Highlights
- The Great Trading Company Conflict in The Eminence in Shadow begins after the Red Moon Incident, pitting the Major Corporate Alliance against Mitsugoshi.
- Gettan, the Sword Devil, has connections with the Cult of Diablos and uses the Major Corporate Alliance as a pawn for his own goals.
- Gettan's tragic past and his transformation into an antagonist show the consequences of his desperate pursuit of power and his alliance with the cult.
In the Eminence in Shadow, the Great Trading Company Conflict arc commences right after the Red Moon Incident of the series. In this great trading conflict, the Major Corporate Alliance and Mitsugoshi are at loggerheads as they try to one-up the other.
With Mitsugoshi being the public face of Shadow Garden, few would even have a chance at defeating them; however, the Sword Devil, known as Gettan, is determined to do exactly that. Moreover, while Gettan seems to have a past with Yukime, John Smith's ally, he also has connections with the Cult of Diablos and uses the Major Corporate Alliance as a pawn to achieve his goals in the Eminence in Shadow series.
The Sword Devil
The Sword Devil Gettan was introduced as a dangerous individual right from when Yukime first spoke about him. Gettan debuted in the fourth episode of the second season of the Eminence in Shadow anime series as the backer of the Major Corporate Alliance. With his moniker and Yukime’s obvious resentment of the Sword Devil, many wonder what past the therianthrope has in store and his connections to a ruler of Lawless City. Living with the philosophy "If you don't want anything robbed from you, you have to rob from others." Gettan has proved himself an ally of the cult and an adversary of Shadow Garden.
With this philosophy, Gettan became self-absorbed in gaining more power and began to neglect those close to him, using them as a means to achieve his wants and nothing more. This is blatantly seen in how he plans to sacrifice the Major Corporate Alliance for the cult. Despite his act of sacrificing others for his needs, Gettan wasn't always like that. He was once a kind and brave individual who strived to be stronger for himself and those around him. Unfortunately, his pride held him down, as he felt it beneath him to admit his weakness and began to make rash and not-so-smart decisions.
A Tragic Past
With the passage of time, people and even therianthropes change. Either by one's environment, circumstances, or mindset, change is constant, but for Gettan, his change was the one thing that began to lead him down a rabbit hole. In his youth, Gettan grew up healthy and strong and strived to become the strongest in his tribe. Moreover, as the son of the Elder of the Dire Wolves tribe, Gettan had a lot of influence in the land. After saving Yukime, a prodigy of the Spirit Fox tribe, Gettan was then set to marry her, and none opposed their marriage. While Gettan and Yukime were in love, and their marriage was all but set, Yukime was very young at the time, so the duo had to wait for Yukime to reach 15 years of age before their marriage could be consolidated.
With each passing year, Gettan grew stronger, and war amongst Beastkin scarred the land. Eventually, Gettan was contacted by the Cult of Diablos. The cult wanted him, the Dire Wolves tribe, and the Spirit Fox tribe to swear allegiance to them on the basis of the cult protecting them from the Beastkin war. Desperate and in need of power, Gettan was ready to join the cult; however, Yukime's mother was against it and tried to stop Gettan. Feeling enraged and disappointed, Gettan killed her.
In the meantime, a group of robbers under the command of the Cult of Diablos massacred the Dire Wolves and Spirit Fox clans. While feeling hopeless and dejected, Yukime still tried to encourage her fiancée, unaware of his crime of killing her mother. Later on, Gettan tries to convince Yukime to join and accept power from the cult, but Yukime disagrees. Enraged, Gettan reveals that he killed her mother after her unwise decision not to join the cult and make everyone disagree with him. Fear-stricken, Yukime backs away from Gettan, but the latter promptly slashes her. As he tried to finish her, a mysterious figure suddenly appeared, stopped him, and annihilated all the invaders. After stopping Gettan from killing Yukime, this mysterious person then takes Gettan's eyesight.
How Strong Is The Sword Devil?
With his moniker as the Sword Devil, Gettan is undoubtedly a powerful warrior; however, how does he compare to borderline transcendent beings like Shadow and Aurora? While Gettan is definitely no match for Shadow going at full strength, would he be powerful enough to defeat the current Yukime, a leader of one of the three towers in Lawless City? In his base form, Gettan stands little chance against Yukime, who has now developed her spirit fox abilities. However, after taking the pills from the cult, Gettan fully transformed, becoming a beast that faced John Smith head-on. While he lacked the raw physical strength to defeat John Smith, his regenerative ability was able to heal him from any injuries he sustained instantly. Moreover, Gettan could also tear the magic-imbued threads that John Smith used to foil many of his enemies, showing that he (Gettan) had achieved a considerable amount of power.
Gettan's Role In The Story
Looking at his role in the story from his past, Gettan was initially a kind-hearted and strong-willed individual who strived to protect his people. However, due to the cult's involvement, he cowered under their power and influence and allied with them. Throughout the story, Gettan's major role is that of an antagonist who causes great harm to Yukime, his ex-fiancée, and John Smith's current ally. While Gettan thought himself a major antagonist, John Smith was only after him to retrieve his coins. In the end, Gettan leaves a note for Yukime, telling her about the Cult of Diablos, who pressured him to do the things he did. From then on, Yukime and Shadow Garden enter an alliance.
The Eminence in Shadow is available to stream on HIDIVE.