(L) Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari [WN]

[Kioras]

I had thought it was weird in the spoilers that they kidnap him from another world, give him a legendary hero artifact, then betray and set him up to be falsely accused.

I imagine they needed to summon all the heroes at once, and whomever the shield hero was going to be, they were going to try and ruin there reputation.

[BW95]

Originally Posted by Kioras

I had thought it was weird in the spoilers that they kidnap him from another world, give him a legendary hero artifact, then betray and set him up to be falsely accused.

I imagine they needed to summon all the heroes at once, and whomever the shield hero was going to be, they were going to try and ruin there reputation.

I guessed that much, but it still seems weird that they would set him up without even giving him a chance even though it is likely that the summoning spell chooses people similar to the previous batch, which means that all the other heroes besides the shield hero must have been complete dicks.

Ran some searches. Manga adaptation spotted!

The light novel Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari will be adapted to manga in Media Factory's Monthly Comic Flapper seinen magazine. Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari will begin serialization in issue 3 of Comic Flapper, on sale February 5, 2014. The Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari novel is part of Media Factory's MF Book line, ranobe marketed to readers over thirty.

Also it turns out this also started out as a web novel and has been read more than 53 million times online!

[dragon1412]

Originally Posted by BW95

I guessed that much, but it still seems weird that they would set him up without even giving him a chance even though it is likely that the summoning spell chooses people similar to the previous batch, which means that all the other heroes besides the shield hero must have been complete dicks.

Ran some searches. Manga adaptation spotted!



Also it turns out this also started out as a web novel and has been read more than 53 million times online!

web novel
to those who interested in the web version
Edit : btw the web novel is already completed

[BW95]

Any significant differences?

[dragon1412]

i don't read the book version yet so i don't know, but from amatsunagi's summary i feel that they are the same

[Eijigawa]

Why am I getting Rance vibes from this MC? Must be the slave girl part~

Though his fighting style reminds me of a certain Swordbreaker manga.

[BW95]

Originally Posted by Eijigawa

Why am I getting Rance vibes from this MC? Must be the slave girl part~

Though his fighting style reminds me of a certain Swordbreaker manga.

What's Rance?

[Eijigawa]

Originally Posted by BW95

What's Rance?

Rance as in this guy:

http://alicesoft.wikia.com/wiki/Rance

[omegasereon]

Originally Posted by dragon1412

web novel
to those who interested in the web version
Edit : btw the web novel is already completed

Thanks, time to use google translate and make sense of it.

[dragon1412]

Originally Posted by Eijigawa

Why am I getting Rance vibes from this MC? Must be the slave girl part~

Though his fighting style reminds me of a certain Swordbreaker manga.

it's just you, this guy is way to dark to be Rance, unlike Rance, he pretty much don't trust anyone.

[amatsunagi]

Originally Posted by Libros

Spoiler for Just to be sure:

Ward or Wand?

Spoiler:

Hmm, I only know that there are 7 saint heroes, coming from the people of that world. one member of the previous generaton of the 7 saint heroes use wand or staff as his weapon.

Originally Posted by sandhy88

There is anymore description about the other heroes? (the sword, spear, & bow). We already know that Motoyasu was a f**king bastard, but there are any story about them? How was their development?

Spoiler:

At the start the 3 heroes receives lots of support and they receive many special treatments that Naofumi didn't get, For example, after repelling the 2nd calamity, Naofumi get 500 gold, while the other heroes: Ren, and Itsuki both got 3800 gold and Motoyasu got 4000 gold. They also received special funding to but better weapons and armors, received crystal ball to aqcuire magic (as they cannot read or write the language of that world), and many other things. Later, They each journeyed far and making names for themselves: though, each of their actions, are not done thoroughly, creating new trouble, and Naofumi is the one who cleaning up their mess. Though even after that, they are angry at Naofumi, blaming Naofumi for taking glory and names for himself. They did not realized their mistakes. In sort, the 3 heroes are just kids playing heroes, and the worse think is: in their head, they're are playing some game: their knowledge based from game, all they care is kill the monster, not thinking of protecting the villagers and such, while Naofumi is the exact opposite of them.

Ren, the Hero of Sword, is the typical cool hero, he is the strongest out of all heroes. He's the typical solo player, and think he is the strongest, if he lose, he will blame it on others.

Motoyasu, the Hero of Spear, is womanizer. Typical playboy.

