The Eminence in Shadow (Volume 11) – Everything’s Falling Into Place!
While avoiding Shadow Garden, Cid ended up in the Oriana kingdom where he saved some of the lower ranked girls from the Cult of Diablos. Then, he discovered that Rose was going to marry Perv, which was not what he had planned for her!
The Eminence in Shadow (Volume 11) – Everything’s Falling Into Place!
What happened?
If Cid was to become a truly incredible Eminence of Shadow, he needed someone to be his opposite. Someone so true and honest that her light would make his darkness all the more powerful. He believed he had found that person when he saw Rose kill her own father. Of course, he mistook her sacrifice for an attempt to take the throne for herself. Now, she was to marry Perv Asshat and become his queen. That would not do at all. Cid needed to get into the castle and convince Rose to kill Perv and take what was rightly hers.
Luckily, Epsilon had situated herself in the Oriana Kingdom as a reknowned pianist which gave Cid the perfect way of getting around the castle. When questioned, Epsilon told Perv that Cid was her apprentice. At first, he didn’t believe her and asked that Cid perform for them. What they didn’t know was that Cid taught Epsilon, so he blew them away and gained unlimited access to the castle. After visiting Rose, where Cid confused her into thinking he loved her and wanted to run away with her, Cid decided to pay her another visit, but this time as Shadow.
Shadow took Rose to see her mother, who he believed was being held captive by Perv. His plan was for Rose to save her and then kill Perv. Unfortunately, Rose saw that her mother was having an affair with Perv and that they planned on killing her once they were married and Perv was the king. Rose fainted from the shock. Shadow was not expecting that! After returning her to her room, Shadow left to come up with another plan. However, he had already put the next steps in place when he accidently left a ring that he stole from Perv in her room, a ring that would reveal the truth of everything.
What did you think?
Oh no. It’s happening again. This volume far surpassed the anime. There were some wonderful misunderstandings that made a lot more sense since we could see Cid’s thoughts. I loved that he had no idea why Victoria was so mad at Rose, and she had no idea why he was so mad. Of course, he didn’t really know, he was just trying to look cool. Then, he got mad that Rose wasn’t going to be Queen and vowed to fix it. He stole the key to the Black Rose without knowing it and then lost it in Rose’s room. Normally, I’d be all against coincidences solving problems, but it works in The Eminence of Shadow because of the mystery around Cid.
I loved how in the manga, Shadow wanted to show Rose her mother so that they would kill Perv together whereas in the anime, he seemed to just want to show her what she was doing. In both instances, he had no idea that they were out to betray Rose and that her mother had been responsible for what happened to her father. Ultimately, they both got what they deserved and we got to see everything move into place for what should be an amazing fight.
After loving the first season of the anime, I was a little disappointed with the second season. However, after reading the manga, I am tempted to go back and revisit everything, not least because I only did a season review of the first season, which feels criminal given how much I enjoyed it. Anyhow, this volume was excellent and I cannot wait for the next one. This series is fascinating.
Series Information
| English Title | The Eminence in Shadow |
| Japanese Title | Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! |
| Genres | Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Isekai, Magic |
| Demographic | Seinen |
Anime
Season One
| Season | Season One |
| Released | Fall 2022 |
| Animation Studios | Nexus |
| Episodes | 20 |
Bonus Posts
| Analysis | How Much Does Cid Know? |
| Lists | Five Best Fights |
Season Two
| Season | Season Two |
| Released | Fall 2023 |
| Animation Studios | Nexus |
| Episodes | 12 |
| 21 | The Lawless City |
| 22 | The Haven |
| 23 | The Hour of Awakening |
| 24 | The Mask of Falsehood |
| 25 | He Who Pulls the Strings |
| 26 | John Smith |
| 27 | Something Precious |
| 28 | The Dragon’s Tears |
| 29 | The Key |
| 30 | Caged Bird |
| 31 | Determination |
| 32 | Highest |
Manga
| Series | The Eminence in Shadow | |
| Author | Daisuke Aizawa | |
| Artist | Anri Sakano | |
| Volumes | Ongoing | Chapters |
| 1 | We Lurk in the Darkness and Hunt Down Shadows | 1-4 |
| 2 | I Am Atomic! | 5-8 |
| 3 | Hidden Normie Technique | 9-12 |
| 4 | Battles Are Like a Conversation | 13-16 |
| 5 | A Memory I Never Want to Lose | 17-21 |
| 6 | What Beautiful Swordplay… | 22-25 |
| 7 | A Fancy Bandit Slayer | 26-29 |
| 8 | The True Aberration!!! | 30-33 |
| 9 | He Who Destroys All and Rebuilds It Anew! | 34-37 |
| 10 | You Stole What I Hold Most Dear! | 38-41 |
| 11 | Everything’s Falling Into Place! | 42-45 |
| 12 | Somewhere Awfully Familiar! | 46-49 |
