English Dub Review: The Eminence in Shadow: “Shadow Garden Is Born”

Overview: Minoru is reincarnated as Cid (Adam Gibbs), creating his secret Shadow Garden with his newest companion, Alpha (Christina Kelly), while living life as a background character as the son of Baron Kagenou. 

Our Take: The best part of the Shadow Garden is the haphazard way it is born through the series’ resident mastermind as he is reincarnated into a prestigious family. It is an absolute riot in the random crap Cid makes up on the fly, whether it be his half-hearted screams during birth or the coincidentally correct existence of the Demon faction, the Cult of Diablos, and how they target hero ancestors with curses, like in the case of the blob turned blonde bombshell, Alpha, his first recruit. It is especially funny in how randomly and nonsensically he gets things right, like the location of Diablos hideout. 

Cid’s relationship with his new older sister, Claire, is a uniquely off-kilt one in her sixth sense about his advanced sword techniques and knowledge that he is restraining, with it being irksome for her in how he holds back as well as a source of admiration in what she learns from him. What makes her respect for him crazy to watch is the unhinged tinge to it in how she lashes out at her captor when Cid is mentioned and briefly scrutinized for his latent magical talent. 

The fight to save Claire at the Cult of Diablos’ secret base is short but sweet, giving both Alpha and Cid a chance to show how overpowered they are. With Claire saved and shipped off to Midgar Academy, Alpha and the Shadows wanting to leave is a surprising development, one that feels like a misdirect that will go over Cid’s head, at least initially, as most things have. But it will be damn funny seeing how he works it out and hopefully give us a chance to get to know the other members, like Beta and the rest of the girls.