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To Be a Power in the Shadows!
Type
Web Novel (JP)
Genre
Tags[ ]
One entry per line
Rating(4.6 / 5.0, 709 votes)
5    82% (584 votes)
4    9% (61 votes)
3    3% (23 votes)
2    2% (14 votes)
1    4% (27 votes)
Language
Author(s)
One entry per line
Artist(s)
One entry per line
Year
Example: 2012
2018
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
166 WN Chapters (Ongoing)
1 LN Volume (Ongoing)
Licensed
No
Completely Translated
No
Original Publisher
One entry per line
English Publisher
One entry per line
N/A
Release Frequency
Every 9.5 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #88
Monthly Rank: #68
All Time Rank: #200
Reading List
[Graph]
On 9690 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #95
All Time Rank: #106

Description

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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!
The Eminence in Shadow
陰の実力者になりたくて！
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Tilea’s Worries (11)
Overlord (LN) (7)
I Got Reincarnated And Mistaken As A Genius? (7)
My Death Flags Show No Sign of Ending (5)
Martial King’s Retired Life (2)
Master’s Smile (2)

Latest Release

Date Group Release
12/16/18 Black Box Internet... c117
12/04/18 Black Box Internet... c116
11/02/18 Black Box Internet... c115
11/02/18 Black Box Internet... c114
10/01/18 Black Box Internet... c113
09/11/18 Tenshi Translations c112
09/10/18 Tenshi Translations c111
09/09/18 Tenshi Translations c110
09/08/18 Tenshi Translations c109
09/07/18 Tenshi Translations c108
09/06/18 Tenshi Translations c107
09/05/18 Tenshi Translations c106
09/04/18 Tenshi Translations c105
09/03/18 Tenshi Translations c104
09/02/18 Tenshi Translations c103
123…8
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83 Reviews sorted by


keishanmirra
New keishanmirra rated it
January 15, 2019
Status: c115
I notice many of the reviews, good and bad, seem to be missing something great about the MC.
He is a genius... and an idiot. Just from his descriptions of himself in the initial chapter, you can infer that he is both driven and solitary, possibly a bit lonely, extremely smart and capable, but also very, very (ad infinitum) "socially inept" (read Dense). Throw in a lot of jabs at common tropes for comedic relief, and make it a harem-style with an oblivious... nay, disinterested, MC and this LN is... more>> GOLD.
1. He has had the same passion and goal since childhood.
2. He works extremely hard at not APPEARING to work hard ("day-job")
3. Purely dedicated to his Night Training. (Who says you can't take it with you? Wink wink)
4. Using random information from two separate worlds, contrived an excellent story (excuse) for the purpose of his dream... That just happens to be NEARLY entirely correct.
5. He really has cut out pretty much everything else in pursuit of his dreams. Notices the hotness of the females around him... gives zero *you know what*. Gets insulted constantly... No skin off his back, he knows his own worth. Even his fighting styles point to him shucking the chaff and refining down to the essentials.
6. Has a great sense of humor, sometimes even self-deprecating humor. Nothing funnier than this guy's inner monologue, but his Mob life experiences are a close second. (*for the readers* 33/47 left, and does he look like a pet to you?)
7. He knows everything and yet he knows nothing. Is vigilant yet unobservant. Now, that is skill. The MC is an oxymoron in and of himself.
8. He is apparently a Master at explaining things... just think about it.
9. In pursuit of his dreams, he hasn't grasped that he has already fully realized his main one, with a little help from his friends.
10. Finally, Lady Luck smiles upon this bass-turd in such a way that he gets to experience many great moments, walk around oblivious to the Big Picture, and still come out looking like a Saint and Smelling of Roses.

I hope I covered it without spoiling it. So, this isn't just an idiot MC with luck who comes upon things through pure happenstance (though, that happens, too)... The guy is a skilled genius... with quirks.
PS- Everyone who has a problem with his armor (most especially his sword)... you don't need to be a Blacksmith to forge a malleable magic weapon/armor. In case you didn't notice, he has had since infancy to learn control of magic, has been able to take in and retain vast amounts of information since birth, and over the course of 15+ years, through hard work and experimentation and some basic understandings and theories from his previous "years", has managed to figure out a few things to his advantage.

