Shakugan no Shana - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

, also known simply as Shana, is a Japanese light novel

Light novel

A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...

series written by Yashichiro Takahashi

Yashichiro Takahashi

is a Japanese novelist best known for the creation of the Shakugan no Shana series. The Shakugan no Shana series was adapted into a radio drama, manga, anime, and a video game. In addition, it was adapted into a movie on April 21, 2007. Takahashi also made another series entitled A/B Extreme, which...

, with illustrations by Noizi Ito

Noizi Ito

is a Japanese manga and game artist from Hyōgo, Japan. She is employed by the H-game maker UNiSONSHIFT and is a part of the circle Fujitsubo-Machine...

. The series includes 25 novels released between November 2002 and October 2011 published by ASCII Media Works

ASCII Media Works

is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...

under their Dengeki Bunko

Dengeki Bunko

is a publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works . It was established in June 1993 with the publication of Hyōryū Densetsu Crystania volume one, and is a light novel imprint aimed at a male audience...

imprint

Imprint

In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...

. The series centers around Yuji Sakai, an ordinary Japanese high school boy who inadvertently becomes involved in a perpetual war between forces of balance and imbalance in existence. In the process, he befriends the title character: a fighter for the balancing force, whom he takes to calling "Shana". The series incorporates science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

, fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

, and slice-of-life "school days" elements into its tale.

A manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

series was created with art by Ayato Sasakura

Ayato Sasakura

is a Japanese female manga artist. She is best known for her work as the artist for the Shakugan no Shana manga series.Ayato Sasakura has been active on the dōjin scene for several years under the kojin circle name Imitation Genome, and was part of several other circles before that...

first serialized in the manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...

, in February 2005. A 24-episode anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

series was adapted by J.C.Staff

J.C.STAFF

, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986. Their first release was the three episode OVA Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden, in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Shakugan no Shana, Toaru Majutsu no...

and it aired between October 2005 and March 2006. An original video animation

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

(OVA) episode and animated film were also produced in December 2006 and April 2007, respectively. A second anime series entitled Shakugan no Shana Second aired in Japan between October 2007 and March 2008. A four-episode OVA series entitled Shakugan no Shana S was released between October 2009 and September 2010. A third anime series, Shakugan no Shana Final, began airing in October 2011. A PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

video game released in March 2006 followed and a second video game for the Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

was released in March 2007.

Viz Media

VIZ Media

VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...

announced at Comic-Con

Comic-Con

Comic-Con, Comic Con or ComiCon may refer to any of the following Comic book conventions, none of them affiliated to any other:*San Diego Comic-Con International, annual fan convention in San Diego held since 1970, also known as Comic-Con or San Diego Comic-Con*Dallas Comic Con, annual fan...

2006 that they have licensed the right to release the English translations of both the Shakugan no Shana light novels and the manga series. Additionally, Geneon Entertainment licensed the first anime TV series in North America and the first DVD was released on September 5, 2006. After Geneon withdrew from the North American market, Funimation

Funimation Entertainment

Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...

took up the distribution rights for the first season, and later licensed the second season, third season, film, and OVA series.

Plot

Yuji Sakai, a high school student, expected his very normal life to last forever. However, this expectation is quickly shattered one day while on his way home. The world suddenly freezes in time, leaving Yuji to watch in horror as blue flames engulf the people around him. Soon a monster resembling a large doll appears and begins sucking the flames into its mouth, until it notices Yuji. Surprised with Yuji's insusceptibility to the time-stop (fuzetsu), it jumps with glee. Just as the monster prepares to consume Yuji, a sword-wielding girl in black attire with flaming red eyes and hair appears, swiftly and confidently destroys the monster, before noticing Yuji moving freely. The girl calls herself a "Flame Haze" who hunts the "Denizens of the Crimson Realm" and the "Rinne" they send to do their bidding. When Yuji notices a blue flame in his chest, the Flame Haze tells him that the "real" Yuji died some time ago, and that he is a "Torch", a temporary replacement for erased humans. Torches take on the forms of those erased persons, but after a period of time, they will vanish from existence and the memories of the living. Unfazed by his apparent death, Yuji befriends the strange girl and names her "Shana" after her sword. The reason Yuji was able to move in the fuzetsu is that he is not a normal Torch, but instead a special kind called a "Mystes": he has a treasure inside him, known as a "Hougu", a device possessing special abilities of sorts, and an extremely powerful and valuable one at that. The hougu inside Yuji allows him to remain in existence rather than fading away like other torches. Shana resolves to protect Yuji from the Denizens, who would use the treasure to disrupt the balance of the world, and Yuji decides to join Shana in her fight.

