Among the many fascinating characters appearing in this work, the living dolls, including the protagonist Emilico, are perhaps the most popular among fans. In stark contrast to Shadow, who is completely black, the living dolls' adorable appearance makes them easy to empathize with and somehow comforting throughout the story. This time, I'd like to introduce the living dolls that appear in this work and delve deeper into the setting of the living dolls in Shadow House. The living dolls are deeply connected to the theme of this work, so please take a closer look.
Introducing the Living Dolls
First, I'd like to introduce the living dolls that appear in this work, particularly those that have a significant impact on the story's progression. The protagonist, Emilico, is surrounded by many unique living dolls. Emilico's interactions with other living dolls are the crux of the story, so let's take a closer look.
Emiriko
She is the protagonist of this work. She has a cheerful personality and is able to interact with many people, including her master, Kate, without discrimination. In the story, she is sometimes called "Flower Garden" because of her star-shaped head. She can seem a little absent-minded, but when the time comes, she perfectly follows her master's orders.
Sean
Sean is John's living doll. Perhaps because Kate and John often work together in the story, he often travels with Emilico. He's a calm and collected character, but like Emilico, he can sometimes become overwhelmed by unexpected events. It can be said that he's still a character in the process of growing.
Ricky
Ricky is Patrick's living doll. Like his master Patrick, he has a proud personality and wants to prove that he is the best living doll among his peers. In the story, he often fails due to his pride, but he also uses his frustration as a springboard to grow, making him the living doll that has grown the most as a character.
Ram
She's Shirley's living doll. She's particularly introverted among her fellow dolls, and for a while after her appearance, she didn't seem to get along with the other characters. However, as she interacts with many characters, including Emilico, she gradually begins to understand the importance of conversing with others and the importance of trusting her master.
Ruu
Louise is a living doll. As a living doll whose master cares more than anyone else about the beauty of his living dolls' faces, she is a character with particularly beautiful looks among her fellow dolls. In the story, she sometimes shows signs of being interested in Ricky, making her a character worth keeping an eye on, especially given her relationship with Ricky.
The Role of the Living Dolls
So, what role do the living dolls described above play in the story? From here, I would like to introduce the role of the living dolls as described in the story's setting.
Shadow's Face
First and foremost, the most important role of a living doll is to act as the face of its master, Shadow. Their master, Shadow, has no face. Therefore, since they have almost no distinctive features, the living dolls must act as the face of their master instead.
Shadow's Caretaker
In addition to acting as Shadow's face, the Living Dolls are also responsible for their master's daily care and the general management of Shadow House. Shadow House is a particularly expansive mansion, so the Living Dolls organize themselves into teams to ensure efficient cleaning.
The True Identity of the Living Dolls
Above, we introduced the roles of the Living Dolls within Shadow House. From here, we'll dig deeper and introduce their true identities in detail. This section contains significant spoilers about the contents of Shadow House, so if you're concerned about spoilers, we recommend you go back to your browser.
They Were Actually Human
Readers who have followed the original work may already know this, but the Living Dolls are actually real people, not dolls. They are young boys and girls brought from the world outside the Shadow House who have lost their memories through brainwashing by "Grandpa" and are led to believe they are living dolls.
Memories Gradually Return
The living dolls had completely forgotten their past, but Emilico and her classmates gradually begin to remember their memories from when they were human. Stay tuned in Season 2 to see how their pasts interact with the living dolls.
Grandpa's Coffee
The reason they lost their memories seems to be due to the coffee served at Shadow House. Naturally, coffee doesn't have any brainwashing properties, so it's clear that Shadow House's coffee is a special creation created by "Grandpa."
Shadows and Living Dolls
The story of this work is about living dolls who were once humans working together with shadows. Naturally, the relationships between shadows and living dolls take many forms. It's interesting to see what kind of relationships each shadow and living doll builds.
They're important to each other
However, it seems that shadows and living dolls are generally indispensable to each other. While there are, of course, some exceptions, most shadows and living dolls have good relationships, and in this work, you can enjoy the unique ways in which they interact with each shadow.
Falling in love with a living doll!?
Among the Shadows, it seems there are some who harbor special feelings for the Living Dolls. Not only are there differences in status, but Shadows and Living Dolls are also biological species, so this love is bound to be unrequited. It will be fascinating to see how the author portrays this unrequited love.
How will the power balance shift in the future?
And above all, if the story depicts the relationship between Shadow and the living dolls, I'm sure there will be episodes in which the living dolls stand up to Shadow. If the living dolls, who had never doubted their existence until now, realize that they were originally human, some relationships will surely fall apart. It will be interesting to see how this conflict between Shadow and humans is portrayed.
Focus on Emirico
First of all, in this work, we want to focus on the main character, Emirico, a living doll. Emirico is a living doll with many differences from the other living dolls, and many mysteries remain hidden throughout the story. Her mysteries are at the very core of the story, so we'll want to pay particular attention to her.
She comes from a different background than her peers!?
That's because, among the many characters appearing in the series, Emirico is the only one with a different origin. While her peers are from a nearby village, Emirico was fired from a circus performance and chose to become a living doll along with her peers. Therefore, the exact region where Emirico is from has yet to be revealed.
She met Kate in the past
Even more interesting is the fact that Emiliko miraculously had contact with Kate between the time she was fired from the circus and the time she became a living doll. Season 2 of the anime will likely depict this period of their past interactions, so be sure to check it out.
Reminiscing and a touching reunion!
In particular, the scene where Emilico reunites with Kate after realizing that they met in the past is one of the most moving moments in the series. This content will definitely be covered in Season 2, so let's focus on Emilico in Season 2.
Summary
What did you think? This time, we've introduced the living dolls that appear in Shadow House. Characters with similar settings regarding the living dolls also appear in the anime "The Promised Neverland," leading to some criticism that this is a rip-off, but if you trace it back to its origins, you'll find characters with similar settings in Kazuo Ishiguro's literary work "Never Let Me Go." Therefore, it could be said that the living dolls that appear in this work were not inspired by a single work, but were created by drawing on many source materials. In any case, these characters have incredibly complex settings that you won't find in any other work, so be sure to check them out.
