History Literature / TheEminenceInShadow

** A second season that began on October 4th, 2023 and runs for 12 episodes.

* AbusiveParents: The sole outcome after a child is exposed as being infected with Demonic Possession is that her own family turns against her, killing her or selling her to the Church who will do the dirty work.

** [[spoiler:Delta's biological brothers were complete assholes to Delta, back when she was Sara, constantly bullying her for being weaker than them.]] [[spoiler:After losing [[MoralityPet her mother]], Delta lost any reason to bear anymore of her brothers' abuse and she kills them.]]

** The rendezvous point of Shadow and the Seven Shades in the opening differs depending on the arc.

*** A summary of the events that transpire through the volume told from the perspective of one of the Seven Shades along with events that transpire outside the main story and a hint for the plot of the next volume. Volumes 1 to 4 are summarized through Beta's personal novel called the "Chronicles of Master Shadow", Volume 5 is told through Eta's Research Journal, and Volume 6 is told through Alpha's Organization Management Diary.

* PerspectiveReversal: The anime previews come in pairs for each episode, the normal version from one of the Seven Shades which portrays the show as serious, and the special version told by Cid, making it way more humourous due to how deluded and insane he is.

* PublicSecretMessage: ZigZagged. Cid is often fond of giving Beta coded messages he challenges her to decipher, usually doing so with what knowledge she gleans from spending time with him whenever the moment arises. This is how [[spoiler:Beta and Eta discover that Shadow never truly betrayed them with his "John Smith" persona and meant [[ExactWords exactly what he said]] toward Alpha, in regards to both Delta missing-in-action: "sent her to a far-off place" and the reason for his John Smith-guide: "Once it's all over, then you'll understand".]]

* Several manga:

* An anime adaptation:

* GhostTown: Shadow Garden's initial base was a destroyed town in the middle of a forest until they were forced to find another base once it became too overcrowded. This causes them to move to Alexandria after Shadow defeats the Mist Dragon and earns his servitude.

* WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing: Cid and his two friends try to use their chocolates to get dates:
** One friend tries to get the attention of a classmate who is always by herself, only to find out it's because she has a jealous fiance when he tries to give her chocolates.
** His second friend did everything he could to find out everything about his crush from her likes and dislikes to her three sizes, unaware she noticed he was doing this and calls him a stalker.

* WorthlessYellowRocks: A version of it. In this world, Chocolate is a very new and popular item (as Cid was the one who gave Gamma the knowledge of how to make it). To Cid, it's just a common treat, so he gave it away as he just didn't want it at the time. Sherry, the girl he gave it to, after finding out how difficult it would normally be to get chocolate, believes he just gave her a very expensive gift and was confessing his feelings to her.

* A DenserAndWackier manga adaptation illustrated by Sakano Anri, which started on December 26th, 2018.

* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: After Miss Natsume joins the group, it's currently her, Alexia, and Rose
** Alexia (Beauty) - She is a cool-headed and proactive girl and the princess of the Midgar Kingdom.
** Miss Natsume (Brains) - She is an insightful and smart girl and is a famous author and [[spoiler:is secretly the spy from Shadow Garden, Beta]].
** Rose (Brawn) - She is the brave and noble girl and the most skilled Swordswoman in all of Midgar Academy.

** When letting Quinton give Mundane Mann a beatdown in episode 15, Cid mentions if this was a powerful opponent he was actually trying to win against, he would go for their eyes first. Volume 4 introduces Gettan, a strong therianthrope who was blinded by Stylish Bandit Slayer in their first encounter.

* CorporateWarfare: The second half of volume 3 is about one between Mitsugoshi and the MCA with the latter company desiring to crush the former due to their growing power. However, a third party formed by [[spoiler:Yukime and John Smith]] plan on stirring the plot to take everything for themselves.

* DarkerAndEdgier: [[spoiler:Light novel volume 6 has a much darker tone than the previous volumes due to Cid's alter ego, Jack the Ripper, being a SerialKiller with a PayEvilOntoEvil mindset. Especially since all of Jack's scenes are told from the perspective of other characters without any thoughts of Cid being shown. On top of that, this alter ego's obtains a LegacyCharacter in the end.]]

* DyingCurse: After being killed by the legendary heroes, Diablos placed a curse on them so that they and their descendants would suffer painful deaths. [[spoiler: Or so the Cult's propaganda goes, in reality they implanted the Three Heroes with cells taken from Diablos.]]

