English Dub Review: The Rising of the Shield Hero “Justice VS Justice”

Overview

Rishia faces Itsuki in the underground arena, and Itsuki proceeds to rant and rave in a mentally unwell state. It’s clear that he’s also come under the mental influence of Myne/Malty/Bitch and unlocked a Curse series. Recognizing the severity of the situation, Naofumi evacuates the children as Rishia enters her most dangerous fight yet.


Our Take

Picking up immediately from the previous episode, the long-awaited Itsuki vs Rishia battle is on full display and it doesn’t disappoint. As Rishia proceeds to confront Itsuki directly, in an effort to rescue his deluded ass from himself. And to further emphasize how screwed up in the head Itsuki is, at one point the dipshit aims his arrows and opens fire at Naofumi who was accompanied by a bunch of the very same “child slaves” he wanted to save. But I’m actually more surprised there isn’t any kind of safety precautions within the Underground Fight Club for audience members in case of random shit like this happening.

While Rishia had her moments to shine in Season 2, she wasn’t exactly a character that could carry the show. At the very least, this episode provides her with a significant spotlight on her skills and fortitude as she rejects Itsuki’s twisted ideals of justice which are most likely under the influence of his weapon corrupting him with the sin of “Pride”. And much like Ren, we also get a bit of Itsuki’s backstory. But all I can say is that if you grow up with high expectations from your parents, only to fall short, it can mentally fuck with you in the long run…

Overall, while this episode excelled with its character growth and well-animated battles, it wasn’t perfect. In fact, if you made a drinking game out of this episode where you took a shot every time someone spouted the word “justice”, you’d most likely be fucking dead. And certain plot beats felt noticeably contrived and repetitive. Malty/Bitch endlessly frolics in her mayhem while systematically manipulating these dudes only to later throw them under a bus in different ways which leaves anyone to wonder if she’s aware of what’s at stake, or even cares if her world gets destroyed? However, the real question should be, whether or not, the four “Cardinal Heroes” will finally be able to take on this Phoenix Monster this entire season kept talking about as this impending threat. Because I doubt they can cram such a large-ass action sequence against a towering threat in the season 3 finale unless they make it an “hour-long special” or something.