For as long as he can remember, Minoru Kagenou has been fixated on becoming as strong as possible, which has led him to undertake all kinds of rigorous training. This wish, however, does not stem from a desire to be recognized by others; rather, Minoru does everything he can to blend in with the crowd. So, while pretending to be a completely average student during the day, he arms himself with a crowbar and ruthlessly thrashes local biker gangs at night. Yet when Minoru finds himself in a truck accident, his ambitions seemingly come to a sudden end. In his final moments, he laments his powerlessness—no matter how much he trained, there was nothing he could do to overcome his human limitations.
But instead of dying, Minoru reawakens as Cid, the second child of the noble Kagenou family, in another world—one where magic is commonplace. With the power he so desired finally within his grasp, he dons the moniker "Shadow" and establishes Shadow Garden: a group whose sole purpose is to combat the enigmatic Cult of Diablos, an organization born from Cid's imagination. However, as Shadow Garden grows in both membership and influence, it becomes increasingly apparent that the Cult of Diablos is not as fictional as Cid had intended.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Ionliosite2
Have you ever heard of Poe’s Law? Here’s a little definition if you haven’t, Poe’s Law is that without a clear indication of the author’s intent the parody of something extreme can be mistaken for the real thing and if a real thing sounds extreme enough it can be mistaken for a parody. Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute falls exactly into this, if I wasn’t told like a dozen times by multiple people in social media groups that talk only about Light Novels and other places then I would fail to know that this thing is supposed to be a parody, after all, it playsevery single cliché on it so completely straight that I don’t know what is supposed to be the parody in here.
This anime is claimed to be some sort of parody and even more bafflingly a deconstruction of isekai that makes fun of all OP MC tropes, but the idea of a parody is to take certain aspects of a work and imitate it in an exaggerated or comedic fashion, the thing with this anime is that it takes itself extremely seriously, from the liters of blood being spilled every time a battle happens to the multiple episodes where there isn’t a single joke in them, and the tropes presented across the anime are, as I said before, played completely straight. It’s no different than watching every other isekai that comes out every season because it looks and feels exactly like them. And I don’t get where the idea of it being a deconstruction is from, this anime has every single trope used in isekai out there, with no change in the normal execution unlike what an actual deconstruction would do. But what’s worse when it actually tries to make a token effort to be irony poisoned by pointing out almost every time an isekai trope is being used and played straight, but let me tell you something, just because you are saying that a certain trope is happening doesn’t stop it from being the same thing as always. So this anime is just the same isekai you see every other season, just knowing that it is using the same tropes as every other isekai, but without doing anything clever with that knowledge, since it won’t go out of its way to not play it straight. If you want to see a series that is actually a parody and a deconstruction of the isekai genre at the same time, then go and watch Konosuba, even if I’m sure a lot of people who are here already watched that one, yet even a rewatch of that anime is more worth your time than watching this one.
The humor is bad, like so bad that I can’t believe they are supposed to be jokes, and even when they are executed well enough, the sheer repetitiveness of them will wear them off extremely quickly. One of the worst offenders of this was in episode 7, do you remember that scene in the fence tournament where Cid “fights” against Rose? Well, that scene has this joke that when Rose attacks Cid, he is thrown in the most ridiculous ways he can, to me that scene wasn’t particularly funny, but wasn’t bad enough, the bad part came after that, the joke was repeated again and again and again and again to the point that it was just a pain to watch. I don’t think that even if you laughed at it the first time you would have enjoyed it by about the 5th time it got repeated in the very same scene. Besides this is also weird with Cid’s character, he doesn’t want to stand out and to be a mob character, but then he goes and stands out again and again making this big clown show that obviously makes him stand out no matter if it is as the idiot that got beaten like a pulp. This is even more jarring to me because I later checked the manga, and while I still have a lot of issues with it, its tone and presentation was a lot better than here in the anime, making me wonder why the hell is the anime trying to be so serious when the source material embraced being absurd, as this adaptation is honestly so somber the times they do attempt a joke, it just sticks out like a sore thumb.
Shadow Garden are a bunch of non-characters, it’s like they don’t exist, they aren’t people, they are plot devices that help Cid do whatever, from gathering information from who knows where to being stupidly strong for the sake of being strong. Like I cannot even remember who most of them are, I can remember Alpha since she had screen time alone and we learned some stuff about her, then like 10 episodes later I could recognize who was Beta since she got an actual character across those episodes, even if ironically Alpha lost her time in the limelight at the same time. But my problem with these girls is not remembering their names, Greek letters aren’t something difficult to remember and I’m guessing that’s why the author didn’t bother to give them actual names, it’s these girls are complete non-characters, sometimes when they appear again I wouldn’t know who they are if they weren’t wearing those outfits everyone in Shadow Garden wear, after all, they aren’t characters I can recognize because they aren’t written to be recognizable, I couldn’t even tell which hair color each of them has or a single personality trait, there’s nothing memorable at all about them because they are never used as anything but a plot device galore.
An anime with a better execution at making an organization with only-girls for who knows what reason (actually, the reason is pretty clear, just look at the ending song video) and that turns out they are very strong too is, and I can’t believe I’m saying this given how the writing in that series is, Sekai Saikou no Ansatsusha. That series was written by the clown known as Tsukiyo Rui, the same man behind Kaifuku Jutsushi no Yarinaoshi, and it had the process to recruit them all, seeing their training and gave them an actual character even if it just a generic waifu characterization that you would find in other isekais. What happened with Shadow Garden? Well, they just started to exist in episode 2, it was only Alpha and then suddenly there was a bunch of girls that came out from who knows where, they seem able to do literally anything, they one-shot the enemies they face and are able to investigate every single minimal thing they are asked to. I can understand Alpha being strong since it was explained she is descendant from a hero, but the others? They are strong because of the slime suits that they somehow are super mega experts at using even if it this is said to be a super advanced thing just about no one else can do. If Tsukiyo Rui of all people managed to write the same thing as you but in a more competent fashion, then you are definitely doing something wrong.
The opening isn’t special, actually, the vocals seem like they were sung when the singer didn’t want to get heard by other people so he recorded it in the background of a room, and the video is simply weird, specially because it isn’t about anything in the series, as it mainly features the girls of Shadow Garden in modern Japan. I had to ask what the opening had to do with the series in some LN group and I was told by people who read the novel that even they didn’t know, the opening is actually very random aside from the parts where Cid is featured. The ending song is nicer and it is sung by a different member of Shadow Garden while featuring a pic of the girl in question, the pic is fanservicey, nothing wrong with that, but when I see the video I have to ask to myself “who is this girl again?”. The animation is fine, it knows how to make the flashy light look good even if fight scenes are lame because the MC is super OP and can’t be defeated or even get to put any effort in the battle.
I was wondering if the series would ever address again what happened in episode 1 as that one actually had an interesting set up and a girl with an actual character alongside Cid, sadly the anime just decided to ignore everything that happened there, which was the thing that finally made me drop the series to a 1 rating, because the only interesting part of the series wasn’t addressed at all, and even now I think that Nishino is more memorable than every single member of Shadow Garden combined.
