Creative Staff
Original Story: Daisuke Aizawa
Art: Anri Sakano
Character Design: Touzai
Translation/Adaptation: Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher
Lettering: Phil Christie
What They Say
All eyes are on the Bushin Festival as the totally enigmatic Mundane Mann advances toward the finals, winning all his matches in an instant. Just who could this mysterious knight (who is certainly not mild-mannered Cid Kagenou in disguise) possibly be? However, beneath the festivities, a dark drama unfolds as Princess Rose goes on the run following her assault on her fiancé! Was the sordid affair simply a prenuptial argument gone too far, or is something more wicked afoot?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Cid continues in his ridiculous plot to be the weirdest character that the world has ever known to mixed results. In his Mundane Mann disguise, he continues to be a force to be reckoned with. But no one can comprehend the magnitude of his strength. They just think that he wins battles by pure luck. Two of his competitors manage to get a whiff of what he is capable of and one outsider fully comprehends what he is capable of. The moment someone takes him seriously is the moment when he loses his facade. There is a limit to how much ridiculousness he can whip out. I enjoy his ridiculousness to a certain extent. It’s the problem with how Cid is presented as comedic while the world has no other option but to take itself seriously.
It’s hard to see everyone else take this world seriously while Cid is the protagonist. Everyone besides Cid sees the world for the horribleness that it is. Yet Cid wants to delude the world into thinking that he is just a joke by making a joke of their situation. He wipes the floor with every single participant with little effort. They all take a serious look at what makes him incredible and he just brushes it off. Someone might take it as an absurd amount of hilarity. That seems to be a point of contempt for some fans of this series. Nothing is meant to be taken seriously and this world is nothing more than a joke. It needs to be more specific in its comedic aspects. Because it can handle
Rose has been pitted into the darkest depths and now has to climb back an insufferable amount to regain any sanity that she had. This should normally be an exciting process to watch unfold. But because she is given an easy shortcut by Cid in his Shadow persona, we lose the chance to watch her become a stronger-willed person. She decides that she will give up some of her values to get power. It cheapens her character and all that she stands for. Some of its understandable as she wants to help her family and country. But it feels like she gave in a bit too easily to accept power from an unknown source.
In Summary:
It is always darkest before dawn. This is probably the best way to describe this volume of Eminence in Shadow. Cid has never made things simple and his way of thinking makes things harder to comprehend or want to to comprehend. Cid is the strongest individual but wants to take a backseat to everything going on around him. This can be hilarious to some but it can also be frustrating to others. It trying to tackle both worlds of comedy and seriousness and it’s failing at both aspects.
Content Grade: C
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: April 18, 2023
MSRP: $13.00 US/ $17.00 CAN
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
