Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!

[Ryllharu]

Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!
(The Eminence in Shadow)



Great heroes and diabolical villains are the types of characters that people long to be—but not Cid Kagenou. He longs to become the true mastermind behind it all, pulling the strings, and having his machinations drive the entire story. In his previous life in modern-day Japan, he was not able to live up the potential he imagined. The peak of power. But now, reborn into a world of magic, he will show the true eminence of shadow!


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Since the episode goes a bit on its own direction compared to the manga, I'm certainly not going to spoil it. I assume it is more in line with the light novel.

This will be the preeminent, intentionally stupid series this season. Cringe? Loaded with it. Action and gore? Loaded with it. One recurring gag that forms the cornerstone of the comedy relief? Yes.

If those are problems for you, maybe skip it.

But if you are willing to risk it, look at all the best girls this season!

[Kraco]

This looked pretty good. It was different from the manga in some ways. I felt like the manga beginning was more comedic and this more serious, but this is, or at least the manga was, still an action series with comedy integrated into it, which in itself is not anything unique, but it works better in some series than others. I find in this one, at least in the manga, again, it does work. The anime has a chance to make it even better than the manga. I hope it manages it pull it off.

Based on the fight against the kidnappers, the resolute violence wasn't toned down, fortunately. Though that being said, I don't understand how those goons were still alive. If you have ever held a crowbar in your hand, you know it's no joke. A single hit in the wrong place would easily kill a man.

[Kraco]

Episode 2


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I feel like the manga adaptation works a little better for me, personally, in this series' case. Somehow the creation of the farce-like atmosphere is better in the manga. This anime adaptation is maybe a little bit too hyper. Hyperactive. In the manga the balance between action and the MC dude's faux eminence in shadow act is better. I can't remember the manga well enough to say if this anime is more hurried compared to it, but if this is, it would contribute to it. Actually, I felt like the first episode was closer to the atmosphere in the manga than this second one. I guess it remains to be seen how things turn out further down the line.

[David75]

Chunibiou gone too far ?
Am I to understand that his chunibiou farce turns out to be mostly true as if the world followed his chunibiou ?

The end would be fun if the girls really left MC... But maybe I didn't understand, was fairly,exhausted yesterday.

[Kraco]

Chunibiou gone too far ?
Am I to understand that his chunibiou farce turns out to be mostly true as if the world followed his chunibiou ?

Hard to say. It's a running joke like in Overlord, where Ainz's ambiguous words are interpreted by much more capable people (and monsters) to mean something really profound. In this series it's exaggerated further. But that being said, it certainly does give the kind of feeling the dude is lying in a coma in a hospital bed and this is one endless dream, which is why everything happens according to his (subconscious) will.

I wish it was shown how he recruited the members for his ad hoc (or is it ad lib?) organisation. We only saw Alpha, but then it was suddenly all there with multiple members. It renders the new members meaningless because they have got no history. Of course by jumping back and forth in time they can be given history later, but I was never a fan of flashbacks.

[Ryllharu]

Chunibiou gone too far ?
Am I to understand that his chunibiou farce turns out to be mostly true as if the world followed his chunibiou ?

It's more like an Edgelord Chuunibyou with Kazuma's Luck Stats from Konosuba.

Cid is 100% spouting off bullshit because he thinks it makes him look cool, but he's correct every time due to sheer luck. He's having the time of his life fooling around, but also thinks the girls have gotten way too into his lies with their own overactive imaginations. Or at least Alpha and Beta.

As for his sister...Claire is a very doting sister. Hidaka Rina was a perfect casting for it, a particular kind of crazy that she does do the best. It was a little downplayed in this episode, but saying she picks on him every day wasn't an understatement.

[David75]

Aye, the sister is the very little thing I got an interrest for so far. Feels like she has some demonic attributes. I wonder what she becomes later down the line and if she serves a purpose for the story other than being your very obsessional borderline crazy brocon.

The end of the ep piqued my interrest because it could lead to a very different story with a u turn done right.
But the cover image for the show seems to favor maximum levels of chunibiou, haha.

[KrayZ33]

This is funny, as always I love it when MC is just trying to look cool (or not) and happens to be cool by accident in the end even when they mess up.
It reminds me of the sillyness of all my favorite characters.

Kintaro Oe
Kenji Harima
Ekichi

guys like them.

[neflight86]

Just watched, and this is pretty good.

Weapons grade chunii-cringe if protag actually believed any of it himself, but because he's putting on a show with very gullible people, this comes of as a great running joke.

With this, I think I've settled on the notion that I am much more interested in isekai where the protagonist has a clear goal or direction, as opposed to the alternative: watching the chaos injected by a random OP actor following whims in an established setting. I prefer that Cid has his own weird hobby and wants to keep pursuing that now that he has access to magic as well. Not being a 'gamer', but a chunni is also more palatable than hearing people drone on about levels and 'status'.

The first episode was certainly different, but did an okay setup and taste for the texture of the power fantasy we're getting into, and the other girl's character introductions have, to this point, been handled by their scenes in the OP. I'll take that as a concession if we get an extra arc or two out of this cour without flashbacks. More doing, less remembering, please.

[Kraco]

Weapons grade chunii-cringe if protag actually believed any of it himself, but because he's putting on a show with very gullible people, this comes of as a great running joke.

I don't think they are supposed to be gullible, although we hardly saw anything from others than Alpha. But since technically all the Greek alphabets ought to be rescued people, they do share some similarities: they were literally saved by Cid from a fate their thought hopeless. That would naturally make them view Cid as someone really wise and important, doing something no one else could. Furthermore, if Cid has pulled off continuously successes beyond their comprehension, like this time accurately pinpointing the enemy base, they would have a solid reason to believe his words: they are true, after all. From our point of view, and his own, Cid might be talking a lot of bullshit, but it's a fantasy world, so for the locals it should sound quite believable.

