The Eminence in Shadow (Light Novel), Vol. 1

陰の実力者になりたくて！ [Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute ]（Light Novel） #1

by Daisuke Aizawa, Azunishi (Artist)

One big fat lie and a few twisted truths

Even in his past life, Cid's dream wasn't to become a protagonist or a fi nal boss. He'd rather lie low as a minor character until it's prime time to reveal he's a mastermind...or at least, do the next best thing-pretend to be one! And now that he's been reborn into another world, he's ready to set the perfect conditions to live out his dreams to the fullest. Armed with his overactive imagination, Cid jokingly recruits members to his organization and makes up a whole backstory about an evil cult that they need to take down. Well, as luck would have it, these imaginary adversaries turn out to be the real deal-and everyone knows the truth but him!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Comedy, Action, Fiction, Magic

266 pages, Hardcover

First published November 5, 2018

About the author

逢沢大介

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 67%.

It strained credulity that the MC Shadow/Cid, both thought that his Shadow Garden was all put up by his Seven Shadows, that they were acting, had sets, etc., YET he also BISECTED BAD GUYS, killing LOADS of people on multiple occasions. Granted, they were all bad people who were murdering innocents, but CID didn’t “know” that!!

He thought his followers were ACTING, so why wouldn’t he think the bad guys were acting too?! Or did he think they volunteered to fight him for real, with death being a possibility?!?

If he wasn’t so out of touch with reality, this might have been better.

Also, the fan service for the reader is…weird and not really plot-relevant, unless the younger Princess telling the older one that she “Believed in her bottom” while trying on G-strings (after putting it on backwards at first by accident, OH SO FUNNY, not) and trying to convince her older sister to let her buy them, is SUPER important to the plot/character development, then it PROBABLY wasn’t needed.

It wasn’t badly written and it isn’t the usual isekai that I gravitate towards, but I was so desperate for something I hadn’t read yet, that I tried this. Thankfully I’ve learned my lesson and only picked up the first one, so I’m not out a scad of $$.

2, I wish this had been better, stars.

[Z. D'Aleo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alloraaaaa… in realtà non so se mettere 4 stelle e dargli fiducia, o se tornare in fumetteria e restituire il secondo prima di leggerlo 🤔

I disegni mi piacciono un sacco.
Mi ricordano molto Vanitas ma anche Sword art online.

Ma la storia sembra terribilmente commerciale… ha senso? Assolutamente no. Fa ridere? Assolutamente sì. E fa ridere proprio perché non ha senso (ma non mi sembra tanto un parere oggettivo, potrebbe far ridere solo a me)

Vi farò sapere…

Aggiornamento...
Ho letto anche il secondo volume e ancora non ho capito XD

Vi farò sapere...

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was...funny? Or supposed to be, at any rate, but I found that most of its jokes didn't quite stick the landing. I'm also not entirely sure why it was so fond of the word "bisected," but hey, it's got more than one syllable, so that's more bafflement than a complaint.

[Samuel Faraday · Rating 4 out of 5]

An hilarious spoof on the ‘hidden super villian’ trope. This story is a fun read with cliches galore, but it does them super well.

My only gripe with the story is the sheer stupidity of the MC to the misunderstandings around him; yes it works as a story, yes it’s probably the only way to make the story as it is, but I personally hate following MCs such as this.

[Ganan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling and hilarious debut!

I really enjoyed this first instalment of Shadow’s adventures. It has comedy and heart in equal measure. I went into this expecting a few laughs (which I definitely had) but came out really engrossed in the world itself! Already pre-ordered book 2 and can’t wait!

[Aelvana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cid has always dreamed of being a power in the shadows: the mysterious figure secretly manipulating events or hunting evil on his own terms. Which is why he's thrilled when all his efforts result in a reincarnation straight into a fantasy world. Now, at last, he has the opportunity to live out his dreams . . . but why is everyone else so eager to play along with it?

I have been waiting so long for this novel to finally see print. The web novel was fantastic, and this is now the official English translation.

