Itsuki Kawasumi(川澄樹 Kawasumi Itsuki?) was summoned to another world to serve as the Bow Hero (弓の勇者 Yumi no Yuusha?), one of the Four Legendary Heroes, is a supporting character from the Rising of the Shield Hero franchise. He originally served as an anti-hero/villain before returning as the main antagonist of Volume 12.
Driven by a misguided principle of justice, as well as a superiority and hero complex, Itsuki's main ambition is to present himself as the ultimate hero. He wants to be the strongest of the heroes so that people to praise him. As such, Itsuki does not react well when others overshadow him.
After the Spirit Tortoise incident, Itsuki was betrayed by his companions, who together with Malty S. Melromarc, utilized the broken hero for their own benefit. He was eventually rescued by Naofumi and Risihia, upon which he gave up many of his misguided principles. Seeking redemption, Itsuki apologised for his past actions and with Rishia's help began the process of healing.
In the Reprise of the Spear Hero spin-off, Itsuki takes Motoyasu Kitamura's place as the most antagonistic hero and Malty's puppet.
Info[]
Appearance[]
Itsuki is seventeen years old, is the shortest and youngest looking of any of the heroes. He has short curly blonde hair and green eyes. Itsuki was initially summoned wearing a school uniform, with a green blazer but quickly traded this in for light armor. Wearing white underlayers, his overclothes are brown, with metal shoulder and hip guards. He also wears a green traveling cloak.
Personality[]
Itsuki feels in his own mind that he's the strongest of the Heroes, and undergoes stealthy missions to kill corrupt nobles and save villages, almost always just for the praise. Being a bullied child has left Itsuki with a desire to be special and superior. His sense of justice and need for praise both stem from this, as does his inability to deal with the meek Rishia Ivyred, who reminds him of his weakness.
Like the other heroes, Naofumi Iwatani excluded, Itsuki believed that the world they had come into was identical to that of a video game, but he goes further than they do and believes Naofumi has met God, i.e. the game master, and received powers from him to explain his superiority. Even after becoming a yes man and having everything shattered, he still feels that the fact that Rishia is stronger than him has to be a cheat. He also thought he was immortal since the "game" wouldn't let him die.
He called himself an ally of justice and tried to act on it, at least at the beginning. But, he lost the true essence of justice and instead just acted on his own selfish desires of getting praised, under the guise of justice. His sense of justice was so overpowering that he refused to listen to what anyone had to say and believed his own to be the only true justice. Though he goes on about justice on a regular basis, his view of it is incredibly self-indulgent and one-sided. He was willing to put everyone he believed to be evildoers to death just because he believed they were evil and was willing to kill them. This got worse when he was affected by the Curse Series.
He can also be quite gullible and unobservant, though not to Motoyasu Kitamura's extent, as all of his teammates excluding Rishia are in fact extremely untrustworthy people who just praise him all the time. They just fed his desire to be praised and every time they did, he felt satisfied by their praise. Then again, he can be easily fooled like he was by the Church of the Three Heroes when they lied about Naofumi's misdeeds and that Naofumi had an item that supposedly had the power to raise his EXP intake. After awakening his curse series, he believed Naofumi was evil for having slaves and turning away people who he could supposedly revive from the dead because Malty S Melromarc tricked him into thinking the latter was possible. He believed those who praise him and not others who tried to reason with him.
He has a hero complex which means he will wait until people are in a crisis before acting so he can "save" them in a heroic fashion, going far enough to lie about his abilities to cover up his inaction before people fall into critical situations. He's extremely petty, and not very smart, believing Naofumi is guilty of both the false attempt of rape charge and later of trying to take credit for things he had done, which wouldn't be hard for anyone to do because Itsuki tries to be a robin-hood-esque hero who conceals his own activities often. His pettiness was once again exposed when Rishia was praised over him for her efforts against L'Arc Berg. To get back at her, he framed Rishia for breaking an item and kicked her out of his party.
In short, he's stuck up, gullible, and wants to be praised by others. The one thing Naofumi ever said to him that genuinely enraged Itsuki was simply "I thought you were better than this, my evaluation of you has dropped," for which he was willing to go so far as to shoot the Shield Hero in the back of the head.
After going through the events with the Pride Series and experiencing Malty's manipulation, Itsuki's prideful personality destabilizes and he becomes completely despondent. He now follows Naofumi's orders without argument.
during in Sora's Team, after resurrected by Eua and Hanyuu, with Ren in another timeline now Itsuki becomes a spy for the two of them along with Ren to atone for what he did then he regrets what he did, He reunites with Naofumi for redeem to Naofumi.