Itsuki, the Hero of Bow, is a hypocryte. Behind his calm and fragile exterior, is a liar. He always hide his strength, waiting for the chance to take the last kill, because he likes it if people praise him. He will never accept his mistakes, often trying to evade from any blame.

Originally Posted by BW95

Thanks! Just a few more questions.

Does mentally maturity come with this growth spurt or is she like Kon from Tokyo Ravens?
I'm guessing Laftalia plays the role of main damage dealer?
Does she call him master?
Has his relationship with her reached romantic or at least one-sided romance?
Is the blondie some sort of healer?
What is the scale of the challenges Naofumi faces every volume? I can't imagine it being like Moonlight Sculptor where Weed always gets roped into some huge Crusade with the bare minimum of forces.
Is this Kawasumi Itsuki male or female? I'm trying to confirm if all the heroes here are guys.

It seems a little weird for the King to betray him just for something his predecessor had done.

Does it look like the author's going to use Naofumi's trauma to further his character development? I can imagine him freeing Laftalia from her slavery under dire circumstances thereby overcoming his trust issues.

Spoiler for mentality maturity:

Mentality maturity didn't come along with the growth spurt, but journey with Naofumi shape her personality into a mature person, she always thinks on the practical side, the type to buy weapon or armor over accesories or dress.

Spoiler for Laftalia fighting style:

She the support attacker, the raccoon race has affinity with Light and Dark magic, and Illusion magic. Her attacks includes using mirage or after-image to fool enemies.

At first, Laftalia calls Naofumi, "Goshujin-sama", later on, she calls him "Naofumi-sama"

Spoiler for Romance in this series:

One-sided, on every possible girls. Naofumi said he didn't have time for love, because he wants to go back to his world, and can't bring Laftalia and the others. Naofumi loves them in a parental way, in his eyes, Laftalia is just 10-years old girl. One main reason why he didn't find Laftalia and the others to be attactive, (even though Laftalia already tries several advances on showing some sex appeal) is because Naofumi clouded with wrath and anger. Naofumi with no anger = pervert otaku. Anyway, Laftalia is often troubled at how hard it is for her to get Naofumi attracted to her.

Spoiler for Blonde loli:

The blonde cute loli (she just HNGGGGHHH!), is Naofumi second party member, name is Filo. She is the main attacker, because she is a filolaria (chocobo look alike), and therefore she can be considered a pet, loves pulling carriage. If you ask how strong Filo is, her attack power is stronger than Ren, the Sword of Hero.

Spoiler for Naofumi adventures:

First volume, is the defense against 2nd Calamity: agains invading monsters. The three heroes went right away to hunt the boss monster, while Naofumi went on the opposite way, protecting villagers and aiding the city guards, however the city guards looks at him as enemy, and blast him away with fire magics along with the swarm of monster, though it is uneffective for the stout Hero of Shield. Second volume, Naofumi travels with Laftalia and Filo, as peddler, selling his medicinal goods. During this journey he will be known as The saint merchant, due to his skill that increase the quality of medicine on a small radius. Naofumi will travel to the south, west, and north, fighting against Bio-plant monster, bandits, and Zombie Dragon. The Third volume, Naofumi will fend the 3rd calamity, just like before, helping villagers while the other 3 heroes kill off the boss. They did managed to kill the boss monster, but lose against unknown enemy (the kimono girl in cover volume 3). Naofumi, Laftalia and Filo fights against her and managed to defeat her, she however retreat. The king interrogates him and angered Naofumi. Naofumi called the king, "Trash" and threatens him not to get in his way. Later The 2nd princess (Blue-haired girl in the 3rd cover) chase him trying to rebuke him for his attitude toward his father, the king. However, the escort attack the princess and attempt to kill her but failed. It is later revealed that they are from "Church of 3 Heroes", calling Naofumi the "Shield of Demon". Naofumi is branded as a criminal by the king for insult against him and kidnapping the princess, oblivious to the "Church of the 3 Heroes" plot. He will be chased by the 3 Heroes. The 4th volume later, (I think) will cover the fight against one of 4 mythical beasts: Genbu, A huge, idiotically very huge turtle carrying one mountain range behind its back, this will be the hardest fight for Naofumi. By the way, Naofumi is always under-leveled than the other heroes, with not so good equipments compared to others. His good advantage is stronger companions

All of the 4 heroes are male.

