The search for Filo finally came to a heartwarming conclusion in Episode 9 of The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2. Despite the majority of the episode focusing on coming up with a way to find Raphtalia, the randomness of finding Filo still managed to make this week’s episode another enjoyable watch.
Filo’s Return
The search for Filo is officially over. Unfortunately, finding Filo in this episode lost some emotional value the second time around watching it. Not because the viewer knows what will happen, but it’s how everything happened that came a little more to light. While we learned everything that happened to Filo when she entered Kizuna’s world with Naofumi and Rishia, it was the randomness of her being found that was offputting.
The majority of episode 9 was solely focused on coming up with a way to find Raphtalia, almost as if finding Filo immediately became less of a priority. So Naofumi hearing Filo’s cries in a town they just happened to be walking through trying to find Raphtalia seems a little too coincidental. Even Naofumi said before they ventured off, “I hope Filo is there, too.” However, the reunion was still well done and the reaction from Filo is just as we would expect—a lot of crying and clinging to Naofumi.
But there was a split-second moment that made the reunion perfect—Naofumi was the only one to recognize Filo despite being a totally different species in Kizuna’s world. So while it seemed like the search for Filo was put on the backburner to Raphtalia’s search, Naofumi showed us all that Filo is as much of a priority as Raphtalia.
The Cute Shikigamis Are Here To Stay
As mentioned in the preview article for episode 9, Naofumi created his own Shikigami with his blood and strands of Raphtalia’s hair. Now named Raph-chan, thanks to Filo, the adorable raccoon Shikigami is Naofumi’s only way of knowing that Raphtalia is still alive. A slight difference is that in the light novel Naofumi named his Shikigami almost instantly while Filo was the one to name Raph-chan in the anime.
Outside of being a cute mascot, a personal GPS, and a sign of whether a certain person is alive or dead, the Shikigamis look like they’re here to stay from here on out no matter how small of a role they play.
The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 9 kept the series in our top-10 weekly poll. While it did see a small fall-off in the polls, going from #3 last week to #7 this week, the second half of this season has been an impressive turnaround. After yet another enjoyable episode, make sure to vote for the series to keep The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 in the top-10!
Episode 10 of The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 will air on Wednesday, June 8, on Crunchyroll.
Screenshots: Crunchyroll
©2021 Aneko Yusagi / KADOKAWA / Shield Hero S2 Production Committee
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