I would like to see a sword and board protag in the future...

[Nightmare799]

I am starting to get tired of all that dual wielding bullcrap and giant two handers. Everytime I see a sword and shield character, they are female. Nothing against female swordsmen, but I love sword and shield combination and tire of the endless gender push on it. On a real battlefield. you were barely any more close and personal than with a shield (I should know, I use sword and shield in our little HEMA club), and let me tell you, the image of a coward hiding behind shield is a BS illusion. You are out of range most of the time and have to engage first if you want to cause any damage at all.

[Jade]

Well, the main protagonist of TnT use shield only shield

[Nightmare799]

Well, the main protagonist of TnT use shield only shield

 

This kind of vagrant weaponry usage is what I absolutely hate. No, I do NOT think that mop is a good weapon. or a shield on its own for that matter.

[firecat]

RPG rule: more swords = more damage, well the only disadvantage is losing def but people have started to hate def due to the fact that it almost never matter. the shield was getting in the way both damage wise and movement, its better to just equip two swords and O.H.K.O it.

[Abyssal Monkey]

This kind of vagrant weaponry usage is what I absolutely hate. No, I do NOT think that mop is a good weapon. or a shield on its own for that matter.

He doesn't attack with the shield.  Correction: he CAN'T attack with the shield.  The restriction on him being the hero of the shield means that he is 100% pure tank.  He can only use other means to attack such as relying on terrain and other people.  Any direct damage he deals is utterly negated.

 

As for your original question, the anecdotal reason why most protagonists don't use a shield is that it severely inhibits mobility.  Having to carry a 20 pound shield in order to block attacks would cause the protagonist to dramatically slow down.  Ever notice why protagonists mostly wear leather armor?  Same reason.

 

The other possible reason I can think of is that by narratively reducing the protagonist's direct defense capability in favor of agility would increase the tension in any action scene.  You must dodge or get defeated.  working on this principle adds a lot of tension if the author didn't layer the protagonist in ample amounts of plot armor.

 

You know, at some point there was a scene in SAO that demonstrated this point excellently.  During one of the boss fights there was a wall of shields that their whole purpose was to get hit by the enemy boss.  Nobody wants to self insert into that kind of character, and thus that type of character has fallen out of fashion.

 

To really get down to the core of the matter though, you might want to compare and contemplate why something like this exists. 

[Darklord Rooke]

As for your original question, the anecdotal reason why most protagonists don't use a shield is that it severely inhibits mobility.  Having to carry a 20 pound shield in order to block attacks would cause the protagonist to dramatically slow down.  Ever notice why protagonists mostly wear leather armor?  Same reason.

 

The weight of shields varied. They could be as heavy as 20lbs, or as light as 6, it depends on the time and the country. And plate armour wasn't as heavy as people thought, in fact modern military gear may be heavier. The reason people wore armour when they could afford it is it was almost impenetrable, so make no mistake the trade off with agility is well worth it. And then they'd have a 2-handed long sword, so now you're halfway impenetrable AND have an advantage in reach. And no, the swords were pretty light, longer than a katana while being about the same weight (due to the katana's wedge), double sided, and have a nasty point.

 

Of course, this sort of combat isn't really flashy to the audience (no sarcasm here, it's pretty boring.)

[Narcosis]

Are we discussing what's possible in fiction again?

[Abyssal Monkey]

The weight of shields varied. They could be as heavy as 20lbs, or as light as 6, it depends on the time and the country. And plate armour wasn't as heavy as people thought, in fact modern military gear may be heavier. The reason people wore armour when they could afford it is it was almost impenetrable, so make no mistake the trade off with agility is well worth it. And then they'd have a 2-handed long sword, so now you're halfway impenetrable AND have an advantage in reach. And no, the swords were pretty light, longer than a katana while being about the same weight (due to the katana's wedge), double sided, and have a nasty point.

 

Of course, this sort of combat isn't really flashy to the audience (no sarcasm here, it's pretty boring.)

Heavy armor like full plates weren't for impenetrability.  Arrows could still quite easily penetrate you.  It was mostly for deflecting sword strikes.  Same goes for the shield, lighter shields were only ever meant to parry, and do nothing else.  The reason why they had 20 pound shields is to block cavalry charges and keep that spear from penetrating your armor and instead have the shield take the blow for you.

