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[[th:ชานะ นักรบเนตรอัคคี]]
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[[zh:灼眼的夏娜]]
[[zh:灼眼的夏娜]]


The characters of shakugan no shana:

Humans and Mystes

Yuji Sakai (坂井 悠二, Sakai Yūji?) (Mystes, Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (Japanese), Kristian Ayre (English)
Yuji, the main character of the story, is just an average high school student. However, his world is turned upside down when he discovers that he is already dead and does not have much time before he disappears. Fortunately, Yuji is a Mystes who contains a treasure known as the Reiji Maigo (零時迷子?, "Midnight Lost Child"). Unlike normal torches, the treasure inside him restores his Power of Existence every night at midnight.

With the Reiji Maigo, Yuji has the possibility to live on like an average human as long as he makes sure that his Power of Existence does not run out before midnight. Due to Reiji Maigo, no one is sure if Yuji will age like a regular human or be immortal as he is. Since Reiji Maigo restores his power of existence, Yuji is training to use that power in the hopes of fighting alongside Shana. In the second season of the anime, it is mentioned than Yuji's power of existence can rival that of a Lord of the Crimson Realm, in terms of quantity.

Even when Yuji was ignorant of the fact that he possessed the Reiji Maigo in the first episodes of the first season of Shakugan no Shana, Yuji develops a somewhat optimistic, yet ultimately fatalistic view of his life. Even when he believed he was slated to perish as a Torch, Yuji took the information in a stride after the initial shock, and did not seem too disturbed or melancholy with the idea that everyone would simply forget about him, accepting this. Rather, his acts of heroism, demonstrated often in the series, is justified by his belief that even if his existence would one day disappear, his sacrifice would be proof that he had once lived.

Although Yuji lacks of the training and discipline of a Flame Haze, he has demonstrated an admirable amount of intelligence and logic, often thinking outside the box and solving puzzles others can't (though it still stands for a fact that he is totally clueless to the fact that Shana loves him and is often jealous of any girls who get too close to him). While many Flame Hazes and Lords of the Crimson Realm would be deceived or confused by unconventional casting of magic, Yuji is able to quickly deduce and see through the ploy despite his unfamiliarity with many magical spells, enabling his allies, generally Shana, to strike at the heart of their opposition. Furthermore, by the start of the second season, Yuji's training has enabled him to foresee as well as dodge a good majority of attacks from skilled Flame Hazes such as Shana and Wilhelmina, and he has gained the ability to cast Power of Unrestraint. He also has the ability to wield Blutsauger and infusing it with some of his own power. He also can create his own fire, which is silver in color, to fire at targets.

Locked inside the Treasure are two entities. One is Johan, the lover of Pheles who created the Treasure. The other is "The Snake of the Festival" (祭礼の蛇, Sairei no Hebi?), the Crimson Lord with the black flame and silver shadow who is one of the true gods of the Crimson World and is the founder/true leader of the Bal Masque. He is later reborn and merged with Yuji, whom he honored by telling his subordinates to refer to him as "Sairei no Hebi" Yuji Sakai (「祭礼の蛇」坂井悠二, "Sairei no Hebi" Sakai Yūji?), unlike other Lords who used mythological names of angels, gods or demons. When Yuji first activates the Fuzetsu on his own, the presence of the silver flames indicates an omen to The Snake of the Festival's return into the world, for the silver flames were a tool created by the "God of Creation" (創造神, Sōzōshin?) himself to collect necessary elements in his revival. Later, Pheles' second attempt to free Johan causes the Bal Masque's god to awaken.

Yuji is a kind person who puts others before himself. This often draws much confusion and annoyance from Shana, as prior torches from Shana's experience exhibited selfish attitudes. Simultaneously, Yuji's compassion and empathy sow the seeds of attraction between him and Shana.

Upon Chigusa's pregnancy, it was revealed by Kantaro that Yuji actually had a twin brother who died at birth. Thus, in memory of the first baby and from the parents' wish, the second baby was given the name Yuji, which means "Second (child) who shall live long ".

By the end of the second season of the anime and in the sixteenth light novel, it is revealed that Yuji chose Shana over Kazumi. So, in conclusion of this in the sixteenth novel, he accepted the direct proposal to merge from the Snake himself within Yuji's own will. Later, employing his new powers which exceed even that of a Lord class, Yuji defeats Shana and kidnaps her away to the Seireiden. Heading towards another world, Yuji and a number of the Balle Masque managed to awaken Snake of the Festival's true form, taking an advantage in the war against the Flame Haze.

Kazumi Yoshida (吉田 一美, Yoshida Kazumi?)
Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Chantal Strand (English)
Kazumi is a fifteen-year-old girl and Yuji's classmate. She has a crush on him, but is a bit too shy to tell him directly. In the first season, she spends most of her screen time remaining ignorant of Shana's true nature and her actual relationship with Yuji. When Shana became her love-rival, she vowed to tell Yuji her feelings and to let him decide between her and Shana.

These state of affairs, however, changed after her chance meeting with Khamsin Nbh'w, a Flame Haze, who requested her assistance in his tuning of the distortions in the city. After revealing the truth of the world to her, Khamsin provided Kazumi an eyeglass which can detect Torches after he realized Kazumi was worried if Yuji was a Torch. Kazumi decided to test the eyeglass on Yuji during the Misago Festival, and was horrified to discover that Yuji was indeed a Torch. However, as the battle with Bal Masque raged on, Yuji revealed that, with the Reiji Maigo, he would not disappear, and Kazumi eventually accepted that near the end of the season.

Kazumi carries a small relic provided to her by Khamsin during their first meeting, permitting her to move within a Fuzetsu. Yuji became aware of this in the second season. Also, it is revealed that Pheles gave Kazumi a cross shaped hougu, which would summon Pheles if there was any trouble happening to Yuji/Johan. The setback was that it would take all of Kazumi's power of existence, if she used it. In the sixteenth volume of the light novels, Kazumi is currently in a state of shock after being rejected by Yuji.

Keisaku Satou (佐藤 啓作, Satō Keisaku?)
Voiced by: Kenji Nojima (Japanese), Brad Swaile (English)
Keisaku, a fifteen-year-old high school student, is Eita's friend and class-skipping companion. When Margery Daw came to Misaki City, she randomly chose Keisaku and Eita to be her guides to the city. When he and Eita found a Haridan, a magical map to the city that Friagne had been using until his demise, the two often acted as support. Being a member of a wealthy family and independent of his parents, his house becomes a place for Margery to stay. He and Eita like Margery, but he hides his feelings, although when betrayed by Margery, he displayed emotions even more powerful than Eita's. Keisaku has notably chose Yuji out as a rival, especially after he had learnt that Yuji was being trained by Flame Hazes, Shana and Wilhelmina. Though, after several events, he accepted the fact that he doesn't need to be like Yuji. Instead, he decided to study harder by changing school, so that he could someday work at the Outlaw to support Margery other than in combat. He is one of the characters with great alteration from novel to anime. He is more sociable and somewhat cheerful, and is friends with Yuji and Ike from the beginning of the story.

Eita Tanaka (田中 栄太, Tanaka Eita?)
Voiced by: Takayuki Kondō (Japanese), Alistair Abell (English)
Eita, a fifteen-year-old high school student, is a well-built classmate of Keisaku's. When Margery Daw came to Misaki City, she randomly chose the two to be her guides to the city. When he and Keisaku found a Haridan, a magical map to the city that Friagne had been using until his demise, the two often acted as support. He, as well as Keisaku, shows respect, admiration and affection towards Margery as an "ane-san" (respectable elder sister), but his feelings are more apparent than Keisaku's. However, he has shown some obvious affection towards Matake Ogata. Like Keisaku, he is friends with Yuji and Ike from the start in the novel. After an incident at school festival, Eita decided to keep his distance from the events concerning the Guze and part ways with Satou and Margery.

Chigusa Sakai (坂井 千草, Sakai Chigusa?)
Voiced by: Tomo Sakurai (Japanese), Lalainia Lindbjerg (English)
Chigusa is Yuji's mother. She can seem gentle but she is strong and very intelligent. Her husband, Kantaro, works outside the country. Chigusa remains ignorant of Shana and Yuji's true nature, but becomes a source of good advice for Shana on matters where Alastor can not counsel her. The Crimson Lord himself acknowledges and bows to her wisdom after a phone call between the two of them. Described as a woman who can accept anything, she seems to harbor absolutely no problems with Shana often visiting Yuji under the pretext of "training".

As Shana's affection for Yuji grows, she begins to seek out Chigusa more often for advice or help. Generally, this is in the form of asking her to teach Shana how to make a bento, as she is repeatedly jealous at Kazumi's ability to make Yuji a bento for lunch. Chigusa often coaches Shana through the steps, despite her obvious, if not dangerous, lack of progress. Chigusa may have bitten off more than she can chew when she attempted to teach Wilhelmina Carmel, an even more disastrous cook, which resulted in a rather large mess in the kitchen.

It has been implied that in recent volumes, she was seen pregnant. Also, Kantaro has referred to her past, when she seems to have been raised in an orphanage.

Hayato Ike (池 速人, Ike Hayato?)
Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (Japanese), Matthew Erickson (English)
Hayato, otherwise chiefly known as Ike, is a fifteen-year-old high school student and has been Yuji's friend since junior high school. He carries the title "Megane-man" ("Glasses Man"), or Four-Eyes in the English version. He is secretly fond of Kazumi Yoshida. However, as Yuji's loyal (and best) friend, he is the one who helps her to show her feelings toward Yuji. He often gives Kazumi advice. He rarely competes with Yuji for her affection, except one time when he invited Kazumi to help him with his student council meetings. Ike is notably intelligent and is often unavailable due to having to study or attending extra classes outside school. During the school festival, he was continually dragged away by Fujiota, a fellow council member. Ike is prone to motion-sickness, and turns pale at the sight of buses. He cannot ride roller-coasters, and even kid rides, although he made it through a Ferris wheel when he was in kindergarten.

