Watch The Eminence in Shadow

The Eminence in Shadow is a Japanese light novel series that was adapted into an anime in 2022. It follows a high school boy named Cid Kagenou who is obsessed with shadows and secret organizations. Unbeknownst to everyone around him, Cid leads a double life as Shadow, the leader of a fictional secret organization called Shadow Garden that he created.

After training himself physically and mentally, Cid enters high school and decides to enact the next phase of his plan. He publicly announces the existence of Shadow Garden to the entire school, claiming that they will soon make their presence known to the world. This attracts the attention of the Underground Student Council, who try to uncover Cid's true identity.

Cid assembles a team of female warriors known as the Rose Order to carry out Shadow Garden's will. The group includes Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. He portrays himself as Shadow Garden's mysterious leader while having the Rose Order members interact with others.

His plans start to go awry when the defective artificial human Iris begins attending his school. She was created by the organization Diablos to gather information but developed emotions and betrayed them. Iris reveals she knows about Shadow Garden and desires to join them. Cid allows her into his inner circle, not realizing she plans to sabotage his plans for her own amusement.

The student council members continue trying to uncover information about the elusive Shadow. Cid enjoys toying with them by providing vague answers regarding Shadow Garden's goals and activities. He carries out various over-the-top plots, like "stealing" the answers to an upcoming exam, to cement Shadow Garden's reputation.

However, the Rose Order members, especially Alpha, grow suspicious about Cid's true motivations and identity. Cid goes to great lengths to protect his secret double life, even as various organizations and enemies start to emerge to threaten Shadow Garden. He leverages his training and quick thinking to outmaneuver opponents and evade capture.

The Eminence in Shadow provides an entertaining look at chuunibyou, a Japanese slang term for middle/high schoolers who indulge in delusional fantasies. Through Cid, the show satirizes this behavior while also delivering slick action sequences. Viewers follow along as Cid tries to maintain his elaborate false persona as Shadow in order to live out his dreams of being a cool secret agent.

The Eminence in Shadow is a series that ran for 2 seasons (42 episodes) between October 5, 2022 and on