Shakugan no Shana Review
Posted by Fayt
Sakai Yuuji is your average teenager. He’s just started high school and thinks his normal life is secure. However one day he is suddenly caught in a magical force field in which the world is frozen. A large monster begins devouring people by turning them into blue flames. Just as Yuuji is about to suffer the same fate, a girl with red eyes and flaming hair saves him. Calling herself a “Flame Haze” she proceeds to tell Yuuji that he is dead and he is a “Torch”, a replacement for the real Sakai Yuuji. However Yuuji is not stopped by this harsh truth and befriends the girl, calling her “Shana”. This is the beginning of a whole new existence for Yuuji and Shana.
At first look, Shana seems like your typical shounen anime. A goody-goody lead, a fantastical plot and an obvious romance in the wings. The first episode does little to alleviate this. With Shana appearing out of nowhere to save our helpless hero then almost as quickly turning out to be a brat with a big sword. However the second episode takes a much better path and that is really where this anime begins to show that it isn’t just average.
Whilst Yuuji begins as and in some ways carries on in the over used male lead category, he is a likeable character and has a strong personality with clear views of wrong and right. His mother is an interesting character. When she is first introduced she seems like another, just add water, we’ve seen you a million times before, ditzy and overly optimistic female character. However as the series goes on there is a very good effort to make her much more real, her interaction with Shana is quite touching at times as she becomes a motherly figure for her. Shana herself is quite bratty and continues to be so for the series, but there is another much more likeable and gentler side to her that creates some heart warming moments between her and Yuuji later in the show.
Of course in any romance related anime there is the rival to the affections of the lead. Shana is no exception. Although unlike most of the other characters her rival, named Yoshida, is given very little attention to detail and seems to be there just to create tension and not much else. Something that I really liked about this series was the fact that a rival Flame Haze who begins as an enemy, is a much fuller character than some other similar characters of other series. Sure at first she seems that crazy, fighting obsessed wench that many anime of this type contain. However as the series progress her reasons for fighting are told and becomes a likeable addition.
The animation is, whilst not groundbreaking, nice to look at. With the use of a substantial colour palette making it look very vibrant at points. The action is well animated and no time is wasted with the stupid announcement of moves that is so common in action anime, when Shana fights she goes for it.
Shanas’ soundtrack is what you would expect of shounen. Being quite enjoyable at best and listenable at worst. The intro is nice and fits the anime. The “in series” music has some good reoccurring tracks and some more forgettable ones, but it is by no means bad.
The plot of Shakugan no Shana soars high above the likes of Naruto and its various brethren. Taking quite a few twists and turns before the ending. It certainly is involving and allows the characters some leeway in over-reacting to certain situations, but then again what would you do if you found out you were already dead? The ending of the show is one of the most open ended that I have ever seen. Granted there is the upcoming movie which will undoubtedly provide a proper ending. It is easier to think of the ending of the show as an intermission until the movie comes around.
Overall, whilst Shana is not anything revolutionary, it is very entertaining and is an enjoyable piece of work. There is quite a long stretch of medium weight angst in the last third of the series. That is to be expected with anything involving teenagers and romance though. At some points it can feel very “Where have I seen this scene/character before” but it is normally not all it appears to be and can turn into something quite surprising. If you don’t like Shounen or teen romance then take a couple of stars depending, but then why would you be watching this anyway?
Rating : 
(Does what anime should do; entertain)
Categories: Anime, Reviews, Shakugan no Shana.
April 7th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Shana is actually a seinen anime/novel/manga, not a shounen, which explains why some people orginally thought it was a shoujo series. Novel is published under the Dengeki Bunko seinen label. Manga published in the Dengeki Daioh senein magazine.
April 8th, 2006 at 1:03 am
Ah thanks for that. I was going on what ANN said about it, so yeah I’ll sort that.