Ike is notably more emotionally-aware than single-minded Yuji. While Yuji's desire to help just about any girl is admirable, he seems unaware that this is a source of heartache for many others, especially Shana and Kazumi, and it is generally up to Ike to point this out to Yuji. This caused a slight problem when it is revealed that Ike also has feelings for Kazumi. At the end of the first season, Ike decides not to hold back where Kazumi was concerned. He even invited her out on Christmas Eve and confessed that he loved her. Kazumi has not returned Ike's love yet.

Matake Ogata (緒方 真竹, Ogata Matake?)
Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese), Nicole Bouma (English)
Matake is Yuji's classmate. She is a strong-willed physically active girl, as well as a bit of a tomboy. She is very good at playing volleyball. She also has feelings for Eita, and worries about his well-being. She sometimes gets jealous of Marjorie Daw because of her closeness to Eita.

Kantaro Sakai (坂井 貫太郎, Sakai Kantarō?)
Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara
Kentaro is Yuji's father. He first made his appearance in volume nine of the light novels. He usually resides outside Japan, but enjoys making sudden visits to the Sakai household, surprising his family. Despite his skinny figure, his athletic senses are good enough to retaliate a flying kick from Shana without scratch, who was mistaken that he was an enemy (although this particular defense was just a lucky one). His tailing and investigation skills are first-class, so good that even Shana couldn't follow him. During on a plot to save Yuji from being destroyed by Wilhelmina in the novels, he tricks the latter with clever timed exchanges of borrowed mascot suits. He eats an astonishing amount of food, and his eating method is just as absurd.

Yukari Hirai (平井 ゆかり, Hirai Yukari?)
Voiced by: Masumi Asano (Japanese), Ashleigh Ball (English)
Yukari was Yuji's classmate. She has dark-colorred hair which has two small ponytails tied up from it. She has a very upbeat personality, and is kind and quick to help others out, but is very melancholy and silent when she is a Torch. In the anime, she loved Hayato Ike (in the novel, it is suggested that she had a crush on Yuji instead), but she dies when a Rinne appears on her way home. Shana makes a Torch of Yukari that same day. Unfortunately, her flame burns out on the next day and she disappears as a result. Before she went, Yuji attempted to give her the best last day of her life, and persuaded Ike to hang out with her. They took a photo together, but Yukari's image fades out when her flame burns out. Her last moment in her life was when she sat on a hill watching the sunset, her favorite view. The fading of her existence teaches Yuji some very valuable lessons about both the world around him, and his own inability to affect it. Shana uses the remains of Yukari's existence to shift the perception of other's identification of Yukari Hirai to herself (others recognize her as Yukari Hirai, as if Shana had been so all along).

Tenmoku Ikko (天目 一個?, "The One Celestial Eye") (Mystes)
Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese), Mark Gibbon (English)
Tenmoku Ikko is a Mystes known as "the worst Mystes in history" or "monster torch", he is a huge man wearing samurai armor and one-eyed Oni mask. Tenmoku Ikko was an ancient swordsmith who became Mystes on his own will so that he could find the strongest being worthy of entrusting the treasure Nietono no Shana, the greatest sword that he ever forged with the aid of a Crimson Lord, who had shared a wish to create a weapon paralleled by none. Tenmoku Ikko ironically reverses the usual order of things by consuming a Crimson Denizen, possibly to empower himself - or simply to end an annoying interference with Tenmoku Ikko's desire to face 'a strong one'. After Shana defeats him with a daring attack, she receives the Nietono no Shana.

Johan (ヨーハン, Yōhan?) (Mystes)
Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga
The former Mystes of the Reiji Maigo. While he was an infant, Pheles murdered his father who tried to sacrifice Johan for a useless Power of Unrestraint to gain eternal youth. Pheles fled with Johan from his home and wandered the world together since. As she raised Johan, Pheles had expected his heart to become corrupted in the same manner as his father when she fulfilled his wishes and desires. It seemed by chance that when Johan reached a later age, he asked for one thing that caught Pheles off guard: herself, an indication that Johan had fallen in love with Pheles. Upon the beginnings of the Appointed Couple, the Reiji Maigo was created to ensure eternal life to Johan and Pheles ceased consuming humans. After his rebirth as a Mystes, he trained himself and became a powerful master of Power of Unrestraint, enhanced with his ability to sense the power of existence.

[edit] Flame Hazes and Lords of the Crimson Realm

Shana (シャナ?) / "Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter" (「炎髪灼眼の討ち手」, "Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite"?) (Flame Haze)
Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese), Tabitha St. Germain (English)
Shana is the female lead of the show and a Flame Haze. She was formerly human (but as stated in the novels and manga, that once a human makes a contract with a crimson lord, they become a Flame Haze and live forever). Initially she is concentrated solely on her duty as a Flame Haze, going as far as to not bearing even a name. She sees Yuji only as a Torch, an object, marginally interesting because of his status as a Mystes. Yuji, in his need to humanize her, chose to name her "Shana" after her katana. However, she slowly opens up to Yuji, coming to think of him as a person, despite being a Torch, and eventually comes to love him. Until she met Yuji, she was identified by only her Flame Haze title "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter," or her nodachi, Nietono no Shana (贄殿遮那?, "Vairocana of the Offering Room"). Shana has a habit of saying "Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!" ("Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!") whenever Yuji asks her questions or makes remarks that disturb her original worldview or embarrass her. But in reality they really care for each other. She has a great fondness for sweets, especially melon bread. Shana is shown to be highly intelligent in the series, she has gotten a perfect score on every exam and is talented in Phys. Ed. She is shown, however, to be naive when it comes to social affairs, once even unabashfully asking "how babies are made".

Shana is clearly a powerful and talented Flame Haze, known and feared by most Tomogara by title alone. This has allowed her to defeat many powerful Tomogara along the plot, and permits her many different abilities, including her proficiency with the Nietono no Shana, the ability to wield flame, manipulate the power of existence, harbor extrasensory traits, and fly with wings of flame. In the third volume of the manga, the first volume of the visual novel, and the movie, Alastor states that the reason why she did not explode after being shot by Friagne's Trigger Happy was because she held a capacity that existed in dimensional space, who was able to contain the Flame of Heaven's and has thus stated her as "The Great One". Her duty initially made her indifferent towards human life, but through Yuji's influence, Shana has opened up slightly, although she still remains confused and disgruntled by some human traits which she considers as pointless, although some of it is used to mask her jealousy of her desired monopoly on Yuji.

Despite being the title character of the anime, Shana has few character relations with many of the characters in the show. Her main social interest is Yuji, whom she sees as her love interest, although she never admits it (except once at the end of season one). Her relationship with Yuji is one of the driving forces of the series. Shana takes orders and advice from the Crimson Lord she is bond to, Alastor, and has a mentor and guardian in the form of Wilhelmina Carmel. Kazumi Yoshida is her love-rival for Yuji, and Shana treats her with contempt and disdain. She generally treats most other characters with ignorance and indifference, with the exception of Chigusa Sakai, who she looks to as a source in answering certain difficulties when Alastor or Wilhelmina are unable to do so. Shana eventually starts to be more open to the other characters, especially in regards to her relationship with Kazumi becoming more friendly.

In volume sixteen of the light novels, Shana is defeated by Yuji and currently kidnapped to Seireiden. However, by volume seventeen, Shana manages to regain her powers before she and a number of other Flame Hazes pursue Snake of the Festival Yuji in volume nineteen.

Alastor (アラストール, Arasutōru?) / "Flame of Heavens" (「天壌の劫火」, "Tenjō no Gōka"?) (Lord of the Crimson Realm)
Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (Japanese), Paul Dobson (English)
Alastor is the Lord of the Crimson Realm to whom Shana is bound. He expresses his will through a divine vessel called the Cocytus, which (in Shana's case) takes the form of a pendant. Alastor is considered to be one of the strongest of all Lords or Denizens; in fact being one of the true Gods of the Crimson Realm. But even so, he tries to keep the Denizens from consuming Power of Existence. Unlike other lords that have a Flame Haze, his contractor can perform a method called Heaven Destruction Earth Break (天破壌砕, Tenpa Jyōsai?), which requires a lot of Power of Existence and will manifest his being as the God of Atonement (天罰神, Tenbatsushin?) in the form of a giant minotaur to the world to consume all Denizens around him. This method is his Flame Haze's last resort, as prior to Shana, no Flame Haze had survived after using it. Alastor and Shana seem to have a parent-child dynamic at first, but Alastor is aware that Shana must grow up and may be trying to adapt.

Margery Daw (マージョリー・ドー, Mājorī Dō?) / "Interpreter of Condolence" (「弔詞の詠み手」, "Chōshi no Yomite"?) (Flame Haze)
Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese), Janyse Jaud (English)
Margery is a tall, "well-endowed" and mature blond Flame Haze with a drinking habit. She uses the book Grimoire, which is the divine vessel through which Marchosias, to whom she is bound, expresses his will. Her specialty seems to be Power of Unrestraint, and her main powers focus around chanting spells and turning into a werewolf. She casts spells by chanting an "Improvisational Poem of Slaughter" (屠殺の即興詩, Tosatsu no Sokkyōshi?). Eita and Keisaku look up to her because she saved their lives once. Her reason for becoming a Flame Haze is to get revenge on a Denizen with a silver-colored flame (who is somehow linked to the Reiji Maigo within Yuji). Even before her installation as a Flame Haze, she lived only for vengeance. She was once a daughter of a landlord in medieval time, but after countless betrayals, her father was killed and she had ended up in a brothel. She gained a chance to avenge for her misery and humiliation on her enemies, only to see them be destroyed by the Silver. Her fury from being stolen of the last reason to live had attracted the attention of Marchosias. In the anime, Margery's focus shifts from fighting simply to eradicate Crimson Denizens to fighting to protect the Balance. She notes her fighting skills are no less for the shift in focus. In the light novels, Margery would not only face the Silver in an unsuccessful battle, but would later realize that the Silver had been acting on her wish for revenge in her life of misery prior to becoming a Flame Haze before she nearly got killed by Snake of the Festival Sakai Yuji. Margery eventually recovers when Keisaku kisses and confesses his love for her, giving a new meaning to live forward before kissing Keisaku back in return.

