The second season of The Eminence in Shadow has officially begun and episode #1 is a great reminder of what made the first season so great. The isekai fantasy made a big impression on the anime community when it first aired due to its revelatory approach to dealing with what many view as a trashy genre. Instead of shying away from the guilty pleasures of the genre, The Eminence in Shadow gleefully elevated them to an absurd degree making it one of the funniest isekai anime.

Episode #1 of season 2 has masterfully continued this trend while setting up the setting and characters of the arc to come. While this massive exposition dump could have been boring in any other show, The Eminence in Shadow leans so far into its tropes that almost upon first glance viewers can get an idea of each new character's shtick. In the episode, Cid and his sister Claire travel to the Lawless City where a blood-red moon empowers a horde of undead ghouls to attack the populace. Cid relishes the chance to act cool in this situation, hilariously imitating a vampire hunter Mary, and entangling himself in a fight between two rulers of the city at the end of the episode.

The Eminence in Shadow Begins Season 2 With a Blast of an Episode

This is a perfect reminder of what made Cid such a fun protagonist in season 1. While the Shadow Garden organization he has built may understand how real threats like the Cult of Diabolos are, Cid views everything in his world as an opportunity to live out his childish power fantasies. The relationship between Cid and Shadow Garden is one of the best parts of the series and luckily the first episode included a great moment with them interacting. However, it seems like Shadow Garden's involvement in this upcoming arc will be minimal as it focuses more on Cid, his sister, and the mysterious new characters who have been introduced.

The most reassuring sign about Season 2 Episode #1 is that the show feels like it never stopped after the first season. On a production level, the animation is just as good as it was in Season 1 if not better. Even if this sort of storyline may not be as exciting for most fans of the show as a more typical isekai plot would be, the characters, humor, and action still feel incredibly similar to the initial arcs of the anime which makes this follow-up worth watching regardless. The one downside to this is that the rampant fan service in The Eminence in Shadow's first season is also present, which may turn away some viewers even as it tantalizes others.

Fans of Season 1 Need to Watch The Eminence in Shadow Season 2

Fans of the first season of The Eminence in Shadow will find episode #1 of Season 2 a worthy follow-up and a hopeful sign of things to come. If the rest of the season maintains this level of quality, season 2 maybe even better than the first one. Even if it doesn't surpass the first season, episode #1 of The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 shows that the show will still deliver the schlocky fun that made the series one of the best isekai anime.

The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode #1 is available to stream on HIDIVE.