Shakugan no Shana

Title:Shakugan no Shana
Alastor`s flame haze
Flame Haze
Shana of the Burning Eyes
灼眼のシャナ
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - JC Staff
KAWASUMI Ayako
R1 License - Geneon (Defunct)
Sakai Yuji was a normal student, or so he thought until one day the world around him "stopped" and he was assaulted by a monster, “Kuze no Tomogara”. It was a monster which came from another world, and was able to turn human bodies into energy, something that it could eat. It was a girl with red hair and red eyes called Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite and wielding the sword Nietono no Shana that saved him. Then, that girl, a Flame Haze, said to him “You don’t exist anymore”. What she meant was that Yuuji was dead...and now a "Torch." But more than a normal Torch, used to simulate the life of humans who've been consumed by the various Togara, Yuuji is a "Mistes" and a very special one at that. Now that Yuuji has been introduced into a frightening new world where he's not what he thought he was, he decides to make the best of it and names his female savior "Shana." Thus, she and Yuuji end up teaming up to protect the city from various Tomogara who find it suitable for their needs. What about the city do the Togara find so appealing? What is the true nature of Yuuji? Will Shana be able to deal with the other Flame Haze that come to the city? Will Shana be able to deal with the odd feelings she experiences when she thinks of Yuuji being with his female classmate Yoshida-san?
[24 TV Episodes (released in 2005) based on the "light" novels by Yashichirou Takahashi-sensei. Produced by J.C.Staff & Geneon.]

R1 Title is Shana of the Burning Eyes originally licensed by Geneon

3:21min Series Trailer - ANN Video
[edit] The ↗Shakugan no Shana franchise:

Original story: Parody spin-offs:
Episode Details 
00, 1, 99
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Buy 8 8 9 8 8 8 Dreamer [series:1198#2279]
I had watched this a while back and "though" I had left a review but somehow, the review went missing. So, here's my second attempt after re-watching this series.

Art, Animation & Character Designs
Artwork I thought was pretty good. Especially the creepy looking monsters (the doll, I hate dolls). Overall artwork was on the darker side. Animation was average. Character designs were well done as well, again, especially with our creepy looking monsters or demons or what have you.

Music
The OP wasn't bad. It was a rock-ish piece with female vocals. Not bad at all. The rest of soundtrack had some dramatic pieces, some strong orchestra-like compositions and with some great sound effects to go along with it..... not to mention some epic gregorian chants. The ED was almost as good as teh OP. Another nice rock-techno like piece.

Series and Episode Story
I actually enjoyed this series. Some have found this as barely "watchable", but the opening episode is what really caught my attention.... even after seeing it through a second time just for the review. The concept of you being an "imitation" of the real you was an interesting concept. I think this is the one thing that kept me interested through to the end.

The plot itself get's pretty in-depth, with some serious players and outcomes. At times, here and there, you still get your moments of humor, school scenes, etc. With that said, I found this "almost" well-rounded but it's not without its flaws... such as annoying character types, predictable outcomes and at times, how really pussy-fied our protagonist Sakai is..... which at times got on my nerves.

Overall it's a good series that had plenty of action, plot and dark characters. I'll mark this as a buy (again).

Last updated Saturday, July 03 2010. Created Saturday, July 03 2010.
Watch 8 8 7 6 6 6 Ggultra2764 [series:1198#1552]
Honestly, I don't see why Shakugan no Shana has been getting as much hype from anime fans since there isn't anything that really stands out with it. Much of the series has all the elements typical of the mish-mash of genres found in shounen action titles.

Shakugan no Shana features reality crossed with a parallel world which Yuji crosses finding his world frozen in time and creatures absorbing the life force out of victims with a girl who's faced with the task of slaying these creatures to prevent them from being a threat to our world. Kind of reminds me of Bleach in some ways when I seen a few episodes of the series so Shana's premise doesn't seem that original. Shana's like Rukia in the female role, Yuji eventually becomes like Ichigo being the male character, and the Tamagora are like the Hollows.

What exasperated me even more were the typical character archetypes that I seen throughout the series. Shana is the tsundere warrior gal who develops feelings for Yuji. Yuji is the 'nice guy' archetype we've all seen before in shounen romantic comedies. Kazumi is the typical shy and well-endowed bishoujo with feelings for the 'nice guy.' Heck, even the rival Flame Haze, Marjorie Doe, is well-endowed. Not to mention, you shouldn't be too surprised to find rampant fan service at some points of the series. There's even an obligatory pool episode where you can see male and female characters strut their stuff in bathing suits. Not to mention a couple of the villians had traits added in just for shock value that turned me off, my biggest gripe being the incest Crimson Denizen twins.

So what keeps me from giving this title an Avoid rating? There were points in the series that featured a grim, dark mood coming from different events as a result of the Tamagora attacks. The fact your existence is forgotten with Tamagora attacks in the world of Shakugan no Shana is a concept explored in this series at some points which made the series a bit better to take in. The battle scenes were decently animated having plenty of bright color, though character designs looked kind of generic.

It does have a few redeeming qualities, but having too much of the same old shounen anime story and character elements kept me from caring about Shakugan no Shana.

Last updated Thursday, July 31 2008. Created Thursday, July 31 2008.
Unevaluated Stretch [series:1198#628]
(Three episodes watched):

The real you is dead, you are a cheap imitation who will soon vanish, and nobody will even remember that you ever existed... have a nice day!