[Kraco]

Episode 3



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This episode wasn't in any hurry whatsoever!

It's pretty funny how Cid explained the Greek alphabets leaving. It's also quite funny how his faux eminence in shadow act is, in fact, more successful than his "real" life, which is supposed to have nothing at all happening, yet has a bunch of unintended things triggered.

[David75]

That tsun fausse femme fatale probably recognized his true power, even if just as a hunch.
It somehow felt like first ep, highbred girl going for faux mob A.

[Ryllharu]

Alexia being cold, calculating and as much of a schemer as Cid is feels like the series finally found its own pace.

It creates a good dynamic of an overt domineering female lead playing the royalty romcom games vs. Cid trying to get out of her clutches so he can resume his own fakery goals.

Their fighting creates this third persona of Cid's where he's an obedient greedy dog who is slightly more forceful and prideful than he comes off publicly because he can't fight his disdain for her schemes, but gladly taking her money. Like her personality is making half of his mask come off.

[Kraco]

Their fighting creates this third persona of Cid's where he's an obedient greedy dog who is slightly more forceful and prideful than he comes off publicly because he can't fight his disdain for her schemes, but gladly taking her money. Like her personality is making half of his mask come off.

Not having enough money despite beating outlaws, cultists, and who knows what, plus having many years of time to make more would reveal a big flaw in shadow eminence act. It doesn't matter how much power you have if your logistics don't work, after all. Quite interesting he doesn't seem to realise it himself.

[neflight86]

It creates a good dynamic of an overt domineering female lead playing the royalty romcom games vs. Cid trying to get out of her clutches so he can resume his own fakery goals.

Yes, this conflict is what I was waiting for. Without direct opposition to his shadow lifestyle, thhings would get boring fast. That the lass is a curt noble-ruffian in personality plays off Cid well. Even the other loser background characters are put to good use.

That he still doesn't believe his own lies and assumes the other girls 'going off to hunt the cult' is them being nice about breaking off their relationship is its own brand of funny, and hijinks I can get behind. This is turning out quite deft, indeed.

[KrayZ33]

Oh my, this episode had a surprise for me in every minute of it.

Obviously, the fake confession turning out to be a success wasn't a surprise, but the way everything developed after that kinda was.
I liked this episode, even the show itself so far, waaaaaay more than I thought I would.

The heck... that was a lot of fun. I feel like the author successfully bamboozled me and I'm still left wondering what the hell just happened.
Throughout the whole episode I was always wondering when the "side character act" would be dropped and for sure he will show his "awesome" side and that girl will melt inside his hands afterwards... but that never happened. And since it never happened, I'm no longer confident enough to say that it will happen.

It's the opposite of episode 2 !
I'm digging this. The picture used in the opening post of this thread kinda means something to me now.

Is anyone reading the manga or LN? (whatever this show's original format is)
Does it go to the "school arc" as quickly as in the show as well? Or do they actually explain and show how he recruited everyone into 'Shadow Garden'

[Ryllharu]

Is anyone reading the manga or LN? (whatever this show's original format is)
Does it go to the "school arc" as quickly as in the show as well? Or do they actually explain and show how he recruited everyone into 'Shadow Garden'

I read the manga religiously, but do not read the LNs.

They do arrive at the school arc and Alexia just as fast. Episode 3 is chapter 3 and the first half of chapter 4. This period with Cid's age and the people shown in the promo image at the top of the thread are the main focus of the series, but even the manga hasn't gotten to all of them yet.

I'm being careful about spoilers, but it is safe to say that the recruitment of each of the Seven Shades is generally glossed over. Sometimes they are given a proper flashback when relevant to an arc.

Alpha's was a bit abbreviated from the manga, but the cuts are not of any significance. We only see Alpha and Beta in the manga by this same point in the plot. We do see Gamma and Delta in profile, but they are not named, have no lines, and appear in the background of three panels in total of chapter 2.

What the anime did touch on but didn't hang onto it long enough is that the Seven Shades all had the same affliction Alpha did. So did Cid's sister in a much milder form, which they said way too briefly last episode. Alpha is not a round blob of meat in the manga, but a gangrenous near-corpse that is still very obviously humanoid and he cures her much faster in the manga. Alpha finds or recruits most of the other girls, as Cid mentioned last episode.

The main cuts not shown in the anime are the development of the Slime suit and sword in more detail, even though it is still only a handful of panels, it's more than we got in the anime.

[neflight86]

I've read some of the manga, but not much past this arc... making this post useless except to say that there have been some major differences/revisions so far from the manga, and perhaps more to come, so prophets might not be much help anyway.

[Kraco]

Episode 4



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That's a lot of preparation just for a single instance of impressing his underling. But if that's what it takes, then that's what must be done. His entrances are pretty impeccable, though, whenever he feels like it.

Aside from the captured princess herself, Cid's poor sister was actually the one suffering the most. Cid himself enjoyed every moment of it, after all.

[Ryllharu]

Claire raging on the grounds below with every intent to plead to the royals with sword drawn, dislocating her own shoulder to try and escape, and ending up in the jail because she couldn't get to her Most Cherished brother is the highest class of brocon.

As funny as the disconnect between the girls and Cid is, they very obviously eat it up when he starts his cringelord routine. Beta even writing either fan-fiction or a severely embellished biography.

Alexia garnered some sympathy from the experimental monster, but they didn't really focus enough on it for it to feel actually deserved.