Spoiler for The King:

The stupid king here, was a wise king, why? because He was one of the previous generation of the 7 Saint Heroes, he was supposed to be a great figure (Yeah unbelievable, considering how irritating and stupid this guy is). The King has a personal history against Human Beast, which escalates into Merulomarg waging war against 2 kingdoms of Human Beast (which I forgot what their names). Both sides has opposites doctrine, Merulomarg supporting Human rights above all else, while the other 2 countries support the welfare of Human Beast. It is explained above by Black_cat that those 2 countries worship the Shield of Hero for being kind to Human Beast race, it is not the same for Merulomarg, due to the King personal affair, he adopt the teaching of "Church of 3 Heroes". This is the main reason why he hate the Shield Hero.

Spoiler for Naofumi trauma:

It is already done on the end of first volume. During the celebration banquet for the 4 heroes repelling the 2nd Calamity, Motoyasu (instigated by Mein) challenged Naofumi to a 1-on-1 duel, with condition: if Motoyasu wins, Naofumi will release Laftalia, if he lose, Naofumi will just do as always to Laftalia. Motoyasu is under impression that Laftaia is under Naofumi control. He thought Naofumi is a jerk who forces Laftalia and resorting to the inhuman slavery which is unacceptable for hero (partly because He lust for Laftalia beauty). Naofumi rejects the challenge but is forced to accept by the king. It's obvious, that Motoyasu is going to win, as Naofumi can't attack. Naofumi relied on his defense, closing on Motoyasu and use the Balloon Monsters under his cape to attack Motoyasu face. Just when Naofumi is going to attack more and seize the victory (by targetting Motoyasu "treasure" between the legs), he is attacked from behind, by Mein. At this time, Motoyasu send his strongest attack and Naofumi is defeated. Naofumi called Motoyas a coward, resorting to underhanded tactic as Mein attack him from behind with wind magic. No one confirm Naofumi claim, it is revealed that Mein, is actually the 1st princess and her name is Marty, and together with the King, silence the audience, and no one can oppose both, so from the start, it is already decided who is going to win. Motoyasu runs to Laftalia (who had her slavery curse lifted), but he got slapped by her. Laftalia called Motoyasu a coward as well, and she tells them how Naofumi is always kind to her, preparing a medicine to her who was sick, letting her eat any food she never eat before. Naofumi only used the curse (that force slave) when Laftalia is panicked and scared to fight, telling Motoyasu that Naofumi cannot defeat the monster, and that's why it is necessary for her to fight. She didn't dislike it as Naofumi always protect her from monsters attack. She ask if Motoyasu will take a dirty, sickly little slave with him, Motoyasu said yes, and Laftalia retort saying, "then there should be another slave other than me at your side right now!". Laftalia runs to Naofumi, but Naofumi screamed at her to get away from him. Naofumi is scared, he thinks Laftalia will be the same as the others, shunning him, not believing his words, etc. Laftalia kindly said she already heard Naofumi past, and grab Naofumi hand. Naofumi panicked saying "Let go! I didn't...I didn't do anything!". Laftalia tried to calm Naofumi, saying if Naofumi didn't believe her, he can put the curse once again unto her, Nafoumi panicked and said it was a ruse to trick him. In this panicked state, Laftalia calmed him saying she will always believe in Naofumi no matter what other people say. These words, are what Naofumi wanted to hear the most, form the first time he first summoned in this world, no one ever believed at him. For the first time, in his eyes, Naofumi realized, in front of his eyes, is a grown up Laftalia (actually Laftalia already grown up before. Anger clouded Naofumi and he never really take a close look at Laftalia. It just in Naofumi eyes, Laftalia is always the same small child). Laftalia explain the human beast constitution to Naofumi. She adds if Naofumi didn't believe at her, she will do anything, anything that Naofumi wants. Upon hearing that, Naofumi cried (yeah, he cried like a baby, and Laftalia hugged him like a mother). The result of duel, Motoyasu lost by foul play, he still persistent in saying that Laftalia must be under Naofumi mind control or something. Anyway, the next day, They go to the Slave trader to put a new curse for Laftalia. Naofumi said that there is no need for the curse, but Laftalia insist, saying that Naofumi only trust slave, that's why the curse is needed. It's also become a sign, a bond of trust between both of them. IMO the first volume is the best part of this series, to me. ^^

Originally Posted by BW95

Any significant differences?

