The peaceful life of young villager Yuru is shattered
when a special ops unit from another time storms his home and slaughters the
inhabitants. Rescued by unknown forces,
Yuru learns the life he’s been living is a lie and this his village is hidden
behind a sheild that hides it from the modern day. Thrust into a new world, Yuru begins a quest
to find his long lost sister, Asa, discover the secrets behind his lifelong
deception, and learn to master the power of otherworldly beings known as
Daemons.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm probably didn’t show up to
the Anime scene looking to answer a particular question but it did anyway: What
if M. Night Shamylan’s The Village was actually good and delivered on that
infamous twist ending (and maybe added a pinch of Rahxephon for good measure)?
The answer is one of the best debut episodes
of an Anime in recent memory thanks to an explosive opening that raises so many
questions, makes you squirm at the carnage and keeps your eyes open to spot
which character design from a certain beloved Anime classic you might spot
next.
I’ll admit, the first quarter of the Daemons premiere
didn’t leave much of an impression.
A
quaint little village and a stormy night where a pair of chosen ones are
born?
Nothing stood out…and then you see
the smoke trails from above and know something is off (ok that happens before
the first quarter mark of the episode so that did stand out).
But once the bullets and blood start flying,
yikes that was quite the whiplash.
This
show kind of lives up to its name sake with lots of decapitations and gore that
could only come with a title with the terms “Daemons” and “Shadow Realm”.
That goes especially for scene stealer Gabby
and her jaws of death Daemons who are literally munching off the body parts of
poor villagers stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It’s stuff like this that makes Yuru’s
comedic moment with Dera about a special item feel out of place. We did just
see innocents get slaughtered and now we’re arguing with exaggerated
experssions about fitting something in a hole?
Maybe that gets better but still, a moment to breathe please.
Also, you cant just talk about the first episode without
recognizing the style and designs of some of the characters.
They are familiar aren’t they?
Well that’s because Deamons of the Shadow
Realm is written by Hiromu Arakawa and animated by Studio Bones who gave us two
timeless masterpieces with Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist
Brotherhood.
So yeah it’s a bit jarring
to see Yuru looking just like Alphonse Elric but acting like Edward or Gabby
sporting Ed’s iconic red hooded jacket.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t consider this a negative at all.
Actually it adds an extra layer of fun to the
viewing experience trying to guess which familiar face you’ll see next and how
they’ll be adapted for this interesting new premise.
Like I said, there are so many questions as the credits
roll on the first episode. Is that really Yuru’s sister?
Why is this village hidden from the rest of
the world?
How are Daemons a thing?
Who are the good guys, who are the bad
guys?
How will Yuru react when he sees
the “real world”?
Even with all of that
in mind, just seeing a new collab between the forces that gave us Fullmetal
Alchemist makes Daemons of the Shadow Realm a new must watch and I’m def keen
for more.
Will this become as beloved as
FMA became, again twice?
Let’s find out
shall we?
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