Marchosias (マルコシアス, Marukoshiasu?) / "Fangs of Devastation" (「蹂躙の爪牙」, "Jūrin no Sōga"?) (Lord of the Crimson Realm)
Voiced by: Mitsuo Iwata (Japanese), Trevor Devall (English)
Marchosias is the Crimson Lord to whom Margery Daw is bound. He expresses his will through the divine vessel Grimoire, which takes the form of a book. He talks wildly, makes comments without remorse, and often teases Margery, often earning a retaliatory punch. He does genuinely care about her, however, perhaps not in the form of friendship but as a companion in battle. The dynamic of their relationship is quite different than that between Shana and Alastor; Marchosias will serve as Margery's vehicle from time to time and occasionally suffers physical abuse at her hands, but they seem to be equals in their quest. In the anime, Marchosias craves battle more than protecting the balance. He has an 'ultimate attack' called the "Flame of Illusion", which summons a dragon-like form around his Flame Haze instead of the usual werewolf form; this shape is powerful enough to cause damage that can pierce a Timestop Seal. In the anime, when Margery temporarily sinks into apathy, Marchosias displays at least a measure of wisdom and understanding for her plight. Nevertheless, he is quick to re-ignite Margery's spark so they may continue their battle against the Denizens and is not above using trickery to do so.

Wirhelmina Carmel (ヴィルヘルミナ・カルメル, Viruherumina Karumeru?) / "Manipulator of Ten Thousand Ribbons" (「万条の仕手」, "Banjō no Shite"?) ("Specialist of Everything" in the English anime) (Flame Haze)
Voiced by: Shizuka Ito (Japanese), Anna Cummer (English)
Wilhelmina (spelled Wirhelmina in the Anime translation by Geneon) is a young lady that wears a maid's uniform all the time. She is bound to Tiamat, whose will resides in the divine vessel Persona, which shifts forms between a headband, and a mask when in battle. During the great war, Persona's shape was a tiara. Her title's meaning is like the term for a player (in chess) who can predict moves far ahead.

She is one of the great Flame Haze from the age of the great war, fighting alongside her friend, Mathilde Saint-Omer (the previous "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter"). Together, they are like the counterpart of the "Pair of Wings" combination between the Crimson Denizens Merihim and Illuyankas. Her ability is the power to control an infinite number of ribbons which appear from around her. Wirhelmina, who always speaks in an overly formal and polite manner, has nearly no expression. She's very skillful in many things, like singing and house chores, and is the one who took care of Shana during the girl's training at Tendōkyū. Cooking, however, is one of her weaknesses; this was made even more evident in the second season, after her attempts at cooking crashed Chigusa's kitchen.

Wirhelmina dislikes Yuji as an overprotective mother might dislike her daughter's boyfriend, and constantly refers to him as "the Mystes", though later on, she occasionally refers to him by his proper name. This is possibly due to Wirhelmina's own desire to gain Shana's affections. She has, in the anime, advocated killing him so as to keep the Reiji Maigo out of the hands of the Bal Masqué and had to be stopped from performing the deed herself twice by Shana. In the anime's second season, Wirhelmina has begun to, more or less, accept Yuji's presence, if not his influence on Shana, and, on Shana's request, becomes Yuji's training partner when Shana is otherwise not available.

In the light novels, Yuji retaliates and nearly kills Wirhelmina with the Blutsauger in a wild rage, for she tried to make Shana give up on Yuji by force. At this moment, Tiamat called her partner "Princess!" implying that Wirhelmina was born to a Royal family. Wirhelmina always uses de arimasu, the uncontracted form of desu normally seen only in writing, to end her sentences.

Tiamat (ティアマトー, Tiamatō?) / "Tiara of Dreams and Illusions" (「夢幻の冠帯」, "Mugen no Kantai"?) (Lord of the Crimson Realm)
Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Lisa Ann Beley (English)
Tiamat is the female Crimson Lord to whom Wilhelmina is bound. She is described by her own Flame Haze as a most unsociable entity; she is taciturn and to the point, saying nothing more than what is necessary, usually in a monotone, betraying no emotion regardless of the situation. In the novels, her lines are almost always written in four kanji letters (yojijukugo), with no hiragana or katakana.

Khamsin Nbh'w (カムシン・ネブハーウ, Kamushin Nebuhāu?) / "Mobilizer of Ceremonial Equipment" (「儀装の駆り手」, "Gisō no Karite"?) (Flame Haze)
Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese), Cathy Weseluck (English)
Khamsin is the Flame Haze contracted to Behemoth. While he is one of the oldest Flame Haze in history, perhaps even thousands of years old, he bears the appearance like a ten-year-old Middle-Eastern boy. Although a Flame Haze, Khamsin's primary function is not that of defeating Tomogara, but acting as a tuner, dispelling the distortion caused by battles between the Flame Haze and Tomogara. Despite this, Khamsin also has combat capability, and has the ability to create and move stone golem-like creatures and control stones. He is very powerful, but is more famous for his accuracy, or lack thereof, in his attacks. In the anime, Khamsin and Behemoth are collectively labeled 'the geezers' by Margery Daw. Tellingly, the once battle-happy Flame Haze expressed some uneasiness and reluctance for the notion that they might join in battle against the Crimson Denizens. He was formerly a prince who had dreamed of becoming a great warrior, but when he became a Flame Haze to fend off the Denizen, he was forgotten by everyone as the price for the contract.

Behemoth (ベヘモット, Behemotto?) / "Steadfast Sharp Peak" (「不抜の尖嶺」, "Fubatsu no Senrei"?) (Lord of the Crimson Realm)
Voiced by: Katsuhisa Houki (Japanese), Colin Murdock (English)
Behemoth is the Crimson Lord whose will resides in the bracelet Khamsin wears. He speaks like an old man. With his Flame Haze, his mission seems not to be the protection the balance of worlds through hunting the Denizens, but instead by re-tuning places where the distortion is too great, such as Misaki city, where Friagne had created so many Torches in his preparation for the City Devourer.

Yuri Chvojka (ユーリイ・フヴォイカ, Yurī Fuvoika?) / "Leader of Spirits" (「魑勢の牽き手」, "Chisei no Hikite"?) (Flame Haze)
Voiced by: Yūko Sanpei
Yuri is an inexperienced sixteen-year-old Flame Haze boy, who wore an unnecessary pair of eyeglasses. He has power to control small animals and insects as a messengers, spies, and measurement, or wrap himself inside them and fly like cannonball. He was a Ukrainian immigrant, whose ship was attacked by one of the Krakens (sea-bound Denizens) during the voyage to America. Near his death he made the contract with Valac and defeated the denizen, but failed to save his family and other passengers. After reaching America, he worked under East Edge. Since he completed his vengeance so quickly, he could not develop the hatred or passion vital for the cause of Flame Haze and he lacked the coolness and rationality needed for survival. He even wished to protect people with his own life, which other Flame Hazes had thought of this idea dangerous, especially East Edge who had forbidden him to engage in combat with enemies.

He met Margery, who had her first contact with Annaberg and Sydonay, and wished to assist her, but was rejected. Still, he jumped into the battle, saving Margery and had successfully defeated Annaberg. With little energy left, he tried to fight Sydonay, but took a fatal blow instead, and caught in the crossfire between him and Margery, Yuri perished.

Valac (ウァラク, Waraku?) / "President of Reptiles" (「虺蜴の帥」, "Kieki no Sui"?) (Lord of the Crimson Realm)
Voiced by: Kotomi Yamakawa
Valac is the Crimson Lord who expresses her will through the knife-like vessel Goverla. She speaks rather wearily, yet she looks after her partner Yuri with kindness. She had many partners before Yuri, whom many of them were powerful but suicidal avengers that none had stayed alive too long.

East Edge (イーストエッジ, Īsuto Ejji?) / "Summoner of Star River" (「星河の喚び手」, "Seiga no Yobite"?) (Flame Haze)
Voiced by: Kenji Nomura
East Edge is the Native-American Flame Haze who runs the Outlaw disguised as a news agency in New York and took care of Yuri. He despises the term "New World" named by Europeans. He is one of the four powerful Flame Haze called "The Four Gods of Earth", who had protected the continent for centuries. In nineteenth century, the Four Gods and their comrades had plotted to destroy the government of the United States to liberate their fellow natives who had suffered from the invasion of white people. Many Flame Haze stood up to stop the plot, leading to a civil war between two groups of Flame Haze's, but this cost dearly as the balance of the world had collapsed and the Denizens wreaked havoc as they pleased. The Four Gods had no choice but to abandon the plan, along with the passion to protect the world that expanded by sacrificing their fellow people and the great earth. With a suggestion from a tuner, they each became the keeper of the four Outlaws in four major cities of the North and South America.

Quetzalcóatl (ケツアルコアトル, Ketsuarukoatoru?) / "Windy Echo of Enlightenment" (「啓導の籟」, "Keidō no Fue"?) (Lord of the Crimson Realm)
Voiced by: Kan Tanaka
Quetzalcóatl is the Crimson Lord who is contracted to East Edge. He speaks through an engraved stone medallion with short, but deep and heavy voice. During the "civil war", he had agreed to the destruction of the U.S.A. along with his partner.

[edit] Rinne and Denizens of the Crimson Realm

Friagne / Kariudo (「狩人」フリアグネ?, "The Hunter") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe (Japanese), Trevor Devall (English)
Friagne, also known as "Flame Haze Murderer", takes his name's meaning as his hobby, "treasure hunter". He is a powerful Tomogara arrayed in robes of untarnishable white. Unlike other Tomogara, he doesn't associate with the organizations like Bal Masqué. He has very intimate relationship with his favorite doll, Marianne. He came to Misaki City to perform a notorious Power of Unrestraint "City Devourer" to gain the power of existence enough to make Marianne a fully independent being, instead of a Rinne which needs to depend on its master just to exist. He has a vast collection of Treasure Items (powerful tools or implements contained within Mystes), pictured as mountain of treasure in an extra story in Guren (Itou Noizi artbook), of which all are useless. This is also the reason for his having the largest collection of hougu: most are not the highly sought battle-use Hougu. He later meets his end at the hands of Shana. In all media except for TV anime, he was incinerated by the wrath of Alastor, who had materialized when the enraged Friagne shot Shana with the Triggerhappy which couldn't destroy her body like it did with many other Flame Hazes.

