Shadows House

Shadows House is what you get when you mix the fun vibes of a middle grade mystery with the relevant messages of critiques on classism. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but the unique aesthetic, engaging premise, solid writing, and good audiovisuals bring everything together to create a well-formulated anime that anyone can find enjoyable.

Our story begins in a small room with a coffin-like bed. Papers of instructions and details plaster dirty walls while a small door allows access to a chunk of stale bread placed upon the dusty wooden floor. Cramped, ill-fed, and forced to work. These are the harsh living conditions of a ... Living Doll—the living conditions of our main character Emilico.

From the start, Emilico’s personality shines through the screen. She is a bright and cheerful young girl trying to do her best, and everyone around her is affected by her kind nature. Though one may argue that Emilico’s personality consists of traits increasingly common in a typical anime protagonist, Shadows House’s depiction of Emilico as a character is far from generic. As subject to uncomfortable living conditions, there are many times when Emilico’s identity is tested. She is looked down upon by others and is reprimanded for being herself. And when Emilico is forced to obey the rules or when she is under the control of the shadows, her bright personality is sometimes compromised. It is through this narrative that Emilico’s character isn’t simply a compilation of happy generic protagonist traits but rather an expression of the anime’s theme of power and autonomy amidst oppression.

Living among the Dolls in the Shadows House are mysterious beings referred to as Shadows. Shadows are face-less figures that the living dolls attend to. They live much more luxuriously than the living dolls and have bodies made entirely of soot. Depending on a Shadow’s mood, Shadows sometimes emit their soot from the top of their heads. This means that as the shadows go about their classy lifestyles, they tend to leave a lot of mess behind which may accumulate in the rooms they occupy, spread all throughout the house, and dust the objects around them. As expected, cleaning this mess is a part of the job of the exploited Living Dolls.

Though the Shadows are a clear representation of an abusive upper class, this anime doesn’t villainize Shadows as a whole. It doesn’t just say that the shadows are bad or that the masters of the living dolls are bad people who abuse the dolls without reason. This anime is much more complex than that and takes us through the nuances of the overall situation by making the Shadows House a microcosm of real society. The house contains various floors, and each shadow strives to attain higher power by climbing up the ranks which are representative of the floor on which they reside. It is a beautifully plotted setting that is easy to understand and that showcases how power and class work. By having a well-written structure that serves as the foundation for the narrative and involves each of the characters, Shadows House avoids shallow messaging like ‘shadows are bad’ and ‘living dolls are good’ and instead focuses on the bigger picture, portraying each character as a victim of the poor system.

With this in mind, all of the characters act in their own ways and aren’t just labelled as “friend” or “enemy.” These characters have genuine interactions as they try to navigate through the roles they are placed in. Shadows House truly makes the audience feel like every person introduced serves a purpose in the story and makes sure that each of them has their own likable traits that’ll leave you wishing they had more screen time. Even the face-less Shadows were far from lifeless or expressionless.

Most notable of the cast, asides from our main character, is the Shadow Kate whom Emilico is assigned to. Kate is calm and collected and finds Emilico’s cheerful behavior to be endearing. Over the course of the series, Kate and Emilico grow to be close friends that constantly encourage one another and help each other through the challenges they face. Their friendship is fun to watch, and the events they undergo lead them to develop and influence each other in interesting ways.

Presentation-wise, Shadows House doesn’t let the viewers down either. The premise, proper setting, and well-written characters are all brought together by a unique gothic aesthetic that’s embedded into every aspect of the anime. In the art, we can see it in the lacy outfits and intricate backgrounds. The Shadows House itself is a a large manor with secret doors and pillars that perfectly work with the vibe that the anime gives off. The music matches the gothic aesthetic too. The opening song is a particularly fitting instrumental. And while the ending theme is more modern, it contains choral samples that exude a mysterious, almost haunting feel. There isn’t a single aspect of the show or single frame in the series that doesn’t fit the intended style. This is a show that knows what it wants to do and executes it.

Shadows House is an anime more people should be talking about. As a show that is both fun yet thematically sound and mysterious yet socially relevant, this anime has a lot of variance in appeal. No matter what you’re looking for, Shadows House will likely have something for you to appreciate. The story which discusses power, autonomy, class, and friendship all at once, is well-built with likable characters. The expertly integrated gothic aesthetic alone sets it apart from most other anime, both in this season and in general. This is one of the most easily watchable and easily recommendable shows I have seen in a while, and I highly encourage everyone to give it a go.

This anime is such a shame. Because if I were to rate the first 10 episodes, I'd have rated it 9 or 10/10 easily. While the animation is pretty lackluster and unimaginative, it is faithful and had a nice pacing. But there's the remaining 3 episodes... how did it go from being a masterpiece to a disappointing forgettable animes season.
Just what did go wrong indeed...

