Highlights
- The Ancient Vampire Hunter Mary joins forces with Claire to stop the revival of the Blood Queen Elizabeth in Lawless City.
- Mary's past is revealed, showing her transformation from a vampire to a vampire hunter who renounced blood to live among humans.
- Mary forms alliances with Claire and Cid, and her role as a supporting protagonist adds excitement to the series' Red Moon incident arc.
The Eminence in Shadow anime and manga series follows the life of Cid Kagenou, a young boy who is reincarnated into a fantasy world where he follows his obsession to become Shadow, the Eminence in Shadow who lurks in the shadows in order to hunt the shadows.
After the airing of season one, this anime series gained a ton of popularity due to the many adventures it portrayed alongside humor and epic battles. Now airing season two, the series is set in Lawless City, and the Ancient Vampire Hunter Mary is introduced. But who is truly this Ancient Vampire Hunter, and what is her role in the series?
The Eminence in Shadow: Red Moon
The first night in Lawless City brings a red moon and startling events.
The Red-Haired Vampire Hunter
First appearing in episode one of season two, the Ancient Vampire Hunter Mary introduces herself when she comes across Claire Kagenou. Forming a temporary alliance with Claire, she proceeds to the Crimson Tower. Very soon, Mary's objective is revealed: she plans to go to the Red Crimson Tower to stop Crimson, one of the leaders of Lawless City, from reviving the progenitor vampire, Blood Queen Elizabeth.
Before Mary comes across Claire, she meets Cid, who is 'almost bitten' by ghouls; however, she quickly dispatches the ghouls while 'saving' Cid. This shows that she is extremely kind and at least cares about human life. Mentioning the phrase "The frenzy has begun. The moon is red. We are out of time." Mary set off to reach her objective. Little did she know that Cid, with his Shadow persona, turned it into a mantra as he continually said it to anyone he came across.
Exploring Mary's Past
In episode two of season two, Mary is promptly revealed to be a vampire. While not totally surprising, few would expect a person who proclaims themself to be an Ancient Vampire Hunter to be a vampire. With this revelation, many then wonder why Mary hunts down vampires while being a vampire herself. And with this, her past is revealed.
Long ago, vampires ruled the state, and humans were no more than livestock to be butchered. However, after humans discovered their weakness—the sun—the hunter became the prey, and the humans turned on vampires. To live peacefully among the humans, Mary's master, Blood Queen Elizabeth, renounced blood. Following her example, many of her followers, including Mary, also renounced blood. Those who renounced blood slowly lost their powers but gained the ability to walk in sunlight instead. And slowly but gradually, their thirst for blood waned, and they lived as normal humans.
Unfortunately, such was not the case for Blood Queen Elizabeth, as her thirst for blood never seized, and her weakness to sunlight never waned. Still, the Blood Queen had high hopes for the future, hoping to create a haven where everyone lived in peace. A while later, the Red Moon incident occurred—an incident where vampires were at the peak of their powers. Crimson, a subordinate of Queen Elizabeth at the time, fed the queen a single drop of blood. Losing control of herself after abstaining from blood for so long, the queen went on a rampage that lasted three nights.
Back to her senses after her genocidal rampage, to prevent her revival, Mary is ordered to kill her and then throw her ashes into the sea. However, Mary could not do that. Her love for the queen was so great that she could neither go against her master nor kill her. And so the queen was placed in a coffin, which Mary decided to guard for eternity. Additionally, in this time that passed, Mary also made it her mission to slay rogue vampires that threatened humanity. Thus, with all these, she became an Ancient Vampire Hunter.
Unfortunately, Queen Elizabeth's body was stolen from Mary by Crimson, the man who initiated the tragedy that occurred. And he sought to awaken the queen, repeating the tragedy of a thousand years ago.
Mary's Relationship And Interaction With Other Characters
So far, as seen in the Eminence in Shadow anime series, Mary has formed a temporary alliance with Claire Kagenou, who wants to save her brother from being used as a sacrifice to revive the Blood Queen. Fighting alongside each other, Mary and Claire have warmed up to each other as they divulge secrets about their past to each other. As Claire is the 'champion' of the past Bushin Festival, she is able to keep up with Mary as they battle ghouls and make their way to the Crimson Tower.
Moreover, when Mary is overpowered by Juggernaut, one of the rulers of Lawless City, she ingests Claire's blood to heal herself and gain a boost in power. Other characters whom Mary has come across include Cid Kagenou, whom she has 'saved' once; Crimson, the person who stole Queen Elizabeth's body from her; and Queen Elizabeth herself, the person to whom she is wholeheartedly devoted.
What Is Mary's Role In The Series?
So far, Mary's role in the series is that of an Ancient Vampire Hunter who is a vampire herself. As she plays the part of a supporting protagonist during the Red Moon incident arc, she is, at the very least, not on Shadow's bad side. Moreover, she's together with Shadow's (Cid's) sister, and they get along pretty well.
As Mary tries to stop her master from going on a rampage, repeating the tragedy of a thousand years ago, Shadow Garden also leaves her at bay and does not consider her an enemy. Her portrayal adds a ton of excitement to the series, as she is given a central role in this arc.
The Eminence in Shadow is available to stream on HIDIVE.