PD: The best joke in the series is that the first 3 episodes are so haphazardly put together, you can start the series with any of them, and all are equally able to serve as an episode 1.
Thank you for reading.
SpRayquaza11
I will admit I always wanted to be that one plain-looking guy who at crunch time managed to fight off bad guys bare-handed, steal their weapons pull off some sick reloads and headshots while my crush watched me save the day, and goes doki doki!! There are two kinds of adults, the first are embarrassed by their childhood self and will surely cringe at the statement I made above If not report it xD and the other who still have a child hidden inside them, unable to let go of all the cool power moves and ninja signs the affinity one might have if they aremore like the latter will definitely help you love this show more objectively speaking since in kagejitsu, we finally meet a chunnibyo who is actually everything he says he is! sign me the fuck up! Every second of the action is set up to make him look like a cool ninja Edgelord who is all-powerful, all-seeing, and all-knowing although the first might actually hold true the rest is another story.
Kagejitsu is a power fantasy parody, so for it to suit your taste you need to accept the fact that there will never be a tense fight, but Animes like overlord and this (both are rather similar in this regard) have quick but literal meta-breaking fights which are always overkill to the point that you feel pity for the bad guy, all this while the Protag remains oblivious to the true nature of things because he is rather ignorant /dumb.
The only difference between the comedic style of overlord and kagejitsu is,to quote my overlord season 4 review “The way overlord carries comedy with it how ainz is supposed to be benevolent the all-knowing the all-seeing yet inside, he is the most confused person in the room!” Shadow only cares about being the coolest person in the room, so he will keep making shit up as long as it makes him seem so (even though he accidentally ends up being correct!).
Plot (9/10)
The protag has a simple yet twisted goal, he wants to be a normal-looking guy who is actually an eminence in shadow ie his alter ego is basically the strongest person although his named self is the normiest of normies. The show has Amazing pacing for an isekai, it wastes no time in introducing a new and vast cast, and still manages to make sure that the quirk and charm of these characters are well-balanced and explores it enough for a perfectly timed gag, the plot itself is basically shadow-making up crap that more often than not is a convenient flavor text for him, but a reality for the actual world is quite an interesting and hilarious take because to my knowledge he still believes that they are all roleplaying with him xD. It is quite the feat that so many characters have an intertwined story with each having a ‘role to play’ in shadow sama’s VISION.
characters(10/10)
I can't believe the number of waifus this show has produced in mere minutes of each of them being on screen, going from obvious fetish bait to quite endearing and adorable waifus with very distinct personalities. Within 20 episodes we get introduced to a whole slew of characters, and well its no wonder that all the members of shadow garden happen to be hot slime-wearing ladies UwU. but each gets their own time to shine si what makes them truly worth being invested in.
Sound and VA (8/10)
THe amazing VA is what helps land most of the jokes, some hidden gags that can only be understood if you were Japanese were well expressed by the subs , so props to the fandom for that. the ost is pretty overused and except of some very epic I AM ATOMIC moments its usually something you heard the last episode. The ED is better than the OP in my opinion.
Art and animation (7/10)
Fights are short and the animation that comes with the more epic scenes definitely outshines any other scenes hence it feels unbalanced, I also do not know why but every scene in the anime seems very 480 p even after turning 1080 p on in many different websites (the exception is the ed ‘ART’ )
A good watch for isekai and power fantasy fans, those who find themselves mostly cringing at the jokes should probably watch for only 3 episodes to see if the plot is strong enough for them to continue onwards.
ZNoteTaku
Stop me if you’ve heard a line like this before – “It’s just like in a manga / anime!” Being meta is more in vogue than ever. Ever since DreamWorks took it upon themselves to poke fun at the Disney company and the Disney brand with *Shrek* back in 2001 and became a monumentally-successful franchise financially, animated film had more or less entered the realm of metacommentary. It didn’t take long for Disney to follow suit; starting with *Enchanted* in 2007 and then expanding that into the soul-sucking exercise of their live-action remakes of the recent years (if not also including choice lines in others like*Frozen*). If there is any takeaway from this, it’s not only that animated properties being so overtly meta is here to stay, but that it is also a highly-profitable venture. After all, no company is going to change their course if it affects their bottom line. To the company, there’s a simple credo to follow: whether it be about specific properties or about an entire genre’s convention, give the audience a wink. Let them know that you “get it.”
And in the realm of anime, metacommentary also has its home. I’m not only referring to overall productions that have been regarded as having some kind of meta remarks or supposedly-deconstructive genre assertions like *Neon Genesis Evangelion,* but even the casual remarks that characters make in any kind of story, like the above quotation I left. These kinds of remarks get chuckles for the basic reason that we like to pat ourselves on the back for recognizing a pattern and having the thing we watch acknowledge it as such. Considering the sheer degree of prevalence the isekai genre has enjoyed ever since the early 2010s, no doubt because it provides publishers like Kadokawa a lot of money, it makes sense that isekai too would become susceptible to these kinds of remarks from its own works.
But *The Eminence in Shadow* makes the mistake of assuming that being meta is the same as being funny or a worthwhile piece of entertainment. Glimpsing the greater picture, or making casual reference to things that viewers would recognize, is perhaps a short-term solution. But that does not guarantee that the inner substance of the story will be able to stand on its own two feet, either. Within its audience-conscious asides, it attempts to fashion a fantastical story of Cid Kagenou, a fashions-himself-as-the-ultimate-warrior man who attempts to make the best of both worlds, so to speak. Treating his reincarnated situation as the chance to live out his ultimate fantasy, he adopts the moniker of the background everyman archetype on one hand and the “Eminence in Shadow” in the other. Getting involved, investigating, and dispensing his own form of justice when he sees fit, he treats his new environment as a playground rather than being full of actual people with consequences.
Therein lies its initial draw, and its first real gag; take the common thought that many isekai protagonists have (that they’re either dreaming / don’t take their new situation seriously enough), and have it last for the entire show. This gag quickly devolves into overreliance; *The Eminence in Shadow* spends so much of its time with Cid making jokes about the isekai world, drawing upon his knowledge of its conventions and general structure. But the show is confusing its meta remarks for comedic cleverness. Cid is seemingly incapable of going ten minutes without making a remark akin to, “At a time like this, X would happen!” or “Doing Y would be so awesome!” These moments are meta humor at its most flaccid, requiring no creativity to make its point. The goal is to be funny and double down by committing what’s tantamount to beating a dead horse, when being unfunny and doubling down only succeeds in compounding the problem.
