The Top 15 Isekai Anime Like The Rising of the Shield Hero

The Rising of the Shield Hero is one of the most regarded isekai in recent years for so many reasons.

It shows us a relatable story with a betrayed and mistreated protagonist who becomes cold with the traits of an anti-hero because of this.

But this will push him to redeem himself, becoming more and more accepted and strong.

The same goes for its excellent setting and cast of secondary characters, complementary and well realized.

And we know that these are precisely the reasons you ended up in this article, looking for other anime with these characteristics. So enjoy the best anime to watch after The Rising of the Shield Hero.

15. How Not to Summon a Demon Lord

How Not to Summon a Demon Lord has some similarities with The Rising of the Shield Hero that may make it a good recommendation.

Takuma Sakamoto is a frequent player of the MMORPG Cross Reverie, so strong that he is called the king of demons.

At one point he is transported, in the form of his demon avatar, to another world where 2 girls try to make him their slave through magic.

Too bad Takuma casts reflex magic at just the right moment, so it is now the girls who become his slaves in the conquest of that new world.

There are as many similarities as there are differences. Both protagonists have anti-hero traits, although Naofumi is much less so.

Both have action, but How To Not Summon a Demon Lord has a focus on ecchi, comedy, and harem. Recommended if you want to see something lighter and more comic than The Rising of the Shield Hero.

14. BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense.

The Rising of the Shield Hero and BOFURI share a great similarity: both MCs use a shield as their main weapon. But at the same time, they also share remarkable differences.

Kaede Honjou, who’s new to online MMORPGs, joins the latest released MMORPG game, invited by her friends.

As a beginner, Kaede chooses a large shield as her weapon and levels it up, to avoid being hurt while fighting monsters and exploring dungeons.

But to everyone’s surprise, the tactic proves to be incredibly effective, and she quickly becomes incredibly op and a legend in the server!

Speaking of differences, on the other hand, they’re pretty obvious: The Rising of the Shield Hero is a serious and deeply psychological anime, while BOFURI is mainly comic and almost a parody of the isekai genre.

We recommend it if you are looking for a simpler and funnier version of The Rising of the Shield Hero.

13. The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat

The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat is one of the latest isekai released that we recommend you follow if you enjoyed The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Lugh Tuatha Dé is a legendary assassin, considered the strongest in the world. That is until he is killed, and awakens before a goddess who proposes that he be revived in another world.

The condition? Killing the hero of that world.

The similarities again lie in the protagonist. Both, in their own way, are betrayed, and both have strong and broken abilities.

Coming to the differences, on the other hand, Lugh is definitely more evil and negative than Naofumi, who redeems himself as the story goes on.

12. No Game No Life

No Game No Life is one of the most popular isekai in recent years that might be for you if you want to see something different while remaining similar to The Rising of the Shield Hero.

The main characters are the siblings Sora and Shiro, two Hikikomori who spend their days in their room together playing videogames.

That is until they are teleported to the world of Disboard, a realm revolving around various games, gambling, and otherwise, where they can reach their full potential.

No Game No Life shares similarities with The Rising of the Shield Hero in that both series feature a powerful protagonist with typical anti-hero traits.

Other than that they are two different stories, with the former focusing on gambling and the latter on action.

11. Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy-

Tsukimichi is a 2021 isekai anime based on a 12-episode light novel with many elements similar to The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Makoto Misumi suddenly finds himself in a new world, summoned by a goddess, who reveals to him that his parents have made a pact to make him the hero of that world.

Makoto is ready for the task, only to be suddenly betrayed by the god, who says he does not consider him aesthetically handsome enough for the task.

He will end up an outcast in a world he does not know, but that is until he develops incredibly strong powers thanks to the help of another god. This is how his revenge begins, and we’ll see Makoto gain more and more power and respect.

The similarities are striking. Both protagonists are betrayed and mistreated early in the story, and as the story continues they redeem themselves and gain power.

And both are aided in this task by a cast of mainly female secondary characters.

10. Arifureta – From Commonplace to World’s Strongest

Arifureta is a 2019 anime released in 13 enjoyable episodes which share with The Rising of The Shield Hero the mechanic of the protagonist being betrayed and discriminated against after being summoned.

A group of high school students are transported to a parallel world where they are expected to be heroes and save it from destruction.

All the students are found to possess excellent skills except Nagumo Hajime, who becomes a weak non-human crafter with super low statistics. And that is why he will end up being discriminated against and betrayed, strongly shaping his character and making him distrustful.

One day, while exploring a dungeon, Nagumo falls into a seemingly bottomless abyss. But when at the bottom he finds there a blonde vampire over 300 years old despite appearances imprisoned the tables will turn.

Arifureta is an excellent anime, much similar to The Rising of The Shield Hero.

In addition to the similarity of the betrayed protagonist, we also have both protagonists seeing the creation of a harem of girls who will help him mature.

9. Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online is an anime that once again has as its similarity to The Rising of The Shield Hero a trait of the main character.

The events center on Kirito, nicknamed the black swordsman, in different virtual MMORPG video game worlds with an experience levels system, accompanied by as many allies as enemies in different stories and plots.

The similarity between these two anime is the op MC who saves the world or those he cares about in an alternate dimension.

Other than that, as we have already discussed, SAO is a fairly inconsistent series, certainly inferior to The Rising of the Shield Hero.