This is, at its heart, a misunderstandings comedy. Cid points out in the very beginning of the prologue that what he wants requires him to go far past sanity into lunacy. So from Cid's perspective, he thinks he's merely playing out his delusion of being a shadowbroker, and making things up as he goes along to fit whatever narrative catches his fancy at the time. The school terrorist incident being an item on his bucket list still cracks me up.

Of course, what he hasn't noticed is that to everyone else, he IS what he pretends to be---they're not playing along in a game, they're dead serious. And Cid just so happens to have accidentally guessed correctly on, well, everything, so the villains are actually legitimate.

The way the chapters put everything together can result in some odd scene breaks (where in the web novel these were separate chapters and therefore a bit more understandable due to having a new chapter heading).

Other than that, though, this is pretty much perfect. Cid manages to take the typical girls-throwing-themselves-at-him scenarios and barely notice. As he puts it, he's been busy stripping things out of his life so he can focus entirely on his singular goal. If it's something a cool master in the shadows would do, he totally wants in.

He also idealizes a "normal" character that he plays up as intensely as his shadow identity (because it's his secret identity and therefore MUST be perfectly average in every way). This leads to scenarios like him confessing to a princess simply because he wants to make the most awful confession possible and get turned down, because that's what a normal person would do. That this typically fails to work out for him the way he expects is his own bad luck.

Overall, if the first page or so grabs you at all, read this book. I fell in love with the prologue and found the rest of the story just as entertaining. I rate this book Highly Recommended.

See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....

[LitClub IITD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review by Amogh Kumar:

Isekai is to light novels what superhero media is to movies. Overdone to death, and riddled with cliches, Isekai is a genre that I do not have a personal fascination for. It often involves an overpowered protagonist, a lot of hot girls, and usually has as much plot in a season that Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chasmah has in a single episode.

So then why is one of my best Light Novels I have read in the past 3 years, an Isekai with an overpowered protagonist and tons of hot girls?

For one, if Isekai are the superhero flicks of the Japanese entertainment industry, Eminence in Shadow is Deadpool. Completely aware of how done to death its plot is, instead of shying away from the cliches, it revels in it. Every single stereotype, from the overpowered protagonist to the boss fight is done with a certain flair that I have rarely seen other light novels pull off. Nowhere in other light novels would the protagonist saying ‘I am atomic’, be both funny and cool, but Eminence in Shadow manages to pull this off.

Read Eminence in Shadow for its overpowered but still human protagonist, the incredibly well developed supporting cast, and most importantly , for the humor and action.

[Nico Wendland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dieses Buch wird vor allem von der Perspektve des MCs getragen. Wir haben einen Psychopathen, dessen einziges Ziel es ist, einer der edgyiest Charaktere zu werden, aber gleichzeitig seine Tarnung als Nebenfigur nicht zu verlieren. Das ist so verdammt witzig und ich liebe jeden seiner Gedanken, egal wie krank sie eigentlich sind. Und das ist nur eine sehr oberflächliche Beschreibung dieses Gags.

(+)
- Alle Klischees die die Geschichte eigentlich verschlechtern würden, werden nur zu einem weiteren Teil des Humors
- Es ist heftig auf wie vielen Ebenen der MC witzig ist
- Überraschend gute Nebenfiguren

(-)
- Fühlt sich bisher noch wie eine Sammlung von kleinen Geschichten an, aber hoffentlich bekommen wir noch eine größere Handlung

Mein Booktube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWsL...
Mein Bookstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nico_fantas...

[Akshay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Eminence in Shadow (Light Novel), Volume 1 by Daisuke Aizawa

A self-aware parody that embraces isekai clichés while delivering surprisingly effective comedy through dramatic irony.

Premise and Execution: Cid Kagenou, reincarnated from modern Japan after a fatal truck encounter, pursues his dream of becoming a "mastermind in the shadows" within a fantasy world. Unlike typical isekai protagonists seeking heroism or power, Cid deliberately cultivates dual personas: Shadow, the mysterious organization leader, and an aggressively mediocre student who embodies every "background character" trope. The narrative's central conceit—that Cid's fabricated conspiracy about the Cult of Diablos turns out to be real while he remains oblivious—drives both humor and plot progression throughout the volume.

