jon_carlson-28953
Joined Jun 2018
Welcome to the new profile
Our updates are still in development. While the previous version of the profile is no longer accessible, we're actively working on improvements, and some of the missing features will be returning soon! Stay tuned for their return. In the meantime, the Ratings Analysis is still available on our iOS and Android apps, found on the profile page. To view your Rating Distribution(s) by Year and Genre, please refer to our new Help guide.
Badges3
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Reviews28
jon_carlson-28953's rating
I think there are a lot of anime fans like myself who really crave something different from the giant mech, slice of life, high school = everything forever, titles that just seem to litter the entire landscape like they grow on trees. We want something different, but not so out of the box you're confused or nauseated. If you're feeling this way, I recommend "Shadows House". This manga-adaptation premiered in the Spring of 2021, a time when I was more focused on sanitizing everything I came into contact with than the latest anime, but I am sorry I missed this one for it turned out to be one of the more unique things I've seen in quite some time.
"Shadows House" is set in Victorian Era Europe, most likely Great Britain if we are going by the names of the characters. One morning, a girl wakes up in a trunk, and gets to work in a massive manor specifically seeing to one member of the household, Kate. She is presumably the same age, but she is a pitch black humanoid. Yes, the name "Shadows House" is quite literal as these "Shadows" are just seemingly voids in appearance but are indeed unique in their personalities. There is a sense of haughtiness to them as they are waited on hand and foot while only referring to themselves in the third person. To add to this strange dynamic, the girl, whom Kate will soon dub Emilico, is called a "living doll". And we soon see that all living dolls are created in what should be the living image of these shadows. They are much more than servants, they are meant to be the face to the shadow, and serve as a reflection of that at all times. These "dolls" are very much alive, with personalities that at times clash with their shadows. Both doll and shadow are quite mortal, needing food, sleep, and as much care as a human being does... curious.
At first, I thought this was a poor method to save money on the animation budget. A shadow has no features, less to draw. But, there is certainly a purpose to these obsidian persons who live in a massive, castle-like house ways away from the populous in gothic, eerie, fog. These shadows emit soot, the magic McGuffin of "Shadows House", it has enough magical properties to be a concern when it concentrates on it's own, but more so it's one's skill with said soot that determine a Shadow's potential. Kate and Emilico are not the only young duo in the manor, as no less than 4 others have also just come to get their own "living dolls" in preparation for a grand "Debut". Back in these times, young members of prestigious families were given grand parties announcing their debut into high society. (Hence the name "Debutantes"). But, this debut is more of a crucible and right of passage. The new shadows have to earn their way along with their dolls into the rest of the house as a firm, capable, unit. It is here we're introduced to the primary antagonist, Edward. He calls himself a "Special Doll", but has the look and wardrobe of a 1960s Batman villain and is just about as scheming, albeit more capable.
Will our cast of shadow and doll younglings make it through this trial? And what happens if they don't? "CloverWorks" certainly crafted a fine, engrossing, plot in just a few, short, episodes. And if the whole era, atmosphere, magical servant-master relationship seems familiar, these are the same fellows who adapted "Black Butler". But this feels more "Addams Family" than "The Omen". Kate and Emilico are certainly prime protagonists, especially the latter with her "can-do, stiff-upper lip" attitude that seems more fitting for a magical girl genre than this macabre piece. The rest of the cast of characters is quite strong, too, with each shadow and doll proving to be marvelous in their contrast of each other, but each showing unique journeys as people. Especially the blonde doll, Ricky, who experiences one of the better ice-meltings arcs I've seen.
I was certainly drawn in by the sheer mystery of it all, I had so many questions, this would've been enough to keep me going til Edward has a Third Act exposition dump that really takes the wonder out of much of it, but after 13 episodes- you still have more questions than answers, especially concerning the mastermind of all this known as, "Lord Grandfather", who manages to dress more gaudily than Edward, and maintains a massive aura of "Final Boss", along with the other shadow elites who are all equally deserving of as much contempt as Edward. What good is an anime antagonist if you don't have the deepest desire to watch them get their comeuppance? This lot certainly earns it.
Another aspect of "Shadows House" I found refreshing was the opening and closing music, tracks I actually listened to rather than skip quite a few times. "a hollow shadow" is a wonderful, instrumental tango that feels more at home in the streets of Paris than such a morbid setting such as this, but adds to the other worldly feeling with vocalizations, and is quite an ear worm. The closing credits are accompanied by "Nai Nai" by ReoNa, a song so surreal and modern most people will just skip to the next episode and don't listen to/read the lyrics- but they should! Because it's not just a statement about one's own feelings of self and self-worth, but a statement about the characters of the show themselves. (Hey, PAUL!)
