Daijoubu

There’s been a lot of Shana flaming lately (not the least of which has appeared here at this blog!) Obviously, I agree that Shana II has, thus far, been very disappointing. This annoys me particularly because I think Shana herself is great character. There are many bad anime series out there that are easy to dismiss: with the huge number of choices, there’s always something else to watch instead. But with Shana, I find the disappointment lingers because the main character, a quintessential tsundere type, had great potential to be full of awesomeness. Even apart from the sexy appeal of the central character, there were also some interesting concepts underpinning the early parts of the first season that were quite intriguing on their own merits. Sakai Yuuji’s dilemma of facing his “life” as a torch and the effects this would have on his family and friends was a solid idea on which to base a series, if only they had developed it more.

Yuuji’s situation in the first season could have produced some great character development, with all the issues surrounding whether or not he’s still human and how he must now relate differently to everyone he knows. Instead, the series turned to battles with some singularly odd opponents (they reminded me more of the bizarre villains of Sailor Moon than typical shounen enemies). That was OK, and I didn’t mind the flashbacks either, as they set up for Shana a common conflict in Japanese drama, that of giri (duty and obligations) vs. ninjo (feelings and desires). Shana’s psychological tsundere-hood can be explained as a result of her odd socialization from her upbringing. Having to take on a great burden of responsibility through her joining with Alastor at an early age, added to the social isolation imposed on a flame haze, could certainly cause a number of emotional problems. This aspect of the series was brought to a crisis-point with arrival of Wilhelmina. I thought the cliff-hanger moment, when the maid was about to kill the wuss Yuuji, to be very suspenseful (not least of all because the DVD volume ended there!)

Instead of capitalizing on the strengths of the first series, Shana Second has thus far wasted itself in almost every conceivable way. It’s usual for an action-oriented series to start with a well-animated bang, before slowing down for some development and building up towards the next bit of action. In Shana II though, the pacing has been all wrong. The so-called “action” of the first few episodes was distinctly underwhelming, even compared to the weakest moments of last season. The flashback dream sequences were an unimpressive way to start things off, and the following long run of tiresome, filler-ish, soap opera episodes make it seem the show’s creators don’t know what kind of series they are making. I understand what they are trying to do–injecting a new character into the existing situation who can shake up the established love triangle. There is some merit in showing how Yuuj is gradually drawn towards a girl he’s had a “unique” experience with, but his denseness and the complete reset of the advances made in his relationship with Shana from last time can only serve to strain both the viewer’s patience and credulity.

When Shana used a weak tomogara to test out the new girl’s responses, there was a potential for an interesting conflict between Shana’s cold-hearted resolve to protect everyone (giri) and Yuuji’s softheartedness (ninjo). This opportunity was not used as well as it could have been, although it was awesome to see Shana show-off and kick ass! Also, winning secondary characters, like Margery Daw and her crew, are throughly wasted. They end up as mere appendages to the weak romance drama. Wilhelmina’s attempts to become more family-like with Shana are OK as far as they go, but are poor substitutes for any real developments in the action. I hope this series changes soon. Although I have no plans to drop it, for Shana’s sake it had better improve!