Character Development:
Cid operates as an unreliable narrator whose delusions of grandeur create dramatic irony. His commitment to being the "perfect background character" leads to elaborate schemes to appear average, while his Shadow persona allows theatrical expression of power fantasies. The Seven Shadows serve dual functions as capable subordinates and straight-faced reactors to Cid's unintentional accuracy.


Comedic Structure:
The humor derives from misunderstandings where Cid believes he's orchestrating elaborate fiction while accidentally solving real crises. His overwrought internal monologues about shadow mastery contrast sharply with his accidental heroics and genuine competence in combat situations.


World Building:
The fantasy setting incorporates standard medieval elements—magic, nobility, academies—while subverting expectations through Cid's modern perspective. The author establishes conspiracy elements and political intrigue without overwhelming the comedic focus.

Contemporary Comparison: Within the saturated isekai market, *The Eminence in Shadow* distinguishes itself through meta-commentary and genre awareness. While series like *KonoSuba* mock isekai conventions through incompetent characters, this work features an overpowered protagonist who remains blind to his own effectiveness. Compared to power fantasy entries like *Overlord* or *That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime*, Aizawa's approach prioritizes comedy over world conquest or political maneuvering.

The series shares DNA with other self-aware light novels such as *My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected* in its protagonist's elaborate internal justifications for antisocial behavior, but transplants this psychological framework into fantasy action scenarios. Unlike grimdark isekai entries that deconstruct the genre's optimism, *The Eminence in Shadow* celebrates its absurdity while maintaining narrative momentum.

Narrative strengths: Consistent character voice, effective dramatic irony, balanced comedy-to-action ratio, and genuine surprises within familiar frameworks.


Technical execution: Clear prose, well-paced chapter structure, and illustrations that complement rather than substitute for written descriptions.


Genre positioning: Successfully parodies isekai tropes while delivering satisfying power fantasy elements and genuine character moments.

Production Quality: The Yen Press translation by Kristi Fernandez maintains character voice consistency while preserving Japanese cultural references appropriately. Touzai's illustrations provide character design clarity without overwhelming the text-driven narrative, and the physical book includes quality-of-life features like character summaries and bonus content from Beta's chronicles.

The volume succeeds by treating its protagonist's delusions as both comedic device and character study, exploring how fantasy fulfillment operates when the fantasizer refuses to acknowledge reality. Cid's determined obtuseness becomes endearing rather than frustrating through careful balance of competence and self-deception.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✩ out of 5 stars

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[Lissa Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars, I think?

I am a bit on the fence about this one, I definitely prefer female protagonists, but Cid had his own sort of, let's go with charm...
The story was a little bit choppy, but I enjoyed the art and I am intrigued enough to want to continue the series.

Also, I am reviewing volume 1 of the manga, not the light novel, so hopefully this is the right entry.

[Magus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious

Isekai and chuuni behaviors combined with high levels of misunderstandings and harem with no progression. Basically everything you would look for in a novel of this genre without being boring as a result.

[Dantegideon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone’s an idiot, and that’s the joke. I found it rather wearing.

[Adri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accuse us for the sins of the world. We’ll accept them as our own, but nothing will change. We’ll still do what we’re meant to do


𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

♡ 𝑀𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈:
Loved it, and how similar it was to the show, gave me a new appreciation for it actually. The story had me laughing, everyone Cid does ridiculous or we get a deep dive into his thoughts for his actions it just cracks me up. Would quite literally love to live in this time with Cid, or just be friends with him. The way he is so unserious yet everything somehow works out in favor of him or just simply works out for him without him meaning for it too always gets me. The action bits were also well written and the change of POV’s so we get to see what everyone was thinking or what was going on while the story shifted to third person was also cool. Took a bit to get use to the way this one was wrote but had fun with it, might just rewatch the show now too.

