The Eminence in Shadow (2022)
[é°ăźćźćè ă«ăȘăăăăŠ!]
Volume 5
Author: Daisuke Aizawa
Illustrator: Tozai
Publisher: Enterbrain
Synopsis:
Alexia and Claire form an unlikely partnership as they investigate a rash of disappearances at the Academy.
Impressions:
Whereas half of the previous volume was new to me as a former anime-only, this one is completely new, which made it a bit more exciting for me. The teamup between Alexia and Claire resembles the previous triumvirate of Alexia, Rose and Natsume, but this time it's a bit more successful as we don't have one member secretly subverting the work while another goes off on her own to kill her dad and such. I'll admit to initially being skeptical of new castmember Nina, but she serves a particularly interesting role that ties into the real star of this volume: Zeta. Now, I mostly know Zeta from the spinoff materials (i.e. Kagejitsu! and the mobile game), and that knowledge definitely adds an extra layer to what's going on here, but if you're only consuming the mainline story, this is the first time for her to really be featured and she makes quite the impression. She's got her own agenda and it's really cool watching it play out. I'm definitely looking forward to the inevitable conflict to come.
The bomb collar sequence in the latter half is every bit as fun as Cid thought it would be. Cid, of course, is every bit the psychopath you've come to expect. (I waver between diagnosing him as a psychopath or a sociopath. On the one hand, he doesn't seem to have much appreciation for human emotion or social norms, but on the other hand, he enjoys doing effed-up stuff way to much to fit the typical sociopath profile.) Fenrir is one of the best villains we've had so far. While previous Rounds members Nelson and Mordred were rather jobbery, he puts on the best show since the likes of Aurora or Elizabeth. Just hearing him refer to the Seven Shades by name demonstrates that at least some members in the Cult of Diablos are halfway decent at intelligence-gathering. And speaking of Aurora, I quite enjoy her symbiosis with Claire. (And it's funny that Cid just dismisses it all as his sister being chuuni.)
We've got some big things happening in this outing, so it's sure to please any fans looking for major strides in the narrative. For my part, I'm more than happy to recommend it for your collection.
Rating:Own It