Characters / The Eminence In Shadow - Cid Kagenou's Other Identities

The Eminence in Shadow Character Index
Shadow Garden (Cid Kagenou/Shadow (Cid's Other Identities) | Seven Shadows) | Cult of Diablos | Midgar Kingdom

Cid's Other identities

Aside from his two main identities and goal of becoming the Eminence in Shadow, Cid Kagenou adopts short-lived yet elaborate personas to indulge in his other personal fantasies (As if being reincarnated into another world wasn't immersive enough).

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General

• Alliterative Name: Two of his identities go by Stylish Bandit Slayer and Mundane Mann.
• Combat, Diplomacy, Stealth: Cid's three newer alter-egos specialize in each of these categories and were specifically tailored to fit the genre that the narrative was going for at the time:
  • Combat - Mundane Mann poses as a weakling who is actually the World's Strongest Man to participate in the Bushin Festival, a classic Seinen Tournament Arc. Cid made it his role to curbstomped opponents in the purest form of fighting. No flashy swordsmanship or magic enhancements, just overwhelming strength and speed while thoroughly breaking their fighting spirit and ego.
  • Diplomacy - Nobody can rival Suzuki Hope in the intelligence and wits department and goes hard on intimidation tactics to get exactly what he wants. His cutthroat attitude is justified by the "bomb-collar school event" he's in which is very reminiscent of those Japanese death games.
  • Stealth - John Smith's nature as a "Super Elite Agent" allows him to operate in shady business and take adversaries down with zero presence, emulating spy flicks like James Bond.
• Impersonation-Exclusive Character: The Mundane Mann and Suzuki Hope that we know of are Cid's interpretations of their characters since both of them are dead prior to his roleplaying. Anything about the actual people had come from second-hand accounts and background checks.
• Internal Reveal: The audience knows from the very start that Cid disguises himself as someone else for the sake of theatrics and personal gain but it's an absolute shock to everyone else unaware of the act once unmasked as Shadow all this time. He forcibly revealed Mundane and John under circumstances out of his control while Suzuki was intended once he cornered the culprit of the White Mist.
• Lazy Alias: A common theme when Cid comes up with his aliases, besides starting with the letter "S", as it's either a generic placeholder (John Smith) or from pre-existing deceased people (Mundane Mann, Suzuki Hope and Jack the Ripper).
• Logical Weakness: Due to being a die-hard method actor, Cid sets a fixed power level and skillset for his personas and would oblige by these limits until otherwise. This means he can't be any stronger or use skills outside of what was established in character which proves to be quite challenging when facing enemies surpassing these self-imposed boundaries. As such, Cid has no choice but to drop the act and reveal himself, which isn't any better for the villains since that would mean they have to fight Shadow head-on.
• Loving a Shadow: Like Shadow and Mob Cid, these identities have attracted a fair share of admirers with John Smith and Suzuki gaining the romantic interest of Yukime and Christina Hope respectively, Mundane is highly respected by Annerose as a Worthy Opponent and Jack the Ripper inspiring Christina into emulating him. Alas for these girls, Cid was merely playing a role which means their affections are nothing but surface level without them ever knowing.
• Once a Season: Cid has roleplayed a different character at least once per volume to spice up his act.
• One-Shot Character: As of current, Cid has not recycled any of his personas yet despite their potential and how fully fleshed-out they are. The Bit Characters get off even worse as while the main identities have an entire arc dedicated to them, they are only relevant for a few pages.
• Small Role, Big Impact: These identities are usually one-offs that last around a single arc but Cid's actions as them, whether he's messing around or not, are huge advances to the plot in the long run.
  • SBS inadvertently saved countless girls, including Akane, Alpha, Rose, and Yukime, during his bandit hunting days. As a result, they grew to admire him and become Shadow's allies in the future.
  • While participating in the God of War Tournament for a completely unrelated reason, Mundane prevented Rose from committing suicide after killing her father so she can pursue her goal of becoming a strong queen for her kingdom, setting up the events of the Black Rose and Oriana Civil War arcs.
  • Additionally, Mundane giving Iris a humiliating one-sided defeat (twice) causes her to develop an unhealthy obsession with surpassing and defeating Shadow, an impossible feat that she can never achieve through several lifetimes, to the point she neglects the Kingdom and her sister and starts believing The Cult of Diabolos does not exist and all their crimes are committed by Shadow Garden through simple gaslighting by The Moles in her very own Crimson Order.
  • John Smith unintentionally led the Mitsugoshi Company and Yukime to join forces with the former gaining enough power and authority to surpass the kingdom and collapse the economy should they leave and the latter becoming the sole, undisputed master of Lawless City after he assigned Delta to kill Juggernaut so she wouldn't reveal his secret identity.
  • After his stint as John led him to dig for imaginary buried treasure in the snow, Cid asks Delta to continue digging until she finds something. Two volumes later, Delta uncovers a mysterious jewel that Cid gives to a young Aurora who uses it for intentions that are not yet revealed but implied to be sinister.
  • He only played Mysterious Youngman for a few minutes but it made the biggest butterfly effect when Mary mistakes another plain-looking spellsword for him. This caused Claire to storm the Crimson Tower under the presumption her brother is kidnapped and going to be sacrificed, Aurora possessing her to gain power and becoming the official vessel for Diabolos in Zeta's plan.
• Strong as They Need to Be:
  • Mundane Mann gradually grows in power as he curb-stomps every one of his opponents then loses his limiters with Annerose, up until he's able to easily defeat Iris Midgar, the former World's Strongest Woman, in a single move.
  • John Smith is stronger than the numbers (Including Rose Oriana who was personally empowered by Shadow), can overpower and "kill" Delta and is on par with Gettan and Alpha until they surpass him using the red lozenges and blood mist form respectively which is the point where he needs to break character.
  • Suzuki, with just fountain pens and palm strikes, easily dispatches a first-named child (Issac) and is just under Fenrir's power level despite being a first-year student.
  • Jack the Ripper, although a One-Man Army when it comes to one-sidedly massacring the Thirteen Night Swords and hundreds of elite fighters in just a few days, lets himself be destroyed by an experimented Millia so Shadow can take over.
• Took a Level in Badass: When they were alive, Mundane and Suzuki were incredibly weak mobs nobody paid special attention to but Cid gave them a massive power-up when posing as them after their deaths. Now, the former is hailed as the World's Strongest Man who defeated Iris Midgar in one fell swoop while the latter can intimidate the elites of Midgar Academy into submission and go toe-to-toe with Fenrir, a high-ranking Rounds, with only ballpoint pens.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: The newer three personas not only have weapons suited for their Combat, Diplomacy, Stealth specializations but also reflect their personalities:
  • Mundane Mann's sword is simple, ordinary and commonly used in battle but it gets the job done and kills indiscriminately when used efficiently. This is reflective of his unassuming nature as a weak nobody swordsman before proving everybody wrong by curbstomping them in increasingly humiliating and psychologically damaging ways.
  • John Smith wields Razor Wire which is sharp, refined and invisible. All words which also describe him as a gentlemanly yet coldhearted secret agent who is pulling the strings behind the scenes.
• Weapon Specialization: Cid is fond of making his personas Improbable Weapon Users which includes crowbars (Stylish Hoodlum Slayer), Razor Wire (John Smith), fountain pens (Suzuki Hope) and playing cards (Jack the Ripper). More traditionally, Mundane Mann and SBS focus heavily on swordplay alongside Super-Speed for the former and slime for the latter.
• Willfully Weak: Leave it to Cid to give his characters their own specialties and weaknesses by emphasising certain aspects of himself and intentionally holding back the rest.
  • Mundane Mann is Unskilled, but Strong in nature, utilising his immense, steadily increasing speed and strength to effectively One-Hit KO his opponents in favour of forgoing any technique and magic.
  • John Smith, on the other hand, is the direct opposite of Mundane. He fights exclusively with Razor Wire which requires high-level magic and precision but allows him to entrap and eviscerate victims who stumbled into his web. However, it's rendered useless against those who can dodge, cut or phase through the wires and John doesn't fair well with regular hand-to-hand combat and swordplay due to Crippling Overspecialization.
  • Suzuki Hope leans into the intelligence department by using his wits and confrontational attitude to get what he wants with enough power and ballpoint pens to put up a decent fight. Alas, since he fights with more unconventional means and is still a first-year student, he isn't as experienced as the other identities and can be easily overwhelmed when it comes to stronger enemies.
  • The only exceptions are Stylish Bandit Slayer whose alter ego is essentially a prototype of what would later become Shadow and Jack the Ripper who is most likely what would have happened if SBS was all grown up.

Stylish Bandit Slayer

Stylish Bandit Slayer

"Debut": Volume 1 (Light Novel), Chapter 1 (Manga), Episode 1 (Anime)

Voiced by: Seiichirō Yamashita (Japanese), Adam Gibbs (English)

* This is the protagonist.

^{Younger Version}

^{Stylish Hoodlum Slayer / Balaclava Berserker}

His first-ever secret identity was carried over from Cid's previous world. This bloodthirsty edge lord actively hunts and terrorizes bandits as a nightly routine until he encounters a possessed Alpha. Unlike his other one-off identities, he periodically appears in Flashbacks.

