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「偽る者」 (Itsuwaru Mono)
“Pretenders”
Oh my sides. Indeed, the poor sides. I admittedly stuck with Eminence in Shadow mostly for its interesting premise and the fun of comedy, but this week certainly upped the ante when it comes to chuckle-worthy entertainment. From klutzy subordinates to gap moe princesses, we’re really going places here – including some bound to yield even more fun and games.
With how Cid’s little cult crushing excursion went previously and the foreshadowing via flyer, probably no shocker the Cult of Diabolos is out to distract by making Shadow Garden into the enemy and that said plan quickly wound up getting wrecked in the first inning. For all the predictability of this story right now it keeps a good degree of suspense running courtesy of shadowy (heh) enemies, ensuring to a degree that what comes next is something worthy of sticking around for. After all, I seriously doubt few are missing the role new girl (and harem pickup) Sherry will play or what her father gets up to when he’s not putting up appearances (hint hint). Tack on ubiquitous sickness and the guy being a stepfather to the girl and I wager it won’t be long before the cult makes another surprise appearance. If you’re going to do super secret and super powerful cult might as well do it right the first time with a suitable sacrifice.
Speaking of secrets, goddamn Cid is perfect at keeping them. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating again: this is how to handle power fantasy, particularly the comedic kind. While the likes of Gamma help keep matters jovial, Cid going literal penny pinching (when he, you know, could’ve simply asked for some of the cash) and firmly believing Alexia was doing the naughty simply due to poor rejection experience really had me laughing, especially when topped with the whiplash perfection of faked bathroom needs. You can give the kid all the plot armour you want, you can have him be utterly ridiculous in terms of power and persuasion (sugar and beans just go well together didn’t ya know?), so long as the ride makes good use of said things there’s minimal issue with its wish fulfillment nature.
Of course the overall feel could still easily change given we’re only a third of the way through this adaptation, but should it keep this up, I dare say this is one isekai which will keep on jumping up the ranks.
Gamma seems to be the archetype of rich oriental ojou character who often assume the role of seitokaichou. The cg preview of her loli chara in the upcoming mobage seems to support this, and her vibe remind me of Kurashiki Kanae (Katsurai Yoshiaki’s character). Me likes.
Ponytail alexia is great. Nuff said.
Goddamn it, they showed the girl Hyoro was targetting but not for Jaga. And i wish they show Sherry showing appreciation to the chocolate , i mean eating it bruh… and the new Kagejitshu talk about the invention of liquer Choco bonbon,
I’ve said it before but it bears repeating again: this is how to handle power fantasy, particularly the comedic kind.
Agreed. A major pitfall of power fantasies is taking themselves too seriously. Another common pitfall is that everything smiles on the protagonist, who never has to struggle.
As Shadow, our protagonist is charismatic and invicible. As Cid, he’s a moron that makes his own life harder due to a mix of roleplaying and ignorance. Without those personal drawbacks, Shadow Garden’s adventures would lose their charm.