8. Overlord

Overlord is one of the best isekai of the moment that like The Rising of The Shield Hero shows an excellent protagonist who is incredibly strong and has anti-hero traits.

Although the initial premise is the same as much other anime in the genre, here the protagonist Momonga is not reincarnated into a weakling, but rather into what is considered the most powerful being in his world.

This will lead him to be in command of a powerless army with which he will slowly conquer everything conquerable, in a series of events that are never predictable or trivial.

It must be admitted that Momonga is much, much more villainous and anti-heroic than Naofumi, who has negative and bad traits only in the early parts of the plot.

Still, it remains an excellent recommendation.

7. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (DanMachi)

DanMachi can be regarded as a more comic and lighter alternative to The Rising of the Shield Hero.

The dungeon is a mysterious place in the city of Orario, which conceals as many riches as dangers. Therefore, adventurers can join families, groups of people with the purpose of reducing dangers.

But protagonist Bell Craner has quite different plans: he is the only member of Hestia’s family, and his goal is not riches but to conquer the beautiful Aiz Wallenstein.

Much like in The Rising of the Shield Hero, in Danmach the protagonist will becomes stronger and stronger over the course of the story.

But in contrast, it is an anime that relies on comedy, ecchi, and romance-harem elements.

6. Konosuba! – This Wonderful World

Konosuba is much more focused on comedy and slice-of-life than The Rising of The Shield Hero, but it remains an excellent recommendation.

Upon arriving in the afterlife, he is welcomed by a goddess named Aqua, who offers to reincarnate him in an alternate world where he will face the Demon King.

He will be granted the ability to carry an item, skill, or anything of his liking to use as an aid in his journey.

The protagonist’s choice reflects the comic nature of the entire series: Kazuma will choose to take the goddess herself with him.

The setting is similar, and we have the similarity of the protagonist group consisting of a boy and many girls performing tasks to survive.

But removed from that Konosuba is much more comic and light-hearted than The Rising of the Shield Hero, which is based on action and fighting.

5. Mushoku Tensei

Mushoku Tensei is an anime that we feel like recommending to you after watching The Rising of the Shield Hero because of its excellent plot, characters, and animation.

The plot of this anime revolves around an anonymous 34-year-old unemployed Japanese guy who’s evicted from his apartment and realizes the futility of his life.

One day he finds himself saving some high school students who were about to be hit by a truck, losing his life.

What may seem the end for him is in fact a new beginning and a chance to live his new life at its fullest.

Mushoku Tensei and The Rising of The Shield Hero have two different storylines, just as their themes and mechanics are different.

We still feel like recommending it to you because they are both story-based anime, and they both have excellent protagonists.

4. Saga of Tanya the Evil

Saga of Tanya The Evil is an innovative and engaging isekai that we recommend you see in general, and not just after The Rising of the Shield Hero.

The protagonist of the story is a cynical salaryman who, after firing one of his employees, will be killed by the latter.

Finding himself facing God, not believing in it, the man will find himself catapulted into a parallel world at war in the guise of Tanya, a young girl.

He will have to redeem himself here to have his sins forgiven. That’s how his military career begins.

The Saga of Tanya The Evil is a real breath of fresh air in the isekai genre. It shows as in The Rising of the Shield Hero an extremely strong and cool protagonist, far from the classic heroic hero.

As differences instead, we have the setting, which is more realistic and dark but still beautifully realized.

3. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is one of the most popular isekai and fantasy anime of recent times, which has a big similarity with The Rising of the Shield Hero.

The protagonist is Satoru Mikami, a salaryman who dies stabbed after saving a colleague from a robber.

The special feature lies in the fact that he will be reincarnated as a blind slime. After befriending the dragon Veldra, he begins his adventure in the world, gathering around him a vast array of followers.

Don’t be fooled by his appearance, because Rimuru, that’s the name of the protagonist in the isekai world, is extremely strong, and even one of the strongest characters ever.

And it is precisely this key similarity that makes this anime an excellent recommendation to watch after The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Both anime have an op protagonist, who will gradually unlock broken techniques.

2. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is an isekai with many things in common with The Rising of the Shield Hero.

This anime features Haruhiro, a boy who wakes up together with twelve other people in a fantasy world called Grimgar.

None of them have any memory of their past, and in order to survive in the world, they recruit themselves as soldiers of the Volunteer Army of the border town Alterna.

Haruhiro is a member of a group led by the leader Manato. Unfortunately, during one mission Manato dies leaving the group shaken and without a leader. He will decide to pick up Manato’s mantle and lead the group in his memory.

Both anime show a protagonist who has to make his way in his world, gradually gaining more and more respect from people.

Another similarity is the power system. Indeed, both anime have an interesting weapon-based power system.

1. Re:Zero

Re: Zero has a huge resemblance to The Rising of The Shield Hero in terms of the two main characters.

The protagonist Subaru ends up following an accident in the mysterious magical world of Lugunica, full of different creatures like demons and spirits.

Here he will make the acquaintance of Emilia, a half-elf with whom he falls in love from the start.

But following an unfortunate accident in which they will both lose their lives, the protagonist will realize that he can come back to life, much like a respawn in video games. What mystery lies behind this strange event?

Subaru and Naofumi are two protagonists bound together by the fact that the harsh trials that fate will put before them will cause them to evolve so much as characters.

Naofumi in terms of the discrimination against him, and Subaru in terms of the endless painful respawns he will experience to make things right.