Director: Takashi Watanabe
Starring: Rie Kugimiya, Tabitha St. Germain, Satoshi Hino, Kristian Ayre, Ayako Kawasumi, Paul Dobson, Hitomi Nabatame, Alistair Abell, Kenji Nojima,
Running Time: 288 minutes
Certificate: 12
Extras: Episode 21 Commentary, Naze Nani Shana II, Shakugan No Shana-Tan Revenge, Textless Opening/Closing Songs,
SHANA explodes back onto the screen with an epic battle that concludes an arc from the last collection of episodes. The frantic and mesmerising battle, in terms of animation and emotional weight, means even naysayers should be enticed from the early moments. As it settles down we realise that not only has this half of the season upped the ante in terms of action, but also character development.
Shana, the main Flame Haze (goodies) of the series not only has to worry about the onslaught of denizens (the baddies) from overrunning Earth, but also about her feelings for Yuji. This romance, which is also a love triangle, could have easily trespassed over the supernatural plot elements, and been used as an emotional blackmail device to sentimentally add gravitas to the fight sequences. Luckily the two are kept separate for the majority of the series. The villains don’t seem too concerned with the love life of the heroes, which means individual character arcs can develop without an endless barrage of kidnappings.
The romance is handled with a subtle and believable tone, which extends to supporting characters as well. Tanaka (average school kid) is at odds with Margery (the Flame Haze he is a guide to), after she pretty much kills his love Ogata, all be it in a reality that can be undone. This encompasses one of the main themes which looks at how much personal sacrifice the characters are willing to give. Tanaka can’t be blamed for his anger, and when he enjoys watching Ogata in a volleyball match, we’re shown how even in such extreme worlds, characters can be affected by the smaller things in life.
Overall this is a great end to a series that had problems getting off the ground. There are vast improvements in the story as the perfect balance between action and drama is reached. There are still a few downers, such as Yuji’s training. Although necessary, the dialogue makes these sequences feel like mini-games on a Nintendo DS title. The expository speech also creeps into action sequences, which can sometimes bring excitement to a standstill. SHANA is certainly going places, but it still needs that something extra to stand out from the crowd.
Extras: The commentary from English language vocal director and two of the stars isn’t too informative and at one point goes off on a tangent discussing their own personal hobbies. This would be fine if we had more commentaries spread over the episodes, but as it is this is the only one. We do get some fun facts though. Once again we get the very short ‘Why? What? Shana!’ which has two characters discussing certain events, powers, and items in order to expand on the mythology. Some nice bits and pieces, but nothing to get too excited over.
SHANA SEASON 2 PART 2 is released on DVD 8th April 2013.
