Yuru and Asa, “the children dividing day and night,” are twins. One of them was born at the end of the night, the other with the first light of day (so far, we don’t know which is which). Consequently, their fates are as different as can be. Asa now spends her life indoors in a stone palace at the center of an agricultural mountain town, with her brother as her only friend. Yuru is free to roam around the village, where he has become a pretty good archer. Today, Yuru has hunted down a pheasant (which we see from the pheasant’s perspective, pretty cool). When he comes home, something he calls a “dragon trail” appears in the sky. We learn that he is worried about his sister, who has abandonment issues. Their parents, we are told, ran away. Yuru wants to make himself useful by procuring food for the village so that he is not sent to work in the “outside world” and can be there for his sister. But after buying her a present from Dera, the medicine man, he starts hearing the “dragon roar” louder than before. An unseen hand does a magic gesture, and something appears in the sky. He does not have words for it, but we do. Isn’t that…a plane?

Daemons of the Shadow Realm is an adaptation of a manga by Hiromu Arakawa, of Fullmetal Alchemist fame, and there are clear echoes of that story here. Themes of duality, siblinghood, traditional countryside life, the horrors of war, cycles of violence, deceit, and teens processing childhood wounds all make an appearance. There are other familiar stylistic choices, like red eyes, shadow monsters, and golden hair. Nevertheless, the show is quick to let us know that it is not a repeat. It has new twists waiting for us: For starters, what we could take to be the setting of Princess Mononoke is suddenly revealed to be a technologically advanced world. Shortly after, magic is introduced: We’re doing both. I’ll spare you the rest of the twists, of which there are a few. Perhaps too many, even: At times, the story felt too quick and convoluted, and I thought the tone suffered a little for it. These are minor flaws, though. Since FMA:B is one of my favorite shows, the mysteries the show hints at, the relatable characters, the themes, and the worldbuilding I can feel from this episode are enough for me to guarantee that I will come back for more.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm can be streamed at Crunchyroll.