# Raphtalia Raphtalia is a tanuki demi-human character from the Japanese light novel and anime series The Rising of the Shield Hero, first published in 2013 and adapted for TV in 2019. After the anime's second episode aired in January 2019, she blew up on r/animemes as the season's designated 'best girl,' spawning waves of waifu image macros and Reddit crossposts. ## Origin The character comes from The Rising of the Shield Hero, whose first light novel volume was released in Japan on August 23, 2013, with the tanuki-type demi-human Raphtalia introduced in the ninth chapter[2]. She was later carried into the manga adaptation from chapter two and the anime from episode one[1]. The meme wave itself is tied to the TV anime, not the novel. Following the release of the second episode, 'The Slave Girl,' on January 16, 2019, posts featuring the character surged on the r/animemes subreddit, with users tagging her a 'seasonal waifu'[2]. - **Platform:** Anime series (source) / Reddit r/animemes (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2019 ## Overview Raphtalia, sometimes spelled Raftalia, is a tanuki (raccoon dog) demi-human character from the Japanese light novel, manga and anime series The Rising of the Shield Hero[1]. In the story she is a young slave purchased by the main protagonist Naofumi Iwatani, whom she assists as a swordswoman on his adventure[2]. The meme layer built up around her is mostly the 'best girl' variety: fans crown her as the season's top waifu and slot her face into standard anime image macro formats[2]. The running joke is that Raphtalia is so wholesome and loyal that admitting anything less is a bannable offense in her fandom. Urban Dictionary entries define the name as simply meaning 'best girl,' which captures how the community talks about her more than any plot detail[3]. Posts also lean on the anime's own 'If you lewd Raphtalia, you're fired' line from Naofumi, which fans turned into a recurring caption and rule. ## How It Spread r/animemes did the heavy lifting. On January 16, 2019, the same day the 'Slave Girl' episode aired, Redditor UltraMonty posted one of the earliest Raphtalia image macros, which pulled in over 2,600 upvotes in four days[2]. Another post by Redditor TheGamingRambo the same day hit more than 11,600 upvotes in the same window, cementing her as the subreddit's flavor of the season[2]. From there the character stuck around as shorthand for 'best girl' in anime discussion, with Urban Dictionary entries in later years still defining Raphtalia purely as 'best girl' rather than by any story detail[3]. The 'If you lewd Raphtalia, you're fired' line, lifted from Naofumi's in-show reaction, became its own recurring caption on r/animemes posts[2]. The fandom cooled after the first season wrapped but never fully faded, coming back around each time a new Shield Hero season or trailer dropped, keeping Raphtalia in the rotation of long-running anime waifu memes[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Raphtalia? Raphtalia is a tanuki demi-human character from the Japanese series The Rising of the Shield Hero who became a widely memed 'best girl' figure on r/animemes in early 2019[2]. ### Where did Raphtalia come from? She was introduced in the ninth chapter of the first Rising of the Shield Hero light novel, released in Japan on August 23, 2013, and later adapted into manga and anime[2]. ### What does Raphtalia mean? Literally it is the character's given name in the series, but online, Urban Dictionary entries define 'Raphtalia' simply as slang for 'best girl'[3]. ### How do you use Raphtalia? She is typically dropped into anime waifu image macros or 'best girl' arguments on r/animemes, often paired with variations of the in-show line 'If you lewd Raphtalia, you're fired'[2]. ### Is Raphtalia still popular? Peak activity was tied to the anime's early 2019 run, though she still shows up in r/animemes waifu discussions and returns whenever new Shield Hero seasons air[1]. ## References 1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rising_of_the_Shield_Hero]() 2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/raphtalia]() 3. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Raphtalia]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/raphtalia Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library