Recommended
Shabake is an anime that meets most, if not all, of the criteria for being a solid series. Yet for some reason, it is rather unknown and rated very poorly here. It tells a thought-out, complete story set in the Edo period using great visuals and a soundtrack that makes for a great watch. Don't be afraid to check this one out just by looking at the ratings and popularity! The story of Shabake is about a sickly rich kid, Ichitaro, who tries to solve a series of murders in the Edo period together with his friends/guards/spirits, Nikichi and Sasuke. The story is clearly well thought-outand develops naturally and completely. There are no obvious plot holes that I could see, and everything that happens makes sense in the end. I will also praise this anime for having a complete story in 13 episodes. It is not often these days that we get that without rushing or leaving the ending open to try to allude to a second season. However, I wouldn't really call the story engaging, per se. For a murder mystery, it was hard to guess who the killer was due to many of the clues being revealed only shortly before the culprit was unmasked. Furthermore, the show had a bit of a pacing problem in the first half; some episodes felt like they added little to the overall story and world-building. In terms of how the Edo period is depicted, I don't really know since I'm not that knowledgeable on the subject. Overall, the story is solid and well-constructed.
In terms of characters, we have the previously mentioned Ichitaro, Sasuke, and Nikichi constituting the main cast. Ichitaro, the show's main character, starts off as a weak, unhappy, and sickly boy. Through the events of the story and the encounters he faces, he grows as a character. The development of his character is also quite natural and logical. His thoughts and actions are all reasonable and realistic, making him a well-written protagonist. Nikichi and Sasuke aren't as deep as Ichitaro, and their motives and thoughts aren't as obvious, but they are still logical in hindsight. They both fill a clear role in supporting the character development of Ichitaro and add a lot to the story. There are many other characters that don't make as large an appearance as these three, but almost every one of them adds to the story in some meaningful way, leading Shabake to have an overall good cast of characters that tie into the story nicely.
The show's art and animation are really good. I did not expect this quality for an anime of this popularity. The art is overall clean, with few noticeable cut corners. The character design is one of its stronger parts. Even though most humans in the series have the exact same haircut, they're all recognizable due to noticeable, but not exaggerated, differences in their faces, clothes, or bodies. The spirits, however, have awesome character designs. I especially liked how Byobu Nozoki and Suzuhikohime look. Furthermore, the animation was fluid and consistent throughout the whole show, and the rare use of special effects wasn't invasive. In conclusion, it has quite a good artistic direction.
Sound production in Shabake is also quite good. The voice acting is standard; it is overall well-produced and the voice actors did a passable job, but there's nothing really special about it. The soundtrack has some really nice tunes, though. It does a great job of creating ambience and amplifying the feeling of the show. Being mostly jolly, it makes the show feel less like a murder-mystery thriller and more like a coming-of-age story marking the successes of Ichitaro overcoming his illness and growing as a person. Some of the tracks in the OST were quite memorable, and I found myself raising the volume just to hear them better. I might also mention that the OP and ED were both good songs. Overall, a great soundtrack!
As for my personal enjoyment, it was an okay watch. Sure, most of the episodes went by quickly and it never felt like a drag, but I just never got fully invested in it. This might be because of the pacing issues in the beginning, or the fact that I never got a chance to be involved and try to solve the murder mystery myself. But overall, it is an objectively good anime with few flaws, so it’s nearly impossible for me to feel like it wasn't worth watching. At times, I did actually enjoy it, especially when it ramped up after the introduction. So in the end, I'd say that I'm happy I watched it, but it didn't really strike me as anything special or memorable.
In conclusion, Shabake is a good anime worth watching. It is nothing flashy, nothing new, and nothing funny. But it might hit the spot for older anime fans looking for a well-produced show with cohesive storytelling, and that's who I'd recommend it to. I'm not really interested in reading the source material myself, but it was nice to see an anime that comes from a novel. In the end, I think this is an anime that definitely deserves better than being this unpopular and poorly rated.
