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 is a weird anime to write about. One of the early impressions is that this anime is very slow-paced. Also, to add to it, its story is Ichitarou's story, meaning it is 100% character-driven. As we see how he grows, this show continues. I will say, as a character-driven show, it is superb, especially in the latter half.

This type of historical anime is nice because it is a breath of fresh air in the land of anime seasonals in this fall 2025 season. Also, Bandai Namco Pictures had some great direction in this show at times, especially in the latter half. Still, ... I can imagine the slow pacing can really put people off from this show.

Are you the type that is looking for a different type of anime and is of the slow-burn, character-driven one? Then this is a hidden gem and quite a good show. If that doesn't appeal to you, then you might be better off skipping this one.

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.