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• Accidental Hero: During his bandit exploits, he comes across and inadvertently rescues several girls such as Akane ^note Before becoming Cid, she's the first girl he rescues for his Eminence In Shadow Dream , Alpha^note She was caged among the bandits' possessions and Cid cured her demonic possession, Rose^note Got kidnapped as a child and he ambushed her kidnappers in the nick of time, Yukime^note Saved from Gettan due to SBS mistaking him as a bandit, slaughters all the invaders in her village and heals most of her wounds but considers it as nothing more than an typical night for him. He also never realized who the latter two were even after meeting them again years later.
• Ambiguous Situation: There is no clear explanation as to how Gettan survived his encounter with him considering the fact he leaves no survivors. Interpretations include that he spared Gettan out of a Cruel Mercy under the hopes he could become stronger, the encounter happened early in SBS's career when he was weaker, or he was distracted when killing the therianthropes that were attacking Yukime's village, which gave Gettan an opening to escape. The latter two are the most probable considering the fact his healing was only enough to close Yukime's wounds, but not enough to prevent scars from forming, and her confusion at the amount of corpses of its attackers littered throughout the village.
• Atrocious Alias: Stylish Bandit Slayer is easily the most ridiculous moniker he had given his alter egos and was implied it gave Cid Old Shame given he remained silent when Rose calls Shadow by that name. His previous alias wasn't any better with "Hoodlum" in place of "Bandit".
• Badass Normal: Stylish Hoodlum Slayer is the only identity of Cid to not have magic powers but can nonetheless kick ass as much as the rest. He can take down hundreds of biker gags and an ex-military soldier by himself with nothing but crowbars while his exploits are spread across the criminal underworld as the "Balaclava Berserker" feared by all baddies alike.
• Battle Cry: He charges into battle with the first on-screen bandits yelling "ORA! ORA! ORA!" as he effortlessly massacres them left and right though this only applies to the web-novel and manga versions.
• Blood Knight: Excessively graphic violence and murder are the cornerstone of his personality, demolishing biker gangs in droves and brutalizing Akane's kidnappers with nothing but a crowbar. It becomes even worse upon being reincarnated as he single-handedly wipes out the entire bandit (and cultist) population around the Kagenou territory and even unknowingly exterminates an entire race of beastkin in one instance to temporarily relieve his constant craving for glorious battle. He somewhat controls these urges after he takes Alpha under his wing to become Shadow but it does bubble up time and again and has to go bandit-hunting once in a while to get it out of his system.
• Brown Bag Mask: In the anime, SBS rescues a young kidnapped Rose wearing a burlap sack over his head with menacingly red eyes shining through. This was justified as he didn't perfect his slime bodysuit at the time.
• Character Catchphrase: Greets bandits/soon-to-be victims with a Pre-Mortem One-Liner that goes something along the lines of "Yahoo! Evening bitches! If you wanna live, hand over your valuables!".
• Characterization Marches On: As the prototype for his many alternate identities to come, Stylish Bandit Slayer was way more emotional, lets his psychotic, insatiable bloodlust take over and constantly narrates aloud to the confusion of outsiders. From Shadow onwards, he maintains a brooding yet badass image, his fighting style is less manically trigger-happy, and he keeps his Inner Monologue to himself.
• Combat Tentacles: Shapeshifts part of his prototype slime suit into multiple extended blades from his fingertips and foot to test out on bandits and decapitate them en masse.
• Crowbar Combatant: And boy, he's deadly proficient with those crowbars.
• The Dreaded: He was notorious on earth that biker gangs started wearing helmets to protect themselves from his lethal blows. One of Akane's kidnappers pleaded for his life when the slayer came after him.
• Enfant Terrible: During the early days of reincarnating, Stylish Bandit Slayer keeps up a nightly routine of slaughtering bandits all while sporting the hugest Slasher Smile on his face until the age of ten. It's implied his young age made it difficult to roleplay properly and had years of pent-up, insatiable bloodlust due to it.
  • Claire's flashback proves SBS was just as psychotic when he was six, playing the scared little brother who Can't Catch Up in front of his sister but does a complete 180 when facing the Scarface Gang. He then proceeded to wipe out the entire group in less than two minutes disregarding their lives as part of his training.
• Eye Scream: Instead of massacring Gettan like other bandits he came across, SBS chose to gouge out his eyeballs, leaving him permanently blind and with a huge scar running down each eyelid, as a probable act of Cruel Mercy.
• Fragile Speedster: When he was six, SBS used his lightweight body to easily out-speed the Scar Bandits but expended a lot of energy due to being a young child, noting he still has a long way to go as an "Eminence in Shadow" shouldn't break a sweat and push himself to the limits.
• Guilt-Free Extermination War: In his excitement of handling the powerful Great Wolf Tribe with his usual methods, SBS never realizes he had exterminated an entire therianthrope race off the face of the planet because to him, they're just bandits raiding an innocent village so why bother with mercy. To put the final nail in the coffin, John Smith would unknowingly finish off the Sole Survivor Gettan years later but the latter had it coming since he was the one who started the raid in the first place.
• Hot-Blooded: As the first alter-ego and the basis for future personas, SBS has little acting experience and doesn't keep his emotions in check when sadistically enjoying the thrill of the hunt while laughing maniacally. It was only when he met Alpha and became Shadow did he calmed down but his inner bloodlust resurfaced through Jack the Ripper and the occasional bandit hunting.
• Hulking Out: Manga-only. Buff Minoru eventually learned how to compress his comically enormous muscles until it was time to get serious as Stylish Hoodlum Slayer. The look on the kidnapper and Akane's faces were absolutely priceless as he suddenly becomes jacked as fucked with only his ski mask and Magic Pants not shredded from his shredded muscles.
• Malevolent Masked Man: Back when he was Stylish Hoodlum Slayer, Cid wore a ski mask to hide his identity alongside dual-wielding crowbars to rock that burglar aesthetic. He had gained such notoriety among the biker gangs and lowlifes he savagely beaten up that they took to calling him the "Ski Mask/Balaclava Berserker".
• Meaningful Rename: He used to go by "Stylish Hoodlum^note "Gangster" in the manga and "Thug" in the anime Slayer" back on earth due to how he hunted biker delinquents as oppose to bandits when reincarnated.
• Old Shame: It's implied Cid would rather not be reminded about the Atrocious Alias he went by as Shadow remained silent when Rose calls him by his old name upon recognizing him as the boy who saved her life from kidnappers.
• Sackhead Slasher: Before he donned his signature slime bodysuit, SBS wore a burlap sack over his head with cut-out eyeholes in the anime. Ridiculous and flimsy as his disguise is, he was still the mass-murdering maniac that bandits fear like the boogie monster. Later on, Cid barely upgraded his costume to a state-of-the-art Brown Bag Mask but nevertheless exterminated Gettan's entire race for fun.
• Stealing from Thieves: Cid's most reliable source of income is robbing bandits (and unknowingly cultists) of all their riches, valuables, and lives they stole from merchants every night to the point that he singlehandedly culls the entire bandit population around the Kagenou territory.
• Super Window Jump: Stylish Hoodlum Slayer makes his entrance by crashing through the warehouse skylight Batman-style, kickstarting his brutalization of Akane's kidnappers.
• Wolverine Claws: Thanks to his slime bodysuit, he can transform the fingertips of his gloves into sharp claws which can extend and skewer multiple foes without moving from his spot.

"Mundane Mann"

"Mundane Mann" ("Jimina Seinen")

"Debut": Volume 2 (Light Novel), Chapter 20 (Manga), Episode 15 (Anime)

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Joe Daniels (English)

^Manga

A mysterious swordsman is created for the God of War Arc so Cid can live out his fantasy of the weak-looking nobody who turns out to be hiding his true power and is the strongest in all the land. This identity was taken from a not a very well known swordsmen from the Altena Empire.