Marianne (マリアンヌ?) (Rinne)
Voiced by: Kimiko Koyama (Japanese), Nicole Bouma (English)
Marianne is one of Friagne's Rinne servants. Friagne seems to treasure her a bit more than is healthy for him. She usually takes the form of a doll. In order to buy time to complete the sequence of the "City Devourer", she fought Shana and exploded for the love of her master.

Rammie / Shikabane Hiroi/Rasen no Fūkin (「屍拾い」/「螺旋の風琴」ラミー?, "Corpse Retriever" / "The Spiral Organ") (Crimson Denizen)
Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa (Japanese), Ron Halder (English)
Rammie is the Torch of an old man under the control of a Crimson Denizen as means to travel in secrecy. Rammie collects the Power of Existence from torches on the verge of flickering out and is a rare one among Denizens due to respecting the balance and does not simply feed on people. As the nickname 'Corpse Retriever' indicates, he only draws power from torches that would perish any moment anyway. Rammie is a master wizard, renowned for past feats of creating the most prominent Power of Unrestraint (Jizai Hou), including the Seal itself. He is an old acquaintance of Alastor, but does not take part in battles.

The name of the female Crimson Denizen residing within Rammie is "Rasen no Fuukin (The Spiral Organ)"; in the past, she used the name Leanan-sidhe, and assumed the form of a young girl who fell in love with a human painter, who unfortunately caught her consuming humans one day, a possible reason that made her stop eating humans later on. She was captured and imprisoned by a Crimson Lord for so many years that upon being released, she found out that the painter, who still loved her, had died of old age. He had drawn a picture of the Spiral Organ but it had been damaged beyond repair, so now she seeks to gather enough power of existence to hopefully one day activate a Power of Unrestraint that would restore the painting.

Sorath / Aizenji (「愛染自」ソラト?, "He who Loves Himself") (Crimson Denizen)
Voiced by: Ryoko Shiraishi (Japanese), Aidan Drummond (English)
Sorath is an extravagant occidental looking boy with a beautiful hair, continuously perplexed despite being Tiriel's elder brother, and is subject to the passion and whims of his younger sister. With the "Butsuyoku" (an arms type hougu) he uses "the olfactory sense of desire" to seek powers of existence. He is armed with a sword called "Blutsauger" (German for "blood drinker"), which is capable of damaging anything that it touches if a user channels power of existence into it. He is obsessed with, and is searching for the "Nietono no Shana" (Shana's Sword). His obsession with the sword proved to be his undoing in the end.

Tiriel / Aizenta (「愛染他」ティリエル?, "Engulfed in Love for Others") (Crimson Denizen)
Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (Japanese), Jocelyne Loewen (English)
Tiriel is Sorath's younger sister. Though being the younger one, she thinks and acts in a much more mature way and teaches everything to her almost will-less brother. Their relationship is most likely incestuous; Tiriel has stated that her only goal in life is to fulfill every desire of her 'onii-sama' and to protect him. She will do so without regrets, even if it means sacrificing her power of existence, or even her own life. But she is also a very jealous girl, strangling Sorath near death when he had spoken of names of other females, such as "Hecate". She can use a Power of Unrestraint called "Cradle Garden" with the aid of a Treasure Tool, which alters a Seal so its area becomes an advantage to the siblings. Shana was disgusted with their way of expressing love, yet she was greatly moved by Tiriel's self-sacrifice, learning from her the "Uncontrollable feeling".

Merihim a.k.a Shiro / Niji no Tsubasa (「虹の翼」メリヒム?, "Rainbow Wings") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese), Brian Drummond (English)
Merihim is one of the nine lords that gathered under Toten Glocke (とむらいの鐘, Tomurai no Kane?), the greatest Denizen organization before Bal-Masque founded and lead by the late Lord "Hitugi no Orite" (「棺の織手」?, "Weaver of Coffin") Asiz. Merihim and the dragon shaped Lord "Kōtetsuryū" (甲鉄竜?, "Iron shell dragon") Illuyanka were feared as the "Pair of Wings", being the most powerful subordinates of Asiz. It was then when he gained the title Niji no Kenshi (虹の剣士?, "Rainbow Swordsman"). Wilhelmina loves him, but Merihim is crazily in love with Mathilde, who in turn, loved Alastor. To fulfill his promise to the woman he loved, he changed shape into the skeleton Shana knew as Shiro and trained the next successor of "Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite" title. His promise is his only motivation, however.

Dantalion / Tantankyūkyū Dantarion (「探耽求究」ダンタリオン?, "Seeking Researcher") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (Japanese), Michael Dobson (English)
Dantalion is a stereotypical mad scientist. Dantalion is not liked, even hated by most Denizens, even among the Bal Masque, because he would do research on their own people　and also being responsible for an experiment which created some of the powerful Flame Hazes. Among the Trinity, Bel Peol does not like or trust him and Sydonay hates him, but somehow Hecate seems close to him, even calling him "ojisama" (the greeting toward uncles or respectable seniors) and protected him most of the time from getting into trouble with the higher-ups. He doesn't care who he works with, Denizens, humans, or even Flame Hazes, as long as if it's necessary to do whatever that he's interested in, even ruining them at the end is an option. He created a lot of gadgets, from creatures like the "Rinne" Cantate Domino 28 (a parody of Tetsujin 28) to huge steam locomotive. He's also notorious for conducting meaningless experiments, for the sake of conducting experiments, which in the end serves no actual useful purpose but to cause exaggerated alert to others. He hates shiitake mushroom, but he hates Bel Peol and a Flame Haze "Puppeteer of Devilish Skills" Sale Habichtsburg more.

Pheles / Saihyō Firesu (「彩飄」フィレス?, "Beautiful Whim") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Marina Inoue
Once a trickster who toyed with the life of a mad alchemist, Pheles is a lord who fell in love with a human, Johan the alchemist's son. In order to stay with him forever, they created the most precious treasure in Guze, a Treasure that can grant eternity to the Mystes bearing it: the Reiji Maigo. Due to the Reiji Maigo, she doesn't need to consume other humans' power of existence; she can get enough to survive from Johan without him being in danger of disappearing. Due to a fight against the Bal Masque's assassin Sabrac that severely wounded Johan, she sealed her lover into the Reiji Maigo. She was unaware that Sabrac had also placed the Silver into the Hougu simultaneously. The Reiji Maigo was then lost, so now she searches for him everywhere with a Power of Unrestraint “The Wheel of Wind” (Kaze no Tenrin), a guiding beacon that becomes a duplicate of her own when the target is found. Johan commandeers Yuji's body to persuade her from sacrificing the current Mystes to bring him back and Pheles agrees to her lover's wish before leaving for parts unknown. Before she left, Pheles gives Yoshida a cross Hougu called the Giralda.

She is friends with Wilhelmina who once she had saved from the trap set by the Denizen Lord Sabrac. She does not appear in the first season of the anime but appears in the second season around the end of episode twelve amid her search for the Reiji Maigo. She tries to free Johan the first time, only to be interrupted by Margery's berserk rage as well as the coordinated actions of Wilhelmina and Shana. The second time Pheles tried to free Johan from within the Reiji Maigo, she gets impaled by the Silver's arm, thus unwittingly calling forth Fecor, Konoe, and Hecate.

Mare / Gisuikyō Mea (「戯睡郷」メア?, "Village of Jestful Slumber") (Crimson Denizen)
Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi
Mare is the antagonist in the Shakugan no Shana Playstation 2 game. Mare also appears in the second season of the anime, where she uses a hougu to place Yuji into a "transient yet eternal" dream world where he relives events from his past as if they were happening all over again.

Annaberg / Sentetsu no Hora Anaberugu (「穿徹の洞」アナベルグ?, "Completely Piercing Cavern") (Crimson Denizen)
Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono
Annaberg is a Denizen who is fascinated by human civilization and creations, yet is bent on destroying them in order to accelerate the speed of evolution. He has unique appearance as his head is a round pressure gauge and his fingers are like a poking stick, and he wears a trenchcoat and a soft hat. He can create steam from his sleeves, which conceals one's presence or the power of existence, though this skill can backfire on himself allowing his enemy to make a surprise attack.
He appeared in New York in 1930's, with Sydonay as his bodyguard, planning to destroy the Empire State Building, but was stopped by Margery and defeated by Yuri.

Sabrac / Kaijin Saburaku (壊刃」サブラク?, "Destructive Blade") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda
Sabrac is a powerful Crimson Lord who was victorious in numerous battles against the Flame Haze. He is literally an assassin, for he is usually seen receiving requests to kill a certain target of interest; his heavily armored, face-covered, and leather-bandaged outward looks also add to the fact. He likes to make long fancy-talk speeches, and while he is seen dissatisfied many times, it is hard to see him in a wrath. His hobby is collecting bladed weapons from swords to katanas whether they are Treasure Tools or not, and he actively used them in fights. He and Dantalion loathe each other, for the latter transfigured Sabrac's Treasure blade Hystorix into a blade-spinning drill-like contraption without permission, and the blade's owner badly insulted the mad scientist for this.
During combat, his first strike is notorious for its insensibility even to the most sensitive Flame Haze nor Denizen, and that it can be cast at an unlimited number of targets with each strike at maximum power. His Power of Unrestraint, the Stigma, causes all wounds he inflicts to increase in size over time. This spell built for battle is fatal for most targets, and even if he/she might be strong, the target's fate is unsure, and even if have survived, the piling amount of wounds will eventually bring Sabrac his victory.
Sabrac is actually an unbalanced Lord with a ridiculously gigantic body, yet with the range of sight, hearing, and other senses only as much as human. He hides his body by blending into the area he has chosen for battlefield, enabling him to launch a surprise attack without being detected. The humanoid Sabrac that appears after the first strike does possess the very mind of Sabrac, though it is almost invulnerable because it is only a figure created from small part of his body. As such, it can near infinitely endure or recover from any damage.
Hired by Bal Masqué, he hunted down the Engage Link and casted a part of "Psalm of Grand Order" into Reiji Maigo. He was again hired by Bel Peol and went to Misaki City, badly wounding the Flame Hazes by surprise attack and sets another part of the "Psalm" into Yuji. But his arrogance had let Wilhelmina succeed in curing the Stigma, and Yuji to speculate Sabrac's secret and comes up with a plan to defeat him by ripping the figure along with few city blocks away from the true body, therefore cutting off his power of recovery and his retreat. By the teamwork of Flame Hazes, Sabrac was defeated, but he managed to escape to Seireiden with the power of Gordian Knot. Later, Sabrac is shown speaking with Bel Peol and announcing that he no longer has a reason to have his base at Seireiden. In volume nineteen, Sabrac gets devoured by Snake of the Festival.

