The Eminence in Shadow

The Eminence in Shadow
is a Japanese light novel series written by Daisuke Aizawa and illustrated by Tōzai. It began serialization online in May 2018 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was later acquired by Enterbrain, who have published the series since November 2018.
A manga adaptation with art by Anri Sakano has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen manga magazine Comp Ace since December 2018. A spin-off manga by Seta U titled was also serialized via Comp Ace from July 2019 to September 2023. Both the light novel and main manga have been licensed in North America by Yen Press. An anime television series adaptation produced by Nexus aired from October 2022 to February 2023. A second season premiered in October 2023.
Plot
A boy in modern-day Japan desires to be a mastermind who exerts power from the shadows, but in the process of training, gets hit by a truck and dies. He is reborn in a fantasy world as Cid Kagenou, where he maintains a perfectly mediocre appearance so as to not stand out and pursue his dream of manipulating from the shadows. One day, he stumbles upon an elven girl infected by a mysterious disease and cures her.
Cid makes up a story, explaining this world is secretly run by the Cult of Diablos, and his secret organization, "Shadow Garden", is the only one that can fight them. The elven girl, now named Alpha, joins this organization and begins recruiting new members. However, the stories Cid made up were actually true, but he believes it to be total delusion; which is ironically the delusion. Cid continues fighting the Cult of Diablos under the alias "Shadow", completely unaware that he is involved in a complicated power struggle.
Characters
Main characters
/ / / /
Kageno is the main protagonist and a high-school student who dedicated himself into becoming stronger than a nuclear bomb. However after an accident where he was hit by a truck, he was reincarnated into another world where magic exists. In this world, he is the son of a noble family and uses the strong magical powers he gained from being reborn to secretly moonlight as the leader of the Shadow Garden, an organization that fights in the shadows against the , but he believes both organizations to be imaginary and their participants are simply role-playing. He desires to act like a 'mob' character and blend into the background, but he has chūnibyō tendencies, basing all his actions on whatever he believes would look coolest.
Cid's older sister, a skilled spellsword. She thinks herself as stronger than Cid and pushes him around, often acting aggressively towards him in the form of punching him and other forms of bodily harm when she finds herself annoyed by him. However, she does care about him to an obsessive degree, acting quite recklessly when she thinks her brother might be threatened. Not long after curing Alpha of her demon possession, Cid notices that Claire is showing signs of the same "possession". He cures her while they were doing physical training without Claire even knowing it. She later absorbs Diablos and becomes its host, but Cid thinks she is role-playing.
A haughty princess, she makes it her job to make Cid's life as annoying as possible. She and Cid previously dated as an act, but she developed genuine feelings for him while he was eager to end their relationship. Also, she is one of the only characters to have personally seen "Shadow" in action (outside of Shadow Garden members) but does not know that Shadow's true identity is Cid himself.
/ (#666)
The princess of the neighboring kingdom of Oriana, a country known for its art. She controversially took up the sword instead of traditional arts and became a transfer student at the Midgard Spellsword academy. She became the student council president and her swordsmanship at the academy was considered only second to the first princess of Midgar, Iris Midgar. She becomes known as "666" in later volumes of the light novel when she joins Shadow Garden after a series of traumatic events.
Shadow Garden
Seven Shadows
The first member of the 7 Shades, those who receive magic power infusion directly from Shadow himself, she is a beautiful elven girl who resembles the legendary hero Olivier as well as her aunt, Beatrix the Goddess of War. It is also revealed she is a direct descendant of Olivier, the Elf hero. When Cid first encountered her, she was suffering from Demon possession and was hardly recognizable as a human being. Cid experimented on her and inadvertently found a cure for Demon possession. In return for curing her, she swore fealty to him, becoming his second-in-command. She went on to find and recruit the other 6 main members of Shadow Garden and leads them in their pursuit of the Cult of Diablos.