Itsuki and Ren see truth of about Malty did to Naofumi, even accusing Naofumi as Malty's rapist through in fragments in sea of fragments, making Itsuki and Ren annoyed with Malty, but Itsuki and Ren wake up where they before, especially Ren, and Itsuki who pretends to go somewhere else even though saw what Malty did to Naofumi so Itsuki and Ren were shocked that Malty stole Naofumi's things, Malty even got the idea to make Naofumi as Malty's rapist so that her wouldn't be suspected so nobles, Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki made Itsuki, and Ren felt angry to Malty, even Ren, and Itsuki remembering Malty as a con artist that deceived Naofumi and Motoyasu before Ren, and Itsuki also abandoned by her just like in his previous life making Ren, and Itsuki angry with Malty, in next morning just like in previous life, Naofumi accused but Ren, and Itsuki believed in Naofumi but Malty corrupted Aultcray, noble, and Motoyasu that Itsuki, and Ren brainwashed by Naofumi made Itsuki, and Ren denied it then Motoyasu defended Malty made Itsuki and Ren were so upset that their relationship as heroes was destroyed by Malty make Ren, and Itsuki chased stopped Naofumi for not go from kingdom, but Naofumi already angry even him, and Ren help Malty made Itsuki cry but Ren reassuring him that this not Itsuki's fault because Ren had blamed Naofumi for being Malty's rapist from Malty's false accusations in previous life.
Hanyuu, Satoko, and Eua surprised that Itsuki, and Ren failed because the result would not change even though he felt sad but Ren encouraged Itsuki because Itsuki not alone because Ren made mistakes like Itsuki which happened before even though Itsuki threw away Mald, Welst, Rojeel, and Girl spear but Itsuki doesn't have a problem because Itsuki wants to be with Rishia then Ake, and his friend who believes Naofumi that Naofumi is not a rapist Malty makes Ake, and his friend join Ren, and Itsuki even Mirellia help Itsuki, and Ren with Itsuki and Ren pretend to be relieved from duty hero through the queen's handwriting from the queen's shadow as her envoy made Aultcray, Malty, and the nobles shocked about Itsuki expelled their party harshly because Itsuki chose Rishia then Ren who simultaneously acted like a maniac in order to help Naofumi in secret, let alone Itsuki, and Ren was not released but transferred into Sora's team for Itsuki, and Ren learns to cheat and even learns acting from Itsuki Tomofusa, Keyarga, Kaede Kayano, and other Heroes because Itsuki and Ren will make Malty pay for her deeds to him, Naofumi, Ren, and Motoyasu as con women.
Powers and Abilities[]
Like the other cardinal heroes, Itsuki is unable to use weapons that are not based around his original weapon, in his case a bow. Similar to Motoyasu, this puts him at a disadvantage compared to Naofumi or Ren, since he cannot fight or defend himself effectively at close range.
Itsuki's main strategy is to use powerful bows, with high-level attacks to overwhelm his opponent before they can get close to him. He initially believed that the rarer a weapon the bigger advantage he held over his opponent. Like the Sword and Spear Heroes, Itsuki also thought that grinding levels quickly would make him more powerful than any of his adversaries.
Whilst these strategies initially served him well, they ultimately hindered his growth and left him outmatched by people like Naofumi and L'Arc.
Outside of the waves, Itsuki will never engage in a fight until the crisis has reached its highest point. This is done with the express purpose of making him look more heroic.
Natural Abilities[]
ESPer[]
Itsuki comes from a world where many people, called ESPers, have special powers. Itsuki has one of those powers.
- Accuracy
A lower-class ability where the user is able to use ranged weapons with far greater precision than a normal person. Itsuki was able to use this ability to aim the Vassal Musical Instrument which usually fires randomly with an untrained wielder.
Legendary Bow[]
As a Holy Hero, Itsuki was summoned with a Legendary Weapon. He was given the Legendary Bow.
Offensive Abilities[]
- Wind Arrow「ウインドアロー Uindo Aroo」
Itsuki coats one of his arrows in a gust of wind.
- Shooting Star Bow「流星弓 Ryuusei Kyuu (lit. Meteor Bow)」
Fires a shot at his enemy which leaves a trail of star flying behind the arrow.
- Arrow Rain「アローレイン Aroo Rein」
Itsuki shoots into the air so that a number of arrows fall on the target.
- Eagle Piercing Shot「イーグルピアシングショット Iiguru Piashingu Shotto」
Shoots a single defense-ignoring arrow which has the shape of an eagle.
- Thunder Shoot「サンダーシュート Sandaa Shuuto」
Shoots a bolt of lightning at the target which can explode.
- Shining Arrow「シャイニングアロー Shainingu Aroo」
This skill is a type of charged attack which creates a shining arrow which he can control mid-air. The shining arrow then splits into multiple arrows. which rain down on the target.
- Arrow Squall「アロースコール Aroo Sukooru」
Creates an arrow which splits into a barrage of multiple arrows.
- Saint Arrow Rain「セントアローレイン Sento Aroo Rein」
Shoots several arrows like the basic Arrow Rain skill. However, these arrows are especially effective against curses.
- Spread Strafing「スプレッドストレイフィング Supureddo Sutoreifingu」
Shoots multiple arrows rapid-fire towards the target.
- Shadow Bind「シャドウバインド Shadow Baindo」
As the arrow lands in the target's shadow, it paralyzes them.
- Bind Arrow「バインドアロー Baindo Aroo」
Stitches the target's body to the ground.
- Bird Hunting「バードハンティング Baado Hantingu」
This skill divides the arrow into multiple shafts which all strike the target at once. This skill may be extra effective against flying targets.
- Spread Arrow「スプレッドアロー Supureddo Aroo」
This skill launches a barrage of arrows.