[edit] Bal Masqué

An organization of Denizens who moved into the human world several millennia ago under the Grand Master and the God of Creation, the Sairei no Hebi (｢祭礼の蛇」?, "Snake of Festival"). After his defeat by Flame Hazes, it is currently led by three powerful figures called the Trinity. Since then, the Bal Masqué stayed low and became an organization to support Denizens, like Outlaw does with Flame Hazes. Their goal is to accomplish the "Grand Order", of which the details are yet unknown, and the Power of Unrestraint called the "Psalm of Grand Order" and Reiji Maigo, which resides in Yuji, are the keys vital to their plot. The subordinate members of Bal Masqué are largely classified into three types of functions; the combatants called Wanderers, the trackers and scouts called Jaegers, and the messengers called Heralds.

Sydonay / Senpen Shudonai (「千変」シュドナイ?, "Thousand Change") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (Japanese), Eli Gabay (English)
Sydonay is one of the Trinity of the Bal Masqué, entitled as the "General". For some time, he stayed outside of the Organization, because he wanted the freedom to do as he wants, such as serving the Denizens as a bodyguard for his personal hobby. He also appreciates human civilization enough to enjoy smoking cigarettes. However, after finding Reiji Maigo, he has returned to his previous position. He usually looks like a tall, well-built man wearing a pair of sunglasses and dark colored suits, but with great shape-shifting abilities, he can change into various chimeras without the use of spells like other Denizens do. In addition, when he is on duty as the General, he wields a spear-like hougu called the "Shintetu Nyoi" (神鉄如意?, "The Divine Metal at Will"), which shifts shape and size at Sydonay's will. With this weapon in hand, he leads an army of Denizens and Lords, destroying the major Outlaws throughout Europe and China. Sydonay and Margery have fought one another in the past, as Sydonay describes it as a "reunion" during a battle with her. Out of the Trinity, he cares for Hecate the most, coming to her rescue even when in a fight as shown during his battle with Margery as he abandons the battle to save her from the burning flames.

Hecate / Itadaki no Kura Hekatē (「頂の座」ヘカテー?, "Master Throne") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Brenna O'Brien (English)
Hecate is one of the Trinity of the Bal Masqué, entitled as "the Priestess". She also controls the movements of Seireiden, Bal Masqué's base. A small pale girl with white cape and hat　wielding a staff-like Hougu, Trigon, she doesn't speak much. Sydonay seems to care for her a lot. Bel Peol always mentions her having "eternal existence". Her position is very important with respect to what the Bal Masqué plans to do with Reiji Maigo, since she is the one who can take the power of Reiji Maigo and send it out to everything in Seireiden.

Hecate is a sad, quiet character, who has taken up the habit of prayer - despite having no one to pray to and despite Bel Peol considering it an odd thing to do - and frequently laments that she is 'empty'. In the light novels, it is implied that Hecate is praying to the Bal Masqué's god, the Ceremonial Snake of the Festival. In contrast to her counterpart in the anime, the light novels depict Hecate as a cold and feared leader that even the entire Bal Masqué itself fear her. She has hobby of trekking in mountain tops, yet she despises mountain climbers who litter her favorite sites, so she slaughters them on sight. She is extremely skilled in combat using Aster, a Power of Unrestraint which shoots energy beams like meteor shower, and is capable in grappling as well which equals to Shana's skill. She has a flute that can summon dragons of blue flame body. She also plays this flute when announcing the end of Seireiden's anchoring.

In the anime, Hecate synchronized with Yuji, allowing her to draw on his sense of self to fill the void inside of her. The purpose of this synchronization was more sinister, however; once midnight struck, the Reiji Maigo attempted to restore the power of existence of its bearer. Since Yuji and Hecate were synchronized at the time, Reiji Maigo started pouring out an infinite amount of power in an attempt to fill Hecate's capacity which is infinite. She consider the feelings that she gets from synchronizing with others are hers and no longer from their owners, much like a Torch being the remainder of their original human self takes over its identity. She was defeated when Yuji points out that the feelings, memories and sense of self that she is reveling about are not hers but his. When he says that Hecate is just as empty as she was before synchronizing and she cannot possibly fill her sense of self by drawing it from others(i.e.: questioning her "where her unique self"), she is forced to face the void that lies inside of her and screams in horror, losing control of the synchronization, Seireiden and herself as well as discharging massive amounts of power of existence she stored while synchronized with Yuji which could destroy an entire city requiring Sydonay to save her.

In the second season of the anime, the transfer student Fumina Konoe bears an absolute resemblance to Hecate and her growing bond to Yuji has Shana and Yoshida on the edge of uneasiness, which slightly lessens after a study session. In episode fifteen, it is revealed that Fumina is in fact a faux vessel created by Hecate, who had been sent to primarily keep an eye on the Reiji Maigo and seal the Silver should it attempt to escape. Her secondary purpose is to collect her memories of interacting with Yuji and the others. In the last episode of the second season, it seems that the memories and feelings from Fumina Konoe has given Hecate human feelings, causing her to hesitate to fire at Yuji at the last moment. This in turn, helps Yuji and Shana overcome the Taimei Shihen, leaving a confused Hecate to wonder what has overcome her state of mind. On this episode, she is also shown shedding tears.

Bel Peol / Gyakuri no Saisha Beru Peoru (「逆理の裁者」ベルペオル?, "Arbiter of Reverse Reasoning") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese), Paula Lindberg (English)
Bel Peol is one of the Trinity of the Bal Masqué, entitled as the "Strategist". She takes the form of a woman with three eyes, but has an eye-patch covering her right eye. A scheming character that would have no qualms in manipulating her unsuspecting subordinates and sending them off to die. Apparently she also has a gift for engendering loyalty in her subordinates, such as Vine, as she is capable of inspiring them to perform obviously dangerous tasks on her behalf. Her strategic skills are balanced by a considerable aptitude for combat.

Fecor / Rantei Fekorū (「嵐蹄」フェコルー?, "Ungula Tarantula") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Yasuhiro Mamiya
Fecor is a Lord who looks like a feeble middle-aged businessman with stereotypical features of devils, such as horns, a pair of bat's wings and a long tail. He usually acts as a guide of Seireiden, greeting Denizens and Lords at the gate. Being polite and timid, young Denizens like Vine had thought of him as a mere guide; but in fact, Fecor is Bel Peol's right-hand man, who is in charge of the Seireiden's defense. Despite his looks and behaviour, he uses very powerful and deadly "defensive" Power of Unrestraint called Magnesia, which creates storm of heavy particles. The particles are controlled at Fecor's will, its streams inflict heavy blows upon the enemies in spite of its true purpose as defensive maneuver. They can also be concentrated to form giant objects to crush the enemies.
He appeared in Misaki city as Hecate's bodyguard, fending off Flame Hazes away from her with his power.

Vine / Ryūgan Wine (「琉眼」ウィネ?, "Glazed Eyes") (Crimson Denizen)
Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Japanese), Peter New (English)
Vine is a Jaeger and a subordinate of Bel Peol. Depicted as a motorcycle-rider, with only his eyes visible due to his bodysuit clothing. He brought the Gordian Knot, which can activate a large-scale destructive Power of Unrestraint, to the Tendoukyuu (Palace of Heaven's Road) to stop the exaltation of the new Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite (i.e. Shana).

Orgon / Senseirei Orugon (「千征令」オルゴン?, "Commander of Thousand Conquests") (Crimson Lord)
Voiced by: Atsushi Ono (Japanese), Scott McNeil (English)
Orgon is a Wanderer and a subordinate of Bel Peol. Depicted with a transparent body in an old-French royal costume. Sent on a different mission with respect to Vine, but the destination is still Tendoukyū (Palace of Heaven's Road), only to meet his fearful doom when facing his old rival- Rainbow Wings, Merihim.

Zarovee / Shūsan no Tei Zarōbi (「聚散の丁」ザロービ?, "Collation Flux") (Crimson Denizen)
Voiced by: Yukihiro Misono
The Jaeger who looks like an old man with a gentle smile. He can split into five duplicates, each wearing scarves in red, blue, yellow, green, and pink (the colors, numbers and their exaggerated moves are parody of Super Sentai/Power Rangers), though he/they is/are extremely weak, possessing so little power that equals a Torch that neither Yuji nor the Flame Hazes had noticed his/their presence. He/they abducts Yuji by threatening to consume the citizens of Misaki city, in order to lure the Flame Hazes into a trap. But Yuji takes him/them by surprise, destroying one of the duplicates with a fireball along with the hostages under the Seal. Immobilized out of panic, the rest of the Zarovee were killed off in a matter of moments by Yuji who had wielded the Blutsauger.

Bifrons / Kōgōga Bifuronsu (「吼号呀」ビフロンス?, "Howling Fang") (Crimson Denizen)
Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto
The Wanderer with a chimney-like body, insectoid legs and a burning head that resembles a torture device, which makes him look like a giant, disfigured candle. He wraps himself in a hougu Tarnkappe, which grants him the stealth in exchange for speed and mobility. He is skilled in destroying the enemies from a long distance with projectiles made of surrounding rubble, shot from his cannon-like body. He usually works with Zarovee, making contact by cellphone. When Yuji prevented their scheme, Bifrons fires upon Shana, only to have the cannonball shot down. He then got caught in the resulting explosion, barely surviving; but Sabrac, who had used him and Zarovee as a decoy, forced him to shoot cannonball with full power and Bifrons perished.

