Naofumi Iwatani

Naofumi Iwatani is the main protagonist of the anime The Rising of the Shield Hero. He's a young university student and otaku (around 20 years old) who gets summoned from modern Japan to a fantasy world as one of the four Legendary Heroes — specifically the Shield Hero.

In appearance, he's depicted as a lean, reasonably muscled young man with short, spiky black hair and sharp green eyes. He often has a serious, scowling expression that reflects his guarded and cynical demeanor, especially after early events in the story. His default outfit evolves from casual modern clothes (which get stolen) to more practical adventurer gear like a simple shirt, trousers, boots, and eventually armor pieces, with the Legendary Shield permanently affixed to one of his arms.

Personality-wise in the anime, Naofumi starts off optimistic and somewhat naive about his heroic role, but a major betrayal and false accusation early on leave him deeply distrustful, bitter, and pragmatic. He becomes cold, calculating, and focused on survival and profit, viewing most people with suspicion and prioritizing self-preservation. Despite this "villainous" facade he adopts, he shows underlying kindness and protectiveness — especially toward those who genuinely earn his trust (like his party members) — and he's driven by a strong sense of justice when it comes to protecting the innocent or repaying loyalty. His journey highlights growth from isolation and rage toward forming real bonds while fighting the catastrophic Waves threatening the world.

He's voiced by Kaito Ishikawa in Japanese (with Billy Kametz in season 1 English dub, later Stephen Fu), and his character stands out in the isekai genre for being more morally gray and realistically traumatized than many typical protagonists.