To Be a Power in the Shadows! (LN)

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

Just like how everyone adored heroes in their childhood, a certain young man adored those powers hidden in shadows. After hiding his strength and living the mediocre life of a mob character by day while undergoing frenzied training by night, he finally reincarnates into a different world and gains ultimate power. The young man who is only playing at being a power in the shadows, his misunderstanding subordinates, and a giant organization in the shadows that gets trampled…. This is the story of a young boy who had adored powers in shadows possibly eventually reigning over the world of shadows in another world.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!
TEIS
The Eminence in Shadow (LN)
我想成為影之強者!
陰の実力者になりたくて!
Related Series
To Be a Power in the Shadows! (WN) (Web Novel)
Recommendations
I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! (3)
There Was No Secret Organization to Fight with the World’s Darkness so I Made One (In Exasperation) (3)
Master’s Smile (2)
To Be a Power in the Shadows! (WN) (1)
Reborn in Konoha as the Anbu Torturer (1)
Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Action - Cultivation - Adventure (On going)
  2. ALLJP+
  3. More chapters.
  4. Personal Favorite List
  5. GOATS

Latest Release

Date Group Release
04/01/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c5
03/25/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c4
03/18/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c3
03/11/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c2
02/25/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c1 part10
02/25/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c1 part9
02/24/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c1 part8
02/24/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c1 part7
02/19/23 Ryouk Translation’s v5c4
02/18/23 Ryouk Translation’s v5c3
02/18/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c1 part6
02/18/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c1 part5
02/18/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c1 part4
02/15/23 Ryouk Translation’s v5c2
02/11/23 Dobelyu Wai v5c1 part3
Go to Page...
Go to Page...
Write a Review
13 Reviews sorted by


Buskervile
Buskervile rated it
July 29, 2021
Status: C204
The reviews here are so funny. Thats all I can say. This is supposed to be for the novel section only. Anyway, I already knew that this story is best delivered in a webnovel format since his chuuni acts as well as the misunderstandings during cool scenes are being highlighted. Im also sad that the author succumbed to the complaints of the readers regarding cid being too heartless. For me that was his selling point that got me hooked in to reading this. If cid stops being the former cid,... more>> then this will just be another isekai tr*sh to me.

I will still give this a 5 star since the others are unfair with the ratings and also for the reason that reading the wn was extremely fun. <<less
25 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
er3z
er3z rated it
September 22, 2021
Status: --
imagine an idiot. Like an absolute f*cking dimwit, actually, he is better described as a sociopath. Not mentally handicapped, but mentally ret*rded, and in an entertaining way (r/ImNotLikeTheOtherIsekais lol), now give him a dream. Not a regular dream, like a good job or a fulfilling life, give him the most bullsh*t aspirations to exist. Now give him many talents and working capabilities, let him train for a few years, and then kill him and reincarnate him into another world with magic (and no systems, what a surprise!). Now, after he... more>> is in another world, give him a f*ck ton of luck and for some reason a bunch of big tittied girls followers/ worshippers (because isekai), and a single smaller tittied one, and let him do whatever he wants. Now watch as he accidentally ruins (but actually saves) the world on impulse.

If you followed all of these steps, you would get the eminence in shadow. It may sound like I am making fun of the series, but believe me when I say it's one of if not the best novels I have ever read, and everything I have said in the first paragraph plays beautifully into the story and makes it better.

The eminence in shadow is a novel about a boy who wants to be an eminence in shadow, a secret, final boss with power, capital, and influence exceeding that of the demon king and hero (not that they exist in this series, yet), all while being completely hidden from the outside world.

Cid (the mc) is capable of getting the power, but relies (by accident) on his followers to get the other two, using sheer coincidences, luck, and strength to make his bullshitting come true, while thinking everyone else is aware of his 'act', while they are acting along.

This series is a parody of isekai, and the author likes to use generic isekai tropes while making them interesting. The only complaint I have is that he put too many women and too few men, but it's alright since unlike every other isekai, every character has a personality and doesn't exist just to fulfill fantasies or just for plot convenience.

also, if I didn't emphasize it enough, Cid's 'edginess' goes beyond a normal edgy personality since he is (probably) clinically insane (very cool), he may not be aware of other people's behavior and expectations, but I feel like he just doesn't care, which leads to some entertaining scenarios.

