The Eminence in Shadow Anime Gets 2nd Season

The television anime of Daisuke Aizawa's The Eminence in Shadow (Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!) light novel series live-streamed a special on Wednesday to commemorate its final episode — only to announce that the anime will have a second season. The main staff is returning for the second season at the studio Nexus. The stream did not reveal the debut date for the new season.

©逢沢大介・KADOKAWA刊／シャドウガーデン

©逢沢大介・KADOKAWA刊／シャドウガーデン

The first season of the anime premiered in October 2022, and it ended on February 15.

HIDIVE is streaming the anime.

HIDIVE describes the story:

Some people just aren't suited to playing the part of the flashy, in-your-face hero or the dastardly, mustache-twirling villain with larger-than-life panache. Instead, they operate in the shadows and pull the strings of society through wit and cleverness. That's the role Cid wants to play when he's transported to another world. Cid spins a yarn or three and becomes the unlikely leader of the underground Shadow Garden organization that fights against a menacing cult (which he totally made up). However, there's a catch even his wild imagination didn't see coming: the cult he concocted actually exists, and they're beyond displeased that his power fantasy just got in the way of their evil plans!

Kazuya Nakanishi (chief animation director for Darwin's Game) is directing the anime at Nexus (Darwin's Game, Granbelm). Makoto Iino (Suppose a Kid From the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Demon Lord, Retry!) is adapting Tōzai's original character designs for animation. Kanichi Katou (Black Clover, Those Snow White Notes) is overseeing the series scripts. Kenichiro Suehiro is composing the music.

The seven voice actresses for the Seven Shades characters (Asami Seto, Inori Minase, Suzuko Mimori, Ai Fairouz, Hisako Kanemoto, Ayaka Asai, Reina Kondo) perform the ending theme song "Darling in the Night."

Yen Press licensed both the light novels and the manga adaptation.

Aizawa began serializing the story on the "Shōsetsuka ni Narō" (Let's Become Novelists) website in May 2018, and Kadokawa began publishing the story in physical volumes with art by Tōzai, beginning with the first volume in November 2018. Anri Sakano launched the manga adaptation in Kadokawa's Comp Ace magazine in December 2018. Seta U launched a spinoff manga titled Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! Shadow Gaiden (The Eminence in Shadow - Shadow Side Story) in Comp Ace in July 2019.

The Eminence in Shadow: Master of Garden game launched for iOS, Android, and PC in November 2022. Crunchyroll Games released the game in English.

Sources: Kadokawa live stream, press release