This is usually where I get to Sub vs. Dub, but honestly, either one is a win. Both casts deliver strong performances but given the rather European vibe of the whole show, it feels more natural in English, but can certainly be enjoyed just as much in Japanese. A title like "Shadows House" was certainly made for the "Hot Topic", Tim Burton-crowd but as an Average Joe, I enjoyed it quite a bit myself and am quite excited to watch the next season. Its small shortcomings certainly don't detract from what is a genuinely intriguing and stand-out series. 8/10. Check it out. Cheers!
"Shadows House" is set in Victorian Era Europe, most likely Great Britain if we are going by the names of the characters. One morning, a girl wakes up in a trunk, and gets to work in a massive manor specifically seeing to one member of the household, Kate. She is presumably the same age, but she is a pitch black humanoid. Yes, the name "Shadows House" is quite literal as these "Shadows" are just seemingly voids in appearance but are indeed unique in their personalities. There is a sense of haughtiness to them as they are waited on hand and foot while only referring to themselves in the third person. To add to this strange dynamic, the girl, whom Kate will soon dub Emilico, is called a "living doll". And we soon see that all living dolls are created in what should be the living image of these shadows. They are much more than servants, they are meant to be the face to the shadow, and serve as a reflection of that at all times. These "dolls" are very much alive, with personalities that at times clash with their shadows. Both doll and shadow are quite mortal, needing food, sleep, and as much care as a human being does... curious.
At first, I thought this was a poor method to save money on the animation budget. A shadow has no features, less to draw. But, there is certainly a purpose to these obsidian persons who live in a massive, castle-like house ways away from the populous in gothic, eerie, fog. These shadows emit soot, the magic McGuffin of "Shadows House", it has enough magical properties to be a concern when it concentrates on it's own, but more so it's one's skill with said soot that determine a Shadow's potential. Kate and Emilico are not the only young duo in the manor, as no less than 4 others have also just come to get their own "living dolls" in preparation for a grand "Debut". Back in these times, young members of prestigious families were given grand parties announcing their debut into high society. (Hence the name "Debutantes"). But, this debut is more of a crucible and right of passage. The new shadows have to earn their way along with their dolls into the rest of the house as a firm, capable, unit. It is here we're introduced to the primary antagonist, Edward. He calls himself a "Special Doll", but has the look and wardrobe of a 1960s Batman villain and is just about as scheming, albeit more capable.
Will our cast of shadow and doll younglings make it through this trial? And what happens if they don't? "CloverWorks" certainly crafted a fine, engrossing, plot in just a few, short, episodes. And if the whole era, atmosphere, magical servant-master relationship seems familiar, these are the same fellows who adapted "Black Butler". But this feels more "Addams Family" than "The Omen". Kate and Emilico are certainly prime protagonists, especially the latter with her "can-do, stiff-upper lip" attitude that seems more fitting for a magical girl genre than this macabre piece. The rest of the cast of characters is quite strong, too, with each shadow and doll proving to be marvelous in their contrast of each other, but each showing unique journeys as people. Especially the blonde doll, Ricky, who experiences one of the better ice-meltings arcs I've seen.
I was certainly drawn in by the sheer mystery of it all, I had so many questions, this would've been enough to keep me going til Edward has a Third Act exposition dump that really takes the wonder out of much of it, but after 13 episodes- you still have more questions than answers, especially concerning the mastermind of all this known as, "Lord Grandfather", who manages to dress more gaudily than Edward, and maintains a massive aura of "Final Boss", along with the other shadow elites who are all equally deserving of as much contempt as Edward. What good is an anime antagonist if you don't have the deepest desire to watch them get their comeuppance? This lot certainly earns it.
Another aspect of "Shadows House" I found refreshing was the opening and closing music, tracks I actually listened to rather than skip quite a few times. "a hollow shadow" is a wonderful, instrumental tango that feels more at home in the streets of Paris than such a morbid setting such as this, but adds to the other worldly feeling with vocalizations, and is quite an ear worm. The closing credits are accompanied by "Nai Nai" by ReoNa, a song so surreal and modern most people will just skip to the next episode and don't listen to/read the lyrics- but they should! Because it's not just a statement about one's own feelings of self and self-worth, but a statement about the characters of the show themselves. (Hey, PAUL!)
