The Rising of the Shield Hero: The Rise of a Mercantilist
Disclaimer: I am fully aware of some of the controversies surrounding this anime. Anime as a genre suffers quite a few problems regarding its depictions of women, minorities, such as gay, trans, and people of color, and even the sexualization of minors. I will be touching on at least a couple controversial plot points and how it relates to the story. Spoilers ahead. Apologies in advance.
This is by no means a definitive view of the anime. I am only offering another way of looking at the complex relationships between the various characters throughout the series.
I am going to start things off first with a video describing a socio-economic philosophy you may be familiar with from your AP days called, “mercantilism.”
“Franklin” is an ongoing video series created by the YouTuber “donoteat1.” It is very well done and educational. I highly recommend it.
Mercantilism is described as a “zero sum” game. There are winners and losers. Sometimes in a trade the difference evens out, but mutually beneficial agreements between parties are from a mercantilist perspective.
What follows is a basic summary of mercantilist practices you may or may not be aware of.
If you watched the video, you could pass right over this.
You may remember something about mercantilism being protectionist. The way states practiced protectionism was through high tariffs and exclusive trade agreements, i.e. “free trade” agreements. Mercantilist economies used gold and silver as their primary currency. Trade between colonies or states in gold and silver were tightly regulated or banned outright as this was a necessary measure to control the money supply. Any gold or silver which left the economy would reduce the buying power of all who were affected. Local merchants within a state or colony were given preference over foreign outsiders. Workers were often oppressed and exploited horribly. Slavery and indentured servitude were legal. Such labor was necessary to build the industrial capitalist society which followed about a century or two later. Most wages were at or above bear subsistence levels. There was massive exploitation of raw resources within a colony or state for productive use. Trade between countries would be limited to high-value, finished goods, such as jewelry, furniture, whiskey, rather than raw materials.
Rather than focusing on mercantilism from a state’s perspective, we will focus on the main protagonist, Naofumi.
The world Naofumi was summoned to was a feudal, matriarchal society. Right of succession is determined through matrilineage. People who work in a trade have to register with a guild. The economy is mainly supported by peasants and slaves (demi-humans). So not quite a mercantilist society, but it does have mercantilist elements within.
He was betrayed by the kingdom of Melromarc right from the onset of the story. Rumors were spreading about him being unreliable and incompetent, which he found out later after being presented to the king. Princess Malty pretended to be an adventurer and framed the Shield Hero with rape to cement his status as a heinous criminal within the kingdom.
It is worth noting that Naofumi, the Shield Hero, lost support from the kingdom after being framed as a villain by the princess posing as an adventurer. What was interesting was the intentional prejudice and hatred levied at the Shield Hero. It did not matter who was the Shield Hero. The role was The Mark of Cain for anyone unfortunate enough to assume it. There was even an entire state apparatus called, “The Church of the Three Heroes.” The mythos surrounding the church’s teachings requires the Shield to play the part of the devil or “Devil of the Shield.” Yet the Shield was necessary to fend off “the waves of catastrophe.”
The Church constantly kept tabs on Naofumi’s adventures and made attempts to warp the meaning behind his movements. The prejudice the king had towards the Shield was more personal. The king was oblivious to Malty’s ambitions and her conspiring with the Church against the Shield.
Naturally, this story progression followed James Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey.” At first, Naofumi welcomed a fresh start from his previous life in Japan. However, his conflicts with the royal family and the Church caused him to develop intense animus for the Kingdom of Melromarc and the royal family. The relationship changed from one of voluntary enthusiasm as savior of a fantasy world to unbearable coercion and humiliation at the hands of an oppressive class of nobility. Incidentally, the series of unfortunate events which befell the Shield Hero and discovering new found allies through those events helped him grow into a better person.
Rise of the Slaver
In episode 5, Naofumi visits the slave merchant to renew the crest on Raphtalia. He also purchases a monster egg to increase his ranks with the meager reward he earned for defending Lute village. The monster turns out to be a filolial queen. Here the Shield Hero has taken on the role of slaver. It is not something he enjoys, but the kingdom has turned its back on him and no one within it wants to party with him. Slaves are his only means of progressing through the world since he cannot fight on his own. Of course, this only intensifies the prejudice already present within the greater kingdom. The peasant villagers, though, will come to view the Shield Hero quite differently.
