The Eminence in Shadow

The ost is insanely good like a little cringe but I would lowk listen to it. One of my top ten isekai and I've watched atleast 30 (also including all of the renowned isekai like slime, vending machine, chronicles of an aristocrat, mushoku, overlord,strongest exorcist, am i really the strongest, daily life, greatest demon lord, devil is a part timer, blah blah. Lots of fanservice mind you but the great timing of comedic and shocking elements provide great surprise in my top 3 isekai of all time. People do tend to have mixed feelings about this show, so I must give it a 9 because their points are true. The show could use some more aspects from the manga like specific terms (when watching the anime they refer to "Dark Knights" and in the manga they are "Spell-Swords" which sounds a lot better and more fitting for the storyline.

While, the manga is much much better in all most every aspect! I try to judge anime's and manga separately there are references in this anime that I disliked, like this for example anime reference "Dark Knight" in my opinion is weak an overly used everywhere else plus you doesn't get a sense of what means for the characters! In the Manga they are referred too as "Spell-Swords" which is unique name an makes ref to magic swordsman very effective!

But this anime is still great in its own right, an is worth a watch! You don't need to even watch ep1 as it was terrible an there's nothing in it you don't gain from the other 3 eps of what is going on!!! After eps2 things definitely get better for watching!!

A lot of people seem to think the manga was far better than the anime.

It is mostly due to the side story becoming the first episode of the anime. Can't blame them since starting with Cid's monologues would have bored people out.

If there was one thing the anime failed to do, it was about showing Cid's pre-reincarnation self where he was described as a hunk.

Some people complain about the anime being cringe and turning into a generic harem. However, Cid IS a chuuni. The entire novel revolves around Cid being the cringiest yet coolest character. Romance? Nah we all in for the comedy and action. They just don't get the whole point of the anime. It is not "Reincarnated as an assassin". It is Eminence in Shadow. It isn't supposed to be a serious plot.

If you think the anime is cringe, it means the anime did a good job.

Edit: I forgot to mention but I too am salty about Shadow Garden's masks missing in the anime.

Within the isekai genre, this anime subverts the genre and breaks away from the usual boring standard. We begin with the story of a protagonist who, after being run over, is reincarnated in his delusions and dreams, a dimension where he is an eminence, a kind of god, everything revolves around him, and in burlesque tones, parodies hackneyed harems, romances, and generic isekais but in its own way. I like how the story is told through the protagonist, who suffers from eighth-grade syndrome, as it is known in Japan. That's why culture shock and not being open to it can ruin the experience of watching something, but it is what it is and it works. When the theory of dimensions is revealed, it makes sense that in this universe, there exists a combination of eras in the architecture of buildings, objects, clothing, types of beings, etc. These are realms that have collided and influenced Cid's realm. It takes itself seriously, without taking itself seriously, is a rather interesting and original premise.

The fantasy and magic themes are just McGuffins, a narrative excuse to tell a story, the protagonist's delusions and how he creates his own story, in a world where they do exist. It's not necessary for them to explain everything to you, nor the power scales, nor why he's so strong, nor those over-expositions that fighting shonen usually have.

This anime was a real surprise to me. I only had minimal interest in watching it, but when I did I was surprised. The first few episodes were average, but by episode 3 I was hooked. Unlike most of my experiences with similar anime's, the episodes just got better and better.

Make sure you watch at least the first three episodes and make sure you watch it on a high quality format, preferably from HIDIVE. If you do you will not be disappointed. The biggest challenge you will have is to pace what you're watching, this series is very easy to binge.

One other advantage I found was the episodes were very re-watchable. I have watched it twice since I watched it originally and enjoyed each watch. I am Atomic!!!