All in all, Cid is based and will totally commit war crimes for some pocket money.

(this review is a 5 star, idk why I put 4 stars before and idk how to edit it) <<less
19 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
bronx819
bronx819 rated it
May 21, 2021
Status: v1
I should've gone into this LN thinking it'd be a comedy, but as it stands this is one of the worst localized light novels I've ever read, its only marginally better than those at the bottom of the barrel. I love the isekai genre so it's not a problem with that.

I like edgy characters and dont mind villains as MC's. What I don't like is how OP Cid is, how much of an idiot he is, how everything magically falls into place for him with little to no effort, every... more>> attractive female falling for him, and how he makes a powerful organization in a quarter of a volume then doesn't do anything with it.

And that's just the protagonist, the side characters and antagonists are all bland and one dimensional. The villains in particular are so stale and seem to repeat the same trope and lines, almost word for word, as the previous ones. Not to mention the god awful pacing, everything happens too fast and the author skims over major events and almost ignores minor ones.

I don't normally write reviews but I just had to say how bad this is. I'm a bit biased because I don't like OP protagonists unless they work for it, and though it's listed as a comedy the only comedic part is how Cid died, everything else is him being dense and trying to be cool while everyone thinks he's a genius.
Spoiler

It doesn't even explain how he gets so strong so fast, all it says is that he killed thousands of slimes and made a body suit out of it that can turn into unbreakable swords anywhere on his body and expand to any length? That's the most asinine explanation I've ever read, and he can somehow shoot a beam that vaporizes anything while before that magic was only said to enhance physical attributes with absolutely no explanation? Am I being punked? How is this tr*sh of an LN so popular?

[collapse]
<<less
9 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Agilres
Agilres rated it
February 3, 2022
Status: --
Personally, I love it. It is not a serious story, especially to Cid's eyes.

I like how the story flows, the prose, and the jokes. It is one of my few favorites. I also like how the author replicates every cliche plot of how a master puppeteer/shadow broker acts. I find the coincidences Cid ends up funnily expectant, He is the kind of Japanese dense MC that would surprise you with his morals. Though everything appears to be a joke, he takes it seriously if it involves fighting, he is a... more>> battle junkie and I am an addict to action sequences even in a light novel. Even how unrealistic the MC's mind is, the extremes depicted in the light novel are something I can imagine in THAT WORLD filled with mystical elements. Maybe the coincidences happening to Cid are all dictated by destiny. Some might argue that it is too far-fetched, but I dare disagree, that's why this is fiction in the first place.

His perspective of goodness is very direct, of black and white, of a bandit or not. In fact, I find his thoughts of Diablos being bandits kind of satirical and invokes some philosophical thoughts in me. For me, it was worth the read, since it makes me laugh, anticipate and tickles my imagination. <<less
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Azure02
Azure02 rated it
July 16, 2021
Status: v3 epilogue
Your prime wish fulfillment type of novel. It's ultimately comparable to Mishima Yomu's novel, if you're familiar with Sevens or Otome Game Mob.

Maybe if you ignored the fact there is absolutely no suspense considering everything is being lay-out for the main character, ... more>>
Spoiler

(like when the old ass hero prophecy turns out to be matching with his random blabbering)

[collapse]
then you can probably enjoy this one. Which I can't.

It's ridiculous to see how the main character doesn't seem to notice what's happening around him. And he doesn't seem to care either. All he wants is to have fun and bask in his own delusion. It's in the realm between ignorance & indifference. Right in the middle of it.

Even if someone dies, even if something really dangerous is occuring to his closest person, even if he betrayed them, he just doesn't seem to notice or care. Which is worse than being heartless, straight inhumane-like. But in contrast to that, the overall perspective from the novel is just like, "okay sh*t just happened but it's nowhere nothing sick (literally) or brain damaging". It's unbearable when you have to read all those parts.

