Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

[ Episode 14: Eternal Lover ]

DAMN! That turned out to be an awesome episode. It started off slow with the whole investigation into the Reiji Maigo and the whole Pheles, Shana, and Kazumi touring the festival stretch. For a while things seemed to be calming down but then I was suddenly slapped with a surprise. I didn’t see the whole scouting-body thing coming at all. That was so awesome. Though I want to know what the hell happened at the very end. Was that the Silver’s hand that pierced Pheles? It couldn’t have been Johan, right? And what was up with Konoe and her butler being there with those special wristbands? Do I foresee some Hecate coming to pwn?! Shana has finally gotten awesome a little over mid-way through.

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[ Episode 13: Convergence, Then a Hint ]

Intense. That’s just one of the many words I managed to think of to describe this episode. I had a rush of emotions from witnessing Pheles’ fight with Shana, Margery snapping and destroying almost everything in sight, and seeing all the people in the surrounding get hurt, especially Ogata. Damn, it really wasn’t a pretty sight when she got caught up in that blaze and was sent flying. It’s good to see that Tanaka had the reaction that he did though as it only proves that while he is a shy bastard he does care for Ogata a massive lot. This entire deal with Pheles and Johan intrigues me quite a bit. Now another question has surfaced which concerns whether or not Johan is still alive in the Reiji Maigo. And yet another question regarding what is happening to the Reiji Maigo since Pheles’ confirmed that something is wrong with it. There’s also that Sabrac who I’m guessing is will probably make an appearance later on in the story though I suppose it depends on Pheles’ story in the next episode.

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[ Episode 12: Fall Festival Clearly Begins ]

Ah~. I loved this episode mainly because of Pheles’ entrance. Everything else takes the back seat to that, I think. For some reason when she should up I thought “Ha ha. How convenient she interrupts Shana’s confession. Get that stuff out of here!” lol. I was a bit surprised to see Margery grab Wilhelmina the way she did when she first approached her though I’m sure it was because she mentioned the Silver to her. Well, at least they managed to calm down a little and eat a little together. Though, given the preview for the next episode that isn’t going to last too long when Margery sees the Silver flame used by Yuji.

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[ Episode 11: Engage Link ]

Much of this episode, roughly over a half, was focused on everyone preparing for the Seishuu Festival. Mixed in there of course was some breast-grabbing involving Nakamura, Yoshida, and Shana. Good times, yeah? Also, I didn’t mention this in the episode 10 entry but I have to wonder what’s up with Konoe lately. She doesn’t seem to be ill at all and there was focus on the bracelets that both her and her butler wear. Perhaps it is related to the previous suspicions of her being Hecate or a clone of Hecate? Hopefully that’ll be addressed soon. Wihelmina basically confirmed that she was a friend of Pheles in the past through her facial expressions and her plea that she doesn’t want to fight Pheles. Pheles must be really powerful though if she can make something like the Reiji Maigo and also have Wilhelmina so worried. The very end of the episode had me really excited as well as it shows that Pheles is closer than we thought! Oh man I can hardly wait until she appears!

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[ Episode 10: The Man Who Returned Home ]

At first I thought that this episode wasn’t going to cover much plot but it got a good amount in. Aside from the return of Yuji’s dad, who I must say is really cool, there was a bit with Wilhelmina meeting up with Khamsin in France. Much to Wilhelmina’s fear, which is something rarely ever seen, she finds out from him that Pheles is alive and well. What worries her the most is that she is looking for the Reiji Maigo and will eventually find it as it is a memento of her deceased lover. Something tells me Yuji is going to be enjoying being tracked/chased down by Pheles. Another thing though that amazed me was that Wilhelmina seemed so concerned. I think that she and Pheles used to be friends or at the very least were acquaintances. Hopefully, as the preview suggests, she’ll reveal their connection in the story she’s going to tell Yuji.

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[ Episode 9: Milestone of Pity ]

I can’t say I’m surprised that Yuri died. I just couldn’t see someone like him with that kind of resolve in the position of a Flame Haze surviving for long. At least he managed to kill a Tomogara and saved Margery’s life before he died though. One of the biggest things in the episode though is when Yuji finally casts a Fuzetsu. However, there is one thing wrong with it. The color of it was silver. Silver is the very same Tomogara/Rinne/thing (?) that Margery is searching for and vows to kill no matter what she has to sacrifice. I think it goes without saying that this means big trouble for Yuji if she manages to find out. Though, I think it’s a matter of “when” rather than “if”. When that time comes there is sure to be a clash between Shana, possibly Wilhemina, and Margery. For now though I’d like to hear more about this Silver and what else it has done.

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[ Episode 8: Door to the Past ]

This was a great start to an arc I’ve been awaiting for so long. Though the beginning focused a bit on Shana, Yuji, and Wilhelmina, the remaining two-thirds chronicles Margery’s past. She discusses her past because Keisaku asked her to train him. I’m quite sure that Yuri, the young Flame Haze in her past, will not survive which is one of the main reasons she is telling this story. Kind of like a reality check of sorts for Keisaku. Though I have my doubts that he’ll just give up after hearing this story. One of the after-thoughts I had at the end of this episode was Margery’s real age. I really doesn’t matter, just like she said, but it is a point of curiosity. Lastly, I can’t wait to hear more about Pheles, the name Wilhelmina discovered during her research. I’ve been waiting on her to appear for so long.

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[ Episode 7: Ike Hayato: Day of Glory ]

Although Ike isn’t a favorite character of mine this was a pretty fun episode. All of his planning failures had me laughing at every opportunity I could get. Light-hearted episodes like this are needed in a series like Shana, especially near the beginning since later episodes are more than likely to be almost all-serious and full of drama. I suppose that the little plot development out of this episode involved Keisaku asking Shana if he could become a Flame Haze. I’m sure that he asked this question because he wants to be on the same level as Margery, who the next two episodes will be covering (her past specifically). I wonder if him asking will go anywhere in the future though…

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Movie Information

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Producers: J.C.STAFF
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural
ED: [Tenjou wo Kakeru Monotachi] by Love Planet Five
Duration: 86 minutes
劇場版 「灼眼のシャナ」

Yeah, I’m late on my thoughts on the movie but does it really matter? Of course not, since I’m going to jump to my main points. I’ve anticipated this film ever since it was first announced and now that I’ve finally seen it I’m blown away. Sure, it is a retelling of the first few episodes of the first season but it largely improves on those episodes with magnificent theatre-quality animation, the return of the superb soundtrack and an excellent movie theme/insert song by the lovely Kawada Mami and ED theme by Love Planet Five. There are a few things that are different though the main one is the ending which has Alastor with a larger role than before, basically laying the smackdown on Friagne in epic proportions. I think I watched this at the right time as well since Shana Second, so far, hasn’t been as exciting or epic as this movie is all-around. I can only hope that the second season starts to have a similar pace as well as a battle as intense as Shana and Margery vs. Friagne.

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[ Episode 6: Night Before an Ordeal ]

Thank you SO MUCH Margery for resolving all of this EMO.

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