The Eminence in Shadow

Alternate Titles

陰の実力者になりたくて！
Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!

Synopsis

A boy wanted to be neither the protagonist nor the big bad, and instead desired to live a normal life hiding his abilities and intervening from the shadows to show his true power. He longed to be the “Eminence in Shadow” but was killed in an accident and reborn in another world. Now reborn as Cid Kagenou, he is ready to live out his dream as the “Eminence in Shadow.” He founds a secret group called Shadow Garden and makes up a mission for the group: to defeat the evil Cult of Diablo. But it turns out his imaginary cult actually exists!

Background

The Eminence in Shadow began as a light novel series written by Daisuke Aizawa and illustrated by Tozai that was first published online via the user-generated novel publishing website Shosetsuka ni Naro in May 2018. In November 2018, Enterbrain began publishing the series and have released four volumes as of February 2021. The series is also being published in English by Yen Press, who published the fourth volume in June 2022.

A manga adaptation illustrated by Anri Sakano began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace seinen manga magazine in December 2018. The eighth collected tankobon volume will be released in late September 2022. The manga is also licensed for English release by Yen Press, who will publish the fifth volume in September 2022. A spin-off manga illustrated by Seta U titled The Eminence in Shadow! Shadow Side Story is also being serialized in Comp Ace and has been published in three volumes as of March 2022.

A TV anime adaptation was announced in February 2021 on the fourth volume of the light novel. It is being produced by Nexus and features Kazuya Nakanishi as director, with Kanichi Katou handling series composition, Makoto Iino handling character designs, and Kenichiro Suehiro composing the music. The anime’s opening theme song is “HIGHEST” by OxT, and the ending theme song is “Darling in the Night” by Seven Shades. The anime will premiere in Japan on Oct. 5 on Tokyo MX, AT-X, KBS Kyoto, Sun TV, and BS NTV channels. It will also be streamed overseas through HIDIVE.

Characters

Cid Kagenou/Shadow (Voiced by: Seiichiro Yamashita)
Cid is a reincarnated boy who seeks power and longs to be the “Eminence in Shadow.” On the surface, he is enjoying his “mob” life as the dull second son of the Kagenou family, a noble family in the countryside, but secretly he is the leader of the secret organization Shadow Garden that stands against the shadowy Cult of Diablos.

Alexia Midgar (Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa)
Alexia is the second princess of the Midgar Kingdom. She is the star pupil of the Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy and the envy of all the students, but she reveals her true character by slinging insults at Cid behind his back. She has an inferiority complex when it comes to her older sister Iris, who is a superior magic swordswoman, and she is single-minded in her efforts.

Iris Midgar (Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa)
Iris is Alexia’s older sister and the first princess of the Midgar Kingdom. She is the kingdom’s strongest swordswoman and is a member of the Knights Order. She has a noble spirit of justice and is a bit overprotective of Alexia.

Claire Kagenou (Voiced by: Rina Hidaka)
Claire is Cid’s sister and a member of the noble Kagenou family. As a member of a family spanning generations of knights who fight by strengthening their bodies with magic power, she herself is quite talented. She is unaware of Cid’s true abilities and is convinced that he is helpless.

Rose Oriana (Voiced by: Haruka Shiraishi)
Rose is the princess of the Oriana Kingdom. She is also the student council president of the Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy. As a princess of the country of arts, she had high expectations of herself and decided to pursue the path of sword fighting. After enrolling at the academy, she developed top-class strength. After a certain incident, she begins to feel connected by fate to Cid.

Sherry Barnett (Voiced by: Saya Aizawa)
Sherry is a second-year student at the academy. She is a genius girl who is called “the kingdom’s best mind.” Her talent has even been recognized by the royal family, and she is requested by Iris to decipher ancient script on an artifact. On the other hand, she is unfamiliar with worldly affairs and is bad at reading the room.

Alpha (Voiced by: Asami Seto)
Alpha was the first Shadow Garden member and holds the first seat of the Seven Shades. She is a perfect superhuman elf with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is second in command of Shadow Garden.

Beta (Voiced by: Inori Minase)
Beta is a Shadow Garden member who holds the second seat of the Seven Shades. She is a silver-haired, blue-eyed elf. She is in awe of Shadow and writes her own epic tale called Shadow’s War Chronicle whenever she gets the chance.

Gamma (Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori)
Gamma is a Shadow Garden member who holds the third seat of the Seven Shades. She has superior intellect and remembers and understands all of Shadow’s words, but she has terrible athletic ability.

Delta (Voiced by: Fairouz Ai)
Delta is a Shadow Garden member who holds the fourth seat of the Seven Shades. Even among the Seven Shades, her combat abilities stand out, but her fighting style is wild and is destructive to both people and objects.

Epsilon (Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto)
Epsilon is a Shadow Garden member who holds the fifth seat of the Seven Shades. She is an elf with an outstanding ability to control magic. On the other hand, she has a complex about her child-like figure and makes full use of her slime equipment to cover up her body.

Zeta (Voiced by: Ayaka Asai)
Zeta is a Shadow Garden member who holds the sixth seat of the Seven Shades. She is a bestkin in charge of covert ops. She normally operates separately from the other members and flies all over the world to conduct espionage.

Eta (Voiced by: Reina Kondo)
Eta is a Shadow Garden member who holds the seventh seat of the Seven Shades. She is an elf in charge of research. She excels in technical aspects and is an excellent architect who goes at her own pace. She is a heavy sleeper who is hard to wake up and sleepwalks.

Music

Opening Theme Song: “HIGHEST” by OxT
Ending Theme Song: “Darling in the Night” by Seven Shades

• Anime Site (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Daisuke Aizawa
• Original Character Design: Tozai
• Director: Kazuya Nakanishi
• Series Composition: Kanichi Katou
• Character Design: Makoto Iino
• Art Director: Beom Seon Lee
• Color Design: Naoto Tanaka, Junko Okazaki
• Prop Design: Daichi Kitahara
• Director of Photography: Takeshi Hirooka
• Editing: Kentaro Tsubone
• Sound Director: Jin Aketagawa
• Sound Production: Magic Capsule
• Music: Kenichiro Suehiro
• Music Production: Kadokawa
• Animation Producer: Hiroshi Nakamura
• Animation Production: Nexus