The story is great, at least in the first 10 episodes. It is faithful (with a few changes but understandable) to the manga, and the pacing is really well. The story builds up a great mystery story with a lot of ... interesting unanswered questions that would make anyone wanna watch just to answer those questions.
It's all great stuff... until cloverworks said "nah".
Like I said, the last 3 episodes were a complete disaster. Completely disregarding the build up that the story created. It was rush, it was completely plot-armor dependent, and it was boring because there isn't any feeling of danger or tense in the final episode.
And how it ended... Oh God. I wanna forget about it.

The characters are pretty good, at least in the first 10 episodes. The remaining 3 episodes rushed out their developments and they really got ripped off by the developments they should've gotten (basing from the manga). I don't have anything much to say.

The animation, like I said, is pretty generic. It does have some good scenes here and there, but the overall direction is pretty boring for the most part. It's just a copy-paste from the manga panels.

The music is good. The opening is not my cup of tea, but the ed is so banger that I have to rate it high just because of that. It's so good that I'm still playing it in my playlist after a month or so of constantly playing it.

Overall, just a disappointing and forgettable anime season that I won't recommend. If you really wanna watch this, I recommend watching only the first 10 episodes. Or much better, just read the manga.

For anyone who's watched TPNL (S1 only), Shadows House is eerily similar but distinct. If I'm being completely honest, this is the most underrated show this season and that's a fact.

Story: 8/10
Just like TPNL, Shadows House creates a happy, cheerful atmosphere/setting that has much darker and mysterious things brewing beneath it. I couldn't help myself and binged the manga, so all I can say is the story is everything TPNL could have been and more; it's truly a well-crafted, thorough story with no plot holes or reliance on plot armour to save the day.

Ironically enough, I think a lot of people in the digital era ... (and especially the insecure folks on platforms like MAL) could learn a lot about the shadow/doll dynamic explore in the series. Just a thought :)

Art: 8/10
The art and animation are quite nice, background scenery especially is very well done.

Sound: 8/10
Voice acting is very well done, especially for shadows and their distinct personalities (like Kate's seriousness). OP and ED are pretty good too.

Character: 8/10
If I'm being honest, I don't really like Emilia. Maybe that's just because her clumsiness pisses me off... but that being said, the characters in Shadows House are very well designed. The biggest point for solid character design is how you can tell shadows apart from one another and how they have distinct personalities despite being a literal shadow.

Enjoyment: 8/10
Shadows House is a good watch. You're left with lots of questions and pondering what's really going on at this eerie mansion. But just like any good series would, these plot points are carefully and properly unravelled and introduced, making for a beautifully crafted series. When all is said and done, this will have been one of my favourite series this season no doubt.

I love this anime so much so to where I'm obsessed with it. I've been listening to the theme song and ending song on repeat non stop. The anime makes me want to read the manga so badly! (Can't wait till I start reading it)

Also the music isn't the only thing thats outstanding about this anime either. All characters are lovable even the main characters, love the color scheme, and idk about anyone else but for me I can actually feel the eeriness and creepiness of the anime.

For what I dislike about it... nothing, can't find a single thing that I dislike about this ... anime (yet)
This anime is everything that TPN could have been and more!

Highly highly recommend this anime!

-ps this is my first ever review hope its ok.

translated from Portuguese-Brazilian in google translator because of MAL rules.

I was very disappointed at the end, the series has different and interesting ideas, concepts but for me the other points of it such as characters, story, script and developments are very weak and that's why for the work it only has its ideas as good parts.

Characters like the mc and the secondary ones aren't nice or charismatic to the point that you're always kind of annoyed by most of them, their interaction for me is the most tiring and stressful part, since the naturalness of the dialogues goes a long way, and mixing the ... lack of charisma of the characters with the superficial plots, and clichés being used in a very obvious way, the anime is very tiring.

The story itself doesn't have anything very relevant that happens, despite a few plots that are "nice" the work can't bring anything new in a way that excites or instigates to want to know more about, and the events that occur. in the story in my view are completely useless, since in the end the situation of the characters in the series doesn't change basically at all since the developments that a few have are extremely superficial and "expository" which makes it kind of difficult to accept the developments and the "new people" they saw after these developments.

Now visually it's good, some storyboards good, some scenarios very well designed, consistent animation despite more generic designs, and the only thing I think is bad about the animation is the 2d textures on the characters' clothes they are pretty ugly.

Have you ever been wrong about a show before? Have you ever saw a show at first glance, and think that is gonna turn into that genre? Or as if it'll be something else, but could turn into something else, as if it laid a trap for you at first shot? Well this is what happened to me when it comes to this anime, and I honestly cannot really complain about that. Really cannot. Let me explain.

