The Eminence in Shadow

Cid Kagenou (シド・カゲノー, Shido Kagenō)

Voiced by: Seiichirō Yamashita[1]

The protagonist, Cid Kagenou is the son of a noble family. He is also secretly the leader of the Shadow Garden, an organization that fights in the shadows against the imaginary Cult of Diabolos (ディアボロス教団, Diaborosu Kyoudan). (In reality, the Cult actually exists and Cid's operations unknowingly interferes with the plans of the Cult.) Originally he lived in a world similar to our own but in his quest for magic he reincarnated to another world with magic in it.

Claire Kagenou (クレア・カゲノー, Kurea Kagenō)

Cid's older sister. 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. Though she seems antagonistic towards him she does care about him, acting quite recklessly when she thinks her brother might be threatened. She was trained as a spellsword from a young age and is thus considered highly skilled.

Alexia Midgar (アレクシア・ミドガル, Arekushia Midogaru)

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa[1]

A haughty princess, she makes it her job to make Cid's life as annoying as possible. She is also 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 in fact Cid himself.

Iris Midgar (アイリス・ミドガル, Airisu Midogaru)

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa[1]

Rose Oriana (ローズ・オリアナ, Rōzu Oriana)

The princess of the neighbouring 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.

Alpha (アルファ, Arufa)

Voiced by: Asami Seto[2]

The First of Shadow Garden, a beautiful Elven girl. 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. 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 Diabolos.

Beta (ベータ, Bēta)

Voiced by: Inori Minase[2]

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.

Gamma (ガンマ, Ganma)

Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori[2]

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 company that Shadow Garden gains its funds from. Cid originally told her about concepts and products from his original world in the form of his "Shadow Knowledge" that Gamma was eventually able to recreate and sell for great profits.

Delta (デルタ, Deruta)

Voiced by: Fairouz Ai[2]

A beast-kin girl, she is neither skilled at the manipulation of magic or refined techniques with the sword. But for that she compensates with raw power and violence. 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, so far she has only acknowledged Alpha and Cid as stronger than her.

Epsilon (イプシロン, Ipushiron)

Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto[2]

An Elven girl known also as 'the precise' for her refined control of magic. Is known for her haughty attitude. She is skilled in the use and manipulation of the slime bodysuits that all members of Shadow Garden possess and utilize.

Zeta (ゼータ, Zēta)

Voiced by: Ayaka Asai[2]

Eta (イータ, Īta)

Voiced by: Reina Kondō[2]

Nu (ニュー, Nyū) (#13)

After the first 7 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 in to 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.

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 four volumes. Yen Press licensed the series for English publication.[3]

A manga adaptation with art by Anri Sakano has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen manga magazine Comp Ace since December 2018 and has been collected in six tankōbon volumes. Yen Press also licensed the manga adaptation.[12]

A spin-off manga by Seta U titled Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! Shadow Gaiden (陰の実力者になりたくて！ しゃどーがいでん, "The Eminence in Shadow! Shadow Side Story") has also been serialized via Comp Ace since July 2019. It has been collected in two tankōbon volumes.

An anime television series adaptation was announced on the fourth volume of the light novel on February 26, 2021.[25] The series is produced by Nexus and directed by Kazuya Nakanishi, with scripts written by Kanichi Katou, and character designs by Makoto Iino. It is set to premiere in October 2022.[26][27]