I think it's just the same, and by the way, the bunkobon is pricey T_T

[NickLZH]

Thanks amatsunagi for the Summaries, being Naofumi is suffering
What happens to the 2nd princess in volume 3? Will she get rescued or will no one find out who kidnapped her?

[Tiberium Wolf]

Originally Posted by omegasereon

Thanks, time to use google translate and make sense of it.

It hurts reading that crappy translation.

[amatsunagi]

Originally Posted by NickLZH

Thanks amatsunagi for the Summaries, being Naofumi is suffering
What happens to the 2nd princess in volume 3? Will she get rescued or will no one find out who kidnapped her?

Yeah, I raged a lot upon reading these unfairness

Spoiler for 2nd Princess:

First, to clarify: When the escort attempt to kill her and failed, she is protected by Naofumi. After hearing a little bit of information from the escort about the "Church of 3 Heroes", Naofumi intended to ditch the Princess there and get away ASAP, but, realizing that her life is not safe in the castle, he decided to bring her along with them. The escort reported this to the King, originally the plan is to accuse Naofumi of killing the princess, but they failed in that, so they resort to accuse him of kidnapping. This result in both soldiers of Merulomarg and the 3 Heroes to chase him

[xandrelex]

It looks good. I hope to see the translation on baka-tsuki one day.

[BW95]

That first volume was just touching. Usually, I think men who cry like babies are wimps, but this was just gratifying.

Originally Posted by amatsunagi

Yeah, I raged a lot upon reading these unfairness

Spoiler for 2nd Princess:

First, to clarify: When the escort attempt to kill her and failed, she is protected by Naofumi. After hearing a little bit of information from the escort about the "Church of 3 Heroes", Naofumi intended to ditch the Princess there and get away ASAP, but, realizing that her life is not safe in the castle, he decided to bring her along with them. The escort reported this to the King, originally the plan is to accuse Naofumi of killing the princess, but they failed in that, so they resort to accuse him of kidnapping. This result in both soldiers of Merulomarg and the 3 Heroes to chase him

Hey, it's a small price to pay for a princess. In any case, I like where this is going. I'd like to see Naofumi take on all of these bastards and win.

If the King was one of the previous generation of heroes wouldn't that mean he also came from another world?
Motoyasu has the nerve to think he's a jerk after what he did?
How far has Naofumi gotten with the second princess? Is she useful? Does she know the truth of his past? How does she feel about it?
So Naofumi's party currently consists of 4, including the princess?
The first princess' name is Marty? You sure? I just looked it up and its a guy's name. She must be a bitch.
Filo is young right? It seems a little weird that she's already stronger than the sword hero and there are more of her.

By the way, I started a topic on this under Future Project Suggestions at Baka-Tsuki. It's all up to the Powers That Be now.

[Kioras]

I imagine Mein is the red head on the background cover of volume 1. I wonder if she had anything to do with trying to eliminate her younger sibling, to reduce competitors to the throne when her father shuffles off.

I guess it is kinda sad that the beast men physically mature as they level, as it can cause them to miss a portion of there childhood, as it is over-taken by real world troubles.

The other 3 heroes sound like an amalgamation of various bad mmo tropes/behavior also as was stated are playing hero without any deep thought into cause and effect.

I wonder if any of the 4 brought into the world have any knowledge or information from the modern era that could be applied, or have thought about spreading. For example the Scientific method or even basic chemistry, probably not though.

The King should of realized he is playing with fire annoying a hero like that, with the various changes and information he could spread throughout the world that would endanger his position.

Look forward to any translations but I doubt much with come of it, novel translations require so much work.

[BW95]

Originally Posted by Kioras

I imagine Mein is the red head on the background cover of volume 1. I wonder if she had anything to do with trying to eliminate her younger sibling, to reduce competitors to the throne when her father shuffles off.

I think you may be on to something there.

[sunsown]

This light novel is very interesting even though the setting is somewhat common like an ordinay person being summoned to another world and has to act as a hero. Reading the summaries posted by amatsunagi it is quite intriguing to read the full conversations of the characters and their interactions. It will be really good if this light novel gets translated to english.

@amatsunagi

Great share.

Spoiler:

- I am not sure till where you have read but I wanted to ask about the shape of the shield in the volume 3 cover as compared to the volume 1 cover. Was it explained as to what kind of monsters he defeated to gain the new shield?

- Since the 2nd princess is travelling with him now, is she seeing him in a different light?

- Was the age (or mental age) of filo mentioned?