The MC is OP, people. The reason this LN is so enjoyable is that he is also a dingus. Even better, for me, is that this anti-hero accidentally on purpose is really a super hero, but doesn't see himself that way. Meaning; everything he does makes him a super hero, and he does everything with a purpose, but the results are often accidental (read: Hero Worship, Dedicated Followers). <<less
4 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Tenku_kun
New Tenku_kun rated it
January 11, 2019
Status: c44
You're hard to come by a Japanese as good as this in what it chooses to do. It's just that the MC is so dumb it ticks me off. Enough to make me drop the novel. This however, is just my opinion, I'll still recommend this to anyone looking for a light comedy novel and time to spare.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
KanadeTenshi
KanadeTenshi rated it
March 23, 2018
Status: c41
Hi, I'm Tenshi, the translator.

I picked up this series cus I found the comedy really funny.

You know how the whole concept of chuunibyou is that the character is convinced he's involved in some great conspiracy and there's powers and all that, but then everyone around knows that it's all not real?

Well, this story is the exact opposite. The main character thinks he's just playing at being chuunibyou, but actually it's all real, and everyone else around knows it's real, but only he doesn't know that it's real. And because he's... more>> pretending like it's real, nobody knows that he doesn't know that it's real so nobody tells him that it's real.

Seem convoluted? Yep, that's what makes this series great.

It's a comedy series based on misunderstanding and coincidence, and there is lots of kick-ass action (cus the MC did reincarnate into another world with magic). But be forewarned, there is A LOT OF cringe, cus the MC is playing at being chuunibyou.

So yea, if that kind of comedy is up your alley, then please check it out! <<less
175 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Gin_Hindew
Gin_Hindew rated it
March 30, 2018
Status: c5
An awesome meta comedy

The MC just rolls with his delusions but the world seems to be very willing to roll with him, he has his whole "regular guy at day, power in the shadows at night" plus a humour that recognizes the tropes of all the situations he encounters so he can do jokes on it, he is mostly a deadpan snarker who acknowledges his chuunibyo as a choice but also self aware enough to understand the tropes on other characteres

Is a good story and there are misunderstandings but they... more>> are part of the plot instead of excuses for contrived developments as the MC puts a lot of planning and effort on his goals and the concidences land in the same direction

As an example here is a line of a regular LN said after the MC has filtered it by his personality

Spoiler

She has shoulder-length silvery white hair, and her red eyes are enchantingly..... arg anyways she has pretty eyes too, and..... her brows are, um..... screw this, I give up, she is pretty

[collapse]

Both being a mob character and being a power in the shadows are his personas so he can be very amusing under both scenarions

Spoiler

"Heeh~, do I look like a guy who would wag his tail for money?"

So I say while crawling on the ground and carefully picking up the gold coins piece by piece.

"Yes you do."

"You've got a good eye."

[collapse]

I really like honest stories and here the author is very honest about getting himself loose for fun and asking us to go along with his idea, just roll with it and it will be awesome <<less
41 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Syntax_Error
Syntax_Error rated it
May 19, 2018
Status: c60
This novel is taking coincidence way to far. It's in a whole of level that nobody could comprehend anymore. The Plot felt like it was forced as if the world was literally rolling for the MC.

Trust me, your brain cells will commit suicide one by one per chapter... that is unless you read this novel under the pretext that its a COMEDY/HAREM NOVEL.

I did it and surprisingly despite my strict preference I came to like it in its own way.

If you're gonna criticize this novel strictly based from a... more>> profound criteria while saying that 'this novel is stupid', sorry to tell you but you are just making yourself look more stupid than the novel itself. There's no need to indicate the clear fact that this novel is stupid because if you look it thoroughly, it's easy to tell that being stupid is all within the novel's intention for the sake of comedy.

If you fully grasp that logic, then like me, you'll enjoy the novel.