April 8th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
i would have given it a 5 star rating ;D
May 18th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Nekem nagyon tedszik ez az anime, nagyon ari a trtnet s maga a szereplk is furik :):):):):):):)
January 12th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
i dunno… id give shakugan no shana a 3 1/2 star rating. most of us arent strangers to anime, and this anime is not entertaining, at least not to me. after watching the first 5 minutes of every episode, i was able to accurately predict what was going to happen in it, and I ended up skimming through most of the episodes. im not saying animes have to make sense, but the guy who had a doll fetish, and who wielded a bell which made spirits come out and explode didnt make much sense to me. i found myself forcing myself to watch this simply for the sake of saying that i watched it.
i dont recommend this anime, theres a lot good animes out there, so don’t settle for a mediocre one
January 12th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
i dunno… id give shakugan no shana a 3 1/2 star rating. most of us arent strangers to anime, and everything i saw in this anime i remember seeing it somewhere else. this anime is not entertaining, at least not to me. after watching the first 5 minutes of every episode, i was able to accurately predict what was going to happen in it, and I ended up skimming through most of the episodes. im not saying animes have to make sense, but the guy who had a doll fetish, and who wielded a bell which made spirits come out and explode didnt make much sense to me. i forced myself to watch this simply for the sake of saying that i watched it.
i dont recommend this anime, theres a lot good animes out there, so don’t settle for a mediocre one
April 30th, 2008 at 11:15 am
uh this anime is really boring after episode 3 most people would just fall asleeep….
July 16th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Uh I think that this anime is really well animated, and entertaining. I really love this anime. How can some of you guys say ” Its boring”.
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:05 am
well said…
could I use your review in our site’s review section of Shakugan no Shana?
of course I will acknowledge you as the writer and give you credit for it…
I’ll wait for your favorable response…
@yuki-
I think this anime is worth watching and I agree to you about it being well animated and entertaining… Well everyone has their own taste…
November 8th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
What i like about this anime series
1. Shana’s red-hair and fiery eyes, looks cool for a small-sized girl like her and suits her as a Flame Haze
What i don’t like about this anime series
1. Yoshida Kazumi
2. Poor graphic illustrating
3. Not too interesting storyline. Yeah, i agreed with Randoh to some extent, that is anime don’t really have to make sense, but sometimes it just don’t make much sense with me with the all the weird guys they are fighting.
Overall i give this anime series 3 stars rating, which i have try to like it.
* This anime might not be revolutionary but is still a good one to pass time.
December 11th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I thought this anime was pretty good. I liked the action and romance in it. Though somethings were predicted, and some times it was just a surprise. I’m hopeing for a season 3. I recommend this anime. Only problem is. Its kind of advance (hard to understand for people that are…’slow’)
4.8/5 rating for me.
December 11th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
….i guess ur rite. this anime kinda entertaining. tho i would like 2 say ur rite about the complicated stuff XP. but really i think this anime pretty good! im now starting season2 heard there more romance! yip-pii!
5/5
July 7th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I thought this anime was amazing. Espesially is you compare it to crap anime like Naruto that don’t diserve existing. I’d give this anime 5/5 and cant wait for season 3!
August 24th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
@Shakugan: you really shouldn’t say ‘this or that is crap’, people may take it wrongly, and it’s just your opinion, not a fact.
Well, I started watching this series with a lot of enthusiasm, but in fact I kind of got bored. It was a little predictable and too moe for my likings. Furthermore, there are a lot of things that are left without explanation, and so much angst too… kind of annoying. But oh well, I kind of thought this was enjoyable at some point.
I’d give it a 3.5/5
November 24th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
If you compare it against massive pool of seinen crapfests that are out there, this show still stands out as well above average, and I agree that it’s much closer to a 4 than a 3.5. It’s worth a watch (but a rewatch is questionable). It passes the entertainment test, which I agree is the most important indicator (a la Gurren Lagann).
If you are too jaded and disinterested in seinen then you shouldn’t be watching this in the first place - if you only compare it only against your pet favorites, ignoring the immense pool of mediocrity that is known as seinen, of course it won’t rank as well.
The only major problem I have with SnS is it’s distinct lack of identity. The premise and main concepts could have lead to something more epic, cohesive, and engrossing. But they opted for the Batman-style villain(s)-of-the-week approach, which frankly sells it short. With this kind of setup, breathing some life into the villains is always better than wasting energy on superfluous school plots and love polygons.