- Flash Arrow「フラッシュアロー Furasshu Aroo」
This skill shoots an arrow that flashes with a bright light and temporarily blinds the target.
- Bow 0「０の弓 Zero no Yumi」
This skill have 0 damage, cool-down and SP consumption. However, it was found to be effective against illegitimate powers.
Utility Skills[]
- Transfer Bow「転送弓 Tensou Kyuu (lit. Transport Bow)」
Allows the user and his party to teleport to saved locations.
- Unnamed Aerial View Ability
It allows Itsuki to see the surroundings from an aerial point of view, which is a great advantage for him and allows him to find his enemies more easily. He has not been seen using it yet, it has only been mentioned that he has it.
Curse Series (Pride)[]
After being manipulated by Malty and her group, Itsuki unlocked the pride curse series of his bow which he calls the Justice Bow
- "Justice Bow"
The innate power of the Justice Bow is that anyone who gets hit by one of its arrows are placed under his control as a form of brainwashing.
- Law Fanatic「ロウファナティック Rou Fanatikku」
As Itsuki releases his skill, a sinister aura condenses around him and transforms into a suit of armour. This armour boosts his own stats while acting as a pieces of armour. The suit looks like a typical holy set of armour meant to resemble a winged angel however it also has decorative elements like horns and demons in several places.
- Bind Arrow → Bull of Palaris「ファラリスブル Fararisu Buru」
This skill summons a huge Brass Bull which opens up and enclosed around the target. As the target is captured, the belly of the bull is engulfed in flames to roast the target alive.
Light Novel Spin-off Exclusive Skills[]
- Bunker Shot「バンカーショット Bankaa Shotto」
This shot scales in damage as it is shot closer to the target.
- Dual Arrows「セカンドアロー Sekando Aroo」
The user fires a second glowing arrow after Air Strike Arrow at the enemy. It is a mistranslation of Second Arrow.
Web Novel Exclusive Skills[]
- Fire Arrow Squall「ファイアアロースコール」
Summons a rain of flaming arrows.
- Falcon-Strike「ファルコン・ストライク」
Shoots a single arrow with deadly speed and damage.
- Frozen Rain「フローズンレイン」
Shoots an arrow of ice at the target.
- Blaze Arrow「ブレイズアロー」
Shoots an arrow covered in a blazing fire.
- Splash Arrow「スプラッシュアロー」
Shoots an arrow which splits mid-air into a variety of arrows.
- Paralyze Arrow「パラライズアロー」
The user fires an arrow that inflicts the paralysis effect on the enemy.
- Sleep Arrow「スリープアロー」
Inflicts the "Sleep" effect on targets hit with this skill.
- Energy Blaster「エネルギーブラスター」
The user changes the bow into a rifle which shoots a light beam.
- Full Buster「フルバスター」
The user changes the bow into a gun and shoots a powerful beam.
- Gatling Blaster「ガトリングブラスター」
The user unleashes a powerful continuous stream of bullets that, due to their speed, appear to be beams of light from their weapon.
- Bow of X0「Ⅹ０の弓」
An upgraded version of the Bow of 0. It inflicts more damage against gods.
- Artemis「アルテミス」
Shoots a single arrow which leaves a beautiful trail in the sky. Upon being hit by this arrow, the enemy is now targeted for the Moonlight Buster ability.
- Moonlight Buster「ムーンライトバスター」
The user changes the bow into a gunbow which then shoots a heavy light beam into the enemy targeted by the Artemis ability.
- Autocracy Justice (Gerechtigkeit Alleinherrschaft)「ゲレティヒカイトアラインヘルシャフト」
A pride series cursed ability equivalent to Naofumi's Blood Sacrifice. It releases a hoard of light orbs from Itsuki body which then form the shape of a lion. The lion of light then descends to tear up the enemy. As a consequence of this skill, the user loses all sense of self and they become incapable of refusing orders.
- Hero Emperor Kingdom (Heldenkaiser Reich)「ヘルトカイザーライヒ」
A sloth series cursed ability equivalent to Naofumi's Blood Sacrifice. It summons multiple bows in the form of angels and demons which all shot the enemy. As the shots come together, they create form of a beast bear over the target. As a consequence of this skill, the user loses the ability to regenerate SP or MP which is the energy used to use skills or magic.
- Silent Shot「サイレントショット」
The user releases a powerful shot that does not cause any sound.
- Silver Bullet「シルバーブレット」
The user unleashes a powerful attack that is most effective against spirits and demons.
- Bush Camouflage「ブッシュカモフラージュ」
A mysterious vegetation is created in which the user can hide.
- Taslam「タスラム」
The user fires a powerful stone-like magic bullet that upon impact generates a large explosion.
- Shock Arrow「ショックアロー」
The user fires an arrow that causes a powerful impact on the enemy sending them flying.
- Paralyze Smoke Shot「パラライズスモークショット」
The user transforms his weapon into a grenade gun and will fire a grenade that releases smoke that paralyzes enemies on contact.
- Air Strike Arrow「エアストアロー」
The user fires a glowing arrow at the enemy.
- Air Strike Arrow → Second Arrow → Dritte Arrow「ドリットアロー」
The user fires a second arrow after Second Arrow at the enemy.