Shana's fight is actually a long-standing struggle between the Lords and Denizens of Guze. The Denizens steal Power of Existence, the energy that forms the basis of the world, from living people and utilize it for their own selfish ambitions. Some Lords inhabit humans creating Flame Hazes in an attempt to retain balance by hunting renegades from Guze. Flame Hazes create Torches in place of the consumed to save the world from the disruption of many existences being lost at once, allowing the Torches to gradually burn out over the course of time.

Main characters

Yuji, the main male lead of the series, is just an average high school student. However, his world is turned upside down when he discovers that he is already dead and does not have much time before he disappears. Fortunately, Yuji is a Mystes who contains a treasure known as the . Unlike normal torches, the treasure inside him restores his Power of Existence every night at midnight. With the Reiji Maigo, Yuji has the possibility to live on like an average human as long as he makes sure that his Power of Existence does not run out before midnight. Later, he begins to learn to use the yet untapped potential of the treasure kept within him. Once he began using this power, the antagonists recognize him as "Silver the Second". He cares deeply about Shana, but does not make any advances in their relationship due to his feelings of inferiority as a Torch and his view of Shana as someone who is beyond his reach. He also starts to see Shana from her old former perspective of the world, where he is just a Torch and she is just a Flame Haze. With this going on, he distanced himself from the closeness that the two originally shared, leaving Shana hurt with the new feelings of love she has developed but cannot explain. However, Yuji and Shana have since repaired the damage to their relationship. As of volume 16 of the novel series, he has verbally acknowledged that he is in love with her.

The main female lead of the series and a Flame Haze. Initially she is concentrated solely on her duty as a Flame Haze, going as far as to not bearing even a name. She sees Yuji only as a Torch, an object, and is marginally interested only because of his status as a Mystes. However, she slowly opens up to Yuji, coming to think of him as a person, despite being a Torch, and eventually comes to love him. Until she met Yuji, she was identified by only her Flame Haze title "Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter," or her nodachi

Nodachi

A nodachi is a large two-handed Japanese sword. Some have suggested that the meaning of "nodachi" is roughly the same as ōdachi meaning "large/great sword". A confusion between the terms has nearly synonymized "nodachi" with the very large "ōdachi"...

, . Yuji, in his need to humanize her, chose to name her "Shana" after her sword. Shana has a habit of saying "Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!" which means "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" whenever Yuji asks her questions or makes remarks that disturb her original point of view. But in reality they really care for each other. She has a great fondness for melon bread

Melonpan

, also known as Melon pan, Melon buns or Melon bread, are sweet bakery products from Japan, but also popular in Taiwan and China. They are made from an enriched dough covered in a thin layer of crisp cookie dough. Their appearance resembles a melon, such as a rock melon...

. Shana later comes to the startling conclusion that she loves Yuji, and even confesses it to him in the last episode of the first anime series when she thought she was going to die, but he does not hear what she said. Shana is continually torn between her mission to protect the balance, and her love for Yuji. Due to a decision she made near the end of the first season of the anime version, the closeness they once had begun to erode as Yuji kept a distance from her because of it. Yuji adopts a viewpoint similar to Shana's in the beginning of the series. However, Yuji comes to realize that he was wrong, and their relationship seems to be restored.

