Shadows House is still a relatively new series, but if the adaptation is anything like its source material, it's sure to be a hit. Featuring a spooky mystery within an enigmatic mansion, the show's cute and almost Victorian aesthetic belies a series of horrifying secrets.
This premise instantly recalls one of the more popular and now infamous anime in the past few years: The Promised Neverland. Both feature a cast of trapped children trying to escape their secretive masters, The Promised Neverland and Shadows House are the perfect segue into each other. Here's a look at what the latter is about and how it compares to The Promised Neverland.
The Story of Shadows House
The eponymous Shadows House is a gigantic mansion whose official denizens are the shadowy, featureless Noble Family. These mysterious beings are taken care of by far more human-looking living dolls, who tend to their masters' needs and clean up the endless dirt trails that their smoky lords leave behind. This soot can seemingly be controlled by the masters, who produce even more of it depending on their emotional state.
The series follows Emilico, a doll who is somewhat strange for a member of her kind. Whereas the other dolls are meant to evoke the same emotions as their masters, Emilico possesses a more independent and exclusive mentality. This individualistic and curious streak gets her into trouble and makes her the first to notice the several strange happenings occurring in Shadows House. Emilico serves Kate, a blacked-out version of Emilico's visage, and the two begin looking into the hidden mysteries of their abode.
Why The Promised Neverland Fans Should Watch Shadows House
There are several superficial and close similarities between Shadows House and The Promised Neverland, bolstering why fans of the latter should check out the new series. The most apparent similarities would be the premise of each show, which both feature small children trying to uncover and eventually escape from a dark, conspiratorial fate. In addition, their similarly macabre and almost old-fashioned fairy tale settings make the horror even more unsettling due to their mutual cute and innocent-seeming cast members.
These elements make both at first seem to be entirely different shows, with Shadows House starting out feeling more like a slice-of-life series that eventually dovetails into a gothic mystery. Both franchises also have antagonists that are dark parallels to the heroes that face them. These villains appear in the form of a Royal/Noble Family, even if the former in The Promised Neverland's anime had a substantially smaller role than they did in the manga.
That last point, in particular, could draw in fans of The Promised Neverland's manga who were disappointed in how the anime's second and final season adapted certain story elements. Said season left a bad taste in many's mouths, and a more quality show in the same vein would help to remove some of its lingering sting. Curious and still spiteful fans of that series, as well as those who want a foreboding mystery show, should check out Shadows House through Funimation.