After renewing the crest and buying a monster egg, Naofumi and Raphtalia decide to rest in the village of Lute. There they raise Filo the filolial into an astonishing bird reminiscent of a chocobo.
Rise of the Savior of the Heavenly Foul
The Shield Hero later encounters the Hero of the Spear and Princess Malty. Malty makes a royal proclamation that the village of Lute belongs to the Spear Hero and subsequently the tolls will increase to 50 silvers for entering and existing the village, under the pretext that such fines are necessary for reconstruction. He races the Spear Hero for the rights to the village and wins. As a reward from saving the village, the village lord grants the Shield Hero a cart and a merchant’s pass which allows access to any village within the kingdom without the need to stop and pay a toll. It is practically a license to trade as a merchant. He welcomes the new opportunity to improve his party’s chances for survival and possibly their living conditions.
When he returns to Melromarc, an apothecary bestows upon him a tome for creating high quality potions as thanks for saving his family in Lute. A witch from a magical items shop does the same, granting him a magic spell book. Naofumi is grateful for these gifts and reflects on his sudden change in demeanor in surprise. He experienced nothing but hostility and suspicion before now. With these new gifts, he is closer to his new role as a traveling trader.
Being the Shield Hero comes with many disadvantages. He cannot read or write in the native language. He is not even given the tools or resources necessary for his quest like the other heroes. He has to rely on his allies and the people he helps along the way for support. This process leads to a transformation within Naofumi, and he begins to identify with the people and understand his relationship to them.
Rise of the Merchant
In episode 6, Naofumi uses his new skills to help a sick village while on a quest to gather materials for Filo’s new clothes. He picks up new skills along the way and realizes he could not only trade but transport people, as well.
Naofumi gains notoriety among the peasant folk as “Savior of the Heavenly Fowl” for his exploits defending Lute and saving a sick village. He earns the trust of an accessory seller after Naofumi defended him from a gang of brigands hired by another trader. The brigands recognized him as the shield hero and planned to frame him in front of the king’s soldiers. He threatened them with death saying he would let Filo snack on the lot of them and relented after bartering with their lives. At the gang’s hideout, he coerced them into giving him everything they hoarded. Raphtalia objected to this open display of intimidation. The trader objected. He remarked that the Shield Hero was treating their lives as merchandise. The “Savior of the Heavenly fowl” grants them safe passage in exchange for all their treasure. It was a fair exchange considering what would have happened otherwise.
The accessory merchant took kindly to him. He said, “The Shield Hero embodies true trader’s spirit.” The “true trader’s spirit” perfectly sums up what a mercantilism is all about.
The trader trains Naofumi in his craft, processing metals and gemstones, imbuing gems with mana, and learning spells. He gives him his trading connections and knowledge, introduces him to other traders, and learns about what the other heroes and their movements in the process.
Thinking of Naofumi as a mercantile trader created a whole new dimension of critique that was quite fun to think about. What I did not enjoy, however, was how short-lived this experience was. Here the Shield Hero was coming into his own gradually building trust with the peasant folk, learning skills, producing high quality goods for his party, and plying a new trade as a traveling merchant. He also cleaned up the messes left behind by the previous heroes in their moments of vanity and glory-seeking. That story-arc was hopelessly dashed by the ever increasing belligerence of Melromarc’s church.
The Shield Hero was rather endearing. He pretended to play a cold, calculating business man. Unlike most merchants, he genuinely looked to help those he did business with while also taking only what he and his party needed. His standoffish demeanor was a tough guise to prevent any misunderstandings. He did not want locals to think of him as a savior or even a friend, lest the kingdom accuse him of starting a peasant revolt … which they did. His only driving focus was a speedy retreat back to his dimension. However, misunderstandings abound as he regularly clashes with Melromarc’s soldiers, the church, and the three other heroes.
I hope you enjoyed this out-of-the-blue review of this Isekai Anime. Hopefully, this will give you something new and fun to think about.
