Review of Shakugan no Shana: Season I
Shana and Shana II are both popular and have been around long enough that I don't really imagine I will garner a new audience for it through a review. However I myself want to write this, because Shakugan No Shana is, dare I say it, my personal favorite anime. Now, it is not the most stunning, awe inspiring series I have ever seen, however I think it is far from a stretch to say that Shana is the anime I have most enjoyed of all the series I have seen. It is the only series besides Air I can say I have watched three ormore times, and still love. In fact, I think I like Shana more every time I see it.
Story; 9. If it were an original script, this would be a ten; however, it does not take the brightest of bulbs to unravel the generic plot devices that make up Shakugan No Shana. It's a generic fantasy romance spanning the usual length, however the script was well written enough to keep you interested, and this was made better by the incredible cast of characters, whom I will detail later on. However, all said and done, Shana had a story that brought nothing new to the table, yet presented it's tried and true plot elements in a way that makes the show a good, fun lighthearted watch.
Art; 9. Surprisingly rare, Shana is one of few series where I cannot tell which characters will be killed at some point in the shows running. Surely some of you know what I mean, when side characters are introduced so quickly drawn, so generic and so boring, that they simply MUST be killed at some point. However, from main cast to side cast and even then a little further, all character designs, costumes and personalities were handled with care, and each character is ACTUALLY developed. Great art.
Sound; 9. Shana's sound is actually befitting, a number of themes are catchy enough to get stuck in the head yet not annoy. The OP and ED are generic, but not too poppy or annoying. Admissable, with a few surprises here and there.
Character; 9. Dare I say, Shana has the most properly developed cast of any anime out there. Remember the model detail I mentioned earlier? They carried this into the personalities, and the whole cast up and down feels like they could at any time fill a main role in the story if it chose to swing that way. They are all likeable in their own way, and I think this makes the whole show together a great experience. Nicely developed and modeled characters are one of Shana's biggest draws.
Enjoyment;Overall; 9. Shakugan No Shana, Shana II, and the soon coming Shana III are all the same generic plotline rehashed for us over and over again. I wish I could explain why I love Shana so much, why Alastor is such a bad, sweet dude, or why I keep coming back to something admittedly cheesy and overdone. But, I can't. At best I can say Shana is cheesy in all the good ways, spectacularly nice to look at, and most of all, fun. It's fun, so much fun that in fact I could probably see Shana 100 more times and still have that great chemistry with it I did the first time. Truly a wonderful show.