Shakugan no Shana II (Second)

The world is not what it appears. There are battles taking place that we cannot see, between the protectors of balance and those who want to destroy everyone living on this planet. That's the basic premise of this show and there's not much more to it than that. Shakugan no Shana Second is incredibly basic when it comes to the setup, but it delivers an experience unique to itself.

First thing anyone should know is that this series is the direct sequel to the first series, Shakugan no Shana. It is highly recommended to watch that before watching this series. The first series explains terms and ... sets up the characters for this series and a viewer will be much less confused as to what's happening because this series derives directly from what happened in the first series.

That being said, if someone's already seen the first series, then they know the story of Shakugan no Shana Second already, for the most part. Nothing's changed from series to series. Yuji Sakai is still a Torch and a Myste, and Shana is still a Flame Haze. Together, they are tasked in killing Crimson Denizens (Guze no Tomogara) who live in the Crimson Realm, the parallel universe that lies directly on top of the human world. There is little change to setup and the second series continues this trend. As expected then, most of the plot that drives the series along is focused on different Tomogara who show up at any given time and Sakai and Shana have to fight them off with assistance from their close friends.

If you had any questions from the first series (you probably did) and were expecting answers. Well, the series may answer one or two, but you'll probably find yourself asking more questions by the end and you'll have to watch the next series to see if it answers your questions (It probably won't). There's not much more to add here other than the show does a good job of continuing what was started before and it introduces new plots and ideas that certainly build on the old.

But Shakugan no Shana never really was about the strong story, was it? The characters are what make this anime shine. All of your favorite characters are back. Margery Daw, Wilhelmina Carmel, Kazumi Yoshida, Keisaku Satou, Eita Tanaka, Hayato Ike, and Matake Ogata all share a large portion of the show and the series mostly devotes its time developing these characters. Every character develops in their own way and that's the enjoyable part of this show. You find yourself attached to the characters as the anime goes on and as different situations happen, viewers become emotionally involved.

That's where the strong point of Shakugan no Shana Second lies. The characters are all widely varied and they are all shown to have different thoughts and beliefs about what is happening in their lives. Different characters take different paths and not all of them are remotely close to what you might think they would do. Characters face turmoil and difficulty and are forced to make difficult choices. This makes the characters of Shakugan no Shana Second incredibly strong because the creators made sure to continue building them from the first series. They all change in some way or another and watching them change is the real joy of this show. There is hardly a dull moment in the show as a viewer will care in some way about every single person on the screen at any given time.

Animation is, of course, fantastic. All the characters are uniquely designed, every model looking different from the other. Fight scenes flow smoothly, and detail is incredibly high during intense moments. Shana's flame looks as detailed as it did the series prior. There are some moments where CGI is clearly used and it detracts heavily though. It's usually in the middle of an intense sequence of events and completely throws off the feel of the moment, which is a shame. Other than that though, the only other issue is that the character's eyes are rather large and they seem slightly too far apart from one another, but after some time one gets used to it.

The soundtrack is great as well. The soundtrack always sets the mood and accompanies scenes exactly right. During suspenseful action sequences, the music pumps out fast beats and matches the mood, while during a slow, emotional scene, the beats drop away to something more soft and quiet, drawing the viewer into the moment intimately.

There's not much to be said negatively about Shakugan no Shana Second other than the rather disjointed plot that is really only there to drive the strong characterization of the characters. There's nothing deep or meaningful to be said in the story, but in reality, that doesn't matter in this show. Plot comes second to the strong characters that are the driving force behind what brings the viewers back. When a show can get a viewer to invest emotionally into its characters, then you know that a show is doing something right.

Story:
A continuation of the first seaon, Shakugan no Shana II, leaves us almost right where the first left off. This season covers more of the social aspects to the characters lives while still giving the intense battles (more in the latter part of the season) that we came to love in the first season.

Art:
The art is basically the same as last season with a few imporvements here and there.

Sound:
The first opening song for this season JOINT is by far one of my favorite songs ever and Blaze the second opening isn't bad.

Character:
This season focuses more on the character development that the previous season ... does but not all the characters improve. Some actually get worse (if only for a short time period).

Enjoyment:
Its a good season. It does get slightly boring at the beginning but once you hit the half way point it picks up a lot and you can't wait to watch the next episode.

Overall:
Overall, its a great anime to watch and the season was amazing.

WARNING! MY REVIEW REMAINS THE SAME FOR SEASON ONE AND TWO, SO DON'T COMPLAIN!

