Forum - View topicShana: Typical Anime That's Not So Typical
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TranceLimit174
 Posts: 963 |
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This is another show I picked up and am really enjoying. I haven't watched past the first DVD but I like what I have seen so far. This is the first the series I can think of where it really placed importance on and thought of a system for maintaining balance between the real and spirit worlds. This system is also surprisingly bleak considering the characters look like they were lifted out of a date sim. The show is pure eye candy but it has substance to boot. I don't really care for Yuji, but I think Shana carries the show. I'm quite taken with her as she easily could have been another tough girl with 0 personality who spoke softly. Instead Shana is a truly distinct and fully realized character. She's matter of fact, loves melon bread, and her "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" is so cute. Speaking of kudos to Tabitha St. Germain for pulling that off brilliantly in English. There are so many ways it could have gone wrong but she makes it seem effortless.
And that's why I like Shana. All of the characters look cookie cutter at first glance yet their personalities (save for Yuji) are very far from what you would expect given certain trends. The series is just refreshing. It's as if someone finally said "let's actually think of something different to do." Even the standard anime jokes work for me because they aren't so over the top and are in fact downplayed (note episode 3). It's a very entertaining series that's downright gorgeous. It'll be interesting to see what direction it takes. |
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Mirrinus
 Posts: 230 Location: La Thiene Plateau |
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Eh, I liked Shana as well. Fantastic character development was what made me like it so much. Oh, and her "Shut up" x3 is cuter in Japanese . . .
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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I wonder how long it will be before "OH GOD SHANA IS HOT" makes its way into this threa-
oh wait |
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SharinganEyes92
 Posts: 816 |
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I enjoyed Shana as well. I loved the character designs. They were so detailed, especially the eyes, and being coupled with such stellar animation made the experience even more enjoyable. I loved the action scenes and the music. The first ED had to have been one of the best I've ever heard. I love how the song started off emotional and then kicked off into a techno beat (please excuse my failure in describing the song). I also liked how despite the pure moe designs of most of the female characters, the fanservice was kept to a minimum. I also found those Shanatan short little OAVs to be hilarious.
The flaws that I found with the series were more in terms of character depth. The only person whose past was actually explained was Shana. Many of the villains had no background or explanation at all for why they were fighting Shana. Look at the spoiler[blonde Tomogara twins. They never explained any reason for the brother wanting the Nietono no Shana, and they didn't even say why everyone was so afraid of them!] I also didn't like the romance that much. I felt it got in the way of the overall direction the series was going in, but hey, that's just me. I'm the type that prefers balls-to-the-wall action and high-powered adrenaline rushes. The one thing that I really hated about the series was the OAV, Koi to Onsen no Kougai Gakushuu. It was just pure fanservice, which is sure as hell not my cup of tea. I rated it So-so since it did give me a chance to see some of my favorite characters again, but I found it to be just horrible. However, the OAV and the lack of character depth aside, I found the series to be quite enjoyable, and I'd love to watch a sequel if one is ever made. I've heard that the manga continues, so perhaps they'll make a new series after they come out with the movie, which, according to the encyclopedia, is supposed to come out April 21. |
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Iwatch2muchanime
 Posts: 1291 |
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I liked the OVA's. I loved that it didn't have anything important to the show in it, so I thought it was made for ME!! (me as in for fun, which isn't related to the word "me" at all) It was a good one-time watch.
However what I REALLY liked though, were the Shakugan no Shana-tan, Shakugan no Shana-tan RETURNS and Itadeki no Hecate-tan Omake. Those were hilarious and probably me favorite part of all of them. They reminded me of Kyou no Go no Ni Which I love oh so much. Random scenes of perverted actions and talk are amazing in both the Shana universe and Kyou no Go no Ni!! |
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slow_moe_504
 Posts: 37 Location: New Orleans La |
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 Well I love this anime. It is really good and im just loving the way the story is going. I agree with you the way she says "Shut Up" 3x and the little love triangle that is going on its so sweet. You can just look at the cover and tell that it is good. The character designs are awsome and the eye's are so detailed like some of you were saying. It's a really great anime to watch.
Last edited by slow_moe_504 on Sun Feb 11, 2007 2:12 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16974 |
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Oh God Shana is sooo hot ::drool::!!!!!!