** At the end of the anime(in the original Japanese broadcast), there a [[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/813791835381039204/1075929035370135572/SPOILER_IMG_0074.jpg shot of the red moon]] at Midgar. Few days later, season 2 is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=4128&v=_gyjTgQoibU&feature=youtu.be announced by the VAs themselves in the Kadokawa stream]].

** In Volume 4 [[spoiler: Mordred reveals that the Oriana Kingdom had to resort to summoning the Black Rose or face annihilation when they were invaded by Velgalta. [[FromBadToWorse Even after annihilating the invading troops, it still continued to summon the Stygian Beasts that they also resorted]] for someone (implied to be Aurora) to stop it. Due to this, the Cult was able to enslave the Oriana Kingdom as repayment until [[TheGoodKing King Oriana came along]].]]
** In Volume 5, [[spoiler: The Cult of Diablos has to resort to putting [[ExplosiveLeash mana collar bombs]] on the students of Midgar Academy to activate the Diabolos Arm due to their desperation to produce more [[ImmortalitySeeker Tears of Diabolos]] and the [[OneWingedAngel various lozenges]]. The actions of Cid[[note]]by meeting Aurora, the latter finally resists the Cult's demands and, as John Smith, crippled their economy so bad they can only afford to send 2nd to 3rd children to guard against the Shadow Garden threat[[/note]] and his Shadow Garden[[note]]The Cult has been incurring massive attrition of personnel once the Shadow Garden debuted into the scene, forcing the various factions to unite[[/note]] have definitely taken their toll against the Cult.]]
** In Volume 6, [[spoiler: The Cult has been pressuring nations to burn Oriana down to the ground as discussed by the King of Midgar towards Alexia as the Shadow Garden has been reducing their influence throughout their world. Even the King hopes that Shadow Garden will contact them as it was with Rose Oriana in order to combat them.]]

** Volume 6 downplays this since while [[spoiler:the majority of the volume is about Jack the Ripper killing the Thirteen Night Swords, the last three chapters follow different characters with one serving as a partial epilogue as well as showing how Akane is doing and two being {{Whole Episode Flashback}}s for Delta and Alpha]].

** Anime only but a damning hint of Mitsugoshi being Shadow Garden's front is found [[spoiler: at the [[https://i.imgur.com/0YN4Kkr.png store's statue]]]] but due to their [[ShroudedInMyth mysterious existence]], no one has been able to pick up on it.

** Terrorists, impersonating as Shadow Garden members, attack Midgar Academy in Volume 1 and hold the teachers and students hostage. This is a scheme by the Cult of Diablos to frame them for the crime and make them enemies of the Midgar Kingdom.

* ShoddyKnockoffProduct: Due to the popularity of Mitsugoshi products, several other companies and merchants try their own hand at replicating them with varying results such as Snow Fox succeeding at making an EffectiveKnockoff to the anime showcasing shirts that have printing that easily falls off.

* A free-to-play videogame adaptation called ''Master of Garden'' in which you can recruit various characters in the series to play with along with seeing other sides of them in certain events. There is also an ongoing {{interquel}}, which showcases what the Seven Shadows were doing between the time after they rescued Claire and before Cid enrolled in the academy.

** Rose thinks that Cid likes her due to the "determination" he showed in their battle in the tournament and him TakingTheBullet for her when the cult attacks the academy.

* A light novel adaptation published by Kadokawa with the first volume released on November 5th, 2018, and an English translation by Creator/YenPress starting August 11th, 2020.

* An anime adaptation with the first season haven aired on 5th October 2022 for 20 episodes. A second season began on October 4th, 2023.

** Due to how well Cid hid his true personality and abilities, so many people believe that he is relatively harmless.

* {{Chuunibyou}}: Ironically this is what Cid ''thinks'' he is. He came up with the Cult Diablos and the Shadow Garden as an excuse to act cool and dark, and realize his childhood dream of being an eponymous "eminence in the shadows"... except the years of in-depth research he put into his "cover story" turned out to have uncovered evidence of an actual cult that needed to be stopped. Still to this day, Cid believes that his friends are playing a game and the people they go after are ordinary bandits, unaware that he is leading one side in a SecretWar, created an NGOSuperpower, with an AmazonBrigade that has pledged their UndyingLoyalty towards him. Along with said women believing he is TheChessmaster.

* SecretWar: Between Shadow Garden and the Cult of Diablos.

* SoreLoser: This is practically what all of the Cult's elite members are like, always resorting to [[PsychoSerum Diablos Tears formula]] whenever Shadow Garden defeats their normal power, which never really helps much anyway except to even further demonstrate their incompetence after being defeated in their altered forms.