Story and characters
Shadow's House is very mysterious and can give off the spooky vibes, but there is hardly any spooky vibes, at least until later on that is, but ... for starters, it's really more of a cute show, then one that is dark in the beginning, as dolls are made from shadows, to be the shadow's servants. These servants are actually, quite cuuutee. Like seriously, a lot of these servants are just a pleasure to be around. Like a part of me in either episode 2 or 3, fully believed we were gonna go into a song of how good cleaning is, and I wouldn't have minded at all, as quite honestly, it would've been real cute. But they aren't just mindless servants, as they have real thoughts and feelings that might just be their own, rather than being connected to their master's personalities and that alone. They're hard working, passionate, caring, and more, as each one is different in their own right, and some can come off as even cruel.

As for the masters...Not so much. Only the one connected to our MC seems like she's the only one who is actually nice thus far. I'm sure we may meet more as the story progresses. But as of right now, there is only one that is doing that, so there is at least some inner conflict going on at the home itself. As the story makes you wonder what on earth Shadow house is, but what also lays within it. Keeping a good mystery about it. As we learn more about them, and more becomes unclear, as we get to know more of the inner workings of Shadow House, and how everything is, something that'll really drive a show well.

Art and sound.
The art gets a special mention, as they really do a fantastic job in really making everything look in the style it's presenting, as in wen it can look gritty and real dark. Like it feels like sometimes your own screen needs a good clean, but also there are times where the bright colours look real good, despite being within a more dark atmosphere, it all looks great.

The sound is fit for purpose, and really adds to the show in general. Again, this is further shown during different kinds of scenes, with for more intense ones being fitting, to it's usual tone being on full display. Great stuff in both departments here. Another big big highlight is the OP and ED songs, because they're a hit far as I am concerned.

Shadow's house seemed like it was going one way, but surprised us with it's cute tone, which just left it with an even more interesting curiosity about it. Give it a watch now!

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.

After the disaster that was Yakuneba s2, Cloverworks needed a bounce back series. Many people thought that would be Shadow’s House. While it’s an improvement, it looks like Cloverworks have still not learnt their lesson, and continue to alter established stories and characters.

Shadow’s House on its own merits is a solid show. It has a lot of the same mystery and intrigue that the first season of Yakuneba had. Beneath the facade of cute character designs, lies some dark secrets. However, knowing that entire arcs and characters were removed and or changed completely for this really made it difficult to enjoy the second half of ... the show. Cloverworks again went anime original and again I’m left disappointed. Now, the good thing here is that the anime oriignal content in Shadow’s House is not nearly as bad as Yakuneba season 2. This is still a decent show, and I would recommend a viewing. The issue lies in the fact that it sets up a lot of plot points and doesn’t get to realise them because of the way the story has been condensed. The anime original ending makes it hard to even make a season 2 based on the manga because of how different it is. It’s fair to say my main problem with Shadows House is its unrealised potential.

I did really enjoy the dark atmosphere of the show. I think the concept of shadows, the dolls and soot were really original and interesting. I can’t say that I’ve ever really seen a story like this before. The characters are unique and grow on you over the course of the show, particularly Emilico and Kate. I just hate that the story’s pace took a turn for the worse around episode 7 or so.

All the technical aspects of the show are top notch as you would expect from Cloverworks. Great character designs, solid animation, etc. The first half of the series is really well paced and does a good job of keeping you on the edge of your seat with the mystery. Second half lacks that same pacing, but still worth a watch.

While I was let down by the second half of Shadows House, it’s still a pretty good show with an interesting and original concept, some cool characters and decent writing. I highly recommend checking out the manga for the full accurate story, but the anime is a nice introduction into the world for sure.

Shadows House gets 8 fairies out of 10.

When I read Shadows House's synopsis I thought, oh wow, what a unique and interesting plot. And don't get me wrong, it is, but it's a pity this was the result when it had the potential to be something so great.

My biggest problem with the show are its plot holes and its MASSIVE plot conveniences. The writing is just lazy and all over the place. It was frustrating to watch in a show that's supposed to be so dark have no consequences for the characters' actions and having them be happy go lucky for 90% of the time in dangerous situations.
As for the artstyle, it's ... gorgerous looking but nothing special at the same time, the design of the characters are cookie cutter, basically looking like all the other shows next to it, so to speak.
Speaking of the characters, most of them are honestly unbearable and one dimensional, with maybe Kate being the exception.
Now moving on to its strongest point: Its music. OP and ED seriously slap, never skipped them once. They are so addicting to listen to, seriously. And smart of them to use foreshadowing in the ending, when you read the lyrics it's as if one of its characters was singing it.

