Shakugan no Shana III (Final)

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 8

The war starts! Anyway, I still like Rebecca's attitude and man, I missed Khamsin's powerful attacks.

For non-novel readers, here’s a bit more explanation needed for the God’s Gate leading to the Eternal Trap where Snake’s true body is imprisoned for millenia.

The moment Bal-Masque’s leader Snake of the Altar was thrown into the Eternal Trap by Flame Hazes aeons ago, he managed to transmit a sort of “telepathic radio signal” to his leiutenant Bel-Peol which would allow him to communicate with our world despite being physically away.

Using this loophole, Bal-Masque sets out its Master Plan “Taimei Shihen” (Psalms of Destiny):

PHASE 1:

To create a sentient vessel to anchor the conscience of Snake in this world via the use of the Silver “Tyrants” to collect human emotions, and then inserting it into the Reiji Maigo and wait for Snake to manifest from there. Though this phase has somewhat been modified due to Snake taking a liking for Yuuji and decided to select Yuuji as this vessel.

PHASE 2:

The vessel (Yuuji) will reopen the God’s Gate that leads to the eternal prison holding Snake’s true body captive for millenia. After which Yuuji will lead a core team to retrieve Snake’s true body. The team includes himself, his three trusted lieutenants Bel-Peol, Sydonay and Hecate, with Zabrac (bodyguard) and Dantalion (“science officer”) in tow, plus a travelling bard for some reason I’m not so sure. Alastor is also being brought along as a sort of “guest” to witness Snake’s return.

While Yuuji and the core leadership of Bal-Masque is gone, the God’s Gate cannot be moved or closed, so it is up to Yuuji’s minions to ensure that Seireiden and the Gate are protected at all costs. Thus their going on the offensive on major Flame Haze outposts East and West to create a diversion.

PHASE 3:

Will be revealed in due time.

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: episode 9

This keeps getting better and better. J.C. Staff savings for this show has finally shone through.

Nice fight in the beginning with the old man and Rebecca, but the absolute defence gets in the way again. Glad to see Shana has been thinking about this war and her participation in her own ways, the way she baited her time slowly before despairing to kill only one rinne while crying out for Nietono no Shana. The freaky samurai returns and slashes his way to his master. I would say that scene was absolutely beautiful, with Shana regaining her sword, powers and blazing red hair.

Go Go!

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 9

Now that’s some of the most insane and intense screaming I’ve ever heard from Kugimiya, captures Shana’s exploding frustration pretty well there.

Just a recap for some of the uninitiated: Tenmoku no Ikko was once a very devoted swordsmith. Fascinated with the Crimson World, he voluntarily imbued his entire existence into his ultimate blade Nietono no Shana, and became a Mystes, taking the form of a sword-wielding armour in order to seek out a worthy owner for it.

As a Torch, his existence cannot be sensed by Denizens and Flame Haze, making him virtually invisible and thus extremely deadly when he sneaks up behind them. He vanished upon recognizing Shana as the sword’s owner. But now, he returns once again, answering his mistress’s summons.

Gavida is the creator of both Tendoukyuu and Seireiden, the twin floating cities. Seireiden he gave as a gift to Bel-Peol while Tendoukyuu he gave to Alastor. Overall, he’s a “neutral” Denizen much like Pheles and Rami that prefers mingling with humans more than rampaging mindlessly and sucking their existences unnecessarily. Though he seems to trust Alastor and co more than Bel-Peol when he divulged the secret portal that links the two floating castles whenever they’re in close proximity only to Wilhelmina.

More of Gavida’s backstory can be found in the prequel manga Eternal Song and novel volume 10.

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: episode 10

EXCELLENT EPISODE!

Last 5 minutes tied in with the ED song was epic beyond words. Watching Shana in battle again feels nostalgic, watching her finding her truth was just simply awesome. Watch that blazing hair! These last 5 minutes completely overshadowed the episode's great build-up, with Seireiden crashing and revealing itself to countless Flame Hazes dropping from the skies. With the snake reaching to his true body soon, and Shana and co. reunion, can our Flame Haze succeed in their operation?

 

[Animaksiat]

what's with the FMA action in the last 5 minutes!!!

 

[MasterOot]

getting better and better! Although I still have this thing against Yuji and his hair (and using it to fight) >_>

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 10

The presence of intense battle scene has made me greatly adore Episode 8 onwards, not forgetting of course the almighty Episode 4.