This is usually where I get to Sub vs. Dub, but honestly, either one is a win. Both casts deliver strong performances but given the rather European vibe of the whole show, it feels more natural in English, but can certainly be enjoyed just as much in Japanese. A title like "Shadows House" was certainly made for the "Hot Topic", Tim Burton-crowd but as an Average Joe, I enjoyed it quite a bit myself and am quite excited to watch the next season. Its small shortcomings certainly don't detract from what is a genuinely intriguing and stand-out series. 8/10. Check it out. Cheers!
How can one love a romance anime if they don't like the main characters? Was that the question "Masamune-kun no Revenge" was trying to answer?
While I don't hate this anime by any means, the core of any romance or rom-com should be the leading man and lady (or variation thereupon) and the will of the viewer to see them be together. It might sound harsh, but I was almost rooting against either of them to find any sort of happiness as they're both rather miserable, dopey, and ridiculous teenagers caught up in their own vendettas. Our titular MC, Masamune Makabe, was rejected by Aki Adagaki when he was 10. Since then, he's improved himself from a fat, petulant jerk to a muscular, handsome young man pretending to not be a jerk. He's changed so much, that Aki doesn't even recognize him and he intends to use this to his advantage as his plan to win her heart and then break it has led up to this moment. He's really gonna go all-out like some half-baked Edmund Dantes over something that happened when he was 10? Okay.
What's more, Aki continues to reject every boy who courts her, earning her a reputation as "The Brutal Princess" for her harsh and public refusals of potential suitors. She is quite unlikable. Why doesn't Makabe just see himself as a victim of a woman who cannot be pleased and move on to the numbers of girls in his class swooning over him? Because this isn't supposed to be a harem anime. So, he's a shallow, one-track minded jerk, and she's an ice queen. And while they're not as awful as that on the whole, they still don't do enough for me to care about their destinies together. So, why did I keep watching?
Well, outside of being very patient, there was a great cavalcade of side characters to keep things going. It's a studio SILVER LINK. Production, so it's never going to be boring. This manga adaptation is saved by the side characters to the point I wish they were the main focus. Aki has a maid/handler who helps Masamune out for reasons that are altruistic, but she still does it in a very calculating fashion and she serves as a delightful foil for both Aki and Masamune. A third wheel is added into this love story in the second act in Neko Fujinomiya, who is head over heels for Masamune, and the two later share a very tender scene together. That scene was just about as romantic as it got and it quickly ended because Masamune is a dope blinded by his obsession over the tiniest beef with Aki. This kind of activity is borderline psychotic.
There are many more charming side characters that keep things going, but honestly, good fries don't save a lousy burger. There isn't a lot else to comment on, the intro/end credits music is about as stock as you can get for an anime of this time period. The English dub is something I can tell the cast had a lot of fun with, but the Japanese dub is more suitable for the story. I can't get over just how botched this whole thing felt, and maybe that's the point. Masamune's plot of "revenge" is about as poorly thought out and even more poorly executed outside of his physical transformation. The best revenge is living well and this anime is barely alive. 6/10, but closer to 5.5/10
Watch or don't. Cheers!
While I don't hate this anime by any means, the core of any romance or rom-com should be the leading man and lady (or variation thereupon) and the will of the viewer to see them be together. It might sound harsh, but I was almost rooting against either of them to find any sort of happiness as they're both rather miserable, dopey, and ridiculous teenagers caught up in their own vendettas. Our titular MC, Masamune Makabe, was rejected by Aki Adagaki when he was 10. Since then, he's improved himself from a fat, petulant jerk to a muscular, handsome young man pretending to not be a jerk. He's changed so much, that Aki doesn't even recognize him and he intends to use this to his advantage as his plan to win her heart and then break it has led up to this moment. He's really gonna go all-out like some half-baked Edmund Dantes over something that happened when he was 10? Okay.
What's more, Aki continues to reject every boy who courts her, earning her a reputation as "The Brutal Princess" for her harsh and public refusals of potential suitors. She is quite unlikable. Why doesn't Makabe just see himself as a victim of a woman who cannot be pleased and move on to the numbers of girls in his class swooning over him? Because this isn't supposed to be a harem anime. So, he's a shallow, one-track minded jerk, and she's an ice queen. And while they're not as awful as that on the whole, they still don't do enough for me to care about their destinies together. So, why did I keep watching?
