Originally uploaded by silentlybroken_x
Shana of the Burning Eyes, or its Japanese name (and the one I refer to it as), Shakugan No Shana, is an anime series I completely randomly came across. I was introduced to anime properly last year, and have been watching Studio Ghibli anime ever since. However, I felt the need to branch out. A friend of mine linked me to a website, Anime Planet, and by chance, Shakugan No Shana was on the front page. It caught my eye and I quickly read the plotline (not too carefully, as I dislike spoilers).I then went to find the first episode to give it a try, and fell in love with the series after watching the first two episodes. I was amazed at the quality of the fansubs that came with it, and appreciated the time and effort that has been put into them, as they even go so far as to explain certain parts of the Japanese culture that come up.
For those of you wondering what Shakugan No Shana is about, it’s about certain people called Flame Haze that visit cities to fight the Tomogara (demons pretty much), that take humans’ “power of existence”. The Flame Haze ensure that “torches” are left behind of any humans that get eaten, so as not to destroy the natural balance of the world. I don’t wish to say too much more, as it is all in the series, and I really do not wish to spoil!
There is a movie spin off from the series, which many people say is just a recap of the first series, but I beg to differ. I found the movie delved in deeper, and put a new spin on the early episodes of the series. A certain part of the series is so much more sad in the movie, just by adding a song to it and it shone a new light onto that part. I do recommend the movie as I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I think I have now watched pretty much everything I can find for Shakugan No Shana (although I would be incredibly happy if there is anything I have missed!), and was thrilled to find that the second series, Shakugan No Shana Second, has just started over in Japan. I have only seen the first two episodes of this so far (as that is all that has shown at the moment), but already I have been blown away by the storyline and how brilliantly it has been done so far. I’m excited to see how this turns out, and desperate to get my “Shakugan No Shana fix”, so to speak!
If you would like to read about Shakugan No Shana, Anime Planet has some information, and the Shakugan No Shana wiki has some more as well, but does contain some spoilers so be wary! The english official Shakugan No Shana website can be found here.
As for a sum up of the series itself… The storyline is brilliantly executed, and along with stunning images (as you can see in the picture) and beautiful music to start and end, you can’t help but get addicted to this show. I have already managed to get another friend addicted! Please do give this series a try, it is stunning.