If you're planning on watching definitely don't expect some "cute show turns into dark, genius horror" like madoka magica or something because you'll get disappointed. Its writing just isn't competent enough for that. It wants to take itself so seriously, but how can it when there are no stakes whatsoever? I could still recommend it if you enjoy dark themes and some banger songs.

6/10

I maybe just a salty manga reader.

Shadows House is easily one of my most favorite series of all time. But I think it just works better as a manga than an anime.

The anime at first felt extremely slow-paced but at the end they completely hastened the whole plot, revealing things that showed up much more later in the manga. During the final episodes, they also sort of killed all the nuances a certain characters and just fastened their whole development as a character.

The great things about this adaption is- the animation, music and voice acting.
Basically production-wise, it's great.


I probably would've rated it higher ... if it weren't for those horrible final 3 episodes.



Small story short, just just read the manga if you wanna experience the full potential of this series.

This anime did take time to grow on me, I persisted because I really liked the world building and overall mysterious vibes from the show. I cannot in good faith recommend this to anyone who does not like naïve main characters. If that's you, it will probably take a lot to get through the first few episodes (5, for myself) as the main character is the absolute worst at taking hints.
The show itself has an interesting premise but the way big mysteries are revealed tend to feel lackluster, if more time was spent with the relevant characters revealing the secrets themselves and actually responding ... to it, it would have felt less... out of the blue and unimportant to the main characters at the time.

Every Season there are various anime that instantly become popular, but then there are also anime like "Shadow's House" which are unfortunately not so popular, despite being AMAZING gems!

Before starting this review, I would like to point out that my review might contain minor spoilers of the first episode of shadow's house.

In my option Shadow's House is a major masterpiece, it finds the perfect balance between mystery, horror and light hearted scenes. Each scene for me was memorable, and from the start of the anime, there were always hints of a much darker plot being slowly approached with every passing episode. I am happy to ... say it did not disappoint, furthermore, with the absolutely stunning visuals, amazing animation and some of my favorite music scores this Season, there wasn't a single moment where I felt bored watching this anime, especially as the story progressed.

Below I will delve into the main categories of this show, without spoiling anything major;


Story 10/10:
The Story revolves over a large number of unique characters, with each character having their own Shadow Master to serve, some characters are similar to the Shadows, some are quite different. I will not get into detail, but this made an absolutely amazing narrative. Furthermore, I have never ever seen an anime that is remotely similar to this anime, and as such I must praise the author of this story for coming up with something very unique and very interesting!


Art 10/10:
As previously mentioned, the art was absolutely outstanding! When I look at art, I mainly look into 2 categories, the Aesthetics (i.e. how the characters, and world look like.) as well as animation. And this show delivers both perfectly! All scenes are made in high detail, and every single time I would happen to pause the anime for some reason or another I couldn't help but be shocked by the pure level of background detail. Furthermore, all animations that I have noticed within the anime are all very smoothly animated, and there was never any scene that felt out of place.

Sound 9/10:
There are a good number of really well made OSTs in the show, I have left a link to the anime's outro above, just so you can get an idea of how great the music is. (Along with the artwork.)

Character 9/10:
The Story took a lot of time introducing each character properly, topping this off with amazing narrative, the anime was able to change how I felt about characters (From hating to loving, and vice versa) with pure ease. Furthermore, each character feels unique and special. To a point where I genuinely have fun seeing the characters interacting with each other.

Enjoyment 9/10:
I overall enjoyed watching this anime, and I would gladly re-watch a second, perhaps a third time. The only thing going on through my mind after watching this, is "When are we getting another season?"

Overall 9/10:
The author of this anime's story made a magnificent job writing a completely unique, yet wonderful story. Furthermore, the Studio responsible for this masterpiece did a wonderful job visualizing the author's creation.
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This feels like a western concept adapted by eastern animators This is good>-< everything with the soot, dolls, shadows, and the characters are great. I'm enjoying this, except the opening I dont like it I really hate how it ruins all the character building from the last arc. They all lose their memories, but I love how the shadows are taking charge because of it! It's great having them leading the conflict. The lore is a bit weird tho how they got random children to look exactly like their shadow. But I love Emilico and Kate's realtionship:3 especially after this

The show had potential but the way in which characters played out ruined the show for me.
The story with its gothic touch certainly has unique flair to it. The story is consistent as well with everything carefully thought out as well.
Art is another good thing about the show. Vibrant character designs with greyish background gets you interested from the beginning.
But it is characters where the author dropped the balls. They are so mediocre that rather than feeling connected with them, you will be annoyed by them especially the main doll character. In certain scenes chaacterrs are made to act stupid just to carry out ... the plot which sucks enjoyment out of the show for me.
All in all, it is a good one time watch with good art and story but the characters will annoy you.

