Rina Hidaka (L) and Asami Seto (R)

The Rising of the Shield Hero is a new Crunchyroll anime co-production set to begin streaming in Janurary 2019. As part of our series of cast interviews, Asami Seto and Rina Hidaka have arrived to tell you about their upcoming roles, the challenge of voicing their characters, and what viewers can expect from this upcoming adaptation of the hit light novel and manga series. Enjoy below!





Asami Seto (Raphtalia)

What was your first impression of your character when you read the original novel or script?

Asami Seto: Her story begins when she is bought by Naofumi as a slave. Because she has tough memories about her slave days, she was traumatized and scared of everything. It was interesting to see how she gradually changed as she started living with Naofumi after that.

What were your feelings and some things that you tried to keep in your mind when you actually played the character? Were there any suggestions from the director and the sound director?

I think Raphtalia is in a position that changes her environments dramatically as the story proceeds. Because of that, she was a character who showed so many different kinds of expressions. I tried to carefully portray her as someone who gave her trust to Naofumi no matter what.

Do you have any message to the viewers, such as the anime's appeal and highlights?

I think this is an anime that makes you feel like you’ve jumped into the world of a game. I hope you will enjoy the quest of the Hero of the Shield party, including Raphtalia, and their forthcoming battles against the enemies.

Rina Hidaka (Firo)

What was your first impression of your character when you read the original novel or script?

Rina Hidaka: The protagonist of this anime keeps going his own way in severe situations. I thought such an attitude was cool. However, there were also many scenes that showed human stupidity and failings, so I often felt like “I hate this person!” while reading the scripts (laughs).

What were your feelings and some things that you tried to keep in your mind when you actually played the character? Were there any suggestions from the director and the sound director?

Firo is as expressive as a child, so I have enjoyed playing her very happily and freely. When I played the demon bird version of her, I used a deeper voice to express a bird kind of feeling, but the director said to me, “Please keep her voice lovely as usual.” (laughs)

Do you have any message to the viewers, such as the anime's appeal and highlights?

Since the story itself can be very serious and heavy, I would be glad if the existence of Filo can help to heal everyone a bit. Filo has many ad-libs, so please don’t miss even small details of this series and enjoy it!