due to no official translation and the fact that the web novel is no longer considered canon, but we know that he was engaged to and had children with the following characters.
- Melty
- Raphtalia
- Sadeena
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Do Naofumi and Raphtalia Get Married in the Light Novels or Anime?
While it hasn’t happened yet, Naofumi and Raphtalia have openly discussed marriage in the light novels. There is hope that they will get married in the future!
Raphtalia is very open about her feelings for Naofumi, who slowly starts to reciprocate. Naofumi hasn’t fully invested in the idea of marriage yet, though, as he always seems to think in a slightly colder, more cynical way.
If you're hoping to see some serious romantic developments between them in The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 3, you might have to be patient. However, according to the light novel, it’s really just a matter of when, rather than if, at this point.
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