He is the Lord of the Crimson Realm to whom Shana is bound. He expresses his will through a divine vessel called the Cocytus, which (in Shana's case) takes the form of a pendant. His name is actually the name of a demon

Alastor

Alastor can refer to a number of people and concepts related to Greek mythology:...

in mythology. Alastor is considered to be one of the strongest of all Lords or Denizens; in fact being one of the true Gods of the Crimson Realm. But even so, he tries to keep the Denizens from consuming Power of Existence.

Terminology

As its name suggests, Power of Existence is a fundamental power that is contained within any biological or magical entity and functions as "fuel" for one's very existence. Thus, it is not limited to reside in living humans. Crimson Denizens can drain it from humans and Torches, while Flame Hazes are able to use the remaining Power of Existence from Torches. When all of the Power of Existence from a human or Torch is lost, the very existence of the human or Torch is annihilated. Because of this, all humans who had memories associated with that human or Torch will have those memories erased; however those who know of the hidden workings of the real world retain all of their memories, such as Crimson Denizens, Flame Hazes, and humans and Torches who have been exposed to the hidden balancing rules of the real world and the Crimson Realm.

A Torch is a replacement entity for a human, whose Power of Existence has been significantly depleted (meaning he or she is on the verge of death in the human world). Torches are "shock-absorbers" for the sake of the balance between the real world and the Crimson Realm. They are only temporary, and will disappear after a certain amount of time, eradicating all traces of existence, including memories related to them.

A Mystes is a special kind of Torch, who contains a Treasure Tool. The main character Yuji is an example, albeit a special one who can sustain his existence indefinitely due to the ability of his Treasure Tool, Reiji Maigo. But in general, a Mystes will eventually be extinguished like a normal Torch, unless the Mystes drains Power of Existence from Denizens or Flame Hazes, like Tenmoku Ikko did to replenish his Power of Existence, though it is very unlikely for anyone else to have this ability.

A Flame Haze is a servant whose duty is to maintain the two world's balance. Each Flame Haze has contracted a Lord of Crimson Realm, with exceptions like the Flame Haze whom has contracts to twin lords. Flame Hazes mostly fight against Crimson Denizens who consume great amounts of Power of Existence and endangers both worlds, although some work to restore the balance of the worlds that has been disturbed.

The Lords use Flame Haze as their medium because if they are to exist like other Denizens, they will also require Power of Existence. However, the Lords can manifest in the human world, although this means they will consume a vast amount of Power of Existence (aka Tenpa Jōsai). This sudden surge of Power of Existence will usually exceed the limit their Flame Haze may contain, and will result in the death of the Flame Haze. When someone becomes a Flame Haze, they will have their existence burned, making them as if they never existed before. Flame Hazes become a new existence and live solely to protect the balance of the worlds.

Crimson Denizens are mostly evil entities who usually do not care for the balance of the two worlds, collecting and using Power of Existence for their own purposes. Unfortunately for the few that respect and do not seek to upset the balance, some Flame Hazes do not distinguish between them, and thus become targets. As in the human world, some Denizens will stand out and are known as .

Lords of Crimson Realm are Denizens whose power stands out among their peers, such as the Trinity of Bal Masqué, Friagne, Pheles, or the Lords that bind themselves to Flame Hazes. Most of the Lords in the series inhabit Flame Hazes and work to maintain the balance, but some are similar to the Crimson Denizens and use Power of Existence for their own purposes.

For the Lords of Crimson Realm who work to maintain the balance of the two worlds, they take care of it by monitoring the Power of Existence and utilizing their contracted Flame Haze to terminate those Crimson Denizens who harm the balance. Lords represent themselves as magical objects, in Shana's case, a pendant. They can manifest fully, but to do so requires tremendous amounts of Power of Existence. Lords that are even more powerful, such as or are known as of the Crimson Realm, and each of these Gods are bestowed upon the duty of materializing the very laws of the Crimson world; for example, Alastor is known as the , while the Snake of Festival is the , each having abilities that suit these names.

