Shadows House is a 2021 TV anime adapting the manga by so-ma-to. With animation production by CloverWorks, it's the series director debut for Kazuki Ohashi (episode director on Kakegurui, Girlish Number, Nisekoi) with series composition/scripts by Toshiya Ono (Gatchaman Crowds & Crowds Insight, tsuritama, The Promised Neverland). Similar to so-ma-to's prior work, Kuro, the series combines cute characters and slice-of-life elements with an eerie atmosphere and overarching mystery. Synopsis and PV below. quote:The manga's story is set in a Western-style mansion on a cliff and centers on the aristocratic, faceless Shadow family. They live together with lifelike doll attendants who serve as their faces. The story focuses on the daily lives of the house's inhabitants and gradually reveals its mysteries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUlo9T1UQVo Cast (official website) Streaming via the following licensors by region: Funimation (US, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, UK, Ireland) AnimeLab (New Zealand and Australia) Wakanim (France, Germany, Russia, and Scandinavian countries)
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# ? Apr 10, 2021 16:42 |
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# ? May 27, 2024 02:48 |
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Nice. I know nothing about this, but a lot of people seemed really hyped, so looking forward to it.
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# ? Apr 10, 2021 17:44 |
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Huh, the anime really tipped its hand early. You don't see most of the stuff in the first two minutes until dozens of chapters into the manga.
Sindai fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Apr 10, 2021 |
# ? Apr 10, 2021 18:55 |
yeah, i won't linger on the manga much but it was interesting to see the choices made between what was basically a sizzle reel and them truncating a fistful of early chapters into this single episode. it feels like the pacing didn't quite pan out and, as much as the early stuff was a bit of an obstacle for me, i still would've liked some breathing room i think? definitely interested to see how fresh viewers feel about it. love the look of the house and the soot so far, there is a nice texture to the shading they use too. instrumental OP is a choice i'm glad they made, and the ED didn't end up nearly as cheesy as the glass shattering sfx would make you think lol. the little flashes in both (Emilico being smeared with soot, Kate being grabbed, Kate/Emilico's profiles melting into each other, Louise overlapping with Lou) and the ED staircase animation are all great.
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# ? Apr 10, 2021 19:16 |
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It definitely has the visuals down perfectly and seems to be hitting the right tone so far. Wasn't sure what to expect in terms of rushing through some stuff based on some of the above but I think I see where they're going with it and it works well enough as an opener. It is kind of funny though given the speedrun Cloverworks just did with Horimiya.
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# ? Apr 10, 2021 20:34 |
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I did think the sizzle reel of the adult shadows was an interesting touch as it shows early on that the scope of the setting will be much larger than the two or so rooms that the first episodes takes place in. Obviously they're rushing some character beat a little bit, but it's obviously in service to get to the rest of the cast and presumably they'll use their time to develop Kate and Emiliko's relationship as the story progresses rather than in isolation.
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# ? Apr 10, 2021 21:04 |
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Not being familiar with the manga, I was terrified the show was about to take a much darker turn when Emilico opened the window to clean the soot on the outside. Just had that vibe, with the touching and happy scene that came just before it.
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# ? Apr 12, 2021 05:08 |
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I also have no knowledge of the manga or anything surrounding it. I'll probably give it another episode or two, but besides being perfectly fine nothing's particularly hooked me yet, either. I imagine once there's a bit more of a cast or anything resembling a larger narrative that'll change, though.
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# ? Apr 12, 2021 05:35 |
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Viridiant posted:Not being familiar with the manga, I was terrified the show was about to take a much darker turn when Emilico opened the window to clean the soot on the outside. Just had that vibe, with the touching and happy scene that came just before it. If it's anything like Kuro, it's not going to be relentlessly dark, and good/nice things can happen. There's just always something ominous hanging over the proceedings.
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# ? Apr 12, 2021 05:41 |
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The way shadows and faces move in perfect unison when they're together is way more unnerving animated than it is the manga. Neat.
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# ? Apr 17, 2021 20:37 |
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Viridiant posted:Not being familiar with the manga, I was terrified the show was about to take a much darker turn when Emilico opened the window to clean the soot on the outside. Just had that vibe, with the touching and happy scene that came just before it. What you expected to happen ended up happening sorta. Sindai posted:The way shadows and faces move in perfect unison when they're together is way more unnerving animated than it is the manga. Neat. Indeed.
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# ? Apr 17, 2021 21:15 |
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What an uplifting work song.
