Review of Shadows House

Shadows House caught my attention early last month. The synopsis sounded interesting, unique, and had reminded me of The Promised Neverland. If you've watched TPN, you will definitely enjoy this anime. It has kids going through a tough situation, as well as elements of mystery and suspense. STORY- 8/10 The plot is very strange and unique. You won't find anything like this anywhere else. With only the limit of 13 episodes, the producers managed to make a well-paced mystery story with suspense, plot-twists, and character development. The show starts out a like a slice of life, with the main character connecting with her Shadow Master throughconversations, cleaning, and helping her throughout the day. It quickly picks of pace after that. Up until the last couple episodes, it stuck with the plot from the manga. The ending was anime-original though, and it felt a bit rushed, with them dumping answers to some of the mysteries to quickly, instead of letting it unfold naturally. I haven't read the manga, but I could see some loss in quality story-wise. I like to compare this to the ending from Erased. It wasn't the best, but the series was still super good because of the episodes before. The plot was enjoyable overall, even with the ending. I think that the average watcher will still finish this series with satisfaction.

ART- 9/10

The art style is very similar to that of The Promised Neverland. The quality stays consistent throughout the whole show. There a few instances of CGI when one of the characters plays the piano. It wasn't terrible, but it certainly didn't look amazing. All of the characters have distinct designs which correspond with their personalities perfectly. The backgrounds, such as the Shadow Masters' rooms, portray the theme and mood of the show flawlessly.

Sound- 8/10

I watched the series with Japanese VAs. All the character's voices fitted their character marvelously. The background music helped portray the mood, but most of it isn't especially memorable. I don't think I'd look up any of the tracks and listen to them, except for the OP & ED. The OP is a instrumental with a lot of feeling, and the ED is just a masterpiece. You have to go take a listen at least once. One episode ended with a major plot twist about a certain character, and the ED was different that time. It showed the state of the mind of that character with a passionate, eerie, and emotional piano piece.

CHARACTER- 10/10

I love the characters. They are well-rounded; each one has flaws and strengths. The main characters all go through development as they bond with each other and strive to solve the mysteries of Shadows House. The antagonist had a motivation, although it was a bit cliche: he wanted to rise in rank and gain power. There was a major plot-twist involving one of the characters that left my mind reeling. Very fun to watch.

ENJOYMENT- 10/10

I love this show. I, personally, can't get enough of mystery shows. This show was a perfect mystery series to watch. I highly recommend this anime to anyone that loves the mystery, suspense, and the slice of life genres. This show will stick with you for a long time.