Review: THE REPRISE OF THE SPEAR HERO

 You might be surprised to see me give another chance to another installment in this regrettable franchise, but considering this one is all about second chances it only seems fitting.

THE REPRISE OF THE SPEAR HERO (Yari no Yusha no Yarinaoshi), based on the original light novels by Aneko Yusagi and character designs by Minami Seira with art by Neet.  First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2019.

PLOT:  

Motoyasu Kitamura was summoned to another world to become the legendary Spear Hero…at least, until he died.  Curiously, upon dying he wakes up once more at the moment of his summoning, with only fragmentary memories but his skills and levels intact.  The one thing he does remember clearly from his past is Filo-tan, the beautiful bird-girl who spurned him before.  This time around he’s determined to find her again and win her heart!  To do so, Motoyasu needs to protect her past and future ‘father’ Naofumi the Shield Hero, even if it means dying over and over until he gets it right.

STORY: 

You might recall that I was NOT a fan of The Rising of the Shield Hero when I reviewed it back in 2017, but I did try to approach this spin-off with a modicum of hope and good faith.  After all, the premise promised to turn one of the story’s shallow, straw-man antagonists into an actual character capable of growth and learning.  Maybe it would be more tolerable since it would be told from the viewpoint of someone who wasn’t stewing in their own spite and misogyny.  Maybe like its titular Spear Hero, it was worth giving this cursed franchise a second chance.

I should have known better.  In some ways I was right – this is a more positive spin on the Shield Hero universe, and this version of Motoyasu is more of an actual character than the conceited, selfish buffoon he was before.  The downside is this is entirely because this is nothing but a naked rip-off of Re:Zero, with Motoyasu playing the part of Subaru.

You’d think that by nakedly ripping off another popular isekai taking the story in that direction that this manga might be able to avoid the toxic misogyny of its processor.  Alas, you would be wrong.  Not only does this Motoyasu have absolutely zero issues with collecting bird-girl slaves like gachapon (in the hopes of finding and raising another Filo), and his insistence on referring to them as angels and their underaged human forms give his obsession a distinctly off-putting undertone.  There's also the fact that one of the weird side effects of his resurrection is that he views almost all the women he meets as pigs.  Even for this franchise, this feels like an especially blunt and distasteful metaphor for how it views women.  Of course this applies to series villainess Princess Malty, whom Motoyasu makes a point of always referring to as “Bitch” and “Trash” despite this being a timeline where she has not yet been given those names as punishment by Naofumi. 

Speaking of him, he’s a very different character in this book.  Since Motoyasu foils Malty’s false rape claims almost instantly and sticks around to defend him afterwards, this version of Naofumi isn’t the hateful little slave-owning bastard that makes the original version of this story so awful.  The downside is that without his spite and misogyny, Naofumi turns out to be nothing but the same milquetoast doofus that every other isekai light novel features.  Even then, Motoyasu’s insistence on calling him “Father” and the time-loop apparently being linked in part to keeping him alive ensures that even when the story is not meant to be all about Naofumi it’s still all about Naofumi. 

ART:  At least the art has gotten something of an upgrade.  Neet is not the usual newcomer picked for these sorts of light novel adaptation, as they had previously made a name for themselves on a handful of yuri manga and the ecchi series Mayo Chiki.  They definitely have a better grasp on the character designs than the previous manga adaptation, and they get a much wider range of emotion out of them which helps to sell the comedy and Motoyasu’s particular brand of mania.  They’re also better at putting together panels and pages and make a better effort at little details and backgrounds. 

PRESENTATION: 

After each chapter there are either brief summaries of the original story or a couple of pages of character profiles, including some that have yet to appear in this version.  I find this a rather odd addition, as I can’t imagine anyone picking this manga up without having at least a cursory idea about the original series and fans would find it utterly redundant.  There’s also a very short story from the original author, written from the perspective of one of Motoyasu’s non-Filo bird-girls.

RATING:

Reprise of the Spear Hero proves that even with this franchise, the more things change the more things stay the same.  This manga’s lighter, more comedic tone and improved art can’t hide its derivative nature, its misogyny, and its need to worship the Shield Hero.

This series is published by One Peace Books.  This series is complete in Japan with 11 volumes available.  7 volumes have been released and are currently in print.