Title: Shakugan no Shana II
Covers: Season 2 (Two Installments)
Format: DVD and Blu-ray
Release Date: 23rd April 2013
Published by:
Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Australia)
Funimation Entertainment (North America)
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Based on: The light novel series by Yashichiro Takahashi
Audio: Hybrid Dub
Subtitles: English
Runtime: 290 Minutes x 2
Special Thanks: Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia for kindly providing me with a review samples of this release
The heated bond between Shana and Yuji is tested as their paranormal adventures continue. The Flame Haze fends off supernatural foes by night, but by day, she contends with a classmate who’s also after Yuji’s heart. Emotions flare as a suspicious transfer student who resembles a recently defeated Denizen clings to Yuji. His training rises in intensity when they catch wind of a revered warrior in search of her lost lover, who will stop at nothing to extract the power keeping Yuji alive!
Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia are set to release their first ever slate of anime titles this month – with not only the first season of Shakugan no Shana on their list but the second as well. Unlike the first this has been split up into two half-season collections and are both available as part of a DVD/Blu-ray hybrid pack. In my review of the first season the show walked away with a solid grade of B+… but with a completely new team behind the English localization and voice acting, do they pull it off? Find out how Yuji and Shana’s next adventures fares below in my review of Shakugan no Shana II!
As I mentioned in my last review, there are two different aspects of the series which in the previous season were both prominent and while integration could have been better made for an overall enjoyable watch. The first of these aspects are the supernatural elements which were usually filled with action or otherwise elaborate plots surrounding one of the denizens or the mysterious abilities of Yuji which is keeping him alive (the Midnight Lost Child) while so many others had slowly faded away after having their power of existence stolen from them. The second was the romance element of the series which generally followed a love triangle between Yuji, Shana and another girl by the name of Kazumi – although this also deviated into other character relationships in the process. Ultimately while both of these elements could have used better integration, they harmonized pretty well and made for enjoyable watching without one aspect stepping on the toes of the other too much. Unfortunately while they do eventually get the balance right in the end…. the first half of the season is riddled with romance in lieu of action.
Unfortunately while both aspects are both present and makes for some interesting watching, especially during Part 1 you are made to endure a hefty chunk of romantic drama storylines with very little in terms of the overarching storyline. This only starts at Episode 3, with the first two taunting us with a look at antagonists of the past as well as what our wait will be worth – with a mini-arc focusing on a Denizen who manages to trap him and later him and Shana in dream worlds. From Episode three we are introduced to a new girl by the name of Fumina Konoe, who transfers into the same school and class as Yuji and Shana… and whom incidentally looks very similar to Hectate but has very little in the way of social or life skills for that matter. From this point on, we are introduced to a rather sizable collection of episodes which range from the an overnight sleep-over to a day trip to an amusement park to the girls wondering if Konoe will be entering their love triangle. While you can tell they are building something bigger… to me it would have been better if it felt less forced and was better intertwined between the more action-oriented sequences for which the series does shine.
The second half of the season, which I will not go into too much detail in does to some extent make the almost half-season wait seem worth it. Whilst the romantic element of the storyline is still present, it is much better integrated into whole blocks of action, backstories and the little tidbits of the overarching plot which makes the show stand out. I also appreciated that considering Shana got quite a bit of backstory in the first season, that the other denizens such as Margery Daw and Wilhelmina got the development that they deserve and it plays a crucial role in the events that followed rather than one off mini-arcs.
Pacing and integration are still areas which this season needed to build upon and to that extent lacked some of the charm of the first season. However, when they got down to the heavier and more crucial end of the storyline, it certainly managed to draw my attention.
Taking into account that the second season was only released a year and a half after the first by J.C. Staff, there is not a noticeable change in visual styling in comparison to what I assume will be present with the third season which was released several years later during 2011. In the standard non-action environment, the environment designs are above average, the character designs look unique although could use some refinement and animation was good. Sounds pretty average right?
Fortunately it changes for the better when one of the characters cast a seal, the sky turns red and the action begins… all while the animation team seems to have gone into overdrive. Given they are no longer required to limit themselves to the more natural environments of the “Everyday School Life”, they didn’t hold back in using the environment designs and played around with them a bit more for visual effect, all while delivering the supernatural vibe and aspects you would expect. Character designs also received a boost and the animation of them once again was a strong-point of the series, aiding the delivery the story for the better.
Shakugan no Shana Season 2 comes with two opening and two ending sequences. The first opening sequence JOINT by Mami Kawada matched the same intensity as her first contribution to the series Hishoku no Sora and was a solid song. The second opening sequence BLAZE by Kotoko starts off slow however builds up and comes out kicking just shy of the minute mark. Both sequences had solid animation. The two primary ending sequences Triangle and Sociometry by Mami Kawada and Kotoko respectively were also enjoyable songs. While the remainder of the series soundtrack only really shines during the more serious sections of the series, there was a nice variety of tracks consisting of both original and new tracks.
Since the English dub of Shakugan no Shana Season 1, the license has changed hands and while they kept the original dub for their new release – Funimation Entertainment chose to compile a whole new English voice cast and go from there for the remaining instalments. While I have my personal preferences from each voice cast, I think the crew that Funimation put together was decent. For example, I really enjoyed listening to Cherami Leigh and Josh Grelle as Shana and Yuji respectively, but I found it harder to get into characters whom I really thought worked well in the original dub such as the voice cast for Margery Daw and Marcosias. The recording quality was also better than the first season in turn sounding more natural.
I have mentioned several times on this site that Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be doing something a little bit special in terms of packaging by offering what I call “Bookstyle Slipcases”. Rather than cover them in this article, you can have a look at the packing for Shakugan no Shana II in my earlier mini-review “Packaging Mini-Review – The First Six Anime Titles of Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia“.
In terms of the other extra goodies included with the release, there was a reasonable amount including:
- Commentaries for Episodes 1 and 21
- Several Episodes of Naze Nani Shana II
- Several Episodes of Shakugan no Shana-Tan
- Clean Opening and Ending Sequences
- DVD Commercials
- Promotional Videos
- US Trailer
While the first season offered both Naze Nani Shana and Shakugan no Shana II with hybrid dub options, this release includes only the Japanese dubbed versions. Other than that minor issue, they both make for interesting watches.
While you may either love or dislike the first half of season two tedious, if you enjoyed the first season which is also being re-released by Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia this month (See review HERE) then you can expect much of the same here. While the writing has its shortfalls, it is built back up with some great backstories and much of the action at least I have come to expect. There is once again still room for improvement, and I look forward to seeing how the overarching storyline concludes in further instalments.
Final Score
Storyline / Character Development: C+
Design: B
Music/Voice Acting: B+
Extras: B+
Personal Preference: B
Overall Score: B