The show’s insistence on its meta humor tries to function both comedically and dramaturgically. In having Cid make all these remarks, it attempts to paint him as being more keenly aware of what is transpiring, both in the heat of the moment and in the overarching saga that plays out in the overall world, bolstered by his sheer magical and physical power. In emphasizing the brooding aesthetic, punctuated by its dark colors and mood lighting, as well as the occasional action phrase (I will indeed give props to the line “I am atomic,” as it was as grand and dumbly epic as Cid himself thought it to be). Cid is portrayed as being consistently “cool” and slick. The “Rule of Cool” is fine for an occasional indulgence, but to make it a part of the show’s framework is a dangerous game. Cid Kagenou is *The Eminence in Shadow’s* attempt to make the “Rule of Cool” personified via the main protagonist.
Yet in all that time focusing on him, most of the ensemble gets left out in the lurch. The “Greek chorus,” or the series of women who serve under Cid in Shadow Garden, are the prime example. They are caricatures rather than characters, a harem in principle and occasional sexual connotation, though not with Cid himself. No chance is given to develop many of them into substantial beings—they don’t even get names beyond Greek letter designations, hence why I referred to them as “Greek chorus” before—because the show’s structure deemphasizes their own relevance. Throughout most of the story, they appear for brief moments and then vanish for long stretches of time, and their contributions to Cid’s shadowy operations do little more than deliver messages or background information. There’s a bizarre fixation on several of them being either competitive, protective, or envious of other members’ breasts. Even when they fight, the moments themselves do barely enough to give the women a sense of dimension. It took nearly one dozen episodes of their sporadic appearance before I finally learned who was named what.
The more-prominent side characters of each arc do not fare much better. Sherry is reduced to little more than buttshot eye candy despite the great intelligence we are told that she has, all the while the show decides to relentlessly dump tragedy upon her. Rose has her character more or less centered on her adoration of, and personal history with, Cid and an involvement with cultist Perv Asshat (yes, that is his name in-universe). Annerose, introduced as a warrior of high caliber, becomes a complete no-show for the last few episodes. Each new arc introduces more and more characters who become little more than blips on the show’s radar, unintriguing toys for Cid to use for whatever fantasy kick he’s on at the moment. They are constantly janked around by forces they don’t understand, which does little to make them compelling players in the larger game.
But within the desert of characterization stand Alexia and Iris, sisters to their own Midgar throne, as the exceptions to the material’s obsession with Cid being detrimental to everyone else. Their early introduction plot-wise and the fixation both on their personal status and relationship to one another and the larger-scale circumstances more-cohesively set off their personal journeys. Both are perplexed by both the antagonistic forces in their world and Shadow Garden’s mysterious presence, unsure what to make of them. Alexia especially acknowledges her own lack of understanding of what is transpiring since she’s not privy to her sister’s circle of information among the knights or overall skill; she takes the first step into becoming more proactive in the grand scheme of *The Eminence in Shadow’s* shenanigans. Her resolve, and the resulting alliance she forms, is one of the show’s shining moments for developing its intrigue.
I’ve used the word “moment” more than once throughout the course of talking about *The Eminence in Shadow,* and that’s because it’s the show’s ultimate flaw. Underneath the choking meta humor jokes, the occasional bits of good action, mediocre characterization, and the show’s aesthetic managing to capture the balancing act it’s trying to perfect, the show is propelled by moments, not narrative. The good moments come too few and far between; it leaves the rest of the experience pertaining to the Cult of Diabolos (or “Diablos,” depending on who’s translating it) and its actual world lumbering along until it gets to the next meme-worthy instance. It comes in both the form of emphasizing things that don’t really need to be emphasized, or blasting through things when it should stop and catch its breath. The result leaves *The Eminence in Shadow* as an organizational mess, which diminishes its bright points greatly.
With its second season being announced, I do not doubt that there will surely be more masturbatory indulgences in its own supposed cleverness.
I would not, however, find that “atomic.”
Cyrose
Trap anime of 2022. There are entries that just don't worth the time and effort to write a review on. Despite that Eminence in the Shadow is particularly belongs to this garner. I’ve made an exception with it and shed some light over this gloomed garden. Visually it looks good, I would give it an upper (7) or (8) to the animation. I don’t know however why the animation quality suddenly dropped to (4) after EP 18. Sounds, pretty average. There were no one ost that stick into my ear. And yes, average means (5). Characters, there are so many characters.Stories,
So it starts off with a guy who likes to live a peaceful and ordinary life. He goes to school like an ordinary student, but he also acts as a super hero in the nights, to save his classmates from the bad guys. (Actually, he just likes to play God in the nights and to act as the best NPC at daylight). One time he met an elf who was soo weak and flat he had to gave his powers to her so she became OP and round. This Elf then made an army and the army members made their army and left the boy alone and in peace. After this he, (the boy) found himself in a nice garden full of girls. He was so fast that he immediately made a love confession to a random girl. (Prettiest girl in school). Then this girl was not nice, but still looks nice to this day. So after this relationship, HE had a name also. Acid-kun (I believe). So Acid kun met a super cute glassed girl who was super kawaii and she was actually super important in that school because of her dimensions. But also she helped Acid-kun to be somewhat smart in one situation that wasn't that major, then she left. Part of the story was when we met a rabbit that jumped out from a bus, (out of nowhere) really. In the spur of the moment we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of an inconsequential discussion between two fundamental characters. A piece of the argument was where the Royal Degrees status led - that the testament from Church principles delegation issued possibilities regarding of an undercover agents representatives on “Great grandson of Count III Emperor” mislaid pacifier tube. In the meantime, Acid-kun hang out with his buddies then he walked into a sealed box. Also Acid-kun also famous for one thing and that's not the one thing I will mention, but he also can act pretty quick, like light fast reaction he has. Possess in his right eye or, (yes). So around in the middle of the third part of the begging of the ninth story end, then we found ourselves into a fight, which was completely one sided, but that didn't stopped Acid-kun to say the word he is most famous for, which is not All-range and still not orange either, but he made a hole into our souls so deep soo ..much (only 0.5km radius) ultra mega rabbit hole. It was extremely dangerous because it basically demolished everything (except the cute girls). A few days after this, our main... Wait! No! So Acid-kun was desperate to be an NPC character that he made so much effort to transform himself into a dead zombie, so he can participate in a fight competition and “secretly” win it. In the middle of the ocean there was a pinguin that has nothing to do with the story - Do you want this hamburger? So we were in this plane that has so many NPC’s on it like 200 hundred NPC’s (all flat) and Acid-kun hates to be the most noticable character. He just can't stand to be in the middle of the attention, he had to say the word he is most famous for, he had to, he had no choice left but to say it...I AM
.. AN UGLY PIECE OF SHIT.
As I mentioned,
"Not worth the candle
TLDR: Eminence in the shadow has done just about everything in such a disordered and utterly subpar extent, that it holds a class of its own. It represents the kind of creations that are genuinely don’t deserves just to get the 1/10 rating, as it would be too generous according to their credit. They are generally a huge ZERO, that you neither see its curves nor its shape, just the middle of the ZERO. This state is;
- Unfathomably (Button-down-criminally-trash).