This Review Doesn't Contain Any Spoiler!

Okay, So, This Anime Is A Lot Better Than I Thought.
It's Okay To Say That My Anime Taste Is Trash Or Else, But I, Personally Fell In Love With This Anime.

The Story Is Slow But Progressive. It's Unique And Gave Me Some The Promised Neverland Vibes. The Story Is Getting More Interesting, And Interesting Every Episode. This Show iS Really Hooked Me Up.

The Animation, And Sound Effects Are Great, There's Nothing Special About It, But I Liked It!

The Music, Nothing I Can Say About The Music, It's Just Perfection, From The Opening Song To The ... Ending Song. I Really Loved Both Of Them, They're Fits With The Anime Theme Perfectly.

Overall, This Anime Is A Great Anime So Far, It's Promising, And The Story Is Unique. If You Love To Watch The Promised Neverland, You May Also Gonna Like This Anime. I Feel Like There's Gonna Be A Huge Plot Twist On This Anime, But Hey. Let's Just Wait ;)

I'm Sorry If My English Is Confusing, Because English Is Not My First Language, And This My First Review.

So, Have A Great Day, Everyone!

Sincerely, Agesta.

This is such a underrated show this season ! This is the first review im ever writing and i only watching this because cloverworks made it and their recent shows were all really good. This is one of my top favourite shows now, since the first episodes it has caught my eye and after watching episode 10 i am also going to read the manga.
The opening song, ending song , sound track , animation style , everything about this show is so perfect. Even after the episode is over it leave you with some kind of mystery and a whyyyy or whaaat ? You ... should totally try giving atleast the first episode a shot if you somehow come across it !

This review is coming from someone who hasn't read the manga and watched the anime with completely no expectations, only going in out of curiosity. Let me start off by saying that this show started airing at the worse possible time as Spring 2021 was one of the most stacked seasons in anime on the same level of that of the previous Winter season. Because of this, Shadow's House ended up being one of the most underrated anime of the season with it getting not enough attention that it honestly really deserves.

The story takes a fairly slow start and really takes it time to ... immerse you into the world. It may seem really boring at first but eventually it will start making sense that this show is a bit more unsettling and overall mysteriousness the more you watch, keeping your interest with lots of questions and answers throughout. This show is often compared to The Promised Neverland in this aspect though with the execution of both of these being a bit more different. By the end it leaves you with a satisfying ending leaving room for a possibility of a 2nd season. A common thing talked about it's ending is that the show actually takes an anime original route in the possibility of a 2nd season never arriving. Anyone familiar with CloverWorks' attempts with anime original endings knows that they seriously do not a good job at it, though in this case I actually give it a bit of pass. If you're an anime only watcher like me, the anime original route will almost be not noticeable unless you actually know when it begins. And even with the knowledge of knowing it's anime original, nothing feels super forced or rushed, maybe it does to manga readers but as an anime only you really don't need to worry about it. Especially since it's confirmed that the ending actually had very few manga spoilers, so if you do decide to read the manga after your experience isn't spoiled.

The art isn't anything to special but that doesn't remove from the fact that it's really good. There weren't probably a single time where I thought the art was off in anyway and it for sure went well with the overall story. What definitely takes the cake was the music and overall sound. The OP was very unique with it's lack of vocals and only consisting the classical instrumental, with the ED probably being the best this Spring 2021 season as a whole. The background music throughout the show were also really fitting and went well with it's moods. The characters aren't anything too crazy, or any that sticks out expect for maybe Emilico and Kate, but they all are very fun and great characters and add a lot to the show in the form of great moments and overall company.

This show was without a doubt one of my favorite series with my enjoyment throughout being really high. Went in with no knowledge or expectations and went out feeling with excitement and even ready to start reading the manga, though I'm not sure if I'm going drink my normal tea while reading.

Shadows House is a worthy watch for anyone, who wants some cute characters in an unsettling situation. However, the anime stays faithful to the manga only for 10 episodes. So, I recommend stopping there and reading the manga. (Below the next section I'm telling a bit about episodes 11-13 without spoilers)

-->If you're gonna READ THE MANGA, A few chapters are a must read,which the anime skipped.
*Episode 1's opening is different from chapter 1 and ending is slightly different from -
chapter 7.
*Episode 2 skips chapter 9.
*--->MAJOR CUT<----
... Episode 4 cuts chapters 19-20. Read chapter 18 just in case, since the episode takes
some panels from it. (Can read before watching the episode)

The last chapter adapted semi-closely is chapter 47 in episode 11 that is affected by the MAJOR CUT from episode 4. After this, the entire episode adapts only chapters 47,51 and 61 while skipping overall 12 chapters at once, and it can be only felt as a rushed way to bring everything together for the anime-only-plot that starts at the end.
Now the last 3 episodes of the anime aren't at all horrible, a bit awkward yes but not nearly as bad as Cloverwork's other stuff like The Promised Neverland season 2 or Wonder egg Priority's ending. The crew clearly tried with this one as they either realized they had too many episodes or they just didn't want to leave it on a cliffhanger. Also apparently the people/person the manga has stated that they are going to try to write this in for season 2, so lets hope it works.

