The Eminence in Shadow

Episode 11

When you have an overpowered protagonist, it's all too easy for them to feel boring. After all, if no one can even stand toe-to-toe against them, where's the tension—where's the excitement? This is why it's so important to make sure they have weaknesses. Luckily, Cid has tons of them. His own personal insanity—how he views the world and everyone else's place in it—makes him unable to realize the actual reality surrounding him and see the threats he is facing for what they really are. But while this makes for great comedy, once a battle starts, we all know exactly how it will end.

This episode goes a long way to change all that. While Cid can beat “Aurora” relatively quickly, it's clear to him and us that he is fighting her at a fraction of her true power. After all, the tournament's magic has determined that she should be his equal in strength. While she may be little more than a ghost, her existence shows that a person in this world can reach the same power level as Cid. So, there may be physical threats to him out there that he isn't aware of.

Then, on the character-building side of things, we see something interesting in Cid. The vast majority of the time, Cid is only concerned with his inner world—the game of pretend he is playing. All that matters is how people fit into his world of “main characters” and “background characters.” Even the Seven Shadows are viewed as childhood friends humoring him by LARPing with him occasionally. But when it comes to Aurora, he truly sees her for her. He doesn't pretend she's a cult member—or some hero or villain. All he sees is a woman on his level in a fight. And this is why he smiles.

Despite the throngs of women throwing themselves at him, Cid lives a rather lonely life. He trains alone—fights alone. And it's lonely at the top. Finding one person—even a dead person—who he sees as an equal (and who, judging by her smile, sees him as one in return) is an unexpected gift for him. It's enough for him to forget his all-consuming game—if only for a few moments—and have a true “conversation” with her where they bare their souls to each other in a dance of blades and blood magic.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Why yes, Aurora is my favorite female character in the series. How could you tell?

• Man, there is so much foreshadowing in this episode it hurts.

• It's good that the story notes that Cid has likes and dislikes beyond what directly affects the game—it's just that they don't matter in comparison to it.

• Alexia may have been planning to seduce Cid with a stylish thong, but that doesn't mean she was at all prepared for him to waltz in randomly and join her bath.

• Huh. So, Cid is a grower, not a shower.

• It's interesting how Beta treats those she views as rivals for Cid's love differently. She's far more on the offensive against someone she sees as unworthy (like Alexia) than someone she sees as an equal (like Epsilon).

• I wonder, was the murdered archbishop a member of the cult? Or was he killed just because those around him were and they were afraid that they might be discovered by accident if he was investigated?

• Rose's innocent smile about forcing Cid into the tournament is fantastic—especially in contrast to Beta and Alexia's shocked grimaces.

• Since the priest didn't push the switch to start the spell to the summon heroes of the past, are we supposed to assume that Cid cast it after seeing it during the tournament or that the ghost of Aurora cast the spell herself because she wanted to fight Cid?

• I like how Delta is so unimpressed by the fight between Aurora and Cid that she's still half asleep.

• The best part of this week's Kage-jitsu!? Eta putting on sunglasses when her “Bathing Enforcement Machine” jumps into the onsen.

The Eminence in Shadow is currently streaming on HIDIVE.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.