Well, outside of being very patient, there was a great cavalcade of side characters to keep things going. It's a studio SILVER LINK. Production, so it's never going to be boring. This manga adaptation is saved by the side characters to the point I wish they were the main focus. Aki has a maid/handler who helps Masamune out for reasons that are altruistic, but she still does it in a very calculating fashion and she serves as a delightful foil for both Aki and Masamune. A third wheel is added into this love story in the second act in Neko Fujinomiya, who is head over heels for Masamune, and the two later share a very tender scene together. That scene was just about as romantic as it got and it quickly ended because Masamune is a dope blinded by his obsession over the tiniest beef with Aki. This kind of activity is borderline psychotic.
There are many more charming side characters that keep things going, but honestly, good fries don't save a lousy burger. There isn't a lot else to comment on, the intro/end credits music is about as stock as you can get for an anime of this time period. The English dub is something I can tell the cast had a lot of fun with, but the Japanese dub is more suitable for the story. I can't get over just how botched this whole thing felt, and maybe that's the point. Masamune's plot of "revenge" is about as poorly thought out and even more poorly executed outside of his physical transformation. The best revenge is living well and this anime is barely alive. 6/10, but closer to 5.5/10
Watch or don't. Cheers!
It's often assumed that the first detective in literature was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes who made his debut in 1887, but that was some 46 years after Auguste Dupin made his one-off debut in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". Both would have dramatic influence on the genre for years to come, with Dame Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot following in the same design for a brilliant detective with a practical associate who serves as our way into the main story. These names also were made famous in television, as Columbo and Quincy achieved fame in the 1970s with those like Jessica Fletcher of "Murder, She Wrote" coming soon after, with the manga/anime genre adding Conan Edogawa later as names like Horatio Caine, Gil Grissom, and even Dr. Gregory House bringing us up to the present day. I therefore find it nice that there is an effort to add to that legacy still today, Rian Johnson's Benoit Blanc of "Knives Out" fame and now to the subject of this review, Mikito Chinen's Dr. Ameku Takao.
You can see all the influence I just detailed in this character, but not just in the detective genre but also the medical mysteries as well. She is a diagnostician like the aforementioned Dr. House, but appears to be somewhat more eccentric and possibly on the spectrum like a Dr. Park Si-on or his American counterpart Shaun Murphy of "The Good Doctor" fame. Like many before her, she has a side-kick in Dr. Takanashi who lacks her brilliance but makes up for it with his calm rationale and at times bodyguard duties. He's likable enough, but he's there to allow us as the viewer to get into the mysteries that drop out of the sky from mystery illnesses to murder. I should mention that neither of these characters have any police jurisdiction, so we have the regular police detectives on hand, too with the stick-in-the-mud Detective Naruse and the more affable Detective Sakurai. The latter was made in the spitting image of Detective Columbo as played by the incomparable Peter Falk, even adopting the same mannerisms and trademark brown raincoat. I'm glad the show made a nod to it's predecessors with such an obvious homage, it does no good to act like this is a new concept.
But how does it in the meat of the matter? The mystery. Well, I can say that to those who are versed in detective books like myself, the twists will not come as too much of a surprise at times. The way things are framed in many whodunnits like this make it so obvious that one of the suspects couldn't possibly be the culprit but then when the reveal comes, surprise- it was them all long! Where the show does get me at times is with the medical jargon. Now, I've seen more than my fair share of medical dramas so a few of these obscure diagnoses I am versed in only in the fact they're common tropes. Dr. Takao will bring these up in true murder mystery fashion, having a eureka moment with fanfare and a ritual drawing in the air with her finger before announcing she's made her diagnosis. Not too dissimilar from that "eureka" close-up Dr. House gets. She then gets everyone together and breaks down the mystery for a "One Truth Prevails!" moment.
The formula is repeated constantly throughout the mystery genre, so I'm not going to hit it too hard for being rather old hat. Is the medical science accurate? I can't say so, but it's not far from the truth in my experience. The most unrealistic thing about Dr. Takao is she lives on the roof of the hospital in a little cottage that looks like it was airdropped from the countryside. And as someone who's worked in a hospital before, I can tell you doctors don't roam the halls in open-toed slides talking to patients who might secrete any number of fluids in the blink of an eye. But, it adds to her childlike appearance and stereotypical eccentricity as an ace detective. So, you're probably wondering by now- do I like the show? Well... I don't not like it.