- I see that the balloon monsters are biting Naofumi in the volume 1 cover. Is it like they attack whoever it is?

[amatsunagi]

Originally Posted by BW95

That first volume was just touching. Usually, I think men who cry like babies are wimps, but this was just gratifying.



Hey, it's a small price to pay for a princess. In any case, I like where this is going. I'd like to see Naofumi take on all of these bastards and win.

If the King was one of the previous generation of heroes wouldn't that mean he also came from another world?
Motoyasu has the nerve to think he's a jerk after what he did?
How far has Naofumi gotten with the second princess? Is she useful? Does she know the truth of his past? How does she feel about it?
So Naofumi's party currently consists of 4, including the princess?
The first princess' name is Marty? You sure? I just looked it up and its a guy's name. She must be a bitch.
Filo is young right? It seems a little weird that she's already stronger than the sword hero and there are more of her.

By the way, I started a topic on this under Future Project Suggestions at Baka-Tsuki. It's all up to the Powers That Be now.

Spoiler for Heroes:

No, the seven saint heroes are heroes gathered from the people of that world, they don't have specific, unique, or legendary weapon so anyone can become one of it. So, there are a total of 11 Heroes: 4 from another world, 7 from that world.

Spoiler for 3 Heroes:

Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki thinks poorly of Naofumi, without even trying to verify the truth.

Spoiler for 2nd princess:

At first, she only close to Filo (because she likes Filorial), the princess doesn't like Naofumi because she thinks he is rude to her father. Later, during the journey, she (and Filo, though she doesn't understand) heard the truth from Naofumi himself. She is shocked, and stated that if it is her sister (the 1st princess), it's just possible since her sister is just that kind of a witch. Then she is angry with Naofumi, because Naofumi keep calling her "2nd princess", she ask him to call her Melty and in return, she will call him "Naofumi". Later the queen heard the report from Kage that Melty might be interested in Naofumi, but Melty denied it while blushing (tsundere). By the way, Melty age is around 12-14. Whenever Naofumi is wounded real bad, she will rush over in worry.

Spoiler for Party members:

Melty is just a guest member, her level is around 16-18 iirc during her journey with Naofumi, she is good at water magic and her incantation spell is special because it is reserved only for royal family. Later, Naofumi party will increase to 3: Laftalia, Filo and Rishia, and later, he will add more slaves to bolster his forces against Calamity or the Mythical Beasts.

Spoiler for 1st princess name:

The first princess name is Malty, I guess~ well, I'm bad with katakana. sorry for that. Anyway, she is a real B*tch in name and action. the meaning of b*tch = her.

Spoiler for Filo:

At volume 3, she is around 2 months old, yet her level reached 40 at a very past face, thanks to her high attack (along with Laftalia who also reach level 40. Naofumi only reached level 30 or so), before the fight against 3rd Calamity. The mysterious girl that Naofumi and party fight, commented that Filo attack is even higher than the Hero of Sword (whose level are 60+) Her awesome stats are caused by 2 factors:
The first is before the 3rd calamity, a skill from Naofumi shield that increase the development rate of monster and grants bonus stats upon leveling up, registered under his (Laftalia also receive same boost from similar skill). Filo receives bonus rate ever since she was born, so her status rise abnormally.
The second is during Naofumi journey with Melty. A reward from Vitoria, the current Filorial queen, for passing the test from her. She is granted a "ahoge" (antennae hair, lol) which unlocks the Filorial Shield series on Naofumi shield (unlocking all stats development skills from small, mid, and large), granting her permanent boost of her stats.
With these bonus skills, it's no wonder that Filo stats would be abnormally higher than all heroes.

Originally Posted by Kioras

I imagine Mein is the red head on the background cover of volume 1. I wonder if she had anything to do with trying to eliminate her younger sibling, to reduce competitors to the throne when her father shuffles off.

I guess it is kinda sad that the beast men physically mature as they level, as it can cause them to miss a portion of there childhood, as it is over-taken by real world troubles.

The other 3 heroes sound like an amalgamation of various bad mmo tropes/behavior also as was stated are playing hero without any deep thought into cause and effect.

I wonder if any of the 4 brought into the world have any knowledge or information from the modern era that could be applied, or have thought about spreading. For example the Scientific method or even basic chemistry, probably not though.

The King should of realized he is playing with fire annoying a hero like that, with the various changes and information he could spread throughout the world that would endanger his position.

Look forward to any translations but I doubt much with come of it, novel translations require so much work.