Vassal Musical Instrument[]
After Itsuki's Legendary Bow had been suppressed by Miyaji and S'yne's Sister, he was chosen by the Vassal Musical Instrument to be its wielder. This works well with his natural musical abilities.
Defensive Skill[]
Offensive Skills[]
- Music Strike「ミュージックストライク Myuujikku Sutoraiku」
This skill fires something like an arrow from the musical instrument. With Itsuki's Accuracy ESPer ability, he can have great precision with this skill.
- Music Stream「ミュージックストリーム Myuujikku Sutoriimu」
This skill fires a large amount of arrows towards the target. When Itsuki attempts this attack, he is able to precisely aim the notes due to his musical proficiency and accuracy ESPer ability.
- Stun Beat「スタンビート Sutan Biito」
Itsuki turns the Vassal Instrument into a guitar and plays music. The notes that come out fly towards the target explode with a bright flash of light. It then inflicts the stunned status effect on the target.
- Musical Vulcan「ミュージカルバルカン Myuujikaru Barukan」
There is no description of how/what Music Vulcan does.
- Shock Music:「ショックミュージック Shokku Myuujikku」
An attack skill which possibly stuns or paralyzes the target.
- Deadly Poison Music「デットリーポイズンミュージック Dettorii Poizun Myuujikku」
Shoots a note at the target which inflicts a deadly poison status effect. If this poison is not cured, the target may die.
- Musical Instrument of 0「０の楽器 Zero no Gakki」
A skill with 0 damage, cooldown and SP consumption. It was found to be effective against illegitimate powers.
Utility Skills[]
- Glutton God Tango「食神のタンゴ Shokujin no Tango (lit. Tango of the Food God)」
This skill enhances digestion for the target. The instrument for this skill looks like a grilled fish.
Magic[]
Itsuki has a natural affinity in wind and earth magic but can also do some healing and support magic.
- Zweite/Liberation Down「ツヴァイト/リベレイション・ダウン Tsuvaito/Ribereishion Daun」
This spell provides a massive debuff on the targeted enemies. Itsuki first learned this spell from the Cal Mira islands inscription.
- Element Harmony「エレメントハーモニー Eremento Haamonii」
A ball of magic that turns into the shape of rocks that fly towards the enemy, created through music that was made by a grass whistle.
- Unnamed Healing Performance Magic
This magic heals targeted allies and makes them feel lighter on their feet.
- Hero's Melody「英雄の旋律 Eiyuu no Senritsu (lit. Melody of Heroes)」
A support magic that affects all allies, greatly boosting their stats and covers them with a membrane that reduces incoming damage.
- Detox Rondo「解毒の旋律 Gedoku no Senritsu (lit. Melody of Detoxification)」
Plays a note which removes the poison effect on the target.
- Unnamed Purification Magic
This skill purifies the surrounding cursed influences and also increases the curse resistance of targeted allies.
Legendary Heroes[]
Naofumi Iwatani[]
Itsuki looked down on Naofumi because he considered him to have the weakest weapon. Because he was easily gullible, he believed Malty's accusation that Naofumi attempted to rape her and berated Naofumi without hearing or believing his side of the story. He readily believed Naofumi was guilty of stealing his achievements even without evidence to back up that belief and still tried to insist it was true even when it was proven otherwise. He believes Naofumi to be an evil person and readily accepted any accusations made against him without question, such as Naofumi brainwashing the people and kidnapping the second princess.
After Naofumi's name was cleared, he agreed to the queen's idea of giving a little preferential treatment to Naofumi, in-order to balance all the past misdeeds against Naofumi, but Naofumi felt he was just saying that for show and was sure that he would throw a tantrum. Itsuki doesn't like the idea that Naofumi is more powerful than he is in general but more specifically because he feels that Naofumi's job (The Shield Hero) should be weaker than his own and felt him to be bossing him and other heroes. He openly accused Naofumi of cheating to try and outshine him. This directly led to his involvement in the spirit tortoise incident.
After becoming possessed by the Pride curse, Itsuki became more hostile towards Naofumi thanks to the lies Witch told him, believing Naofumi to be evil. Although Naofumi did agree that Itsuki accusations about him working his slaves hard while keeping all the profits to himself as true, everyone on Naofumi's side (including all of his slaves) denied this and point out that he was like a parent for them.
Likewise, Naofumi didn't view Itsuki in good light for he sees Itsuki as a self-centered, approval-seeking person. However, what little respect he had for Itsuki completely disappeared when Itsuki kicked Rishia out of his party for being weak.
Despite all that, Itsuki stood up for Naofumi after the rigged duel when he pointed out Malty's involvement in it. He also demanded to know the reason for revoking Naofumi's payment as he didn't get any job from the guild to support himself.
Ren Amaki[]
Itsuki along with Ren and Motoyasu fought the wave bosses. Ren was also able to reason with Itsuki about how there was little to no evidence of pinning Naofumi of stealing Itsuki's accomplishment. Though he firmly believes Naofumi to be a villain, Itsuki was willing to listen to Ren's suggestion of investigating the back story of the kidnapping incident, to see if Naofumi was really telling the truth.
