Spoilers think you should go big or go home.

This review is going to be a little closer to a Viewer’s Cut, in a sense that I have not seen the ending of this show just yet. Word of warning here, watching the first episode will not get you into the show. The entire premise completely changes in the second episode because the main character gets reincarnated to another world. Yes, this one is another isekai and a shonen power fantasy to boot. So, we’re going over the top, overpowered and ready to take on the world from the moment we figure what’s going on.

(Credit: Nexus)

The Eminence in Shadow (2022) is produced by Nexus and directed by Kazuya Nakanishi, Daisuke Takashima, Yoshinobu Tokumoto and Hazuki Mizumoto. The original light novel was written by Daisuke Aizawa. A modern day high-school boy yearns to exude power while working from the shadows. In his quest to discover magic he gets hit by a truck and reincarnated to another world of fantasy and magic as Cid Kaganou, the youngest son of a noble family. There he starts to train and cultivate powers while pretending to be constantly bested by his sister Claire. Secretly he starts pulling the strings as the all-powerful Shadow, starting a following of powerful female assassins called Shadow Garden.

Isekai power fantasies are a dime a dozen, and this one is initially very much indistinguishable from the lot. However, as it starts building the world around it and slowly developing its characters it does gain some charm. There’s a few things that are just stereotypically depicted, specially surrounding the main character being completely OP yet behaving like… well, he is a young punk trying to impress and prove himself, so I guess that fits. It’s going to be a hit or a miss depending how engaging you find the entire premise despite a lot coming down to Shadow/Cid getting away with everything.

Recommended only for isekai fans, and definitely not for newcomers to the subgenre. The entire premise and execution is over the top starting from the very beginning so here’s to more three-dimensional characterizations and shades of grey showing up later. It’s going to be a little polarizing in the sense of it will either engage you or bore you. Worth a watch for fans of the genre, anybody else should abstain.

That will do for now.