Intro
Eminence in Shadow is a shining example of an adaptation done well. It's difficult to convey exactly how the show breaks away from a typical show, but it truly is built different. It doesn't dwell on typical time wasting scenes. They only kept the entertaining and necessary scenes. That said, it's incredibly hard to stop watching.

I'm not much for rewatching shows, but this one will undoubtedly get a rewatch, and a manga re-read every once in a while.

Production Quality Notes / Pacing
The only thing that let me down was my own expectations. In retrospect, the producers and directors were smart and kept downtime of Shadow building his harem to only show when relevant to the character at hand. Eminence gets moving, hitting a high point by the third episode and setting the pace for the rest of the show. It's consistently fast, characters don't dawdle, and if you miss something the first time you're going to need a rewatch to catch what it refers to later in the series.

Casting is spot on, at least on the JP side. Alexia's VA (Kana Hanazawa) hits the nail on the head for conveying dripping distain for Cid, nobody else could have done any better. Iris' VA (Youko Hikasa) has a great final episode performance. Every speaking role is incredibly natural, nobody feels out of place.

Compared to the Manga, we get huge expansions of certain chapters. Sanctuary chapters get episodes with much better pacing and good animation and environments. There are SO MANY little things going on in the backgrounds during slower sections. There's so much setup (not quite foreshadowing) that is far easier to miss in the Manga. I appreciate every landscape shot of the Capitol City of Midgar after episode 7.

The OP and ED songs are enjoyable, but they're nothing exceptional in my book. Different performances for the ED depending on the most active Shadow Garden member were great, though.

Characters
Our main character (Cid/Shadow) isn't self insert. He's got his bucket list, and he's NOT playing "The Hero". He's not interested in his thirsty harem. He's here to not be discovered, but kick ass and be as edgy as possible. Reminds me of an edgelord teen. Which is perfect, because he's cranking that dial to 11. Talk about committed, we really have to give the guy props for going hard.

The "normal" characters are where character development shines. Alexia and Rose get good development time with Cid. While forgettable, Sherry (pink haired artifact researcher girl) also gets her own episodes, and we get hints she's going to come back strong. I do applaud the girls on having strong motivations. Sherry is introverted and too cautious to feed romance, Alexia is straight up disdainful, manipulative, and abrasive. Rose is driven by ideals, and (by way of misunderstanding) clings onto Cid because of his tenaciousness and assumed principles. Iris shows her resolve and fighting spirit as a fiery young spellsword. They're the true main heroes of the show, and I enjoy how we see these characters grow.

Shadow Garden members are shallow character in character development realm, but are fun with vastly different personalities. The show accepts that and thankfully uses them mostly for humor. They bring competition the organization itself, pushing development of Shadow's stolen ideas to show off, without being ugly malicious to each other, just hypercompetitive. It's hilarious, especially since it seems like it was used to fill episodes to runtime, rather than pad episodes.

Conclusion
The 20 episode count was PERFECT in wrapping it all together, with a fantastic capstone episode. Hopefully we'll get a consistently as strong 2nd season.

Eminence in the Shadow's Anime adaption improves over the Manga by leaps, and adds a great amount of humor. The characters and voice performances are spot on. There's some great new content, Episode 12's starting scene is one of the funniest. Overall the characters come together to give us a great, entertaining show.

After a rewatch, I have to bump my rating upwards. I thought I couldn't let it break the 9 barrier, but the adaptation is just too good.

9.1/10