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The Rising of The Shield Hero Anime Gets Stage Play

The Rising of The Shield Hero anime is inspiring a stage play adaptation that will run in Osaka and Tokyo in spring 2020. The play will run at Cool Japan Park Osaka TT Hall from March 27-29, followed by Theater Sun-mall in Tokyo from April 2-12.

Satoshi Ōgita (Bobjack Theater) is directing the play, and Kaori Moriyama (Bobjack Theater) is writing the script. Kazuki Unebasami of Scissors Blitz is producer, and Scissors Blitz is also handling planning and production.

Crunchyroll announced at its own Crunchyroll Expo on September 1 that anime will have an additional two seasons. The company did not announce a debut date for the new seasons. Crunchyroll revealed a new visual for the anime.

One Peace Books is releasing the original novel series and Aiya Kyū's manga adaptation in English. The publisher describes the novels' first volume:

Naofumi Iwatani, an uncharismatic otaku who spends his days on games and manga, suddenly finds himself summoned to a parallel universe! He discovers he is one of four heroes equipped with legendary weapons and tasked with saving the world from its prophesied destruction. As the Shield Hero, the weakest of the heroes, all is not as it seems. Naofumi is soon alone, penniless, and betrayed. With no one to turn to, and nowhere to run, he is left with only his shield. Now, Naofumi must rise to become the legendary Shield Hero and save the world!

The The Rising of The Shield Hero anime series premiered with a two-hour special on January 9 and ran for 25 episodes. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired in Japan. The series was scheduled to launch on Crunchyroll with English subtitles on January 9, but Crunchyroll streamed the first 45-minute English-subtitled episode early on January 5. Crunchyroll premiered the first dubbed episode at last year's Crunchyroll Expo in September 2018 with guests from the anime.

Takao Abo (Norn9) directed the first season at Kinema Citrus. Keigo Koyanagi (Regalia: The Three Sacred Stars) was in charge of series composition. Masahiro Suwa (Chaika the Coffin Princess animation director) adapted Seira Minami's original character designs for animation. Crunchyroll co-produced the show with Kadokawa.

Sources: The Rising of The Shield Hero stage play's website, Comic Natalie