The Eminence in Shadow (2022-2023)

[陰の実力者になりたくて!]

Director: Kazuya Nakanishi
Studio: Nexus
Starring: Seiichiro Yamashita, Rina Hidaka, Kana Hanazawa
Episodes: 20

Synopsis:
A young man is reincarnated into another world, where he seeks to become the ultimate power behind the scenes.

Impressions:
What separates this from every other power-trip harem wish fulfillment isekai? First is a keen sense of self-awareness along with a good sense of humor about it all. Next is a sort of The Man Who Knew Too Little scenario where the protagonist treats his chuuni fantasies as just that while they are in fact being realized around him, either due to the world conveniently aligning with his imagination or him having some sort of Haruhi-level power to unwittingly make his fantasies reality. We then have the protagonist putting on two separate acts, as the eponymous Eminence in Shadow and as a perfectly forgettable background character. Particularly in the latter, traits that would usually annoy me become funny when it's all a deliberate act. (The fact that he can't quite be the sort of invisible background character he aspires to be is also a bit amusing.) You then have a battle harem that's quickly established, only to be pushed to the side and mostly operate out of sight for a good chunk of the show. Said battle harem is actually fairly interesting, so it's a bit of a shame that they don't get more focus (but perhaps that's what the spinoff is good for). The interplay of drama and comedy is fun. What's played very straight for most of the people on the ground has this underlying absurdity, punctuated by little touches like the ridiculous names of characters and such. It's a difficult balance to strike, but for me it was pitch perfect. My only real complaint is that it had to end, but with Kadokawa money behind it, there's decent hope for a sequel. Viewers who only see it on the surface level may not be impressed and some cynical sorts may not think its cleverness is clever enough for them, but I found it to be an absolute delight and would gladly recommend adding it to your collection.

Rating:
Own It