In the end of the day, just don't treat this novel way too serious since it was designed just for laughs. <<less
29 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Kevadu
Kevadu rated it
April 4, 2018
Status: c18
I liked it at first but it's kind of a one-trick pony. The premise is genuinely funny at first, but any joke will get old if you repeat it too many times. And repeat this novel does.

It becomes increasingly hard to swallow how every single random BS rationalization the MC pulls out of his ass just happens to be 100% completely true. Yet of course he never actually realizes it because that would involve character development.

It's also pretty hard to understand why the MC is so obsessed with staying hidden... more>> in the shadows in the first place. Yeah, I get it, he's a chuunibyou. But you the reason chuunibyous fantasize about having hidden secret powers is that every knows--including themselves deep down--that they don't have any real power. But here we have an MC who is positively brimming with power. He's completely OP. Yet he's obsessed with keeping it hidden and behaving like a mob character all because of what's basically a game to him seeing how he hasn't even realized that the evil forces he's fighting against are real. Even as web novel rationalizations for a MC hiding his power go that's some pretty flimsy reasoning.

Of course everything always works out for the MC in the end even if the course he takes to get there makes absolutely no sense. Which just lowers my investment in the story even further since there's never any tension.

Maybe I'm being too harsh. It's honestly a pretty original take on a genre (OP isekai reincarnation) that has been so overdone in recent years it feels like there are no original ideas left. And it is actually quite funny at first even if the premise gets old. But I see all these people raving about this novel and giving it fives... and it's no five. Actually if it had been written more as a short story or novella I think it could have worked fine. The problem is the longer the author makes the story the more stale its jokes become and the more strained the reader's suspension of disbelief. <<less
23 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
GrimVeilRule
GrimVeilRule rated it
March 23, 2018
Status: c5
This novel is really stupid the MC guesses and is 100% right all the time. Even the stories he makes up are somehow truth. It's one of though stories wereeverything workout for the MC no mater how stupid it seems.
18 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Kennylatale
Kennylatale rated it
April 21, 2018
Status: c34
This is a parody. If you read it seriously, it makes no sense. So don't. The main character acts retarded because he is. If you dont get the first few chapters, the rest of the story is not for you. The comedy fits my tastes so I enjoyed it.
16 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
FlareZVector
FlareZVector rated it
May 23, 2018
Status: c64
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This story is a gag story.

I absolutely like this. Think of the MC as a very childish Saitama with Rikka levels of Chuunibyo and has more luck than Kazuma. The misunderstandings in this story beats Gamers and the coincidences happening are more coincidental than cheap rip-offs of games. The plot moves forward at a steady pace with a few jabs and hooks to your face. I like how the MC uses a Taepodong (North Korean ICBM) as a standard for strength.

This story is chaotic in a good way. I... more>> recommend it.

On the other side of the coin, the MC has a severe level of chuunibyo. It's f*cked up because he's playing make believe while killing. One of the aspects I like about the story. <<less
15 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Raneday
Raneday rated it
March 22, 2018
Status: c47
The novel was a series of MC doing coincidental things and the people around him/his subordinates would misunderstand it and would lead to them worshiping him more. The story has a good pacing, no extra filler chapters and a novel that's worth to read it one sitting, and in all honesty I was just planning to skim read till chapter 10 but I did end up to read it till the latest chapter as of now.

Well regarding the relationship with people, MC has a lot of loyal followers mainly his... more>> seven main ones; Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma and so on... and the things that MC do which he thought was just inconsequential was actually in fact a big thing in the whole picture.

I wish I could write more things but I'm bad at expressing on what I want to tell, soooo I'll just say that if you liked a good pace action novel you might like this one <<less
15 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
CrowFX
CrowFX rated it
May 11, 2018
Status: c54
This novel is a gem.

Expect a Shounen archetype story, but with the shounen elements perverted into oblivion.

Don't read this for the fights, but read this for the theatrical actions that is done often because of stupid reasons or the 'WTF' reaction from the antagonists and the casts outside of MC's harem-but-too-chuuni-to-realize circle.

