A review by absentminded_reader
The Rising of the Shield Hero: Volume 02 by Aneko Yusagi

2.0

Disappointing. Cliché. Raph has been reduced to a harem slave squabbling for scraps of her master's attention. The new addition is far too young. The main character continues to be oblivious to the sexual tension around him, but the daddy-vibe the mangaka had him give off didn't work for me. I can see that the mangaka is deconstructing typical tropes, but this rides so close to the tropes that it's a case of Poe's Law. In addition, slavery was treated superficially in this volume to make way for the new slave and the hijinks that followed. I can see that a conflict is being set up for future resolution, and the new slave is a plot point for Raph to work out, but slavery played for yuks felt tone deaf to me. I wasn't a fan of this volume, though I do like the main character.