/
The second member of Shadow Garden, she was the first member to be found by Alpha instead of Cid. An elf known for her natural beauty and ample chest, she writes 'The War Chronicles of Shadow-sama', in which she details the exploits of Cid in his Shadow persona. She became a world-famous author named Natsume Kafka by publishing the stories Cid would tell her, which include popular media like Spirited Away and Spider-Man. Being a Jack of All Trades, she is given the positions of Operations Coordinator and Head of Mission Logistics in Shadow Garden.
/ Luna
The third member of Shadow Garden, though she is weak both physically and in technique, she possesses great intelligence. She is responsible for the creation and daily operations of Mitsugoshi Company, the front organization that funds Shadow Garden. Cid originally told her about concepts and products from his original world in the form of his "Shadow Knowledge" which Gamma was eventually able to recreate and sell for great profits. Nicknamed "the Brain" by Cid, her public persona is the president of Mitsugoshi Company, using the alias Luna. Her immense intelligence and master diplomacy granted her the position of Head of Finance and Administration in Shadow Garden.
/
The fourth member of Shadow Garden, she is a dog beast-kin girl who is extremely strong and violent, but rather unintelligent. Due to her beast-kin nature, she also has heightened senses, such as being able to recognize scents from great distances and uses these to find and hunt her targets. She only listens to those stronger than her, and has only acknowledged Alpha and Cid as stronger than her. Also called "the Glass Cannon" by Cid. Many members consider her Shadow Garden's main fighting force due to her ferocity and ruthlessness in battle.
/ Shinron
The fifth member of Shadow Garden, an elven girl with a haughty attitude. She is skilled in the use of the slime bodysuits worn by the organization's members, using it to make her seem tall and busty due to her being insecure about her short and slender figure. When she is out in public, she called Shinron, a renowned and world-famous pianist that popularized the Moonlight Sonata, taught to her by Cid which she uses to infiltrate influential circles. She's nicknamed the "Precise" among all Shadow Gardens members.
/
The sixth member of Shadow Garden, a cat beast-kin who is in charge of the organization's recon, travelling the world in search of new sights and products. She does not get along with Delta very well. She is a descendant of the legendary "Beastkin Hero" Lili. Her hatred of the Cult of Diablos is so great that she goes to extreme and radical measures to destroy them no matter the cost, which puts her in odds with Alpha. Due to her disapproval of Alpha's leadership, she secretly created a sub-branch within Shadow Garden that is solely loyal to her alone. Her true goal is to make Shadow immortal and make him god of the new world to ensure the Cult of Diablos will not return.
/ Eta Llyod Wright
The seventh and final member of the original Shadow Garden, she is the organization's head scientist. She has sleeping problems, tending to suddenly collapse at any moment. Devices such as a functioning digital camera and disguise machine used to create Cid's Mundane Mann identity were perfected by her, and have become valuable pieces of tech used by Shadow Garden members. Her public identity is Eta Lloyd Wright, a genius architect whose work won an award through implementing basic scientific and mathematical principles taught to her by Shadow.
Numbers
The Numbers are those recruited by the Seven Shadows with superior skills to serve as the organization's combat force assets. Their enumeration starts from 8 and continues onward, with the latest mentioned number recently reaching 666. There are two groups of numbers within the organization. The Named numbers and the regular numbers.
Named Numbers
Numbers members whose abilities were recognized by the Seven Shadows and serve as their direct subordinates after being granted a Greek letter like them, based on certain numbers in recognition of their abilities on the ranks from Theta (Θ/θ) to Omega (Ω/ω).
(#11)
One of the Named Numbers and Shadow Garden's drill instructor who is charge of training the new recruits. Originally part of the Velgalta Empire's military, she was captured by the Cult when she showed symptoms of Demon Possession being taken as their prisoner. She was rescued by the Shadow Garden when they raided the hidden facility she was being held in. After being cured by Epsilon and finding out the truth of the Cult of Diablos, she joins them, earning "Named" rank no. 11. She christens herself a new name, Lambda.
