The Eminence in Shadow (Episode 29) – The Key
Cid has realised that something isn’t quite right with his plans to become the Eminence in Shadow, so he’s gone on a trip of self-discovery, hoping to work out what he’s missing. Could Rose be the answer?
The Eminence in Shadow (Episode 29) – The Key
What happened?
Cid has found himself in the Oriana kingdom as it falls into a civil war between those that support Perv Asshat and those that don’t. However, he’s found a nice little tavern where he can take things easy and work out his next step. Things just haven’t quite gone the way he thought that they would. Since he started his journey of self-discovery, he’s been a prisoner, escaped from prison, joined a volunteer army, almost got killed, powered up some old guys and watched them save the day. All the while, he’s remained in the shadows, getting no credit whatsoever. Surely, he should be getting more out of it than that… Maybe, Cid needs to rethink what an Eminence in Shadows does, because that sounds exactly like it!
Anyhow, Shadow Garden has some girls working in the same area and they’ve closed in on the Cult of Diablos who are attempting to recover a ring that was once owned by one of the heroes. Rose was hand-picked for the mission because she knows the area and is the only person other than 559 who is running the mission. She wants to know that they can trust Rose, although she’s already made up her mind. So, when Rose saves her mother from 559, she seals her fate and is forced to return to her home where she is to marry Perv Asshat! Cid, however, has decided that he wants to make Rose the ruler of Oriana since she was prepared to kill her father to get there. She’ll be the perfect tyrant to make his Eminence in Shadow dream come true!
What did you think?
I feel like we skipped a whole bunch of things that would have been pretty entertaining to watch. Cid in prison and then staging a daring jailbreak would have been hilarious. However, we skipped over a number of scenes like that and then dived straight into the Rose story. Of course, I assumed that Cid understood why Rose killed her father, but that’s just another example of where you can’t assume what Cid is thinking. Even when he makes off-hand comments to himself, they seem to fit perfectly with whatever is going on around him. It was funny in the tavern when Mary, the former prostitute from the Lawless City that Shadow saved, was having a one-sided conversation with Cid. I liked that he saved her again and then even left her with a bag full of gold coins. However, the overall episode felt a little too frantic.
What was your favourite moment?
The funniest thing in this episode was when it revealed that Cid wasn’t even sure what an Eminence in Shadows was. He’d just spent a good period of time working from the shadows, making others do the work and gain the accolades while he drifted from role to role. Isn’t that what he’s trying to achieve? Whereas when you look at his ideas of setting Rose up to be the tyrannical ruler so that she would attract heroes who would be too late to fight her because he would swoop in from the shadows. It sounds to me like he wants to be recognised as the hero and is desperately trying to create a situation where he can achieve that. Of course, he also doesn’t want to be the hero… I’m not even sure what Cid wants anymore and I don’t think he is either!
Who was the most impactful character?
So, we got to meet another member of Shadow Garden in the form of agent 559. Like Rose, she was given her powers by Shadow personally. Everyone else received their powers from one of the Seven Shadows. This seems to have made 559 a little too sure of herself and makes her think she can speak for Shadow. That wasn’t helped when he swooped in at the end of 559’s three-day battle with the First Children of the Cult of Diablos and healed her so that she could defeat their leader.
She instantly went on to tell Shadow about Rose’s betrayal, however, it was too much corporate speak for him so he stopped listening and instead his attention was drawn to a falling piece of a newspaper that happened to announce that Rose was to marry Perv Asshat. He was furious as he needed her to be the sole tyrannical leader. Why did she even kill her father if she was just going to marry Perv anyhow? Agent 559 was pleased to see her assessment of Rose confirmed by Shadow, even if they were talking about different things entirely.
What have you learned?
I understand why Cid plays the fool and allows these guys to beat him up. However, it is getting kind of boring. Even now and then, he gives us a glimmer of hope that he might be turning things around, but then he instantly undoes any of that, proving that we have once again misunderstood him. I know that’s the point of the show, but I feel like it’s starting to have a negative impact on my enjoyment. Just when you start to understand Cid, it turns out that you weren’t even close. At least, the girls of Shadow Garden don’t see what he’s really thinking or they’d have turned on him long ago.
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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I think that by removing Cid, we see the world as dark and miserable. So it’s best that Cid remains ignorant.
Sure, Cid is an asshole and I still stand by that but to everyone else, he was the only light they have left.
Well, that makes the world so much more dark and depressing. To think that Cid is the source of all hope…
I would love for him to develop a little self-reflection where he changes a little bit. It doesn’t need to be a big change, just enough that he’s not a complete asshole.