There now that that's out of the way....... loved the visuals. I found the colors to be very fribrant if that makes sense to anyone. The music also just happened to really catch me. Not a masterpiece but stll a very good show so far. The dubbing sn't too terrible either. Heard many much worse. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18587 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I've said before that there's some hard-to-define quality about the series that makes it consistently turn out at least a little better than you'd expect for a show of this type, and what I've seen of vol. 3 so far hasn't changed that opinion. Even when wallowing in the depths of fan service (such as the water park bit in episode 9) it never quite descends into the depths of the silly antics such episodes normally see.
It isn't just the signature "shut up" x3 that endears Shana to me, either (and I find it perfectly satisfying in English). Her odd fascination with melon bread is also quite cute, as is the way she delights in small things - like baths - without going to ridiculous histrionics overboard. |
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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When I watched the first DVD I was not too impressed and it got blurred in my memory since the first Bleach and first Fate/Stay Night volumes were released soon after. Trying to keep those three series straight can be a task. While the themes in these series and much of the character relations are similar the moods of the three seem very different. Shana really comes into it's own somewhere between volume two and three.
The Yuj/ Shana relationship is my favorite since they are both so naive in opposite areas. They have a special coexistence with each constantly being frustrated with the other. I love how the third volume moves the focus from the fighting to the character drama. The scene where Yuji's mother (another great character) receives a phone call from Shana's guardian is priceless. It also helps that Shana is a really adorable character who has an childlike innocence which makes me smile. I usually don't care for overly kawaii characters but I'll make an exception for Shana, Hazuki (Moon Phase) and a few others. |
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Raven Shinobi
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The thing that I appreciate in this series is its unpredictability in dealing with some issues, like things that were mentioned in ANN's review of volume 2 and the villains are quite decent -with the exception of the twins in Vol 3 and their spoiler[disgusting incestuous displays, can't wait till they are completely purged out of the show
 ] .
Shana is currently number three on my must-have DVDs -the first two are Mai-HiME and Ergo Proxy- I love the supernatural themes that I've always been a sucker for and the characters are realistic and quite endearing, hope the series maintains its current quality till the end. |
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The Human Spider
Posts: 334 |
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I liked how Yoshida and the two boys who help Marjorie spoiler[are just normal people who don't turn out to have any superhuman abilities. I sometimes find it annoying when every other character turns out to have some sort of superhuman power or fighting ability(NEGIMA! and BLEACH immediately come to mind) But I think it's great how those characters in SHANA are just average people trying to do the best job possable with their extremely limited abilities.]
As for the romance in the show; I think because the romance angle was played up during the seriesspoiler[it felt liked it ended the way it should have, even if the ending was very inconclusive--I thought the same thing about MOON PHASE's ending] |
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Malintex Terek
Guest
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Bravo, bravo, I highly endorse this topic; Shana is indeed a very entertaining show. It's not exactly innovative, but it quickly defines the bleak truth as to where people stand in time (people either exist or don't exist, there's no underworld) and it's very dark yet colourful. Maybe a form of noir.
Yuuji and Shana's relationship seems almost star-crossed, but I found myself impatient with Yuuji; I was expecting impressive (yet typical) shounen improvement form him, yet it didn't happen fully. Quite a disappointment, but that disappointment was washed away in Zero no Tsukaima, which could be considered the illegitimate child of Ouran Host Club. Pokemon, Fate/stay night, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and especially Shakugan no Shana. The ending was a bit cramped though. Hecate's "penetration" of Yuuji was as sudden/surprising as being struck by a bolt of lightning. |
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hiddenryuu
Posts: 25 |
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Personally, I liked the show, but I still can't shake the feeling they wasted a lot of potential in this one.
I think that with just a little more work..it coulda pushed it from pretty good to an execellent show. I heard the novels went way further, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a second season cause the movie I heard was a rehash of the series..with a little added in. |
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liezlstupid
Posts: 1 |
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The show and the OVA was good esp the last episode.
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NinjaUmbreon
 Posts: 43 |
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I download it a bit before it was pick up. I saw about ten episode and I've been consider buy it. The show was pretty good, I found the characters well done and the plot was interesting. Although I found the twins to creepy for my tastes.
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