The ending of Shadows House Season 1 reveals that Emilico and the other living dolls were, in fact, human children who were abducted from the nearby village under the pretense of a prestigious job offer. Once there, they were brainwashed into believing that they had been created to serve their Shadow masters as servants and “faces,” since the Shadows have no visible facial features. The realization of the living dolls’ human nature is key in the narrative, as it shows that they all had a life before being taken from their village. So, what was Emilico’s life like? Warning! Major Spoilers Below:
Shadows House: Emilico’s Age Explained
So far, the anime hasn’t made a guess at Emilico’s age, but the Shadows House manga reveals that she is probably 11 years old, though she was never entirely sure due to her rough upbringing. In the manga, a flashback in Chapter 103 reveals that Emilico believed herself to be 11 years old before she joined the Shadows House. She was, however, uncertain about the fact, as she was an orphan with no official guardians and worked as a circus girl. In a plot twist, Kate, who has a much-similar structure, is revealed to be 13 years old. This could either mean that Emilico is older than she believes or simply that she’s a bit taller, even though she’s younger. In any case, while Emilico’s exact age is not fully confirmed, she’s most likely between 11 and 13.
What About The Other Characters’ Ages?
While it was always clear that the young doll-Shadow pairs in Kate’s class were pre-teens or early teens, the flashbacks about the main cast’s life in their village confirm the exact timeline of their service in the titular Shadows House. Rum was only eleven when she was taken to the House, while Shaun was thirteen, which was the age limit to enter. The above shows that all of the children who were abducted - and similarly, their Shadow masters - are, indeed, preteens or in their early teens. Admission to the Adults’ Building likely happens in their late teens or when they’re young adults. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few odd cases - Edward looks considerably older, even though the manga implies that he was only invited to the Adults’ Building fairly recently. This, of course, could simply mean that adulthood in Shadows House is more arbitrary than in real life and that different Shadows are considered adults at different stages, depending on whether they manage to prove themselves or not. Alternatively, it could mean that, for some reason, Edward looks older than he actually is. Though his inferiority complex does suggest that he’s probably been looked down upon previously, strengthening the theory that he was considerably older than most when he was admitted into the Adults’ Building. The young age of most Shadows House characters makes the gothic horror elements of the show even more prominent and gives Kate’s rebellion a new layer of meaning.