--> '''Shadow''': How terrible. Don’t pretend to be the strongest with that mere level of strength. It is an affront to the truly strong. There is no path towards that title that involves reliance on borrowed power. What true strength really is……burn it into your eyes.

* SoreLoser: This is practically what all the elite Cult's elite members are like, always resorting to [[PsychoSerum Diablos Tears formula]] whenever Shadow Garden defeats their normal power, which never really helps much anyway except to even further demonstrate their incompetence after being defeated in their altered forms.

* A manga adaptation illustrated by Sakano Anri, which started on December 26th, 2018.

Fortunately for the young man, his life began anew when he reincarnated into a new, fantasy world and being given the ability to use magic. Now, as Cid Kagenou, he might be able to achieve his dream. Unbeknownst to him however, he accidentally stumbled upon an actual conspiracy.

The series has a manga adaptation, a light novel adaptation published by Kadokawa, an English translation of the light novel by Creator/YenPress and an anime adaptation aired on 5th October 2022. There is also a spin-off ONA series called ''Kagejitsu!'' which has the characters in chibi form. For Halloween 2023 it had a crossover with ''Literature/Overlord2012'''s ''Ple-Ple-Pleiades~!''. A spin-off manga, "Eminence in Shadow - Shadow Side Story" has been announced. It also has a videogame adaptation called ''Master of Garden''.

* ShoutOut: In one of Rose's flashbacks to the Stylish Bandit Slayer, Cid is heard saying "[[Film/FullMetalJacket Anyone who's running is a bandit, anyone who isn't running is a well-trained bandit!"]]

** [[spoiler:Cid and Beta are transported to Cid's original world and discovered that it has been ravaged by monsters. When they returned to their own world, Cid doesn't know that Beta brought his former classmate, Akane Nishino with them.]]

** ''The Witch of Calamity, Aurora also goes by the name [[spoiler:Diablos]]''.

* WizardsLiveLonger: {{Discussed}}; [[spoiler: One of the raison d'etre of the [[ReligionOfEvil Cult of Diablos]] is to [[ImmortalitySeeker gain immortality]] via magic and are willing to go to any lengths to acquire it. Cid himself mentions that due to how powerful his magic power and reserves is, he estimates he could live up to 200 years at a minimum during the CorporateWarfare arc.]]
* WorthlessYellowRocks: A version of it. In this world Chocolate is a very new and popular item (as Cid was the one who gave Gamma the knowledge of how to make it). To Cid, it's just a common treat, so he gave it away as he just didn't want it at the time. Sherry, the girl he gave it to, after finding out how difficult it would normally be to get chocolate, believes he just gave her a very expensive gift and was confessing his feelings to her.

* YearInsideHourOutside: Cid had lived fifteen years after his reincarnation but it was only three years since Minoru's death when he returned to earth in volume 4, meaning time passes by five times slower than on earth.

The series has a manga adaptation, a light novel adaptation published by Kadokawa, an English translation of the light novel by Creator/YenPress and an anime adaptation aired on 5th October 2022. There is also a spin-off ONA series called ''Kagejitsu!'' which has the characters in chibi form. For Halloween 2023 it had a crossover with ''Literature/Overlord2012'''s ''Ple-Ple-Pleiades~!''. A spin-off manga, "Eminence in Shadow - Shadow Side Story" has been announced.

** In volume 5, [[spoiler: he Head Librarian faced [[TheDreaded Fenrir]] during one of his investigations as a knight years ago. He was [[LiteralDisarming disarmed by him]] and held his wife hostage in order for him to comply with the Cult's demands.]]

* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: Between everyone, the Shadow Garden and the Cult of Diablos. [[spoiler:In volume 5, the head librarian himself warns Alexia that the Shadow Garden '''may''' become a bigger threat than them(Cult of Diablos) and to not fully trust & rely on them on his dying breath after being severely wounded against Shadow. In volume 6, the various entities including the King of Midgar even worry about this as he can clearly see that the Cult itself is in its last legs though they also held hope that Shadow Garden will finally wipe out the Cult's influence in the world.]]

** In volume 5, [[spoiler: the Head Librarian is forced to comply into the Cult's demands because they held his wife hostage.]]

** Both Goldoh and Quinton lost against Jimina/Shadow. Later, they foolishly challenge the denizens of the Crimson Tower which results in their defeats and enslavement. The next day after that, they got sold. The anime changes it that while they manage to escape, they lost all their belongings and leave empty-handed.

