This is the ultimate betrayal that could break even the strongest of bonds!

Recap and Reaction

Coming off an episode where we get to see Gamma spam her new attacks, showing another side to her character. This episode keeps the trend of building upon existing characters. After a major decision is made from Alpha, a series of hilarious and sad scenes transpires.

Opener

The episode starts with Alpha and Gamma discussing the previous events. After 664, 665 and 666 fail their mission, they return to report to Alpha about what happened. Alpha takes her time analyzing just exactly who John Smith is and how powerful he must be to take out people as strong as 664, 665 and 666. 666, formerly known as Rose Oriana gets bold and talks out of line. She begins blurting out just how strong John Smith is, mentioning further that his strength rivals even Alpha’s! Due to 666’s ambitions, she feels that she deserves another chance to fight him. Due to 666 habitual line stepping within the Shadow Garden ranks, 664 and 665 nervously removes 666 before a punishment that could cost them their lives could occur.

After 664, 665 and 666 remove themselves before they cause too much of a ruckus, leading to harsh punishment—Alpha elaborates further that Zeta was sent on a special mission to deal with something Cult related.

This doesn’t get mentioned again, which we can expect a surprise in a later episode.

In the end, Alpha decides to send Delta to fight John Smith. Many of this episode’s best moments revolve around this one decision, which will eventually make Alpha take matters into her own hands.

This is a really interesting perspective to see how Shadow Garden strategizes to deal with issues as an organization. This might be the best time for the writer to finally implement more insight from Shadow Garden’s perspective because they are literally fighting against Shadow, which we all know will not succeed for them.

Also, this is a really great setup for another fight with John Smith against Delta. Given that the previous episode hinted at Delta’s ‘sniffing’ of Cid, that likely foreshadows this upcoming moment. However, there is always potential for something else to happen.

Delta fights John Smith

Right as the opening credit ends, John Smith is just relaxing, reading a bunch of gibberish until he sees a gigantic trail of snow catching up to be parallel with his window seat. Delta blows through the window glass to attack John Smith head on and an epic fight ensues.

The action animation in this sequence isn’t my forte to comment on since it heavily relies on the brilliance of the animators, which is out of my element to explain within the nitty gritty. However, with epic music, well-timed dialogue, and flashy displays of abilities, this short action sequence had it all—an entertainingly storyboarded fight.

John Smith having unique techniques like with the strings goes along perfectly with his ‘espionage’ theme.

As John Smith spits out every cliche line that an antagonist can use on their prey, Delta sniffs Cid’s stanky pheromones and, with a loving smile, manages to break free and be within his clutches.

This was the likely outcome and one that creates another setup for comedic irony later. Notice the tone shifts with John Smith using his Cid voice and the musical tone creating an easygoing fun slice-of-life atmosphere. The transition from scene-to-scene in this episode is really great with each having a very specific feel to what the scene is trying to portray. So for this specific one with Delta, you have an action-drama becoming slice of life, which will later become sadness and anger.

Like previous fights she’s engaged in, Delta was out to ‘hunt’ John Smith. Delta wants to report back to Alpha about this revelation of John Smith being Shadow, but this isn’t what top secret agent John Smith wants. Shadow tells Delta about Shadow Garden’s golden rule—his commands trumps everyone else’s, even Alpha’s.

Promising Delta of a ‘reward’ and that Alpha wouldn’t get mad, Shadow sends Delta to go hunt “Jugga Jugga of the Black.. to keep her occupied. Shadow assumes that this would end up working out for Delta and Alpha, except.. it won’t.

Breaking the Horrible News..

Gamma reports to Alpha about Delta. She presents to Alpha with a bundle of Delta’s hair, crying. Alpha reacts distraught. She continues the orders to keep ‘searching,’ breaking the glass in the process. Gammas continues to mention that the counterfeit bills have become such a big concern that it’s pressing everyone to the brink, including Mitsugoshi. Alpha explains it all with the credit crisis being the real goal, taking down every business with John Smith taking it all for himself.

This is another classic trope scene of “the shocking discovery of a dead loved one.” Alpha plays the role of having to be the leader that made the decision that leads to her death. Even her reaction is very trope-like.

The Charade That’s Not a Charade..

As stated in the previous episode, Gettan is well aware of the Cult’s strategy to tank the market. However, the timing of it is totally off. The cult sent a couple NPCs to speak to Gettan about it, essentially blaming him for the current crisis—that this will incur significant losses to the cult.

Gettan ends up killing one of the NPCs, while acknowledging John Smith being the main culprit. Gettan orders Garter to “inspect everything coming in and out of the Royal Capital.” Like every time before, Garter tells Gettan of how terrible of an idea it is; Gettan ends up slaying the 2nd NPC down out of anger and frustration. Being Gettan’s whipping boy, Garter has no choice but to follow orders once again. For the last time, Gettan orders Garter to do everything he can to find out about the counterfeit bills.

This has to be the ultimate reverse, reverse UNO card. We all know how The Eminence in Shadow utilizes tons of irony in their storytelling. This is where we’ll come to understand how Cid’s strategy of taking down both the MCA and Mitsugoshi is actually the right thing to do because it will help bankrupt the Cult of Diablos. However, Cid may be underestimating how he’s undermining and hurting his close friends. Miscommunication.. The story of life.

