For a generation of shonen fans, Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist made for a great read and equally great watch. (The second time around; its first was maybe a bit more divisive.) Her post-Alchemist works have been popular and similarly adapted, with her ongoing 2021 manga Yomi no Tsugai—or Daemons of the Shadow Realm, if you’re so inclined—now brought to the small screen.
That’s noteworthy on its own, but Daemons also comes front-loaded with extra history via its adaptors, Studio Bones. Recently of Gachiakuta and My Hero Academia fame, the company previously helmed Fullmetal in 2003, then again in 2009 with the more faithful Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. What’s more, series director Masahiro Ando and character designer Nobuhiro Arai worked on either (or both) versions of that series, giving Daemons extra goodwill to those with a soft spot for Arakawa’s most famous work.
Because of that, it’s hard not to get a small bit of Fullmetal nostalgia the moment Daemons’ teenage protagonist Yuru shows his Edward Elric-ass face. There’s always been something appealing about the way Arakawa draws expressions, so seeing his determined stare followed by a big, cheesy grin minutes later arrives with a sense of comfort as more characters with equally familiar faces fill out the cast.
Combined with the script’s leisurely flow, a throwback vibe will set in quickly for those old enough for it to hit, which matches the premiere’s first half. Yuru moves through his village with an easy likability, content to provide for his community and visit his twin sister Asa, who lives in captivity. Save for flying dragons whose contrails he sees in the sky during his hunts, nothing feels out of place in this world. It’s all normal as can be, which goes a good ways toward helping the village feel lived in.
Coming to the halfway mark, it turns out those aren’t dragons Yuru’s been spotting but modern aircraft. Within seconds, soldiers have landed in the village and started killing, aided by a young woman named Gabby making people explode with a single word. And if that weren’t bad enough, Yuru’s got other problems: these invaders are led by a one-eyed woman named Asa who claims to be his real twin, and he’s then given control of the Divine Left and Right, two tsugai (or Daemons) worshipped as gods by his village since he was a boy.
For those unaware of the full premise, these swerves in the pilot make for a fun bit of disorientation that puts them right in Yuru and his people’s shoes. Even with everything going on, the show doesn’t lose sight of the twins as its main throughline. Despite her introduction, this harder-edged Asa isn’t relegated to an antagonist role and already arrives with her own support system that Yuru’s will likely mirror or become as he adjusts to the modern world. (Seeing him and the Divines marvel at everything, from food and housing to real-world cities, is delightful.) With more attention given to him so far, Yuru makes for an effective emotional anchor as he tries to find his footing in this new situation, while Asa’s given enough depth despite mostly being an enigma to her brother and the audience.
In the same way Arakawa knows what kind of bodies she likes drawing, the same goes for her writing. Her characters have always been fully formed, and that trend continues here, with each so far feeling like they have a clear place in the narrative or current situation. The intent she puts into everything makes it satisfying when everything clicks together. More than how it looks, Daemons of the Shadow Realm feels like a project of her making in the way these people live in the world.
The most interesting glimpse of this yet comes in the third episode. Here, we learn how Daemons operate: they’re always a package deal, invisible to most humans (unless they make themselves visible), and when bound to a human, do their master’s bidding. In the first two episodes and the most recent fourth, each Daemon gets an action beat to make you excited for when an animator can fully pop off with them, and it’s fun watching them interact with their masters or other humans.
Yuru treats the Divines as people, while Gabby’s Daemon Gabriel, a multi-eyed pair of giant teeth—think eldritch horror Pac-Man—is more like a pet. That alone sets up interesting dynamics for what are essentially living superpowers, particularly in the moments where the Divines step in where Yuru is lacking. But it’s a brief interlude where Asa and Gabby’s handler, Jin, uses his own pair that shows how terrifying Daemons can be under the right owner. Arakawa’s previously explored power and who wields it (and how) in the past, and the horror-tinged moment of nobility adds shades to both him and Asa by association. If her boss is doing things like this, it’s no wonder she attacked Yuru’s village the way she did.
The characters and their world are enough to recommend Daemons of the Shadow Realm at this point. Only four of the season’s 24 episodes have currently aired, but what’s here is very promising and indicates that Bones sure knows how to make this show. Obviously, this is helped by the studio’s previous experience with Arakawa and other fantasy series, but it’s also just confidently carrying itself through this new project. Unconcerned about trying to live up to Fullmetal’s legacy or any comparisons it may get to other current fantasy anime, this is shaping up to be worthwhile in its own right.
New episodes of Daemons of the Shadow Realm premiere Saturdays on Crunchyroll.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
