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It seems in recent years that - apart from Naruto, Bleach & Death Note - MVM are picking up all of the best licenses. Shakugan no Shana is a case in point, it's been extremely popular across the pond and is eagerly awaited by the fan community, and MVM have snapped it up. Shakugan no Shana follows Yuji Sakai, a typical Mr
Average schoolboy whose world is turned upside down when he is killed by
inter-dimensional demons. Stuff like that can really ruin your day...
For Yuji it's strangely not the end though, although he's trapped in a frozen
world at the mercy of the demons. Well, that's until they're thwarted by a
'flame haze', a mysterious sword wielding girl with burning hair and eyes.
She casually informs our hero that he's dead and that he's actually a 'torch', a
fake existence inserted into reality to fill the gap left when someone is
destroyed by the demons. The demons, called Denizens, feed not on life
energy but existences, and their attacks erase people from reality altogether.
The torches are used to smooth the effects of this on our world, replacing lost
existences until reality can adjust. The torch then fades, along with all
sign of the person's existence. Not only does poor Yuji learn that he only
has a limited time left, but also that he is a very special type of torch.
He is a Mystes, a torch with a strange power hidden within him. When he
fades this power can pass to someone else, so the Denizens target him so that they
can steal the power when his remaining time expires. Because of this the
flame haze, who Yuji names Shana, decides to stay near him to defeat the
Denizens and stop the power falling into the wrong hands. |
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The popularity of these kinds of supernatural action series is very high at the moment, and with plenty of fighting, weird monsters and some great animation it's easy to see why this one has been a hit. However, whilst on the surface Shakugan no Shana is similar to many other anime, it actually has a far more involved premise than many of its peers. The series is at pains to explain its concept to the audience, taking several episodes to establish its core ideas and flesh out its world. Whilst in principle this seems like a good idea, in practice |
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it means that you are initially chucked in at the deep end and then subjected to an overload of information for three episodes until the story really starts to kick in. Whilst many series will start slowly, revealing more and more about their concepts as they progress, Shakugan no Shana asks you to hit the ground running. Whether this proves to be a good or a bad thing remains to be
seen. Shakugan no Shana vol 1 is very much an introduction to the
characters and concepts and as such you are not given too much indication of how
the story will pan out. The characters aren't bad though. Yuji is a
great everyman character thrown into a world he doesn't know and asked to accept
things he doesn't understand. You probably learn more about him than the
other characters in this first volume, which is quite a good thing as he is the
lynchpin of the series. Shana is a typical cold and aloof supernatural
being, when Yuji meets her she doesn't even have a name and her actions are
guided by her talking pendant Alastor. She is focused entirely on her duty
and sees torches as objects rather than people, but - somewhat predictably - her
contact with Yuji begins to change her outlook and make her more open and
caring. However, it's interesting that there is a focus on her trying to
come to terms with her new feelings and sense of identity, and it hints that
there could be some depth to her character that will be explored later in the
series. And that's really the problem, everything is coming later in the
series. |
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This volume hints at better things to come, but doesn't really start to deliver on it until episode 4. The first three episodes are simply there to set the scene for what is to follow. This can be a bit frustrating as, although the story is pretty good and there is some poignant drama as Yuji tries to prevent a torch from disappearing, the series focuses too much on setting up its own framework. The action when it comes is pretty good, and the main villain in these first episodes is also suitably creepy, but it's only at the end of the volume that things get going. |
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Once it finishes familiarising you with the series' set up and gets down to the nitty-gritty of Denizen-hunting and flame-haze rivalries, Shakugan no Shana really comes into its own. The final episode contains a boatload of angst as Shana struggles with her feelings and tries to lose herself in battle, and we start to learn something about Yuji's mysterious powers. A new flame-haze arrives to shake things up and we learn that there is a far bigger foe to tackle than the one immediately threatening our heroes. It's when it starts acting like a proper supernatural action series that you can see why it is so popular. Unfortunately it feels like watching a band set up for half an hour then only play one song. Although everything is now set up for the series to move forward without too much distraction, in the context of this volume it means that you're getting three episodes of exposition and only one of actual story. Whilst there's nothing particularly wrong with the exposition itself or the series concepts, I do wonder why it couldn't be introduced more gradually. In the end this lets down a volume that shows flashes of brilliance but is cut short just as it starts to get into its stride. World building is fine, but, whilst I'm sure that the established concepts will help volume 2 be really good, Shakugan no Shana vol 1 could have been so much better. Extras: Surprisingly weak for the first volume of a new series. Trailers and clean opening and closing sequences, it feels like Samurai Champloo all over again... Ratings Feature:
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