Shadows House

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 ofinteresting 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.

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 thelack 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.

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, andexpensive 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 ofthe 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.