Daemons of the Shadow Realm stole it’s biggest twist from M. Night Shyamalan

Because the new anime Daemons of the Shadow Realm is based on a manga by Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa, you can easily assume it’s going to invest heavily in kinship between siblings, a yellow-haired older brother, and an obtuse but compelling system of magic. What I did not expect, however, was that it would borrow one of M. Night Shyamalan’s greatest twists.

[Ed. note: Spoilers follow for the first few episodes of Daemons of the Shadow Realm.]

I’m not talking about the beach that makes you old or the big surprise that somebody’s been dead the entire time. Daemons of the Shadow Realm begins with the blonde-haired Yuru hunting in the mountains surrounding his Edo-period rural village. But within 10 minutes, he and his friend look to the skies and see…an airplane? And a helicopter? Daemons of the Shadow Realm wastes no time getting to its bizarre twist that feels right out of The Village. This confirms that despite Yuru living his entire life in this village, the story takes place in a modern world.

Looming in the background of all this is a prophecy about a pair of twins described as the “children who sunder day and night,” who are born with the unique birthright to rule over all Daemons. You guessed it: that’s Yuru and his twin sister Asa. Not only is this show something of a reverse isekai in how it quickly pivots from a historical dark fantasy to a contemporary one, but just as Yuru learns the truth about his village and its place in the world, he also learns about Daemons.

This is where the series starts to feel a bit like Chainsaw Man, not in tone, but in the way the show’s many characters enter into contracts with these Daemons in order to wield their power. Daemons are supernatural entities that typically operate in pairs and form pacts with humans, granting power in exchange for cooperation or obedience. Some are monstrous. Some are bizarrely cute. Many seem governed by highly specific rules that Daemons of the Shadow Realm intentionally drip-feeds to its audience.

Early on, Yuru enters into a contract with his village’s Daemon protectors, a pair of twins called Left and Right. They immediately stand out as both goofy and terrifying. Left and Right are intentionally designed to resemble muscly oni — humanoid demons from Japanese folklore with horns and sharp teeth. Left is a cool-headed female, while Right is a boisterous male. They’re fiercely protective of Yuru, despite the fact that he barely understands what they are. This setup creates the same kind of compelling push-and-pull dynamic that makes shows like Chainsaw Man so addictive: the supernatural powers are cool, but the relationships between humans and monsters are even more interesting.

That’s where Daemons of the Shadow Realm really distinguishes itself from a lot of modern fantasy anime. The early twist about the village existing in the modern world is great, but it’s ultimately just bait to hook viewers into a much larger mystery involving bloodlines, conspiracies, and supernatural contracts. It’s also comical to see Yuru enter the real world not understanding anything about cell phones, electricity, cars, or even prepackaged food. While his handlers drive him around, he munches on snacks. Meanwhile, Left and Right obediently sit cross-legged on the roof of the car where nobody can see them.

Image: Bones Film

Like in The Village, the big reveal completely recontextualizes the setting. Daemons of the Shadow Realm leverages that twist as a launching point for an even stranger story about fate and whether Yuru and Asa are destined to save the world or destroy it. And because this is Hiromu Arakawa we’re talking about, there’s every reason to believe the answer will somehow be both.