I’ve been wanting to talk about this one for a while. Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!, or The Eminence in Shadow, looked interesting when I first saw the teaser. After watching an episode, I was hooked.
Power fantasy is one of the genres I really enjoy when it’s done right. What do I mean by that? Mmm… Bit too much of an explanation for this post (I’ll dedicate a post to that later!). Last time I enjoyed one so much was Tsukimichi. I won’t regurgitate what I wrote in that post, but let’s say I still really love it.
Back on topic… The Eminence in Shadow had some incredible visuals. I tried to share some of the cooler ones I encountered, but the whole thing was well-made. The action sequences were impeccable works of art. I still get goosebumps re-watching some of them. Like, Cid (or Shadow, technically) being insanely OP, the fights never feel boring.
Humor abounded as well throughout. Most of it stemmed from the ridiculous nature of Shadow’s very clear chuunibyou, and how events seemed to always work out that way. I enjoyed some of the weird interactions between him and other characters, when these two elements coincided.
The cast was awesome as well. Waifu material across the board. Aside from our male lead, the male cast was pretty close to non-existent, however. Not that I’m complaining, since the female cast more than made up for it.
Just to touch on the power fantasy side of this before wrapping it up, can I just say how over-the-top it was? And again, it did it so well. While he flexed his overwhelming strength quite a bit, sometimes with the only purpose BEING to flex, it wasn’t all the time. And, when he did, oh boy. Literally one of the most impressive and jaw-dropping displays I’ve seen in a while, partly due to the incredible animation.
Animation aside (since I’ve already praised it repeatedly), the voice acting was on point as well. The delivery of both the dramatic parts and the comedic parts were excellently done. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Also, much prefer his voice in Japanese, but not getting into a dub versus sub debate here. And the music was amazing, really bringing the excitement to the scenes. Listening to it again while taking my screenshots, I kept playing it over and over. Just awesome all around.
Overall, this series is already one I’m in love with. It just does so many things right. I can only think of one thing to criticize, and it’s more of a personal preference thing. Just like Makoto in Tsukimichi, we have a protagonist who’s either super dense or intentionally avoiding the feelings his harem has toward him. Like, dude, for fuck’s sake, these girls are practically THROWING themselves at you. RECIPROCATE THEIR FEELINGS! Sigh… Maybe one day.
Okay, that’s it. Didn’t want to talk too much here, but I did want to say something. Besides, the visuals speak more to the quality of this show than my words could. Go watch it if you like the power fantasy genre. Catch you in the next one.