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• Badass Normal: Mundane's handicap is being unable to use magic whatsoever which is crucial for strengthening swordsmanship and empowering attacks in this world but proves he doesn't need to when his superhuman speed, strength and feints are more than enough to incapacitate every single one of his opponents regarded as the cream of the crop of the fighting world. He would certainly win the tournament if he didn't forfeit his final match with Claire to one-up Rose in dramatic revelations.
• Bare-Handed Blade Block: Mundane was not phased one bit by Iris charging full-force at him as he casually stepped aside and just as casually brushed her sword away with a single hand, dispelling all of her Battle Aura that was previously lighting up the entire arena.
• Boisterous Weakling: Despite the cheap armour and cheaper looks, he's incredibly cocky and looks down on people which infuriates and makes them riled up to beat him up. However, they soon find out that he very much has the strength and speed to back up his claims.
• Boring, but Practical: His swordplay consists of simple broad strikes that use minimal skill and zero magic but the immense speed and power behind it can put down the strongest and most accomplished of knights in a single blow.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: The one thing Cid doesn't bother to do as Mundane is make up new catchphrases for him, instead using the Shadow classics "Playtime's Over" when removing his Power Limiters and "That was an afterimage" during his fight with Annerose.
• Bring It: For his fight with Iris, he cast his Death Glare and kept egging her on to approach him if she dared.
  Mundane: [After Iris reflexively threw herself back from his Killing Intent] "You're not attacking?"
• Cast as a Mask: Hikaru Midorikawa was cast to provide Mundane's soft-spoken, listless mumble.
• Contrived Coincidence: Despite dying more than five years ago and never meeting him in person, Cid somehow manages to impersonate the real Mundane Mann's voice and gauntly posture flawlessly as shown in the Master of Garden gacha game.
• Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: Sports some seriously heavy ones further shadowed by his bangs as if the real Mundane came back from the dead.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Almost all of his bouts usually end in a One-Hit KO without giving his opponents the chance to fight back as he does with Shadow. He even makes them believe they have the upper hand or had turned the tides in their favor before demonstrating how pointless this is against his might. The aftermaths of such fights include Goldoh being blown across the arena by a sneeze, Quinton's head planted in the ground, Iris completely shutting down from his stare and tons of unconscious bodies everywhere.
• Dead Person Impersonation: Cid uses the identity and likeness of the real Mundane Mann, a disinherited noble turned mercenary who died escorting a carriage full of Demonic Possessed children (he was unaware of the cargo) but was officially declared missing. Master of Garden reveals that the real Mundane Mann was killed by a young Delta.
• Death Glare: "He's just standing there... MENACINGLY!" is what Iris thought upon locking eyes with Mundane and getting "killed" many times over as a result.
• The Dreaded: He starts off perceived as a lucky nobody but as he progresses through the tournament, strong fighters start realizing there's something terribly off about him, even if they don't know why. By the time he fights Annerose, she already knows the man is bad news and is far from certain of her victory. By the time he fights Iris, her well-honed instincts start absolutely screaming at her that this man could effortlessly kill her with the slightest movement. Perv Asshat is also deeply unsettled by this man he can't find any information about, assuming him to be a member of the criminal underworld and wondering whether he's a threat to his Evil Plan.
• Dub Name Change: His alias was "Jimina Seinen" in the original Japanese version but "Mundane Mann" in official English translations. There was one instance where a fansub named him the too-on-the-nose "Average Youngman".
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Mundane has disheveled black hair with matching eyebags, the complexion of a Tim Burton character and an all-too-low sinister whisper as a voice.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: In the anime, The Reveal of Mundane Mann being Shadow all along was ruined when Rose interrupts his introduction by referring to his old, less than impressive-sounding alias Stylish Bandit Slayer in front of everyone gathered. This minor humiliation actually broke his stride and Shadow looked incredibly annoyed as Rose recounted how he saved her as a child.
• Hairstyle Inertia: Cid is significantly aged up when posing as Mundane but his hairstyle remains virtually the same except that it's longer.
• Hypocritical Humor: He calls Annerose a weirdo in his thoughts after she mimics his neck crack. Pretty rich coming from the guy who faked his identity so he can roleplay as "The weak nobody who is actually the World's Strongest Man" and right after making a show of removing his Power Limiters complete with a dramatic "No More Holding Back" Speech.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: His entire point of existing is so Cid can live out his fantasy of acting like a standard weakling only to reveal his hidden power and awe everyone.
• Ironic Name: The name Mundane Mann^note or Jimina Seinen (Plain Man) in Japanese translations may sound fitting for his looks when he's anything but when it comes to being the World's Strongest Man.
• Killing Intent: Weaponized for his duel with Iris. Through his stare alone, he can project his utmost confidence in defeating Iris so vividly that she hallucinates being stabbed, sliced or decapitated whenever she tries to approach him. His killing intent is so potent that Iris actually thought he had his sword already drawn before realizing that it was not. This filled Iris with so much hesitation and uncertainty that she ended up completely shutting down and brought to her knees in just one strike.
  • He also did this on Goldoh to a lesser degree as shown in the anime which left him in cold sweat and too stunned to even move. Despite having such a wide opening, Mundane takes his time to slowly draw out his sword and get into position as if he was mocking him for being a sitting duck.
• Knuckle Cracking: Of the neck variant and done so absurdly fast, he's able to avoid an oncoming sword swing like nothing. Guess you can say he dodged that at breakneck speed.
• Latex Perfection: To look the part of Mundane Mann, Cid undergoes slime cosmetic surgery by Nu that functions typically for the trope as the slime hardens into a mask he can freely wear and keep at his bedside when not in use.
• Nonchalant Dodge: Thanks to his unmatched speed, he can reflexively perform absurd dodges such as cracking his neck at the exact moment before Goldoh's sword can connect and stop mid-Flash Step right in front of Annerose's striking range.
• Not So Stoic: There was a scene in the anime where Cid starts narrating to himself and goes all hammy as usual while doing so. The contrast is incredibly jarring from an outsider's perspective as those in line get disturbed by Mundane's erratic behaviour and slowly back away from him.
• Not So Weak: Due to his less-than-impressive stature, all his competitors assumed with the utmost confidence he's an easy win when in fact it's the other way around.
• Odd Name Out: Mundane Mann is the only one of Cid's identities so far not to begin with an "S" somewhere in their alias. However, this only applies to the official English translation as Jimina Seinen still follows the naming scheme.
• Older Alter Ego: Cid poses as the twenty-two-year-old Mundane Mann when he was fifteen at the time. In this disguise, he's lankier, has a noticeable beard stubble, and raspier voice and generally looks like a deadbeat brother or older version of Cid.
• One-Hit KO: With the exception of Annerose, he takes out his opponents in a single strike and knocks them unconscious. Iris is a prime example as Mundane made her defeat especially humiliating with her status in mind.
• Posthumous Character: The actual Mundane had died long ago from escorting a cart full of demonic-possessed children. The only details about him were that he was a lazy, unambitious dark knight disinherited from his family five years before and noted to be unremarkable in all ways possible.
• Power Limiter: Annerose learns to her horror that Mundane had been carrying around weights on him, meaning all those impossible feats he'd done weren't even the full scope of his abilities. The anime makes the weights so heavy that it left a crater upon impact with the floor to further intimidate Annerose and was also the reason why he was walking so sluggishly.
• Scarf of Asskicking: Adding the final touch to his cheap equipment, he has a tattered scarf that sometimes hides his mouth in some shots but doesn't hide the fact of how incredibly powerful he actually is.
• Sneeze of Doom: Curbstomps Goldoh by presumably sneezing away his finishing move and throwing him across the arena although it's subverted that he used the sneeze as a cover-up to position his sword directly in Goldoh's path to cancel the attack. Mundane later did the same thing to Quinton offscreen.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: When roleplaying as him, Cid drops his voice to a listless whisper and proceeds to utterly and mercilessly demolish the competition. It becomes downright sinister when he nonchalantly taunts and prompts Iris to fight.
  Mundane Mann: [After curb-stomping and pinning Iris with his sword] What's wrong? We're just getting started. [Cuts to Iris's scared, helpless face] Aren't we, Iris Midgar?
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Not wanting to be outdone by Rose, who had just assassinated her father and planned on committing suicide right in front of the tournament's huge audience, Mundane reveals himself as Shadow and then fights both Beatrix and Iris simultaneously so he can take center stage once more.
• Stronger Than They Look: The main reason Mundane's opponents gravely underestimated him is because of how pathetic and feeble he looks, not knowing he has more power and skill than all of the tournament's participants put together. Their humiliating defeats at his hands just hammer in that point.
• Super-Speed: Annerose best describes his speed as if "every fraction of every second is an opening" to him, and this is before he busts out the afterimages on her.
• Super Window Jump: Realising Rose is about to upstage him, he jumps from the arena and crashes through the observatory window to the top floor of the VIP area. Preventing Rose from taking her life and revealing himself as Shadow.
• Surgical Impersonation: Combined with Latex Perfection, Nu sculpts the slime on his face with tools akin to the ones used in torture rather than cosmetic surgery.
• Troll: Cid built the character this way to either throw his opponents off or get them to be pissed at him or both. It's also effective in keeping the audience guessing about his overall strength. Shadow uses Mundane's voice to get Iris angry.
• Underestimating Badassery:
  • What Cid intended for Mundane's entire character to invoke.
  Cid: It's the trope where a mysterious badass joins a big tournament and everyone goes "Heh, that guy's dead meat." to "Hold up, he's kinda strong?" to "Just who is that guy?!".
  • Everybody thought Mundane Mann's matches were all flukes because of the circumstances and unorthodox fighting style that got him this far. It wasn't until his matchup with Annerose that most begin to realise just how powerful he actually is which came to its climax when Iris went down without so much as a fight (If it's even called that).
• Unskilled, but Strong: Over the course of the tournament, Mundane has shown an unfathomable amount of strength and speed but zero technique other than the basics. Annerose tries using this against Mundane by breaking his weak stance and forcing him to go on the defensive, thus being unable to utilize his speed or strength. Alas, Mundane saw through her plans and had put on an act to let her guard down before easily out-speeding and overpowering her.
• Victory Pose: Strikes one after One Hit KO-ing his opponent's ass in the manga which is depicted as him facing away from their unconscious body with one hand on the hilt of his sword.
• Willfully Weak: Annerose sternly warns him not to participate judging by his overall feeble appearance, not helped when Quinton beats him up without fighting back, but he tells her not to judge the book by its cover. Many fighters laugh him off until they actually face or witness him in the arena where he promptly lets loose and decimates them with absolutely humiliating defeats. The episode he debuted in is fittingly titled "The Strongest Weakest Man".
• Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing: Invoked twice:
  • He "wins" his first match when his opponent Gonzales trips and falls over unconscious. This is because Mundane uppercuts Gonzales so fast that onlookers believe the match to be a fluke, allowing him to build up anticipation for future matches.
  • His victory over Iris also counts as their match boils down to him standing still in one place without breaking eye contact just to exert his dominance and prove how easily he can usurp her title as the Strongest Swordsperson in the country without even fighting.
• World's Strongest Man: Shadow is already this but uses a different approach for Mundane by manipulating his public image as this weak, worthless nobody then slowly building up his power until Iris acknowledges and calls him by the trope's name during their match.
• Worthy Opponent: He made Annerose believe she's this to him who legitimately thought the same, stating it was the first time he took off his shackles to fight seriously (Not entirely false since he did wear them to take them off in front of her). Iris also acknowledges him as one but Mundane isn't willing to entertain her this time around.
• Would Hit a Girl: Mundane isn't afraid to not go easy on female competitors and in fact, their defeats are way more brutal than the guys who lean on comical humiliation. Case in point, he wounded Annerose which left her with bandages instead of knocking her unconscious then later grabbed Iris by the throat, bodyslammed her to the ground and held his sword against her neck in one fell swoop, inflicting serious emotional damage for a much-needed reality check on their vastly different power levels.
• Younger Than They Look: The real Mundane was twenty-two years old at the time of his death but is impersonated by the 15-year-old Cid.

John Smith

John Smith

"Debut": Volume 3 (Light Novel), Episode 24 (Anime), Chapter 34 (Manga)

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese), Adam Gibbs (English)

^Manga

"As of today, I am a super-elite secret agent!"

A slick "super-elite Secret Agent" working under Yukime who is deadly proficient with Razor Wire. He was created for the Corporate Warfare Arc to bring about a credit crisis to the Mitsugoshi Company and Merchant Union.