* IHaveNoSon: Shadow Garden's members suffered from the possession which caused their families to disown them.

* CorporateWarfare: Happens in the Yukime and Gettan Arc.

** In volume 5, [[spoiler:the Head Librarian faced [[TheDreaded Fenrir]] during one of his investigations as a knight years ago. He was [[LiteralDisarming disarmed by him]] and held his wife hostage in order for him to comply with the Cult's demands.]]

** Although Sherry debuts at episode 5, she actually first appears in [[https://i.imgflip.com/73x77v.jpg episode 3 during Alexia and Cid's time at the library]]. This was revealed in episode 7.

** As seen above in EvolvingCredits, the rendezvous locations of Shadow and the Seven Shadows differs every arc.

* CombatDiplomacyStealth: As Yukime states in ''Master of Garden'', the Red Tower represents stealth due to being comprised of vampires, who need to stay bide their time until the red moon, the Black Tower represents combat due to focussing on raw physical strength, and her White Tower diplomacy due to focussing on financial power.

* CrazyEnoughToWork: What did he come up with to defend himself against a nuke? ''Become the nuke''!

* ForcedIntoEvil:
** Viscount Grease and his daughter, Millia went through this after the Cult of Diablos kidnapped the latter to make her father become their pawn. Millia was then used to become their weapon on two separate occasions [[spoiler:until freed by Shadow Garden]].
** In volume 5, [[spoiler: the Head Librarian faced [[TheDreaded Fenrir]] during one of his investigations as a knight years ago. He was [[LiteralDisarming disarmed by him]] and held his wife hostage in order for him to comply with the Cult's demands.]]

** In Yukime's event in ''Master of Garden'', when talking over the fact her company is copying Mitsugoshi products, she states that "If Mitsugoshi is the light, then Snow Fox Corporation is its Shadow...", [[spoiler:by the end of volume 3 her company does become partners with Mitsugoshi/Shadow Garden and performs acts for them in Lawless City]].

** As seen above in EvolvingCredits, the rendezvous locations of Shadow and the Seven Shades differs every arc.

* GetIntoJailFree: The first chapter of the [[spoiler:Oriana CivilWar]] Arc has Cid allowing himself to get captured by the guards.

* GirlOfTheWeek:

** Volume 2 downplays this with Annerose, who can see through the tricks of Mudane Mann and her search for a WorthyOpponent.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In episode 10, there's a scene where Cid briefly glances at Rose's chest with noticeable red eyes before she puts her hand over it. It may look like Cid is taking in a MaleGaze [[spoiler:but in truth, is actually activating his {{Magic Eye}}s to detect the growing magic anomaly in Rose. Sure enough, four episodes later, she begins developing Demonic Possession with the infection spreading around the chest area first.]]

** Volume 1 has Sherry, whose gains a crush on Cid is central to stopping the terrorist attack on Midgar Academy.

** In Volume 4 [[spoiler: Mordred reveals that the Oriana Kingdom had to resort to summoning the Black Rose or face annihilation when they were invaded by Velgatta. [[FromBadToWorse Even after annihilating the invading troops, it still continued to summon the Stygian Beasts that they also resorted]] for someone (implied to be Aurora) to stop it. Due to this, the Cult was able to enslave the Oriana Kingdom as repayment until [[TheGoodKing King Oriana came along]].]]

** In Volume 6, [[spoiler:the [[AristocratsAreEvil Thirteen Night Swords]] are Midgar nobility that bullies commoners and lesser nobles and use their wealth and connections to get scott-free of their multiple crimes.]] [[spoiler:Many people, especially Christina Hope, whose family suffered under the Night Swords' malicious smear campaign, can't help but cheer at their deaths at the hands of [[SerialKiller Jack the Ripper.]]]]

The series has a manga adaptation, a light novel adaptation published by Kadokawa, an English translation of the light novel by Creator/YenPress and an anime adaptation aired on 5th October 2022. There is also a spin-off ONA series called ''Kagejitsu!'' which has the characters in chibi form. A spin-off manga, "Eminence in Shadow - Shadow Side Story" has been announced.

* SpringtimeForHitler: When Cid, with two of his low-ranking classmates watching in the background, attempted to ask Princess Alexia to be his girlfriend, even after she turned down an earlier confession flatly. He even improperly spells her name and status, along with loser-like stuttering just to ensure that she'd be even more inclined to turn him down. [[spoiler:To his sheer surprise, she accepts his confession, despite expecting her complete refusal, which surprises him a great deal.]]