The Eminence in Shadow (Episode 22) – The Haven
Shadow is about to enter the Crimson Tower, however, he finds Yukime and Juggernaut, the rulers of the two other Towers fighting at the gates. Meanwhile, Claire and Mary have found a hidden way inside and discovered Shadow Garden is already there.
The Eminence in Shadow (Episode 22) – The Haven
What did you watch?
The previous episode covered half of the events that happened in volume 7 of the manga, so I’m expecting this one to finish things off and maybe take it a little further. I’m already delighted that this series has continued and I hope that it keeps going. There’s such a wonderfully rich world full of potential and Cid is a bizarrely brilliant character. And, when you consider we’ve barely seen much of the girls of Shadow Garden in reality, then, there’s so much more to explore. Anyhow, let’s get into this one rather than dreaming of the future!
What happened?
Shadow had interrupted the fight between Juggernaut and Yukime. They were somewhat impressed when they learnt who he was and even broke off their fight for now as they both sought to bring down the Red Tower. Juggernaut waltzed inside having destroyed the ancient artefact door with a single blow. The White Demon who watches over the gate assessed the situation and thought better of attacking Juggernaut. Then, he watched Yukime stroll in behind him and made the same decision. But who was this third person with almost no power? This was someone he could kill. He threw himself at Shadow and instantly regretted it.
Inside the tower, Mary and Claire came across Beta and several of the Shadow Garden girls who were searching the records. They believed that the vampires and possessed shared a common gene. That idea was enough to make Mary angry, calling it blasphemous against the vampire progenitors. Beta told them that she had no interest in fighting them and would let them go if they showed them the same courtesy. Mary decided to leave, but before long they ran into Juggernaut who managed to land a blow on Claire and Mary. Mary looked like she was finished, but then she kissed Claire, drinking the blood from her lip to regain her strength. However, Juggernaut swept in for the kill and was stopped when Shadow appeared, kicking him out of the tower entirely.
What did you think?
Just amazing. I can’t stop laughing. The way Shadow is continuing to parrot Mary’s lines to him from earlier is hilarious. Seeing him dispatch the White Demon with ease was nice, however, in the manga, the White Demon confronted Shadow and was busy telling him about his past when Shadow just walked past him, cutting him down mid-sentence. Also, the seventh volume of the manga ended with Juggernaut finding Claire and Mary, so it was nice to see that play out, especially as Shadow appeared, got rid of Juggernaut with ease, and then parroted off another of Mary’s lines. I believed that Mary was a vampire from the beginning so it was nice to get that confirmed and it spun a much more tragic light on the Blood Queen. I can’t wait for the next episode.
What was your favourite moment?
It has to be the fight against Juggernaut. There were lots of nice reveals in the action. We learnt that Juggernaut was only the second person to land a hit on Claire. Presumably, Cid was the other person which makes it odd that she thinks he’s so average, although she often acknowledges that she is always learning from him. They have a wonderfully odd relationship. We also learn that Mary is a vampire and that she stole Claire’s first kiss to regain her strength. Even then, her strength was nothing compared to Juggernaut, who in turn was insignificant next to Shadow. I loved the way Shadow appeared by standing on Juggernaut’s blade and then kicking him out of the building. He repeated one of Mary’s lines back to her and then vanished. Amazing!
Who was the most impactful character?
In this one, the information we received from Mary changed the story. Instead of a vicious vampire who attempted to destroy the world a thousand years ago, we have a tragic tale of a vampire who tried to change the world and the fate of her kind but was corrupted by Crimson. When she realised what she had done, she killed herself and hoped that it would end there. However, her body didn’t turn to ash. Now, it looks like Crimson is about to repeat his act of treachery. I think that Shadow killed Crimson too late to stop the resurrection so that should make for an interesting next episode. Incidentally, in the manga, we saw the young Dark Knight who was captured to become a hostage around the same time Mary “saved” Cid. I think seeing them made the moment that Claire believed Cid was the sacrifice that much better.
What have you learned?