Overall I really, really LOVED this anime. I originally did actually stop at episode 10 when episode 11 hadn't even aired as I was near the edge of my seat at the end of it. If this doesn't tell you how good it was, I don't know what else to tell you. It has a very good ending and soundtrack overall, very classy music. Fits the theme well. The art is very pretty and detailed and the animation isn't stiff. There are lots of different characters with different personalities and they are really fun and interesting. And man, the story is just starting and is surrounded in mystery that'll be revealed slowly.

Score for episodes 1-10. Story: 10. Art: 10. Sound: 10. Character: 10. Enjoyment: 10. Overall: 10
Score for episodes 11-13. Story: 5. Art: 8. Sound: 10. Character: 4. Overall: 4.

Short Review (Spoiler-free):

Shadow House, in a nutshell, is a quality production with commendable attention to details, likeable characters, fluid animations, consistent art, great songs, etc.. However, if you have seen Cloud Atlas or any similar stories before, the core mystery of Shadow House would be too predictable. To add salt to the wound, Shadow House revealed its core twist in the hammiest way possible.

Baseline quality: 7/10.

Recommended to: fans of "Imperial-harem in-fight drama". Fans of dark and morbid shoujo anime. Fans of Victorian-era aesthetics.

Pros:

++ A quality production with detailed facial arts, character designs and great attention to details. You could feel ... the textures of the Victorian-era costumes, decorations, etc. as well as the omnipresence of black ashes and shadows.

+ Great ending theme song.

+ Emilico and Kate are likeable.

+ Final reveal with Rum is a positive surprise.

+ Overall speaking a decent prologue to a larger story.

Cons:

- Falsely marketed as a "slice-of-life" on MAL. Whoever labelled this "slice-of-life" deserves an award--Shadow Grandpa's coffee, the whole pot.

- Core mystery of the show is not that refreshing, compelling or nuanced. If you've seen Cloud Atlas, you basic already have seen this story as well.

- Morbid and depressing atmosphere throughout. The class-warfare themes are a little too on-the-nose.

- Emilico is intended as an angelic character, but she is too much of a Mary Sue for me.

- The show is desperate to differentiate itself from other shoujo anime, but ended up playing by the numbers to the point that it resembles a certain type of soap opera that I find repulsive.

Long Review (minor spoilers):

Some compared this show to the Promised Neverland, and it's not difficult to see why. A bunch of innocent, brave and optimistic kids with impeccable altruism, heroism and willpower try to survive and uncover the dark secrets behind the façade of fishy doctrines and aristocracy of the ruling class. When I first saw this manga, I quickly decided this is not my cup of tea. A story about suppression and exploitations, even if set in a sunnier set, would be depressing enough for me, not to mention that Shadow House is full of pitch-dark ruling lords called "Shadows". The way the story unpacks is solid, as we follow the main duo of Emilico and Kate on their journey to explore the structured world of Shadow House. Emilico is your typical perfect main character who never gives up. And she is supposed to be like the shining sun for her friends and for this gloomy story. When the show is at its best, her dynamic with Kate among other children, along with their evolving relationships became the driving force of the narrative.

However, there are many factors working against the show for me. In some Asian countries, a peculiar genre of soap opera called "Imperial-harem in-fight drama" has been popular for the last 30 years or so. In this type of show, the central character is usually a kind but resourceful low-level imperial concubine who has to survive the bigotry and suppressions of head eunuch, the sneering queen and other concubines vying for the emperor's favor. I never liked this type of show or the toxic in-fights always going on in them. Alas, as a kid grown up in an Asian environment, one is bound to have family members addicted to this type of show. You see, Shadow House resembles an "Imperial-harem in-fight drama" in almost all its elements. Toxic and cruel in-fights between grassroots? Check. Upper-class having fun at the cost of low-level concubines? Check. Evil head eunuch? Check. (Edward is no eunuch, but you get the idea.) The emperor being a douchebag and having comeuppance in check for him? Check. ("Grandpa" in Shadow House). The main character being a super Mary Sue? Check. (Emilico is the most blatant Mary Sue I've seen recently). You see, by the standards of "Imperial-harem in-fight drama", Shadow House is a great show, and rivals the top shows in that genre written by the famous Chiung Yao. However, it's a little too on-the-nose, and my appreciation for this genre has not been improved, not even by Shadow House.