In times of Itsuki being affected by the curse series, Naofumi bought Ren to reason with him, considering their past closeness. They were shown to be seated next to each other during the times of rigged duels. All this shows a certain degree of trust between them.
Despite fighting alongside him, Itsuki was just as surprised as Naofumi after leaning Ren's way of working with his comrades.
Motoyasu Kitamura[]
Itsuki was a little envious of Motoyasu's preferential treatment. Itsuki along with Ren and Motoyasu fought the waves and the final bosses. Itsuki along with Ren called out Motoyasu on his rigged duel with Naofumi. Motoyasu considered Ituski and Ren as his buddies and went on a rampage against Naofumi after being falsely informed of Naofumi's involvement in their deaths. Later, he joins with Naofumi to fight against the Pope for the same reason and vows to avenge them and give them a proper funeral, but is surprised when they turn out to be alive.
Vassal Weapon Holders[]
Glass[]
Glass defeats Itsuki with great ease, believing him to be a normal adventurer and wonders aloud where the other heroes are. While she acknowledges Naofumi alone to be a hero.
Companions[]
Rishia Ivyred[]
Itsuki rescued Rishia from an evil Nobleman. From then on Rishia follows Itsuki obeying his orders to the letter, though she was mostly mistreated by her fellow peers. Rishia mostly reminded Itsuki of himself from his original world and tried to bury it. Itsuki and his comrades forced her to focus on her weak points rather than sharpening her strong skills. Itsuki finally snapped when Rishia received praise from the queen for being useful in handling L'Arc while he wasn't. Because of that he framed her and kicked her out. When questioned as to why by Naofumi, he replied that she was too weak and did it for her own good, which pushed her to try and commit suicide. Later, Risha grows strong under Naofumi to prove Itsuki that she isn't weak and that she can be someone worthy to stand by his side.
Despite knowing Itsuki's flaws in his personality and methods, Rishia still holds Itsuki in high regard and her love for him doesn't deter. Even when she becomes a member of Naofumi's party, her feelings for Itsuki remain strong and still tries to defend him from any insults.
When Itsuki becomes influenced by his weapon's curse, Rishia finally makes her stand towards Itsuki, determine to save him. Itsuki continued to look down on Rishia as simply an obstacle to reach Naofumi. However, Rishia manages to prove him wrong by finally defeating him when his own bow grants Rishia the power of a Vassal Weapon.
After Itsuki lets go of his curse and suffer its consequence where he becomes apathetic. Left in debt by Malty, he begs Rishia for forgiveness and chooses to stay in Naofumi's village as he recovers.
Mald (former)[]
Mald was one of his original companions selected by the Melromarc government upon him being summoned. Originally Itsuki had a very "positive" relationship with Mald due to his attention seeking tendencies and arrogance getting the better of him and Mald's own sycophantic tendencies to feed Itsuki's ego only made him all the more easier to be manipulated by Mald.
It was evident that due to Itsuki's childish and trusting personality and desire to be praised eventually lead him to trust and believe whatever Mald told him by just complementing and feeding his ego. Causing Itsuki to believe whatever he told him.
Mald himself was shown to have never actually cared about Itsuki and only cared about the benefits being the companion to one of the Legendary Heroes would bring him as a Nobleman. He later showed little to no shame on turning on him after the Spirit Tortoise Disaster started by Itsuki (and the other heroes sans Naofumi,) and literally used him as a scapegoat to avoid punishment. Later he had little to no shame in taking advantage of Itsuki's vulnerable mindset after awakening his Curse Series to manipulate him to go against Melromarc, fight in the arena's, and take all of Itsuki's earnings for his own hedonism.
Welst (former)[]
Information to be added later on.
Rojeel (former)[]
Information to be added later on.
Companions[]
Itsuki ran his party like a vigilante group, establishing a clear hierarchy. With Itsuki in command, his chief lieutenant was Mald the knight, whilst the lowest of the group was Rishia, a rescued noble. Every action they took was meant to make Itsuki look like a hero. Itsuki did not tolerate weakness, working to make his party members as strong as possible, which was one of the reasons he eventually kicked Rishia out.
In accordance with Itsuki's orders, his companions lavished praise upon him, singing his name to the masses. In reality, however, only Rishia was genuinely loyal to him. The others simply used him to their advantage in order to make themselves look good. Unlike Motoyasu, whose party consisted of nothing but gold-diggers and backstabbers, it is implied that Itsuki's party were once genuinely loyal to him but grew tired of his repeated failures and arrogance.
During the Spirit Turtle incident, all of Itsuki's remaining party members deserted him. By the time they next met up, Itsuki's companions had joined up with Malty and began exploiting Itsuki for their own financial benefits. Naofumi, Ren and Rishia eventually discovered this and when the latter defeated Itsuki in open combat, her treacherous former companions completely abandoned both her and their hero.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Unlike the other heroes, Itsuki was born into a world with some small degree of magic power. Originally ecstatic about this, as he got older, Itsuki discovered that his skill 'Accuracy' was actually considered very low tier magic. This lead to him being bullied by some of the more powerful students whilst he was a child. This harassment is what led to Itsuki developing his hero and superiority complex, on top of a strong desire to be recognized as special.