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• Accent Adaptation: John Smith's voice was described as "devoid of all emotion" in the light novel but the anime makes him sound more emotive and cocky due to being voiced by Jun Fukuyama in addition to the dub giving him an upper-crust British accent.
• Adaptational Heroism: In the web novel, this persona was made solely for his own personal gain. In the light novel and iterations that followed, he believes that he is helping his friends from Shadow Garden due to believing that they are losing to the MCA and due to his own Insane Troll Logic belief that the best solution is to tear everything down and start from the ground up.
• Adaptational Personality Change: John Smith was a lot more serious and professional in the light novel, especially around Yukime, in contrast to his interactions with her during the anime where he is outwardly comical and less well-put like declaring out loud in confidence the real bill is the counterfeit instead of gaslighting Yukime into telling him the right answer. This is best exemplified when his voice isn't a gentlemanly yet chillingly Creepy Monotone as detailed in the original source but cocky and emotionally over-the-top since his voice actor is Jun Fukuyama playing his usual character archetype to reflect the change.
• A Glass in the Hand: For the "Is that so?" scene in the manga, John shattered the wine glass he was holding with bare hands while questioning and "testing" Yukime although knowing Cid, he just did that to look cool.
• A Glass of Chianti: Likes to talk business while holding and swirling around a glass of red wine of the highest quality in one hand. Of course, he does this just to be extra classy in character without actually appreciating the wine. The anime changes it to a traditional sake cup.
• Awesome, but Impractical: John Smith's magical Razor Wire gives him incredibly long-range and great control over the battlefield with its virtual invisibility being excellent for stealthy kills and an inescapable trap to whoever foolishly walks into it. Alas, it's not a weapon Shadow can pull out on a daily basis due to its really long set-up time and requires specific conditions that limit the spaces it can be used in. Not to mention all the glaring Logical Weaknesses as mentioned below.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: John Smith rivals Shadow for having the most drip, being decked out in an all-black pin-stripped suit, fingerless gloves and gold rings on each finger, since he wants to dress the part like he has the license to kill.
• Bare-Handed Blade Block: In the anime, John managed to grab Alpha's slime sword, though his hand bleeds while catching it, knowing she would need to materialise from her blood mist form to land a hit and uses the opportunity to toss her aside for his finishing blow.
• Bodyguarding a Badass: During his partnership with Yukime, he was tasked to deal with external forces trying to temper the circulation of counterfeit money even though she is perfectly capable of doing it herself as previously shown in the Red Moon Arc. However, he still had to rescue her from a mutated Gettan due to John being an even bigger badass.
• The Cameo: John gets a brief mention in volume 6 as Cid comes across his suit in his wardrobe while finding the appropriate attire for Mitsugoshi's exclusive bar but ultimately chooses another tailored tux since it was worn out.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: The anime slows down his Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs into this. After stomping down on Gettan's jaw hard enough to dislocate it, John proceeded with his brutal interrogation by punching him in the face and demanding to confess on loop but Gettan refused thinking he had to admit his love for Yukime when Cid actually meant the location of the gold coins he allegedly stole. This went on for several hours until sunrise when Gettan finally relented after his face became a half-inflated beach ball and promptly died from internal bleeding and blunt trauma. Despite all that, Yukime still calls John "a compassionate' man" even though she watched the entire thing unfold.
• Creepy Monotone: His voice is described to be calm but without a trace of inflection or tone which was an intentional choice by Cid to give John's gentlemanly character a chillingly sinister vibe. Averted in the anime where he sounds more emotive (and hammy) with the dub even giving him a British accent.
• Crippling Overspecialization: While a formidable foe, his opponents note how he only fights with exclusively Razor Wire and declares him a one-trick pony after believing to figure out his limitations of being unable to attack from close range once they bypass his wires. John deliberately fights this way as Cid wants to experiment with other forms of combat he normally doesn't use as Shadow.
  • However, it's subverted that once unforeseen circumstances put him off-script and in a bad mood, Cid stops adhering solely to the wires and begins fighting dirty, busting out his sword and fists on Alpha and Gettan when they surpass John Smith.
• Destination Defenestration: As their fight takes place on a Yukime's train, John chucks the stringed-up squad of 664, 665 and 666 out the train's windows and leaves them far behind while the train continues its destination.
• Department of Redundancy Department: He explains to Delta that he's on a "super-secret, confidential mission" even though "secret" and "confidential" mean the same thing which is further exaggerated in the manga:
  John: I'm in the middle of a "super-secret confidential mission" and by "super-secret confidential mission", I mean a mission of confidential nature which is super-secret.
• Domino Mask: Wears a white masquerade mask in contrast to Shadow's black one to match his super-elite agent aesthetic.
• Double Agent: Unintentional and subverted since he isn't aware of it. Shadow Garden believes Shadow pretended to betray them by disguising himself as Secret Agent John Smith to collect enough funds to overcome the credit crisis. In actuality, he is betraying them but for what he believes is for their own good as Mitsugoshi is becoming an economic powerhouse way too fast and should show a little restraint. Alas, Shadow Garden "stole" his funds before he put his plan of starting the company anew into fruition.
• Dramatic Irony: The reason why he wanted to cause an economic collapse for Mitsugoshi and the Major Corporate Alliance is so the former can start over under a new name founded by him and Cid can finally solve his financial problems of covering the expenses for his "Eminence in Shadows" roleplay. Except there is one problem, he already owns Mitsugoshi and has complete access to all their funds but is too dense/deluded to realise Gamma and the rest of Shadow Garden founded the company for him.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: While he still wears a Domino Mask in the anime, a notable change is that it now has a triangular pointy bit which made a lot of viewers believe John had the mask on upside-down (Since it looked like a nose bridge) but nobody in-universe noticed or bothered to correct him.
• Evil Brit: The English dub gives him the accent to make John Smith more gentlemanly and serious about causing the credit collapse in the Midgar Kingdom.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Anticipating that Delta would be sent after John, Cid sets up his trap beforehand with even more Razor Wire, confident that muscleheads like her will be unable to escape unless they have the natural instincts... or insane reflexes... or Super-Senses... It's at this point that it suddenly dawned on Cid that Delta might be the worst possible match-up for John Smith. And sure enough, Delta swiftly evaded all of his carefully planned-out wires and immediately figured out his true identity even though Cid had thoroughly bathed and covered himself in perfume.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: John parts and ties his hair up to look the part of an elegant gentleman as "super elite agents" are.
• Finger in the Mail: When Delta did not return from her confrontation with John Smith, Shadow Garden was prompted to investigate and to their horror, found strands of hair forcibly ripped from her tail. However, the reason behind that is less sinister as Cid accidentally yanks it out while stopping Delta from telling the others and tossing it aside. As for her disappearance, she was assigned a "secret confidential mission" to Lawless City.
  • In the anime, this was changed to the bell ornament from Delta's tail tie which got cut off while dodging John Smith's attack but had the same effect and outcome as the hair.
• Full-Name Basis: John Smith is usually referred to by his full name since it rolls off the tongue better and to not be confused with Cid's dog pre-reincarnation also called John.
• Gaslighting: During his partnership with Yukime, she was constantly on edge not to upset him knowing fully well what Shadow is capable of, especially when he was "testing" her. Examples include putting a menacing aura and saying "Are you sure?" over and over again until Yukime begins doubting herself and comes up with a better strategy to hide the money for him as well as making her look foolish instead when he had to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit notes but forgot what the original looked like.
• The Gloves Come Off: Frustrated at how Gettan isn't giving him a straight answer as to where he had hidden the gold coins, John Smith removes his mask and proceeds to effortlessly pummel him into the ground to the brink of death until he's satisfied.
• Gold-Colored Superiority: The near-invisible steel threads he wields glow a golden shimmer when his magic runs through them before he effortlessly runs through his victims with them. This also showcases how Cid can change the colour of his violet magic to enhance his disguises, in this case, a brilliant gold to reflect John Smith's immense might and love for gold coins.
• The Heavy: As John Smith was assigned to guarding Yukime's money carriages, the circulation of counterfeits won't stop until he is dealt with. Alas, this isn't possible since his Razor Wire would deal with the disruptors first.
• Irony: The reason for John Smith's existence is Cid wanted to play Secret Agent this time around. He gets his cover blown more than any other character he roleplayed.
• Last Disrespects: Yukime mentions she last saw John going back to Gettan's final resting place carrying a shovel, thinking he was giving her former fiance a proper burial as the "compassionate man" he is. One Gilligan Cut shows that this is not the case in the slightest as Cid nonchalantly walks over Gettan's mangled corpse, which he himself caused by beating him to a bloody pulp beyond recognition, and lets the snow barely cover him to his feet since he only cares about the alleged gold he buried which is the real reason he brought the shovel.
• Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: Courtly greets and bows to his opponent first before inviting them to tango in his spiderweb of Razor Wire.
• Literal-Minded: When asked what did he do to Delta regarding her disappearance, John Smith replies that he "sent her to a far-off place". While Alpha and Shadow Garden think he had killed Delta and she went to heaven, Cid literally meant he just assigned her on a "secret confidential mission" to go to the Black Tower of Lawlass City (The aforementioned far-off place) and hunt down Juggernaut and Delta is perfectly fine.
• Logical Weakness: Razor Wire is his main form of fighting so his opponents assumed a case of Crippling Overspecialization since it's also his only form of fighting. One can simply employ tactics of either expertly dodging the wires using heightened senses and superhuman flexibility (Delta), slicing them with enough force (Gettan), or phasing through altogether (Alpha) in order to bypass his seemingly impregnable defenses. However, this is less of a problem to John Smith and more of a nightmare for his opponents since the former is now ticked off at having his immersion ruined and stops going easy on the latter anymore.
• Mistaken for Romance: Gettan certainly believed that John is Yukime's new lover given how "close" the two of them were and misinterpreting his angry outburst for being towards Gettan harming her.
• Mr. Smith: Uses the standardized John Smith as his alias following his previous identity as Mundane Mann.
• My Name Is Inigo Montoya: In a similar way to Shadow, he introduces himself with "My name is John Smith. Destroyer of all. Harbinger of rebirth." before fighting his opponents.
• Only in It for the Money: John Smith was willing to betray Shadow Garden, collapse both Mitsugoshi and the Major Corporate Alliance which would put the entire Midgar Kingdom into an indefinite state of financial ruin, and kill several people just to finance his "Eminence In Shadow" roleplay and have his own accessible stack of shiny gold coins to gaze at, much to Yukime's dismay.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Cid adopts a new identity, he'll commit to it till the very end or until circumstances make him unable to use it anymore so his breaking character for the first time is a tell-tale sign that Cid has had it with Gettan after presumably stealing the gold coins he painstakingly collected. John even drops his Razor Wire schtick for a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown out of sheer anger.
• Pet the Dog: Against Mitsugoshi employees such as 664, 665, and 666, he holds back to ensure that they are not killed unlike all the other opposition, who are killed swiftly by him.
• Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: John Smith got so pissed at losing the gold coins that he broke character and punched the ever-living crap out of Gettan thinking he was the one who stole it. It's noted that he was punching way faster than a mutated Gettan can instantaneously heal.
• Razor Floss: John Smith's preferred fighting style involves magic-imbued steel wires to easily entrap and eviscerate opponents with the slightest move of his fingers. This is so Shadow Garden wouldn't catch on that Shadow is in disguise if he does his usual swordplay. He would later bring it back as a finishing move dubbed "Nocturnal Birdcage" to slice Ragnarok into itty-bitty pieces.
• Ring of Power: The source and magic of the Razor Wire come from the rings on each of his fingers which he wiggles ever so slightly to control the entire battlefield.
• Sailor's Ponytail: He has a slight ponytail extension which gives him a suave and elegant appearance.
• Say My Name: Screams out Gettan's name who likewise did the same when he decided it's time to get serious for their final battle.
• Seemingly Profound Fool: His plan to make counterfeits was simply a way to make money fast, Yukime was the one who realized that the small amount they made would eventually lead to a credit collapse.
• The Stoic: John can be described as a professional but gentlemanly assassin who is devoid of all emotion even in the face of battle. Additionally, he uses "Watashi"^note Incredibly formal, gender-neutral pronouns in Japan to refer to himself.
• Strictly Professional Relationship: Treats his partnership with Yukime as such since he isn't here for a good time (Not that he ever craves it) but long-term financial gain from collapsing Midgar's economy, despite Yukime's attempts at trying to make things more physical to obtain his loyalty. This results in misinterpreting Gettan's wish to take care of Yukime, thinking he means the "stolen" gold coins, as John cannot see her as anything other than what he established and deserted Yukime right after.
• That Man Is Dead: Claims he long abandoned the name of Shadow to become John Smith but had only said that just to be dramatic as he returns to being Shadow shortly after Gettan's defeat.
• Token Evil Teammate: Easily the darkest shade of grey on the morality scale of Cid's personas with John willingly "betrays" Shadow Garden and orchestrates the economic collapse of Mitsugoshi, which would financially and irreversibly ruin the entirety of the Midgar kingdom in turn, as a means of funding his retirement plans and for the good of Shadow Garden to not be overly ambitious next time they start a company.
• Tom the Dark Lord: John Smith may be an unassuming, generic name but Shadow Garden considered him a major threat after taking out three elite numbers, including a powered-up Rose, and presumably killing Delta all by himself. He is taken seriously enough that Alpha personally goes after him.
• Traintop Battle: The anime has all his fights but Gettan's take place inside or on top of Yukime's personal train due to the counterfeit money being transported from Lawless City to Midgar Kingdom.
• Weak, but Skilled: His opponents keep underestimating John from judging the way he fights them with Razor Wire and only Razor Wire which leaves him defenseless in close combat. However, there is still the matter of breaching John's defenses in the first place which is a huge mass of wire that encompasses the entire battlefield like an inescapable spiderweb and even managing to do so, Cid would stop his self-imposed handicap of not using his sword or hand-to-hand combat which means it's a losing battle for them either way.
• The Worf Effect: John manages to kill Delta, an absolute powerhouse and the physically strongest of the Seven Shadows, which cements him as someone too dangerous to be ignored or even alive, leading Alpha to avenge her. However, it's subverted in that Delta is alive and well but was sent away by Cid to do a secret mission after catching onto his disguise earlier than intended, causing Shadow Garden to jump to conclusions.

