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EP. REVIEW: The Eminence in Shadow

Gina Szanboti wrote:

I meant to reply to this back then, but got sidetracked. Yes, we know he thinks they're just going along with it. My question was why does he think that? He was both surprised and delighted that Alpha bought the story he made up off the cuff. At that time he thought she was fooled. So what changed his mind between then and now to make him believe they are humoring him? I don't remember him ever telling her or the rest otherwise.

It's presented as a call-back to his pre-isekai life, where all his friends outgrew their games and left him pursuing his dream alone. That he felt it was inevitable that at some point they'd "grow up" and leave him all alone.

Though it does feed into that strange sense that he maintains multiple incompatible beliefs simultaneously. That the girls believe, and don't, his stories. That he's invented the cult, but this guy really has crazy magic pills. That he both is, and is not, The Eminence in Shadow.

We're very definitely thinking about this too much.

where we are supposed to just accept that the main character is completely oblivious to how strong he is compared to everyone else even though that idea gets harder to accept the longer the series goes on.

It means she's capable of independence. Of functioning in the "real" world, whatever he understands that to be (not his world, certainly, as that can only ever be fake). It means she has no need of his stories and his games.

I am Atomic.

Which wasn't a true nuclear blast.

The scene with Sherry and Alexia is fantastic. Poor Sherry is dealing with jealousy for the first time and has such a lack of social skills that she basically rubs Alexia's heartbreak right in her face.

Cid, I have to tell you, while a mob character usually is the first one to die, doing so so dramatically to the point where a princess thinks you're in love with her (and possibly realizing the feeling was mutual) is not something a mob character does.

What are the odds it's Dad in that armour?

Nu's conversation with Cid about the artifact tuning is a joke in Japanese (and is basically impossible to translate directly into English). In, the conversation, Cid never uses a single personal pronoun—i.e., he never says “I,” “she,” or “we.” Of course, he means “she” or “we” when talking about the tuning process, but Nu doesn't know Sherry is involved so she assumes that he is doing it all himself—that's why she is so impressed. This is a classic case of comedic misunderstanding using a well-known peculiarity of the Japanese language.

Nu: Might I ask what you need all of this for?

Cid: We're fine tuning an artifact.
For fine tuning an artifact.

Nu: An artifact? You know how to do that?
An artifact? You even know how to do that too?!
## In the original Japanese, Nu's second statement is one of surprise that Cid's knowledge even includes how to tune artifacts. She did not actually ask him if he could do it. ##

Cid: Yeah, our magic is being blocked by an artifact called the Eye of Avarice.
Our magic is being blocked by an artifact called the Eye of Avarice.

Cid: And we're in the final stages of fine-tuning the artifact that can neutralize it.
And the fine tuning of the artifact that can neutralize it, is in its final stages.

Nu: A difficult task requiring the greatest level of knowledge in the kingdom...
And you make it sound so easy.

Cid: I guess so.

Cid: I think we'll have it finished by the time the sun goes down.
I think it should be done by the time the sun goes down.

Actually, it isn't impossible. If the translator had taken (or had) the time to do so, the ambiguity could have remained and the joke that depends on it would have been preserved. Original lines in italics, suggested rewrites in bold.

Subtitles wrote:

Nu: Might I ask what you need all of this for? Cid: We're fine tuning an artifact. For fine tuning an artifact. Nu: An artifact? You know how to do that? An artifact? You even know how to do that too?! ## In the original Japanese, Nu's second statement is one of surprise that Cid's knowledge even includes how to tune artifacts. She did not actually ask him if he could do it. ## Cid: Yeah, our magic is being blocked by an artifact called the Eye of Avarice. Our magic is being blocked by an artifact called the Eye of Avarice. Cid: And we're in the final stages of fine-tuning the artifact that can neutralize it. And the fine tuning of the artifact that can neutralize it, is in its final stages. Nu: A difficult task requiring the greatest level of knowledge in the kingdom... And you make it sound so easy. Cid: I guess so. Cid: I think we'll have it finished by the time the sun goes down. I think it should be done by the time the sun goes down.

I'd say they're not too bad. I've been suspicious of him from the get-go.