The Eminence in Shadow is the story of Cid. As a kid watching tv, he didn’t identify with the hero or the villain but rather the “eminence in shadow”–the super overpowered anti-hero mastermind that stays hidden from the heroes and villains alike but appears at important moments to smack down the villain before disappearing once again. Even as he grew up, he dreamed of becoming the eminence in shadow. He would train relentlessly to be the strongest person around while still trying to fade into the background of his everyday school life (with mixed results).
But what truly tormented him is that no matter how much he trained–how strong he became–he’d never have truly overwhelming power befitting the eminence in shadow. After all, our world is filled with guns, bombs, and numerous other ways to destroy even the strongest fighter. Only one thing could even the odds in this case: magic. Luckily, after meeting his death in a car accident, he awoke to find himself in a world containing just that.
Image source: 坂野杏梨Rice ball単行本発売中 on Twitter
Reincarnated as a noble in a fantasy world, he once again began his quest to become the eminence in shadow by training relentlessly in secret with sword and magic. Along the way, he began drawing in followers. Playing the part he always dreamed of, he told them a story about a mysterious evil cult ruling the world from the shadows–and that he and his companions, “Shadow Garden,” were tasked with defeating them.
Of course, this was just a cliché story he made up on the spot. There’s just one problem, he was completely right. Now he and Shadow Garden are battling the evil Diablos Cult in the shadows with the fate of the world in the balance–and Cid is the only one who thinks it’s all pretend.
Image source: 坂野杏梨Rice ball単行本発売中 on Twitter
For fans of fantasy and superhero stories, The Eminence in Shadow, is laugh-out-loud hilarious. All of this stems from the personality of its main character. Cid is, frankly, insane. He cares about one thing in life and one thing only: acting out his fantasy as the eminence in shadow. He has no interest in anything else. He has no issue watching people die in front of him, using people as human experimentation, or killing anyone who gets in his way–as long as it furthers his game of pretend.
Conversely, he values anyone who is willing to play along with him–i.e., the members of Shadow Garden. However, it’s important to note he does not think at any point that his friends are doing anything more than humoring him in his pretending to be the eminence in shadow. He’s oblivious to his own role in the world which leads to a myriad of hilarious misunderstandings.
Image source: 坂野杏梨Rice ball単行本発売中 on Twitter
The other core to the humor of The Eminence in Shadow is that being the eminence in shadow is a two-tiered identity. One is the overwhelming fighter leading a secret society. The other is the mild-mannered everyman. Cid puts his all into both of these roles. He fantasizes just as much about looking down from the rooftops like Batman as he does being the random background character who dies in the hero’s arms.
This means he tries so hard to be an average background character that he often appears as anything but. He forces himself to get average grades and have average friends but when it comes time for a cliché background character event, he can’t help but go all out to an insane degree–shocking those around him while remaining completely oblivious himself.
Few stories manage to balance the badass with the hilarious as well as The Eminence in Shadow. It’s a giant bag of transported-to-a-fantasy-world tropes that deconstructs them even as it plays into them. And the result is truly something special.
Now if only we could get it in anime form.
The first novel of The Eminence in Shadow will be released in English on August 11, 2020. There is also a manga and a web novel out there for those of you who speak Japanese.
I just wanted to give out a big thanks to Joshua Ott for sponsoring this review with his Patreon donation. (At the $60 a month tier, you are allowed to pick anything up to an including a 13ish episode series to be reviewed–which is released in addition to the one article a week I normally put out here on BiggestinJapan.com.) So thanks again!
Top image source: コミックウォーカーComicWalker on Twitter.
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