Shabake

This is a slow-paced, feel-good anime about Ichitarou, his friends, and life in the Edo period with lots of yokais. It reminded me of Natsume's Book of Friends, even thought the main story revolves around solving a murder, it's more about friendship.

The whole anime is one story, even if it seems to be multiple cases at first, this is why I recommend watching all episodes at once, otherwise you will forget things, and might not understand what's going on.

I didn't like the hairstyle and clothing, but they seemed accurate for the Edo period.

The characters are believable, they have different personalities and faults. ...

I do not recommend watching it for the mystery, and there are barely any action or romance. Give it a try if you liked Natsume's Book of Friends.

Shabake — Sometimes, it takes a keen mind to be open to the slowest of burns for a good payoff, especially if the mysterious takes precedent.

I will admit this from the outset: the world that we live in nowadays, craves a lot of stimulation for things to happen and react, and especially in a society where answers are needed now more than it's worth waiting for, we forget the essence of how things came to be. This is especially important when it comes to works of mysterious art, where cases not only need both the culprit and the evidence to work together, but the suspense ... itself bridges the gap so that it can make or break content that is otherwise pretty laden and rather taxing to go through.

So why am I bringing this context from the very beginning? As it turns out, you might realize this more than you thought, but in the case of supernatural mysteries, time is needed to flesh things into commonality, and I understand if it goes against the brainwashing of the need to want the answers now. But above all, it's the payoff that really is the star of the overall case that brings the Eureka moment to finally be glad that you stuck it out, no matter how fast or slow burn it can be. And this is exactly the case for one such show this Fall 2025 season: Shabake, the 2nd anime adaptation of novelist Megumi Hatakenaka's works, of which Tsukumogami Kashimasu a.k.a. We Rent Tsukumogami came out way back in Summer 2018 as a canon sequel to this series, which is the first of (as of this review) 23 released novels since December 2001, that finally got its own adaptation a quarter-century later.

To really explain Shabake is to (thank God that I can) describe what Tsukumogami Kashimasu a.k.a. We Rent Tsukumogami, is like. Even back then, the Summer 2018 show was one of a handful of anime in the seasonal lineup that really didn't pop off as big as it hoped (though you have to imagine that it's up against the likes of Shingeki no Kyojin a.k.a. Attack on Titan's 3rd season, and even the now favourites of Banana Fish and Grand Blue's premiere season), though its prevalence can be described best because it would play to what the historical fantasy series is like in a sort-of sequel-prequel setup.

The setup of humans running a shop in the olden traditional days (a la Edo), where spirits called tsukumogami have either latched themselves onto items to live out their being, or are shown in the form of demonic beings (which I can assure you that they're harmless), both beings work hand in hand to solve mysteries and other problems that their community might face. Now take that plot and turn it into a murder mystery affair, which is how you get the setting of one of the largest shops in Nihonbashi, Nagasaki-ya, that is run by the young master, Ichitaro, who, due to his frail health, is taken care of by the tsukumogami around him, namely the inugami Nikichi and harataku Sasuke, in an effort to root out one cruel disaster of a murder. And this murder mystery is by no means easy to figure out, due to the bizarre nature of how the murders are executed one after the other, to reach a conclusion that the journey to get there, is one of the most profound that I have experienced of a supernatural mystery series in the mythological sense.

Unfortunately, if you try to apply the infamous "3-episode rule" to Shabake, I'd heavily suggest that you don't, because this murder mystery, as plain, bleak, and boring as it looks, is a lot smarter than you can imagine. Obviously, the order of murder mysteries should be tough to figure out from the start, and it's not a case where you can get the answers you need immediately, which is why Ichitaro and his supporting tsukumogami by his side face quite the numerous walls of obstruction when they are getting the links to the case. Even with the help of the cast of characters, of which there are many, the few occurring ones, like the yokai of Byobu Nozoki, and even Ichitaro's brother, Matsunosuke, are the ones that I suggest you look out for, even when the stories seem so disconnected that it tries to side-swipe you that it's another case, but that it interweaves itself into the case when the murders strike out. And to process all that, you'd really have to sit through a slog of details that will definitely bore you to tears (I know I did), but I believe that with a little help from Sherlock Holmes, this murder mystery, I hope, will suit your time best if you're up to the challenge of not getting bored with a slow start, where the complaints about how the series goes at a turtle's pace are commonality at best.

For a show of this magnitude, there's honestly no need to go all flashy when it comes to mystery settings, where all that it needs is just some decent production and a well-crafted directorial path, which is what director Takahiro Okawa and his staff team did over at Bandai Namco Pictures that is at least acceptable by modern anime standards. Even the music is kind of so-so, though Kujira's OP and KAFUNE's ED are honestly OK at best, and I kind of like them with a little bit of zing and speed.

If anything, Shabake truly is a show that tests its audience on the one thing that modern society just cannot understand anymore: media literacy. The attention span that the show deserved may be at fault for its writing, but when it's all put together, it's like a well-written book that's a classic open-and-shut case in its own right. I'm kind of both ashamed and proud that I gave this one a no-drop requirement (a la the 3-episode rule drop or continue), because this is actually a fine show that can deliver drama that slowly builds and builds until the case pops wide open to the glee of its audience.

It's boredom...but intentionally woven under the skin and guise of a great story of connections and ploy.

After watching four episodes of Shabake, I decided to drop this anime.
While it has some good qualities, overall it just didn’t hold my interest the way I had hoped.

The music is beautiful.
The animation quality is solid, and the art style has a soft, traditional look that really fits the historical setting. These aspects made me want to keep watching at first.

Unfortunately, the storytelling is mediocre at best. The pacing is slow, sometimes dragging on scenes that don’t have importance.
The characters are underdeveloped especially the main character.

I initially decided to watch Shabake because the trailer made it look promising, suggesting a blend of mystery, folklore, ... and gentle slice of life elements. However, the actual execution doesn’t quite deliver on that promise.

I don’t recommend watching it, especially if you’re looking for something that offers relaxation and wisdom.
It's far better to watch Natsume’s Book of Friends or Mushishi, both series handle similar themes with far more depth.