The Rising of the Shield Hero: What Is the Hengen Muso Style & How Powerful Is It?

The Rising of the Shield Hero is a very interesting isekai series that does its best to show what fantasy looks like from a Japanese perspective. There are numerous interesting characters in the series. While we could discuss each of them, in this article, we will talk about something completely different. Not a character but rather a legendary fighting style that is actually very important for the lore, as well as its principal characters, which is why we have decided to tell you all about it. In this article, you will find out what the Hengen Muso Style is, as well as how powerful it actually is.

Hengen Muso is one of the most important fighting styles in the series

The Hengen Muso Style (変幻無双流 Hengen Musou-ryū), which literally means “Peerless/Unparalleled Transformation Style”, is a legendary fighting style created a long time ago by a legendary warrior who wanted to become strong enough as to not having to rely on the Heroes. He, therefore, founded the School, and from his teachings and studies, the Hengen Muso Style was born. It is a very complex style but also very powerful, and Elrasla Ragnarok, the last known master, wanted to take the secret of the style to her grave. Still, after being saved by Naofumi, she decided to pass the legend on.

The Hengen Muso Style, as we will explain below, relies on manipulating one’s life force, which is a very complex task, as it requires a lot of effort. To do it, one first has to master and understand one’s life force, which is exceptionally difficult for humans and demi-humans, although some demons could do it instantly. To master it, it usually takes about ten years of training in the mountains, but a more talented fighter can do it in a month. In fact, Naofumi managed to speed up the process by acquiring the life-force water (which is very difficult to do) and using the「Aura」spell.

The Hengen Muso Style doesn’t rely on any particular weapon, which makes it very versatile and practical. We are now going to explain the basic elements of the style.

Basic elements of Hengen Muso

In this section, we are going to list and explain all the basic elements that comprise the Hengen Muso Style, as well as how they are manifested. There are several of them, and they are what makes this style so special. Let us continue:

1. Life Force is the basis of this style and in order to use it, one has to master and understand their own life force, after which they are able to manipulate it. With it, one can completely ignore and nullify defense-ignoring and defense-rating attacks.
2. Peerless Activity refers to the period of time when the Life Force is being used. Some can use it only in bursts, while others can maintain it consistently for a longer period of time.
3. Muso Activation is a special technique that allows the user to suck the Life Force out of the air in order to gain a boost.

Legendary Heroes, whose Life Force is irregular, generally have problems with Hengen Muso as they cannot use it fully, but if they train enough, they are able to master it completely.

Techniques and users of Hengen Muso

Finally, before we close this article, we are going to bring you a list of all the known techniques of the Hengen Muso Style, as well as their users in the series. The techniques can be grouped under basic, applicative, and others, and this is how we are going to present them to you here. Here they are:

Basic techniques

Applicative techniques

Others

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