The Eminence in Shadow

Daisuke Aizawa launched The Eminence in Shadow as a web novel on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō platform in May 2018 before Enterbrain released the first physical volume under its Bunko F imprint in November of that year. The story tracks Cid Kagenou, a teenager who trains obsessively to become a mastermind operating from the shadows while attending school as an ordinary student. He invents a fictional secret society called Shadow Garden and fabricates a global conspiracy involving a cult known as Diablos, intending to play out these fantasies alone. When he discovers the actual Cult of Diablos exists, he decides to fight them, unaware that his delusional organization has materialized into a real group dedicated to destroying the very enemies he invented.

Tōzai provides the illustrations for the light novel series, which Yen Press licenses for English publication alongside the manga adaptations. Anri Sakano adapted the work into a manga serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine starting in December 2018. Two spin-off manga series followed: Shadow Gaiden ran from July 2019 through September 2023, while Master of Garden: Shichikage Retsuden began serialization in May 2024 via Comic Walker. The franchise expanded to anime with a first season produced by Nexus airing between October 2022 and February 2023, followed by a second season from October to December 2023. [modifier]