Shadows House

Im not sure why a lot of people.like this anime, or say its a hidden gem, but lets summarize my toughts (I wont even be talking about the last three episodes being anime original, so thats not what made the score worse) Lets start with arguably one of the strongest, in my opinion weakest elements: Story/message/mystery Basically, this work is supposed to be a kind of mirror on classism, slavery and oppression vs freedom of tought. The problem is, we never actually see these play out, we see in some characters and their development, that they are more freedom leaning, than into the oppressing system, but thats it, thats what we get. We never get anything related to changing the situation, we dont even get answers about if it should be changed, just some mediocre character development and thats it. Disappointing at best The mysteries are a varied bunch, some solved mysteries are actually quiet entertaining, some are solvable by 5 year olds, and some are never answered yet (usually the bigger, more interesting ones, like how and why this whole system originated, who is the mysterious Lord Grandfather and what he wants and so) The art and music is, well, interesting. Its good sometimes, but most of the times you can see that the studio really took the cheap approach with a lot of directing techniques (minute long shots of characters talking and panning over the mansion with still shots) and generally just lackluster animation (shadows as silhouettes are a big part of the story and are generally easier to draw, yet the studio still cheaped out on those silhouettes too). The music is in my opinion either too much, or just does not belong. In serious emotional/high stake scenes sometimes you have some battle rock music, then at funny moments you almost think of Benny Hill with the music (why did they do that tho). So all in all, some people would like this anime (and apparently the manga), but dont expect much, maybe if you are an east india company men from 1700s or I dont know what this anime was supposed to be about. Maybe enjoying slavery can be good? I have no idea

I think there are a lot of anime fans like myself who really crave something different from the giant mech, slice of life, high school = everything forever, titles that just seem to litter the entire landscape like they grow on trees. We want something different, but not so out of the box you're confused or nauseated. If you're feeling this way, I recommend "Shadows House". This manga-adaptation premiered in the Spring of 2021, a time when I was more focused on sanitizing everything I came into contact with than the latest anime, but I am sorry I missed this one for it turned out to be one of the more unique things I've seen in quite some time. "Shadows House" is set in Victorian Era Europe, most likely Great Britain if we are going by the names of the characters. One morning, a girl wakes up in a trunk, and gets to work in a massive manor specifically seeing to one member of the household, Kate. She is presumably the same age, but she is a pitch black humanoid. Yes, the name "Shadows House" is quite literal as these "Shadows" are just seemingly voids in appearance but are indeed unique in their personalities. There is a sense of haughtiness to them as they are waited on hand and foot while only referring to themselves in the third person. To add to this strange dynamic, the girl, whom Kate will soon dub Emilico, is called a "living doll". And we soon see that all living dolls are created in what should be the living image of these shadows. They are much more than servants, they are meant to be the face to the shadow, and serve as a reflection of that at all times. These "dolls" are very much alive, with personalities that at times clash with their shadows. Both doll and shadow are quite mortal, needing food, sleep, and as much care as a human being does... curious. At first, I thought this was a poor method to save money on the animation budget. A shadow has no features, less to draw. But, there is certainly a purpose to these obsidian persons who live in a massive, castle-like house ways away from the populous in gothic, eerie, fog. These shadows emit soot, the magic McGuffin of "Shadows House", it has enough magical properties to be a concern when it concentrates on it's own, but more so it's one's skill with said soot that determine a Shadow's potential. Kate and Emilico are not the only young duo in the manor, as no less than 4 others have also just come to get their own "living dolls" in preparation for a grand "Debut". Back in these times, young members of prestigious families were given grand parties announcing their debut into high society. (Hence the name "Debutantes"). But, this debut is more of a crucible and right of passage. The new shadows have to earn their way along with their dolls into the rest of the house as a firm, capable, unit. It is here we're introduced to the primary antagonist, Edward. He calls himself a "Special Doll", but has the look and wardrobe of a 1960s Batman villain and is just about as scheming, albeit more capable. Will our cast of shadow and doll younglings make it through this trial? And what happens if they don't? "CloverWorks" certainly crafted a fine, engrossing, plot in just a few, short, episodes. And if the whole era, atmosphere, magical servant-master relationship seems familiar, these are the same fellows who adapted "Black Butler". But this feels more "Addams Family" than "The Omen". Kate and Emilico are certainly prime protagonists, especially the latter with her "can-do, stiff-upper lip" attitude that seems more fitting for a magical girl genre than this macabre piece. The rest of the cast of characters is quite strong, too, with each shadow and doll proving to be marvelous in their contrast of each other, but each showing unique journeys as people. Especially the blonde doll, Ricky, who experiences one of the better ice-meltings arcs I've seen. I was certainly drawn in by the sheer mystery of it all, I had so many questions, this would've been enough to keep me going til Edward has a Third Act exposition dump that really takes the wonder out of much of it, but after 13 episodes- you still have more questions than answers, especially concerning the mastermind of all this known as, "Lord Grandfather", who manages to dress more gaudily than Edward, and maintains a massive aura of "Final Boss", along with the other shadow elites who are all equally deserving of as much contempt as Edward. What good is an anime antagonist if you don't have the deepest desire to watch them get their comeuppance? This lot certainly earns it. Another aspect of "Shadows House" I found refreshing was the opening and closing music, tracks I actually listened to rather than skip quite a few times. "a hollow shadow" is a wonderful, instrumental tango that feels more at home in the streets of Paris than such a morbid setting such as this, but adds to the other worldly feeling with vocalizations, and is quite an ear worm. The closing credits are accompanied by "Nai Nai" by ReoNa, a song so surreal and modern most people will just skip to the next episode and don't listen to/read the lyrics- but they should! Because it's not just a statement about one's own feelings of self and self-worth, but a statement about the characters of the show themselves. (Hey, PAUL!) This is usually where I get to Sub vs. Dub, but honestly, either one is a win. Both casts deliver strong performances but given the rather European vibe of the whole show, it feels more natural in English, but can certainly be enjoyed just as much in Japanese. A title like "Shadows House" was certainly made for the "Hot Topic", Tim Burton-crowd but as an Average Joe, I enjoyed it quite a bit myself and am quite excited to watch the next season. Its small shortcomings certainly don't detract from what is a genuinely intriguing and stand-out series. 8/10. Check it out. Cheers!