Minoru

Minoru

"Debut": Volume 4 (Light Novel), Chapter 49 (Manga)

A scared, amnesiac boy who is taken under the care of Akane as he struggles to come into gripes with apocalyptic Japan. However, he is merely a cover story for Cid to catch up on those three years he's been gone on Earth and roleplay as "The Black Knight".

Not to be confused with Minoru Kageno, Cid's original identity before his reincarnation, who is an entirely different character even though they are technically both Cid.

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• Amnesiacs are Innocent: Minoru deliberately invokes this trope as pretending to be one not only gives him an excuse to snoop around but also nobody would suspect him, the always-scared newbie, to be The Black Knight, slayer of magical beasts and superior successor to the First Knight.
• Blatant Lies: Minoru briefly recalls how he slaughtered hundreds, even thousands like there's no tomorrow in his pursuit of becoming the Eminence in Shadow, having a body count for every one of his personas to date and releasing a multitude of Fantastic Nukes onto unsuspecting mooks when it's completely overkilled. And yet what does he say to Akane:
  Akane: Have you ever killed someone, Minoru-kun?
  Beat
  Minoru: [In absolute monotone] The thought of something horrible has never crossed my mind.
• Blood Knight: Late at night, Minoru would sneak out and really let it loose on those magical beasts as it's been a while since he went bandit hunting. So much so that he slips back into his SBS mindset, doing the same stance and psychotic dialogue as him while demolishing entire stampedes and abandoned buildings.
• Dramatic Stutter: Minoru plays into the Amnesiacs are Innocent trope by having a nervous stammering tic from finding himself trapped in post-apocalyptic Japan with no memory of how he got there.
• Faking Amnesia: Finding himself back on earth and taken to the Messiah sanctuary, he pretends to not remember anything other than his first name Minoru, and that Beta is his mute sister Natsume so he wouldn't have to explain how he survived the Awakening for the past three years and give him an excuse to gather intel.
• He Knows Too Much: Doubles as an Ironic Echo. When Yuuka sends assassins to silence Minoru, one of them mentions this line until they notice that he isn't even wounded. This forces Cid to kill them, repeating said line towards the assassins.
• Immune to Bullets: The assassins kept unloading their magazines on Minoru in a futile attempt to break free from his grip. Unfortunately for them, they soon find out Minoru is impervious to gunfire and only allowed them to do so to show how incredibly screwed they are before snapping their necks.
• Identical Stranger: Akane certainly thinks so upon seeing Minoru and immediately recalls back the boy of the same name who saved her and died three years ago, unaware they are actually the same person. When Minoru wears back his old school uniform, this triggers an intense emotional reaction in Akane as if she saw a ghost, but he mistook her tears for barely suppressed laughter at him.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Since Cid is back on Earth in Japan, Minoru switches his slime sword from medieval to Japanese style which he as The Black Knight uses with deadly proficiency.
• Last-Second Word Swap: In the manga, he almost lets slip his true nature when Akane goes to check on him after a night out in the city going ham on ravaging magical beasts:
  Akane: Good morning Minoru. Did you manage to rest well?
  Minoru: Y-yes, I had a nice slaughter— I mean slumber.
• Multiple Gunshot Death: Invoked and subverted. Minoru purposefully lets himself get hit by a barrage of bullets all dramatic-like for his "Swiss Cheese Dance: Bloody Marionette" performance. However, upon closer inspection, the assassins found out there was not a single bullet hole in his body so he dropped the act to strangle them to death. The assassins tried the trope again by unloading everything in their clips point-blank but to their horror, Minoru is Immune to Bullets.
• Naïve Newcomer: He alongside his "mute sister" Natsume (Beta) became the newest refugee in the Sanctuary after being found unconscious amongst the magical beasts aftermath. Doubling down on the naivety, Minoru pretends to be an amnesiac who can’t remember anything other than his name and sister.
• Neck Snap: When ambushed by assassins, he effortlessly grabs the two grown men's throats in each hand and then slowly squeezes until the force breaks their necks. All while they fruitlessly unload their guns on him before begging for mercy.
• Only One Name: When asked about his last name, Minoru was about to reply "Kageno" but stopped himself since Akane was in the room and lied he could not remember because of his amnesia.
• Relatively Flimsy Excuse: He explains Beta away as his mute sister to the Messiah personnel to avoid suspicion. Beta takes the opportunity to playfully call him "Onii-Sama" which Cid immediately tells her to never call him that again.
• Replacement Goldfish: There are hints that Akane took him in due to him reminding her of the original Minoru, even dressing him up in his old uniform.
• Throwback Threads: As his hoodie was in the wash, Akane offered his old school uniform back when he was Minoru Kageno she kept after the latter died. It fits him like a glove, causing a strong emotional response from Akane who believes she's seen a ghost, and still has the same blood stain when he dispatched her kidnappers.
• Same Character, But Different: Upon returning to Earth, Cid thought it would be fitting to adopt back his original identity as Minoru Kageno but tweaks it so he can be the always scared and cowardly amnesiac to expand his acting repertoire and give himself an alibi when roleplaying as "The Black Knight".
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: After Akane told him about The Sanctuary, she implored Minoru if it sounded familiar and helped him remember anything. Of course, there was no way he could tell her the truth given he wasn't on Earth to begin with, and did a bit of improv around the trope so she would drop the subject.
  Akane: So from what you've heard, does it bring back memories? Like which base you and Natsume came from or why you were collapsed there?
  Minoru: [Panicking] Wha-?! Ah... um... [Suddenly grips his head] Ahh! My head!
  Akane: Ah Sorry! Please don't push yourself!
  Minoru: Um- My right arm!
  Akane: It's okay, take it slow...

"Suzuki Hope"

"Suzuki Hope"

"Debut": Volume 5 (Light Novel)

A bespectacled freshman student who begins acting strangely from his usual dull, unremarkable self. The reason is that Cid took over the now-deceased Suzuki's identity and plays up his character as a genius yet ruthless intellectual during the White Mist Arc.

