Review of The Eminence in Shadow Season 2

Everything I said about the previous season still holds true. As such, if you’ve enjoyed S1, then there’s really nothing to say. Go ahead and watch it right now. You’ll have a great time! The one thing I’ll say is that, as is the destiny of all one-note gags, the shpiel with him misunderstanding the events of the isekai, interpreting them as simple RP, but somehow acting in such a manner that leads to the otherworlders also misunderstanding him as being omniscient and infallible, yeah, that gets a bit old. This is also a consequence of the fact that the drama and stakes of S2 get significantlyelevated. You could say, in a sense, that very little that happened in S1 was of any real consequence, and in spite of his lackadaisical attitude, he still solves everything fairly cleanly, so s’all good. The same is not true of this season. The very first arc has to do with an entire city being subjected to a literal genocide, and even allowing for his misguided interpretation of what’s happening, the actual fact of the mass-murder going on around him is undeniable, and he’s still walking around all kumbaya as though he’s in a video game – literally, this is not my conjecture, he’s explicitly wondering out loud about where the boss is and how he could create a flashy final level spectacle.

Beyond just the gruesome nature of the events of the first arc, the rest become somehow even more compelling by directly raising the stakes for individual character’s lives and feelings. It is often the case that the personal tragedy of one individual relatable character can feel immensely more compelling than the fate of the entire world. As such, Cid ends up coming off as nigh-unforgivably callous this time around.

That said, don’t worry, it’s not like he does anything irredeemable, just a series of actions I found irritating enough to mention.

For what’s worth, the ending will provide you with a twist that, if you think about it, should be a staple of the isekai genre, but modern isekai have forgotten about the fundamental element that makes isekai different from high fantasy, so you’ll be left with an intriguing cliffhanger!