Well people we have come to another anime which is widely debated as either gold or fool's gold. Shakugan no Shana is all about a boy who meets up with a girl who poses supernatural powers. Then the boy discovers he has supernatural powers and begins utilizing it. Of course the two then start to realize their feelings for each other, but this only comes to light towards the end of season one and season two.

Now I'll try to be neutral about this as much possible, I've seen the anime and ... it's nothing special. The action was pretty good, but was often wrecked by the long dredge of the main characters' emotional problems. This anime's ending was also a little disappointing with a cliff hanger ending coupled with a love triangle.

Overall 8/10, just watch it. Nothing gained, nothing lost.

*REMEMBER THIS IS A SUBJECTIVE REVIEW WITH SOME OBJECTIVE POINTS*
Okay,WHAT HAPPENED THIS SEASON?It was a slow-paced clusterfuck filled with forced emotions.Period.
Story:6/10
This anime took a 180 degrees turn on the wrong direction. First season was really good,there were a lot of fights, world building, character development. This season? Girls fighting for the MC, only 2 good fights, many things that appeared out of nowhere. Would you even consider this an action anime?Man, it felt like I was watching a generic slice of life.
Art: 7/10
This is the biggest improvement this season. The animation is slightly better and more detailed. It was a good surprise.
Sound:9/10
SNS still ... excels here. Great OPs and good EDs.
Character:7/10
Probably,this is the best season in terms of character development. BUT, there are many characters that are useful for like,2 episodes. Sabrac was a good “villain”,but he came out of nowhere. Zarovee,too. Useless enemy. And,here is my biggest complain about this season. The “Konoe Arc”. God damn,this really is an annoying arc. There was no need to add that much forced drama and “romance”.Konoe was a BAD character, but like, REALLY BAD.Annoying,useless and stupid. I now she needed to exist so the plot can go on,but man, she was dumb.
Enjoyment:6/10
Slow-paced,boring,sometimes funny,but mostly annoying the way the implemented new characters or magic objects.
Overall:6/10
I’m not gonna lie, this season was boring.I even thought about dropping it. There was nothing that made me want to watch it during the Konoe Arc. After that arc it got kinda better but not too much.
I am disappointed.
I have huge expectations for the 3rd season. Hope the anime returns to the seriousness it had in the first season. The worst part about this season?You can’t not watch it cause there’s a lot of things you are not gonna understand the next season.
Recommended:
-Absolutely
-Yes
-Maybe
->Meh(not recommended,but you need to watch it if you plan to keep watching this anime)
-No
-Complete trash
-Bruh y u watching dis

(Sorry for any English mistakes)

Ok, to start it off, the battle scenes in this season has way more intensity than of season 1 it really did leveled up (of course, new Tomogaras was introduced as well with tremendous powers).

Although, the final ep of Season 1 is better to wrap it all up than the last ep of this season. On the good side, you'll expect another season to continue the story. HOORAY! It's like "It ends here.... for now, but SS doesn't end here" if you get what I mean.

The opening never fails. It really hypes you up to begin the episode. As you continue along, there might ... be unexpected plot twists and the mood gets darker where MCs and other flame hazes get more serious as they strengthened their own powers and abilities. But after the twist, you'll be impressed how it'll all turn out as unexpected. The balance of the mood, roles of each characters and the development of each scenes is well-balanced (for me).

I enjoyed a lot!!! The pairing of Yuji and Shana has been unleashed. LOTTA LOVE!!

P.S I still don't understand Yoshida's role to be considered as MC -_-

Okay, as always I want to preface my review with the three things I’m looking for in an anime: I want a really good story (+5), I want really good dialogue (characters/character development, etc.)(+3), and I want really good “technicals” (style, sound, etc.)(+2). Also, I’ll remind you my reviews generally encompass the whole series of an anime unless otherwise stated (That is to say that no more seasons are coming out). So let’s get to it!

Shakugan no Shana… I feel that this anime had an enormous amount of potential. With a story revolving around the competing ’existences’, i.e. Flame Hazes vs. Crimson Denizens, who reside ... on different planes of reality, the show hit’s the ground running with a really cool premise. Think about it, battles going on in an unseen world that you’ll never know about, yet the outcomes of which could and does effect your life in unimaginable ways. So much so that you could just be written out of existence! This was going to be the tragic fate of our protagonist, however, as it just so happens he’s not your everyday human. The story continues with his adventures trying to figure out his place now that this whole new unseen reality has been revealed to him. To me, that’s a goldmine of possibilities set up to work with.