For tropes regarding the real Suzuki Hope, see his folder here

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• According to My Calculations: "Suzuki" believes The Smart Guy must always start his sentences with the line whenever he announces his deductions.
• Blood from the Mouth: "Suzuki" begins coughing out blood after taking a blow from Fenrir to save Christina. Of course this being Cid, he was doing it just to be dramatic and there was no actual harm.
• Character Exaggeration: Cid amps up Suzuki's studiousness to super-level genius intelligence and tendency to keep to himself as being shrouded in mystery. Him wearing glasses and carrying around fountain pens also gave Cid the idea of making him a merciless analytic who dispatches others with fountain pens to add a personal touch to his character.
• Dead Person Impersonation: As the real Suzuki was decapitated right before his very eyes, Cid takes the opportunity to pull the ol' "disguise yourself as a dead student to conduct undercover investigations" routine.
• Easy Impersonation: Cid had no trouble getting into character since Suzuki was a Ridiculously Average Guy who didn't stand out in any shape or form, aligning well with his usual mob persona. Together with perfectly mimicking his face and voice, none of his classmates, including his distant relative Christina, came to the conclusion that Suzuki's recent change in behavior was because he was not actually Suzuki.
• Energy Donation: Due to how good Cid is at mana manipulation, he was able to save Kanada by giving her mana as "Suzuki". This act is also what hints to him that Eliza stealing mana from the students since she's the only person who wasn't as surprised as everyone when he did this and also has suspiciously high levels of mana.
• Explosive Leash: Cid initially wore a mana collar bomb when the White Mist was deployed but it soon short-circuited since it couldn't read mana levels over 9999+. Thus, he had to wear Suzuki's after blowing up and set it to a reasonable and unsuspicious 600 in order to impersonate him.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Invoked since Cid interprets the glasses-wearing Suzuki as this cold and calculative individual who would do whatever it takes to get the job done, even through immoral means.
  • He shows no hesitation in threatening Eliza, a prestigious arch noble, at gunpoint into returning the stolen mana to their rightful owners by pointing out her title and connections hold no power in the White Mist and her death would be written off as an unfortunate "accident" since nobody present would stand up for her crimes.
  • After Isaac reveals himself as The Mole, "Suzuki" delivers him a painful but well-deserved Impromptu Tracheotomy. All the while nonchalantly treating his death as a minor inconvenience since "Suzuki" is more concerned about the pen he stabbed Isaac with being unusable for writing anymore.
  • The trope is also played in a literal sense when Christina gets a good look at him:
    Narration: Christina gasped when she saw his eyes. They were inorganic as glass beads as if they lacked all emotion. But that's not it. Deep inside the glass ball, emotions swirled like black flames.
• Good Is Not Nice: He can't stand injustice but punishes those who do so in the most brutal way possible and while he has the lowest body count of Cid’s personas, it doesn't stop him from threatening Eliza, telling her how insignificant her death would be in spite of all her connections and wealth since none of that matters in the White Mist, and brutally murdered Isaac as the traitor while showcasing the true power gap between them by using a mere pen.
• Impromptu Tracheotomy: Performs one on Issac with his fountain pen. The end result is not pretty as a pressurized fountain of blood mixed with red ink spews out of Isaac's neck and leaves his lifeless body sprawled on the floor.
• Ki Manipulation: Cid once destroyed his collar bomb due to his sheer prowess alone that after he dons the Suzuki disguise, he manipulates his mana in order to avoid suspicion. When Isaac got into his dying breath after facing "Suzuki", he's shocked at the amount of mana being read into "Suzuki"'s collar.
• Latex Perfection: Thanks to applying the slime techniques learned from Nu and Epsilon, Cid molds his face to perfectly replicate Suzuki's just like he did with Mundane.
• Meaningful Name: Suzuki Hope shares the same initials as Sherlock Holmes, highlighting his intelligence and Awesome by Analysis ability.
• Not Himself: The ordinary and everyday NPC Suzuki Hope suddenly becomes intelligent and powerful at the same time the White Mist shrouds the school, leading many who vaguely knew him to suspect he is hiding more than he lets on (Which is the intended effect Cid wants for "Suzuki").
• Pay Evil unto Evil: "Suzuki" manhandles or kills students that have committed heinous crimes like causing the deaths of students after stealing their magic (Eliza) and being The Mole for the cult (Isaac).
• The Pen Is Mightier: Invokes "The pen is mightier than the sword" to its literal conclusion by shattering Issac's sword with a mere fountain pen before pulling a John Wick on him.
• Power Palms: When not using fountain pens, "Suzuki" infuses magic into his palm strikes which is enough to obliterate a phantom's sword and jaw into pieces and knock the wind out of Isaac so hard he violently coughed out blood.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: His glasses glint menacingly in the light when he does something badass or morally questionable which also doubles to hide his emotionless eyes.
• Shorter Means Smarter: "Suzuki" is of petite height and the shortest among his classmates but proves to be a valuable asset in the intelligence department by deducing how the magic collars work, where the source of the white mist is and Eliza's heinous crimes of forcefully transferring mana from lesser students into her.
• Specs of Awesome: He doesn't look more than your typical four-eyed poindexter but he's far more intelligent and deadlier than anyone can imagine.
• Stronger Than They Look: Suzuki may look punier than mob-Cid but can pack a punch like no other, specifically mana-infused, taijutsu palm strikes enough to One-Hit Kill a phantom.
• Taking the Bullet: His last act as Suzuki is shielding Christina from directly taking the hit of Fenrir's blade, dramatically bleeding from the mouth upon impact, before revealing in his "dying" breath that he's Shadow all along.
• Tiny Schoolboy: "Suzuki" is noted to be of short stature compared to the rest of his classmates but how Cid manages to change his above-average height to match Suzuki's is never mentioned.
• Voice Changeling: Despite only properly interacting with him once just mere moments before his death, Cid can flawlessly imitate Suzuki's voice fooling even his distant relative Christina who dismisses the notion he's an imposter on account of knowing what Suzuki exactly sounds like.
• Youthful Freckles: Spots a fair bit around his nose as a first-year freshman and the youngest of the Special Attack Squad but this hardly compliments his personality.

Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper

"Debut": Volume 6 (Light Novel)

"..."

The seventh persona of Cid's who was directly inspired by an infamous London Serial Killer of the same name with the aesthetics of "The Clown Prince of Crime". This one focuses on killing the Thirteen Night Swords who control Midgar in the shadows.

