Highlights
- The protagonist, Cid, is overwhelmingly dependent on luck and often neglects proper planning, which could eventually lead to his downfall.
- Cid's chūnibyō delusions, his obsession with becoming the Eminence in Shadow, could potentially get him killed again if he becomes too consumed by his goal.
- Cid's pride prevents him from seeking financial help, even though his organization, Shadow Garden, is wealthy. He refuses to ask for assistance and goes to great lengths to obtain money on his own.
Minoru Kagenou, a young boy who always dreamt of becoming the Eminence in Shadow, quickly realized how far he was from his goal. In chasing after the mystical, Minoru lost his life. Fortunately, he was reincarnated into a world of swords and magic, and becoming the Eminence in Shadow became more of a reality.
The Best Isekai Anime To Watch If You Like The Eminence In Shadow
Fans of Eminence in Shadow should also enjoy these similar isekai shows currently available to watch.
Now, as the Eminence in Shadow, Cid has a ton of subordinates and overpowered skills. However, despite his supremacy, Cid has various weaknesses, ranging from his habits to Chūnibyō delusions that could put him at risk. While these weaknesses may seem harmless, if properly utilized, they could lead to Cid's downfall.
6 He Is Overwhelmingly Dependent On Luck
Despite being all-powerful, Cid is often shown to rely on a great deal of luck. Rather than planning out his raids, Cid would rather plan out how to master his Eminence in Shadow aesthetics. He would rather plan to get a piano underground to increase the mystery around him than investigate his enemies. This is often comically portrayed. However, Cid's luck could one day run out.
Moreover, in terms of leading Shadow Garden, Cid is often uncommunicative and always just happens to come across his enemies and apprehend them. While his subordinates often think this is the wisdom of shadows in play, Cid truly knows that he had a lucky break and nothing more.
5 Cid's Chūnibyō Delusions Could Get Him Killed (Again)
Even before he got reincarnated, Cid Kagenou has always been extremely hell-bent on becoming the Eminence in Shadow, a mysterious and powerful character who only operates in the shadows. While Cid's determination to reach his dream is impressive, his hardcore obsession with it could lead to his death again.
Fall 2023 Preview: The Eminence in Shadow Season 2
With the Lawless City in the limelight, Cid and Shadow Garden have much more to deal with in this new season.
Before Cid was reincarnated, he trained daily in a myriad of various sports and disciplines. However, after coming across an ex-military official, Cid realized that he was far from achieving his goal. In search of a higher power, Cid became disillusioned and ran into a truck, thinking the truck's lights were a blessing to make him more powerful. Fortunately, after losing his life, Cid got reincarnated. Nevertheless, he may not be so lucky if he loses his life in such a manner again.
4 His Background Character Trope Often Backfires
To perfectly play his Eminence in Shadow character, Cid allows himself to be publicly viewed as an average loser who hates attention. He calls this playing the background character. However, in playing this background character, Cid allows himself to be portrayed as a weakling with no chance at life. In doing this, he often willingly allows himself to be injured and looked down upon.
Moreover, to keep up the persona of a background character, Cid once stopped his heart for ten minutes so that the invaders would think they had successfully killed him. While playing the background character has led to a lot of funny moments in the series, it is a moment in which Cid voluntarily allows himself to be bullied, looked down upon, and exploited. This could cost him dearly if exploited properly.
3 His Pride Prevents Him From Getting Help (Financially)
To carry out his Eminence in Shadow activities, Cid needs a lot of money. While he could easily sort through a myriad of things with his strength to preserve his background character persona and move from place to place, travel costs are one of the few things he needs to sort out.
However, as seen in the series, Cid Kagenou isn't the wealthiest of individuals. For even a single gold coin, Cid was willing to act like Alexia's dog. Despite the many desperate things Cid does for money, his organization, Shadow Garden, is incredibly wealthy. With the "wisdom of the shadows" that Cid imparted upon the Seven Shaidws, the Seven Shadows went on to create many businesses that earn quite a lot for Shadow Garden, all at Cid's (Shadow's) command. However, Cid refuses to ever ask for financial help, even going to other cities to get money.
2 Keeping His Secret As Shadow
As many superheroes have proven, keeping a separate identity from their superhero persona often comes with moments of weakness that could jeopardize them. Like them, Cid strives to keep his Shadow identity a secret, and this has had adverse effects on his public persona as he must often sacrifice his public reputation to carry out his Shadow activities.
The Eminence In Shadow: Cid's Strongest Powers & Abilities
The Eminence In Shadow's Cid is an extraordinarily powerful character. Here are his strongest powers and abilities.
This is especially glaring when Cid has to embarrass himself by telling his friends that he wanted to take a dump in an alleyway when, in truth, he wanted to investigate what was going on between Alexia and the unknown assailant. While he was able to get his friends to go ahead, Cid's reputation was destroyed as the whole school heard rumors of what he had done and considered it low, even for him.
1 Cid Is Too Playful
Cid Kagenou, and Shadow by extension, is a playful character who always underestimates his opponents and just ends up being stronger than them. Cid's playfulness often leads to him underestimating threats or the seriousness of a situation. He tends to "feel" out his opponents to see the extent of their skills, which often leads to untold and unnecessary destruction.
More often than not, Cid can simply incapacitate his opponents. However, to see the extent of their abilities, he matches them. With the destruction this often has in the cities he battles in, Cid has made enemies of organizations that could have been a help to Shadow Garden, such as the Knight Order and the Crimson Order. While Shadow Garden may not need the help of such organizations, unnecessarily making enemies of them would have more adverse effects than positive ones.