For what I am assured is an anime-only ending, albeit with ties to the manga to allow for a second season, Shadows House finishes on a decent note. A good one, even, if we make allowances for a lot implied but unexplained. It’s not entirely satisfactory (no John Punch to Edward’s face, for one), but it definitely gets the job done and stays true to the characters as we know them.
One of the highlights of this is the little soot sprite who helps the protagonists as they try to first find Emilico and later escape from an increasingly crazed Edward. Not only is she absolutely adorable (that curtsey!), but she also adds a little something to both Shirley and Rum’s characterization. Because she is Shirley, who finally began to awaken just before she was eliminated in the debut. She’s regressed to her non-humanoid form, but perhaps that helps her to better manifest her burgeoning…