In order to escape from reality, Itsuki turned to online computer games where he was able to mask his abilities and use them to his advantage. He particularly liked the game Dimension Wave. He adopted a very Robin Hood-like style, fighting for those who could not defend themselves and serving as an ally of justice.
Whilst walking home from school one day, Itsuki was hit by a speeding truck, which apparently killed him. Seconds later, he found himself standing in a new world. There were three other people at his side, a group of robed figures in front of him and a bow in his hand.
Volumes 1-4[]
Along with Motoyasu Kitamura and Ren Amaki, Itsuki initially believed that the new world he had been summoned to was just a game, in his case Dimension Wave. Thinking that the already knew everything there was to know about this world and that the inhabitants were just NPC's, Itsuki began making demands from his new carers. King Aultcray Melromarc, the ruler of this new nation, soon gave Itsuki (along with Ren and Motoyasu) a band of apparently loyal followers.
Like the other two, Itsuki looked down upon Naofumi Iwatani, believing the Shield class to be weak and useless. When Naofumi was accused of rape by Myne Sophia (Malty in disguise), Itsuki believed it immediately because of his strong sense of justice. Not realizing that the innocent man in front of him was being set up, Itsuki took the opportunity to distance himself from the disgraced hero. He also chastised the fallen hero for his apparent lack of remorse.
After this, Itsuki became an on-again, off-again ally of Naofumi. He tolerated the latter's presence during the waves but did his best to avoid him outside of it. Despite this, he and Ren both earned themselves a small redemption after the second wave. When the citizens of Melromarc tried to take away Naofumi's companion, the tanuki demi-human Raphtalia, by having Motoyasu duel him, Itsuki and Ren called them out on it. They informed the stuck up Spear Hero that Myne had illegally interfered, whilst openly reprimanding the callous citizens and royals for their actions. The following morning, they did a similar thing when King Aultcray tried to rescind Naofumi's promised reward.
Itsuki spent most of his time between the waves travelling throughout Melromarc, dealing justice to those he perceived as evil-doers. In accordance with his fantasy, Itsuki traveled in disguise so that nobody would recognize him until the crucial moment. As such his accomplishments were not as well known as those Motoyasu, Ren or Naofumi.
At some point, Itsuki was employed to deal with a corrupt noble in the northern territory who was overtaxing his people. Itsuki joined the local rebellion and personally killed the "evil overlord". It was here that he rescued a young woman from a noble family called Rishia. Enraptured by Itsuki, she asked to join his party, which he accepted.
Just before, the Third Wave, Itsuki together with Ren and their parties confronted Naofumi outside the weapons shop in Castle Town (in the anime it was a restaurant). They believed Naofumi to be responsible for stealing their reward money and wanted answers. The irritated Shield Hero told the Bow Hero flatly that he had not stolen Itsuki's reward money (since he was not registered at a guild). He also revealed that the noble Itsuki had slain was overtaxing his people, because his country was going through a famine. The funds were needed to procure food and protection from encroaching neighbours. After Itsuki left, the rebels he instated overtaxed the population as well, leading to thousands of casualties. Itsuki did not believe Naofumi and left in a foul mood.
During the wave itself, Itsuki did not co-operate with Ren or Motoyasu causing the wave to last for over three hours. He was left bewildered by Naofumi's offensive capabilities but did not have long to dwell on it. The quartet and their companions were confronted by Glass who proceeded to mock and then defeat Itsuki, Ren and Motoyasu without issue.
Shortly after recovering Itsuki was informed that Naofumi had abducted the Crown Princess Melty Melromarc and was holding the poor girl against her will. Together with Motoyasu and Ren, he joined the search party and eventually managed to corner the Shield Hero. Itsuki was the one to demand Melty's release. Although Naofumi initially tried to convince Ren and Itsuki that this was another setup the Bow Hero was swayed by Princess Malty's accusations that Naofumi had unlocked a brainwashing shield.
When Itsuki made it clear he would no longer listen to Naofumi, the Shield Hero gave up on trying to reason with him. A fight soon broke out between the two sides. Despite being under-leveled and having not undergone a class up, Naofumi's party were victorious and managed to escape. During this confrontation, Itsuki noticed that Myne was deliberately launching powerful attacks at her sister, the girl they were supposed to be rescuing. These attacks would have surely killed the girl had Naofumi not intervened. Once the battle was over, Ren (who likewise saw the incident) managed to convince Itsuki not to pursue Naofumi but begin a separate investigation into the Church of the Three Heroes back at the capital.
The pair were eventually betrayed and apparently killed by Pope siphoning and his zealous followers after uncovering the full extent of the churches corruption. Thanks to the intervention of the Queens Shadows, however, they managed to escape and ran to join Naofumi and Motoyasu who had just been cornered by the treacherous clergy. Though on the receiving end of a verbal reprimand from Naofumi, Itsuki and his companions joined the other heroes and their allies against the Pope.
Thanks to the Queen and Naofumi's efforts, the Bow Hero stood on the winning side. Two days later, they entered the throne room in the Melromarc Capital together with the Queen. Itsuki watched on bewildered, as Mirellia proceeded to humiliate both her husband and her daughter for everything they had done. Like everybody else, the Bow Hero was shocked to learn that Naofumi had been innocent all along and did not come to the aid of either Aultcray or Malty when they were publicly punished and humiliated. He also acknowledged Mirellia's decision to show Naofumi slight favouritism in order to make up for everything the latter had gone through. However, Naofumi suspected that this was all an act and that Itsuki was in fact jealous of this.