The Alexia and Iris Dichotomy

Iris and Alexia run into each other. Alexia is carrying a bunch of books to study some “specialized books.” The school academy is still being rebuilt. Since Iris is the “responsible older sister, looking out for her little sister,” this scene really provides a ton of growth for where Alexia fits in the show and how much Iris is still stuck where she is from the previous season.

Alexia’s continuance to figure out how she can be useful fighting is exquisitely represented by how she’s able to dress up like a bookworm and be humble about her situation. She continues to tell Iris that she has so much to work on to become better. As we all know about how it ended with Iris and Beatrix fighting against Shadow, Iris can’t get over the fact that Alexia’s realization of her lack of strength is what she needs to realize about herself. Her hubris & pride keeps her stubborn and stagnant, compared to Alexia’s openness and understanding about herself to continually find other methods to improve.

Beta Updates Shadow

Beta reports to Shadow about how dire the situation is becoming in regards to the counterfeit money, eventually becoming a concern where the Royal Capital will have to take major actions against it. She continues further about inflation destroying their currency and Shadow hilariously pretends to be frustrated over it all. Sadly, Beta informs Shadow of Delta’s passing as they lost all means of communication with her. Shadow starts to pretend crying and saying that “she’s actually gone far away.” Beta interprets this as a metaphor for passing onto the afterlife. Shadow is absolutely flabbergasted by how long it’s taking Delta to take down Mr. Jugga Jugga. Hoping to have Shadow deal with John Smith, Shadow refuses the request from Beta.

Beta mentions to Shadow that any notes would be classified, meaning it has to be encrypted or destroyed. Shadow presents to her that it’s all in different languages that he developed, as it is already coded. In reality, it’s just different languages from his life as Minoru Kagenou. Shadow makes an offer to Beta. If she can figure out the meaning of his notes, she will be enlightened by Shadow-sama’s greatest wisdom!

The comedic irony of this scene is f**king chef’s kiss! This is the perfect example of how The Eminence in Shadow can achieve such great irony in the plot with Shadow leading the way. This is probably the most hilarious scene of the entire episode. If there was another example of the perfect comedically ironic scene, this one is it. Shadow going overboard in his acting as Beta reports how dire their situation is and how the misunderstandings between Delta’s ‘passing’ is just too funny here.

John Smith vs Alpha!

John Smith sits on the train, in route to the next Major Corporate Alliance check point. Suddenly, there stands Alpha in the middle of the train tracks. Like many of the dramatic action sequences prior, a dramatically slow motion fight ensues. Alpha quickly deciphers how John Smith uses his threads to attack. Some act as decoy, while the others do the actual damage. Judging even further through his techniques by the way he attacks, putting her on edge, she realizes the shocking discovery that John Smith is her beloved Shadow-sama!

Alpha goes on an emotionally tear jerking rant about how she’s done everything in her power to serve him to her utmost ability for the man that saved her. She’s slowly coming to the realization that Shadow feels like he doesn’t need her anymore. Shadow explains that “it will all make sense in the end.” In her emotionally distraught attempt to show her worth, Alpha attacks John Smith head on once again.

John Smith in Cid’s voice, starts to display his wisdom to her about how to actually fight. This is a total dismantling of John Smith showing Alpha just how not up to par she really is, as she’s literally pouring her heart out to him in this fight. This is the kind of betrayal and fight that can literally break a person.. Your whole life dedicated to this person, only to be cast aside.

Alpha’s character has been pretty bland up until this point. Now, we are able to see the depths of what her character is supposed to represent. Imagine all the best duos in anime lore and seeing one of them betray each other. Shadow and Alpha can be represented as such, so seeing Alpha this hurt is very painful. It’s like if Naruto was forced to fight Shikamaru.

Alpha represents a lot of these anime tropes we tend to see in anime. The one that gets cast away for being ‘weak’ is a classic anime trope. The “I don’t need you anymore” type of trope. These are classic antagonist type of tropes. Notice that the antagonists in this show are pretty bland, so the actual depth we usually get to see from bad guys are coming from the manufactured plots of Cid’s doing. In this case, Alpha is that example.

Breaking Alpha’s Heart!

All this time, Alpha has blindly followed and did everything she can for Shadow. At this very moment in the anime, this might be the worst the audience has felt for a character that the audience has been cheering for. This might be a turning moment for some fans to turn sour for a brief moment against Cid. It’s all fun and games for Cid to do what he’s doing, thinking everyone is playing along. However, when the shoe is on the other foot and unaware of his true intentions, his loved ones are getting hurt. What makes it an even harder pill to swallow is John Smith not revealing about Delta’s whereabouts. Shadow Garden as a whole, still thinks she’s dead.

Do not discount how incredibly dark this is for Alpha. It’s almost like telling one of your kids that their sibling is dead, when they are not. Tack on the fact that they no longer want to be your parent. That’s called “emotional abuse” folks.