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• Bare-Fisted Monk: If he isn't using playing cards, Jack would engage in hand-to-hand combat which is Cid's fighting specialty combined with the unadulterated bloodlust of SBS that leaves his unfortunate victims as a violently bloody paste on the walls, floor or in The Butcher case’s, barrier of the colosseum and paint it a dark red where their corpses stand.
• Beware the Silly Ones: While Jack does not act silly himself, this persona does showcase how dangerous Cid truly is when he sets his mind to it since aside from Alpha giving information about the Thirteen Night Swords, Cid is the one who made the plan on how to effectively kill all of them systematically to ensure that this persona will become a legend shrouded in myth.
• Blood Knight: Cid lapses back to SBS levels of psychopathy and bloodlust but this time at an all-time high as Jack really lets loose indiscriminately murdering everyone in the goriest, bloodiest ways possible to hammer in the fact that he's a Serial Killer.
• Blood-Splattered Warrior: All his appearances have him covered in the fresh blood of his victims when dispatching the Nightshades' forces to the point that he quickly gained the moniker of "The Blood-Soaked Pierrot".
• Breaking Old Trends: Jack the Ripper is the first and currently only persona to not to have Cid's Inner Monologue or any form of perspective from him at all. This was done to enforce the horror-thriller genre that the Night Swords arc was emulating but this also means we don't get insight into any of Cid's actions throughout.
• …But He Sounds Handsome: Unlike Shadow or his other personas, Cid was noticeably talking fondly of Jack the Ripper in spite of his status as creepy clown Serial Killer and prodding his classmates to find the secret messages and meanings in the riddles Jack gives to showcase how clever and mysterious he is.
  Cid: "Ahem, I think Jack the Ripper, with his genius intelligence that we can't even imagine, has found the optimal solution from a far higher perspective after considering all possibilities. No matter how much we ordinary people think, we can't understand his purpose..."
• Calling Card: Aside from the Spade-themed poker cards embedded into his victims, he also leaves messages made from blood showing he was there and clues for others (or rather Cid) to solve.
• Cold Ham: A subtler shade of ham than what Cid brings to the table as Jack’s humour isn’t derived from cryptic, edgy quotes given he chose not to speak in character but through pantomime and exaggerated movements like the clown he’s dressed up as.
  [After Sword Demon dodges his attack, Jack feigns surprise and makes a show of sizing up his opponent]
  Sword Demon: [Smirks] Come, Jack the Ripper. Your attacks will never hit— (Suddenly, his head flies off with a fountain of blood spurting out from his neck)
  [Jack lowers his fighting stance and looks down at Sword Demon’s headless body on the floor in disappointment]
  Jack: ...Huh.
• Corrupt the Cutie: Unintentionally does this to Christina who believes that he is trying to teach her his Pay Evil Onto Evil mindset, which she does by succeeding his identity and murdering Eliza in cold blood.
• Couldn't Find a Pen: Marks his message to the public in the blood of Count Kuzaya and Baron Grehahn he murdered the night before on the walls and columns at the public square.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: To call them battles is laughable as a more accurate description would be a one-sided slaughter fest. Best exemplified when the Thirteen Night Swords set up a colosseum deathmatch comprised of hundreds of the finest swordmasters across the lands, only for Jack to singlehandedly annihilate everyone in his path including the Night Swords who were hiding behind an impenetrable forcefield he managed to bypass.
• Dead Guy on Display: After killing two of the Night Swords, Jack drags their bodies out of their secret room to hang in the town square's fountain then writes a message in their blood on a nearby column for the general public to see.
• Death Dealer: Playing cards are Jack the Ripper's Weapon Specialization which he uses to One-Hit Kill each of the Thirteen Night Swords in the head or vitals. Perfect for a clown-themed Serial Killer like himself.
• Evil Is Petty: Judging Cid's jealousy of how the Thirteen Night Swords have the riches and power beyond their wildest dreams while shadily operating behind the scenes to get away with anything, Jack was willing to commit mass murder on the group and their associates and create a vast power vacuum from depleting the Midgar kingdom of their best fighters and nobles all because There Can Only Be One Eminence in Shadow which Cid is currently working towards.
• Evil Laugh: Knows how to put the "laughter" in "slaughter". The most you can get out of Jack is a soft yet spine-chilling chuckle that echoes ominously in the dead of night right before your demise.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Cid really, really went all out for Jack's outfit to be as authentic of a clown as possible. His pin-stripped sleeves are half-yellow, half-red (Alongside his right sleeve having a ruffle cuff) with blue and red tassels while his pants are half-red, half-checkered black like his pointed shoes and top-hat, only with inverted colors.
• Foreshadowing: Jack the Ripper's existence was alluded to in Volume 5 with the introduction of playing cards (His signature weapon) and Cid's penchant for expertly cheating in card games.
• Green-Eyed Monster: It's heavily implied that Cid was incredibly jealous of the fact the Thirteen Night Swords could do whatever shady or illegal thing they wanted and never get caught due to their underground connections, much like an Eminence in Shadow would. For this reason alone, Jack the Ripper was conceptualized to eliminate every single Night Sword and their cohorts in record time as There Can Be Only One.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How Jack ultimately bites it in a metaphorical sense when Millia's blood tentacles skewered him thousands of times over, but this is deliberate as out of Jack’s tattered costume emerges Shadow who saves the day once more by neutralising and healing Millia of her demonic possession.
• Jack the Ripoff: Cid planned to emulate or in other words, copy wholesale the identity of the infamous Victorian Serial Killer Jack the Ripper himself, including using the same name since the reference doesn't exist in this world. But instead of killing prostitutes, Jack's targets are corrupted aristocrats affiliated with the Thirteen Nightswords of the cult.
  • Jack would later inspire a copycat of his own in Christina who adopted his identity after his initial killing spree was over and started hers to purge the world of all evil beginning with Eliza as her first victim.
• Just Toying with Them: Or in this case clowning around as Jack imparts his sick sense of humor onto thirteen Night Swords who are too busy wetting their pants in fear to laugh: Part of his routine involves deliberately walking slowly, his clown shoes going splat with every footstep he makes in the puddles of blood from his massacre, and doing parlor tricks with his playing cards before embedding them into their heads.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: He has this habit of remorselessly killing his targets while they are in the middle of bragging about their fighting skills or begging for their lives, cutting them short of both their boasts/pleas and themselves.
• Killed Off for Real: Cid essentially lets Millia "kill" this persona so that he can continue the fight as Shadow since Jack completed his job at killing all Thirteen Night Swords with the destruction of the costume showcasing that Cid won't return to this persona anytime soon if at all.
• Killing Intent: When a trio of therianthrope mercenaries, each strong to their own right, faced Jack, the group immediately sensed how monstrously strong he was from every fiber of their body screaming not to come any closer and forfeited their match against Jack. Likewise, the Swordmaster of Velgalta felt Jack's murderous aura from the waiting room, fully refunded his services and booked it back to Velgalta before anyone could stop him. They're the only ones in the Colosseum aside from Alexia's clique and Millia whose lives were spared.
• Knight of Cerebus: Jack is the darkest persona of Cid to date, being a silent Serial Killer Monster Clown who speaks little to no words with only sinister laughter for everyone to hear. Also not helping the matter is that all his actions are seen from outside perspectives with no thoughts or insight of Cid during his killings which would have alleviated all tension.
• Legacy Character: Christina takes up Jack the Ripper's mantle shortly after his killing spree on the Thirteen Night Swords, having been inspired to continue his reign of terror to eradicate all evil in the world. Cid himself is unaware of this since he only chose her to act as the main character for his serial killer arc who passively uncovers and watches the story unfold and intended for Jack to be a one-time thing before disappearing like a myth.
• Light Is Not Good: Jack the Ripper has the most colorful costume in contrast to Cid's standard wardrobe, donning a green wig, pink and yellow jester's outfit with lots of bells and ruffles, and white harlequin mask and cape, but is also the scariest, most disturbing persona yet on account of Cid turning up his psychopathy into overdrive and create a perpetually blood-drenched killing machine dressed as a clown.
• Ludicrous Gibs: Everyone on Jack's hitlist who is not the Thirteen Night Swords is subjected to this: The assassins infiltrating Christina's villa turned to decapitated and bisected blood geysers with the flick of his fingers, what was left of the Butcher from Jack's kick was splattered all over the colosseum's barrier and let's not get started on the rest of the underground fighters when Jack painted the entire arena floor blood red with their entrails. It's no wonder Jack the Ripper is always described as "blood-soaked" from head to toe.
• Mirror Character: Jack the Ripper draws parallels to and contrasts previous personas despite all of them being cosplayed by the same guy:
  • Stylish Bandit Slayer: Both are demented Blood Knights who mercilessly slaughter their deserving victims without a second thought and have the highest body counts of the identities. The differences would be their attitudes^note SBS is extremely yet psychotically excitable and takes immense joy in the hunt before completely disregarding his slain victims for the loot whereas Jack is eerily quiet but still clearly relishes in his carnage and the pants-wetting expression his targets make upon realising how hopeless it is to fight or escape him and the type of bad guys they dealt with^note SBS had bandits and low-leveled cultists whom he mistook and lumped together with the former and paid no special attention to either of them. Jack faced off against a notorious aristocratic, underground group called the "Thirteen Night Swords" and their associates comprising of the strongest fighters in the world which he was completely aware of and gives his full, undivided attention towards. Additionally, Stylish Bandit Slayer was the longest role of Cid's from when he was a growing kid and racked up thousands of corpses for a good ten years compared to Jack the Ripper who is a more experienced adult and has one of the shortest runtimes at four days but manages to amassed the second-highest kill count in the hundreds thanks to his spree killing.
  • Mundane Mann: The two started as underestimated Joke Characters but shortly grew to prominence as formidable fighters before eventually becoming The Dreaded by everyone as the nobody swordsman who defeated Midgar's strongest and crown princess Iris in a single move and the blood-soaked clown who claimed the lives of hundreds including the seemingly untouchable Night Swords and the strongest fighters from all over the world respectively. In terms of fighting style, Mundane isn't the type to use magic in his attacks and merely One-Hit KO his opponents with the standard issue sword whereas Jack performs feats specifically due to his high proficiency and level of magic such as slicing his targets in thin air and offing the Night Swords with only well-placed playing cards and his KOs are always fatal. The two are also Soft Spoken Sadists although Cid wanted Mundane to sound weak and feeble with his listless mumble even when absolutely trouncing the competition in contrast to Jack rarely speaking aside from demented laughter at the glee of murdering his victims to amp up the scare factor and his cryptic nature. Their respective arcs even followed the same story beats in broad strokes: Both had found themselves in an arena where they must fight^note The Bushin Festival Tournament for Mundane and the underground colosseum death matches for Jack, exerted their Killing Intent to extreme levels for one of their opponents as a warning^note Iris presses forward in spite of it and pays dearly but was yielded for the mercenary trio White Wolf and the Swordsmaster of Velgalta who immediately backed off, inspired someone into following their footsteps^note After losing her match with Mundane, Annerose trains even harder and goes world-traveling in hopes of matching his strength although she never figures out Mundane was Shadow all along. Admiring how he managed to rid Midgar Kingdom of evil and corruption through his killing spree, Christina becomes Jack's successor thinking he chose her to carry on his legacy and knows fully well he's Shadow and reverts back to Shadow to rescue a girl who would join Shadow Garden ranks shortly after^note He saves Rose in the nick of time from offing herself after Mercy Killing her father and heals Emilia from her monstrous Human Weapon state, gaining the resolve to join Shadow's organisation to defeat the Cult of Diablos who were responsible for their plight.
  • John Smith: They are intimidating underworld figures who fight using unconventional, normally inefficient weapons which can slice their victims up with seemingly invisible forces^note Razor Wire for John Smith and playing cards and Razor-Sharp Hand for Jack the Ripper and have normal-sounding names beginning with "J". Their portrayal, however, can not be more different with John being a gentlemanly spy in a sharp suit specializing in discreetly dispatching foes from the public eye and Jack being a card-carrying Serial Killer who wants to bring as much attention to their crimes as possible while dressed as a clown. As for killings, John keeps them to a minimum since he's mostly fighting Shadow Garden and is considerably on the weaker side because of his Crippling Overspecialization but Jack has no such restrictions due to going all out like Stylish Bandit Slayer and thus indiscriminately murdering all his targets in a one-sided massacre. Lastly, John has broken character a few times due to a couple of unintended Internal Reveals and later gets Blinded by Rage from Gettan stealing his gold whereas Jack is so committed to the role that we never get the usual insider perspective from Cid at any point.
  • "Suzuki Hope": Their Lack of Empathy makes them ruthless killers who use ordinary household items like throwing knives^note Fountain pens for "Suzuki" and playing cards for Jack at such high velocity to off their targets but while "Suzuki" has the lowest kill count at one (Isaac) who is a low-level First Named Child to boot, Jack the Ripper had claimed hundreds of lives of the world's strongest fighters. "Suzuki" was made to help out solving mysteries while Jack the Ripper is both a mystery himself and the one causing them with the police and public being puzzled about who he is and what his motives are. Christina and Eliza were involved in both their arcs as a passive main character and minor antagonist respectively but the outcomes vastly differ: "Suzuki" sow the seeds in Christina, sparking her interest in overwhelming power, and threatened Eliza with death into paying for her crimes then Jack reaches its conclusion by unintentionally inspiring Christina not be a bystander anymore and become his successor who in turn make good of "Suzuki"'s promise by killing Eliza.
• Monster Clown: This alter ego is a Serial Killer, who uses poker cards as his murder tool and even has been directly called a monster multiple times by others.
• Mook Horror Show: While Jack spares the housekeepers and other innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of his hunt of the Night Swords, the ones fighting and protecting the thirteen aren’t so lucky. Most of the killings are done offscreen but sight when it's onscreen, it’s not a pretty sight as Jack graphically lays waste to a hundred-strong swordsman army and reduces them to a swimming pool of blood.
• Motive Misidentification:
  • While his intentions to kill the Thirteen Night Swords are obvious, no one has any idea why with most theorizing that he is someone who suffered injustice at their hands. In actuality, Cid is just Driven by Envy over the fact the Night Swords are "Eminence in Shadows" and simply decided to end them since There Can Only Be One.
  • Christina and Alexia are under the impression that his theft of the vase in Christina's house is a clue since he already left several clues at his crime scenes and they don't think he would steal a low-value replica for no reason when in reality, he simply thought it was the real deal due to Kanade and wanted to pawn it off for its value. Unfortunately, Christina would go a step further is misinterpreting the straightforward burglary as Jack wanting her to carry on his legacy.
• Multiple-Choice Past: Due to Jack specifically targeting the Night Swords, the general assumption by everyone is that the Night Swords had ruined Jack's life which led him to become a Serial Killer for Revenge while the members believe he kills For the Evulz with other theories include being the spirit of a vengeful swordsman or an assassin from Velgalta. In reality, he's just Driven by Envy of their success as "Eminences in Shadows" which he was still working towards (Or so he thinks) and decided to give them a wake-up call.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: He is the most efficient alter ego of Cid to date, tallying a body count in the hundreds which includes all thirteen Night Swords members and world-class skilled swordsmen over the course of four days before quickly discarding the identity once it served its purpose and going back as Shadow to fight against Millia. What's also noteworthy is the fact this persona is the most directly beneficial to Shadow Garden's goal since unlike the other temporary personas, Alpha knew full well what Cid was doing and didn't have to improvise with her only showing up after the deed was done and pick up Millia.
• Non-Standard Character Design: Jack tracts from the usual color palette of black, purple, and gold by replacing it with a multi-rainbow-colored, attention-grabbing, not-at-all inconspicuous Monster Clown costume, the exact opposite of Cid's trademark style.
• Odd Name Out: Jack the Ripper is one of two personas to not start with an "S" anywhere in the alias which extends to all translations of it.
• One-Hit Kill: While he takes his sweet time playing with his victims until all hope is drained from their face, the opposite is true when he goes in for the kill with his targets often having no time to react before their heads are decapitated or have a playing card fatally lodged into them.
• One-Hit Polykill: Since his intended target Oyano Bow was using his own son Dekuno as a Human Shield like a coward, Jack throws the six of spades card straight through Dekuno and into Oyano's head, killing them both instantly.
• One-Man Army: He isn't called a mass murderer for nothing, cultivating in him taking on a hundred magic swordsmen at once and unanimously winning with his victims painting the entire arena in blood.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: This persona is a Serial Killer whose targets are the Thirteen Night Swords, who use their power and connections to avoid all crimes pinned on them.
• Pet the Dog: While a remorseless Serial Killer of the wicked, Jack does not kill Christina or Kanade since they are not his targets and spares a band of therianthrope mercenaries after they choose to abandon the Night Blades to their fate upon realizing they stand no chance against him.
• Playing Card Motifs: The playing cards he uses as his murder weapons consist entirely of spades which can mean in cartomancy as "Night", "Sword" or "Death" and there are exactly thirteen spade cards. It doesn't take a genius to put two-and-two together that Jack wants all thirteen Night Swords dead at his bloody hands, a conscious choice on Cid's part so he can point this out to his classmates and be wowed by the clown's cleverness.
• Practically Joker: An enigmatic, murderously sadistic Monster Clown with green hair who fights with playing cards? Cid clearly took inspiration from the Joker.^note Quite ironic considering Shadow is the equivalent of Batman in this series who's cosplaying as his greatest nemesis However, a major departure between them is that Jack the Ripper rarely speaks and his laughter comes off as a soft yet sinister chuckle which would make his performance more like Art the Clown.
• The Quiet One: Usually Cid finds a way to put his trademark chunni hamminess into his characters but no such thing happens with Jack who is played completely silent (Barring some soft laughter) that you would think he's a mime rather than a clown. There's not even any comedic inner monologue provided since his escapades are not shown through Cid's perspective, making him all the more terrifying and sinister.
• Razor-Sharp Hand: It's hard to pinpoint how exactly is he mutilating others from a distance through slight hand motion but it's similar to Epsilon's Sword Beam technique only that he manages to erase his magic signature. As such, Jack essentially creates an invisible, undodgeable force that cuts bodies like a hot knife through butter.
• Red Is Violent: Red and dark pink are the most prominent colours in Jack's costume which complement the blood stains he got from slaughtering his victims en masse.
• Sadist: Jack doesn't hide the fact that he enjoys making the Night Swords squirm and plead for their lives.
• Sarcastic Clapping: Jack slow claps at the remaining Night Swords members when the latter thought he got smashed by Millia. This was all the more emphasized when he manages to escape the impenetrable ancient-artifact-powered barrier that Millia struggles to break out of and seat himself in the middle of their dining table unnoticed.
• Serial Killer: While all of his personas are mass murdering maniacs to varying degrees, Jack is the first to be one upfront as his defining character trait, taking after his namesake. By the end of the volume, Jack had slaughtered over a hundred of the finest, most powerful swordsmen, mercenaries, and fighters including the Thirteen Night Swords like it was Tuesday in just four days which puts his body count at second-highest next to Stylish Bandit Slayer.
• Shrouded in Myth: Cid wanted this persona to be as mysterious as possible so that no one would know who Jack the Ripper is and be passed down as a legend like the real one. He succeeds since only Alexia, Christina, and Kanade know Jack's true identity as Shadow who is not considered a suspect since someone as powerful as him doesn't need a disguise for the crime. This is further emphasized in a meta-sense by the noticeable lack of Cid's inner monologue and perspective as to what fantasy he was trying to fulfill being a Serial Killer Monster Clown and why other than theatrics.
• Slasher Smile: His harlequin mask sports a wide, perpetual grin to give him his iconic Monster Clown look. Although behind the mask, Jack and Christina show disturbing smiles as they kill their victims.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: On the rare moments where he does talk, it's barely a whisper that rivals Mundane's but carries intensely murderous connotations that speak volumes through his onslaught.
• Sticky Fingers: Old habits die hard (like his targets) and Jack can't help but swipe a priceless heirloom vase during the villa assassination attempt to pawn off for an exorbitant amount. However, Christina reveals it to be a high-quality yet relatively cheap replica much to Cid's embarrassment, and dissuades her from investigating further when she thinks the missing vase is an important clue and eventually came to the wrong conclusion the stolen replica vase is a message from Jack for her to take over as his successor.
• Theme Serial Killer: He kills the Thirteen Night Swords by spade playing cards as symbolism starting with the ace of spades and ending with the king of spades.
• Trailers Always Spoil: While never explicitly stated in-story, it's clear Cid is Jack the Ripper since the light novel's description talks of him disguising himself as a Serial Killer to murder the Thirteen Night Swords which is Jack's entire motive. Additionally, the cover art for volume 6 features only Jack and Christina, and Cid has been present in all cover art of the light novel, even in other personas. Not to mention he's the only character who would even know the name 'Jack the Ripper'.
• Underestimating Badassery: Upon learning of Jack the Ripper, the thirteen Night Swords laugh him off thinking he's a foolish clown who will face their full wrath. However, they soon find out who's laughing now after said clown had systematically and effortlessly killed six of them and the remaining seven pathetically cower and plead for their lives to no avail.
• Undignified Death: Jack specifically does this to the Thirteen Night Swords by using playing cards to kill them. Although not stated, it's implied Cid wanted the group to die humiliating deaths and the people would not see them as a powerful shadow group. What helps is the Night Swords being reduced to pathetic cowards who begged for mercy upon witnessing Jack's bloody massacres.
• The Unreveal: Due to Jack the Ripper not having a first-person perspective whatsoever, Cid never gives any insight as to why he's cosplaying as a homicidal clown, how he acquired the clown suit in such a short time^note Given Christina dons an identical outfit after the original got destroyed by Millia, what technique he used to dismember victims in seemingly thin air and what was the underlying fantasy he was trying to fulfill. These questions would probably remain unanswered since Cid wants the character to be Shrouded in Myth.
• Victory Through Intimidation: The White Wolf mercenaries and Swordmaster of Velgalta were smart enough to not fight Jack at all and stay the hell away as far as possible, with the former forfeiting in the middle of their match from sensing his Killing Intent and the latter who felt it from the waiting room wastes no time fully refunding his employers and escaping to his home country without ever so seeing his would-be opponent, willingly leaving the Thirteen Night Swords to their grisly fates in spite of the threats to ruin their reputations.
• The Worf Effect: Deliberately invokes the trope since Cid decides to go all out and let his bloodlust take over to relieve his tension over the Night Swords, resulting in Jack becoming an unstoppable killing machine who annihilate whatever cream-of-the-crop opponent is thrown at him in the most unbelievable ways possible:
  • The Night Sword members get the special treatment of being killed by an ordinary spade playing card (With paper only having less than 10% magical potency) embedded deep into their heads or vitals. An insult to highly skilled and influential magic swordmasters like themselves if they weren't pathetically begging for their lives.
  • The attack on the Hope Villa left all the assassins' heads cleaved by invisible forces including two of the Night Sword offscreen and the Sword Demon while mid-boasting after apparently dodging Jack's attack.
  • The Underground Colosseum tournament and impenetrable force field the Night Swords set up make it very clear that Jack is only humouring their little game when he proceeds to singlehandedly obliterate the entire Rogues Gallery^note The Butcher was violently splattered against the barrier wall in one kick after Jack was insulted by his showmanship, the Evil Spirit of the City-State Group and Legend of the Lawless City (The strongest adversaries of the bunch) only managed an insignificant scratch on Jack before he tore them apart like shredded paper and even a hundred top-class magic swordsmen at once never stood a chance when Jack flittered the entire area with their bloodied bodies or intimate them into submission^note The White Wolf trio surrendered almost immediately while the Swordmaster of Velgelta chickened out before even stepping foot into the arena and ran back to his home country before escaping the barrier like it was nothing.
  • However, Jack the Ripper is on the receiving end of this when he deliberately lets Millia "kill" him so he can reveal himself as Shadow and subdue and cure her for good. Showcasing by the end of the day, Shadow will always be the strongest of Cid's personas.
• You Are Already Dead: His encounter with Sword Demon has the latter being the first to successfully dodge the latter's attack that left a gaping hole in the wall behind. Or so the Sword Demon thought because while spending a good minute hyping up his skills as a master swordsman, his severed head unexpectedly and unceremoniously dropped to the ground blinking in surprise. Jack sighed as if to show he was disappointed the so-called Sword Demon went down that easily with a freebie in spite of all his talk.