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# ? Apr 17, 2021 23:23 |
my favorite thing this week was definitely Kate's run through the mansion, which was a nice counterpoint to Emilico first seeing the big hall. of course they point to the ominous "endless" hallway in that same scene, but that's wiped away by the work song and Emilico's general awe and excitement from getting to clean with new friends. seeing Kate anxiously sneak through a bunch of dark hallways with cuts that make the actual layout hard to connect in your head, it highlights a darker and labyrinthine side to the mansion. Sarah and Mia's coordinated acting was great too, and has me looking forward to see more scenes with the shadow/face pairs interacting.
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# ? Apr 18, 2021 04:19 |
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When they started singing I immediately got oompa loompa vibes. Wasn't aware there's a manga, I might check it out. Thoughts as a anime only viewer: -The shadows I am assuming as a visualization of the family's sin. They appear to be powerful wealthy nobles, it's unclear to me if thats a normal fixture of the world but my assumption is a Beauty & the Beast situation where their whole family was probably cursed long ago to lose their faces, probably a punishment for vanity. -My assumption is the shot glasses with the dark liquid is some kind of amnesia/brainwashing potion. They take in people from the outside world like in the TV show dollhouse (apropos) with desired personalities and wipe their memories to make them servants. However by the end of this episode my thinking has evolved a bit that maybe they actually regularly wipe the memories of the Servants/dolls when they begin to Know Too Much. -Touched upon above but I refuse to believe the "dolls" are like homunculi, they're presumably actual human beings and there's maybe themes of class and social strata disparity being on; "servants" the lower classes are not seen as human by the noble/aristocratic class. And the "servants" are willing to subliminate themselves and bend the knee into the dirt (or soot in this case) if it means being a big fish in a small pond and get to have power over people even lower in the social hierarchy then them. -I wonder how much of the ability to talk/mimic their Master's expression/movements/mannerisms is magic vs training; and how in-sync it can be, and makes me wonder if the scene back in Episode 1 with the peacock haired girl is actually meant to tell us what peacock hair's shadow is feeling (rage/hatred towards Kate/Emil). As an addendum it presumably says something that Emil is basically her own person and is completely independent from Kate and hasn't shown any sign of being able to do so, and based on the conversation in Episode 2 this is presumably a problem with Kate/Kate's fault. -I wonder what the heck is up with the post credits scene at the end with Mia(?)'s room being covered with soot, do the shadows visit their doll's rooms? Is it Mia's shadow that did it to show her displeasure? I assume its Mia's room and not Emil's; which implies that for whatever reason all the dolls feel the need to write down the information of how to care for the shadows which implies all of them get their memories wiped eventually? Did a different shadow trash Mia's room and why? Cool series, I like the mystery.
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# ? Apr 18, 2021 05:33 |
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They've started on some of the horror elements of the setting such as soot sickness and who they affect Living Dolls. Sootlings -> Scorches. They're also advancing the plot a bit faster than the manga. Also this episode was the requisite bath episode.
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# ? Apr 25, 2021 00:24 |
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Is this a shonen anime. I am now confused because it seems like it could be a shonen anime now. What with the shadow/soot powers Kate realized she has
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# ? Apr 25, 2021 02:31 |
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# ? Apr 25, 2021 18:06 |
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Raenir Salazar posted:Is this a shonen anime. I am now confused because it seems like it could be a shonen anime now. What with the shadow/soot powers Kate realized she has It runs in a Seinen magazine. And no, it's not gonna become a battle series.
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# ? Apr 25, 2021 20:53 |
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Is this secretly a Nier spin-off?
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# ? Apr 25, 2021 21:40 |
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Rie Kugimiya was some choice casting for Barbie.
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# ? May 1, 2021 23:12 |
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Nate RFB posted:Rie Kugimiya was some choice casting for Barbie. Her voice is so good. It's very comforting in a way, just from how many shows she's been in.
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# ? May 1, 2021 23:16 |
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I wonder what's going to be revealed when we see behind the veil of one of those masked servants? Also I just realised how funny it is that one of the dolls is called Barbie.
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# ? May 3, 2021 12:33 |
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Nate RFB posted:Rie Kugimiya was some choice casting for Barbie. I hope her Shadow has the same VA because it'll be wild when she shows up.