It's a basic mystery show. It succeeds in having a brilliant, quirky, but likable character at the heart of it and mysteries that aren't the most difficult to solve but certainly get one's attention. It's a nice addition to the genre and this is a show I can see going on for years to come. The art-style and presentation is good, with attention to detail when it comes to the medical talk. I would argue about sub vs. Dub, but this is a series that will have a lot of dialogue heavy scenes and technobabble explanations so my advice is for you to stick with whatever language you're comfortable with as the performances are decent on both English and Japanese. I can't really rave about the opening theme, "SCOPE" by Aimer, it's very stock for an anime opener, but I appreciate the ending theme of "Will Be Fine" by The Gospellers being a duet which speaks well as to the duet teamwork of Drs. Takao and Takanashi often leading to the resolution.
Overall, I give this series a solid 5/10. The multi-part episodes make for good viewing but the one-off episodes are just too brief to be enjoyed in 20 minutes. I look forward to another season as even though I'm not impressed, I did enjoy the little brain workout trying to solve things myself. If you like the mystery genre, you should like this, too. Cheers!
You can see all the influence I just detailed in this character, but not just in the detective genre but also the medical mysteries as well. She is a diagnostician like the aforementioned Dr. House, but appears to be somewhat more eccentric and possibly on the spectrum like a Dr. Park Si-on or his American counterpart Shaun Murphy of "The Good Doctor" fame. Like many before her, she has a side-kick in Dr. Takanashi who lacks her brilliance but makes up for it with his calm rationale and at times bodyguard duties. He's likable enough, but he's there to allow us as the viewer to get into the mysteries that drop out of the sky from mystery illnesses to murder. I should mention that neither of these characters have any police jurisdiction, so we have the regular police detectives on hand, too with the stick-in-the-mud Detective Naruse and the more affable Detective Sakurai. The latter was made in the spitting image of Detective Columbo as played by the incomparable Peter Falk, even adopting the same mannerisms and trademark brown raincoat. I'm glad the show made a nod to it's predecessors with such an obvious homage, it does no good to act like this is a new concept.
But how does it in the meat of the matter? The mystery. Well, I can say that to those who are versed in detective books like myself, the twists will not come as too much of a surprise at times. The way things are framed in many whodunnits like this make it so obvious that one of the suspects couldn't possibly be the culprit but then when the reveal comes, surprise- it was them all long! Where the show does get me at times is with the medical jargon. Now, I've seen more than my fair share of medical dramas so a few of these obscure diagnoses I am versed in only in the fact they're common tropes. Dr. Takao will bring these up in true murder mystery fashion, having a eureka moment with fanfare and a ritual drawing in the air with her finger before announcing she's made her diagnosis. Not too dissimilar from that "eureka" close-up Dr. House gets. She then gets everyone together and breaks down the mystery for a "One Truth Prevails!" moment.
The formula is repeated constantly throughout the mystery genre, so I'm not going to hit it too hard for being rather old hat. Is the medical science accurate? I can't say so, but it's not far from the truth in my experience. The most unrealistic thing about Dr. Takao is she lives on the roof of the hospital in a little cottage that looks like it was airdropped from the countryside. And as someone who's worked in a hospital before, I can tell you doctors don't roam the halls in open-toed slides talking to patients who might secrete any number of fluids in the blink of an eye. But, it adds to her childlike appearance and stereotypical eccentricity as an ace detective. So, you're probably wondering by now- do I like the show? Well... I don't not like it.
It's a basic mystery show. It succeeds in having a brilliant, quirky, but likable character at the heart of it and mysteries that aren't the most difficult to solve but certainly get one's attention. It's a nice addition to the genre and this is a show I can see going on for years to come. The art-style and presentation is good, with attention to detail when it comes to the medical talk. I would argue about sub vs. Dub, but this is a series that will have a lot of dialogue heavy scenes and technobabble explanations so my advice is for you to stick with whatever language you're comfortable with as the performances are decent on both English and Japanese. I can't really rave about the opening theme, "SCOPE" by Aimer, it's very stock for an anime opener, but I appreciate the ending theme of "Will Be Fine" by The Gospellers being a duet which speaks well as to the duet teamwork of Drs. Takao and Takanashi often leading to the resolution.
Overall, I give this series a solid 5/10. The multi-part episodes make for good viewing but the one-off episodes are just too brief to be enjoyed in 20 minutes. I look forward to another season as even though I'm not impressed, I did enjoy the little brain workout trying to solve things myself. If you like the mystery genre, you should like this, too. Cheers!
Recently taken polls
1 total poll taken