Earning 4 points

However, the ending of this anime decides to throw all that in the garbage. Nearly the entirety of the last season is a mess of epic proportions. Instead of continuing with all the good things the first seasons had built up, the last season goes on its own into the wilderness of horrible endings. By introducing practically a whole new cast of characters, creating nonsensical plot drivers, and just plain ridiculous reasoning by the characters in terms of their decision making faculties, Shakugan no Shana goes out in a pyre of infamy. Frankly, I’m going to be watching it to appear on some top ten list of “Most Unexpected Anime Endings”, because I found it hard to swallow that something so good could become so bad.

Deduction: -1.5 points
----------------------------

As for the dialogue and character development, I was quite pleased for the most part. The interactions and relationship between the protagonist and Shana were well executed and all in all, the characters were enjoyable. The romantic elements were handled to my liking, and, the protagonist does grow throughout the story as a character (as does Shana). There are some characters (especially towards the end) that are left high and dry in the character development department, but, all main characters have enough in my humble opinion to allow the story to progress relatively unhindered.

Earning 2 points
---------------------

Technicals are solid. I truly enjoyed the entire OST of this anime, the style and animation were good too. No complaints.

Earning 2 points
---------------------

Bonus points award goes to… having some really cool Flame Hazes out there! And some cool powers to come with them!

Earning 1 point.
--------------------

Add it all up and we have a score of 7.5! If you want my advice, just watch the first two seasons only, then let your imagination make up what’s going to happen next. It’ll be better that way. Trust me, if I had done that, this anime would have been an 8.5 easy.

As always, since I’m a critic, I’ll round down my score to a 7 because that’s just the way it goes. That way it’ll be better than expected when you watch it! Till next time

Moving along...

After their last encounter in the first season, Shana finally realises that despite being a Flame Haze, having feelings for another is possible regardless of your occupation. Shana was also about to have a rival in love too.

But this was but a prelude of what was to come. New enemies, new allies, people whom you can't distinguish whether they're friend or foe.

Yuuji decides that he can't let Shana fight on her own and so, with the help of the Specialist of Everything, he starts to wield the sword he gained from a previous enemy and learns how to fight so that Shana isn't alone.

This ... season was a lot more relaxed and was used to develop the characters a bit more but did enough to pump me up for the next season.

A very disappointing season i would say.. there are no new twist to it but rather a "recycle" of the first season. Toppled with pre-teen romance and ridiculous slice of life which brings this whole season down the garbage. As an experienced Otaku, i would say that only kids should be watching this.

Shakugan no Shana was, at least in my opinion, a pretty good show – it had strong action and good characters. I reviewed it previously (here: https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=287931) and most of what I had to say holds for Shakugan no Shana Second. The difference is... there's a good deal less of the good stuff, and more of the mediocre stuff. When we do get to the denizen-based action, it's really strong; the final arcs are possibly even better than the material in the original, but you have to sit through a lot of episodes of the teen drama with... not a ton of ... stakes or a good handling of the characters involved. It isn't terrible; certainly, there are still shows that focused on similar elements entirely and did worse than Shakugan no Shana Second does with its side dish here, but...

Yeah, the show still manages to drag here. And in that, it's weaker than its predecessor was. Otherwise, they're fairly similar, new stories with the same characters and fairly similar stakes. Is it worth watching though? If you enjoyed Shakugan no Shana at all, absolutely! For itself, it's... competent. If you liked the first season, you'll find stuff to like here... but the more important part is that Final is coming. As an entire package, the Shakugan no Shana series comes to what I consider to be an amazing conclusion, and Second is necessary to get there.

I absolutely loved the first season and was so excited for season 2. I was expecting much of the same kind of action and plot and I got...meh. I felt like I was in a loop and the same thing was happening over and over and over. I know that this is common formula for a lot of shows in general, but I got bored and it felt really stale.

Then came the last 10 episodes and it totally redeemed itself. It was absolutely what I needed to salvage this season. It's what I craved after the first season. The action and details and colors and ... storyline we're all right on. It hit all the right points. I'm going to take a short break before I hit season 3. I think I need that spacer so I don't go in on a binge expectation like I had. I think that the binge is really a dangerous thing, a double-edged sword, if you will. There's cases where you can cover a lot of pleasure in a short period of time and then there are times like this that set me up with big expectations and it ruined it for me. I did take a break and started another show, which I don't usually do, but I needed a breather and it was the right thing to do.

I think that's the biggest thing I can say about this episode. Everybody's different and operates in their own way, but that was my experience. Nonetheless, you will be satisfied if you choose to watch it in any way.

