The Eminence in Shadow

Episode 15

Most of this episode is spent keeping things at a light simmer after the boiling explosion of last episode's big climax. In terms of The Eminence in Shadow, this means a lot of Cid's goofing around. As he mentioned back during the last fighting tournament, one of the story clichés he's always wanted to try is to enter a tournament in disguise, look really weak but somehow win his matches, and finally reveal himself as The Eminence in Shadow at the climax. So, we get a lot of little comical scenes as he lives out his fantasy—with newcomer Annerose playing her part as the bewildered veteran in the archetypical story perfectly.

Through this, we get some hints about the greater plot of this arc. The tournament itself is taking place in the Kingdom of Oriana. Oriana, where arts are revered far more than martial skill, is Rose's kingdom—meaning she is a bit of a black sheep despite being a literal princess. She's also engaged to a man literally named (when translated directly) “Giant Masochist Asshat.” So, I am not sure how shocking it is that she stabs him and runs away in this episode's cliffhanger.

The other big thing about this episode is that it gives some much-needed character development to Gamma—which is fitting given that our last arc focused on Delta (i.e., the girl who is no brains, all brawn). Gamma is on the other side of the spectrum—so physically uncoordinated that she regularly trips over her own feet yet so brilliant she has created a commercial empire unlike any the world has seen before in only a few short years. This is because she has an eidetic memory, the ability to read people, and the mind to truly understand the economic concepts from our world that Cid taught her. She doesn't just fill in the blanks of great stories like Beta, nor does she reverse engineer things like Eta. Rather, she can see the complex logistical and economic problems a major corporation faces and still manage to both succeed and fund an ever-growing secret organization with the overhead.

This is why she is so visually hurt when Cid refuses to explain why he wants to enter the tournament. She understands so much and has done so much, yet, the man she admires most implies she wouldn't be able to grasp his reasoning—that she is still not good enough. Just like the other Seven Shades, Gamma wants to be relied upon—to repay Cid for the purpose and family he has given her in some small way. Yet, Cid rarely asks them for anything—ignoring their plans and doing things his way. The idea that he doesn't need them has weighed heavy on their souls.

This is why, even after being told that she is not worthy of learning his reasons, she throws herself into helping Cid with his disguise. After all, this is another chance to show him how useful she and Shadow Garden are. The others feel the same. Nu, Kai, and Omega all wait on him—and even Eta is dragged out of her lab to set everything up herself.

This is the hidden tragedy of the whole situation. The girls will never gain what they want from him—mainly because there is nothing to give. There are no complex plans he hides from them—just his spur-of-the-moment ideas on best playing out his favorite tropes as The Eminence in Shadow. Still, perhaps moments like this will bear some fruit—convince him to let them become a more significant part of his game. With that, Gamma and the rest may find a bit more happiness, at least.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Eta is so lazy they must wheel her out on a dolly.

• Gamma is very good at predicting what others want—including the type of clothes Cid's new secret identity would wear.

• I wonder why Kai had to ride the bike to power the machine while Omega just got to stand around and watch. (She did give Kai a water bottle after, though, which is nice.)

• Annarose can be seen in a still frame back in the last fighting tournament, which is some solid foreshadowing.

• Once again, Cid is too good at what he is trying to do. He's moving so fast it just looks like those he's facing just fall over all by themselves—which creates a bit of a buzz but not exactly the kind he was hoping for, I'd think.

• I find the cliffhanger funny because I can't see Cid caring much one way or another if Rose stabs someone unrelated to him.

• In this week's Kage-jitsu!, Eta invents sushi.

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.

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Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.