I haven’t seen an anime that has came down as of presenting this topsy-turvy story, extraordinarily hideous dialogues beside its cringey framework in such a manner than this thing right here just carried, and still receive applause. As it perhaps, because it beyond and furthermore overextended the definition of (BAD), some gifted people can actually enjoy and visualise that zero next to the 1. - I don’t.
My final score: -Z
I recommend to pass this stupid sandwich.
Thank you for reading!
Marinate1016
Eminence in Shadow is a satirical tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of the isekai genre that’s a fun departure from the incessant stream of fantasy/isekai shows these days. I believe those that call Eminence “generic” or “edgy” have completely missed the point of the series. It’s supposed to be over the top and cringe in many situations. It’s quite literally poking fun at traditional isekai tropes and cliches and giving us a meta commentary on them. Cid’s ambition to be a background shadow broker and a mob character at school which ironically leads to him becoming a central figure in this world is the entire point of thestory. When you have that much power it is impossible to stay out of the spotlight completely. It is inevitable that someone as strong as he is becomes the main character in any story.
In short, don’t overanalyse this story. I promise you’ll probably put more effort into it than the author did writing it.
The adaptation itself is honestly one of the best I have ever seen. The Light Novels was one of my favourite ongoing series coming into the anime and I can’t be happier with the job Nexus did adapting it. It’s almost a 1:1 adaptation for the most part. Nexus did an awesome job of bringing the cheeky dialogue to the screen and keeping the tone of the series in tact. I found the direction to be really well done too. Scenes like episode 17’s piano scene even surpassed the source material which is truly the mark of a great adaptation.
Comedy is subjective of course, but I find the style of meta isekai humour that Cid often employs to be very funny. His laissez-faire attitude mixed with the overly serious nature of everyone around him is just a hilarious contrast. Seeing him lead Shadow Garden without any type of cohesive plan or strategy while his followers anxiously await his every move never gets old.
Due to the satirical nature of the series, the characters, at least of season 1’s ending, don’t get a lot of character development. Everyone’s kind of a personification of a trope. Whether it’s Alpha as the loyal second in command, Rose as the principled and iron willed knight, Alexia as the seemingly perfect, top of the class beauty, etc. They all are walking memes. Memes that I enjoy.
As you can probably imagine, the most obvious comparison for Eminence is Overlord, but Eminence is not meant to be taken as seriously as Overlord so characterisation and plot is not as strong. The world building in Overlord is quite a bit better as well. Their biggest similarities will be how both Ainz and Cid just make things up as they go along and they end up looking like geniuses to their subordinates.
If you go into this show with an open mind and let go of all preconceived notions about what it is, I think the vast majority of people will have an amazing time. If you come into this and try to over analyse everything, take things super seriously, etc. You probably will not have fun. I think this is one of the best isekai series ongoing right now and I highly encourage everyone to check out the light novel for what comes next.
Eminence in Shadow gets 9 slime suits out of 10.
Mattotsuo
"In order to be the best, you have to know the worst." - Someone probably I have watched many, many isekai, from the smartphone one, to the one with a loveable group of 3 girls (blue, yellow, and red) and 1 guy (death by the 5mph tractor), all the way to the one who dies over, and over, and over, and over... So I think I have experienced a very wide spectrum of what is good and what is bad. This is the story of the least generic overpowered main character who wants to be the most generic overpowered main character, written by an author whoseems to be just having a fun time.
For starters, the main character may say extremely cringe-worthy chuunibyo lines, but it is all in the name of it being cool. His ideal role is almost that of Batman, except instead of being the rich billionaire he would rather blend into the crowd as a "mob" character who fulfills his role as a self-righteous group leader. I cannot stress enough the difference between the average isekai and this. While an average main character might fight to protect his/her friends or family, or to protect their country that may or may not have treated them poorly, Cid is only fighting for himself in order to be the strongest existence that could win any fight no matter the circumstances. It is in no way an honorable cause, yet who better to fight for than yourself?
When I watch a cringe isekai, the most common reason for me to lose interest is when a character spouts those annoying lines like "We can do this together!" or when the love interest girl is meant to have her power-up, the girl is like "I need to be strong in order to not be a burden to MC-kun!" In Kage No Jitsuryokusha, there is no need for those because all of the girls are already strong enough to win their own battles, and the main character literally goes off on his own because it isn't fun because the girls take care of everything. I appreciate KNJ for not relying on that annoying trope in order to push a plot.
From what I heard, the author literally put the LN on hiatus in order to work on the anime and it shows. You can tell the story seems to have a consistent idea throughout it. All characters' actions and thoughts seem to make sense based on how they were introduced and further developed. For example, the main character maintains his goal and his actions all agree with his premise of giving up all unnecessary distractions from the ultimate goal (with the exception of certain specific ones that have no effect on it). Another example would be how even a "minor" character was only meant to be the main character's friend to blend in as a mob, but even that character maintained their addiction to gambling and acted exactly as a typical mob character would.
Because of this, no characters were outstandingly out of the ordinary if you really think about it. But that's where you would go wrong. They act exactly as they should because that is how they were designed. Similarly to most bad isekai, you aren't meant to think deeply in order to get a good experience. In that sense, it is quite similar, because if you think you know what will happen next, there's at least a 70% chance you will not be wrong. A fanservice is meant to give the fan exactly what the author thinks they want.
I don't usually care or praise about voice acting (I am ALWAYS a sub watcher, if you watch dub I won't judge, but sub is usually more consistently good), music, or animation, but all three were exceptional. Not only did the seiyuu play each part perfectly (of course they did, it was quite stacked lmao), but on especially important moments, they knew when to completely cut off all other sound and focus on a particular line making it much more impactful and seemingly epic. Each seemed to understand the mood and emotion they were supposed to because they almost all have played that same trope before many times. I don't think an ISEKAI anime ever made me want to learn to play the piano, sure the one about not telling the truth in April made me want to try, but KNJ literally made me listen to the same Beethoven song for 80 hours straight and has become a part of my pop-off playlist. Lastly, the animation was very smooth and I can't name a single time where the art style or the animation was ever off (but in the current time that is usually less frequent).
Finally, this can be different from person to person, but I particularly found the fights and even seemingly simpler moments to be extremely exciting. Particularly, when there is a fight with the main character, the main character exudes dominance and strength, which is something that most are not able to really do. The main character both looks and feels like the main character of his own show.
So where does my rating of 10 come from? I say in terms of enjoyment I would definitely give it a 10/10 because while it presents itself as a generic isekai on the surface, it is anything but that. I understand people might not agree on being 10, but if you have actually watched it, I would almost guarantee it won't be below average. If you are looking at this anime to go on your list of "planned to watch that you REALLY want to watch, but for some reason a new show just comes up and you actually never get anything out of," I would recommend watching till episode 2 (or 5, which is one of the highest climaxes in the show) and if you don't like it from there, it just isn't for you.
TLDR: Watch till ep 2 (or 5 if you have time) because it may seem like a generic overpowered main character isekai but it isn't. It is one of the most enjoyable from the perspective of a consistent isekai watcher.
