The Rising Of The Shield Hero: Ren Amaki's Powers Explained
The second season of "The Rising of the Shield Hero" is fast approaching, which means there's no better time than now to catch up on the acclaimed dark fantasy anime series. Adapted from the light novel series of the same name written by Aneko Yusagi, the anime follows the story of Naofumi Iwatani, a university student who inexplicably finds himself transported to a parallel world and named as one of the "Four Legendary Heroes" there.
Each of these heroes is tasked with defending the world from a constant invasion of monsters (known as the "Waves of Calamity") and each one is also granted a Legendary Weapon, such as the Legendary Bow or Legendary Spear. In Naofumi's case, it happens to be the Legendary Shield: the only defensive item amongst the Legendary Weapons, and one which leaves him with almost no offensive powers whatsoever. Another member of the Four Legendary Heroes is Ren Amaki, who wields the Legendary Sword and — in direct contrast with Naofumi — seems to have no shortage of offensive powers. But what exactly are Ren's powers?
Ren's abilities all stem from the sword he wields
Ren is a regular high school student prior to being transported into the world of "The Rising of the Shield Hero," and as such, all of his powers and abilities stem from his access to the Legendary Sword itself. The sword is imbued with a variety of magical abilities, such as the Comet Sword ability, which charges the sword with the power of the stars, and the Hundred Swords ability, which multiples the sword into a hundred smaller swords and causes them all to fall on Ren's enemies (via The Rising of the Shield Hero Wiki). Switching between these abilities often changes the sword's form as well.
There are a variety of magical abilities imbued within the sword itself, as well as a few utility abilities that (while not always helpful for defense) are still incredibly useful throughout Ren's adventures. For example, Ren can use the sword to become invisible, or he can use the Transport Sword ability to teleport himself to places he has visited before. Outside of the sword, Ren also displays a natural talent for utilizing support magic, to the point that he can even absorb the magic of spells used around him and imbue their power into his sword.
As the story goes on, Ren unlocks a multitude of new techniques and abilities inherent to the Legendary Sword, and we're certain that Season 2 of "The Rising of the Shield Hero" will see him gain plenty of new powers as he continues his fight against the Waves of Calamity.