Rinne are created servants for the Tomogara (Crimson Denizens). They are unstable existences and require Power of Existence from either their master, or living humans and Torches in order to survive.

Also known as Unrestricted Spells or Unrestricted Methods, they are powerful magic spells. These spells can be used for any purpose, from restoring the fragments of a long-lost painting to transforming normally untransferrable objects in a whole city into a big hunk of Power of Existence, however they are mostly used in battle in the series. They can be invoked by chanting (some high-class Unrestricted Methods may require centuries of work to activate), and consumes Power of Existence. An Unrestricted Spell can be seen as a blue insignia upon casting.

Treasure Tool is the name of magical objects which can provide special abilities or even an Unrestricted Spell. A Treasure Tool is created when a single Denizen and a human, each representing their own world, has the same desire to one another; if worked out with the right Unrestricted Spells and physical materials, a Treasure Tool for the sole purpose of fulfilling that desire will be created. For example, Reiji Maigo, which is sought by many for its ability to replenish its owner's Power of Existence at midnight every day, was originally created by the Lord-Mystes lovers, Pheles and Johann, under their desire of "being together forever", using a single whole clock tower for the physical material part. Most Denizens, Flame Hazes, and even humans who aid them possess one or more of these, and would try to acquire as many as they can for many reasons, like getting an upper hand in critical time during battles.

Seal is the most common of all Unrestricted Spells, and it also refers to the special dimension the spell creates; here the Crimson Realm and the real world intermingles, and all sorts of causalities, including time, is stopped for ordinary living beings. The mad scientist Lord Dantalion originally created the complex and flawed version of the Seal; later, the genius spell creator Denizen Leanan-sidhe developed it into the easier modern version, which quickly spread over all related beings in the world. Flame Hazes are able to create such Seal at will, as may Crimson Denizens. However, battles in the Seal can damage real world objects, and harm the paused living beings, though it is possible to reverse the effects, if one uses enough Power of Existence. However, if the Seal is ever unlocked during a battle, the damage is irreparable.

Crystal Altar is a Treasure Tool that functions as a miniature projection of the real world. It can be used to observe the location of Torches and Power of Unrestraints, and other things related to Power of Existence. From Margery's story, it is told that Crystal Altar was made about three millennia ago by a God-class Crimson Lord called the , who had taken a liking to the act of "ruling". He created a human city and then watched over that city using the Crystal Altar. However, he was sealed in an alternate dimension after many battles with various Flame Haze. Friagne, who discovered and took possession of the Crystal Altar then brought it with him to Misaki city. While one may be deceived that it looks like the city's replica, the Altar itself is actually shaped like a small bronze mirror, hidden inside Friagne's enormous pile of Treasure Tools.

The Crystal Altar was originally intended to be used with the Gehinnom, an enormous stone bowl found inside the Bal-Masque's headquarters filled with iron grain which moves to make quick, accurate replicas of the desired area nearby; but as the Altar is missing, it is normally seen containing the three weapons of the Trinity, who are none other than the closest subjects of the Snake of the Festival.

The facilities or organizations that support the activities of Flame Haze with finance, information, transportations, etc. They were merely hotels each with Treasures called Tessera, the regular dodecahedronal objects that conceal the presence of Flame Haze. Then a half-retired Flame Haze became the keeper to one of the Outlaw and made improvements, turning it into a place to trade information. The plan turned out successful after many years later as many other Outlaws had followed and thus the networks and connections were established throughout the world.

