The popular Japanese light novel series "I Want to Become the Strongest in the Shadows!" has sold over 4 million copies. The anime is currently a hot topic, with its second season scheduled to air in October. This work is packed with technical terms, many of which are important to understand before watching the anime. This time, we'll explain the technical terms used in the work! We recommend reading Part 1 first before proceeding with this article!
Kingdom of Midgar & Kingdom of Orianna
This is the kingdom in another world where Cid is reincarnated, and it's also the setting for the story. It is a medieval, class-based society, with a lower level of civilization than modern times, with horse-drawn carriages and other forms of transportation commonplace. In the anime, steam-powered railways are used between cities, and the royal capital also has steam-powered city transportation. Some of the academy's students commute to school using these modes of transportation. The Kingdom of Oriana is known as the "Land of Art" and is allied with the Kingdom of Midgar. The arts are thriving, making it a popular tourist destination. Swordsmanship is considered barbaric, and the kingdom does not have an army. In the event of an emergency, the kingdom relies on soldiers from its ally, the Kingdom of Midgar, for protection. One could even say that this alliance was formed for this purpose. The Kingdom of Oriana became the "Land of Art" because the Diabolos Cult discovered its weaknesses, depriving it of its military strength and forcing it to provide entertainment for the Diabolos Cult. As a result, the country itself has become a puppet of the Diabolos Cult. While the arts are thriving, the reasons for this are far from positive. The idea that swordsmanship is barbaric was also the result of brainwashing by the Diabolos Cult to prevent them from building a fighting force to rebel against them.
Shadow Garden
This is an organization founded by Shadow under the pretext of "countering the Diabolos Cult." It has over 600 members, the majority of whom are elves. Shadow is the leader, but he leaves everything to Alpha, a member of the group, making Alpha the de facto leader. As a result, Shadow, the true leader, does not understand much about the organization. Furthermore, Shadow believes the other members are just fun-loving people who are going along with his "pretend" Shadow Garden, and is not even aware that Shadow Garden actually exists. Almost all of the members are possessed by demons caused by rampaging magical powers, and while there are individual differences, each possesses powerful magical powers and extremely high combat abilities. Shadow Garden's goal is to destroy the Diabolos Cult, but Cid's own goal is simply to play the role of a secret power, and the organization's goals do not align with those of its leader. After becoming demon-possessed, the members were loathed and abandoned by their families and comrades. Compared to then, their current environment is far better, and most of them are no longer attached to their original status. Shadow has his own goals and acts as part of a different faction, separate from Alpha's faction, which aims to destroy the Diabolos Cult.
Seven Shadows
These seven Shadow Garden executives are said to possess exceptional abilities. Shadow himself treated them for demonic possession, spent several years with them, and received all of his martial arts and magical training. Because they have been together for so long, they could be considered Shadow's childhood friends and disciples. Each member is given a single-letter Greek name in order of joining, and with the exception of Alpha, the leader, there is essentially no hierarchy. Shadow also teaches them the knowledge and skills he acquired before his reincarnation, such as piano, and some have used these skills to achieve success in the public eye. Even after leaving Cid and scattering across the world to build and develop their organization, one of the seven always remained by Cid's side, on a rotating basis, to support him. Since the organization's expansion, New has taken over as Cid's support.
Mitsugoshi Trading Company
This company can be considered a front for Shadow Garden. It also serves as a camouflage to hide the true nature of Shadow Garden. After the Seven Shadows left Cid and scattered across the world, they used the knowledge they learned from Cid to develop and sell various products, such as chocolate and coffee, which had never existed in the other world before, and amassed enormous wealth. Mitsugoshi Trading Company was established based on these assets. Since then, they've continued to open branches in prime locations both domestically and internationally, exuding a sense of luxury, while also expanding their chain of stores with affordable prices so they can be accessible to the general public. They've contracted with full-time farmers to secure high-quality ingredients and even offer delivery services to remote locations, revolutionizing distribution—a phenomenon never before seen in the other world. Ultimately, they achieved great success, becoming one of the world's leading trading companies within a few years of launch. Based on what Cid once told them, they also established Mitsugoshi Bank, issuing the first "paper money" in a world previously dominated by coins, revolutionizing the value and concept of money. While they've amassed enormous wealth through these various revolutions, they've also come into conflict with existing trading companies after taking market share from them, leading to a conflict with trading companies aligned with the Diabolos Cult.
Other Amazing Things!
All of their staff are female members of Shadow Garden, and they are deeply loyal to Shadow. Each store has a mansion on its rooftop, which Shadow Garden uses to plan their strategies. Not only does it have a throne for Shadow, but it also has 1 billion Zeny set aside as operating funds. In the anime version, there are sculptures in the atrium hall that make it instantly recognizable as Shadow and the Seven Shadows, and the rooftop mansion is surrounded by a raised wall, giving the impression that something is being hidden there. The mansion is also designed so that it cannot be seen from the ground. In recent years, they have also produced and sold women's underwear and other clothing under their own brand, and some people are very brand-conscious. Incidentally, it is modeled after the real-life department store Mitsukoshi.
Maguro Naruto
The original is, of course, the famous hamburger chain McDonald's. In the world of this work, it is depicted as a chain of burger shops with locations across the country. Like Mitsugoshi Trading Company, it is also a front company for Shadow Garden. Back when Mitsugoshi Trading Company was still in its infancy, operating as a street stall to raise funds, business struggled. When one of the members, Gamma, was feeling down, fellow member Zeta invited him to the beach to unwind. There, he ate a deep-fried tuna sandwich with tartar sauce, which inspired him. After improving the product and selling it, the "Tuna Burger" became a huge hit. Eventually, they expanded into a chain, achieving great success. Currently, they are operating independently, separate from Mitsugoshi Trading Company. Gamma personally wants to create a beef burger. If they were to sell a beef burger, perhaps the restaurant name would be "McDonald's," just like the original.
Demon World
This is a world outside the world where Cid and his friends live. All of the countless worlds that exist revolve around a single point, and the world where Cid and his friends live is one of them. There are many different worlds, and all worlds outside of the one where Cid and his friends live are collectively called the Demon World. Each world rotates at a different speed, which causes them to sometimes collide. Collisions can affect each other's worlds. The reason why monsters and magical powers exist in the world where Sid and his friends live is because a long-ago collision with one of the demon realms caused monsters and magical powers to flow in from that realm. Conversely, the people in Sid's world are transported to the demon realm, which is why the concept of spiriting away was born. The world before Sid's reincarnation is no exception. The lack of magical powers is simply due to the fact that they had been lucky enough to avoid collisions until then. When a collision with the demon realm actually occurred, monsters and magical powers flowed in, causing the collapse of Japan due to a demonic invasion.
Terminology Summary
Continuing from Part 1, we've introduced the terminology. It ranges from magical-like elements to parodies of famous companies, and is full of elements that add color to the story. This is definitely something you'll want to familiarize yourself with before watching Season 2. It might also be a good idea to rewatch Season 1! That's all for today. Thank you for reading.