Final comment after completing the anime, I found the fights so exciting and I can't stress enough how much fun I had watching this show because of how cool the characters were
Blitz872
When I found this anime I saw lots of people saying it was a guilty pleasure type of anime so I didn't really think too much about it and just left it but what brought me to this anime was the "I am atomic" scene and I thought it looked pretty good so I decided to pick it up however I quickly found out why people thought it was a "guilty pleasure" anime. 1- Story Its story isn't bad though it isn't all that amazing as we have the protagonist who made up a story that turned out to be true and from that lie came hisloyal subordinates who went on to create shadow garden. Problem with the story for me is that shadow garden plays way too much of a role in it and there is little to know development and explanation on said group for example in episode 20 (the final episode of the season) We are told the protagonist Cid kagenou fought a mist dragon and after defeating it, it pretty much gave him its land that it watched over and this is where shadow garden decided to make their base. Then there are times like when cid fought in the sewers with the I am atomic scene destroyed a great chunk of the area and then by the next episode the hole that was in the middle of the city is never shown again and it just never feels like the world is ever changed or anything happens when cid or the others fight other people. The last thing I want to speak about here are its first few episodes the pacing on them were just ridiculous we went from being in the normal world for the entire episode then the next episode cid is a baby mid episode he is like 9 and we are introduced to the first girl he recruits then by the end of the episode we have all of the girls appear deal with the bad guys then say they are leaving cid and we dont see them again until episode 5 or 6
2-Fights
The fights are completely boring for me whenever it comes to cid fighting someone its clear that he is going to win and there is never any close struggle between him and his opponent and at that point i just want the fight to finish so the episode can continue
3-Characters
Now this is a very weird topic when it comes to this anime because all of the main characters that being the major players of shadow garden(Cid, alpha, beta etc) are just very poorly fleshed out characters as you know next to nothing about them whereas the side characters like the princess, alexia and her sister have pretty well fleshed out characters that i personally like but it all just doesnt feel right since it is only really like 3 or so characters that I can actually enjoy seeing on screen. Now the last character I want to talk about is Sherry, This character I think is just completely bad even though they are fleshed out pretty well I cant for the life of me believe that they are so unfathomably bad at at seeing her surroundings like i get it is a gag but it just seem so dumb to me like for example their mother gets killed and probably not even a good 7ft away is the killer standing with the murder weapon she comes out of the closet she was in after her mother gets killed and yes this is just about at the exact time her mother gets stabbed and sliced up she WALKS OUT of the closest( I have no clue what the point of hiding in the closest was for anymore) then just looks at her mother i shock i mean she doesnt even look around to try and get anyone she doesnt scream she doesnt do anything other than look at the body in complete shock.
4- Animation-
Its animation is nothing special it is your typical anime animation, Stiff/still shots every so often with the audio playing with fights that aren't are just your run of the mill fights
5- Power system
It has nothing special about it, its pretty much just use magic to boost your stats there are very few occurrences where it is used differently for example to walk on water but these never really take place more than 3 times and happens outside of fights or dont have much impact on said fight
Overall It is basically a show where you are just watching for your next overpowered mc who has a few screws loose
saboth
[no spoilers] I have no idea how the ratings are so high on this. I don't rate things unless I watch them to completion and boy, do I regret it. There is nothing even remotely funny in here to make it satire. The story is disjointed and all over the place. The character development is exceedingly poor. The storyline is... what? Maybe if you are a manga fan and want to watch it come to life, then good on you. For me, this anime was my first experience. Beyond the first episode, or two, it was at leastholding my interest, and then it went in a weird and awful direction.
The redeeming qualities are that the art and voice acting are good, but everything else about it is pure, unadulterated trash. Do yourself a favor and find something better to watch. I plead with you. Do not waste your time on this. There is so much else out there that deserves the rating they have been given. And there are much better examples of satire in the isekai genre (Konosuba).
There must have been an army of bots to boost this rating because it was truly awful. And no. It's not that "I don't get it." It's just that it's absolutely terrible.
jahver
My first exposure to The Eminence in Shadow was my friend on Discord singing praises for the anime. He told me it was a parody show that took all these tired isekai cliches and turned them on their head, much like Overlord. And he was right; The Eminence in Shadow is much like Overlord in that they both use the illusion of satire to deliver the same regurgitated stories and character archetypes as the genre they claim to parody, played completely straight with only the slightest modicum of irony to keep the veil from dropping. At first glance, you wouldn’t even be able to tellthis is a parody. I struggled to sit through 4 episodes, and dropped it when I realized it was exactly as I’d feared; mediocre isekai nonsense putting on the pretense of being something greater to sell merchandise of the cast of nondescript archetypal anime girls. Only months later, after copious debates with my Discord friends and after several drinks was I able to finish the proceeding 16 episodes, all the while baffled by what I thought at the time was the sheer incompetence of the directing and adaptation of mediocre genre fare. But upon looking into the manga and LNs, I can confidently proclaim that Eminence in Shadow (the anime) is one of the most subversive, avant-garde comedy anime of all time. It’s so dedicated to making every single joke, every mildly humorous moment from the original works so profoundly atrocious and lacking in impact that it circles back around and reaches its intention: being the world’s greatest anti-comedy.
I’m going to get this out of the way quickly and say that, despite my earlier claim, the original manga and LNs (or whichever comes first) for this series aren’t masterpieces. The writing and dialogue are stiff and awkward, the story hinges on contrivance, half the cast is sorely lacking anything to distinguish one another, and there’s copious amounts of “ironic edge” that would make an r/nihilism user blush. But I’ll give it exemplary praise in that it’s actually genuinely funny at times, something so rare for the majority of media like this that I was caught off guard at first. Cid Kagenou is truly hilarious whenever he goes into one of his absurd Machiavellian rants in his head as he details his complex blueprints for putting on the front a boring, cringey man. He seems like the natural conclusion of Lelouch from Code Geass (or Light from Death Note if you’d prefer I cited an actually good character), taken to an illogical extreme. He’s the kinda guy who would nail himself to a cross to get stronger (he actually does this in one of the novels!). He truck’d himself for the specific purpose of being isekai’d. Scenes like where he asks a girl out in the most humiliating way possible are just so expertly compounded by him narrating every single action and decision in his head, such as calculating the perfect trajectory to bow down like a pathetic spastic. Here, every chuuni delusion is spelled out, making him look simultaneously awe-inspiring yet totally corny. He takes everything in stride; playing a pussywhipped slave is all part of his self-proclaimed master plan to rule the world in secrecy. Even when he’s surprised at how accurate his random guesses are, he just rolls with it. As much of a copout as it is, I think it’s a really great bit that keeps the story moving without getting too predictable. We even get to see inside the heads of other characters as they try to process the shitstorm of absurdity unfolding in front of them.