Miscellaneous Alter-Egos

Miscellaneous Alter-Egos

Not all of Cid's personas have to be elaborate as Bit Characters are just as fun and important to him. These include "Mysterious Youngman Who Laughs Suspiciously While Savagery Is Happening" (His interpretation of a mob character in Lawless City) and "Fallen Angel of the Rebellion" (The alias he went under when trolling an online forum).

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• Adapted Out: Technically Mysterious Youngman remains present in the anime on account of being Cid but he never managed to do his "Evil Laugh while leaning against a wall" routine before Mary's arrival due to time constraints. However, Cid did mention him by name and still served his original purpose of Mary and Claire mistaking Cid for someone else.
• Atrocious Alias: Cid went back to his chunni roots on Earth when going by "⛧ FallenAngeloftheRebellion ⛧" (Pentagrams included) for his online handle. Cue the forum having an absolute field day laughing at and calling out the hypocrisy when Cid mocks the ridiculous name of "SilverHairedElfBabe".
• Bit Character: They are only created for Cid to act out a specific yet minor fantasy of his before dropping it entirely once they served their purpose.
• …But He Sounds Handsome: Inverted. Cid creates an anonymous account going by "Fallen Angel of the Rebellion" to shit-talk his main alter ego Shadow (Or "The Black Knight" as Earth calls him) on an online forum and troll Beta who he recognizes from her username "xXxSilverHairedElfBabexXx" and get her banned.
• Bystander Syndrome: Mysterious Youngman does nothing but lean against the wall and laugh savagely at the carnage that is the daily occurrence in Lawless City. Even when the ghouls begin to fight back and overwhelm the denizens, he stays put and lets Mary kill the ghoul approaching him.
• Dramatic Irony: Cid manages to trick his longtime allies into thinking these small roles are entirely separate characters from him, perhaps a bit too well...
  • In the first and only time they meet, Mary brushes Mysterious Youngman off as a resident weirdo and mistakes a nearby black-haired spellsword who is vague and generic enough to be him. Claire immediately dismisses the creepy chuckling boy going by Mary's descriptions and proceeds to put herself in mortal danger to rescue the kidnapped spellsword she believed to be her brother in the Crimson Tower.
  • Beta dished out poorly-worded death threats to someone named Fallen Angel of the Rebellion for insulting The Black Knight (Shadow's alias on Earth), not knowing the Troll was The Black Knight himself.
• Flat Character: These personas are not fully fleshed out as Cid made them up on the spot for a bit role before immediately dropping them once they served their purpose.
• Mysterious Stranger: What the aptly named Mysterious Youngman embody like why is he standing there and laughing all so sinisterly and what are his motivations? Mary just thinks of him as another weirdo in Lawless City and proceeds to ignore him to deal with the neverending ghouls.
• No Name Given: Unlike the rest of his personas, Mysterious Youngman is a placeholder Cid gave for his character and is more of a description than an actual proper name.
• One-Shot Character: These personas are usually meant for only one-time use since Cid didn't put much thought into them unlike the others and are more of various background characters.
• Overly Long Name: "Mysterious Youngman Who Laughs Suspiciously While Savagery Is Happening" is a lot wordier than his other aliases that it's practically a sentence.
• Troll: "Fallen Angel of the Rebellion" is an internet troll he created to get Beta banned from the forum.

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