Revision as of 01:05, 23 January 2010

Shakugan no Shana
Shakugan no Shana light novel volume 1
灼眼のシャナ
GenreAction, Fantasy, Romance
Light novel
Written byYashichiro Takahashi
Illustrated byNoizi Ito
Published byMediaWorks
English publisherUnited States Viz Media
DemographicMale
Original runNovember 10, 2002 – present
Volumes22
Manga
Written byYashichiro Takahashi
Illustrated byAyato Sasakura
Published byMediaWorks
English publisherUnited States Viz Media
MagazineDengeki Daioh
DemographicShōnen
Original runFebruary 1, 2005 – present
Volumes6
Anime television series
Directed byTakashi Watanabe
StudioJ.C.Staff
Original networkAnimax, MBS, TVA, TV Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Namco
Original run October 6, 2005 – March 23, 2006
Episodes24 (List of episodes)
Video game
DeveloperMediaWorks
PublisherMediaWorks
GenreADV
PlatformPlayStation 2
ReleasedMarch 23, 2006
Original video animation
Shakugan no Shana Tokubetsuhen: Koi to Onsen no Kōgai Gakushū!
Directed byTakashi Watanabe
StudioJ.C.Staff
ReleasedDecember 8, 2006
Runtime30 minutes
Video game
Shakugan no Shana DS
DeveloperMediaWorks
PublisherMediaWorks
GenreADV
PlatformNintendo DS
ReleasedMarch 29, 2007
Anime film
Directed byTakashi Watanabe
Music byKō Ōtani
StudioJ.C.Staff
ReleasedApril 21, 2007
Runtime65 minutes (Original)
90 minutes (Director's Cut)
Manga
Shakugan no Shana X Eternal song -Harukanaru Uta-
Written byYashichiro Takahashi
Illustrated byShii Kiya
Published byMediaWorks
MagazineDengeki Black Maoh
DemographicSeinen
Original runSeptember 19, 2007 – present
Anime television series
Shakugan no Shana Second
Directed byTakashi Watanabe
StudioJ.C.Staff
Original networkMBS, TBS, CBC, Animax
Original run October 5, 2007 – March 28, 2008
Episodes24 (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Shakugan no Shana S
Directed byTakashi Watanabe
StudioJ.C.Staff
ReleasedOctober 23, 2009

Shakugan no Shana (灼眼のシャナ, lit. Burning-Eyed Shana), also known simply as Shana, is a series of Japanese light novels and related media works written by Japanese novelist Yashichiro Takahashi and illustrated by Noizi Ito centering around Yuji Sakai, an ordinary Japanese high school boy who inadvertently becomes involved in a perpetual war between forces of balance and imbalance in existence. In the process, he befriends the title character: a fighter for the balancing force, whom he takes to calling "Shana". The series incorporates science fiction, fantasy, and slice-of-life "school days" elements into its tale.

Shakugan no Shana began as a light novel series first serialized under the seinen label Dengeki Bunko published by MediaWorks with the first complete novel released on November 10, 2002 in Japan. In time, a manga series was created with art by Ayato Sasakura first serialized in the manga magazine Dengeki Daioh, in February 2005. Both the light novel and manga are currently being released in Japan. So far, there have been eighteen light novels and five manga volumes. The most recent light novel, book SII, was released in Japan on June 10, 2008. A twenty-four episode anime series was adapted by J.C.Staff and it aired between October 2005 and March 2006. An original video animation episode and animated film were also produced in December 2006 and April 2007, respectively. A second anime series entitled Shakugan no Shana Second aired in Japan between October 2007 and March 2008.[1][2] An original video animation series entitled Shakugan no Shana S started to be released in October 2009. This will be followed by a third anime series.[3] A PlayStation 2 video game released in March 2006 followed and a second video game for the Nintendo DS was released in March 2007.

Viz Media announced at Comic-Con 2006 that they have licensed the right to release the English translations of both the Shakugan no Shana light novels and the manga series. Additionally, Geneon Entertainment licensed the first anime TV series in America[4] and the first DVD was released on September 5, 2006.[5] The DVDs were out of print indefinitely until July 3, 2008, as Geneon withdrew from the American market. On July 3, 2008, Geneon and Funimation Entertainment announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon will still retain the license, Funimation will assume exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles. Shakugan no Shana was one of several titles involved in the deal.[6]

Plot

Yuji Sakai, a high school student, expected his very normal life to last forever. However, this expectation is quickly shattered one day while on his way home.

The world suddenly freezes in time, leaving Yuji to watch in horror as blue flames engulf the people around him. Soon a monster resembling a large doll appears and begins sucking the flames into its mouth, until it notices Yuji. Surprised with Yuji's insusceptibility to the time-stop (fuzetsu), it jumps with glee.

Just as the monster prepares to consume Yuji, a sword-wielding girl in black attire with flaming red eyes and hair appears, swiftly and confidently destroys the monster, before noticing Yuji moving freely. The girl calls herself a "Flame Haze" who hunts the "Denizens of the Crimson Realm" and the "Rinne" they send to do their bidding. When Yuji notices a blue flame in his chest, the Flame Haze tells him that the "real" Yuji died some time ago, and that he is a "Torch", a temporary replacement for erased humans. Torches take on the forms of those erased persons, but after a period of time, they will vanish from existence and the memories of the living. Unfazed by his apparent death, Yuji befriends the strange girl and names her "Shana" after her sword. The reason Yuji was able to move in the fuzetsu is that he is not a normal Torch, but instead a special kind called a "Mystes": he has a treasure inside him, known as a "Hougu", a device possessing special abilities of sorts, and an extremely powerful and valuable one at that. The hougu inside Yuji allows him to remain in existence rather than fading away like other torches. Shana resolves to protect Yuji from the Denizens, who would use the treasure to disrupt the balance of the world, and Yuji decides to join Shana in her fight.

Shana's fight is actually a long-standing struggle between the Lords and Denizens of Guze. The Denizens steal Power of Existence, the energy that forms the basis of the world, from living people and utilize it for their own selfish ambitions. Some Lords inhabit humans creating Flame Hazes in an attempt to retain balance by hunting renegades from Guze. Flame Hazes create Torches in place of the consumed to save the world from the disruption of many existences being lost at once, allowing the Torches to gradually burn out over the course of time.

Main characters

Main article: List of Shakugan no Shana characters
Yuji Sakai (坂井 悠二, Sakai Yūji) (Mystes)
Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (Japanese); Kristian Ayre (English)
Yuji, the main character of the story, is just an average high school student. However, his world is turned upside down when he discovers that he is already dead and does not have much time before he disappears. Fortunately, Yuji is a Mystes who contains a treasure known as the Reiji Maigo (零時迷子, "Midnight Lost Child"). Unlike normal torches, the treasure inside him restores his Power of Existence every night at midnight. With the Reiji Maigo, Yuji has the possibility to live on like an average human as long as he makes sure that his Power of Existence does not run out before midnight. Later, he begins to learn to use the yet untapped potential of the treasure kept within him. He cares deeply about Shana, but does not make any advances in their relationship due to his feelings of depreciation as a Torch and viewing Shana as someone who is beyond his reach. He also starts to see Shana from her old former perspective of the world, where he is just a Torch and she is just a Flame Haze. With this going on, he distanced himself from the closeness than the two originally shared, leaving Shana hurt with the new feelings of love she has developed but cannot explain. However, Yuji and Shana have since repaired the damage to their relationship. As of volume 16 of the novel series, he has verbally acknowledged that he is in love with her.
Shana (シャナ) / "Flame-haired Fiery-eyed Hunter" (「炎髪灼眼の討ち手」, "Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite") (Flame Haze)
Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese); Tabitha St. Germain (English)
The female lead of the show and a Flame Haze. Initially she is concentrated solely on her duty as a Flame Haze, going as far as to not bearing even a name. She sees Yuji only as a Torch, an object, marginally interesting because of his status as a Mystes. However, she slowly opens up to Yuji, coming to think of him as a person, despite being a Torch, and eventually comes to love him. Until she met Yuji, she was identified by only her Flame Haze title "Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter," or her nodachi, Nietono no Shana (贄殿遮那, "Vairocana of the Offering Room"). Yuji, in his need to humanize her, chose to name her "Shana" after her sword. Shana has a habit of saying "Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!" which means "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" whenever Yuji asks her questions or makes remarks that disturb her original point of view. But in reality they really care for each other. She has a great fondness for melon bread. Shana later comes to the startling conclusion that she loves Yuji, and even confesses it to him in the last episode of the first anime series when she thought she was going to die, but he does not hear what she said. Shana is continually torn between her mission to protect the balance, and her love for Yuji. Due to a decision she made near the end of the first season of the anime version, the closeness they once had begun to erode as Yuji kept a distance from her because of it. Yuji adopts a viewpoint similar to Shana's in the beginning of the series. However, Yuji comes to realize that he was wrong, and their relationship seems to be restored.
Alastor (アラストール, Arasutōru) / "Flame of Heavens" (「天壌の劫火」, "Tenjō no Gōka") (Lord of the Crimson Realm)
Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (Japanese); Paul Dobson (English)
He is the Lord of the Crimson Realm to whom Shana is bound. He expresses his will through a divine vessel called the Cocytus, which (in Shana's case) takes the form of a pendant. His name is actually the name of a demon in mythology. Alastor is considered to be one of the strongest of all Lords or Denizens; in fact being one of the true Gods of the Crimson Realm. But even so, he tries to keep the Denizens from consuming Power of Existence.
Margery Daw (マージョリー・ドー, Mājorī Dō) / "Chanter of Elegies/Interpreter of Condolence" (「弔詞の詠み手」, "Chōshi no Yomite") (Flame Haze)
Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese); Janyse Jaud (English)
Margery is a tall, well-endowed and mature blond Flame Haze with a drinking habit. She uses the book Grimoire, which is the divine vessel through which Marcosius, to whom she is bound, expresses his will. Her main powers focus around chanting spells and turning into a werewolf. She casts spells by chanting an "Improvisational Poem of Slaughter" (屠殺の即興詩, Tosatsu no Sokkyōshi). Her name comes from Mother Goose, as does what she chants. Eita and Keisaku look up to her because she saved their lives once, and act as her subordinates. She holds a vendetta against a Crimson Denizen with a silver flame. She is also known as the Interpreter of Condolence, a title synonymous to her name as a Flame Haze.
Marcosias (マルコシアス, Marukoshiasu) / "Claw and Fangs of Violation" (「蹂躙の爪牙」, "Jūrin no Sōga") (Lord of the Crimson Realm)
Voiced by: Mitsuo Iwata (Japanese); Trevor Devall (English)
The Crimson Lord to whom Margery Daw is bound. He expresses his will through the divine vessel Grimoire, which takes the form of a book. His name is actually the name of a demon. He talks wildly, makes comments without remorse, and often teases Margery, often earning a retaliatory punch. He does genuinely care about her, however, perhaps not in the form of friendship but as a companion in battle. The dynamic of their relationship is quite different than that between Shana and Alastor; Marchosias will serve as Margery's vehicle from time to time and occasionally suffers physical abuse at her hands, but they seem to be equals in their quest.
Kazumi Yoshida (吉田 一美, Yoshida Kazumi)
Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese); Chantal Strand (English)
Yuji's classmate. She has a crush on him, but is a bit too shy to tell him directly. When Shana becomes her love-rival, she vows to tell Yuji her feelings and to let him decide between her and Shana. She is a shy but kind and pure person, who later finds out about Torches and Flame Hazes.