This review will contain mild or no spoilers. Story: This anime follows the story of the noble Kate, a shadow whose body is made of soot and her body double and face Emilico, her personal maid to be precise. This story is essentially that of a noble and her counterpart commoner. Since shadows don’t have faces, these human ‘dolls’ acts as their personality. In fact, if you think a body should be identical to its case but that is precisely not the case. Kate is very ladylike while Emilico is a klutz. Well, it’s all that until you discover the other characters. The story revolves around the struggles of these five shadows and their respective counterparts as they slowly discover the truths about the system, the manor and their reason for existence. Not to mention there are some nice plot twists to look forward to after halfway through this season and a minor plot hole or rather plot convenience near the end of the season of ‘dolls regaining their senses’. [7/10] Animation: Let’s start with this book’s cover that is the opening, which is very standard of character portraits and their shadows. I personally feel that they could have done it better. As for the ending my opinion is opposite especially how well it goes with the music, especially it being in style of graphitic portraits and movements and reflects plus it goes really well with the song discussed later. The character portraits are very standard and the background is very still with very negligible amount of 3D development. However, their 3D deign wasn’t very bad either except the part where Edward played the piano, they should learn a bit from Disney about finger rendering which downright felt very weird and unnatural. [7/10] Special Effects: There isn’t much special effects to talk about as the animation mostly consists of dialogues and character portraits and there aren’t any action scenes however they have done a very good job with the colour palette especially during the night scenes where you could still easily identify the black shadows. In fact, they are worthy of mention that there was no loss of quality even when they made scenes of dim lighting. [8/10] Music: The music starts with the opening so we will go over it first. This anime’s general opening is a no vocals opening, and the way of the instruments did give a great feel about the type of setting this anime has. The work done with the violin and voice crafted a wave of emotions and depicted the kind of feels you should have about this anime that is being a general mystery with bittersweetness hidden beneath it. Bringing your attention to the OST which is very average and nothing out of ordinary. Yes, as a gothic setting a lot of original instruments have been used, but their tonal capacity could NOT put it in a league of its own. The ensemble is very similar to fantasy real action movies like “The Lord of the Rings” which is then again very standard nowadays. This anime’s particular signature is the way the guitar was played in all soundtracks. Even so, there weren’t many soundtracks made for this anime and the soundtracks were well repetitive throughout the season. Now the ending is one of the best I have heard this year, “Nai Nai” has a very catchy dark tune which goes well with this anime and the lyrics are a perfect match. Moreover, the contrast to drums and trap style music after 20 minutes of repetitive original instruments was a brilliant idea. The special ending was kind of strange as they just prolonged Edward’s piano prowess and self-indulgence in episode 8. The piece was an original much closer to a Rhapsody. [7/10] Voice: Now this is where I have no qualms as the voice acting was indeed good, and for a slice of life its just as good as it can be, with even movements voiced perfectly. [9/10] Aesthetics: This anime is based on a Middle Age European setting. The base of the story is framed more like a fairy tale. It generally uses a grim tone with soot and mostly cloudy sky as a sign of always impending chaos, where I personally felt the Emilico’s charm getting suppressed as a figure of optimism. The Prologue, Rising Action and Climax is well defined however, the falling action was very weak. I will consider it as a tease to a second season because that is no way to end any story with much of the carefully built-up tension through the season wasted in a flash. The after-climax felt very dragged while the epilogue was hanging by a thread. [7/10] Personal Feeling: The anime is interesting that you will watch it till the end but not feel bored enough to drop the series on any episode. However, this show weakens as it progresses, as it gave off a very strong start then went to follow typical anime tropes. In fact, I was afraid this anime would be enclosed within one room but hopefully that wasn’t the case. Then again, the story isn’t strong enough to sit on your mind and to make you ponder. You will forget about it very soon unlike ‘The Promised Neverland’ which is a similar anime that pulled this off naturally. [7/10] Overall: Moral of the Story: Be Positive. Positivity is Contagious. This anime could have been a masterpiece with more effort and innovation put into it. I guess the dampening factor in this anime is its animation and soundtrack which wasn’t at par with the story. [7/10]