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# ? May 3, 2021 17:01 |
everything about Emilico's Rum rescue attempt was amazing in the recent ep. taking a running-start dive into a revolving door that just leads to a pitch black hallway where she runs into things all while acknowledging it's a dumb idea (but not stopping). and then she casually/cheerily just stomps the soot out of some Scorches before figuring she'd be okay trusting John and his impaired vision when it comes to smashing a Phantom inches from her head. wonderful girl, wonderful performance i'll second having some anticipation over Barbie's Shadow showing up, though i think every non-Kate Shadow shares the same VA as their Face.
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# ? May 4, 2021 23:55 |
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There have been some significant changes here and there that I've not felt like getting into because it'd make talking about the show miserable, but did they not contradict their own in-show lore where Sarah is saying they haven't made their debut yet when AFAIK there's literally no way for that to the case when the whole point of them giving Kate/Emilico poo poo when they were outside was they had made their debut and Kate/Emilico hadn't. Could be a bad TL or me misremembering various details though. Anyway, Lousie/Lou is the best romantic couple in the story.
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# ? May 8, 2021 23:39 |
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My impression as a non-manga reader was that Sarah is just that snooty and that by virtue of being more in-sync with her face compared to Kate lords it over Kate.Nate RFB posted:Anyway, Lousie/Lou is the best romantic couple in the story. I'm not sure how I feel about this.
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# ? May 8, 2021 23:54 |
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Nate RFB posted:There have been some significant changes here and there that I've not felt like getting into because it'd make talking about the show miserable, but did they not contradict their own in-show lore where Sarah is saying they haven't made their debut yet when AFAIK there's literally no way for that to the case when the whole point of them giving Kate/Emilico poo poo when they were outside was they had made their debut and Kate/Emilico hadn't. I'm pretty sure Sara has made her debut already. I don't think we meet anyone younger than Kate/Emilyco and the other 3(6) until waay later in the story, if at all so far.
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# ? May 9, 2021 00:01 |
Nate RFB posted:There have been some significant changes here and there that I've not felt like getting into because it'd make talking about the show miserable, but did they not contradict their own in-show lore where Sarah is saying they haven't made their debut yet when AFAIK there's literally no way for that to the case when the whole point of them giving Kate/Emilico poo poo when they were outside was they had made their debut and Kate/Emilico hadn't. zero chance it isn't a misTL, since Sarah has debuted as noted from her being out and about earlier in the show. fwiw the scanlations of the scene have her scolding Mia for associating with "a defective product who hasn't even debuted."
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# ? May 9, 2021 00:05 |
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Rohan Kishibe posted:I'm pretty sure Sara has made her debut already. I don't think we meet anyone younger than Kate/Emilyco and the other 3(6) until waay later in the story, if at all so far. Also, talk about uncooooomfortable.
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# ? May 9, 2021 00:06 |
anyway, i love the run-through of the different Shadow/Face pairs in this episode. Sarah/Mia immediately stand out for their abusive dynamic, when even the worst of the Debut class don't mistreat their partner. granted, the others have dynamics with shaky basis such as Louise essentially acting out of self-centeredness or Patrick & Ricky uniting based on their scorn of others (at least in part to shield themselves from an inferiority complex). John seems the best of the group at first glance, but it's worth noting his outburst at Edward comes from the same thinking within the house's hierarchy that Louise and Patrick indulge in more unpleasantly, even if John makes exceptions for his own face by not pushing the issue of the glasses.
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# ? May 9, 2021 01:23 |
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I really like this detail in the episode as their soot emanates from them
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# ? May 9, 2021 02:21 |
i had a hard time picking out John's there, but he sheds it in little fragments almost like a comedy sweat or something (lol)
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# ? May 9, 2021 03:17 |
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Nate RFB posted:
definitely a mistranslation, she's talking about Kate/Emilico there, not themselves
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# ? May 9, 2021 07:29 |
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Lou is alright.
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# ? May 15, 2021 22:53 |
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Official ED MV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8LwhRkNaSQ
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# ? May 15, 2021 23:13 |
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quote:Lou is alright.
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# ? May 23, 2021 00:46 |
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They shortened the puzzle solving segment. It fleshed out the trio of Dolls a bit and was fairly amusing as a light hearted chapter and shows their strengths. They at least kept one of them which is good enough I guess.
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# ? May 23, 2021 03:23 |
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I like how Rum is actually a savant.
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# ? May 23, 2021 23:23 |
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This week on Lous House And a special credit sequence that I'm sure is not significant in any way
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# ? May 30, 2021 19:50 |
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# ? May 27, 2024 02:48 |
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It's rad that they changed the entire credits to drop that bomb.
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# ? May 30, 2021 20:55 |