Seriously, although the premise of SnS seemed kind of disturbing, it also seemed interesting enough that I might be able to get into it. Soul-eating horror stories are pretty commonplace in anime nowadays, but this one seems better thought-out than most--that is, "deeper" than, say, Bleach or Venus vs. Virus. I think what really makes the difference is the way these soul predators are kept secret from ordinary people, through a sort of suspension ("freezing", really) of reality. Sakai is unable to relate his situation to anyone besides Shana herself, since they'd think he was crazy, which deepens his angst. Action takes place against freaky villains in a freaky way--I don't understand exactly what's going on, but it's clear that there is an explanation to it (unlike the impression I get from a number of other shows), so I can get into it. So far, so good!

Last updated Thursday, July 05 2007. Created Thursday, July 05 2007.
Buy 9 8 8 7 7 8 chibi [series:1198#2380]
I'm not a big fan of series based on magical fights. The rules seem always to be made-up as they go along, and the only factor I can identify that consistently effects the outcome of the battles is who yells the loudest. Yes, I'd put Shana in that category, but the characters and their interplay here were so interesting that I didn't care. You've got rivalries, friendships, romance, enmity, and all the rest played out by good guys, bad guys, and bystanders just caught up in the story, and it's all pretty believable and entertaining. AstroNerdBoy has covered the details pretty well. Having seen both the fansubs and the first few DVD releases, it is interesting how the translation of the terms and terminology has changed. The DVD is more understandable, but the fansubs had a bit more mystery that added to the viewer's involvement. If you like to see good character play in an action show, you should definitely give this one a try.

Last updated Sunday, March 11 2007. Created Sunday, March 11 2007.
Unevaluated Forbin [series:1198#1573]
I have the first R1 of this. It's good. Shana's voice is a bit deep but that's ok with me. The VA casting is pretty spot on this one.

Last updated Monday, September 11 2006. Created Monday, September 11 2006.
Buy Jan-Chan [series:1198#967]
Just a few quick words .. I dutifully downloaded and stashed away each of the 24 (fansub) episodes in this series – but I never got around to watching this story – at least until Astro-boy made a favorable posting.

Watching 24 episodes (back-to-back) can be intense, but as soon I finished the series – I found myself wanting to rewatch it again! MUCH FUN!!

With very few short comings, this is a very fun, entertaining and creative story – and well worth at least ONE sitting.

Last updated Thursday, May 18 2006. Created Thursday, May 18 2006.
Buy 9 8 8 8 8 8 AstroNerdBoy [series:1198#436]

One way to get me to like an anime is to establish some sort of hook early on. The writers of this anime, using the original novels as a guide, succeeded in this by having the male lead be revealed as a dead man who's time on Earth as a "Torch" is limited. Once gone, no one will even remember he even existed, not even his parents. Yeah, that was a pretty good hook, and it stayed interesting from there.

The series isn't a deep one. The first eight episodes establish the players (Tomogara, Torches, Mistes, Hougu, Flame Haze, etc.) and interlock three seperate stories into a single one. Yuuji has to deal with the fact that he is not even alive, but merely a Torch designed to be a place holder for a while until he burns out and becomes as one who never existed. However, further complicating matters is knowing that one of his female classmates has recently become a Torch and no matter what he does, she too will burn out one day and be remembered no more except by him until he burns out. It is a pretty sobering thought to know that one who did exist will become as if they never had been born.

Fortunately, the writers don't spend too much time on the heavier stuff. Humor is injected into the series from time to time, with episode 9 being a comedy story. Romance is also injected into them mix with Yuuji's classmate Yoshida-san having a crush on him, but she's the quite, shy type. She does put up a fight when she becomes convinced that Shana is in love with Yuuji and becomes determined to fight for his attention. So that also adds some humor to the story.

The various Tomogara that come have different motivations for coming to this city. I suspect the novels may go into this with greater detail, but we are told is that they need the energy found in humans (and I suppose other life forms) for whatever thing they have planned. The various Tomogara are...well odd. Friagne is obsessed with the Rinne he created in doll form called Marianne. The young Aizenji and Aizenta, the brother and sister twin Tomogara, have a very perverted relationship as Aizenji wishes to possess Shana's sword. And then there's the wacko Tomogara's in the organization known as Ball Masque. As villians, they aren't overly compelling, but they serve their purpose.

The various Flame Haze that we are introduced to are pretty interesting. I loved it when the series took time (episodes 15-17) to explore Shana's past and how she went from human child to a Flame Haze. In fact, that's where the show went up a notch in my book. That gave her, and the series, enough depth to be more than just some action-adventure title with a kick-arse loli kendo-girl.

With episode 24 wrapping up the anime's final story, it was pretty clear to me that the story could continue. I wasn't sure if there was some grand story-arc in play, but it felt like there was. Indeed, reading a bit about the novels the anime is based on would seem to bear out my thoughts. So I hope the new movie is a sequel to the TV series and not some remake as some movies are.

Bottom line: a nice mix of action, adventure, supernatural, romance, darkness, comedy, and more leading to a fun ride.

Last updated Thursday, May 11 2006. Created Thursday, May 04 2006.


Other Sites
NameURL
Official Japanese Series Web Site http://www.shakugan.com/
Official Geneon Series Web Site http://www.shanadvd.com/

Community Anime Reviews

anime mikomi org