Volume 5[]
Despite Itsuki's apparent compliance with the Queen, he did not fully reconcile with Naofumi. Indeed the former's actions during and leading up to the Cal Mira incident, soured the latter's opinion of him even more.
In a meeting between the four cardinal heroes and the Queen, Itsuki made it clear that he did not believe that Naofumi had gotten stronger through constant practice and hard work during his travels. Instead, he believed that Naofumi had met this worlds creator/God and been granted special powers. He also rejected the idea that his method of levelling up through rare items could be wrong.
His arrogance did come back to haunt him somewhat, on the journey to Cal Mira, Itsuki (along with Motoyasu and Ren) evicted some passengers and crew from their high-class cabins. Due to the rough weather, all three heroes ended up becoming seasick. During the expedition itself, Naofumi and other adventurers began to realise just how arrogant Itsuki and most of his party members, especially Mald, actually were. They were also disliked the way Itsuki and the others treated Rishia. Instead of helping her level up, they treated the poor girl like a servant, forcing her to carry much of the heavy luggage and food, despite the latter's clear devotion to the Bow Hero.
During the Cal Mira wave, history repeated itself when Itsuki and the others were once again outshone by Naofumi. Proving themselves to be practically useless, they were easily defeated by the intervention of unexpected rivals, L'Arc and Therese. Towards the end of the battle, Rishia, in a bid to help the heroes lobbed a barrel of alcohol at the villains, which combined with a fire spell temporarily incapacitated the villains.
For her efforts, Rishia was given personal praise from the Queen and Naofumi. However, Itsuki did not appreciate being outshone like this and together with his other party members decided that enough was enough. That very night, his party members accused Rishia of breaking one of Itsuki's levelling bracelets and the Bow Hero expelled her from his party.
When Naofumi learnt what had happened he was outraged. He immediately confronted Itsuki and demanded an explanation. Even when presented evidence that Rishia was not guilty of the crime she was accused of Itsuki refused to change his mind. In the end, Naofumi realised that Itsuki did it because he couldn't stand the fact that somebody else looked stronger than he did. Enraged, the Shield Hero told the Bow hero that he was disgusted by him and that his opinion of him had dropped drastically.
Angered Itsuki drew his bow and shot at Naofumi but thanks to his high defence the Shield Hero was able to tank it. Bearing down on Itsuki, Naofumi mocked the Bow Hero for being weak.
Rishia, who had overheard the whole thing was distraught but pleased to have at least learnt the truth. She immediately tried to commit suicide by drowning in the sea but was rescued by Filo, who happened to be nearby. After that, she was persuaded to join the Shield Heroes party in a bid to prove Itsuki wrong. Rishia admitted that despite everything she still in love with Itsuki, a fact that Naofumi accepted.
Volumes 6 & 7[]
After returning to Melromarc, in a bid to help the heroes get stronger, Queen Mirellia employed some tutors in order to train them. Naofumi was the only hero to take this training seriously, whilst the others were still convinced that their original methods were the right way to go. By this point, it was clear that there was no unity between the heroes.
Itsuki's jealousy of Naofumi was no longer concealed as the events of the previous wave proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Naofumi was the strongest of the heroes. The Bow Hero was outraged that a shield-bearer with absolutely no attack power had managed to humiliate him in front of everyone.
When a group of unknown familiars began attacking innocent civilians, Itsuki together with Ren and Motoyasu abandoned their training and immediately rushed off to deal with the new threat. From their studies, the three heroes eventually concluded that this latest incident was being caused by the Spirit Tortoise. Gathering dragons, filolials and horses, the trio and their parties rushed at all speed to confront the new beast.
However, the Spirit Tortoise was unlike every other opponent they had faced up until this point. Not only was it colossal in size, but it was also practically immortal. Concerned only with gaining experience points, valuable materials and fame, Itsuki and the others ignored the fact that every other hero in history had failed to defeat the divine beast. Indeed the previous heroes had only ever managed to seal it away and now the three offensive heroes were hoping to awaken a creature that had wrought great destruction on the land previously.
All attempts to stop Itsuki, Ren and Motoyasu ended in failure, although Itsuki and his party members were captured at one point. It was at this moment that Itsuki's party members revealed their true colours and what they really thought about him. Angered they told Itsuki to his face that he was no hero of justice and how much of an idiot they thought he really was.
Itsuki was stunned to hear this but was soon forced to face the divine reptile anyway. When the giant turtle attacked, Itsuki, Ren and Motoyasu were all incapacitated and captured by the beasts controller, Kyo. Whilst Ren's party members were all killed, Motoyasu and Itsuki's abandoned the heroes they had sworn to protect to their fate without a moment's hesitation.
Itsuki spent some time in stasis, Kyo syphoning off his energy in order to power the turtle. This captivity finally ended when Naofumi led his party and agents of Melromarc into the belly of the beast. Saved by Rishia, Itsuki was taken back to royal capital for treatment. He woke up a week later, whilst Naofumi, Rishia and others had followed Kyo back to his home dimension.