Light novels

Shakugan no Shana began as a light novel

Light novel

series written by Yashichiro Takahashi

Yashichiro Takahashi

with accompanying illustrations drawn by Noizi Ito

Noizi Ito

is a Japanese manga and game artist from Hyōgo, Japan. She is employed by the H-game maker UNiSONSHIFT and is a part of the circle Fujitsubo-Machine...

. The series includes 25 novels released between November 9, 2002 and October 10, 2011 published by ASCII Media Works

ASCII Media Works

under their Dengeki Bunko

Dengeki Bunko

imprint

Imprint

. They are numbered from I through XXII, along with volumes 0, S, and SII, which consist of short side stories. At Comic-Con

Comic-Con

2006, it was announced that Viz Media

VIZ Media

licensed the novels for the North American market. The first English language volume was translated by Yuki Yoshioka & Cindy H. Yamauchi and released on April 17, 2007. The second volume was translated by Yuki Yoshioka & Cindy H. Yamauchi with Mark Giambruno

Mark Giambruno

Mark Giambruno is a 3D artist, art director and writer. As an early employee of Mondo Media, he worked on many of their game projects and contract game cinematics. He also voiced the Lifty & Shifty characters for the popular internet show Happy Tree Friends, a role he now shares at times with Kenn...

and was released on October 16, 2007. Viz Media has not published any further volumes.

Manga

The first manga

Manga

, illustrated by Ayato Sasakura

Ayato Sasakura

, started serialization in ASCII Media Works

ASCII Media Works

' manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...

on February 1, 2005. The first tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

volume was released on October 27, 2005; as of January 27, 2011, nine volumes have been released. At Comic-Con 2006, it was announced that Viz Media licensed the manga for release in North America. Viz released the first volume of the manga (translated by Yuki Yoshioka & Cindy H. Yamauchi) on April 17, 2007. Later volumes were translated by Yumi Okamoto & Mark Giambruno

Mark Giambruno

. Six volumes have been released by Viz Media.

The second manga under the title Shakugan no Shana X Eternal song: Harukanaru Uta, by Shii Kiya, is based on the events of the tenth novel and began serialization in ASCII Media Works' manga magazine Dengeki Black Maoh on September 19, 2007. The first volume was released on January 27, 2009; the second volume was released on August 27, 2010.

Anime

An anime

Anime

version of Shakugan no Shana, directed by Takashi Watanabe

Takashi Watanabe

is a Japanese director. He is best known for directing the anime seies Boogiepop Phantom and Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Maō.-Director:*Boogiepop Phantom*Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Maō*Ikki Tousen*Kino's Journey Life Goes On...

, was aired in Japan between October 6, 2005 and March 23, 2006 containing 24 episodes. The anime was produced by the Japanese animation studio

Animation studio

An animation studio is a company producing animated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals of the media produced...

J.C.Staff

J.C.STAFF

. The series was licensed for North American distribution by Geneon

Geneon

is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...

, and the first DVD of the series was released on September 5, 2006. The DVDs were out of print indefinitely until July 3, 2008, as Geneon withdrew from the North American market. On July 3, 2008, Geneon and Funimation Entertainment

Funimation Entertainment

Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...

announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon will still retain the license, Funimation will assume exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles. Shakugan no Shana was one of several titles involved in the deal. Animax

Animax

is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...

began broadcasting the English version in South and Southeast Asia on July 1, 2009.

In addition to the first season, two mini omake

Omake

means extra in Japanese. Its primary meaning is general and widespread. It is used as an anime and manga fandom term to mean "extra or bonus". In USA, the term is most often used in a narrow sense by anime fans to describe special features on DVD releases: deleted scenes, interviews with the...

episodes depicting Shana super deformed

Super deformed

Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...

were released on two separate limited edition DVDs that were bundled with the first and fifth Japanese region 2 DVDs that was on sale on January 25 and May 25, 2006. Both episodes were included in the sixth English region 1 DVD that was released on July 3, 2007. A similarly themed episode featuring Hecate was released on a DVD bundled with the "All About Shakugan no Shana" book. Later, an original video animation

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

(OVA) was released on December 8, 2006. The events of the story takes place after the storyline of the first season's thirteenth episode.