From the beginning, we’ve walked the path of neither justice nor evil. We walk our own path

♡ 𝒮𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎:
Cid getting isekaid into a new world and since his new birth planning to become a mastermind from the shadows while pretending to be a side character/background character in this world is hilarious from beginning to end. He pretends to be weak to not attract attention to himself yet he’s incredibly strong. Strong enough that he takes down group of bad guys, saves a girl on accident and to make it seem bigger than it is starts off this huge “lie” that there’s a cult causing bad experiments. Eventually this group of his grows without his intention, and their turns out to actually eb a cult that his organization without his knowledge is actually hunting. Everyone he gets pulled into certain situations on accident yet it works out for him causes me to laugh. By the end of this volume, not only has his organization — Shadow Garden — grown tremendously, but he’s also become very good friends with incredibly important people again without meaning too such as two princesses. Ending chapters were amazing with him revealing who the fake terrorists were, but I will say the best part of this story are his unhinged comments ad monologues throughout the book.

If I want to become a shadow commander, I’ve got to establish myself as the most average of all background characters

♡ 𝒮𝓅𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓁: 🧼clean🧼


♡ 𝙁𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨:
↦Oh, please, please, please infest this place with more crime!
↦I considered ditching her before things got annoying, but I ended up making her Shadowbroker Subordinate A.
↦Anyway, that’s how we ended our slaughter of some bandits—I mean, our little rescue mission.
↦“What? Do I look like I’d be swayed by cash?” I ask from all fours, carefully retrieving the coins one by one.
“You do.”
“You’re damn right.”
↦We are the Shadow Garden. We lurk in the darkness and hunt down shadows. That’s the only reason we exist…
↦Hidden Technique: I AM ATOMIC.
↦One: Intuition is wasted on an idiot. Two: Intelligence means nothing without intuition.
↦You know, I’m as apathetic as they come. If there was a catastrophe that wiped out a million people on the other side of the world, it wouldn’t affect me. If you went nuts and became a serial killer, I wouldn’t be bothered

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had recently watched the anime so I decided to give the book a try. I really liked the author's writing style which made it funny and engaging. I think the author matched Cid's personality perfectly and gave way more detail than in the anime and manga. The book came with color pages in the beginning which I found to be a nice touch. The end of the book even showcased, "The Chronicles of Master Shadow" by Beta. I think the book itself was very well made and came with wonderful extras and nice images throughout it. The writing stayed true to the anime and followed the same story of Cid trying to become an eminence in shadow. This volume highlighted his time from when he first gets reincarnated in the noble family to when Sherry and Cid save the school from terrorists. The author did a nice job of describing each character and even if I hadn't watched the anime, I would be able to imagine each character correctly. I found the scene where Cid saves Princess Alexia from being kidnapped to be very well-written. I liked how the author described Cid's 'I AM ATOMIC' and I liked comparing the description to the anime as I read along. Overall, I thought this book was great for anyone, whether you have watched the anime or not. Daisuke Aizawa is a talented author, who I can tell put a lot of effort into this book and mastering Cid's personality perfectly.

[Bekan Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obra gracioso en el buen decir de la palabra

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose the bright side is the author does establish an overarching plot and actually moves on it. The not so bright side is the dull humor, the superficial characters (and dumb names that reduce females to a simple letter), the perfunctory fan service in service of nothing, the lack of world building, the flaccid action descriptions, the early appearance of vaguely explained overpowered item that contributes to the aforementioned flaccid action sequences, and the utterly goofy concept of the make-believe enemy conspiracy actually being real and the MC failing to see that the organization is real despite all evidence to the contrary. I’m sure it can all be explained away in the final volume when Shadow wakes from his coma in the real world. It’s not the worst light novel I’ve ever read, but...

[Alae Chatar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting seemed generic – it was an isekai, after all, with an overpowered main character to boot. But surprisingly, it was still engaging enough to keep me hooked, and I'm glad I stuck with it. The pacing at the beginning worried me a bit, with timeskip after timeskip, it felt like a rushed work. But it did settle into a good rhythm later on. This engaging novel blends compelling action with witty dialogue and over-the-top humor that doesn't fall flat. If you're looking for a book that's pure fun from start to finish and easy to digest then I really recommend this series.