Is it just me, or did Dantalion just have a "data orgasm", happily collecting them till not really obeying Yuji's command?

It is thrilling to see Shana receiving a major power boost up, after a period of self-realization. Well, her newly-developed Unrestricted Spells such as "True Crimson", "Soaring Flame", "Judgment" and "Conviction" will certainly come in handy in future battles. She just need absolutely everything in her disposal to fight the seemingly invulnerable Snake of the Festival Sakai Yuji, in order to reach out to his heart. On a side note, Shana wasted no time in urging Wilhelmina, Khamsin and Rebecca in pursuing Yuji, showing no sign of fatigue and uneasiness from imprisonment in Seireiden thus far.

It is pretty obvious that Wilhelmina was extremely worry about the safety of Shana. And yet, when she saw Shana safely walking towards her, she chose to conceal her sigh of relief and was firm. It must be difficult for Wilhelmina for not showing her soft spot for Shana, knowing that doing so may overly pamper Shana in the long run. That is why she trained her to be disciplined in Tendōkyū. Having said that, she was upset that Shana did not require her help to escape from Seireiden. Ironically, isn't one of the objectives of training in Tendōkyū that Shana becomes independent? Anyway, we all know that Wilhelmina shows great deal of care of Shana. It is more than what is necessary for what was requested by Mathilde Saint-Omer, who only wanted Merihim (Shiro) and Wilhelmina to train the next Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter.

I was a bit disappointed in Rebecca's performance against Purson. Yes, Purson had a home ground advantage and was able to effectively hide from the view of Rebecca. Still, I was hoping that she had a 50-50 chance against him. If it wasn't the element of surprise, she might not be able to defeat him. Sigh.

 

[Animaksiat]

Spoiler: Episode 11

i did smell something ecchi with the flow of the episode, but i didn't thought they would actually did it
and with Keisaku hook up with Margerie, that'll make only Kazumi who didn't have a partner!

for the battle... i thought flame haze is something more... how to put this in words, elegant? strong?
seeing this episode, i guess people like Shana, Wilhelmina, or Margerie are special.
the other flame haze are just looks like a small fry!

one last thing!
Obaasan Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick !!!!

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 11

Well, it's been pretty clear for a long time now that Satou has strong feelings for Margery. Margery herself was also aware of it for a long time, but didn't want to reciprocate due to Flame Haze/human divisions. So the foundation for their relationship going this way was firmly set over two full previous seasons.

It makes sense that with the massive trauma that Margery has endured recently that she changed her mind a bit on Satou, particularly since focusing on Satou's love for her helped get her through that ordeal.

So I'm fine with their romance developing pretty quickly. Was it a bit early to take it "all the way"? Maybe, but then they are a supporting cast pairing, and so the narrative likely could only devote so much time to them given the major plot movements underway and coming for the rest of the season. In other words, they probably had to get this romance completely consummated now while there was a plot opening for it, and I was pretty happy with how it was handled. The timing for it couldn't have been better, as it helped to showcase some of the more important 'normal human' characters in this anime, bringing back into focus a welcomed human dimension. It's also the perfect time to bring Margery back into action, and I'm looking forward to seeing what she brings to the big war going on.


Speaking of the big war, it was really great to watch in this episode. The bit before the OP came on really did an astoundingly awesome job of setting just the right mood for what was to come. KugRie did a nice job in delivering Shana's lines very clearly and loudly there, and the whole bit really pumped me up. Shana is one of the precious few anime shows that can get me fired up like great pro wrestling events used to. This episode is no exception here.

The back-and-forth in the struggle between the Flame Hazes and the Tomogara was superbly executed, and it's just so much simple fun to watch. It's incredibly exciting and thrillingly unpredictable, yet still makes sense. Personally, I'm glad that important named characters are actually dying at a fairly consistent pace in this war, because that's what realistically should happen in a war (Fate/Zero could learn a thing or two from Shana III ). I will admit that the way Fecor went out a couple episodes ago was pretty lame, but Decarabia's death scene was marvelous, a great and fitting way for an important secondary antagonist to go out, while at the same time giving us a taste of what Sophie is capable of.


My only criticism for this episode is that there were a couple moments of QUALITY animation that stood out to me, but it wasn't anything too severe overall.

Next episode should be exciting.