So, we know that Claire was possessed much like the girls of Shadow Garden, and all have been cured by Cid. I’m curious what that might mean for Mary since she drank Claire’s blood and the belief that the vampires share a similarity with the possessed. It’ll be interesting if Mary somehow is cured of her vampirism as that might mean that Cid could cure the Blood Queen. I’m sure it won’t be as easy as that, but I can see it happening. Cid has a habit of befriending powerful beings as he did with Aurora, the Witch of Calamity. There’s bound to be a link back to the Cult of Diablos. There always is and so far, all we know is that Shadow Garden are looking at the links between vampires and the possessed.
Other posts in the series
Series Information
| English Title | The Eminence in Shadow |
| Japanese Title | Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! |
| Author | Daisuke Aizawa |
| Artist | Anri Sakano |
| 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
| Volumes | Ongoing |
| 1 | We Lurk in the Darkness and Hunt Down Shadows |
| 2 | I Am Atomic! |
| 3 | Hidden Normie Technique |
| 4 | Battles Are Like a Conversation |
| 5 | A Memory I Never Want to Lose |
| 6 | What Beautiful Swordplay… |
| 7 | A Fancy Bandit Slayer |
| 8 | The True Aberration!!! |
| 9 | He Who Destroys All and Rebuilds it Anew! |
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What the heck did Juggernaut think he was doing, going after Claire and Mary like that? They weren’t being aggressive towards him at all, not even like the fox lady was. Good thing Cid showed up and kicked him out of the tower, even if he didn’t realize quite then that he was saving his sister.
I rather pity the fox lady having to deal with vampires on one hand and this raging battle junkie on the other hand. She seems quite courteous, at least, even making sure to thank Shadow for saving one of her girls.
The moment where Cid just blows Crimson away in the middle of his monologue was great! He’s going on about raising Elisabeth from the dead and making her his as they join in holy matrimon-(BOOM!) Love it!
This was supposed to have my name on it… (muttering about stupid glitchy login systems)
Don’t worry. I fixed it for you.
Juggernaut is chaos personified, but even then, he had no reason to go after them. I think he was just in frenzy, but I loved the way Cid showed up and then kicked him. Even better with his yell back at Shadow as he fell.
Yeah, the fox lady seems fairly reserved by comparison but then she was also making a comment about one of her girls running away from her debt as if she would get her back for that. I don’t think she’s necessarily that good either.
There’s nothing like an interrupted monologue. I love the bit after the ED where Cid was parroting the line about the being no more time, and then almost worrying he’d finished it all too soon. It’s been explosive. Can’t wait for the next episode.
Thank you! 🙂
Hm, true. The fox does apparently rule the pleasure district of a lawless city, so she’s probably no saint, but, then again, none of our protagonists are straight arrows anymore, are they? I suppose it’s just a question of who I’d rather be dealing with. The fox might be more the kind who would sidle up close and stab me in the back if I gave her the chance, but Juggernaut seems like little more than a rabid dog, ya know?
For sure. We’re definitely talking about the lesser of four or five or some much larger number evils…
I’ll just stick with Delta…
Actually, the first person that punched Claire was the noble in Episode 2. I doubt Cid would hit his sister, if only to preserve his mob image.
Also, drinking Claire’s possession is not curing vampirism. As explained by Cid, possession is due to an overload of magic, mainly due to the use unable to and/or less developed at the time. All Cid did was reconfigure the flow of magic to better equip for the body. Mary would just drink “regulated magic” blood.
When you think about it, Vampires, being offshoots of Diabolos, could explain a few things. Like why Vampires chase for blood? Because blood contains magic. Or like how Vampires affected by the sun’s radiation, what else possesses radiation? A nuke.
True .The first member of the Cult of Diablos that Cid encountered. I was thinking about when they sparred together and how he would suddenly move faster than she could see to make a hit that she never knew happened.
Interesting. I like how it’s all coming together – possessions, vampires, and the Cult of Diablos. It’s great when they give you enough details to leave you guessing what will happen next and how everything is connected. Now, I’m looking forward to another “I am Atomic!” from Cid.