Shakugan no Shana

Thanks to Zyl's egging and a piqued curiosity over the Aizen twins, I picked up Shakugan no Shana only to rapidly devour the series in a few seatings. While it doesn't break into my list of fav animes, Shana is certainly one of the most enjoyable series of late and one I sincerely hope to see a sequel.

Much can be attributed to Shana's success; refreshing premise, seifuku bishoujos, katana action, excellent pace, consistently strong visuals, engaging music just to name a few key aspects. But it was the characters that did it for me. Unlike many productions where character development is a byproduct or virtually an illegitimate child of story propogation, Shana is totally driven by her characters. The story is intriguing because it is mostly shaped by credible choices, a function of consistent character growth in the series. The sum of their interactions distills a compelling tale which kept me riveted and rooting for the key players. I absolutely loved the gradual reversal of mentalities as both Shana and Yuji struggled to grasp the duality of their existences and how their interactions culminated to a more intimate relationship and balanced self-identities at the end of the series.

The love triangle was also thoroughly entertaining. Earlier in the series, I actually typecasted Kazumi to be one of those bashful "...a-no..." girls who would not come within a mile of an attempt to snag Yuji. I was wrong. She displayed a lot more fortitude and tentacity which triggered Shana's own emotional growth. Yes, Kazumi's my favourite character in the series and it's a lot more than Kawasumi Ayako being her VA. Hecate and Wilhemina were also delightful characters whom I'm fond of despite their limited air time. Hoping to see more of them should a 2nd season materialise.

A cautionary note though. Shakugan no Shana does not close a fair number of storythreads. (It would appear that the source material itself is ongoing.) Nevertheless, I personally thought the finale to be satisfying as it ends strongly with the characters reaching important milestones in their relationship/self-realisation/life. And since Shana is all about the characters for me, there couldn't have been a better ending.

Chanting ceaselessly for a 2nd season.....

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