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: episode 12

Another excellent episode. J.C. Staff seem to have benefitted tremendously from all the previous budget cuts for this, I must repeat over and over again.

With the flame hazes fighting a losing war in the real world, our cast in the rift encounters Sabrac. If anyone would have remembered him from the previous season, he's a pretty fierce enemy with a nasty spell in Stigma. So much that the party of Wilhelmina, Rebecca and Khalsim cant handle. Watching the fight was extremely fun, looking at the kid old man carrying the big rod and running, while complaining in a straight face that he cant use his spells as intended.

God of creation revived~ That big snake marches through, only for them to encounter Shana. Shana's pep talk was great stuff, I seriously enjoyed that dialouge with Yuji. The conclusion that Trinity came up with was also resounding, Shana's a dangerous threat to their ideals, that I understand. Well, I will expect to see Yuji take Shana with ease next episode though, I thought our girl can put out much a resistance.

Excellent episode as always, drawings been great.

 

[Kou]

"もしお前が悠二を消し去って、ただの創造神になったら、わたしは天罰神の契約者として、天破壌砕を躊躇なく使う" 祭礼の蛇 Status: Told ☐, Fucking told ☐, Snake of the Told Festival ☑

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 12

Regardless if it sounded chessy or not, Shana truly behaved epic and majestic declaring her oath of love to Yuuji/Serpent of Ritual.

In summary, Shana sees a choice where she can build a future for the two of them together whether is or not a childish fantasy.

If Yuuji/Sairei Heibi is thrown off balance by that aseveration is because he already laid the path; his path that clashes with Shana's, because he's mostly seen everything as a long chain of mathematical predictions to get the best outcome for the release of destiny.
Shana's path, on the other hand, is grounded for the love she feels towards Sakai Yuuji as the single individual Flame Haze Shana, and this path can be made from the span of both existences at what would they choose to build during the run of that path, if Shana's choice prevails at the end.

 

[Terumi]

Spoiler: episode 13

13 stayed true to this series awesome-ness in delivery and overall quality.

The fight against Sabrac was great to see, watching the old man almost single-handed overwhelming him, just to get the tables turned in a split moment. Sabrac is awesomely powerful, even with the 3 flame hazes, they were my odds on losing side. The last part before his death when he flashbacked was kinda unnecessary, but still well done. The sight of the snake was... SUGOI

Obaa-chan kick failed. Thank god it failed, I really despise the obaa-chan for being practically useless over the entire course of war. So much for a top flame haze, all she can do is 1 kick.

Hebi claims that Yuji will not be wavered in his conquest for his order, after accepting all the facts of the world. Shana manages to cut open his forehead, HE LOOKS BETTER WITH HIS HAIR DOWN J.C., PLEASE KEEP IT THAT WAY, THANK YOU. I sense a slight waver in his resolves after Shana's confession (again) and a kiss. But the story is moving towards him as the last boss, so I am saying no change of sides probably.

The SNAKE descends. Everyone bow down to it!

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 13

Rider kick!

All these years waiting for a kiss between Shana and Yuji finally show some reward. the kiss was not as pasionate as I was hoping but reafim the strong feelings that Shana holds for Yuji and predicts something interesting for the future. Until now only Shana has declared his love for Yuji and he has yet to say the words, so their first actual might come when they profess their for each other.

As for the story, I´m happy to see Sabrac´s character to developed further as it was since nothing was really know about what was his driving inside Bal Masque. With the serpent out of the dimension portal, it is really up to the four guardian-like figures (one of them carry a huge jar on his back) to turn the tide of the battle.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 14

I swear the flame haze seem more and more in the wrong the longer the series goes.

This episode surpassed all of my expectations. The new opening took me by surprise and I thought it was going to overshadow the whole episode, it solved the past problem we had with Light my Fire, that didn't have enough Shana/Yuji scenes. This one was a lot more balanced and gave us a nice peak of this season.

After mind-raping poor Margery, Yuuji/Snake shows that they’re quite proficient of mind-raping in the thousands.

Then to the episode, the war was pretty realistic and I like this whole thing of military strategies and how Sophie used her resources for it.

And as for Yuji/SoF, I'm pretty much on their side right now, at least till the Shana's side find an incoherence in his perfect world plan. I like their speeches as well, always trying to get a reaction on the different armies and suceeding most of the times.

