Shadows House is an atmospheric mystery anime with secrets hiding at every corner - but is there also love in the dark, sooty rooms of the sinister mansion? For those wondering whether Shadows House has romance, here's what we know so far:
Does Shadows House Have Romance?
Shadows House is not a romance anime. Romantic relationships are not the show's main focus, and they don't affect the plot much. That being said, there are several crushes and many relationships that can be interpreted as romantic.
While Shadows House is a dark anime, it does have a few light-hearted moments and, at the end of the day, it features teenagers living in a mansion with no adult supervision.
The house's rules are too rigid for any dates to actually happen, but Season 2 even reveals a system that Shadows can use to request to be married when they're older. So, what are the possible pairings?
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Do Kate and John End Up Together?
So far, Kate and John have not ended up together, but don't tell John that!
John is a boisterous and goofy young Shadow with immense soot powers.
During his debut, he falls in love with Kate, Emilyko's mistress, and, from then on, he behaves as if they're engaged.
It's clear that Kate doesn't reciprocate John's feelings, although she does value his friendship and counts on his participation in her acts of rebellion.
Occasionally, Kate seems to use John's feelings for her to manipulate him into helping - though the truth is that he'd probably be willing enough either way as he does have a rebellious streak himself.
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Do Emilyko and Shaun End Up Together?
Emilyko and Shaun are not together, but there's some potential there. John might be explicit about his romantic feelings for Kate, but, on an implicit level, John's and Kate's living dolls can also be considered as a potential pairing, or at least a ship.
Emilyko and Shaun became good friends ever since they were assigned patrols together.
So far, there's no clear romance between the two, although many crushes start off as a friendship and the two characters share some awkwardly cute moments on different occasions.
When Emilyko and Shaun learn that they are humans, Shaun feels a little strange when Emilyko hugs them tightly, telling her that, as humans, they shouldn't be hugging so carelessly.
This suggests that, although Shaun doesn't hold recollections of his life before being abducted and made into a servant of the Shadows House, he retains awareness of social norms and understands the implications of two teenagers physically showing affection.
Some fans have interpreted this as romantic feelings on Shaun's part, though we'll have to wait for more Shadow House manga chapters to find out more.
Related: Why Does Edward Hate Kate in Shadows House?
Do Ricky and Lou End Up Together?
Patrick and Louise are foils to John and Kate; while they do participate in some of Kate's machinations, they mostly play by the House's rules. Their living dolls do not stray from acceptable behavior and their personalities are compatible with their masters'.
That being said, Ricky and Lou had some nice moments together during the debut arc.
Lou was pretty iconic with her garden scissors and her collaboration with Ricky as they looked for their Shadow masters, causing some fans to ship them.
In a Season 2 episode, Patrick and Ricky contemplate the possibility of finding a partner. Ricky - who, unlike Shaun and Emilyko, doesn't know that he's human - claims that living dolls do not experience crushes.
It isn't entirely clear if Ricky says that because his conditioning has removed such feelings, because he hasn't experienced romantic feelings personally, or because he simply believes he should not have crushes.
However, Ricky does advise Patrick that Louise - Lou's Shadow mistress - will be the most appropriate partner for him. This, of course, makes sense, as Louise is considered a perfect embodiment of what a Shadow noble should be.
That being said, we can't help wondering if part of Ricky's assessment comes from his own attraction to Lou.
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Do Patrick and Emilyko End Up Together?
Compared to his living doll, Ricky, Patrick is quite meek, and he lacks self-confidence. The debut was a harrowing experience for him and he was profoundly influenced by Emilyko's kindness.
Ricky is highly ambitious and only has his and Patrick's interest in mind. When Patrick only interacted with Ricky, his worldview was colored by Ricky's perceptions.
To have Emilyko - who was expected to look out for her own mistress - still make time to comfort him, was a momentous experience for Patrick, who had a crush on her ever since.
The two barely interact after the debut, and we don't expect much to come out of this pairing as Emilyko doesn't seem to see him that way.
Moreover, it's considered taboo for Shadows and living dolls to have any sort of feelings for each other, as the House's hierarchy encourages Shadows to see living dolls as extensions of their Shadow Masters.
In conclusion, Shadows House might not have official pairings yet, but crushes are in the air.
At this point, the main characters are teenagers and they don't have a real understanding of romance, though, of course, this could change in future chapters of the Shadows House manga.