Read through light novel vol. 12. Random thoughts.

A while back there was a cartoon called Superman The Animated Series and there were a lot of fans who thought their version of Lex Luthor was black because his skin was darker than what most other incarnations had been. Later on in the series, there was an episode with a one-off character whom had the exact same character model as Lex except he actually was black. The common fan theory for that episode was that the showrunners did that so people could see through a direct comparison what Lex would look like if he was black and they'd stop getting asked about it.

I bring this up because Alta reminds me a little bit of that, like she was created by the author in response to misconceptions too many people have about Raphtalia. That she worships Naofumi, that she loves him to the point of obsession after he saved her life and cured her illness, that she agrees with everything he says and would let him do anything to her if he wanted, etc. None of this is a criticism of Alta, since she's still a fun character (if a bit of a creepy stalker sometimes), but there are times when I'm reading where she feels like she's the author's way of showing what Raphtalia would be like if she actually was any of those things.

Overlord was my gateway series into both Isekai anime and light novel books, so naturally I tend to compare things a lot to Overlord. Alta reminds me a LOT of Ainz's minions in regards to her relationship with Naofumi. "You're great! You're amazing! You're perfect! Anyone who even minorly inconveniences you must DIE." That girl is thirsty in every sense of the word. Obviously I'm hoping her infatuation isn't due to the elixir. It's still creepy to have a child fawning that much over a grown adult (though not as much as it'd be the other way around) but it'd be far worse if that's the result of brain altering chemicals or the like over her own natural feelings. Like I said with Motoyasu's Temptation ability, stuff like that always makes me feel really uncomfortable.

Wyndia?! Dragons?! F**k yeah, I love Breath of fire!

The Demon Dragon Emperor was a great boss monster. It kind of took the best parts of the previous big boss battles and rolled them into one. He was an overwhelmingly powerful force like the Spirit Tortoise but still had an actual personality like Glass, not being just another monster like the Soul Eater. Using the Shield of Wrath to power up and wanting to absorb Naofumi because of his anger even gave an interesting dynamic, like with L'Arc and Therese being Naofumi's allies for a time and fighting to save their world. There was even the outright ego and lust for power that Kyo had but the Demon Dragon never threw a tantrum when things didn't go his way. He either got angry and fought harder or tried to run when he was in over his head. It never seemed like he was so weak mentality that he had to actively protect his ego. He was as good and powerful as he claimed and let his actions speak for themselves. When that didn't work he didn't start whining, just promised that he would return. I love forward to him being Naofumi's Nine Tailed Fox.

“It seems like you’re just going out in search of unjustified resentment based on misunderstandings, and then using that to condemn me as evil. Instead of wasting your time doing that, why don’t you just fix all of those problems yourself? You’re a hero too, right?”

“No, Princess Malty told me that these were special powers that only your shield possesses!”

What the f**k is with this bitch?!

Also, got to love how the three guys who prided themselves on "clearly" knowing everything about this world because they've played games similar to it believe every single thing they're told about Naofumi's shield, even if they've never heard about shielders having such abilities. Especially hearing such info from a person who has no reason to know anything about what the Legendary Shield can do. Malty is the ex-princess of a country that worships every hero EXCEPT for the shield. First the ability to brainwash, then that he was controlling the Spirit Tortoise, and now the ability to bring the dead back to life.

[Five seconds later]

A BRAINWASHING BOW?! ARE YOU F**KING KIDDING ME?!

Between that and Motoyasu's Temptation ability, now I'm going to be paranoid that Naofumi does actually has some kind of mind altering power he can unlock (closest right now is just Hate Reaction, which just makes monsters focus on him during battle). Malty is going to have a field day with that if it ever happens.

I'm kind of split on how I feel about the situation with Itsuki. Obviously I'm glad he apologized to Rishia and is on Naofumi's side, as well as his actions being the result of his background and issues as opposed to him just being a jerk. But it's kind of like with Trash, where the sympathetic backstory doesn't feel like it excuses or makes up for what he's been doing. All the heroes, including Naofumi, have serious flaws and reasons for those flaws, but Itsuki throughout has kind of felt like the most hypocritical and sometimes nefarious of the four. Treating Rishia so badly and then getting rid of her, not just because she upstaged him during a wave, but because she reminded him of when he was bullied back in his old life make him feel like an even worse person. Maybe I have a bias because I am a huge fan of superheroes, which was a comparison drawn a few times in this book, and there are certainly fans, including myself probably, who would probably act just like Itsuki has been for the same reasons, but it still doesn't endear me much to his character. Instead of using his backstory as a reason to be better, he chose to be just as bad as what he's dealt with, justifying it only with his own desire to want to be the hero; to want to be the main character. He's a little like Light from Death Note in a way. "I am justice and those who disagree with me are against justice.", while any fan of modern superheroes could tell you it's not that simple (like Rishia did). Obviously, I'm probably being way too harsh. I feel like I'd maybe be less split and more forgiving if we'd gotten to see Itsuki interact with his former party after they abandoned him to the Spirit Tortoise, not just Rishia, like we did with Motoyasu. See more how he treated the people who didn't remind him of himself and how it felt when they stopped feeding his ego and hero complex.

I'm really enjoying the different drawbacks each of the different curse series have. It'd be really easy to have just a loss in stats or a risk of death like Naofumi's Shield of Wrath but I like that each has its own unique consequence that relates to the power that was being used. Ren used the sin of greed to gain temporary power and now the quality of whatever he touches lowers, as well as his own exp. It's like a reverse Midas touch. Then we have Itsuki, whom after spending so long demanding everyone conform to his ideal, now becoming completely passive and obedient. Of course, now I'm concerned about what the drawback to Motoyasu's curse is, since it seems to be based in lust.

Am I the only one who thinks the ninjas attacked not because of the Miko outfit but because they were bored? They've been watching Raphtalia's family since before she was born and have done nothing other than that. Now they're attacking over the smallest excuse, because they should know the context of why she was wearing that outfit since they've been constantly watching; not as a sign she wants the throne but because, well, that sh*t gets Naofumi going. I think they were just bored and jumped at the chance to finally fight something.

But back to seriousness, Naofumi's reaction at the end was my absolute favorite of his yet. Just that realization that these people watched Raphtalia's village get attacked several times, watched her family die, watched her get sold into slavery, and did NOTHING to stop any of it, only to finally reveal themselves now trying to kill her over a misunderstanding. I'm completely on his side. F**k these people! I'm glad they're going to go take over their country and crush it! (I'm vindictive today, jeez...). I took a peek at the art for vol. 13 and it has Naofumi sitting on a throne like freaking Lelouch from Code Geass and I'm just sitting here going "Ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy!" I love a bad guy I can root for.

I'm just imagining that Lilo and Stitch meme, where Raphtalia is at her bedside praying to Heaven to send her a friend; the nicest angel they have.

Cut to Naofumi, laughing maniacally and surrounded by fire.

If Naofumi and Raphtalia ever have a daughter, he is going to forbid that child from leveling up until she's 18 if there is ANY chance she'll grow like a typical Demi-Human. Naofumi will want her to stay as cute, little, and innocent for as long as possible after all the other things like Filo he's helped raise. 50/50 he'll do the same if they have a son.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/shieldbro/comments/fi2imi/read_through_light_novel_vol_12_random_thoughts/