Now try to imagine an adaptation that completely cuts out the vast majority of Cid and the rests’ monologues, shoots down the jokes in midair so they just fall flat, and throws the tone of the series into disarray, killing any and all nuance the source material had going for it. Even disregarding the lack of first-person mental POVs for the most part, the comedic timing and execution is awful. The anime can’t seem to decide how it wants to portray Cid, choosing to take him 100% seriously the vast majority of the time. This distortion of the manga’s comedic nature to justify going all-in on the embarrassing power fantasies seems almost purposeful, and I’m not cynical enough to consider it a case of full-on directorial incompetence, nor a case of misplaced hubris like MAPPA’s Chainsaw Man adaptation; despite this being his first true directing gig, Kazuya Nakanishi has a good 20 years of experience working mostly assistant director and animation director positions on a number of well-received titles. I’m not sure how likely it was that everyone involved with production completely misunderstood the nature of the series, so I’m guessing they decided to change it to appeal to more casual viewers. It’s like the inverse of the manga, where there was some self-awareness around how much of an admirable dweeb Cid actually was behind all the posturing; the exaggerated art hammered the point home and made it so the tone was never too self-serious. He’s supposed to be cool because his ridiculous larp always ends in success, not because his ridiculous larp looks cool in-universe. The anime just asks you to take everything at face value, or at least seems to because the way they handle comedy in the anime is frustrating.
Everything in the anime is taken dead serious, failing to preserve the ever-present irony of the source material. It’s a dreary, obtuse mess where every scene plays out about as lifelessly as a bad Shakespeare adaptation; try to count the number of times there’s an expository scene that’s just shot reverse shot of characters talking with uninterested faces as nothing else happens for 3 to 4 minutes. Sometimes it happens multiple times per episode. Even worse, every time they try and go ahead with landing a punchline it derails the tone of the scene. Even a modicum of comedy feels out of place in an adaptation this dull. It’s like Fullmetal Alchemist 03 took SSRIs. But for all that show’s failings, it had competent directors, writers and production staff to turn it into something worthwhile, all of which Eminence in Shadow does not. Whoever was planning the anime out has no idea what makes the original material funny or engaging. Instead of embracing the inherent silliness, the anime only retains the worst of Eminence’s “humor”; repetitive gags that wouldn’t impress a middle schooler. You can almost spot the gaps in dialogue where they could’ve added canned laugh tracks after every joke. A character’s name being “Perverted Asshat” and it being thrown around ad nauseum is one of the least terrible examples might give you insight into how dire the material you’re dealing with can get.
And that’s not even getting into the problems I have with the source material itself. Firstly, Cid’s character makes no sense when you look into his motivations; his goal is to become both a background character AND the man behind everything, yet every action he takes as a civilian is contradictory. He’s always interacting with the most important people around him, getting into fights he easily wins with his superior magical powers, and finding himself involved in every conspiracy. Most of the time he isn’t even pretending to be Shadow while doing all this. Am I missing something? It feels like the writer just wanted an excuse for Cid to dick around in at magic highschool and somehow couldn’t find enough of a reason to have him do his supervillain shtick while he was actually in-character. What’s the point in immediately render your main character’s goal meaningless? It’s not like they wanted to dedicate any time to developing other characters, because as many as there are, they’re shallow as a puddle.
As much as Eminence can satirize edgy self-insert MCs, the series hardly has any faith in its characters and reduces them to boring, derivative models taken from every other low-effort power fantasy that came before it. Every female character has the same face. I can’t even remember half their names outside of Delta, who looks like Blake from RWBY, which is somehow a more watchable show than this. At least I can name most of RWBY’s cast and describe their personalities. Seriously every new female character in Eminence feels like they were produced in a factory that makes anime girls who are so hard-tailored to be appealing to lonely, bitter people like me it actually feels patronizing. The worst part is that they all look so similar that they blend together after the first 5 episodes. I started getting confused as to who was talking to who in some scenes because even their voices have very little differentiation. I don’t have any problem with conventional characters insofar as they possess interesting attributes; I couldn’t even begin to describe what makes any of these copy-paste bitches so special. That won’t stop people from spending thousands a month trying to summon them in all their fanservice uniforms on the shitty Eminence gacha game Crunchyroll was promoting (even though they don’t own the streaming rights to the anime???). The other side characters are equally dismal. If you skipped all the scenes of Cid’s classmates at the dumb Light Novel magic school talking about inane plot developments or fucking about you’d be skipping more filler than the average Shippuden arc. I know most of these season isekai shows spend an exorbitant amount of screentime on side characters jabbering on about dumb bullshit but it feels particularly egregious here, in a show where none of them serve any purpose aside from that. I’d be really impressed if you could find somebody who genuinely cares about these losers.
Eminence isn’t all contrivances and pretensions. As boring as the direction is in conversational scenes, it’s got enough flashy fight sakuga to distance itself from the dozens of far worse isekai that came out around the sam. Episodes 5 and 20 are the standout, where the direction and animation quality actually take a massive step up for a few minutes during said episodes’ central fights (I AM ATOMIC is way too cool a moment for this series). Kenichiro Suehiro (the RE:Zero guy)’s soundtrack is the hypest shit you’ll ever hear. As much as I want to scrutinize every aspect of this series out of spite, there’s some genuine passion put into it. I can be a sore loser and say “I wish Hoshi no Samidare got that same treatment!” but that wouldn’t solve anything. As a whole The Eminence in Shadow is just so sincerely unimpressive that it makes me wonder what anyone sees in it; of course I already know what they see in it, cool fights, self-insert protagonists and women who show affection, but it makes me wonder why nobody wants anything else. The isekai/”literally me!” genre dissolved into a homogenous mess of repetition somewhere around 2016 or 2017 and the anime community hardly seems to care. But the amount of fans acting like Eminence is really that much of a breath of fresh air just goes to show that deep down, people are growing weary of the formula and any surface-level deviation from the norm is cause for consideration. I can see it. I understand. It’s still bad, but I’d be lying if I said it’s less more inviting than “I Got Reincarnated as Chad and Girls Pay Attention to Me Now” or Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 9 out of 20.
TheBigDog
I think i might be in the only one that didn't liked this anime......8.29 rating in MAL......Overrated......mc started of as batman wannabe then tried to turn into lelouch (code geass mc) wannabe but couldn't even laced his boot then he just turned into another isekai overpowered mc that thinks like this whole isekai world is just a video game.......majority of villains are girls and old man that are just made of blood balloons......villains should be build up from the start and have some credible threat to mc becoz if there is no pressure/seriousness on mc then action is just bland bullshit.........most of the scenes werepretty cringe as well still watched all the episodes becoz i thought it would get better but it didn't......the only thing that made me curious is that new villain introduced that is voiced by kobayashi (dio brando) but in the end even he will be completely dominated by mc without breaking a sweat.
sakajii
This is the best anime I've ever seen. If it was possible I would rate this 11 out of 10. The style of the anime, the art, the characters, the voice acting - it's all impossibly close to perfect. It isn't scared of trying new things and it maintains a cool yet often hilarious plot. After every episode it just kept getting better, so it made me sad to see other reviewers watching only a few episodes and not reccomending it, because it was ''just another boring isekai''. The anime is so much more than that. This is the only time while watching actively anairing series and being sad that one moment it will end. This will most likely be forever my favourite anime ever.