What weighed Shadow House's quality further for me is the way it manages its central mystery. During Episode 2, I said, "let me guess, this core doctrine they have the living dolls repeat is a big lie, and the real identity of the shadows is......while the living dolls are real humans just like..." Well, you get the idea. But when EP10 had the villain spoon-feed the truth/twist reveal to the audience, there is very little left in the mystery department for this story, honestly. I am pretty dumb, but if someone as dumb as me can get a bingo on multiple layers of the core mystery right from the start, why even bother making your story a mystery thriller?

Female empowerment tales set in soul-crushing and nightmarish patriarchies can be great stories for everyone, but it does not have to be so on-the-nose.

“I am a Shadow, the true se-“. Wait, this isn’t Persona? But they look exactly like each other, just like a darker reflection of themselves. How is this not Persona?!

Story:

In the Shadows House lies many Shadow nobles, each of whom are tended by a living doll that’s made in the likeness to their Shadow master. The living doll has the responsibility of tending to their Shadow master, doing everything from cleaning the mountains of soot that piles up in their room to acting as their face for expression purposes since Shadows do not have an obvious face for those to see. It is here where ... a new, unnamed living doll (later renamed Emilico) tends to her Mistress Kate, as the two become more acquainted and gradually unearth more about the Shadows House that they live in.

Credit where credit is due, I think Shadows House is a really unique story that has a lot to love because of its intrinsically unique worldbuilding and branching mystery that extends as a result of the narrative effectively blossoming out from one point. Given how the show starts in a rather cramped room where our duo of protagonists stay in, the show over time shows us more and more of both the setting and the story, increasingly revealing parts of the Shadows House at an even pace that gives the audience more of an understanding of how everything in this giant mansion house functions. Every rule, every structure, and every role in this show is solidified over time, giving a nice rigidity that feels good to follow and easy to watch. And because the show is so well-paced in this aspect, everything snugly ends up falling in place once some of the bigger reveals are shown at the end of the series due to the build-up being both earned and the mystery feeling more or less satisfying as a result of the show’s pacing.

If I had any real gripes with the show’s story, it would definitely be the slower middle portion where we get the full scope of our ‘main cast’. Personally I feel like the entire ‘debut’ arc takes way too long, something that is entirely due to the pacing of the series before and after said arc where the story both introduces and talks about a lot of new information at an even pace. By comparison, the debut feels extremely sluggish because there’s hardly anything new. It’s great for character interactions and for the 5 pairs of shadow masters and dolls to get to know each other, but in terms of moving the story along, I think it does a pretty poor job at that. I’d also be remised to mention the sort of ‘grand reveal’ that happens towards the end of the season where pretty much all of the important factors of the show are explained. For stuff like this, it’s not really a steady drip feed as we’re used to, but is instead a big loredump that feels kind of out of place given the tension and pacing that was expressed prior. True, they do have to reveal stuff at some point, but it definitely feels thrown in there instead of something that’s more naturally integrated with the plot.

That being said, there’s not actually that much I can complain about Shadows House’s story. The show pretty much delivers on the macabre and happy story that it sets out on the table, slowly feeding the audience bits of this story in a well-paced mystery/thriller that both has moments of tight tension and relaxed brevity, providing a married mix of quality storytelling in between meaningful character interactions between its cast. If anything, I hope that this show gets a season 2, because it bloody deserves it given how unique and genuinely interesting the story seems continuing from this point onwards due to how many more secrets there are remaining in the enigmatic Shadows House. That and like they definitely set some stuff up for intrigue, and I’m greedy for more of a good thing.

Characters:

Due to the unique nature of Shadows House, it’s kind of hard to talk about any individual character due to the dual nature of the Living Doll and the Shadow Master. Emilico and Kate serve as a grand antithesis to a majority of other similar pairs on account of their individuality from each other (right down to the fact that the two of them have different voice actors compared to the other pairs being voiced by the same person). While Kate is more reserved and soft-spoken, Emilico is a dumb child who acts innocently to the things around her. The two act as stark contrasts to each other, and create an interesting dynamic because they’re such an awkward pair. The differences are why these characters work so well in the story since they shine in an environment and thematic where master and servant are concrete statuses where one quite literally follows in the footsteps of the other. And their relationship serves as a wonderful focal point in the series which echoes beyond that of their own little group of friends.

