The manhwa Surviving The Game As A Barbarian is obviously poking fun at the Rising of the Shield Hero's focus on shields in the best possible way.
Summary
- Surviving The Game As A Barbarian throws shade at Rising of the Shield Hero by downplaying the importance of shields in its storyline.
- The manhwa takes a unique twist on the Isekai genre by portraying Isekai'd heroes as "possessed evil spirits" who are killed on sight in the real world.
- Bjorn's kindness towards an elf in Surviving The Game As A Barbarian may be a response to the controversial relationship in Rising of the Shield Hero .
A new manhwa called Surviving The Game As A Barbarian is in no way controversial like the hit series Rising of the Shield Hero, but it clearly throws shade at the famous isekai by how it portrays shields before diverging from what readers expected.
Rising of the Shield Hero is the typical type of Isekai series where the protagonist is either awarded a skill or class that's perceived to be completely useless but actually isn't. In Naofumi's case, he is assigned an apparently useless weapon after arriving in the new world, and quickly becomes the target of a massive conspiracy as a result.
Upon learning how worthless shields are, Naofumi mourns his fate and soon tries to rid himself of his weapon once his life spirals out of control. The approach is completely different in the Isekai manhwaSurviving The Game As A Barbarian by Han Tae-Soo and Jung Yun-Kang.
Surviving the Game as a Barbarian Makes Many Subtle References to Rising of the Shield Hero
After getting Isekai'd into an impossible game called Dungeon and Stone, the now-named Bjorn Jandel the Barbarian remembers how the only way a Barbarian like him can survive is to start out with a shield. Despite the fact that Bjorn actually chooses a shield and knows of its importance unlike Naofumi, the manhwa doesn't focus on the shield for many chapters, except when Bjorn uses it to kill goblins. However, these instances are fleeting. Ironically, things get better for Bjorn a few chapters later once he equips a hammer, causing the shield to fall further into obscurity.
Besides this double subversion, Surviving The Game As A Barbarian also gives its own unique spin to the overall over-saturated Isekai genre. Those living in the real-world version of Dungeon and Stone have their own view of Isekai'd heroes. They are viewed as "possessed evil spirits" and are killed immediately. This understandably serves as the first major form of conflict for Bjorn as he tries to act like he didn't just come from another world, but luckily for him, Barbarians aren't known for being too bright, so he is able to get away with asking questions and not raise any red flags. This is a unique twist on the summoning trope which was also used in Rising of the Shield Hero, but in that case, the people who summon Naofumi frame and then try to murder him like an "evil spirit", thus establishing another connection between the two series.
Unlike Surviving The Game As A Barbarian's obvious jab at the relative importance of shields, some readers who are familiar with Rising of the Shield Hero might also view Bjorn's kindness towards a targeted elf as a response to Naofumi's controversial relationship with Raftalia in Rising of the Shield Hero. Manhwa fans who are looking for an unusual Isekai story should definitively check out Surviving The Game As A Barbarian.
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