Word on the street is that everyone and their brother is giving up on the second season of Shakugan no Shana. I find that hard to swallow, because Shakugan no Shana II is the best comedy of the Fall 2007 anime season. That might not be the intention of a show categorized under Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Shounen, and Supernatural, but who cares? Laughing at Shana II's lackadaisical crappiness is the highlight of my week.
Here's proof that Shana II is entertaining: I don't eat while watching it. Eating is a great justification for watching shows that aren't worthy of my full attention. For example, I've eaten cherry pie during Lucky Star and tacos during El Cazador de la Bruja. However, even if I knew where to find a melonpan, I wouldn't eat one while watching this Shana II, because it might distract me from precious seconds of awkward hilarity.
Like Spiderman 3, there's no question that Shana II underperforms. But as much as that's a failure on the part of the production staff, it's also a testament to show's potential. I mean, how could there be a lack of potential when you consider the personalities of the three most prominent female characters?
BITCH, SLUT, PUSSY! The classic harem trio finally makes its way to the Drama-Fantasy-Romance-Shounen-Supernatural-Comedy setting, and they do it in fine form:
In case you have yet to be enlightened by my legendary dissection of the harem anime, here's a quick overview. Bitch, slut, and pussy are the purest manifestations of the female personality. If you can think of a female who exhibits no traits a bitch, slut, or pussy, she has no personality.
Like red, yellow, and blue on the color wheel, bitch, slut, and pussy form a basis from which all other farcical female personalities can be derived.
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Clockwise starting with slut: Mitsune (Love Hina), Shizuoka (Umisho), Nodoka (Negima), Rin (Fate/Stay Night), Suzuka (Suzuka), and Eva (Monster) |
Think you can't mix types? Think again. You may be familiar with the term "tsundere", which is simply Japanese for pussy-bitch.
Shana, the fiery-eyed Flame Haze, is appropriately in the fiery-red bitch zone. I guess you could also stick her in the bitch-pussy zone, but her role on the show is predominantly bitch. Together with a capable slut, pussy, and oblivious pimp, the hijinks never end!
You don't even have to be a pedophile to like this show. There's plenty of mature righteousness to keep you in line.
They can haze my flame.
Now that we've established the quality of the cast, what about the plot? First of all, Shana is based off a video game. Unlike Devil May Cry however, Shana doesn't act like it's ashamed of its heritage. In Shakugan no Shana, allies level up and learn new abilities. You get to name the lead character. Boss fights have multiple phases. Enemies conveniently drop useful items when they die. Now to check Wikipedia to confirm my hunch that Shana was based off a game...
Crap, apparently it's based off a light novel.
Let's just move onto the checklist.
| Well developed minor characters |  |
| Simultaneous subplots | |
| Unforeseeable plot twists | |
| Comical victimization | |
| Regular victimization | |
| Recurring random character(s) |  |
| Badass mid-episode transitions | |
| Soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura | |
| Intro by KOTOKO | |
| Fade into intro/ending | |
| Catchy dance sequence | |
| Themes of Hatred/Suffering/Revenge | |
| Lesbians | |
| Hilarious ambiguously gay dude | |
| Stylish visual effects | |
| Dinosaurs | |
| Giant Robots | |
| Rivalry | |
| Graphic violence | |
| Failed confessions | |
| Misunderstandings | |
| Mangled English | |
| Pimp in a white suit | |
| Bitch-Slut-Pussy | |
| Soft-spoken girl voiced by Mamiko Noto | |
| Woman who can't cook | |
| Time Travel | |
| Supernatural Power | |
| Shameless advertisements | |
| Catch phrases | |
| Obligatory hot springs episode | |
| Self-parody | |
Long story short, Shana II rocks � don't drop it.