A second season, under the title , was officially announced on May 30, 2007 and aired in Japan between October 5, 2007 and March 28, 2008, containing twenty-four episodes. In the Philippines, TV5

Associated Broadcasting Company

The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal...

was the first to telecast the second season in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

between November 10 and December 25, 2008. A four-episode OVA series titled Shakugan no Shana S was produced between October 23, 2009 and September 29, 2010. A third anime TV series titled began airing on October 8, 2011. At Anime Expo

Anime Expo

Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...

2010, Funimation announced that they licensed the second season of Shakugan no Shana along with the film and OVA series Shakugan no Shana S.

Film

An anime film was announced after the ending credits of the last episode of the first anime series. The movie was released in Japanese theaters on April 21, 2007 as one of the three movies released at Dengeki Bunko's Movie Festival. The movie is not a sequel to the anime, but is an adaptation of all the events in the first novel and contains events that were not in the anime series. The DVD was released on September 21, 2007 in two different editions, the special edition including the director's cut version, the original version and extra material, and the normal edition including only the director's cut version.

Music

Kow Otani was in charge of the music direction in the anime. Shakugan no Shana had two opening and ending themes. The first opening theme, "Hishoku no Sora" by Mami Kawada

Mami Kawada

is a J-pop singer who is currently signed to Geneon Entertainment Inc. She is also a member of the I've Sound who performs soundtracks for some eroge. Mami was usually paired up with co-I've member Kotoko when making soundtracks for anime...

, was used for the first sixteen episodes and the OVA. The second opening theme, "being" by Kotoko, ran the rest of the series to episode twenty-four. The first ending theme, "Yoake Umarekuru Shōjo" by Yoko Takahashi

Yoko Takahashi

is a Japanese singer from Tokyo, perhaps best known for performing , the opening theme song of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. She also performs the closing theme, an "acid bossa" version of "Fly Me to the Moon" and , the closing theme of Evangelion: Death and Rebirth...

, ran for the first fourteen episodes and the OVA. The last ending theme, "Aka no Seijaku" by Yoko Ishida

Yoko Ishida

is a Japanese singer, employed by Hyper Voice. She is known for having performed theme songs for anime shows such as Prétear, Ai Yori Aoshi and the Ah! My Goddess TV series, as well as for having sung for the Para Para Max CD series....

, was used between episodes fifteen and twenty-three. The last episode's ending theme was "Hishoku no Sora".

The first opening theme for the second season, Shakugan no Shana II, is "Joint" by Mami Kawada and ran from episodes one to fifteen. The single was released on October 31, 2007. The first ending theme for the second season is "Triangle" by Mami Kawada, which also ran for the first fifteen episodes. The second opening theme for the second season is "Blaze" by Kotoko, and the second ending theme is "Sociometry" by Kotoko. The third ending theme in episode twenty-four is "sense" by Mami Kawada.

The first opening theme for the third season, Shakugan no Shana Final, is "Light My Fire", which is sung by Kotoko, and written by Ryo of Supercell

Supercell (band)

Supercell is a Japanese 11-member music group led by composer and lyricist Ryo which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music group. Supercell started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted to the Nico Nico Douga video sharing website...

. The first ending theme of Shakugan no Shana Final is "I'll Believe" by Altima.

The Shakugan no Shana original soundtrack was first released on January 25, 2006 by Geneon

Geneon

. There have also been three other soundtracks called the Assorted Shana albums. Volumes I, II and III which were released on February 24, March 24 and April 21, all in 2006 respectively, were published by Geneon.

Video games

A video game named Shakugan no Shana for the PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

, developed by MediaWorks

MediaWorks (publisher)

was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...

