Shadows House 2nd Season – 11

I’ve had more than my share of skepticism of Shadows House over its run.  But not only have I managed to stick with it, I’m more interested in what’s going on than I have been at any point.  So kudos to the series for actually getting better, which certainly doesn’t happen all the time.  It’s still kind of clunky but the premise has held together as the details have started to emerge better than I ever thought it would.

“The Passageway of Glory” between the children’s wing and the adults’ wing?  Yeah, not exactly going for subtlety on that one.  That’s where Maryrose and Rosemary are headed, but there’s no glory in it for them.  There’s not much of the main group this week, but the flashback sequence is quite engaging.  It mostly centers around Christopher, who was the white knight of the children’s wing – though it was actually his living doll Anthony (is that the first time we’ve seen unrelated master-doll names?) who was the brains of the operation..  Maryrose and Barbara were his disciples, and both were in love with him.

Christopher’s reformist thinking started the entire sequence of events that is Shadows House, but he had no clue of the truth that was lurking beneath the surface.  When he was inevitably promoted to adulthood, he recoiled in shock at the reality of fusion, and killed himself rather than accept it.  I don’t think we know what became of Anthony, but he didn’t die with his master and we haven’t seen a body.  After Christopher’s departure Maryrose becomes a recluse leaving everything to fall apart on Barbara’s watch.  Eventually she snaps and scars Barbie’s face in fit of anger, and she’s only allowed to live on the condition that she keeps the children’s wing under control.

Now that the cat is out of the bag and the adults know it is, the status quo obviously can’t continue.  Maryrose’s suicide (following in her beloved’s footsteps) robs the adults of a potential source of intel, and will no doubt get Edward in big trouble (as I’m sure she was well aware of).  But the adults either have to get this group of kids back under control (re-brainwashing may or may not be feasible) or downsize the lot of them and bring in an entirely new batch.  The manga is ongoing, so the logical assumption is that this is all evolving into open warfare between the adults and children as the next major arc.

Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru – 11

Leaving no anime romcom trope untroped, Soredemo Ayumu gives is the school trip teased last week.  Of course you’re going to get the requisite onsen service and breast size jokes, the Nara and Kyoto postcard shots and the strolling in kimonos.  But the main point of this is separating Ayumu and Urushi and setting the plot dynamics off in a different direction.

Rin continues to fulfil her catalyst role, dispensing relationship as well as shogi advice to her beloved sempai who sucks at both (well, he’s better at relationships that it appears, but it’s basically by accident).  I give Rin credit in that she seems genuinely to be trying to help Ayumu rather than sabotage him.  She sort of helps the B couple too by dragging Takeru along to club, forcing Sakurako to pine for him a bit (which I think she can use a little of).  Rin and Ayumu having late-night conversations and her telling him she wants something “big and meaty” might cause the mind to wander, but I think she’s still more or less playing it straight.

Another new dynamic is Urushi playing shogi with Maki, though Maki is such a noob she has to look at the rules every time she makes a move.  Maki makes no effort to hide her real game, ever – she’s pushing as hard as she can at every moment to get Urushi to face reality.  It’s Rin who finally moves the needle though, by convincing Ayumu to message Urushi in Kyoto.  That’s exactly what Sempai has been waiting for, and it leads to a “date” for a midnight telephone shogi match.  Well Ayumu might raise his arms in the air at that development.