Everyone wants to see protagonists develop, butside characters need to be their bestselves too. Watching a character’s journey is entertaining, even when they’re not the primary focus of a story. The best anime series have enoughcharacter development to go around, which makes for a more rounded cast and a deeper story.
Rishia Ivyred ofThe Rising of the Shield Heroexperienced changes from the first season to the second that made her a more engaging character to watch. While her development was more rushed than necessary, that’s a story for another time. Still, how much has she changed?
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Humble Beginnings
The first time viewers meet Rishia is in season 1, after she attempted to drown herself because the bow hero kicked her out of his party. Naofumi and his party take her in as one of their own with the intention of helping her to develop to a point where she can be accepted back into the bow hero’s party. Members of the bow hero’s party framed her for something she didn’t do, which made the bow hero feel justified in kicking her out of the party.
Unlike the other party members, she joined his party sometime after he initially created the party in the first episode. Viewers don’t get to learn much about Rishia or get much insight into her character because she’s introduced in the first season’s last episode. She’s typically shy and cowardly, withpractically no skills, especially in battle.
New Season, New Me
When season 2 starts, Rishia has a long way to go. She’s still rather timid and doesn’t speak her mind often. In some moments, viewers get a glimpse of her thoughts, but she chooses not to share them with the class. She also tends to hide in costumes out of shyness, likeGrey fromBlack Clover. Although, she’s still a little different from how she was at the end of season 1. She and Raphtalia have been training with Eclair Seaetto, a skillful knight and daughter of a lord. This hints at her off-screen development since the first season and the foundations of her changes to come later in the second season. While she’s still not skilled in combat, there’s the potential for her to actualize her potential at the right moment.
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Surprisingly, Rishia becomes a more prominent character in the second season, which starts with the focus on her at the beginning of season 2. She’s become not only more insightful and thoughtful but also less reserved. She picks up on Raphtalia’s discomfort regarding grisly remnants of a destroyed village on the spirit tortoise’s back and reaffirms that it’s okay for Raphtalia not to feel okay. She also shows she has more wisdom than previously revealed and has some proficiency with reading ancient texts.
The Glow-up
Most of thesecond season’s first halfdoesn’t show much development for Rishia, but things ramp up quickly. On the way toward the halfway point, she faces a decision to either stay behind when Naofumi’s party descends into the spirit tortoise’s body or join them. She wrestles with her cowardice and indecision up to this point before deciding to commit to changing herself.
After that, her next moment of development isher biggest one in the second season. Naofumi’s party clashes with Kyo, the book vassal weapon holder.
Kyo holds everyone down with a gravity attack and no one’s able to stop him as he stomps Naofumi’s head into the floor. Rishia rises to the occasion and trashes Kyo, calling him weak and attacking his method of pretending to be strong by hiding behind the power of others. In the face of this overwhelming power, Rishia acts without the fear and uses a power she gained through her training with Eclair, her ability to manipulate ki. It’s a pretty cathartic moment.
After Catharsis
Rishia’s confident and open personality continues throughout the rest of the season. When Naofumi’s party follows Kyo to another world, she joins them and pledges to support them asa full-fledged party member. She pushes her feelings for the bow hero, who kicked her to the curb, to the side, and doesn’t think about him or his party for the rest of the season.
When Naofumi’s rage threatens to get the better of him, she acts as the voice of reason to keep him calm, but let’s not forget that she’s always ready to join the fight now. She doesn’t flinch when Naofumi suggests torturing Filo’s captor for information and when Kizuna says they should just ask for information, Rishia says “is there a difference?”
Granted, it was a pretty quick transformation, and it seemed to manifest hugely over just three episodesinstead of over a whole season. It was great to see the change, but it might’ve been less jarring if it was more gradual. As it currently stands, Rishia is now one of the better characters ofThe Rising of the Shield Herocompared to just being a minor side character in the first season.
