WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 36 ofThe Rising of the Shield Hero, “Kizuna,” now streaming onFunimation,Crunchyroll&Hulu.
As the Second Season ofThe Rising of the Shield Herodraws closer to its ending, the events in the sequel are about to reach their climax. The Spirit Tortoise saga ended with Kyo Ethnina emerging as the victor following the demise of Ost Hourai and scores of people in the world that summoned Naofumi as the Shield Hero to fight the Waves. After theSpirit Tortoise arc, Naofumi and his party members ended up in a foreign world where they met Kizuna, the Hunting Hero.
After a bunch of bittersweet experiences, Naofumi reunited with all of his party members, who separated from him due to the actions of Kyo Ethnina. Episode 36 ofRising of the Shield Herofeatured Naofumi’s reunion between old foes as they banded together to overcome one shared obstacle: The Waves.
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The Waves Saga
A few minutes into episode 36, the villainous Kyo Ethnina showed up to meet Kazuki, who was still recuperating from Rapthalia’s attack with the Katana weapon. Unfortunately, Kyo’s sudden appearance caused Kazuki to lose his cool temporarily, forcing his body to split apart, leading to his death. This occurrence shows just how much of a bad person Kyo is as he would turn his back on his allies or use people under him to his advantage. However, this short saga paved forthe episode’s main theme: The Waves.
The Waves has been a dark phenomenon inRising of the Shield Herosince the series’ first season. In season one, Naofumi, Filo & Rapthalia effectively cleared monsters that came from the Waves, and with the combined efforts of the trio, everything went smoothly until Glass and her hero companions were added to the mix. The occurrences in the first season led most viewers to believe that Glass, Therese & L’Arc needed to destroy their world in line with the Waves for their worlds to be saved. However, episode 36 finally reveals the true motives behind theactions of the misguided heroes.
Episode 36 starts with Kizuna realizing that even though she & Naofumi are both heroes, they were summoned for different reasons. Naofumi was summoned to combat the Waves, while she was summoned to fight the Emperor Dragon. Unfortunately, after Kizuna accomplished her objective, she was locked in the Infinite Labyrinth, leading to her lack of knowledge of the Waves occurrence.After Kizuna met Glass, L’Arc & Therese, her former companions, the Waves became the subject of the heartwarming encounter.
Kizuna questioned Glass on her reason for attacking Naofumi’s world and how it was connected to the Waves occurrence. Shockingly, attacking Naofumi’s world was actually a poor strategy panned out by the hero bunch as a weak solution to ending the Waves occurrence in their world. This development surprised Glass, as she was disappointed at the drastic actions taken by Glass & the rest regarding the Waves. After apologizing to Naofumi, she then proposed a workable plan to him: working together to figure out the source of the Waves.Naofumi agrees to this, creating a bondbetween the Cardinal Heroes from different worlds.
Kizuna – The Advocate For Peaceful Resolutions
In episode 36, Kizuna was depicted be quite the advocate for peace between warring parties. First, she mended the situation between Naofumi & Glass. Second, she peacefully handled the brief conflict between Kyo’s feisty subordinate. After Kizuna, Naofumi & the rest of their allies agreed to upgrade their equipment to fight Kyo Ethnina once & for all, they met an individual, Yomogi, who threatened to eliminate the bunch on behalf of Kyo Ethnina. The misguided follower then attacked the group. However, she was easily subdued due to the combined attacks of the heroes. Even after Yomogi witnessed the destruction of her sword, which was meant todestroy her & Kyo’s opposition, she still chose to side with Kyo.
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This was not surprising as Yomogi had a lopsided perspective of Kyo’s personality. In her mind, Kyo was a noble individual with the goal of finding a solution to the Waves phenomenon. Unknown to her naïve girl, she was actually a pawn in Kyo’s sinister plans. After Yomogi was defeated, Naofumi advocated for a thorough and closely-violent interrogation of Yomogi. However, Kizuna coaxed Naofumi into allowing her to interrogate Yomogi peacefully.
Kyo’s Evil Plan
During Kizuna’s conversation with Yomogi, she revealed her background with Kyo as his childhood friend. She befriended Kyo on the misguided belief that he was a good person. However, Yomogi started having second thoughts regarding Kyo after hearing of the evil deeds he committed. Still, she chose to remain at his side even and bear any punishment Kyo faced for his actions alongside him. This shows just how committed Yomogi was to Kyo’s cause as a friend & ally. However, Yomogi’s view of Kyo changed at theend of episode 36.
Kizuna, alongside the other heroes, was aware of the time of the Waves next appearance: two days ahead of their current day. However, suddenly the Waves appeared unexpectedly. This shocking development was linked to Kyo as a hallowed glow emanated from his house, revealing that he was the mastermind behind the unfavorable development. Piecing the facts together, Yomogi realized that all the time she knew Kyo, he was researching the means to create the Waves – not counter the phenomenon. Finally seeing Kyofor the villain he truly is, Yomogi sank into despair as the malevolent Waves loomed visibly on everyone.
Episode 36 ofThe Rising of the Shield Heroended on a malevolent note as Naofumi, Kizuna & the rest will have to devise a strategy to fight the Kyo-created Waves. How this event will turn out is uncertain. Nevertheless, the “Heroes” will have to pool their resources together to defeat the twisted villain, Kyo, while combating the monsters that arrive from the Waves.
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