Spoiler for Malty:

Yes she is. Mein or Malty is the opposite of Melty. Malty color theme is red and she is good at fire magic, Melty color theme is blue and she is good at water magic. Their personality are also the polar opposites.

About the plot, she is oblivious to the Church scheme, but the news about Naofumi kidnapping Melty is a good news for her, she urged Motoyasu to chase Naofumi, defeat him and bring Melty back, after that, she just have to convince the others that Melty is under Naofumi control and lost her mind or something along that line. That way, she can be the next queen, and marry a handsome hero.

Spoiler for Human Beast:

They can choose to avoid fighting so they don't level up, this is usually the case for race that hates or not suited for fighting. However, Leveling up is very important in that world, to survive, high level is needed.

Spoiler for Knowledges:

The only knowledge they have, are knowledge of game system from their world (except for Naofumi, he doesn't know anything). Apparently, that world corporates many system, like Enchanting Equipment, Weapon Proficiency, etc. When they're gathering for exchanging information, The other 3 heroes doesn't believe the others, saying they are just lying or making false information. Naofumi gathered these information from the other 3 and verify it himself that everything is true (also, he is the only one that utilize or read the help function om his shield, the others don't). He told Kage to tell this to the other Heroes, but sadly, no one believes him.

Spoiler for The King:

The King is just stupid, drowned in his hatred. His action of defaming Naofumi will endanger his country. By attacking Naofumi, he risked his country to be attacked by the other 2 human beast countries, as they worship the hero of shield. Did I mention that some are so fanatic that they can do extreme things, for example: during the first week of Naofumi hellish days, there is one girl who is trying to do the same thing as Mein, but Naofumi rejected her. The Queen tell him that the girl is found dead several days later in a horrible way.

Originally Posted by sunsown

This light novel is very interesting even though the setting is somewhat common like an ordinay person being summoned to another world and has to act as a hero. Reading the summaries posted by amatsunagi it is quite intriguing to read the full conversations of the characters and their interactions. It will be really good if this light novel gets translated to english.

@amatsunagi

Great share.

Spoiler:

- I am not sure till where you have read but I wanted to ask about the shape of the shield in the volume 3 cover as compared to the volume 1 cover. Was it explained as to what kind of monsters he defeated to gain the new shield?

- Since the 2nd princess is travelling with him now, is she seeing him in a different light?

- Was the age (or mental age) of filo mentioned?

- I see that the balloon monsters are biting Naofumi in the volume 1 cover. Is it like they attack whoever it is?

That's my first impression, It's common and typical, but the plot is very interesting ^^

Spoiler for Legendary Weapons:

The Legendary Weapons absorb any kind of material and substances which is used as a requirement to unlock new equipment form the same type. Let's just say: Naofumi is fighting against the Orange Balloon monster, upon defeating it, when the shield gets near the corpse, it will be absorbed into the shield, and voila~ The Orange Balloon Shield is unlocked, Naofumi is granted bonus stats. Some shield will grant new skills, to use the skill, Naofumi need to change the form of his shield into the shield with the said skill (These are not clear, I kind of forgot and need to reread). These shields are arranged into a tree in weapon book, one branch is called a "series", and some shield could only be unlocked after unlocking shields of the same series, for example: upon unlocking Orange Balloon Shield, Yellow Balloon Shield, Red Balloon Shield, (with enough numbers) it will unlock Balloon Shield. IIRC, aside from numbers of monster needed to unlock specific shields, some material required a certain amount of time to be processed, from the 4 Legendary Weapons, Shield is the fastest to process and unlock, while Sword is the slowest. Naofumi shield at vol3... might be Wrath Shield, or Wrath Shield II...I forgot

Spoiler:

Question 2 and 3 about Filo and Melty are explained above answering BW95 questions. Just want to add that Filo personality is just like that of a child, it could be because she is very young or she just that of a bird brain, she will get smarter later though.

Spoiler for Balloon Monsters:

Balloon Monster (reminds me of monster from Bomberman series) attacks people as what normal monster do. Naofumi keep some of them hidden under his cape, in case he need to "teach-a-lesson" by releasing them and let them bite the poor people picking a fight with him. This trick can only be done by Naofumi, as his defense is very high. Normal attack won't hurt him, heck he doesn't feel anything at all. However, that does not mean he couldn't be hurt: if the attack surpass his defense he can get hurt in place not covered by his shield.