SHAKUGAN NO SHANA

DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ActionShakugan no Shana II (Second)
NOVEL ActionShakugan no Shana
SPECIAL ComedyShakugan no Shana Special: Koi to Onsen no Kougai Gakushuu!
SPECIAL ComedyShakugan no Shana: Naze Nani Shana
SPECIAL ComedyDengeki Bunko 2007 Movie Festival Special
SPECIAL ComedyShakugan no Shana Specials
MOVIE ActionShakugan no Shana Movie

REVIEWS

• 

  capeseverywhere

  50/100
  This city just can't catch a break!

  Fire it up!

  The wonders of a light novel adaptation falling into J.C. Staff’s hands are ones that don’t begin and end with Shakugan no Shana. Up until 2005, none of the studio’s other LN adaptations latched on with viewers, with Maburaho, an ecchi comedy, being their most successful result. Not to be confused with Shaft’s similarly named ecchi comedy from the early 2000s, Mahoromantic! Either way, J.C. Staff finally struck gold with a tried and true light novel selling formula that launched Shana into the stratosphere. It has action, it has romance, and more importantly, it has an eye-catching female character as the story’s focus!

  Shana’s appearance is one that draws in curious onlookers. She looks like a typical anime school girl, and yet her hair and eyes are both fiery red and she’s holding a SWORD. And she’s surrounded by FIRE. Additionally, Shana’s design and personality both represent a popular anime character archetype at its most straightforward. Small, but also hot-headed. Her hair color can flip back and forth just like her temper. With the added ingredient of a male lead character who doubles as her romantic interest, Shana exemplifies the ‘tsundere’ trope to the point where her existence helped to become the future blueprint of the idea.

  Baka.

  That’s not to say that Shana was the first or most important of her kind. This character archetype can be found in much older media (even in media I’ve reviewed already, like Akiha Tohno from Tsukihime), though I can’t help but link later light novel adaptations with similar character dynamics back to this one. Haruhi Suzumiya, Zero no Tsukaima, Kaze no Stigma, Toradora, Oreimo, all playing with the idea of a central, untouchable female character, usually with some type of soft spot. Regardless, J.C. Staff can only do so much in their adaptations.

  The main problems with the Shana anime are the same problems that crop up in other light novel adaptations. Being a medium of words, you will need to stay attentive so you can piece together every little explanation that drops on your head with each new episode. Many systems are introduced, many characters pass by, and you only have a limited amount of chances to get acquainted with them. Denizens destroy humans. Humans can become Flame Hazes. Flame Hazes destroy Denizens. Some humans become torches, and some torches are Mystes. Juggle this logic with an expanding roster of characters featuring unique combat abilities, and you got that classic brain frying light novel charm.

  Although the selection of characters is vast, most of our mainstays are worth keeping up with. Shana’s predictable fiery personality hides no surprises, though she makes the action sequences a lot more enjoyable, as she doesn’t waste time moping about. It’s clear that her and our main protagonist, Yuji, make for a fitting pairing. Neither of them are clever, though both are reckless enough to get the job done when they need to. Despite this, the story tries to stick some drama into Yuji’s relationships by tossing in an average schoolgirl named Kazumi, who also has a crush on Yuji. Yet, despite the obvious matching of Yuji to Shana, Kazumi gets multiple episodes of attention! On the flipside, our other resident booze-drinking Flame Haze, Margery, makes for a fun time whenever she’s involved.

  Woooooo alcohol!!

  The next ‘light novel’ problem would be the story’s structure. The contents of this first season reaches through the first nine volumes of the light novel series, as well as its own original anime material. While episodes from the first cour take their sweet time with the first two introductory light novel volumes, the rest of the season blasts through well over 1500 pages of content all at once. Suddenly, the comfortable pace from the early episodes turns into a mad rush of information and action that is difficult to take in. Each arc takes on a different set of villains, so if you need a summary of what Shakugan no Shana’s actual plot is, it’s about constantly trying to save the city from being destroyed by Denizens.

  My favorite parts of the story are towards the beginning, where Yuji and Shana are getting to know each other, with Shana needing to re-learn human conventions. This makes up the underlying concept of this anime, where each conflict serves the purpose of further strengthening Shana’s personality and relationships. Yuji is also trying to get a grip on his whole ‘torch’ situation, while trying to find a place for himself in Shana’s action-packed adventures. The two slowly learn how to work with each other while also trying to understand their compatibility.

  As for the other parts… I’d much rather have ‘too much story’ in an action adventure than too little, though the amount of characters feels like overkill at times. The whole Tiriel/Sorath conflict feels like an afterthought, secondary to Shana learning about affection. Even side characters like the previously mentioned Kazumi seem like an unnecessary source of drama, secondary to a greater conflict that is also happening at the time. Even with so many different problems arising, I’m left wondering what all this commotion is building up to in the long run. I’m looking for some kind of hook, but I’m not finding any.

  Shana left wondering why Yuji HATES her so much

  Despite the information overload and colorful action scenes, it’s not as if Shakugan no Shana is fighting for your attention. This story is confident in its mechanisms, and you’re either along for the ride, or you’re getting lost in the details. The real question is whether or not this ride is worth getting on in the first place. And as much as I hate to shoot down a popular 00s staple, I confess that I couldn’t get into this.

  Truthfully, I stopped wanting to follow it by the time I got halfway through. It’s not as if I couldn’t keep up with it; I did manage to follow the flurry of characters and the ever changing scenarios by revisiting episodes. But regardless, so many special beings were being poured into the cast that the impact had been entirely diluted by the time I got to the last arc. Any time it was hinted that Yuji or Shana were going to die, I had gotten used to it. They don’t make for good victims, even when they’re out saving each other, because there isn’t a chance that either of them are going to get killed off. Not in the first season, at least!

  As for the romantic drama of the show, I felt that the ‘love triangle’ situations were unnecessary. Shana and Yuji clearly have enough problems to deal with as it is. I can understand wanting to shape Shana’s human emotions over the course of the season, but the way this story goes about doing it is always bordering on hacky. Every conflict is overcomplicated, and every arc is constructed with far more characters than it needs. It’s an anime that has its moments, and has its own good characters, too. It’s unfortunate that its best qualities are buried under its worst ones. If you can stomach it, you won't hate it.

  D'oh!
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