Shadow Skill: Eigi

I am invincible. My shadow skills are unmatched. The power of my blow has no equal. With these words Shadow Skill – Eigi enters the arena to determine whether it really is what it claims to be... An anime worth your time.

Story: 8

The story of Shadow Skill – Eigi takes place in the land of Kuruda, which is one of four lands that protect the Holy City of Julianess. (Each land has its own unique fighting style but only Kurudan is actually looked at beyond just name and one move.) Among the four, Kuruda is known for its long history of invincibility due to ... their elite warriors known as Sevalle/Sevar. The main heroin, Elle Ragu is one of these warriors, namely the most recent one, and thus maybe not that well known at first. Along with her step-brother Gau Ban, whom she took into her care once his family was killed, they face various adventures in Kuruda. Along the way hey meet some old friends like Fia Arcana, who seems to have a history with Elle, or some new ones like Kyou, who is a member of an demon-beast hunting group. The first “half” of the series is in a bit lighter tone, concentrating more on the adventuring and so, rather than doing anything too deep. Testimony to this are the various comedy moments which are not rare for fantasy anime but here comedy does not play a major role. This however changes after a while when the real plot starts to unfold. All the seemingly unimportant things start to matter as they begin to play their main role in one man's plan to annihilate the so long managed peace. The ending is nice and fulfilling despite the fact it leaves some questions unanswered. Maybe a sequel in some distant future ? Who knows. (doubt it ^^)

Characters: 8

The characters in this anime are diverse and in tone of the old days of fantasy anime. Elle is the strong type that acts lazy but when push comes to shove she is dependable and acts mature. She earned her title and it doesn´t get to her head. She is quite protective of her little brother but in her own way. Gau, the second of the two main characters, is Elles adoptive little brother. He trains hard and does his best to be of any help to Elle. He is portrayed as the weaker individual climbing his way to fame and strength thanks to the support of his surroundings. However, he has his own inner demons whom he has to face so he can become like his older sister. This though, becomes more apparent in the second half of the story. The other characters are also done very well but they are a bit neglected. Indeed Fia and Kyou got some attention regarding their personal backgrounds and so on but the rest is either minimal or shrouded in mystery at best. We have many characters whose past has been hinted a few times however the line ends there and we are left to ponder who or what they really are.

Art: 7

Well, as expected from a show that is over 10 years old, the graphic side to this anime is nowhere near today's standard. Be it characters, locations or misc. For me however, that is not a negative. Sure, it may not be so detailed or the colours aren´t so vivid but I still think it stands on equal ground with its brethren form the days of old. It certainly has its own unique ring to it but if you aren´t a junky for modern anime art styles then this will hardly play a role in your enjoyment.

Sound: 7

OP and ED were nice but hardly memorable. You might listen to them a few times but then it´s fast forwards from a certain point on. The rest of the sound department is good at best. VA is done very nicely and that´s about it for sound...

Enjoyment: 8

I personally enjoyed this anime quite a bit. It has all an anime needs to keep its audience entertained throughout the entire run without having to worry about too much fillers that can bore you to death. The story isn´t ground-breakingly innovative or anything and yet it´s not unoriginal either. It has many elements of your ordinary fantasy anime but tied together by a entertaining story and nice characters. What more can one ask for ?

Overall: 8

Shadow Skill – Eigi is definitely worth watching for any fantasy anime fan out there and even for those that aren´t fans, since it still manages to be entertaining. They might not find it as great but at least they won´t be let down either. This is one of those anime where you can sit back and relax while watching the story unfold without having to worry whether you are or not just wasting your time. In short, if you are a fantasy fan watch it and you´ll be pleased. If you aren´t but have the time, give it a try, who knows, you might like it even more. ^^

Re-watchability: 3/5
(5)- Anywhere, anytime, as many times as you like!
(4)-Definitely worth seeing more than 3 times…
(3)-Once for regular viewer, 2 (or even 3) times for a fan.
(2)- Seeing once is more than enough.
(1)- Impossible to even reach the end…

Essentially, Shadow Skill is initially a unique anime which can make you laugh, feel inspired, and get connected with the characters all at the same time. But, it fails to carry through, as the ending is terrible. The well planned story from the beginning crumbles into a series of disconnected and haphazard series of screens (which are often overused). I don't want to shoot the series down completely, because honestly most of it was very enjoyable. Just be forewarned that you'll probably being tearing the hair out of your skull following the fight with Darkness.

Rewatching this in 2023 is nothing but a nostalgia trip for me for the most part. I wanted to know why it was never heralded as one of the best anime series to have come out of the 90's. I had to find out the hard way.

This was so tough to sit through. From the slow start with so many unnecesarry comedic moments up to the underwhelming and dissatisfying second half. Not to mention how majority of the fight scenes and climaxes felt more of a slide show rather than dynamic and fluid as anyone would expect given the title of the show and ... what the main opening sequence highlights.

I would've loved to see the story go more in-depth with the fighting styles from every region and to have their power-ups and specials be left to sub-text. Infusing more martial arts scenes as well would've made the experience more exciting. The costume designs were frustrating. It felt all over the place. Very incoherrent on that department.
The story just has so much potential riding on it that was never fully realized.