8/10 Quick Review: The story was interesting and exciting, because the show constantly threw unanswered questions at you, that you wanna have resolved, that's why one keeps watching. Besides the thriller aspect, it was also mysterious due to that whole barrock steampunk asthetic with the shadows and so on. Animation and artstyle were absolutely fluent and constantly impressive throughout the entire show( except for the one scene where edward played the piano, the CGI for his hands looked weird.) The characters were absoluetly believeable and the developements understandable, unlike in other shows, where the developement of a character comes out of nowhere. Even the light headed Emilico seemed to be pretty smart at times, which was very amusing, because you're used to see a stupid maincharacter who's actually stupid. furthermore, Emilico was throughout the entire show that freakin adorable, that I awakend fatherly feelings for her , even tho I'm not even an adult (she was really f*cking adorable, which was very wholesome). Because I'll only spoil you during the flaws, I will not go into detail for other characters as well. The op is nothing, that would go into my spotify playlist, but it fit perfectly and I couldn't wish for a better op. Th ed was an absolute banger though. OSTs were also pretty well integarted, but nothing too remarkable here. I enjoyed every minute of this anime and wasn't bored for even a second, that's how good it was. [SPOILER WARNING !!!] The flaws: Though I really like the show, here are two reasons, why I dind't rate this show a 9/10. first, when I started, I assumed that the so called " living dolls " were humans, brainwashed through the drink they've consumed. In the end, my assumption from within the first 4 minutes, was right, but throughout the show, I actually believed, that they actually were dolls, because Emilico can jump from a 10 or 15 metre height ands be all healthy without broken bones, though she's just a kid ? Lik wtf, that especially annoyed me, because everything elyse in the anime, ecept the next point, made sense and was logical. The next point is, that Emilico had to drink an enormous amount of water and had to throw up in order get rid of the brainwashng, and it was explained why. And there shouldn't be any orther way. But Shauan was back to normal after a litlle beat up, and for ricky, it was enough for him to be told, that his name is Ricky ????? Absolutely no sense whatsover. And what about the other "living dolls", why didn't they seem to be under brainwashing ? Did they break the brainwashing too ? If that's the case, why even brainwash in the first place ? These were the things, that made no sense (exceppt for the scene at the end, where it seemed like, they'd still be brainwashed) and really annoyed me. But overall it was a very enjoyable experience, that I can only suggest you to watch.

