Daemons Of The Shadow Realm Ep. 6 “The Kagemori Clan And The Unknown Assailants”: Ambushing The Ambush [Review]

Daemons of the Shadow Realm shows us what happens when you ambush your ambushers in Ep. 6 “The Kagemori Clan and the Unknown Assailants”. See, an ambush can be incredibly deadly when you do an ambush right. However, when you bring in insufficient firepower to properly carry out an ambush, you can get a situation where the ambushed turns the ambush back on you. Yuru and Asa, along with their friends and comrades, shows this off quite well.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 6 “The Kagemori Clan and the Unknown Assailants”: Details in Brief

Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 6 “The Kagemori Clan and the Unknown Assailants” is the sixth episode (you can read my reviews for Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, and Ep. 5 here) of this dark fantasy action adventure anime series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist, Silver Spoon, The Heroic Legend of Arslan).

Bones Film (Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Ouran High School Host Club, My Hero Academia) is the animation studio behind this anime. Masahiro Andō is the director behind this anime, with Noboru Takagi as the writer, and Kenichiro Suehiro as the composer for the music.

Speaking of that music, the opening theme song for Daemons of the Shadow Realm is “Time to Fly” by Vaundy. Meanwhile, “Let’s Fly” by yama is the ending theme song.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 6 “The Kagemori Clan and the Unknown Assailants”: The Good

It’s pretty easy to see that the action in Ep. 6 “The Kagemori Clan and the Unknown Assailants” is the best part about it, but there’s more to it than that.

Especially since the first couple of minutes of the episode is mostly about Yuru (voiced by Kensho Ono (JP) and Ben Stegmair (EN)) and Asa (voiced by Yume Miyamoto (JP) and Molly Zhang (EN)) being trapped in their own individual pocket dimensions along with Left (voiced by Takako Honda (JP) and Colleen Clinkenbeard (EN)) and Right (voiced by Rikiya Koyama (JP) and Bill Butts (EN)). This effectively creates a period of quiet in which we get to learn more about their respective personalities and their relationship with the twinned Daemons, which also results in us learning that Asa has a fear of the dark. The reason for that is due to her past, but that scotophobia helps further humanize her while also giving us a glimpse into her rather mysterious and as-of-yet unrevealed backstory.

Blood for the Bloody Violence!

It’s only after they escape that temporary prison that the action can finally begin. Said action has a tendency to be short but brutal moments of bloody violence. Whether it’s Yuru shooting arrows into people from the dark, Jin (voiced by Junichi Suwabe (JP) and Jerry Jewell (EN)) executing assassins at point blank range, or assassins being clubbed to death with a crowbar; the brutal and intense action sequences will remind viewers of classic action films like Die Hard. Especially with Bones Film and their animation team doing a great job in animating the blood splatters and blood pooling beneath the bodies of the slain in gruesomely nightmarish fashion.

I also have to give kudos to the sound design as well. The echoing nature of the voices when Yuru, Asa, Right, and Left were all trapped in those daemon-provided pocket dimensions really sells it to the viewer that they’re trapped in what’s essentially a massive cavern. There’s even a bit of sound play for headphone users with Right’s voice coming from different directions as the camera shifts around Asa, which is a nice touch for all the audiophiles out there.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm Ep. 6 “The Kagemori Clan and the Unknown Assailants”: The Bad

If you like stylish and flashy action sequences, then interestingly, the action in Ep. 6 “The Kagemori Clan and the Unknown Assailants” might not be to your taste. There’s little to no fancy leaping about, spinning, or the like. They’re short, brutal, violent; reminiscent of realistic war movies in their intensity. If you want more stylized action akin to The Matrix, then you will need to look elsewhere.

Anime Recommendations

Fortunately, there are alternatives, whether you want more brutal action or more stylish action. You can check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, May I Ask for One Final Thing?, and/or TRIGUN STARGAZE for either one or sometimes even both in the same anime. On the other hand, if you want a more calming anime to soothe your nerves or just one that is more dramatic, then you might like Spy x Family, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Hana-Kimi, Journal with Witch, and/or Witch Hat Atelier.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Daemons of the Shadow Realm? Tell us your darkly violent thoughts in the comments section below.

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