And it wouldn't be a big problem if he's like got a special case of mental problem or just have a good reason behind it, but he's heavily ret*rded because he's got extreme dose of middle school syndrom? Oh my god. <<less
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
nostalgia.
nostalgia. rated it
June 6, 2022
Status: --
A good read. My only qualm is why the enemies seem all fearless? I mean as long as the characters are not blind or utterly without brains they can see clues that MC is ridiculously powerful for their league. It looks every character think they themselves are the strongest which too absurd
6 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
RajSanthosh
RajSanthosh rated it
July 8, 2023
Status: v5 epilogue
First of all, OP MCs stories are little boring because we know that those MCs finishes off the problem with ease.

Example: Superman, One Punch Man, Misfit Demon, etc.,

The only way to make these story interesting is to focus on side characters.. and that is the only way to stretch the story...

... more>> But here MC has an interesting personality and the unique way author moving the story makes the novel enjoyable...

MC is OP, but still the story, comedy and all keeps us away from getting bored.

Every other characters Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta,

Alexia, Iris, 666, Sherry,

Aurora, Yuki, Claire (Yandere bro-con)

Each and Every characters are unique and best...

Also John Smith who is Strong as Shadow... (Can't wait to see him in 2nd season of anime) <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
DMR
DMR rated it
May 4, 2021
Status: v4c5 part4-6
Well, while the premise and the characters themselves are fun and interesting, the story kinda gets convoluted... there are just too many elements, and frankly, each element themselves could be their own story.

It's like 3-4 stories mashed into 1... not the best choice.

... more>>
Spoiler

There is a cult to beat, a mystery of the heroes thing, trying to juggle getting along a school, kingdom politics and even an invasion of Earth.

[collapse]

It's just a lot of stuff and kinda gets boring after a certain point.

And that's without considering the fact that the MC's denseness and the overly serious world kinda clash a bit.

Like, I get that it's supposed to be a comedy series, but at some points, it just doesn't work and the joke get's stale... <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Zkiller02
Zkiller02 rated it
January 28, 2022
Status: v4 short story
Novel is great, I look at this novel as something like one punch man, where the MC is unreasonably op from doing rediculious shit. But with an addition of good plotlines and comedic scenes. Especially the misunderstanding parts are particularly my favorite! The way the scenario somehow connects and made into an actual plotline, literally an unintentional move results in something bigger than you would expect, lmao. I'd say that there's supposed to be some background force manipulating the world around the MC (author? Lol), cuz everything MC does whether... more>> intentional or not somehow lines up with his imagination or even exceeding it. Still, somehow the conclusion of every arc still gives me goosebumps! Author plz keep up the good work <<less
3 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
N.I.B
N.I.B rated it
December 30, 2023
Status: v6
People are right to compare this LN to Overlord, but Cid (or whatever name he adopts as the case may be, like the pretentious chunni that he is) reminds me of other popular characters out there, depending on the arc. He's literally Peter Griffin; it has occurrences out of nowhere.

The story is well distributed between the volumes and the narrative is good, it doesn't feel heavy when reading and the author goes straight to the point, saving the surprise for the end, I like that, although sometimes it gets lost... more>> the surprise because of the cliche in some parts of the story. The way Cid's POV is narrated is interesting, it's as if the author was intentionally showing us how immature a chunni with so much power can be.

The plot is very simple;

Spoiler

The MC group exposing the corruption between kingdoms and a cult that has ruled for years, so meh. I still don't know if the MC takes it seriously or not, he's very overprotective of his things, but at the same time, he doesn't want to get involved.

[collapse]

-------------

As I said before, Cid's chunni personality can change depending on what the author wants, and that happens in each volume, and it's not really that hard to do a comparison:

Spoiler

Vol 1 - Ojisan from Isekai Ojisan: he wants to live in a low profile, as a mob character, but he's hated by everyone because a bit*h needs a scapegoat for her selfish reasons, and mess up his plan.

Vol 2 - Saitama from One Punchman: The typical loser that nobody knows but it's strong af and f*cked up everything at the end of the day.

Vol 3 - Ainz from Overlord: John Smith is literally Momon (Ainz's Alterego) when Ainz goes to having fun in New World, same goes from Cid when he goes to Lawless City, to have "fun". Nice reference to Castlevania btw.