(#13) /
After the first seven members of Shadow Garden (those recruited by Cid himself) come the 'numbers'. Nu is the first of the numbers to be featured, a formerly noble girl cast aside when she contracted Demon possession. She was later saved and initiated by one of the Seven Shadows into the Shadow Garden. She is highly skilled at make-up and disguises, utilizing specially treated slime to mimic skin and shaping it to its desired form. Her skill set made her perfect working at the Mitsugoshi Company, becoming Gamma's personal aid and bodyguard.
(#22) / /
She is a member of Shadow Garden, being one of the Named Numbers. She was formerly one of the Velgalta's Seven Blades and a Named First Child of the Cult of Diablos, titled Shooting Star. She defected to Shadow Garden because her entire family was purged by the Cult when they found out she contracted Demon Possession. Initially codenamed No. 111, she quickly rose through the ranks thanks to the power and training she had from her time in the Cult which is further refined by Lambda's guidelines and is now currently Epsilon's subordinate.
(#24) /
She is a member of Shadow Garden, being one of the Named Numbers ranks. She was previously another of the many possessed girls until she was rescued by Shadow Garden. Initially codenamed No. 122, she quickly rose through the ranks and is currently Epsilon's subordinate.
Regular Numbers
Nameless infantry who has above average capabilities with fierce training to become the best warriors. However, they do have earn the right to challenge the "Named Numbers" to obtain their position by defeating a gatekeeper.
(#559) /
She was originally known as the "Saint" of the Holy Church of Divine Teachings and leader of the Templars. But when she shown signs of Demon Possession, she was then abandoned and denounced by the people who looked up to her then was sentenced to die. She lost all hope but when Cid saved her under Shadow persona, she gains new purpose though her personality became severely warped from the ordeal. Originally kind and naive, now a zealous, love-sick yandere who sees Cid as her new and true god and will not hesitate to kill anyone who she deems unworthy of his grace. Her desire is now to be closer to Shadow and to do she has join the Seven Shadows. To Shadow Garden's surprise, her skill and prowess made her rose to the ranks quickly and thanks to Lambda's training, her current abilities now rival the Seven Shadows themselves. Unfortunately, her headstrong and reckless attitude, the inability to create a decent battle strategy, poor communication skills and her utter disregard of civilian lives makes her a problem for the other members. Because of her new mindset, this makes her unable to raise her rank any further. She is also a member of Zeta's sub-faction due to sharing the same fanaticism and immense hatred of the Cult and will use any extreme measures to destroy them even if they cause severe collateral damage and mass destruction to do it.
(#664) /
She is a is a member of Shadow Garden, being one of the Numbers under the codename No. 664. She is the leader of a three-person squad consisting of herself, 665, and 666. After 666 becomes queen of the Oriana Kingdom, she works undercover as one of her maids.
(#665)
A member of Shadow Garden and a regular numbers member. She is also part of a three-person squad consisting of herself, 664, and 666. After 666 becomes queen of the Oriana Kingdom, 665 becomes one of her maids alongside 664.
Crimson Order
Princess Alexia's older sister. She built up a circle of soldiers, independent of the Knights, to fight anybody who threatens the peace, be it Shadow Garden or the Cult. She is the one founded the Crimson Order and currently commands it. Many of her knights consider her a great and capable leader but after being overwhelmingly beaten by Shadow during the tournament and making her fighting style look like child's play, she vows vengeance on him which causes her to become extremely irrational and volatile in her leadership and decision-making, which in turn causes her subordinates to doubt and question her mentality. Even her younger sister started to worry for her older sister's sanity.
Midgar Academy
A researcher studying in the academy, and adopted daughter of Vice Principal Ruslan. Her mother died after she discovered an ugly truth, and was adopted by Ruslan. After he died, she left the academy to study more.
One of Cid's fellow low-level students.
Another of Cid's fellow low-level students.
Cult of Diablos
Knights of the Round
Children of Diablos
Lawless City
One of the three leaders of the Lawless City. A brute without much brain. He is later killed by Delta, partly because Cid needed a task to distract her from interfering with his schemes.