Terminology

Power of Existence (存在の力, Sonzai no Chikara)
As its name suggests, Power of Existence is a power that is contained within any biological or magical entity and functions as fuel for one's very existence. Thus, it is not limited to reside in living humans. Crimson Denizens can drain it from humans and Torches, while Flame Hazes are able to use the remaining Power of Existence from Torches. When all of the Power of Existence from a human or Torch is lost, the very existence of the human or Torch is annihilated. All humans who had memories associated with the human or Torch will have that memory erased; however those who know of the hidden physics of the world retain all of their memories, such as Crimson Denizens, Flame Hazes, and humans and Torches who have been exposed to the hidden workings of the world.
Torch (トーチ, Tōchi)
A Torch is a replacement entity for a human, whose Power of Existence has been significantly depleted. Torches are "shock-absorbers" for the sake of the balance in the real world. They are only temporary, and will disappear after a certain amount of time, eradicating all traces of existence related to the Torch.
Mystes (ミステス, Misutesu)
A Mystes is a special kind of Torch, who contains a Treasure Tool. The main character Yūji is an example, albeit a special one who can sustain his presence indefinitely due to the power of his Treasure Tool, Reiji Maigo. In general, Mystes will eventually be extinguished like normal Torch, unless the Mystes feeds on Denizens or Flame Hazes like Tenmoku Ikko did to refuel himeself, though it is very unlikely for anyone else to be able to do the same.
Flame Haze (フレイムヘイズ, Fureimu Heizu)
A Flame Haze is a servant whose duty is to maintain the world's balance. Each Flame Haze has contracted a Lord of Crimson Realm, with exceptions like the Flame Haze "Archer of Aurora" (極光の射手, Kyokkō no Ite) whom has contracts to twin lords. Flame Hazes mostly fight against Crimson Denizens who consume great amount of power of existence and endangers both world, although some work to restore the balance of the world that has been disturbed.
The Lords use Flame Haze as their medium because if they are to exist like other Denizens, they will also require Power of Existence. However, the Lords can manifest in the human world, although this means they will consume a vast amount of Power of Existence (aka Tenpa Jōsai). This sudden surge of Power of Existence will usually exceed the limit their Flame Haze may contain, and will result in the death of the Flame Haze. When someone becomes a Flame Haze, they will have their existence burned, making them as if they never existed before. Flame Hazes become a new existence and live solely to protect balance of the worlds.
Crimson Denizens (紅世の徒, Guze no Tomogara)
Crimson Denizens are mostly evil entities who usually do not care for the balance of the two worlds, collecting and using Power of Existence for their own purposes. Unfortunately for the few that respect and do not seek to upset the balance, some Flame Hazes do not distinguish between them, and thus become targets. As in human world, some Denizens will stand out and are known as Lords (王, Ō).
Lords of Crimson Realm (紅世の王, Guze no Ō)
Lords of Crimson Realm are Denizens whose power stands out among their peers, such as the Trinity of Bal Masqué, Friagne, Pheles, or the Lords that bind themselves to Flame Hazes. Most of the Lords in the series inhabit Flame Hazes and work to maintain the balance, but some are similar to the Crimson Denizens and use Power of Existence for their own purposes.
For the Lords of Crimson Realm who work to maintain the balance, they take care of the balance of the world by monitoring the Power of Existence and utilizing their Flame Haze to terminate those Crimson Denizens who harm the balance. Lords represent themselves as magical objects, in Shana's case, a pendant. They can manifest fully, but to do so requires tremendous amounts of power. Lords that are even more powerful, such as Tenjō no Gōka (天壌の劫火) or Sairei no Hebi (祭礼の蛇) are known as Gods (神, Kami) of the Crimson Realm, and each of these Gods are bestowed upon the duty of materializing the very laws of the Crimson world; for example, Alastor is known as the God of Atonement (天罰神, Tenbatsushin), while the Snake of Festival is the God of Creation (創造神, Sōzōshin), each having abilities that suit these names.
Rinne (燐子)
Rinne are created servants for the Tomogara. They are unstable existences and require Power of Existence from their master in order to survive.
Power of Unrestraint (自在法, Jizaihō)
Also known as Unrestricted Spells, they are powerful magic spells. These spells can be used for any purpose, from restoring the fragments of a long-lost painting to transforming normally untransferrable objects in a whole city into a big hunk of Power of Existence, however are mostly used in battle in the series. They can be invoked by chanting (some high-class Methods may require centuries of work to activate), and consumes Power of Existence. An Unrestricted spell can be seen as a blue insignia upon casting.
Treasure Tool (宝具, Hōgu)
Treasure Tool is the name of magical objects which can provide special abilities or even an Unrestricted spell. A Treasure Tool is created when a single Denizen and a human, each representing their own world, has the same desire to one another; if worked out with the right Unrestricted spells & physical materials, a Treasure Tool for the sole purpose of fulfilling that desire will be created; Reiji Maigo, which is sought by many for its ability to replenish its owner's Power of Existence at midnight every day, was originally created by the Lord-Mystes lovers, Pheles and Johann, under their desire of "being together forever," using a single whole clock tower for the physical material part. Most Denizens, Flame Hazes, and even humans who aid them possess one or more of these, and would try to acquire as many as they can for many reasons, like getting an upper hand in critical time during battles.
Seal (封絶, Fūzetsu)
Seal is the most common of all Unrestricted spells, and it also refers to the special dimension the Method creates; here the Crimson Realm and the real world intermingles, and all sorts of causalities, including time, is stopped for ordinary living beings. The mad scientist Lord Dantalion originally created the complex and flawed version of the Seal; later, the genius spell creator Denizen Leanan-sidhe fixed it into the easier modern version, which quickly spread over all related beings in the world. Flame Hazes are able to create such Seal at will, as may Crimson Denizens. However, battles in the Seal can damage real world objects, and harm the paused living beings, though thankfully for both it is possible to reverse the effects, if one uses enough Power of Existence. However, if the Seal is ever unlocked during a battle, the damage is irreparable.
Crystal Altar (玻璃壇, Haridan)
Crystal Altar is a Treasure Tool that functions as a miniature projection of the real world. It can be used to observe the location of Torches and Power of spells, and other things related to Power of Existence. From Margery's story, it is told that Crystal Altar was made about three milennia ago by a God-class Crimson Lord called the Snake of the Festival (祭礼の蛇, Sairei no Hebi), who had taken a liking to the act of "ruling." He created a human city and then watched over that city using the Crystal Altar. However, he was sealed in an alternate dimension after many battles with various Flame Haze. Friagne, who discovered and took possession of the Crystal Altar then brought it with him to Misaki city. While one may be deceived that it looks like the city's replica, the Altar itself is actually shaped like a small bronze mirror, hidden inside Friagne's enormous pile of Treasure Tools.
The Crystal Altar was originally intended to be used with the Gehinnom, an enormous stone bowl found inside the Bal-Masque's headquarters filled with iron grain which moves to make quick, accurate replicas of the desired area nearby; but as the Altar is missing, it is normally seen containing the three weapons of the Trinity, who are none other than the closest subjects of the Snake of the Festival.
Outlaw (外界宿(アウトロー), Autorō)
The facilities or organizations that support the activities of Flame Haze with finance, information, transportations, etc. They were merely hotels each with Treasures called Tessera, the regular dodecahedronal objects that conceal the presence of Flame Haze. Then a half-retired Flame Haze became the keeper to one of the Outlaw and made improvements, turning it into a place to trade information. The plan turned out successful after many years later as many other Outlaws had followed and thus the networks and connections were established throughout the world.

Novels and adaptations

Light novels

Main article: Shakugan no Shana (light novels)

There are currently twenty-two novels out in total for Shakugan no Shana. They are numbered from I through XVIII, along with volume 0, S, and SII, which consist of short side stories. The most recent novel, book XIX, was released in Japan on September 10, 2009. These novels are called light novels, which feature a light amount of text and occasional black and white illustrations. The series was authored by Yashichiro Takahashi with illustrations by Noizi Ito. The series is serialized under the seinen label Dengeki Bunko, published by MediaWorks. The first novel was released in Japan on November 10, 2002. At Comic-Con 2006, it was announced that VIZ Media licensed the novels for the US market. The first English language volume was translated by Yuki Yoshioka & Cindy H. Yamauchi and released on April 17, 2007.[7] The second volume was translated by Yuki Yoshioka & Cindy H. Yamauchi with Mark Giambruno.