Honestly this season is hot garbage compared with the other two it does everything wrong and only made me want to drop the anime. It does this by dropping all the action and only focusing on the love triangle between Yoshida, Shana and Yuiji which was beyond hard to watch. But at least near the end of the season you start to see more action and less Yoshida trying to steal Yuji.

Animation 7/10
The animation is pretty good its too bad it was wasted on slice of life drama anime for the first half.

Sound 9/10
Just as amazing as the last season.

Story 4/10
Honestly there is just to ... much to complain about as I have already said the main chunk of this season was just focused on Yoshida trying to get Yuiji to notice her in the worst way possible. I also specifically remember this seen where Yuijis mother passes out and Shana runs to her in worry while Yoshidas first thought was to make them food to eat... Anyway the show gets somewhat better around the middle of the anime but the final boss of the season is very forgettable. In my honest opinion I would just suggest you skip to season 3 as it is a lot better than this season where it felt like they just gave up.

Enjoyment 4/10
I could barely keep my self watching everything that I liked about the first season was not here. My enjoyment only kept going down as they introduced another love interest as if Yoshida wasn't already making me depressed enough.

Overall
If you are a big fan of Shana and want more content then go ahead and watch it but if you are expecting something amazing you need to set your expectations lower. This season is mostly just drama over who Yuiji is gonna pick which ends up irrelevant anyway and makes Shana's character go down the drain. Anyway if you still want more Shana but don't wanna watch this snooze fest then just watch the last two minutes of the last episode of season 2 as that's all you really need too know too watch season 3 as things will be explained.

What in the world is going on, make up your mind already!

Story 4/10

The story to Shakugan no Shana Season 2 is poorly constructed. It kind of felt as if the writers kept changing their minds about what is going to happen while they were releasing the episodes. It begins with this love triangle that consists of almost all female characters. Konoe shows up and develops an obsession with Yuuji. Shana and Yoshida are inevitably upset that the second Konoe meets Yuuji they are spending all their time together and it seems like they have a thing going. So far so good, seems like it ... is really going somewhere and that season 2 is going to be a love triangle. Fakeout! The second the parade went on you end up forgetting she exists, why? She gets replaced by Pheles the second she shows up. Konoe was interacting and around them nonstop then suddenly, she is gone. The next time we see her is when she gets sucked into Hecate. Now we have Pheles who is in love with Yuuiji's former self. Then shortly after we now have Tanaka sees Matake die, then right after they are lovers when the spell goes away. Seeing her die warrants him to want nothing to do with Margery because she accidentally killed Matake, then brought her back to life. Next we have that special seal in the middle of town. Now we see Yuuji thinking he is too cool to look after his mom and wants to run away with Shana. Next episode he stops looking at it like that. Yuuji! We didn't want to tell you this but you have an older brother All the while we have a character rolling up dressed up, having spikey hair. And then dies shortly after. Then Suddenly he isn't dead? And by this point, you've probably too confused to figure out what in the world is going on and stopped following. Big blue circle appears at the clock tower, Hecate shows up and steals Yuuji's heart. Funny that Yuuji puts no effort to stop her too. But it doesn't matter as he is still able to run around, and fight. Shorftly after he gets his heart back making it meaningless.

Art 8/10

The artwork isn't praise worthy, except it is not bad in anyway shape or form. For the most part it is what you would expect from any other anime.

Sound 8/10

Good voice actors that suit their characters. Audio is clear, and sound effects are good

Character 4/10

Don't expect there we be any character development in this season as there is not much. And the characters become annoying, Tanaka is all about avoiding Margery because he doesn't want to risk her getting hurt. Not like that matters though as in the fights are full of explosions that end out destroying the cities multiple times. Satou's dialogue consists of him trying to figure out whether or not he wants to be in outlaw or not. Yoshida is just way too predictable, she is always talking about Yuuji and her love for him. Margery alcohol, talking about her grudge for the silver flame, talking like a complete know it all, and then asking if there is alcohol, I'm surprised she is not dead by now from liver failure or alcohol poisoning. Then the rest of the characters are okay, but don't be mistaken, okay is not the same as good.

Enjoyment 4/10

For the most part. you will find yourself sitting through the episodes and losing interest. If you enjoy season 2, that is good to hear. But you will find yourself liking season 1 more after watching the second season of Shakugan no Shana.

For the second season of Shakugan no Shana, it was a lot more based on the romance and love triangles, where as the first season was a lot more based on action. The second season brought a lot more emotion and drama that actually had me crying my eyes out at one point for three episodes straight. If you have already watched the first season, you should already have a good idea what's happening in this anime so I won't spend my time explaining about the details. But overall, it was a 7/10. The only thing that bothered me this season was to how oblivious ... the main male protagonist was towards all the girls that shared feelings for him, otherwise, I think you should give it a chance :)

They are so back! When the season 1 was more of an introduction to the series, this season brings out the whole greatness of the series.

