Shadows House

There is a misconception that Shadows House is a slice-of-life, but that's not the case. It is a mystery through and through, with elements of horror. By combining clever visual storytelling, a mesmerizing aesthetic, a touch of philosophy, engaging characters, and on-the-nose class criticism it crafts one excellent show.

Shadows House takes place in a mansion reminiscent of gothic horror meshed with steampunk aesthetics. The manor itself is a Victorian-era stone castle shrouded by fog high on a hill. Its imposing architecture with spiked fences resembles a prison. Inside, it is a dimly lit maze bearing heavy curtains, red rugs, drab wallpaper, finely ornamented rooms, and expensive wood furniture. Oil lamps light each room, and coal provides the heating. Soot coats the walls, but not from the fireplace-each member of the Shadow family is noble, dressed fancifully, and covered head to toe in soot. They appear like silhouette paintings of humans wearing colorful dresses and regal attire. Whenever they feel anxiety or anger, they emit soot. Once these shadow people come of age, they are granted a "living doll" or servant to take care of chores and represent their personality.

In the beginning, an enthusiastic girl awakens for her first day as a living doll. Her room bears all the similarities to a prison cell; a bed, table, run-down walls. Her master, Kate, is a prim and proper shadow with a nearly identical silhouette to the girl, eventually named Emilico. Their dynamic has more depth than meets the eye; Kate possesses the qualities Emilico lacks, and vice-versa. Grace and nobility versus happiness and compassion. Their goal is to become as one with each other as possible in order to integrate into the noble Shadows family. Their diametrically opposed personalities cause difficulties. Through their struggle to conform with the aristocracy, the manor's oppressive class structure cracks begin to show. Surprisingly there is a considerable amount of action and thrills here. Light humor from Emilico's enthusiastic personality balances the otherwise bleak tone. She brings enjoyment to the show, and her dynamic with Kate leads to breakthroughs in both characters.

There are five main pairings in the cast; Kate and Emilico are the primary perspectives. The dynamic between master and servant is different for each duo; parasitic, symbiotic, ambivalent, codependent, and more. All of them are compelling characters in different ways-by the end, I was emotionally attached to all of them. Their master vs. Living doll relationship showcased the facets of identity a person needs to live a fulfilling life. There are life or death stakes for both the masters and servants that test their relationships. Is there one answer to the right way of forming a companionship? No, however, we see each variety portrayed; there are benefits and shortcomings to all of them. The living dolls respect the Shadow Masters almost to the point of worshipping them. In many ways, it not-so-subtly critiques modern class structures within a capitalist society. They confront how working-class people will praise the upper class, even though those people gained their power through exploiting their workers. Without the dolls' unpaid labor, the affluent society would not function.

The Shadows House is ruled by an oppressive class structure; the lords on the third floor, the new Shadow masters on the first floor. Beneath the tiles they walk on are the Living Dolls-levels of the mansion representing social status. Rising in the ranks to achieve success requires ambition, talent, and practice. Living dolls must forgo their personality and serve the role as their master's personality-mimicking their gestures and emotions through facial expressions. The final test, as well as a driving force of the plot, is The Debut. The pairings of young Shadow masters and dolls must prove themselves in this ominous event.

The horror of Shadows House comes from watching the seemingly pleasant living dolls treated like objects, despite looking and acting like humans. Emilico is told she is a living doll, despite looking and acting like a human. She even looks for joints to oil when she feels exhausted. It can instill fear in a brightly lit room with upbeat background music. Living dolls sleep in coffin-like beds, have no connection to the outside world, no means of escape, and know nothing except to be servants. They endure abuse, work without pay, and are practically prisoners, yet they have been conditioned to believe it is normal. Success is caused by natural talent and effort in this world, and failure is not an option.

There are characters with disabilities, and the systems of the Shadows House leave them behind. It'd be fair to say this reflects real-world issues. The ways living dolls get mistreated during the show asks thought-provoking philosophical questions. What makes a person? Is it how much they look like a human? Or does it depend on how others treat you? What determines status? Is it your appearance, your wealth, the things you own, or your property? These questions develop with time. The main thematic throughline connecting them is identity.

Both the manor, and the anime, function by its people not asking questions, but watching it only makes you ask more. Over time, we are given the puzzle pieces to put together the answers ourselves. Answers aren't given to us. It is up to us to solve the mysteries. Each twist, reveal, and clue recontextualizes prior scenes, adding heaps upon heaps of rewatch value. These reveals are entirely reliant on showing rather than telling; the manor itself gives us clues. If we're shown an object, a sign, a character, who is not immediately relevant, it will surely return later. Like all great mysteries, Shadows House is masterful at foreshadowing and reincorporation. It follows Chekhov's gun rule: If you place a gun on the stage, it must eventually be shot. Much like the gun, the direction only brings our attention to details relevant to the story. Even though this adaptation departs in many ways from the manga, it ties the narrative together with connecting plot threads.

Due to the incomplete manga, this adaptation is only a portion of the whole story. For that reason, not every setup gets paid off by the end. The final three episodes are primarily anime original content, which deserves criticism. These episodes are fine, but a noticeable decline in writing quality compared to the first ten. There are plot contrivances, helpful coincidences, and convoluted motives. Overall the solid ending softened these disappointing episodes. Although Shadows House diverges from the source material, it stands on its own merits as a great anime.

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 is by NerdBot .

At first, the story starts out very cute and kind of happy-go-lucky. Emilico is charming and clumsy and constantly messing up Kate's things as she tries to serve her. But as we get closer to the "debut" things change... Things begin to turn sinister... Enter: Edward.

Edward is in charge of the debut. He's also a deranged social climber and will stop at nothing to get into the good graces of Lord Grandfather, who is basically like a Shadow version of The Godfather. The debut, which is originally supposed to pick the Shadow/living doll pairs most worthy to serve Lord Grandfather, becomes rigged by Edward, and as such, becomes more entertaining for Lord Grandfather and his band of Shadow aristocrats on the third floor to watch and make bets on who will make it out alive.

From there, things only become darker, as we watch Emilico and Kate try to figure out the mysteries of this Shadows House.

"Shadows House" is absolutely beautiful, the characters are cute, and there is so much character development. The bonds between the Shadows and the living dolls are strong and believable and you genuinely want them to survive every obstacle hurled their way.

The series is 13 episodes long, and unfortunately ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but hopefully a second season will be announced soon! Fingers crossed!

This anime series is set in a large mansion. It is inhabited by 'Shadows' people so black they appear featureless. Each of the shadows has a 'Living Doll' who acts as their personal servant. When not serving their own master or mistress the dolls clean the house; an endless task given that the shadows emit soot. Our protagonists are a young shadow named Kate and Emilico, her living doll. During the first season the young shadows and their dolls must undergo a series of tests during which they learn more about the nature of the house and its various inhabitants. Without going into any detail that might spoil ones enjoyment the second series reveals more secrets and new dangers.

I really enjoyed this series. The central premise is creative and interesting. We are gradually introduced to the world and its characters and there is no real rush to reveal major secrets. The main characters are likeable; it may be centred on Kate and Emilico but the secondary characters, mostly their friends but also some antagonists, are well written and interesting too. The character designs are great; the human looking dolls contrasting perfectly with the featureless black shadows. The story progresses well with plenty of excitement. It neither feels too rushed nor does it drag. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anime fans looking for something a little different; I hope we get another season.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

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.