Web Novel

Aneko Yusagi is the author of The Rising of the Shield Hero. It was originally created as a Web Novel on the user-generated content site Shōsetsuka ni Narō.

Overview
The series is divided into Arcs on the site that are somewhat equivalent to its counterpart Volumes in the Light Novel that was acquired for print publication by Media Factory in September 2015. That said, differences between the Web Novel and the Light Novel begin to appear more frequently beginning with Volume 4 of the Light Novel, with some volumes being completely Light Novel exclusive such as Volume 8 and Volume 9. As of Volume 16 of the Light Novel, it has diverged completely with light novel-exclusive content.

The Web Novel is commonly believed and treated as a rough draft of the series, however, the author of the series, Aneko Yusagi, referred to the Web Novel and Light Novel versions of the series to be treated as almost as two different works.

The Web Novel had changes of its own during the course of development. One such example of this was during the Final Arc. Due to the original ending poor reception from the readers, it was changed to its current version. These endings are referred to as "Version 1" and "Version 2" by the readers of the Web Novel.

In 2014, after the main Rising of the Shield Hero story-line was complete, Aneko proceeded with writing the web novel The Reprise of the Spear Hero on the same site as the original. Once this story-line was complete, Aneko then wrote a sequel to the spin-off which is referred to as New Reprise. These two stories are not to be confused with the light novel version of The Reprise of the Spear Hero which exists in Manga and Light Novel form.

Canon
Since the Web Novel and Light Novel are meant to be considered separate works, they are considered to have independent canons. What occurs in the web novel does not necessarily predict what will occur in the Light Novel and vice versa. The works which are contained within the Web Novel universe include:


 * The Rising of the Shield Hero Web Novel
 * Holiday Specials
 * The Reprise of the Spear Hero Web Novel
 * New Reprise (Ongoing)

Differences from Light Novel
After the light novel was created, a few notable changes were made from the web novel. The most notable is that it is missing multiple web novel arcs (Like Counterattack of the Fluffy-Tailed Waifu or The New Seven Sins arcs) and has a few light-novel exclusive arcs. Anything after Volume 16 of the Light Novel does not exist within the Web Novel. Even within shared arcs, the details of the story are quite different. Key characters like Kyo and Ost do not exist in the web novel while others like Medea do not exist in the light novel.

Besides the general story-line, the characters within the story are also noticeably changed. Naofumi for example has a much darker, more sadistic personality which remains throughout the story.

List of Arcs

 * Web Novel Arc 1: Summoning
 * Web Novel Arc 2: Slave
 * Web Novel Arc 3: Second Wave
 * Web Novel Arc 4: Filo Rial
 * Web Novel Arc 5: Peddling
 * Web Novel Arc 6: Third Wave
 * Web Novel Arc 7: Devil of the Shield
 * Web Novel Arc 8: Punishment
 * Web Novel Arc 9: Cal Mira Island
 * Web Novel Arc 10: Intermission
 * Web Novel Arc 11: Spirit Turtle
 * Web Novel Arc 12: Rebuilding Arc Part 1
 * Web Novel Arc 13: Rebuilding Arc Part 2
 * Web Novel Arc 14: Wrath Dragon
 * Web Novel Arc 15: Fallen Heroes
 * Web Novel Arc 16: Justice
 * Web Novel Arc 17: Counterattack of the Fluffy-Tailed Waifu
 * Web Novel Arc 18: The New Seven Sins
 * Web Novel Arc 19: Houou
 * Web Novel Arc 20: War of Heroes
 * Web Novel Arc 21: Truth of Worlds
 * Web Novel Arc 22: Final Arc
 * Side Story 1: The Christmas of the Shield Hero
 * Side Story 2: The Valentine of the Shield Hero
 * Side Story 3: The White Day of the Shield Hero

Trivia

 * It is possible some of the Light Novel exclusive arcs were planned for the web novel. But were cut when the web novel was rushed to allow the author to turn their attention towards the light novel version. This is most prevalent for Qtenlo, as seen when Sadena warns Naofumi about having a relationship with Raphtalia. This meaning it was probably planned at one point.