The ending was okay so far, I'm looking forward for the animation. Oh and ending up with static images of the Flame Hazes' defeat was also a nice touch.

What started off as an evenly-matched battle became a defeat, what started off as an orderly retreat became a rout.

Looking forward for more Sale and Chiara action.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 14

I swear the flame haze seem more and more in the wrong the longer the series goes.

This episode surpassed all of my expectations. The new opening took me by surprise and I thought it was going to overshadow the whole episode, it solved the past problem we had with Light my Fire, that didn't have enough Shana/Yuji scenes. This one was a lot more balanced and gave us a nice peak of this season.

After mind-raping poor Margery, Yuuji/Snake shows that they’re quite proficient of mind-raping in the thousands.

Then to the episode, the war was pretty realistic and I like this whole thing of military strategies and how Sophie used her resources for it.

And as for Yuji/SoF, I'm pretty much on their side right now, at least till the Shana's side find an incoherence in his perfect world plan. I like their speeches as well, always trying to get a reaction on the different armies and suceeding most of the times.

The ending was okay so far, I'm looking forward for the animation. Oh and ending up with static images of the Flame Hazes' defeat was also a nice touch.

What started off as an evenly-matched battle became a defeat, what started off as an orderly retreat became a rout.

Looking forward for more Sale and Chiara action.

 

[Terumi]

Running out of superlatives to praise this show.

Awesome episode 15.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 16

It's like a giant chessboard where all the pieces are being slowly but in the right positions, ready for the last and most epic battles of all. The great thing about the story so far is that you can´t classify Sarei no Hebi as the typical bad guy since his ideals work for the better of all parties involved, the problem remains in that he won´t accept any correction to his plans so Shana and his group would have to convince him by force.

Next time the remaining Gods of the Earth will be introduced, I´ve been expecting this for a while specially because every single tomogara is scared as hell of even mentioning their names so they must be real death machines. Also, the ed sequence was pretty good, I loved all the shots with the entire army of both sides ready to the final confrotation.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 17

This show is getting really ambiguous with regards to who we should be cheering for. As far as I can tell the Flame Hazes don’t actually know that any disaster will happen if he creates Xanadu, as someone else said all they have is speculation.

From a certain perspective, it could be seen as them continuing to fight the Denizens simply because they don’t know what to do with themselves if there is no fighting to be done. It all really hinges on whether Yuji knows what the hell he is talking about and is giving us the whole story, or if the Snake of the Festival has only given him part of it and is misleading him. So far the Flame Hazes are seeming pretty hard to sympathize with though, it feels like they are fighting for it’s own sake without actually thinking about whether or not they SHOULD do so. All of this has tragedy written on it.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 18

A good episode indeed. All the preparations for the final battler are complete, I like the way that each Flame Haze finds an opponent with an equal strenght. But I do wonder where are Khamsin and Rebecca at this moment, can't remember anything about that part.

From how the Three Gods of Earth managed to curbstomp their way towards their respective “Boss Battles”, you would’ve easily thought that they are the villains instead if they weren’t so badass.

Particularly SouthValley’s army of Inca-looking puppets that just devour any Denizen they see and rapidly multiply.

And WestShore’s innocently harmless face can easily fool the enemy into letting their guard down, only to be devoured and disintegrated by her Leviathans.

EastEdge’s meteor shower is just the epitome of badass. Full stop.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 19

It felt like the old Shana we all love was back when she went all emo on Yuuji, too bad Shana didn’t say her trademark “Urusai Urusai Urusai!” on top of her “Baka” this week. lol

Those three Denizens that provided the getaway vehicle was totally not out of place once you remember that just a few episodes ago, Tanaka himself specifically told Yuuji that he was going to relay all the info he heard from Yuuji to Satou and the rest, and Yuuji did not stop him. That was how Shana knew about Yuuji’s plan with Kazumi, noticed how she was relieved that Kazumi was grabbed by the hippy VW and taken away.

OTOH, Pheles was secretly assisting Shana and co by personally commissioning those 3 mercenary Denizens to provide stealth transport, which was their specialty, for Shana and co (as well as for herself and Johann) so that they may approach Misaki undetected.

(So skilled were those 3 in transporting other Denizens in stealth from vigilant Flame Haze hunting them that they were remembered in Japanese folklore as the “Hyakku Yakou”.