Manga

File:Shana manga cover 2.jpg
Shakugan no Shana manga volume 2

The first manga, by manga creator Ayato Sasakura, is currently serialized in the monthly seinen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh, which started on February 1, 2005, published by MediaWorks. The first bound volume hit shelves October 27, 2005. At Comic-Con 2006, it was announced that VIZ Media licensed the manga for the US market. VIZ released the first volume of the manga (translated by Yuki Yoshioka & Cindy H. Yamauchi) on April 17, 2007.[7] Later volumes were translated by Yumi Okamoto & Mark Giambruno.

The second manga under the title Shakugan no Shana X Eternal song -Harukanaru Uta-, by Shii Kiya, is based on the events of the tenth novel and began serialization in the seinen manga magazine Dengeki Black Maoh on September 19, 2007, published by MediaWorks.[8]

Anime

See also: List of Shakugan no Shana episodes

An anime version of Shakugan no Shana, directed by Takashi Watanabe, was aired in Japan between October 6, 2005 and March 23, 2006 containing twenty-four episodes.[9] The anime was produced by the Japanese animation studio J.C.Staff. The series has been licensed for North American distribution by Geneon,[4] and the first DVD of the series was released on September 5, 2006.[5] Animax began broadcasting the English version in South and Southeast Asia on July 1, 2009. It was second broadcaster for the anime in Southeast Asia and the first in South Asia.

In addition to the first season, two mini omake episodes depicting Shana super deformed were released on two separate limited edition DVDs that were bundled with the first and fifth Japanese region 2 DVDs that was on sale on January 25 and May 25, 2006.[10] Both episodes were included in the sixth English region 1 DVD that was released on July 3, 2007.[11] A similarly themed episode featuring Hecate was released on a DVD bundled with the "All About Shakugan no Shana" book.[10][12] Later, an original video animation (OVA) was released on December 8, 2006.[13] The events of the story takes place after the storyline of the first season's thirteenth episode.[10]

A second season, under the title Shakugan no Shana Second (灼眼のシャナⅡ), was officially announced on May 30, 2007 and aired in Japan between October 5, 2007[1][2] and March 28, 2008, containing twenty-four episodes. In the Philippines, TV5 was the first to telecast the second season in Southeast Asia between November 10 and December 25, 2008. An OVA series entitled Shakugan no Shana S began to be produced on October 23, 2009, and will be followed by a third television anime season of Shakugan no Shana.[3][14]

Music

Main article: List of Shakugan no Shana albums

Kō Ōtani was in charge of the music direction in the anime. Shakugan no Shana had two opening and ending themes. The first opening theme, "Hishoku no Sora" by Mami Kawada, was used for the first sixteen episodes and the OVA. The second opening theme, "being" by Kotoko, ran the rest of the series to episode twenty-four. The first ending theme, "Yoake Umarekuru Shōjo" by Yoko Takahashi, ran for the first fourteen episodes and the OVA. The last ending theme, "Aka no Seijaku" by Yoko Ishida, was used between episodes fifteen and twenty-three. The last episode's ending theme was "Hishoku no Sora".

The first opening theme for the second season, Shakugan no Shana II, is "Joint" by Mami Kawada and ran from episodes one to fifteen. The single was released on October 31, 2007. The first ending theme for the second season is "Triangle" by Mami Kawada, which also ran for the first fifteen episodes. The second opening theme for the second season is "Blaze" by Kotoko, and the second ending theme is "Sociometry" by Kotoko. The third ending theme in episode twenty-four is "sense" by Mami Kawada.

The Shakugan no Shana original soundtrack was first released on January 25, 2006 by Geneon. There have also been three other soundtracks called the Assorted Shana albums. Volumes I, II and III which were released on February 24, March 24 and April 21, all in 2006 respectively, were published by Geneon.

File:Shakugan no Shana PS2 game cover.jpg
Shakugan no Shana PS2 video game cover

Video games

A video game named Shakugan no Shana for the PlayStation 2, developed by MediaWorks, was released on March 23, 2006. An A4-sized book named Honō (焔) spanning thirty-six pages was that included illustrations by Noizi Ito was included in preorders of the game.[15] The player takes on the character of Yuji Sakai in the game. The game plays out like a visual novel but with the addition of a battle system and dating sim elements. Choices that are made throughout the course of the game determine which of the five endings the player gets upon completion of the game.[16]

The PlayStation 2 game was ported to the Nintendo DS and released on March 29, 2007.[15] Preorders of the DS game was eligible for receiving a calendar that spanned April 2007 to March 2008 and a collection of rough sketches named Tōka (灯火) by Noizi Ito.[17] The NDS version adds onto the PS2 version with the addition of an image gallery that allows the player to see what Shana and Yoshida Kazumi look like in different clothes and a battle mode that lets the player fight against the computer with a character other than Shana.[16]

Movie

An animated film was first announced after the ending credits of the last episode of the first anime series. The movie was released in Japanese theaters on April 21, 2007 as one of the three movies released at Dengeki Bunko's Movie Festival.[18] The movie is not a sequel to the anime, but is an adaptation of all the events in the first novel and contains events that were not in the anime series. The DVD was released on September 21, 2007 in two different editions, the special edition including the director's cut version, the original version and extra material, and the normal edition including only the director's cut version.[1]

Reception

Reviews
Reviewer Score Notes
Theron Martin Overall (dub): B+
Overall (sub): B+
Story: B+
Animation: B
Art: B+
Music: B+[19] 		Review of DVD Vol. 2
from the first season
Chris Beveridge Content: B+
Audio: B+
Video: A
Packaging: A−
Menus: B+
Extras: B−[20] 		Review of Vol. 1
from the first season

Anime

Chris Beveridge of AnimeOnDVD.com notes that the first volume has "...forced me to take in the first four episodes two at a time because the morbid nature of it made me feel uncomfortable. Few shows can really do that...I'm looking forward to seeing more...".[20] After having watched the other DVDs, Beveridge commented that while "...Shana isn't a groundbreaking show..."[21], it "...has proven to be a real solid title and one that only gets better and better."[22] The fourth volume did not prove favourable though since the pacing seemed off "[with] the arc from the previous volume ending so quickly on this volume and then going into a storyline that feels out of character for the show, the darker tones and serious nature don't feel quite so compelling."[23]

Theron Martin from Anime News Network comments that "...Shakugan no Shana makes a habit of setting certain expectations...but always managing to at least slightly exceed those expectations."[19] and that "[its] story elements may be typical, but its execution is not."[24] On the technical front of the series, Martin observed that "Shana's Flame Haze transformation...is still the visual highlight, but other details...all show equal care, even if their effects are less obvious."[25]

Manga

Theron Martin also reviewed the manga but did not seem all that impressed stating that "...by almost any reasonable standard, the inferior version of the two."[26] Martin also notes that "The anime version also much more fully realizes some personalities than the manga version."[26] and critiques the art in that "[the background] art never holds more detail than absolutely necessary...The action scenes are handled well enough, but still pale in comparison to their renditions in the anime version.".[26] Martin concludes the review by warning the readers that "[if] this is your first exposure to the franchise, look to the anime version to see it done right."[26]

Sales

Since the first novel's release on November 10, 2002, the novels have collectively sold over six million copies.[27] The manga adaptation has sold over 1.2 million copies since the first volume hit shelves on October 27, 2005.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Shakugan.com" (in Japanese). Retrieved March 31, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Shakugan no Shana Second". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Producer Plans 3rd & Final Shana Series after S OVA". Anime News Network. July 8, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Geneon Anime Licenses". Anime News Network. July 2, 2006. Retrieved November 24, 2006.
  5. ^ a b "ANN Encyclopedia: Releases". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 24, 2006.
  6. ^ "FUNimation Entertainment and Geneon Entertainment Sign Exclusive Distribution Agreement for North America" (Press release). Anime News Network. July 3, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
  7. ^ a b "VIZ Media - News - New Releases - April 2007". Retrieved May 7, 2007.
  8. ^ "Teikoku Blog" (in Japanese). April 28, 2007. Retrieved May 10, 2007.
  9. ^ "Shakugan no Shana (TV)". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  10. ^ a b c "Shakugan.com - DVD Section" (in Japanese).
  11. ^ "Shakugan no Shana DVD 6". Retrieved May 10, 2007.
  12. ^ "All About Shakugan no Shana". HobbyLink Japan.
  13. ^ "DVD details at animate.tv" (in Japanese). Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  14. ^ "New Shana Anime to Be Shakugan no Shana 'S OVA Series". Anime News Network. July 7, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  15. ^ a b "Shakugan.com - Game Section" (in Japanese). Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  16. ^ a b Dengeki G's Festival Vol.8 2007 May (in Japanese). MediaWorks. pp. 47–48. EAN 4910163660576.
  17. ^ "MediaWorks' Shakugan no Shana website - NDS Section" (in Japanese). Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  18. ^ "Dengeki Bunko Movie Festival" (in Japanese). Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  19. ^ a b Theron Martin (January 7, 2007). "Shakugan no Shana DVD 2 - Review". Retrieved May 10, 2007.
  20. ^ a b Chris Beveridge. "AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> Shana Vol. #1". Retrieved May 9, 2007.
  21. ^ Chris Beveridge. "AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> Shana Vol. #2". Retrieved May 10, 2007.
  22. ^ Chris Beveridge. "AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> Shana Vol. #3". Retrieved May 10, 2007.
  23. ^ Chris Beveridge. "AnimeOnDVD.com >> Disc Reviews >> Shana Vol. #4". Retrieved May 10, 2007.
  24. ^ Theron Martin (February 21, 2007). "Shakugan no Shana DVD 3 - Review". Retrieved May 10, 2007.
  25. ^ Theron Martin (May 10, 2007). "Shakugan no Shana DVD 5 - Review". Retrieved May 10, 2007.
  26. ^ a b c d Theron Martin (March 25, 2007). "Shakugan no Shana DVD GN 1 - Review". Retrieved May 10, 2007.
  27. ^ "Shana Project 2008 Campaign" (in Japanese). January 18, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  28. ^ "MediaWorks' Shakugan no Shana website - Printed Books" (in Japanese). Retrieved September 23, 2007.
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