Vol 4 - This is more of a special mention for a LN who have the same setup, Nidome no Yuusha: Cid returns to his original world, and his reincarnation has consequences, the difference was that Kaito has amnesia, meanwhile Cid was having a good time with his alterego Shadow, showing his chunni issues.

Vol 5 and Vol 6 - Conan Edogawa from Detective Conan: I can understand the author is a fan of Aoyama's manga, but pretending that Cid is Shinichi Kudo when he was the one who plotted everything and in the end he solved everything via bruteforce was disappointed.

[collapse]

-------------

One thing that surprises me are the characters, they're not really written in a deep way, on the contrary, they are described with some ambiguity from Cid's POV, but in a some way, they're good and have a good charm, except for some unpleasant characters.

Spoiler

Alpha: Your generic FMC, I feel like she sometimes seeks some attention from Cid, but that's just my opinion.
Beta: The girl that takes advantage from any chance that she had, she thinks she's very clever, but Cid only sees her as a curious idiot.
Gamma: Her clumsiness and her desire to improve herself makes her a funny and an interesting character.
Epsilon: The character with a slime complex, she's somewhat funny.
Delta: She's a dog, a cute one.
Zeta: Ow the edge character.
Eta: Your generic sociopath scientist.
Victoria: Way too loyal to Shadow, reminds me to those buttlickers from Overlord.
Alexia: I really hate her because she has the typical ojou tsundere with a extreme pretentious personality and treats Cid like her property, she's too arrogant and she's always goes getting into trouble. And the fact that this bit*h has "plot armor" makes me hate her even more.
Claire: Another toxic yandere character, just like Alexia, she's so stubborn, her pitiful existence is only a excuse to get her brother's attention due to lack of self-esteem, and f*ck that "plot armor" for this character, she should be dead since the first part of the history.
Rose: She's fine, she fulfills her role in the story: being a tool for Shadow Garden and Cid.
Akane: I still don't know what's the point from this character, so meh.

[collapse]

-------------

If you don't take it seriously, it's a good read if you want to laugh, it has its ups and downs, but at least it's not boring. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
stanljpierre
stanljpierre rated it
October 13, 2023
Status: v5 epilogue
Put off reading this for the longest time simply due to the fact that I'm not a fan of the tags "dense protagonist", "hiding identity/abilities". What got me to put aside my dislike and finally start reading this novel was the anime which was quite the entertaining and visually appealing watch. Ended up finding and binge reading the available volumes in one night and it didn't disappoint.

If there's another thing I'm not a fan of, it's of how absolutely oblivious the MC is to the things happening around him. Sure,... more>> it's a part of the charm surrounding this story and it comes with the dense protagonist tag, but at some point you can't help but expect that he'd finally feel that things are strange and that the world isn't simply moving to fulfill his chuunibyou fantasies.

Aside from that, love just about everything else, especially the characters, primarily from Shadow Garden of course.
Spoiler

Though that's question to change with the stunts that Zeta began pulling in the 5th volume.

[collapse]
<<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
yamibae
yamibae rated it
June 1, 2023
Status: v5
Great novel to read, I binge read it after the anime and was not dissapointed, it is definitely more interesting than typical power fantasies, maybe due to how the MCs personality and abilities are displayed. He is somewhat similar to Anos from Misfit of demon king academy but his arrogant personality is more like a 2nd persona compared to his first one. Another interesting aspect of this is how dedicated he is to "becoming a power in the shadows" because he's willing to completely fall into his role as... more>> a nobody while not in his 2nd persona.

Would recommend the read to pass the time. Definitely one of the better ones in the power fantasy genre. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
kiyotaka12
kiyotaka12 rated it
February 8, 2022
Status: v2
Alright, this series is just straight-up boring, gave it a try cuz of the good reviews I saw but honestly considering its chuuni I can't expect much since the targeted audience are delusional "kids". MC got reincarnated, trained hard to be strong which is nice and suddenly found a way to maximize his power and can move at light speed.

Female characters a likable and loyal but the whole plot is just downright bland. The only thing I like in this series is that the MC is not showing off his... more>> skills despite being OP unlike other series out there and is not cringe

Comedy is for 12 y/o and if you enjoy OP edgelord MC who decimates every enemy he faces you gonna like this. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Leave a Review (Guidelines)
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.