One of the three leaders of the Lawless City; in charge of the brothels. After the death of Crimson, and later Juggernaut's (unintended) assassination by Delta, Yukime becomes the sole leader. She often works with Cid under his alias "John Smith" to undermine lawful businesses that prove troublesome.
Major Corporate Alliance
Others
/
A mysterious person from the distant past, regarded as the "Witch of Calamity" who once plunged the world into chaos. She first met Cid during the Goddess' Trial when she was summoned to fight Cid participating as Shadow. After getting freed from the Sanctuary with Cid's help, her spirit began residing within Claire Kagenō's body as a vessel following the Red Moon Incident.
The goddess of war who bears a resemblance to Alpha and also claims her as her niece, who she is looking for. She's also the first winner of the Bushin Festival Tournament.
A powerful wandering swordswoman, hailing from the Velgalta Empire who was formerly a member of the Velgalta's Seven Blades. She was one of Cid's opponents during the Bushin Festival Tournament.
Cid's former classmate during his time as Minoru Kageno before reincanation. She was a popular student in his school who was always annoyed by Kageno as he always mispronounced her name, though the latter gained feelings for him after he starts pronouncing his name right after saving her from being kidnapped by thugs. Following the fall of Japan to Magical Beasts, she became a "Knight" in the human settlement of Messiah.
Media
Light novel
The series is written by Daisuke Aizawa and illustrated by Tōzai. It began serialization online in May 2018 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was acquired by Enterbrain in November 2018, who have published six volumes. Yen Press licensed the series for English publication.
Manga
A manga adaptation with art by Anri Sakano began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen manga magazine Comp Ace on December 26, 2018. It has been collected in twelve tankōbon volumes. Yen Press also licensed the manga adaptation.
A spin-off manga by Seta U titled was also serialized via Comp Ace from July 26, 2019, to September 26, 2023. It has been collected in six tankōbon volumes.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on the fourth volume of the light novel on February 26, 2021. The series is produced by Nexus and directed by Kazuya Nakanishi, with scripts written by Kanichi Katou, character designs by Makoto Iino, and music composed by Kenichiro Suehiro. It aired from October 5, 2022, to February 15, 2023, on AT-X and other networks. The opening theme song is "Highest" by OxT, while the ending theme song is "Darling in the Night" by Asami Seto, Inori Minase, Suzuko Mimori, Fairouz Ai, Hisako Kanemoto, Ayaka Asai, and Reina Kondō. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series for a North American release, and HIDIVE will be streaming it.
A second season was announced during a livestream on February 22, 2023, with the main staff returning from the previous season. It premiered on October 4, 2023, and will consist of 12 episodes. The opening theme song is "Grayscale Dominator" by OxT, while the ending theme song is "Polaris in the Night" by Ikumi Hasegawa, Maaya Uchida, Mayu Minami and Ryōko Maekawa.
Video game
A role-playing mobile game developed by Aiming, titled was released for Android, iOS, and Windows on November 29, 2022. Crunchyroll Games launched the game worldwide on Android and iOS on the same day. The Windows version launched worldwide on May 25, 2023, with support for cross-platform play and progression.
Reception
By October 2022, the series had a cumulative total of 2 million copies in circulation; over 3.5 million copies in circulation by December 2022; over 4 million copies in circulation by February 2023; and over 5 million copies in circulation by September 2023.
The first Blu-ray volume sold 2,327 copies in its first week of debut; the second volume sold 2,499 copies in its first week.
See also
Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, another light novel series illustrated by Tōzai
References
External links
at Shōsetsuka ni Narō
at Crunchyroll Games, LLC
2018 Japanese novels
2022 anime television series debuts
Anime and manga based on light novels
Dark fantasy anime and manga
Enterbrain
Fiction about reincarnation
Isekai anime and manga
Isekai novels and light novels
Kadokawa Dwango franchises
Kadokawa Shoten manga
Light novels
Light novels first published online
Nexus (animation studio)
Seinen manga
Sentai Filmworks
Shōsetsuka ni Narō
Yen Press titles