This is a great moment for Alpha’s character development. Up to this point in the story, she’s literally had all the answers and carried the entire burden of Shadow Garden upon her shoulders. Seeing Shadow as the enemy and taking down everything that she and Shadow Garden has worked for, must feel like the ultimate betrayal. To always rise to the challenge and be useful, only for it all to be for naught is incredibly devastating. These are the kind of scenes where the comedic irony meets real authentic emotions. This is what sets The Eminence in Shadow apart from other satirical anime parodies. There are still valuable lessons to be learned through the satire itself. This scene is incredibly impactful without undercutting it with humor. Overall, it’s a really emotionally distraught moment for the audience to see Alpha at her all time low.

Yukime Updates John Smith

Yukime discusses with John Smith about exchanging most of the counterfeit bills for gold. She notes that the Major Corporate Alliance’s vault of real money may go bankrupt soon. Besides cashing in the counterfeit bills, she’s been accumulating the real banknotes. Soon enough, the citizens will feel the urge to cash out as well. By the time the kingdom puts out all the stops to stop the fraud, all traces of them being the culprits will be erased.

Then, Yukime details the backstory behind the therianthropes. When the the great hero Shiva died, the therianthrope clans were without a hero and so every clan warred against each other to claim the throne. Her Spirit Fox clan in particular were weaker physically. In order to even the playing field, the Spirit Foxes created an alliance with the Great Wolves through arranged marriages. She, who had 3 tails, was set marry the son of the Great Wolves’ clan leader and patriarch, Gettan.

Both were set to live happily ever after, except a couple warring nearby clans caused an uproar. Somehow their family got caught in between and many family members were lost. Gettan arrived to the village that was set ablaze with many of their dead family members on the ground. With a bloody sword in hand, he explains his proposal to the clan about accepting the Cult’s powers to fight against the stronger clans. He mentions a popular saying that echoes the “doggy dog world” that was the theme of the previous arc. “Take from them before they take from me,” is the sentiment of Gettan’s choices for their survival. Due to Yukime’s family side refusing the Cult’s pills, Gettan ended Yukime’s mom’s life. Yukime fights back out of anger, but Gettan quickly slices her down and leaves her to perish with her mom.

There has to be a learning lesson and something to take away from a story. Continuing the theme of the previous arc, “taking from others before they take from you” is one of the oldest mindsets since the dawn of civilization. In order to survive, people pushed against the corner can make very corrupt decisions.

Due to this trauma and Gettan destroying her whole village, Yukime ended up as a prostitute and had to find the means to exact her revenge against him. That is what eventually led her to the Lawless City, making her way to the top, which leads us to the present day with John Smith. In the end, her true goal is to take everything away from Gettan. Eventually, Yukime leaves John Smith to enter into a train to be on her way to finish her quest.

Like most antagonists or side characters before, it’s hard to really be that into characters like Gettan and Yukime. In the end, they are simple drivers of the plot to make the events between Cid vs Shadow Garden more interesting. But, ya’ boy can’t help but have some excitement over a deep seeded revenge story. I’m sure there will be some exciting scenes cooked up soon with John Smith and Shadow Garden somehow being involved.

After the ending credits, we are teased with Delta’s howl over a burning town..

We know what the beast girl did!

Last Thought

A Plethora of Meaningful Scenes

This episode featured many independent scenes that brought something different to the table to complete an otherwise magnificently cohesive episode. Yukime and Gettan’s backstory becomes more fleshed out. All the animated fight scenes were fantastic and paced really well. For the protagonists’ side, Alexia and Iris’s sense of accepting of one’s own ability continues to haunt Iris, while Alexia takes a more self-accepting and realistic approach for self-improvement. And that takes us to the saddest part of this episode’s reveal, Alpha finding out John Smith is indeed Shadow.

Feeling Really Bad For Alpha..

From the jump, there was one decision that started a cascade of misunderstandings. Because of Delta missing and presumed dead from her fight against John Smith, this left Alpha to make the decision herself to confront Alpha. These series of events may have created the most depth we’ve ever seen out of Alpha. For the first time, the audience can honestly say they feel really bad for a character that’s been Shadow’s backbone from the beginning of the series.

Can There Be Real Divide Between Shadow and Shadow Garden?!

Even though it was the quintessential comedically ironic plot, this creates a dynamic that has the potential to fracture the relationship Cid has with Shadow Garden. It is certainly a plot where friendly fire isn’t so much physically damaging, but emotionally.

In the end, we can expect it all to come to an acceptable resolution between Shadow and Shadow Garden. Iin the meantime, this one is going to sting to see Cid intentionally hurt Alpha. That would be my biggest takeaway from this episode. The unintended emotional depth, along with Yukime, beginning the start of the end of her journey of revenge against Gettan.

For this episode, I’d give it a 9.5 out of 10. It’s a big improvement over the previous episode because of the much-added depth given to multiple characters. This is where the audience can sense this big anticipatory climatic moment is about to happen. While not perfect due to somewhat typical antagonists, a common trend in The Eminence in Shadow arcs, the fact that a parody anime can deliver ‘heartbreaking’ moments demonstrates the brilliance of the writing. Cheers to another great episode!