The Eminence in Shadow

Minoru has one singular desire: to be as strong as possible, not to stand out, but to lurk in the dark¹—to pull the strings from the background. Whilst asking like a regular citizen during the day, at night, he uses crowbars to beat up local gangs.¹ This all comes to an end, however, when he is involved in a truck accident.¹

He is reincarnated into a fantasy world as Cid, the "second child of the noble Kagenou family".¹ Now graced with the power he wanted, he began an organization called Shadow Garden whose purpose is to destroy the Cult of Diablos.¹ Cid, who dons the name Shadow secretly, originally made this cult up, but it turns out to be much more real than he'd believed.¹

Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

A woman named Akane Nishino is kidnapped.² The Bible tells us that kidnapping is wrong, so much so that in the Law, it was given the death penalty.

"¶ And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death." (Exodus 21:16)

Paul tells us that stealing people is a sin as well (1Timothy 1:10). But this anime shows this to us—it shows us a woman being stolen, and the whole ordeal is very traumatic. But on top of this, murder and general violence are a major part of the anime. According to Common Sense Media:

"Frequent physical and weapon violence, and blood is shown spurting or gushing. ... Punching, stomping, and slapping happen often. Many characters are killed on screen; dead bodies are shown often. ... Scenes of violent and bloody crime scenes and fights."²

One IMDb entry describes the show as having "unexpectedly graphic violence."³ We know, from Scripture, that murder is not fine. We are to "do no murder" (Matthew 19:18). Murder is such a terrible sin because man was made in the Lord's image (Genesis 9:6).

Christians also are not to be involved in needless violence. I understand that there is a time for self-defense, but when there is violence, there is always at least one side that is sinning.

"And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:14, underline mine)

Magic

One aspect of this anime is the use of magic. Cid used magic to experiment on a "possessed" (one with a condition causing "cancerous growths and rapid decay of the body"), resulting in her being cured, and Cid increasing his own magical power.⁴

He also has a slew of "I am atomic" magic, where he essentially acts like a nuclear bomb.⁵ If that wasn't enough, he uses something he calls "Ten-Minute Death, Heartbreak Mob". In this, he replaces his blood and heart functions with magic, which will cause him to appear dead, but he can "revive" himself.⁵ This is merely focusing on Cid! The other Seven Shadows (the seven highest ranking within Shadow Garden) likewise have their own magical abilities.

It was not an overstatement to claim that witchcraft (that's really what magic is) is a big part of the anime. The LORD tells us what He thinks of witchcraft, and it's not, "As long as you're not the one doing it, it's fine."

"[9] ¶ When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. [10] There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, [11] Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. [12] For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee." (Deuteronomy 18:9-12)

It cannot get clearer than this. Witchcraft/magic is considered an abomination to God. Deuteronomy 7:26 relays that abominations were forbidden to even come into your house—is it suddenly okay merely because it's on a screen? Of course not!

Immodesty

This story follows Cid, and most of the characters surrounding him are female. This sets up a situation where it's easy to fill the anime with immodesty (and as we'll see, the creators did). Akane Nishino is seen taking a shower.² Additionally, when Alpha is cured, she is seen naked.²

"[Many] female characters have clothes torn off, revealing partial nudity."

"In one of the episodes, one of the female characters appears fully naked in front of a mirror, however, her hair covers her chest and the glare of the mirror covers her lower region."

"One female lead fights partially naked, her chest and lower region are barely covered by what is left of her slime suit."³

There are other things, such as people bathing, women in bikinis, and short skirts. Just generally speaking, the "slime suits" Shadow Garden wears are form-fitting and not modest. It does not take us long to consider what the Scripture's conclusion on this matter is. Most apparently, immodesty is forbidden.

There is such a thing as the "attire of an harlot" (Proverbs 7:10). There is such a thing as immodest dress. If there wasn't, why would God command against it?

"[9] In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; [10] But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works." (1 Timothy 2:9-10)

The women in this show violate this passage. They are not modestly dressed; they aren't dressing a way that "becometh women professing godliness".

Alcohol

"Alcohol is used in taverns and bars."² Why would this bring any honor to the LORD whatsoever? The Bible is increasingly plain when it commands:

"Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright." (Proverbs 23:31)

If we aren't to look upon alcohol, yet this anime contains alcohol, then by extension, we aren't to watch this anime. It cannot get much simpler than that.

Language

If those mentioned above were the only issues with this anime, we'd still have to reject it because it contradicts God's word. However, there is much more, as we will continue to reveal in this and the following sections.

Another problem with this anime in particular is the language used. There is profanity to be found within this show.² What we listen to and allow ourselves to hear is very important. God reveals that "evil communications corrupt good manners" (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Demonic Beings

The Cult of Diablos originally experimented on orphaned children to create warriors to fight the demon Diablos.⁶ In doing so, only three girls survived the experiments. These women fought the demon and managed to defeat and cut off Diablos' left arm.⁶ The Cult took this arm and sealed it away, where they use it to create "Beads of Diablos."⁶

The Beads of Diablos are "magical pills containing extraordinary power from the demon Diablos' blood."⁷ These people are giving themselves powers through the use of a devil! This ought to be alarming. This isn't the only time they've done this, either. In the final episode of season two, there's a "Magical Beast" named Regnarok.⁽⁸⁾⁽⁹⁾ Despite being labeled differently, Regnarok is, for all intents and purposes, intended to be a "demon-like" creature. The Cult summoned him from another world.

Do we really want to involve ourselves with demonic activity in anime? The Bible says that we cannot "drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils" or "be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils" (1 Corinthians 10:21). Nothing good can come from devils, in or out of anime.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is much in this show for us to avoid. We ought to obey the Word of the LORD and distance ourselves from it, not participating in its consumption.

Sources:

1. "Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!." MyAnimeList, myanimelist.net/anime/48316/Kage_no_Jitsuryokusha_ni_Naritakute. Accessed 11th day of the fourth month 5785.

2. "Parents' Guide to The Eminence in Shadow." Common Sense Media, commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-eminence-in-shadow. Accessed 11th day of the fourth month 5785.

3. "The Eminence in Shadow: Parents guide." IMDb, imdb.com/title/tt14115938/parentalguide. Accessed 11th day of the fourth month 5785.

4. "Possession." The Eminence In Shadow Wiki, the-eminence-in-shadow.fandom.com/wiki/Possession. Accessed 11th day of the fourth month 5785.

5. "Cid Kagenou." The Eminence In Shadow Wiki, the-eminence-in-shadow.fandom.com/wiki/Cid_Kagenou. Accessed 11th day of the fourth month 5785.

6. "Three Heroes." The Eminence In Shadow Wiki, the-eminence-in-shadow.fandom.com/wiki/Three_Heroes. Accessed 11th day of the fourth month 5785.

7. "Beads of Diablos." The Eminence In Shadow Wiki, the-eminence-in-shadow.fandom.com/wiki/Beads_of_Diablos. Accessed 11th day of the fourth month 5785.

8. "Ragnarok." The Eminence In Shadow Wiki, the-eminence-in-shadow.fandom.com/wiki/Ragnarok. Accessed 11th day of the fourth month 5785.

9. "Episode 32." The Eminence In Shadow Wiki, the-eminence-in-shadow.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_32. Accessed 11th day of the fourth month 5785.