Review of Shadows House

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 feelthe 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.