Expect common Shounen tropes like waiting for enemies to ready their final form, talking when fighting, etc, but don't let this hinder you. The novel uses these tropes to bring more hilarious situations.

14 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
hawlol
hawlol rated it
June 16, 2018
Status: c86
Supreme Chuunibyou should be the name of this novel. Overpowered but boring MC that keeps doing things just because he thinks it's cool like a kid.
He dreams to be some kind of ruler in the darkness but does everything in a flashy hero-like way delivering cliche punch lines.

He's obtuse and dumb but does everything right by accident (throwing knife at map and discovering kidnappers hideout, always doing something random that saves the day), except when he's fighting, because then he is god incarnated and no one can hold a... more>> candle to him with no explanation but 'because he's strong'.

Was a little funny at first time but got boring quick. Really overrated series. <<less
13 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
GabeZhul
GabeZhul rated it
September 18, 2018
Status: c91
This is probably the best misunderstanding-comedy I have read in years.

Premise:

The protagonist used to be a modern Japanese kid who was fascinated by "powers in the shadows". To unpack this term: it is an amalgamation of being an anti-hero leading a secret society, hiding one's power and identity while living a normal life, and being absolutely over-powering and showing up at the nick of time when the "heroes" are in trouble. This kid grew up to be a spirited, if retarded, adult obsessed with obtaining power, but without magic,... more>> all he could do was to train his body to the pinnacle of human limits. He then began searching for magic anyway, which lead to him getting a concussion during a training session and the having a fateful meeting with Truck-kun. Afterwards he wakes up as the newborn second child of a baron in a fantasy world, where he decides to live out his fantasies, adopting the alter-ego of Shadow and forming a secret society while also maintaining a meticulously crafted public identity of an average, not particularly talented noble youth. However, due to the unwritten laws of misunderstanding comedies, it turns out all the chuuni scenarios he was feeding to his loyal followers turned out to be 100% on the mark, which put them in collision course with a millennia old secret society.

Pros:

    • A very good misunderstanding comedy, where the MC is just dense and ridiculously lucky enough to get things rolling, but sensible enough to play his role as Shadow perfectly to fix the situations.
    • This is also a really good power-fantasy. We know that the MC is overpowered, but he knows it too, and it is just a lot of fun seeing him act out his childhood dreams of being the OP expert that shows up in the nick of time.
    • The female characters are actually decently written, with each of them having a distinct personality and aspirations beyond their archetype.
    • The writing is surprisingly tight, with way more twists, turns and epic moments than one would expect from the genre.
Neutral:

    • There is a harem shaping up around our unsuspecting donkan protagonist, which might turn some off. It also doesn't help that, while the possible love interest are all decently fleshed out, there are like fifteen of them already.
    • The contrived coincidences that are a staple of the genre can sometimes clash with the overall fairly down-to-earth and, dare I say, dark plot.
Cons:

    • The worldbuilding is pretty weak, mainly because most of the story is told from the POV of the MC, and he is too focused on his "living out my childhood dreams" adventures to pay attention to the larger world.
    • The pacing is that of a gag-series, while the overall story is closer to a low-fantasy epic told from an unusual perspective, which makes the story feel rushed at times.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this work. It takes a couple of chapters to get rolling, but once it does, it is a joy to read, <<less
11 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Arumanfi
Arumanfi rated it
July 5, 2018
Status: c88
Love it! Highly recommended as its also full of classic cliches mixed with original dramas and exciting foreshadows for the main storyline.

The protag is not your usual japanese isekai MC and the misunderstandings even though its cliches, the translator did a great job of translating it up into the story in an entertaining way, so much so that it reads really good on the eyes.

again, highly recommended.
10 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
turk128
turk128 rated it
October 1, 2018
Status: c112
What if Saitama never got out of his chuuni phase, instead went at it 100%... then got isekai to a fantasy land.

This isekai very much owns much of it's humor and special brand of misunderstanding from One Punch Man but it's not a rip-off but more a very well done homage. It very much develops its own brand of storytelling and humor from the core homage thou.