In a similar vein, the other child pairs: Ricky and Patrick, Rum and Shirley, Shaun and John, and Lou and Louise act as examples in the story that show off the various relationships and personalities that exist within the Shadows House. It’s interesting given how these are effectively 8 separate characters, but mostly function as only 4 given how each pair is a single unit that provides a combined perspective to add to the story. Which the story I think uses to its fullest extent, both by letting the masters and dolls stay together to act out the personality combination they have, as well as separating the pairs so we get a perspective of what the characters are like by themselves without the other one around. It’s honestly a great way to get character moments in a show that’s mostly story-based, and I’m really happy the show took the leap to do what it delivered.

Side characters are also an interesting bunch from a worldbuilding perspective. The rest of the cast are pretty much just establishing points to set the stage for the world, including but not limited to Barbie the Star Bearer, Edward, and the higher shadows in the 3rd floor governed over by the prestigious ‘Lord Grandfather’ who seems to be the one calling the shots over everything that occurs in the Shadows House. True many characters don’t really get their time in the spotlight, but they’re all great in their own right due to what they provide for the story compared to who they are individually.

Aesthetics:

I think Cloverworks did a really good job with Shadows House, though it certainly does deviate from the manga’s original storybook style. Sure there’s a loss there, but I think the details of the corridors to the design of the frilly dresses and color-schemed shadows and dolls more than make up for a bit of stylistic loss. The shadows in particular I think are a great point of interest to point to because of their entire silhouette being that of a completely black figure with no discernable shading or highlights to speak of. That and the smoky soot effects that they constantly emit look good with everything that’s going on, thus adding more to the overall look of the show with all of these additional (and sometimes excessive) particle effects that go practically everywhere and are used everywhere in the show.

As for the OST, honestly, it has no right to be as good as it is. ‘a hollow shadow’ by Suehiro Kenichiro, the music producer for the show, is a completely instrumental track that helps set the viscerally uncomfortable tone that the Shadows House creates. A place of somber peace, yet something is…not quite right with how everything is. The op really sells this imagery and I really love the aesthetic choice of a purely instrumental piece as it stands out among a sea of J-pop songs and really makes Shadows House seem like its own.


On the flipside, ReoNa’s “NaiNai” is a dynamic, shifting song that, much like the show, gradually grows in tension the longer the song plays for. It does a lot of heavy lifting, especially since its sister is just a purely instrumental piece. Because of this, NaiNai stands out a lot, alternating a lot between her usual style of song in between these sound bites and other softer moments that help sell the dramatic nature of the living dolls and Shadows that feel unsettled by everything here in the Shadows House. It’s a memorable song, especially due to how it starts and what it leads up to. That may be my partial bias towards me liking ReoNa’s work, but this song in particular really fits with Shadows House, and I really find it to be a great song that’s memorable to boot.

Final Thoughts:

Compared to some other things that I’ve talked about this season, this show definitely got a little bit more clout than others, but not by much I think in the public eye. The show is a lovely little mystery, combining both the unsettling with sometimes comfortable and cheerful moments in a setting that’s both imposing and grand in its scale. Everything settles so neatly in Shadows House that it ends up putting a lot of previous actions and/or moments into a more malicious perspective, thus giving the show an air of uncertainty even in its more cheerful moments. All of this rings especially true in perspective of Emilico and Kate, as Emilico especially I find to be a special kind of ‘stupid cute’ where she’s airheaded about basically everything but manages to work her duties in spite of that. Something that I never really would’ve expected from this show because typically dumb anime girls in particularly are like that for the moe factor. Which sure, you can argue that, but I think it serves more of a purpose this time around due to her unique position as a contrast to the world around her, so I’m more than willing to give it a pass on that front.

While I have my qualms about the debut arc and its fucking maze overstaying its welcome, everything else in the show makes Shadows House a unique piece of fiction that fulfills its own little niche within stories that feature doppelgangers of some kind. There really isn’t anything else to say about it because the show works through all of its story beats in a competent manner, and I honestly just want more. There’s so much about this story that hasn’t been talked about or shown, and I really want to see more of this setting and what other twisted and macabre shit goes on in this Shadow filled house.

Which means…go watch it. Seriously, gold star recommendation. Shadows House is a very unique show; practically nothing like it exists in the realm of anime. Truthfully I can’t think of anything that serves as its equal, and I’m really happy that this little gem showed up to showcase a level of creativity that sometimes anime just doesn’t take the dive to get into. I only wish there was more of it because there really is more to this story than what we’ve seen already, and I could definitely use more sequel seasons of shows that have interesting storylines instead of more isekai or ones that’re underserving of the sequel treatment.

Now, one last time, are we SURE this show still just isn’t Persona? (For legal reasons, this is a joke.)