Ludwig_Anarcheon
Plot: 7.75 - Chunibyo, 8th grader syndrome, or whatever you may want to call it. The MC is insufferable as the anime moves forward, Overpowered from ep 1 with little to no difficulty faced. No matter what situation or conflict arises, poster boy sings the same tune and saves everyone. - The story overall is pretty good, lots of development shown by side characters, villains are interesting but have no time to develop because of peter pan reigning on their parades. Animation: 8.25 - Fight animation although repetitive is done very well. - Choreography is amazing throughout. - Heavy fan service, but otherwise character design is great. Voiceacting: 8
- One of the better points about the anime, voice acting is mostly believable and adds more to each characters emotions.
Music: 7.75
- OP is good
- ED also good
- General sound is very good.
Execution: 6.75
- Hate how there was 0 explanation for how MC got his powers, lots of unnecessary fan service and frozen frames. Too many instances where characters were speaking but the animation didn't display that. Unless you just want to watch another cakewalk isekai with harem elements, I side heavily on the not recommended option.
Enjoyment: 7
Overall rating: 7.6
Adjusted weighted Rating: 7.91
P = 35% - 2.71
A = 30% - 2.48
V = 20% - 1.6
M = 10% - 0.78
E = 5% - 0.34
MKIkawa
Many people have always wondered, including me, if a work of fiction needs to have such a creative and innovative premise to be considered good. Is a story full of overused tropes really that bad, even if the execution is good? I'm yet to be completely sure, but one thing that I can say is, The Eminence in Shadow is an anime Worth experiencing. "Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!", more known as The Eminence in Shadow, is an isekai about a boy named Minoru, who gets reincarnates as Cid Kagenou, a seemingly "background character" from a noble family. In reality, he's obsessed over gaining power, andbecoming a powerful being that lurks in the shadows, naming himself Shadow.
STORY/WRITING: 7/10
As mentioned before, creativity when creating a premise and a plot as a whole is widely considered to be pretty important, but not everyone has thought that a reimagination of an overused trope can be good if done well. What makes this story interesting is that they took the "edgy overpowered protagonist" trope to another whole level, and they went into the right direction if they didn't want to make everything look extremely generic and uninteresting.
Overall, the premise isn't creative at all, but they used it to their advantage, by enhancing the worldbuilding and power system compared to most other isekais, creating a much better experience for the average audience. The most important part of over exaggerating the plot is that, if done poorly, can make the story much worse, but if done well, can make it more engaging, and sometimes, more fun, specially for "parody" anime. In this case, we can see a lot of exaggeration, for example, every situation Cid creates in his head, only for his "roleplaying", always ends up being true, including the Cult of Diablos. This is something really absurd, but it definitely makes The Eminence in Shadow more enjoyable to watch then almost all other anime with the same monotonous tropes.
Another thing I can praise about the series is its setting, which shows that the world is constantly and rapidly evolving, most of the time through the knowledge the servants of Shadow recieved from him, and developed on their own. You can clearly see hamburgers becoming more and more common in a world that looks ike it's just about to reach the Industrial Revoution, for example. I find that incredibe, specially because that's such an uncommon trait for anime to show, and it makes the worldbuiding much more interesting from a viewer's standpoint.
AUDIO/SOUNDTRACK/SCORE: 7/10
Honestly, while the soundtrack could be better in some moments - with more impactful songs in some scenes or better sound effects - I don't have much to complain about it, because sometimes it definitely can make some parts more exiting (specially in episode 5, for example). The voice actors that worked on this are pretty good on average in the japanese version, and they were fine in the english dub (and yes, I watched both for this review), but I want to highlight the VA's of Cid and Delta from the japanese version, which were simply awesome for their characters.
CHARACTERS: 7.5/10
This is a pretty strong point of the series. I can only complain about the antagonists here, since they look much unoriginal and bland (as of what has been shown in the anime). The Eminence in Shadow stands out the most over other "edgy" isekais out there is that the characters are actually charismatic, specially the main protagonist. They surely make the series much more enjoyable, because most other works don't seem to be able to create a cast interesting enough for anyone to care about it, and this anime does the opposite. While they're definitely not that complex or full of depht, their captivating personalities are what creates better character interactions, evolving into more impactful scenes and better dialogue.
ANIMATION: 8/10
Pretty solid part of The Eminence in Shadow, there's also nothing to complain related to this either. It's really well done, not inconsistent at all and some fight scenes look amazingly done. One thing, though, that's not personally liked is the amount of fanservice. Of course, there are many anime out there with a much bigger amount of these scenes, and the quantity in this series isn't that big either, but I'd rather not see any kind of fanservice, at all.
ENJOYMENT: 7/10
While it definitely has plenty of good and memorable scenes, the story wasn't that interesting to me, specially because if follows a lot of tropes, including edgy and cringe moments, even if they're done in a comedic way. I had a lot of fun watching it, it's memorabe, it has got a great direction and quality, and I'd definitely recommend it to someone who likes edgy isekais, because this is probably the best one of this type I've seen.
Slick-Sama
This series is entertaining mostly for the Comedy factor and less so for the fantasy / action elements. We get to follow Cid, the main character, during his isekai journey as he lives the fantasy dream he has always imagined himself having, and he does it well. The action scenes are animated nicely but most of the fights are over in 5 seconds because Cid is so OP he just man handles everyone he fights or just plain toys with them. One aspect I think they could have flushed out a lot more were Cid's "Shadows" or his "harem" if you will, his deadly personalteam of assassin girls. They are each pretty unique in their own right, but the anime doesn't give them much back story at all or let us know their reasons for joining the shadows. Cid pretty much has Alpha just go do her thing and Cid pulls the ol Aiz Oowl Gown "Ah, I see, That's what I had in mind". Which is fine but anyone who enjoys waifus I think can agree with me that they needed more screen time and backstory.
Comedy aspect is easily an 8/10, but plot I'd have to give 5/10 and animation 7/10. If the whole series was as good as the last episode it would be an easy 8/10 but I'm going to have to give it a 6/10 for the reasons mentioned above.
It's an entertaining watch, but it wont be for everyone. It's definitely worth checking out though!
Vego
Perfectly terrible isekai: Lack of originality: The anime follows a well-worn trope of a character who is transported to a fantasy world and gains incredible powers. While this can be entertaining, "Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!" fails to bring any new or exciting elements to the genre. Poor pacing: The anime suffers from pacing issues, with some episodes feeling rushed and others dragging on for too long. This can make it difficult for viewers to stay engaged with the story and characters. Shallow characters: The characters in "Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!" lack depth and development, making it challenging to connect with them onan emotional level. This can make it challenging for viewers to become invested in the story and care about what happens to the characters.
Inconsistent animation: The animation quality in "Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!" can be inconsistent, with some scenes looking polished and others appearing rushed and sloppy. This can be distracting and take viewers out of the story.