[Red · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept and the characters were good, but were a bit shallow. The main character was explained well enough to sort of understand them, but their motivation was murky. The writing over all was horrendous. I have a feeling that a lot was lost in translation from Japanese to English. At least I hope this is the case. I have read enough Japanese light novels to see good books become randomly difficult to read due to the writing feel like it was a completely different author. Maybe I will check the next volume out. But really, I might just wait for the next season of the Anime.

[Tomcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of potential.

The story and the way is written is good enough to keep you engaged to the end. Nothing new in terms of characters or plot, with some funny parts but ruined by the excess of violence that doesn’t match the plot. Everybody can murder without having any second thoughts. My other complain is a lack of editing, as some parts are really hard to follow or some dialogues doesn’t make too much sense. Overall, a good book with a lot of potential.

[Mara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this after watching the anime, so I was already familiar with the characters and plot points in this volume. There is some detail in here that wasn't in the anime, but there were also some jokes that were only in the anime. It feels like the humor was played up more in the anime.

[Kashii · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fast paced and a decent read but the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has a different take than most of the genre, but it was hard to fully understand why the main character decided to do what he did and how it all came together.

[Sieg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The iconic "I am Atomic" saying when this elder casts his ultimate.

So at first I thought this was a story of a school fighting crime, so Minoru Kagenou as the protagonist was fixated on being as strong as possible, and could go beyond the limits of "I thought".

In fact, it's also an isekai with a truck-kun intermediary xD. A young man practicing taekondo head-butted a rock while saying magic over and over again, presumably under stress he ran into the street head-butted a truck-kun and ended up in an isekai.

Unexpectedly he managed to be born into a world that has magic with previous memories. born as Cid, the second child of the noble Kagenou family, in another world in another world where magic is common. With the power he so desperately wanted finally in his grasp, he took on the moniker "Shadow" and founded Shadow Garden: a group whose sole purpose was to combat the Cult of Diablos, an organization born from Cid's imagination. However, as time passed, as membership and influence grew, it became clear that the Cult of Diablos was not what Cid had intended.

So from his home world, he's been practicing avoiding confrontation as a named character or you could say trying to be a dumb-looking NPC, and night rooting out biker gangs and training and aspiring to be a shadow. That's what Cid brings to the Isekai world, how hilarious and funny it is that he plays the drama of an NPC character and befriends similar ones, but instead becomes an unexpected source of major attention xD.

Throughout the twenty episodes, the exposure of the protagonist is that he has the principle of the person behind the shadow with overpowering power, not good and not evil but the chronfontation clearly attacks the evil group Diablos but he also seems to portray evil to the people and the kingdom such as: whether you want to fight me or not doesn't matter, just don't get in my way. Cid' is like the Final Boss. And the representation of the power behind his ultimate name is why he says "I am Atomic" because in the normal world Cid thinks that if he is hit by a nuclear bomb no matter how strong he is there, he will definitely be destroyed, so he finally wants to become Nuclear itself in the current world.

This is a pretty good series that deserves seven stars for those who like the protagonist to look like an antargonist, iconic and overpowering, the story is also quite dense. October will see the release of season two "can't wait".

[Monika Ciem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just pure and hilarious power fantasy, but rather than in the bright spotlight we're lurking in the shadows, hunting shadows.
The Eminence in Shadow is intensely enjoyable for its mix of a quite original concept in which the protagonist Cid Kangenou wants to be neither hero nor villain but rather the unseen mastermind, and meta-commentary on typical isekai-type fantasy narratives that makes its astute observations exclusively in genuinely funny language (our protagonist attempts to be a perfect NPC, recognises Named Characters and Heroes, waits for cut-scenes, or analyses flaws in the story). I like all the characters, though I wish I would know more about the girls; I think it is great how Cid makes shit up and accidentally gets everything right, uncovering a whole dark cult; I enjoy the OP-power-fantasy elements; and extra-points to Gamma building an entire capitalist mall empire in the European middle ages. Do I think that there is something to be said how a guy can bullshit his way through it and all women take it as greatness and wisdom, interpreting whatever he does in his favour, assuming his generosity and superior skill? Absolutely, but I am deducting the one star not for this, but for how I'd like more background stories of the girls, actually. I do love them.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Comments refer to the series as a whole as far as I have read, which is v1-2.]