Like many others point out, it's amazing how well written this novel is, it has yet to get old 100+ chapter in!
9 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
boritosh
boritosh rated it
August 3, 2018
Status: --
Some people seem to be mistaking this comedy novel as a serious piece of fantasy, even if it's already an isekai. Don't take the story seriously and it's pretty funny. It's not one to get invested into but it is definitely one that makes the hours fly by when reading.
9 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Krazyguy75
Krazyguy75 rated it
May 14, 2018
Status: c57
tl;dr: So absorbing that I only slept 4 hours and was intentionally late to class the week before finals.

Don't read this for anything but humor. The MC is a mary sue, the plot is generic, the other characters are one dimensional, and the world building is relatively tame. If absurd humor alone isn't your thing, this book isn't for you.

However, if it is... this is funny as hell. Everything is blown out of proportion. The MC is so oblivious he doesn't even realize that all the people he is fighting... more>> are from the same organization, despite all his followers knowing it. The MC is trying so hard to look like a unimportant character he has secret techniques to look weaker than he is, that do things like make him spiral through the air spraying out blood. His followers are leaving him secret messages in codes he can't even read, and he acts like he understands while thinking they are just playing around, despite him controlling a massive shadow organization he doesn't understand the scope of at all.

It's ludicrous, and funny. I give a hard recommendation. <<less
9 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
ydim
ydim rated it
September 22, 2018
Status: --
Let's be clear: the main premise is the protagonist is obsessed with enacting his chuunibyou fantasy to the point of pursuing power to withstand a nuke. If this does not establish that he is insane and a gag character enough for you, I don't think anything else could do it. So if you do read the novel, keep your expectations within the bounds of the first few chapters and what their setting. A good novel usually follows through with their premise, as does this one.

I'm taking the time to write... more>> this only because many here seem to be complaining that the main character is this or that, when, as described above, all those choices were intentional so you either have to take it or leave it.

That is all. <<less
8 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
tfate
tfate rated it
September 7, 2018
Status: c120
This novel makes fun of all the cliche in harem novels. It's actually very funny, so I see people complaining about info dump, but it doesn't even feel like an info dump cause it's still entertaining to read.

I think some people are taking this novel seriously even though It's a comedy, if you're an edge lord who doesn't like humor then this novel isn't for you.
8 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Kyself
Kyself rated it
April 15, 2018
Status: c20
The main character is a full-blown, off-the-walls chuuni. It was fun to read in the beginning how he tries to justify the existence of magic and ends up losing it, all in the quirky voice of his inner monologue. My one gripe is his ability to create overpowered and over-efficient equipment. Training is one thing, but snowflake-y craftsmanship doesn't feel like it belongs here. I appreciate how good the translation quality is at the very least.

EDIT: The writing really is quite stylish and fun to read, but you'll be disappointed... more>> if you want something with some sort of dilemma or character growth.

EDIT 2: So far it's only happened once, so I wouldn't worry about crafting ALL THE THINGS. The author is absolutely crushing it with his writing style. The quips come very organically. <<less
8 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
0infinit
0infinit rated it
July 1, 2018
Status: c88
This novel is really enjoyable, the author knew how to write it to be light and at the same time complete.

I say this because I am a regular reader of many novels and I can say that's this novel idea have an incredible potential and the author is being able to give to us the best of it (at least for the moment).
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
falloutexile3
falloutexile3 rated it
April 9, 2018
Status: c4
Any MC that plays around with his own loving family member's life deserves to be shot.... more>>
Spoiler

In chapter 4 after his older sister is kidnapped, the MC pretends to skim over "ancient documents" he admits in his mind he can't really read, throws a dagger at a random place on a map and says "she's there". It would be one thing if MC has a special ability he keeps hidden, or is clever enough to put a tracker of some sort on his sister, but neither seem to be true.

[collapse]
MC just Bull-$#!ts things and they just inexplicably happen to be true. I can't see how anyone can accept this as a story.

Don't get me wrong, comedy and parody has its place but playing with your family's lives? That's where I draw the line with any "story". <<less
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
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