Poor world-building: The anime fails to establish a fully-realized world, leaving viewers with many unanswered questions about the setting and the characters that inhabit it. This can make it difficult to understand the motivations of the characters and their actions.
Overall, while "Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!" may have some entertaining moments, its lack of originality, poor pacing, shallow characters, inconsistent animation, and poor world-building make it a disappointing viewing experience for all viewers.
kinjoleef
The Eminence in Shadow anime presents a satisfactory fantasy world with a satisfactory premise, with little to no character depth, and middling payoff. A couple side characters actually go through somewhat meaningful character development but most characters are largely depicted as constants with no display of their source of motivation or personality. The anime doesn't even display the main character's growth as a character in terms of strength or character. The plot's overarching conflict is presented as a joke but then also serious, the fights are cool but largely have no tension or stakes in terms of story nor character, and the characters still remainlargely a mystery despite the anime being 20 episodes long. Is this anime supposed to be parody? Slice of life? A drama? I don't know what the overarching theme of this series is supposed to be. If you're looking for a monotone fantasy/isekai anime series with some cool action scenes, this is right up your alley.
_Shara_
During the day, Minoru Kageno is an apparently normal high school student, shy and silent. What sets him apart from everyone else is his desire to become very powerful. Minoru secretly trains to become a skilled fighter, ready to do anything to fight evil. But perhaps what he really wants is something else. After pushing himself too hard to obtain unlikely magical powers, Minoru dies during his training and is reincarnated in a new Western fantasy-style world as Cid Kageno. Cid blends in with the students and goes unnoticed during the day, but at night, under the cover of darkness, he fights the evil cult ofDiablos as Shadow.
Shadow is the head of a powerful and loyal organization of magical warriors called Shadow Garden, made up exclusively of female characters who form a real harem devoted to him. But how real is any of this? Does the cult of Diablos really exist, or is it just a figment of Cid's imagination? And above all, how aware is Cid of his own actions?
What makes this anime unique is its portrayal of the main character. Unlike other isekai protagonists, Cid maintains his awareness of his previous life after being reincarnated in this new world. He introduces cultural elements from his world, well known to viewers, into a completely foreign context. This narrative device allows for continuous references to Western pop culture, as well as a comic and self-deprecating streak within the fantasy setting.
Cid's character is perhaps one of the most successful aspects of the entire work. Through interior monologues addressed directly to the viewer, he reiterates how he wants to be only an extra in the story, almost as if he were aware of being part of a fictional story. This meta narrative allows for countless absurd and funny situations, while also slyly poking fun at the typical clichés of Japanese animation.
During the first part of the work, Cid's two identities are well-developed and distinct. The tone and atmosphere of the anime change drastically depending on which of his two aliases is the protagonist of the scene.
Shadow is a formidable warrior with unmatched magical power. Unlike other strong protagonists, he is fully aware of his power and does not hide his arrogance. Shadow is an unapologetic antihero, and when he appears, the tone of the story is always dark, taking on a dark fantasy tone and, at times, even horror elements.
In total contrast, the lighthearted and comedic settings feature Cid as the protagonist. The tones are more relaxed, the characters that populate these scenes are predominantly comic relief, and the genre shifts to comedy.
The first season of The Eminence in Shadow finds one of its greatest strengths in its technical aspect. The aesthetic rendering of the settings and the characters is well-characterized, and the characters remain imprinted on the viewer's mind from their first appearance. Each of the main characters has their own fighting style, a very specific aesthetic, and unique and well-diversified magical abilities. Thanks to the excellent work done by Nexus studio, the adaptation of Aizawa's work manages to keep viewers engaged. Even in the most frenetic fighting scenes, the animation is consistently fluid and clear.
This anime really entertained me with its plot full of intrigue and an unapologetic protagonist who was so much fun to follow. The Eminence in Shadow met all my expectations.
I definitely also appreciated the fact that there were 20 episodes instead of the standard 12, giving us a few more story arcs to enjoy.
I highly recommend watching this gem!
Personal rating: 9.5/10
Lawgun
This anime's cover provoked me for months since appeared on a main page of MAL, it's just another situation when recommendation system simply doesn't work. What, another isekai anime with tags Action, Comedy, Fantasy and people call it a 'parody on isekai genre itself'? Sounds nice, for sure it must be pretty funny and original, right? I mean, there are Konosuba, Isekai Ojisan and Isekai Bishoujo Juniku Ojisan already as great examples of comedy parody on isekai and they were pretty fresh in its ways of resolving standard isekai situations. Forget about it, Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! is just a bad joke which repeatedhundreds of times with an idiotic stubbornness. How is it a parody on isekai if it's keep being so serious and pretentious in terms of plot and characters' motives? Obviously it's not a parody on isekai, author of this abomination is just pathetic and insecure so decided to use excuses for his cringe worth writing skills by including silly scenes everywhere so it would look like as a total farce and circus what could help with avoiding of critics which traditionally follows anything barely serious and plot oriented.
Half of this garbage anime try hard to be a comedy. Oh, it's a parody on a comedy then! Okay, then author did a good job since made a lot of unfunny jokes and put in some random delusional fool instead as MC. Another half of anime is a mess full of lengthy boring battles and basic formal dialogues. Oh, it's a parody on meaningful anime then! Okay, then author did a good job again by making worthless incoherent plot which fails to intrigue.
There is nothing to discuss here in terms of details or plot moves since all of them are meaningless and tasteless just like the author himself. I don't care how this anime looks and sounds, how much money were spent and who voices who here. It's just another 'popular TM' trash with some group of fanatics which can't do anything better than spread lies about 'parody' premise in this anime. This parody on anime itself totally deserves its parody-tier 'fans', what a joke.
DaikuU
I... am... finally interested in anime again. To be honest most anime nowadays don't interest me. I feel like i've seen everything i wanted and now i don't get interested in what comes out. Well Eminence in shadow kind of rescued me here. After seeing al the new stuff and giving tries to what not i've found an anime that doesn't feel the same as any other. Eminence In Shadow came here as a trash isekai anime, and after seeing many reviews and bad opinions on about how generic this thing is i just need to get out here and talk about this. The comedy/action/seriousness in this animeis so well balanced it always delivered just what i needed. The characters are so well written i have many of them that i enjoy and hardly any that i would consider annoying.
People who don't watch variety anime too often wouldn't find this as funny, but, some of the things here that seem too generic and too non-original were just so funny. From the appearance of the sekai de ichiban ticket to the isekai world truck.
To some of the cliches the anime had and made fun of. I couldn't even comprehend how well made this shit is.
If i would want to rate the aspects then i would go - Comedy,Characters being the simplest, beacause they are 10s. Action and the whole depiction of power is also great. The one thing i would want to mention is how well balanced the animation is and how great the sounds are here. The one thing i didn't notice were some good OST unless we are talking about Oxt- Highest (the op which is a banger).
Overall this anime is so refreshing and i've never seen anything like this so finally after searching i've found something that soothes my nerves when it comes to searching for an anime.
