First Impression: Shabake

Ichitarou, heir to an Edo-era noble family, has been sickly since childhood, just like his older brother, who sadly perished. So it’s no wonder everyone around him—his grandfather, mother, and more household servants than you can shake a hishaku at—are concerned for his health, and never let him do anything a normal boy would do. It’s also why his grandfather petitioned the god, Lord Inari, for two spirits to take on human form and serve as his bodyguards, though as the years pass, they become more like mother hens, smothering the boy in a bid to protect him from overexertion. It’s less clear, though, why exactly a multitude of other spirits seem to trail in Ichitarou’s wake: from tiny single-horned oni that look like Trolls™️, to the handsome muse, Byoubu Nozoki, who lives in the golden byoubu or folding screen in Ichitarou’s bedroom, to the ghostly Shinto bell spirit, who looks like a shrine maiden and reveals herself to the boy one evening, on a rare occasion when he slips his guards to venture off on a little adventure. Speaking of which, that outing turns deadly, both for Ichitarou and others, when a blood-soaked figure emerges from the shadows… Oh, the irony, should Ichitarou die at the end of a cutthroat’s blade rather than by the illness that has stalked him all his young life!

All of Ichitarou’s spirits…

This felt like half an episode—two-thirds, at best—such that, when the credits began to roll, I assumed it was one of those premieres that suckerpunches the viewer with a mid-episode credit sequence, just to mess with our heads. But no, it really was the end of the episode, meaning that the pacing really was just that…slow? Unsatisfying? Or perhaps it is more that the episode’s storyline is so very incomplete, doing a bit of zig or a zag in the final third, so that we don’t really get a clear sense of what this series is going to be about. Is it a mystical tale of a spiritually gifted young noble, who will need to overcome opposition to lead his family? Or, is this actually a crime drama (to say more would be to spoil the episode)? I’m not sure. This isn’t necessarily a problem, but it does mean that the ending was more of a gentle hill-hanger than anything cliffy, despite the best efforts of Dutch tilt, film noir chiaroscuro, and jump scare to make it otherwise. It left me merely ‘mildly curious,’ rather than ‘on a knife’s edge.’ I’m probably more compelled to continue watching by the fact that the heavyweight studio Bandai Namco is behind this adaptation, which surprised me. It’s also quite pleasing to watch, with soft, vaguely Ukiyo-e-like aesthetics; plus, I do like to have an Edo series on the go each season, if possible. It’s the historian in me. So I will be tuning in for another episode or two at least before deciding which side of the fence I fall on for this one. Who knows, it could be a really rewarding slow-burn!

Shabake is streaming on Crunchyroll.

claire
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