What do I do with this... It's been a while since I watched an anime with such a good idea, such simple but likeable characters with their own personalities, yet such a poor plot. The idea and setting are incredibly original and could be used in much better way. After a while I started getting very confused with the motivations of certain character and in the end all I could say about the plot was: what the hell was that...? I gave it a six only because the characters and setting were really nice, but the mystery was pretty much 1. I liked the sound, music was great though. Never skipped this Addams Family-inspired opening.

Quick Review: It's a good anime, with an interesting plot and aesthetic. Good character dynamics and exploration of master-servant relationships in an eerie environment. Great aesthetics and the plot is enjoyable. Not really a horror anime, more like a supernatural thriller mystery vibe. I recommend it. The plot progresses relatively well for most of the season, but also suffers from the unfortunate lengthening out some parts, and rushing the ending (or it feels that way, I haven't read the manga yet). It would be great to know more about the 'lore' of the house to improve enjoyment. A season two feels likely. Good plot. No heavy topics. Cute characters.

This was the most surprising anime of this season I was just going to watch it because I thought it was a horror anime and came across a very interesting premise excellent world-building good characters and character development amazing soundtrack and a lot of excitement for reading the source material of this series I can confidently say is a pleasant surprise for this anime and had comedy, intrigue, sad moments and more questions than answers but a very nice 13 episode series. Great original premise that transports me to another world with their established rules I WANT MORE!! I need to have a second season and explore the hole world of the shadow house and what is going to happen to our protagonist Emilico and Kate

Shadows house was a pretty good mystery for the first good part of it, but then it all kind of went downhill. The elements of it were pretty good, but the last bit of it really wasn't the best. As a mystery it did a pretty good job in the beginning, it set up some good mysteries about Shadows House and its occupants. I liked the mystery of it all and how unique of a premise it was. The mystery was concluded in a pretty poor way. All of the mysteries are basically solved solely through one episode that delivers a large amount of information and exposition. That's no fun! It kind of destroyed all the tension of the mystery for me. It wasn't like you could really solve the mysteries yourself either, at least not to the detail that the show explains it out to you. That was my main problem with the show. The mystery was solved in a boring, uninteresting way that killed the tension for me and made the climax feel kind of empty. There was technically one more mystery that I guess was solved in the final episode, except its something that I didn't even think was a mystery until it was solved, and it was solved with one quick shot. It was just sort of like, "Ok, I guess... Sure? Why does that really mean anything?" It felt really random and out of place. The characters were pretty good, Emilico was a pretty standard happy character who is all smiles and faithful and stuff. Nothing too special, but she was pretty endearing and likeable. They weren't anything that original, but I liked most of them. Artistically the show was pretty fine, fairly average, although patterns on clothing moved unnaturally and looked weird. Overall I think Shadows House was a pretty ok show, but nothing I'd really right home about. It had some good elements, but the execution fell flat in the end.

Imagine that your personality is a shadow that tries to control your appearance, which is separate from your personality. From the same studio CloverWorks, this anime gave me The Promised Neverland vibe. It took place in a confined place, had many children being under guidance of adults, and had a bigger force at hand. However, the premise of Shadows House is still unique, and an interesting one. The animation was solid as usual from CloverWorks. Our main girl was especially cute, as well as other characters. They all had great eyes and smiles, but not creepy like Promised Neverland. The story was a fun thriller with mystery in between. The first 5 episodes were a bit slow, as the rules were slowly introduced to the audience. Also this was where characters were set up. Then the rest of the series was a test where the characters had their relationships and themselves challenged. I found the dynamic between characters entertaining, and the way the characters bond with each other endearing and justified. The mystery was revealed bits by bits throughout the test. I had a prediction regarding the living dolls, and in the end I was right (it’s actually pretty obvious). Still, the way the mystery was revealed kept my watching and wondering for more. Overall, fascinating premise with exciting thriller and endearing character dynamics. Hopefully Season 2 will expand the universe more and won’t get Promised Neverland’s treatment. 8/10.