 

I realize we are probably arguing over non-essential details, and still agree on the main point that having a shield would make the action scenes a lot more boring though. 

[Nightmare799]

He doesn't attack with the shield.  Correction: he CAN'T attack with the shield.  The restriction on him being the hero of the shield means that he is 100% pure tank.  He can only use other means to attack such as relying on terrain and other people.  Any direct damage he deals is utterly negated.

 

As for your original question, the anecdotal reason why most protagonists don't use a shield is that it severely inhibits mobility.  Having to carry a 20 pound shield in order to block attacks would cause the protagonist to dramatically slow down.  Ever notice why protagonists mostly wear leather armor?  Same reason.

 

The other possible reason I can think of is that by narratively reducing the protagonist's direct defense capability in favor of agility would increase the tension in any action scene.  You must dodge or get defeated.  working on this principle adds a lot of tension if the author didn't layer the protagonist in ample amounts of plot armor.

 

You know, at some point there was a scene in SAO that demonstrated this point excellently.  During one of the boss fights there was a wall of shields that their whole purpose was to get hit by the enemy boss.  Nobody wants to self insert into that kind of character, and thus that type of character has fallen out of fashion.

 

To really get down to the core of the matter though, you might want to compare and contemplate why something like this exists. 

 

I beg to differ, shields are actually fairly light weight and allow surprisingly good amount of mobility, since they are usually tied to your forearm. Dodging is not a problem at all, and shield can actually be used as counterweight in some evasive maneuvers.

 

 

During one of the boss fights there was a wall of shields that their whole purpose was to get hit by the enemy boss.  Nobody wants to self insert into that kind of character, and thus that type of character has fallen out of fashion.

 

If you encounter a 20 foot tall muscular monster you are pretty much fucked regardless if you carry a shield or not. But as we all know, protagonists always find a way.

 

 

 

The other possible reason I can think of is that by narratively reducing the protagonist's direct defense capability in favor of agility would increase the tension in any action scene.  You must dodge or get defeated.  working on this principle adds a lot of tension if the author didn't layer the protagonist in ample amounts of plot armor.

 

Shields can be broken as well if tension is needed, or to show how battered and exhausted the character is due to the prolonged combat. Have you seen Troy? Even though they use shields, those fights still have incredible amount of tension...

 

Heavy armor like full plates weren't for impenetrability.  Arrows could still quite easily penetrate you.  It was mostly for deflecting sword strikes.  Same goes for the shield, lighter shields were only ever meant to parry, and do nothing else.  The reason why they had 20 pound shields is to block cavalry charges and keep that spear from penetrating your armor and instead have the shield take the blow for you.

 

 

I am just going to clarify here. Your average heater shield weights about 2 to 3.5 kilograms. 20 pound shield would be a full metal greatshield. Also, nothing save for a long spear or a well executed dodge will save you from a charging cavalryman. And no, the only way to defend against charging cavalry is a long spear formation. No shield is going to save you against a dude with a lance on a charging horse.

 

Also, full plate was mostly impervious to everything short of extremely pointy weapons, crushing weapons such as hammers and maces, longbows firing bodkin arrows (mind you very few men could use longbow effectively during medieval times) and bolts fired from heavy duty crossbows.

[Darklord Rooke]

It's probably because Japan never really used shields, most likely due to their limited exposure to different cultures. Samurai either used a bow or their 2 handed katana/spear/polearms/tachi whatever. So, because anime is a product of Japan, maybe they just don't get how useful they were/are *shrugs*

 

Or maybe I'm well off base, who knows

[Nightmare799]

It's probably because Japan never really used shields, most likely due to their limited exposure to different cultures. Samurai either used a bow or their 2 handed katana/spear/polearms/tachi whatever. So, because anime is a product of Japan, maybe they just don't get how useful they were/are *shrugs*

 

Or maybe I'm well off base, who knows

[storyteller]

Toaru Ossan no VRMMO Katsudouki - Whip-sword, gimmick shield, bow & arrow, kicks protag.

Artifact Collector - A work on Narou I've been reading recently. Spear (treated more like javelins) & (magic) shield protag.

 

...But yeah, conventional sword & shield is rare.

I guess it's a given since anime/manga combat tend to be "superpower technique, I win!" stuff.

They do also tend to have physical durability that make shields look superfluous >_>