Volumes 8-12[]
Like Ren and Motoyasu, Itsuki escaped from the hospital not long after regaining consciousness. Upon venturing out into the world, however, the Bow Hero found himself confronted with his worst nightmare. Owing to the events brought about by the Spirit Tortoise, the entire world now despised him.
Branded a false hero by the populace, Itsuki now found himself subjected to a similar sort of prejudices that Naofumi had previously experienced. Ordinary citizens threw rocks, insults and glares at him. The guilds would not hire him and soldiers repeatedly tried to arrest him. As such, Itsuki was forced to keep a low profile whilst searching for his party members.
Shortly after betraying Ren, Malty (now known as Bitch) and Mald found the distraught Bow Hero and deemed him perfect for their schemes. Feeding Itsuki lies they led Itsuki to the Zeltbar Colosseums were they convinced him to fight for money, which they claimed was to help them liberate the mistreated slaves in Naofumi's village. In reality, this money was simply used to line their own pockets.
Driven by purpose, Itsuki fought relentlessly for the justice he believed in. Eventually, he unlocked his curse series, Pride through which he gained a brainwashing bow and a final execution attack, brazen bull (similar to Naofumi's Iron Maiden). He never once realised that he was being used.
Eventually, Naofumi, Rishia and Ren came to Itsuki's rescue. Still being feed lies by Bitch and Mald and influenced by his curse series, Itsuki refused to listen to his would-be rescuers. Standing her ground Rishia refused to abandon the man she loved and proceeded to engage Itsuki in a one on one battle. Despite the latter's high level, the formers training alongside Naofumi paid off and she eventually defeated him.
Freed from his curse at long last, Itsuki broke down and apologised for everything. Bitch, Mald and the other members of Itsuki and Motoyasu's former parties promptly fled ditching Itsuki for a second time. Now possession of a clear mind and free will Itsuki became determined to make amends for his past mistakes. He gave up on his sense of justice and found forgiveness from Rishia.
Owing to the trauma he had been through, Itsuki retired as a hero for the time being and settled down in Naofumi's village under Rishia's care.
Other Appearance[]
The Rising Shield Hero : Rerise[]
Itsuki appear with Naofumi, Ren, Raphtalia, Melty, Motoyasu, Malty, Filo, Rishia, L'arc, Glass, and Therese as Playable character form.
The Rising of the Shield Hero : Relive The Animation[]
Itsuki appear with Ren, Motoyasu as NPC but only Naofumi, Melty, Raphtalia, and Filo as Playable characters.
The Rising Shield Hero : Rise[]
Itsuki appear with Naofumi, Ren, Raphtalia, Melty, Motoyasu, Keel, Ake, Welst, Resty, Von Reichnott, Queen's Shadow, High Priest, Filo, Rishia, L'arc, Glass, Therese with new other character as Playable character form in Season 1.
Crash Fever[]
Itsuki appear with Melty, Naofumi, Raphtalia, Motoyasu, Ren and Dragon Zombie in Shield Hero Collab event as Playable characters.
Gallery[]
Story of joining Sora's Team[]
He, Ren for being resurrected, He is, Ren use their powers given to them by Eua, Hanyuu and Satoko to see the truth before Naofumi is driven away, it turns out that what Naofumi said was right that he framed saw Myne steal and trick Naofumi make he, and Ren may be like Satoko but difference is that he, and Ren will protect Naofumi, especially Itsuki, and Ren experiencing quite drastic changes that are different from his original personality, and Ren's original personality with help of Hanyuu, and Eua, He and Ren will help Naofumi, and Naofumi's alliance secretly without Malty, and his friends knowing that they are considered traitors for help Naofumi, and Naofumi alliance especially Him, and Ren will not change any results for a different year dimension but He, and Ren will develop their abilities by training together for protect Naofumi even though Him, and Ren will ruin his plans Malty, and her friend already taken advantage of his, and Ren by helping Naofumi, and his friend in secret Through the Queen's shadow, and Mirellia who already knows that Him, and Ren have actually changed especially he took revenge on Mald, and his party team members because he saw truth that who damaged his equipment not Rishia but Mald, and his party team members revealed with evil until So Itsuki ditched Mald, and his party considered them as useless trash so Mald got angry about Itsuki's opinion of him, and his alliance especially He very protective of Puella then subconsciously became an older brother and father figure to Puella, that make Ren, Rishia, Naofumi, Motoyasu, Malty, and his company party saw Him like Naofumi took care of Filo, He just like Naofumi that archenemy Malty then He former archenemy of Eos turned out due to Kawasumi knowing her form as a devil-hearted angel has terrible power, especially he turns out to have fought with Eos when Ren, and his friend who not there unnoticed in the forest that turn out Eos is Malty friend and his friend that want kill him, He is with Ren get power Absolute immortality, Pain Tolerance, Immunity to the virus, looping, and time travel skill from Hanyuu, Eua, and other for Kawasumi and Ren redeem mistake to Naofumi, especially He is friend with Yoichi, Kitaro, Oichi, Class 3-E, Marie, Squigly, Parasoul, Umbrella, and other heroes for redeem his mistake through learn from them past.