Though what Pheles did not tell Shana and Wilhelmina was that she was actually staying behind because she had doubts about what Johann was asking her to do, so the entire plan hinges on Kazumi WILLINGLY using the summoning device without fear of possible death.

So it also makes sense afterwards that Khamsin is bailing out along with them as that seems to be his objective – to distract the Bal Masque army from detecting the getaway car and allowing Kazumi to escape.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 20

The biggest revelation this week (or some would say cop-out) is that there is a third God. Not even the previous novels prior to volume 22 have mentioned anything about him.

First, there is the God of Creation – Snake of the Altar.
Then, there is the God of Destruction – Alastor.
Finally, always keeping a low profile and acting as a neutral observer, the God of Guidance.

There is speculation that as most of the Shana-verse is based largely on concepts of Buddhism and Hinduism (including Shana’s name and the unrestricted spells), this trinity of gods reflect the Trimurti concept of Hinduism: Creation, Destruction and Mainenance/Prosperity/Balance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimurti

Sophie has correctly assumed that this God of Guidance would act as the “balancing trump card” between Snake and Alastor, and by extension between the Denizens and Flame Haze, as well as personally between Yuuji and Shana.

And all this time the bard Rofocale turns out to be his subordinate rather than affiliated with Bal Masque at all. Back in episode 14, when Domino asked the Professor who he was, the Professor merely said he was “one of God’s followers”, which led me to assume he must be one of Snake’s oldest followers in terms of seniority, exceeded only by Bal Masque’s Trinity.

But when the Professor said “God’s followers” he meant the follower of yet another God, NOT the God of Creation, hence why he was invited into God’s Gate to witness Snake’s return, making his status similar to that of Alastor, as representatives of the Three Gods.

And thus Ernest (the blondie Flame Haze) was tasked with finding (which took some time) and persuading Rofocale to ask his God to intervene somehow. Though Rofocale at first declines, saying his God will only come if there is something worthy of its attention, though in the end he seems to have found it lying in the VW Bus passenger seat, whatever that is. So I’d expect this third God to make his entrance soon.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 21

Some explanations:

The Professor has captured many humans and forced them to form a contract unwillingly with a random Crimson Denizen, who may not even have any intention of siding with humans and participate in their “kinslaying”.

This forced contract experiment was kind of a lose-lose situation for both the human contractor and his Crimson Lord.

For the Crimson Denizens forcefully summoned over to our world, many were killed while passing through the Void between the two worlds.

For the human, he had no grudge to begin with, but was now “robbed” of his existence thanks to the contract. Moreover, the Crimson Lord he was contracted to may not share the same sentiments of those “kinslayers” who so willingly form contracts with humans. And so would be coerced into attacking other Flame Hazes (under threat of getting devoured), which would end up getting himself killed by the Flame Hazes instead as they would want to remove a rogue Flame Haze asap.

Sale and Gizo were the lucky ones as they were both smart enough to realize that the only way to survive was to actually depend on each other and actually try and live the life of a Flame Haze. Though unlike many Flame Hazes, he carries no grudge against the Denizens, save perhaps the Professor, whom he has a score to settle.

As for his protege and lover Chiara, she is one of the few Flame Hazes to be contracted to two Crimson Lords, as they happen to be twins.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 22

Overall, Episode 22 was simply a fun-filled adventurous thrill ride. Shana III just keeps delivering the action-packed excitement without the slightest bit of letup.

I really have to tip my hat to Yashichiro Takahashi - It's not easy to convey good, comprehensive action scenes in a light novel medium, but if this anime is any indication, he did a simply superb job here. Honestly, I don't know if I've seen continuous action/warfare this epic and engaging since I last watched The Lord of the Rings movies, and that was quite some time ago.

I'm truly going to miss Shana when it's all said and done. It has a certain impeccable style in how it so seamlessly weaves together action-packed epic adventures with suspenseful drama with cool chaotic comedy with anime aesthetics and sensibilities typically put to their best possible use. At its best, it makes for a truly one-of-a-kind experience.

 

[jomkingal]

This season for shakugan no shana became complicated to me that i almost dropped it. xD anyway, looks like things are going back for shana and yuji. only a few remaining episodes left. Will they have a happy ending? :3 Haven't read the Light Novel version of this but, is this really supposed to go like this? The story i mean. I mean, shana and yuji... Hmm... I hope they could return to their normal lives. :)