, was released on March 23, 2006. An A4-sized book named spanning thirty-six pages that included illustrations by Noizi Ito was included in preorders of the game. The player takes on the character of Yuji Sakai in the game. The game plays out like a visual novel

Visual novel

A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...

but with the addition of a battle system and dating sim

Dating sim

Dating sims are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neoromance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic...

elements. Choices that are made throughout the course of the game determine which of the five endings the player gets upon completion of the game.

The PlayStation 2 game was ported to the Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

and released on March 29, 2007. Preorders of the DS game was eligible for receiving a calendar that spanned April 2007 to March 2008 and a collection of rough sketches named by Noizi Ito. The NDS version adds onto the PS2 version with the addition of an image gallery that allows the player to see what Shana and Yoshida Kazumi look like in different clothes and a battle mode that lets the player fight against the computer with a character other than Shana.

Shana appears as a playable character in the crossover RPG, Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus
Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus
is a Japanese action role-playing video game developed by Pegasus Japan and published by ASCII Media Works for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console, and was first released in Japan on March 19, 2009 in limited and regular editions. The game was produced in commemoration of the fifteenth...

for Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

and as a cameo costume for the main character to wear in Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman
Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman
Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman, known as in Japan, is a Roguelike video game for PlayStation Portable.-Reception:RPGLand.com praised its fresh take on the punishing Roguelike genre and gave it a rating of "Great," saying, "It takes a genre notorious for its crazy amount of deaths and...

for the PlayStation Portable

PlayStation Portable

The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

complete with her signature sword, 'Nietono no Shana', as a weapon.

Reception

**Reviews**
Reviewer	Score	Notes
Theron Martin	Overall (dub): B+ Overall (sub): B+ Story: B+ Animation: B Art: B+ Music: B+	Review of DVD Vol. 2 from the first season
Chris Beveridge	Content: B+ Audio: B+ Video: A Packaging: A− Menus: B+ Extras: B−	Review of Vol. 1 from the first season

Anime

Chris Beveridge of AnimeOnDVD.com notes that the first volume has "...forced me to take in the first four episodes two at a time because the morbid nature of it made me feel uncomfortable. Few shows can really do that...I'm looking forward to seeing more...". After having watched the other DVDs, Beveridge commented that while "...Shana isn't a groundbreaking show...", it "...has proven to be a real solid title and one that only gets better and better." The fourth volume did not prove favourable though since the pacing seemed off "[with] the arc from the previous volume ending so quickly on this volume and then going into a storyline that feels out of character for the show, the darker tones and serious nature don't feel quite so compelling."

Theron Martin from Anime News Network

Anime News Network

Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...

comments that "...Shakugan no Shana makes a habit of setting certain expectations...but always managing to at least slightly exceed those expectations." and that "[its] story elements may be typical, but its execution is not." On the technical front of the series, Martin observed that "Shana's Flame Haze transformation...is still the visual highlight, but other details...all show equal care, even if their effects are less obvious."

Manga

Theron Martin also reviewed the manga but did not seem all that impressed stating that "...by almost any reasonable standard, the inferior version of the two." Martin also notes that "The anime version also much more fully realizes some personalities than the manga version." and critiques the art in that "[the background] art never holds more detail than absolutely necessary...The action scenes are handled well enough, but still pale in comparison to their renditions in the anime version.". Martin concludes the review by warning the readers that "[if] this is your first exposure to the franchise, look to the anime version to see it done right."

Sales

Since the first novel's release on November 10, 2002, the novels have collectively sold over six million copies. The manga adaptation has sold over 1.2 million copies since the first volume hit shelves on October 27, 2005.

External links

Shakugan no Shana official website
Shakugan no Shana at ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
Shakugan no Shana film official website
Shakugan no Shana film website at Dengeki Bunko
Dengeki Bunko
is a publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works . It was established in June 1993 with the publication of Hyōryū Densetsu Crystania volume one, and is a light novel imprint aimed at a male audience...

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