The Eminence In Shadow “The Hated Classmate” Review
The Eminence In Shadow “The Hated Classmate” is the first episode of the anime adaption of the light novel by the same name. The anime is being animated by Nexus studios. Akane Nishino is a famous actress, good student and friendly with her classmates. However this is a fake persona she created after an incident when a fan kidnapped and molested her. Inside she is angry, bitter and despises everyone, in particular classmate Minoru Kageno who barely acknowledges her existence. Kageno is shown to carry weights in his bag and clothing to increase his strength. Nishino is kidnapped by criminals who intend to ransom her. They are interrupted by Kageno disguised as a masked vigilante calling himself Stylish Ruffian Slayer but when they see Slayer uses dual crowbars they realise he is actually a dangerous brawler who can defeat gangs by himself, known as Balaclava Berserker. Slayer defeats both men and frees Nishino. Nishino suspects Kageno but a few days later Kageno is abruptly hit by a truck and dies. Through flashback Kageno explains his entire life he wanted to become an evil mastermind controlling society in secret from the shadows and relentlessly trained in martial arts hoping to one day be as powerful as a nuclear bomb. Now in the present Kageno reincarnates in an alternate world with magical powers where he still hopes to achieve his dream of controlling society as the Eminence in Shadow.
Review
I’ll be honest, this episode didn’t necessarily grab my attention as anything ground-breaking. The animation was stellar and the main character was interesting enough, wrapped up in his own ideals for longer than is healthy but other than that nothing special, just another isekai that’ll turn out like the rest. Because I liked the fighting styles of the main character though I enjoyed it enough, it was worth watching this one episode just for that.
I’ll continue to watch the show and hope it gets better, I’ve heard great things.
