“In the depths of a murky mansion lives a group of enigmatic nobles known as…the Shadow family. With no visible features to speak of, these mysterious aristocrats employ living dolls to act as their “faces.” Kate and Emilico are one such pair of mistress and servant, dwelling in their own little world and learning from each other bit by bit with every new day. But in a house of locked doors, living according to rules from no apparent source—how long can their blissfully peaceful existence truly last…?” (Yen Press)
Existing in a world that hovers in an uncanny valley, “Shadow House” is a dark/mystery title whose complexities are brilliantly hidden behind a soft, almost serene, artistic direction. On the surface level, the book is the story of a maid named Emilico who was created to serve Kate, a member of the bourgeoisie who emits a constant layer of dirt wherever she goes–one of the primary jobs of a maid is to clean the soot left behind. The conflict in volume one arises from Kate's treatment of Emilico gaining the ire of her contemporaries in the way that she begins to humanize the doll which was only created for a life of servitude.
The relationship between Kate and her servant is difficult to quantify, particularly when the background on the world is vague and both characters lack normal emotional responses. The darkened entities only exist to be admired and taken care of and the servants have a childlike innocence to them. The personalities are as diverse as their visual representations of a shadowed figure versus a kawaii maid. The two interact with each other and become a means to unravel the peculiar social and cultural landscape of the world. However, vagueness works in the favor of “Shadow House” as the constant sense of unease and mystery contrast the serene beauty surrounding the characters. It is this contrast that will pull the reader deeper into the haunting, yet picturesque world that Somato has crafted.
There is a lack of really strong visuals in the form of double spreads and only a few single-page panels, yet one of the joys of “Shadow House” is getting caught in the minor details. Notably, the environment is gorgeously depicted and very detailed, Somato is able to make the mansion feel both lived in and cold in its infinite size–so many decorations that seem to exist just to be cleaned. In addition, the darkened figures will blacken the pages as any strong reaction results in creating more darkness around them. In these panels, where the darkness obscures the background and the features of those around them, there is a sense of tragedy captured in the constant grime exuded from these human-like entities. Lines such as; “When I wake black soot surrounds me. My clothes are black. My bed is black. Anything I touch… Becomes filthy. Filthy. Filthy.”, land with impact when Somato's drowning out the pages in as much black as possible.
The major caveat to a series like this, which makes a favorable impression in the first volume by not showing its full hand, is that there is a potential for to stumble as it begins to open up more. Certainly, with so much ambiguity and only minor hints at what the actual nature of master and servant encapsulates, there is the chance that it will deviate into some profitable manga tropes and come out a lesser product than its captivating debut. Essentially, it is one of those books that you want to approach with caution before overly singing its praises as the sense of wonderment could easily sour with a simple turn of the story. Regardless, at just one volume in, “Shadow House” is an impressive dark mystery that is certainly worth checking out.
is shadow house talking how black people in the old day
That could be an interpretation, but I don’t think that is the intent of the manga.