Very enjoyable light novel that manages to simultaneously embody the worst chuuni nonsense while also mocking it: Cid tried his hardest as a youth in our world to learn magic and become a secret mastermind, but had no luck until he died and reincarnated. Determined to live out his fantasies in this new world, he ironically play-acts as the mastermind Shadow... but everything he thinks he is making up is actually true. It helps that he is in fact super strong.

I suppose the real achievement here is letting people who should know better, like me, accept this 12-year-old edgelord's idea of a "cool" protagonist (overpowered, mysterious, girl-collecting) because it's executed with such irony and at a comedic distance. Cid delights at getting to play out his favourite tropes.

This rating is extremely generous and reflects just how much I enjoyed this as a guilty pleasure. Characters are as flat as you'd expect of comic props and the prose as workmanlike as expected of a translated light novel.

[Urhierefe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I said this on an earlier review, but I had a weird year.

This Light Novel helped out a lot with my mental health at some point.

I hated it at first but it was ridiculously unserious about it's faults that I became a reck of laughter's often forgetting about my woes and depression, I sometimes find myself smiling on the road side just from memories of this one.

I wasn't ready for reading things like Sun Eater with all its heavy themes and subjects back the or even the green bone saga. I found the bad in everything back then and amplified it until it was all I could see. although my issue with progression Fantasy still holds.

With this does issues I usually amplified were just so on the nose it was like the author was poking gun at me.

anyhow it still suffers from the usual issues of Ight novels but I like this one, call it a biased read

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10. Quite average in the isekai genre. Read it cause the anime had one scene that made me laugh quite a lot. Sadly the light novel is less detailed than the anime which is typically the other way around. It is also not funny most of the time. It's not a work of art and doesn't have good plot, good characters, good dialogs, or good word building. Nevertheless, it isn't a bad novel. I like that even though it is a harem, the protagonist doesn't care or is part of any harem tropey situation. I like that it feels like a parody of some sort. Maybe it is. Maybe the author intended it to be serious. Either way, I enjoy it as one does when listening to music while working.

[Hong Hoa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda mediocre. The book really stretches its premise thin. So you came up with this cult and now it turns out the cult is actually real and also all the speculation you've made around it also happens to be true? I get that it's comedy but some suspension of disbelief is urgently needed here. Also it isn't particularly funny.

Whole thing is a one trick pony, where you're getting hammered with jokes regarding how our MC is way more clueless than he appears (a-la Overlord).

Also has terrible pacing, it just jumps from scenes to scenes, with very little concern for world-building.

There's also a villain nicknamed "The Game of Betrayal" which is frankly speaking a stupid name.

[Chance · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author for the series changes thinks up for each version that some like different ones. This the list of my favorites in descending order.

1.Web Novel(over details)
2.Anime.(great OP and artwork
3.Manga
4.Phone game(only good for the side stories that explain the early years of shadow Garden.)
5.Light Novel

The light novel gets rid of everything superficial and sticks to only the story with only A spot and getting to B spot with little to no detail on B path. The story covers episodes 1 - 9 of the anime but lacks and real description of places that make the story feel lacking when the MC gos some where.

[Avis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again too male gazey for my tastes. Wish it leaned less into talking about how hot the ladies are. But aside from that this book is a genuine riot, and legit kind of cool. I think Cid is one of my favorite characters of all time hes so fucking funny. But only when put in comparison to the dead seriousness of every other character. I love the gimmick of the story. It's a great gimmick.
And despite the male gazey issues/wish fulfillment that I'm not the biggest fan of- the female characters are generally wonderful. Especially Cid's female classmates. Wish the seven got more focus but im excited to see more.