There’s a long review coming……………

About the STORY
The story is even better when plots are revealed. The mysteries and a lot of questions about the story are almost all answered. You are amaze even more with how the story unfolds. Let’s not forget how original and unique the story is, which make this series stands out a lot from others. From plot to terminologies to naming the characters, it is such refreshment. All this originalities makes me wonder if this ... is my first time watching an anime.

About the CHARACTERS
Of course, the characters are also even better. Almost all the characters mature in this sequel. And because of that the relationship of characters are better. All the Flame Hazes are in good terms, the classmates are closer, Yuji and Shana’s relationship are improving, and even Shana is in good relationship with her rival Kazumi. Yuji’s family is also express more. But the most amazing are the maturity of the characters of Yuji and Shana. If Yuji seemed so weak not only physically but also personality wise in the previous season, Yuji’s character is way likeable and better in this season. He trains in combat in a more serious way and with a better resolve. And because of that, he becomes stronger and more capable in combat plus he is genius when it comes to strategies which make him more capable among the Flame Hazes. His personality matures also although he can still be so dense with regards the feelings of the girls around him. Shana on the other hand, in season one was somewhat irritating because her naivety led to a lot of misunderstandings but in this sequel, Shana becomes a lot human like and understands more with the things around her including her true feelings with Yuji. And so she can make her judgment of her own and make decisions in her own way. I still love her cute gesture of saying “URUSAI (Shut up!)”. Both of them are more likeable and memorable that can compete head on with the most amazing characters among animes of today.

About the ANIMATION and SOUND
With not much of a gap between the time the season one ended, the animation of this season is not that different but you can still see the little growth of it. The visual effects and graphics are one of the best nowadays. The fight scenes are also so exciting because it is made so great. The soundtracks and music are even better which is well incorporated with every scene. It gives an amazing final touch to every episode.

With almost everything way even better from the previous one, it is no doubt that the sequel is a sure hit. Well, sequels are always should be better, if not no one will appreciate it let alone the previous season. This is one of those very few series that I just so want to see in anime form even more. Hopefully, it will continue like the animes that are very famous today which are still airing until now.

I don't know why I keep watching _Shakugan no Shana_. It's not that great - Shana is a good character design, yes, but that kind of tsundere was done much better in _Toradora_ and the supernatural action is as unmotivated as the _Darker Than Black_ animes but more repetitive. If I could stop myself or someone else from wasting time on it, I would; but at least with season 2, I think serial boredom has finally convinced me to not look for the next series and find something better rather than keep hating myself for watching (Now I can start watching _The Tatami Galaxy_ guilt-free. ... Much better series.)

This sequel manages to maintain the positive impression left by its predecessor, despite featuring elements that would typically irk me.

Character development sees Shana and Yuji grappling with their feelings, while supporting characters like Margery Daw receive substantial backstory and growth. New additions like Fumina Konoe inject fresh dynamics into the ensemble, though the persistent love triangle subplot can feel tiresome.

Plot-wise, it takes its time to unfold, with a significant portion dedicated to slice-of-life high school antics before delving into the overarching narrative involving the Midnight Lost Child. While the focus shifts from battling crimson denizens to internal conflicts and character revelations, pacing issues and continuity ... lapses hinder the storytelling.

The animation quality holds up well for a 2007 anime, especially when viewed in HD. Although occasional dips in background image quality are noticeable, they don't detract significantly from the overall experience. Character designs, while somewhat generic, are executed competently, with notable effort put into outfit design. Surprisingly, fan service is kept to a minimum, defying expectations associated with the ecchi genre.

The soundtrack, particularly the opening theme "JOINT," impresses with its energetic J-rock/pop fusion. The music throughout the series is aptly utilized, complementing various scenes effectively.

Despite its flaws, Shakugan no Shana II offers an engaging continuation for fans of the first season, with expanded lore, character development, and a departure from conventional action tropes. While not without its shortcomings, it's a worthwhile watch for those invested in the series.

Seen Shakugan No Shana 1, Movie, specials episodes. Gotta say, they resolve 1 issue, the emotion part, which fits for romance genre but it is hardly romantic. There are more major fights but it is quite a rush for the final arc, only 3 episode. They add more mystery to Reiji Maigo (dunno right spelling).
It has a rush ending so hopefully there is one more season but it depends on the mangaka whether the manga has finish or not.