Episode 1

**The Hated Classmate** (嫌いなクラスメイト, *Kirai na Kurasumeito*?) is the series premiere and the first episode of the *The Eminence in Shadow* anime adaptation.

## Synopsis

* English
* Japanese
 Akane copes with her trauma by being popular and working hard to make people like her, but one boy in her class doesn’t care about her at all. That bothers her to no end.

 「陰の実力者」。それは、主人公でも、ラスボスでもない。普段は実力を隠してモブに徹し、物語に陰ながら介入して密かに実力を示す存在。
影野ミノルは幼少期からの夢である“陰の実力者”になるべく、着々と準備を進めていた。

## Summary

One morning in the city of Sakurazaka, Akane Nishino woke up from her sleep and took a shower, then she got ready to wear a uniform to go to school and was escort by her private driver without knowing that there was a car near Akane's house that was watching. There, Akane is greeted by most students, and encounters a certain boy she hates the most, Minoru Kageno.

They exchange greetings, but he calls her Nishimura much to her annoyance and she corrects Minoru that her name isn't Nishimura. Minoru apologizes, stating he was pretty good at remembering named NPC, but lately haven't got much sleep, and calls her Nishitani even though the two of them have been in the same class for three months and are sitting next to each other. She gets quietly annoyed and corrects him again by repeating her actual name, but Minoru again gets it wrong and calls her Nishimura as he leaves. Akane notes that she doesn't despise him for getting her name wrong, but for never looking at her and even when his eyes are facing her direction, they seem to be looking at somewhere far-off place.

Going about her school day, Akane tries to avoid Minoru by always interacting with other classmates. Despite wanting to ignore Minoru completely, she chooses not to do so obviously for some reason. While alone in the girls' toilet, Akane recalls back to when she was in middle school, she had to take a break from entertainment business due to a scandal and has been hiding behind a mask ever since. She acts as a model student to avoid being hated by teachers, and acts as a popular girl so that students like her. Akane lives her life to this day by being kind to ensure no one hates her.

In the afternoon at the end of school hours, Akane does extra lessons in class alone and then hears the music Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" coming from the sound of the piano in another classroom played by Minoru. At night, Akane called her driver, but he doesn't pick up as he was attacked by some men. As he didn't came to pick her up with her calls going unanswered, Akane is forced to walk home from school, which is her first time doing it since the incident from middle school. On her way, Akane is being kidnapped by two men that attacked the driver. Before losing consciousness, she sees Minoru hiding around a corner of the street.

Later, Akane wakes up bound in some warehouse as one kidnapper tells her that the daughter of **Nishino Zaibatsu** shouldn't walk alone at night. The other kidnapper tells her that she just needs to stay there and she will be freed once they get the ransom. Outside, Minoru observes the kidnapper from the glass of his smartphone through the gap between the warehouse doors and moves to change clothes and don on a mask. The kidnapper wants to have some fun with Akane, as he notes that this should be her second kidnapping as the first time because of some stalker. It was then Minoru comes down from the roof window, introducing himself as a Stylish Ruffian Slayer. The lead kidnapper pulls out a gun, but is disarmed when the masked Minoru throws a piece of glass to injure him and then charges the guy, throwing him to the ground before smashing his face. The other kidnapper sees that Minoru isn't an ordinary man and reveals that he is a former military as the men notes that he was bored from doing kidnappings with amateurs, as well as expressing his annoyance that Japan is too peaceful.

When Minoru took interest in fighting the military man, the kidnapper readies a knife to attack Minoru, who used two crowbars. Although manages to disarm the man, Minoru is still overwhelmed when the kidnapper fights back with his bare hands, then decides to get serious and shows him the potential he found in crowbars as he reminisces about his past of continuously beating up biker gang riders who roam around at night. From this, the man then realizes his opponent is the Balaclava Berserker, a man who has been fighting the bikers with crowbars. Minoru notes that the bikers started wearing helmets after that, so he had to stop using the crowbars like tonfa and instead use them as regular clubs. At that time, Minoru then quickly started attacking the kidnapper to prevent him from taking the gun and then break the man's leg and paralyzed him. Feeling unable to fight back, Minoru proceeds to brutalized the kidnapper who had begged for mercy, ending the fight and turning his focus to Akane.

Taking the kidnapper's knife, Kageno then frees Akane and tells her to be more careful next time. Leaving Akane alone, Minoru felt annoyed because his lack of ability was only against ex-military men which made him think he couldn't become an "Eminence in Shadow". Seeing that the kidnappers were tied up and stripped of their firearms, Akane then called the police and the situation escalated to the point that her father used his connections to make the case not go public.

The next day, Akane goes to school again just like living her life as usual and greets Minoru once again, but he correctly calls her Nishino. While ready to correct him, she was immediately shocked when Akane realized that Minoru got her name right and his gaze this time was directed at her as though feels like he is looking at her. Akane then felt that Minoru is just like her, who also living a life behind a mask, developing an interest in her odd schoolmate. The next morning, a local news report goes out that **Minoru Kageno** was run down by a truck on the side of a road and did not survive.

When adrift after death, Minoru doesn't remember when he started his fixation, but he always dreamt of being a hero. He spend his days training, while acting as the "background character" in his school life. He reached a point where he could beat up some guys, but still didn't have a chance when surrounded by armed men. If he became the best martial artist in the world, he might be able to beat said men, but he still wouldn't be able to do anything about a nuclear missile. Minoru wants to overcome these limits and is determined to do so whatever the cost, no matter how hard the training will be.

Time passes since his death in his previous life, Minoru is reborn in a new world, a medieval world with emerging technologies and populated by more than humans. He has now formed an organization and together with his closest friends, they are ready to start an operation in service to their master. More important than all in this new world, Minoru had obtained a new power: Magic. But this time, he wanted to make use of his reincarnated life as his best opportunity to fulfill his ever-longest dream to the point of being willing to throw everything away. Minoru's greatest desire was only to become the one who operates from the shadows, showing everyone their inner strength and greatness deep within themselves, as the one true ***Eminence in Shadow*** that he could never achieve in his previous life in this new world.

## Characters

* Akane Nishino
* Cid Kagenou/Minoru Kageno (Earth)
* Alpha
* Beta
* Gamma
* Delta
* Epsilon
* Zeta
* Eta
* Nu
* 664
* 665
* Rose Oriana (Cameo)
* Alexia Midgar
* Claire Kagenou
* Iris Midgar (Cameo)

## Promotional Videos

TVアニメ『陰の実力者になりたくて！』第１話予告≪ノーマルVer.≫「嫌いなクラスメイト」TVアニメ『陰の実力者になりたくて！』第１話予告≪スペシャルVer.≫「影野ミノルは陰に潜んで活躍したい！」
## Trivia

* During the scene where Minoru recalls all of the martial arts that he has learned, there was a reference to the Web Novel of Minoru learning Kendo.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.hidive.com/stream/the-eminence-in-shadow/s01e001
2. ↑ https://shadow-garden.jp/1st/story/#story1